Automation

De Test Automation Days 2026 zijn net een maand voorbij, maar wij zijn er nog niet klaar mee. Tijd voor de aftermatch, maar dan op onze eigen manier. Zoals altijd georganiseerd door deTesters, TestCoders en TechChamps, in ons kantoor in de Werkspoorkathedraal in Utrecht. Deze keer halen we twee Test Automation Days talks naar Utrecht die mooi laten zien hoe breed en interessant ons vakgebied inmiddels is. Met Wim Selles van TechChamps en Anaïs van Asselt, oud-collega van deTesters en nog altijd een vriendin van de show, belooft dit weer een avond te worden vol praktijkverhalen, nieuwe inzichten en genoeg om over na te praten. Een leuk detail: ze komen allebei oorspronkelijk uit Kampen, hebben allebei bij deTesters gewerkt en hebben door de jaren heen regelmatig op dezelfde events gestaan, alleen nooit tegelijk op hetzelfde podium. Twee talks, twee totaal verschillende invalshoeken, maar allebei relevant voor iedereen die serieus bezig is met kwaliteit, test automation en hoe we slimmer kunnen werken. **When Mobile Testing Hits Harder Than You Expect** Mobile testen lijkt in eerste instantie veel op web testing. Totdat je te maken krijgt met trage builds, verschillende devices, instabiele testen en feedbackloops die ineens dagen kunnen duren in plaats van seconden. In deze sessie laat Wim zien waarom mobile testing in de praktijk vaak veel complexer is dan teams vooraf verwachten. Aan de hand van herkenbare situaties neemt hij je mee langs de punten waar mobiele projecten vaak vertragen, vertrouwen verliezen of kwaliteit onder druk komen te staan. Daarnaast laat hij zien hoe de juiste combinatie van handmatig testen, automation en inzichten uit de praktijk helpt om betere mobiele releases te maken zonder de controle kwijt te raken. **Wim Selles** Wim is directeur bij TechChamps. Daarvoor werkte hij bij SauceLabs als (Lead) Solutions Architect en Staff Product Manager. Altijd met een focus op Mobile, dus Wim mag met een gerust hart ''mister-mobile'' worden genoemd. Wim deelt graag zijn Mobile test automation ervaring als spreker op diverse conferenties en tijdens trainingen en workshops. **Feedback as Fertiliser: From Sh\*t to Quality Through AI and Knowledge Automation** Veel waardevolle feedback verdwijnt sneller dan we zouden willen. Bugs worden gesloten, incidenten raken vergeten en productvragen verdwijnen in losse tools of gesprekken. Zonde, want juist in al die informatie zit een schat aan kennis die kan helpen om kwaliteit structureel te verbeteren. In deze sessie laat Anaïs zien hoe je met AI, RAG en low code automation van al die losse signalen iets bruikbaars kunt maken. Denk aan een levende kennisbank, slimmere inzichten in risico’s en een betere manier om QA inspanningen te prioriteren. Niet door nóg meer handmatig werk toe te voegen, maar juist door feedback slimmer te organiseren en opnieuw te gebruiken. Een verhaal dat laat zien hoe je van ruis weer richting kunt maken, en hoe een duurzaam QA ecosysteem zichzelf steeds verder kan verbeteren op basis van wat er al gebeurt. **Anaïs van Asselt** Anaïs is Senior QA bij Choco. Voor veel mensen in onze community is zij geen onbekende naam, vooral omdat zij een graag geziene spreker op diverse Test (Automation) conferenties. Ze werkte eerder bij deTesters en is sindsdien eigenlijk nooit echt weggeweest. Anaïs staat bekend om haar praktische blik op kwaliteit en haar talent om technologie, automatisering en teamdynamiek slim bij elkaar te brengen. **Doelgroep** Deze meetup is interessant voor testers, QA engineers, developers en iedereen die bezig is met kwaliteit in moderne software teams. Deze avond is **volledig in het Nederlands (Dutch spoken).** **Programma** 17:30 Ontvangst en eten 18:30 Performance Testing as a Pipeline Essential 19:30 Korte pauze 19:45 Feedback as Fertiliser: From Sh\*t to Quality Through AI and Knowledge Automation 20:30 Q&A en discussie 21:00 Afsluiting met een borrel

There are many resources available for guidance on how to write code that is efficient and results in more sustainable software applications, but applying these at scale can be challenging, and often isn’t a priority for busy teams. GitHub have recently released Agentic Workflows, a way of specifying automation tasks in human-readable format to be performed by an AI agent as part of a GitHub Actions workflow. In this talk, Max Mizzi from GitHub's Sustainability team gives an overview of Agentic Workflows, and will demonstrate how they can be used to improve software efficiency through both structured green software rules and autonomous performance engineering. He'll finish by walking through a real-world use-case showing how the technology helped to dramatically reduce the energy consumption - and carbon footprint - of a major website. Come along if you want to learn more about using AI to improve the energy efficiency of your software. Check out the Green Software Brighton [website](https://greensoftwarebrighton.co.uk/) for links to previous talks. Arrive from 18:00 for pizza and drinks. Event will start at 18:30. We always head for a drink and a chat locally afterwards too. --- ***Thank you to Runway East for use of their space to host our events and to Silicon Brighton and the Green Software Foundation for supporting us.***

\# This meetup is around a third\-party organizer\, Focus Filmtheater\. You can either purchase your ticket online or right before the session\. **Seats are numbered**. # **Title**: The President’s Cake **Language**: Arabic **Subtitles**: English **Length**: 106 min **Director**: Hasan Hadi **More info**: https://www.focusarnhem.nl/agenda/english-subs-the-presidents-cake/ **Ticket link**: https://www.focusarnhem.nl/tickets/144299/ **Synopsis:** In poverty-stricken 1990s Iraq, young Lamia is selected to prepare a cake for the President’s birthday. Because basic ingredients are hard to find, Lamia goes on a journey in search of eggs, flour and sugar. It becomes a tender, tragicomic odyssey, offering a child-eye’s view of life under authoritarianism. Hasan Hadi’s affecting debut feature follows 9-year-old Lamia. She is tasked with bringing a cake to school for the President’s mandatory birthday celebration. Against a backdrop of crippling poverty and food shortages, she journeys from her marshland home to a nearby city in search of ingredients. Coming along with her are her grandmother Bibi, her best friend Saeed and her beloved pet rooster Hindi. Shot on location in Iraq with nonprofessional actors, this tender, tragicomic odyssey offers a poignant child’s-eye view of life under authoritarian rule. The film was inspired by Hasan Hadi’s childhood memories of 1990s Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and was awarded the Caméra d’Or at Cannes for best first feature. **How it works**: I will be at Focus around 18:30, where we can meet before the movie starts. You can message me to find us. Screening starts at 19:00. After the movie, we can have a drink together. Hope to see you soon!

Studenten binnen de zorg opgelet (Geneeskunde, MBO/HBO Verpleegkunde)! Voor het lustrum van de Universiteit Utrecht organiseert het Journal of Trial and Error samen met het UMC Utrecht de **Failure88**. Iedereen maakt fouten, al geven we ze liever niet toe. Wat daarbij niet helpt is dat binnen zorgopleidingen veel sprake is van prestatiedruk. Met de Failure88 helpen we daarom het falen normaliseren. De Failure88 is een variant van de Crazy88, waarbij deelnemers zoveel mogelijk opdrachten volbrengen. Deelnemers sturen foto’s en video’s om te laten zien dat de opdracht is uitgevoerd. Maar bij de Failure88 is er een twist: je krijgt niet alleen punten als de opdrachten zijn gelukt, maar ook al als je een goede poging hebt gedaan. En er valt iets te winnen! Voor de winnende groepjes is het volgende prijzengeld: * 1e plaats: €400,- 2e plaats: €200,- 3e plaats: €100,- De aftrap van de Failure88 is op 6 mei, en de inzendingen sluiten na 17 mei. De prijsuitreiking is op 20 mei vanaf 17:30 in het Louis Hartlooper. Deze avond is een samenwerking met Blik op de Zorg (UMC Utrecht). Na de prijsuitreiking volgt een gratis vertoning van de film Whiplash. Aan de hand van deze film voeren we een gesprek over prestatiedruk in de zorg. Alleen meedoen aan de Failure88 is ook mogelijk. Schrijf je hier in: https://trialanderror.org/lustrum-failure-88-2026

Hi all! 🙂 On Wednesdays we welcome you to practice languages! If you want to practice a specific (uncommon) language, please send us a message so we can find some conversation partners for you on our mailing list! We hope to see you in Café Marktzicht! In the last year we had tables for the following languages: * Dutch * English * French * Italian * Spanish * Turkish\* * German\* * Portuguese\* * Danish\* * Norwegian\* * Russian\* * Arabic\* * Chinese\*\* * Japanese\*\* * Indonesian\*\* * * Most likely, but not every week present. \*\* - Rather rare ;-) If your language is not in this list, please let us know! We have a large database of Language Cafe visitors speaking 56 different languages! We might be able to connect you with a person that does speak the language you want to practice. In case you are not in our database yet, please use this form: http://goo.gl/forms/oSCn9Dn8m8

Join in for a some drinks (and food, if you want) after work at **The 5th \| Utrecht**. Bring your own project and payment for drinks. As evenings tend to be a bit busier, we'll reserve a table. This means: **Only sign up if you are sure you will come!** And if there's no space left on the event, please don't join spontaneously. \-\-\-\-\- As always, we talk about our projects, exchange tipps, but also just get to know each other and enjoy a drink after a long day in good company. Whether it's knitting, crocheting, stitching, origami, or something more unique, we're looking forward to seeing you!

So, you have experienced what improv is like? And you want to play and learn more? In this longer course you learn more about the basic techniques and mindset of improvisation, through fun and easy games. You will: • explore playfulness • listen with intent • accept making mistakes, • discover your imagination and creative thinking, • build confidence, • improve your communication skills, with and without speaking • and mostly: have fun! ### Course details course Wednesdays 20 May – 8 July 2026 lessons 19:30-21:30 . Location ZIMIHC Wittevrouwen. bouwstraat 55 Utrecht. Teacher Burgert Kirsten Show in june. 10 lessons including a show €245 incl BTW ### ### About the tickets Improv Utrecht offers 1 or 2 funded courses with 20% discount for people with less finances. Send a message to Marieke van Laar. **Tickets: improv-utrecht.weticket.io** info: www.improvutrecht.nl/courses

Donderdag 21 mei 2026 is het weer tijd voor onze Techday: hét vaste moment waarop we kennis delen, elkaar inspireren en nieuwe ideeën direct in de praktijk brengen. Deze editie pakken we het aan als een conferentie in het klein. Drie sprekers, drie verhalen, één middag – drie verhalen voor de prijs van één. Wat kun je verwachten? **Dirk neemt een kijkje onder de motorkap van AI** AI voelt voor veel mensen als magie. In deze talk probeer ik de magie weg te nemen door een kijkje te nemen onder de motorkap. Een essentieel bouwblok van moderne AI is een neuraal netwerk. Als je begrijpt hoe een neuraal netwerk werkt, is het een stuk makkelijker om te begrijpen hoe en waarom een LLM werkt. De beste manier om iets te begrijpen is door het te bouwen, vanaf scratch. Dus dat gaan we in deze talk doen. Door dat te doen leren we over artificial neurons, activation functions, backpropagation en meer. **George vertelt hoe AI Cyberaanvallen verandert** George Schizas (extern), voormalig IT Manager, nu werkzaam als CISO, vertelt over zijn ervaringen in de Cloud Cyber Security en hoe hackers met behulp van AI nieuwe aanvalsmethoden kunnen gebruiken om kwetsbaarheden op te sporen en te exploiteren. Hij geeft voorbeelden van manieren om in Kubernetes omgevingen in te breken en noemt manieren om dit tegen te gaan. **Roland duikt in de wereld van de fraude fabriek** Als ontwikkelaar kom je dagelijks in contact met technologie en de laatste jaren natuurlijk ook vaak met AI. JIJ snapt heel goed wat de voordelen en de gevaren zijn, maar hoe leg je complexe onderwerpen als AI gegenereerde afbeeldingen, Voice Phishing en Hallucinaties uit aan je ouders, de buurvrouw, of je kinderen? Ik neem jullie mee in een realistische situatie waarin Anna en haar familie opgelicht wordt met behulp van verschillende technieken en hoe dit oplichters-landschap met behulp van AI verandert. **Wanneer:** Donderdag 21 mei 2026 **Wat:** Techday – conferentie-editie “AI kansen en valkuilen” **Voor wie:** Iedereen (!) die nieuwsgierig is en wil leren **Agenda** 14:45 - 15:00 - Inloop 15:00 - 16:00 - Neurale netwerken 16:15 - 17:15 - AI risico’s en kansen 17:15 - 18:00 - Eten 18:00 - 18:45 - Fraude fabriek We zien je graag op de Techday!

**RSVP here via EventBrite [here](https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/you-and-your-brand-a-casual-networking-hour-tickets-1984283125243).** Expand your visibility. Join a casual online time to share about you, your brand and business, and learn more about other business owners, locally and globally. Share upcoming events and workshops, too. After each business owner gets the spotlight to share, we then move into a topic-oriented discussion. This month, the topic is begin chosen by [Isabella Maria Noguera, MSc](https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabellamarianoguera/) over of Be Your Brand Consulting. Every session closes with gratitude and a creative activity, so have a pen and paper, tablet, or something available in case we write/create/draw. **RSVP here via EventBrite [here](https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/you-and-your-brand-a-casual-networking-hour-tickets-1984283125243).** *-* *\*\*\*The only requirements are a minimum age of 18 years old, be a business owner or preparing to launch,* *and **at least three attendees** register to make it a worthwhile hour for everyone.\*\*\**

(english/german below) **Bitcoin Pizza Dag!** Op 22 mei 2010 betaalde programmeur Laszlo Hanyecz 10.000 BTC voor twee pizza's — de eerste gedocumenteerde aankoop met bitcoin. Hij plaatste een bericht op een forum waarin hij BTC aanbood voor pizza; een andere gebruiker ging akkoord, bestelde de pizza's en leverde ze af. Die transactie werd later bekend als "Bitcoin Pizza Day". Laszlo bewees dat Bitcoin als ruilmiddel gebruikt kan worden. **Sluit je bij ons aan voor pizza-avond bij De Pizzabakkers! (vanaf 18:00)** RSVP zo snel mogelijk; we moeten reserveren bij De Pizzabakkers en er is beperkte plek. Zorg dat je je geladen Lightning-wallet meeneemt! *** **English: Bitcoin Pizza Day!** On May 22, 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas — the first documented purchase using bitcoin. He posted on a forum offering BTC for pizza; another user accepted, ordering pizzas and delivering them. That trade later became famous as "Bitcoin Pizza Day," Laszlo proved that Bitcoin can be used as a medium of exchange. **Join us for pizza diner at De Pizzabakkers! (from 18:00)** Please RSVP as quick as possible as we need to make a reservation at De Pizzabakkers and there is only limited space. Be sure to bring your loaded lighting wallet along with you! *** **Deutsch: Bitcoin Pizza Tag!** Am 22. Mai 2010 zahlte Programmierer Laszlo Hanyecz 10.000 BTC für zwei Pizzen — der erste dokumentierte Kauf mit Bitcoin. Er postete in einem Forum und bot BTC für Pizza an; ein anderer Nutzer akzeptierte, bestellte die Pizzen und lieferte sie aus. Dieser Tausch wurde später als "Bitcoin Pizza Day" bekannt. Laszlo bewies, dass Bitcoin als Tauschmittel verwendet werden kann. **Begleite uns zum Pizza-Abend bei De Pizzabakkers! (ab 18:00)** Bitte antworte so schnell wie möglich; wir müssen bei De Pizzabakkers reservieren und es gibt nur begrenzten Platz. Nimm unbedingt deine geladene Lightning-Wallet mit!

Come along, lovely queer hikers! 🌿✨ This time we’re serving an easy-going queer nature moment with a short loop through **Landgoed Heidestein** near Zeist. Think dreamy forest paths, shimmering fens, a peaceful forest pond, and heather fields - a lot of diversity for such a short walk :) We’re teaming up with **Cocktail (COC’s group for LGBTQIA+ refugees & asylum seekers)** for this event, so besides soaking up nature, we’re creating space for connection, sharing stories, and learning from each other’s journeys and experiences. Expect a vibe that’s part hike, part picknick, part wholesome community exchange. 🌈 Bring your snacks and blankets, as we’ll pause along the way for a relaxed picnic moment together. Because queer joy isn’t just about where we go, but who we walk with. 💖 **Practical info** 📏 **Distance:** 5 or 7 km (loop walk) 📍 **Start:** Bus stop Prinses Margrietlaan, Zeist (5km option) Driebergen-Zeist station (7km option) 🏁 **End:** Back at the starting point 🥾 **Level:** easy - chill pace 🤝 **Meeting point:** outside the train station **Driebergen-Zeist at 13:45** or bus stop **Prinses Margrietlaan (Zeist) at 14:20** ❗You’re welcome to join from another direction. If you come by car you can park at P+R Driebergen-Zeist. Please note: we published this hike with Cocktail simultaneously, which is also why we lowered the participant number from Hiking Queer NL's side. Pack your: 🍱 snacks 🚰 water 🧥 rain coat/umbrella ☀️ sun screen 🏳️‍🌈 anything else you might need ❌ If you signed up and cannot make it in the end, please cancel your RSVP attendance so we know how many people will show up and someone else can take your place instead. 💗 A voluntary donation helps us to keep the Meetup group up and running :) you can either pay via a Tikkie or in cash after we finish the hike. *Hiking Queers Netherlands & Cocktail (COC)*

We’re back! On **May 21st**, PuXu returns to Acato in Utrecht for a meetup dedicated entirely to **Research**. **Speaker 1: Emmanuelle Savarit** Emmanuelle is a UX researcher with 20+ years of experience. She's built and led research teams at Facebook, Just Eat Takeaway, LSEG (Refinitiv), and Thomson Reuters. She ran her own UX research agency for 10 years. She's written two books, hosts the UX Research Club podcast, and now focuses on helping researchers increase their strategic impact, including navigating AI. In short: she knows what it takes to move research from tactical to strategic, and she's coming to Utrecht to talk about it. **Special Offer:** Emmanuelle is the author of *The UX Research Powerhouse*. As a PuXu attendee, you can [pre-order your copy](http://clicks.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=u001.NY3oBFzZ5LJDG7YcnfSAKt-2FPbu0mdbClRwu8GKKRoO80nKlP-2FLm90aUF5CQqytHZ3qPz_74u5-2F-2BkTZmgMdnIu03cC4mmjtImPovdZ1zhiEax5tCGl-2BX4fyxb41gNAMGCWV5p-2F3ZXnrHzXrYb-2FEX1gm6iU0hCqBeZf0X8TDiJ-2FF2Pb5b0AYKY0z73yUDJwsJeyVUq2KtnZTX6IPrsDNa2UkzczY3hKG3S2HRTZ-2F-2F-2B5qIwx3CPXatPQFxQ52SkLNZ5jtWr2BsPEXqg9XUqI4UVveDZFOzr6Jpxsj6HpP5WPTNn9JfRQGsEK6lvy8Funa0EQyQ5-2Fcs-2B47BimpzF-2BEXne3mS-2BZNzrupqrFFi2fX4yIrWqpynPk6sL8GL1wQYphmXVe60iss42yhd4nNcrL3QnxXpmXREmBBaQDTLdBvlEgh-2BlmcKlZdw6YOLqURK9zvY-2FZT5KaZSep0LjLq0ckOBsBXggyUAiy01ioYfPSic9ypG0U9487DG53iY3jWQMuNSrHZokvJpDhdJ90J3JwMV8sFus1jAghL1xl0LlFTEJpqn6t0IDZ1Yply0uZ5X2veN2tA6ExM9KeLmTIDEk7ps7HLzVl7BhlE3HPR0nzpsaeXQjsAOoU-2BnH0eHPtBMoFi4jTJ-2BzcDaUWHmnZT1Xq5B2aktBwrvpQR2rC-2B2F3HcHTn3UrTwP8UrRAlyo7TVk8S34miQEhNN6-2BmmpLC1LwWfU-2FC5CHRq0sQuuBynnS2qztg0oS1no5qCyhZ0QvtvBawQvEzT9) at a **15% discount** and get it signed during the event! **Speaker 2: Sabine Bakker** Sabine is an inclusive user research consultant at the Accessibility Foundation, supporting organizations with making their products and services accessible for users of all (dis)abilities. She knows the challenges that UX teams face in demonstrating their added value from her 10+ years of experience at the tech start-up Blendle, cybersecurity scale-up Zivver, and low-code SaaS Mendix. She now helps teams with gaining a competitive edge through inclusive research and co-creation “from a to y”. Her talk will point you to the importance of user experiences that are not reflected in the training data of LLMs and the “curb cut”-effects to be gained which no synthetic persona will provide. **Speaker 3: Bo Kusters** Service Designer at the Dutch Tax Administration. With millions of users, the team often sees the same generic functional and emotional needs recurring in their user research. To avoid reinventing the wheel every time, they developed an interactive, tarot-style card game. With this clever deck, they make complex user insights tangible, allowing internal teams to apply this data directly in their daily work. Learn during this session how to successfully translate abstract research data into a practical design tool that actually works for your team. **Event details** **When:** May 21 \| 18:30 – 22:00 **Where:** Acato, Oudegracht 231, Utrecht **Cost:** Free \(Includes snacks & drinks sponsored by Visma \| ProActive\) **Capacity:** 50 spots Stay tuned for more updates! Later this week, we’ll also share our *Utrecht Visitor Guide* for those traveling in to make a day of it. See you there!

We’re excited to welcome everyone attending RustWeek 2026 for another collaborative day of coding! This year, we’re partnering up with [Zed](https://zed.dev/) and [Kiesraad](https://www.kiesraad.nl/) (Dutch Electoral Council) to bring you some fun challenges to hack on. Your friendly hackathon organizers are still pulling together details but we'll open the Discord channel soon with more details including hackathon tracks, prizes, and schedule for the day. And you will not be alone! * **From Kiesraad**, the Electoral Council’s Abacus engineers will be on-site to collaborate with you on software for election results and seat allocation, with several good first issues and challenges, and they would love your input and proof-of-concept ideas! * **From Zed**, we will have no less than seven devs from the Zed team ready to pair with you. This will be a great chance to get started with Zed (if you don't use it already), and work on some cool issues and projects together. You do **not** need a ticket to the RustWeek conference to attend the hackathon. The hackathon is free of charge; we will provide coffee, tea, lunch and refreshments. The hackathon will be held at Kinepolis, the same venue as the conference. Schedule Doors open: 9:00 Opening: 9.30 Hacking Begins: 10.00 Demos and wrap up: 6.00 We will keep you supplied with food and drinks during and after the hackathon. Looking for more fun things to do during RustWeek? Take a look at our activities page: https://2026.rustweek.org/events/social-activities/.

**ProductTank NoVA is back!** After a brief hiatus, we are relaunching the chapter with a format that cuts out the fluff and gets straight to the reality of building. Every product feed is flooded with AI hype right now, but what does it actually look like on the ground? Instead of a polished keynote, we are hosting **0 to 1 with AI: Real Product Talks**—a "Show & Tell" featuring 3–4 lightning talks focused on the intersection of AI and product. The framing for the talks is simple: *"Here is what I'm building, and here is what I'm stuck on."* We want to look at the messy, 0-to-1 reality of integrating AI into your workflows and products. *(Want to share what you are working on? Reach out! The bar is low-pressure, just 10–12 minutes to talk about a real AI problem you are trying to solve.)* **Agenda:** * **5:30 PM - 6:00 PM:** Doors open, networking, & name tags * **6:00 PM - 6:10 PM:** Welcome + Chapter Relaunch Intro * **6:10 PM - 7:30 PM:** Lightning Talks (Three 12-min talks + 5 mins Q&A each, with a 5-min stretch break) * **7:30 PM - 8:00 PM:** Open networking * **8:00 PM:** Soft close **Location & Logistics:** Herndon Fortnightly Library (Extended Hours Meeting Room) 768 Center St, Herndon, VA 20170 * **Parking:** We'll meet at the library, located just behind the Herndon Municipal Center. There is plenty of free public parking available around the municipal center. * **Metro & Bus:** Take the Silver Line to Herndon Metro Station, then connect via Fairfax Connector Route 921 or 950 to Historic Downtown Herndon. * **Driving (via VA-267/Dulles Toll Rd):** Take Exit 10 North (Centreville Rd, which becomes Elden St). Turn left onto Station St or Lynn St. * **Driving (via VA-286/Fairfax Co Pkwy):** Take the Elden St West exit. Turn right onto Lynn St. Looking forward to seeing everyone again and getting back to building!

Our first Technoverts meetup had a great turnout, so we're doing it again, this time with an optional conversation theme: **How people are actually using AI in everyday work and life**. This is not a panel or presentation, and I do not have a fixed agenda, it's just a relaxed coffee conversation for people in tech (or tech-adjacent fields) who are curious about practical AI use cases, useful tools, workflow hacks, weird experiments, and what's generally helping people right now. *Topics might include:* * AI tools people actually use at work * Productivity and automation * Prompting successes and failures * Writing, coding, research, analytics and creative use cases * What feels overhyped vs. genuinely useful. No expertise is required. It's completely fine to come mostly curious, skeptical, or just interested in meeting thoughtful people in tech. *What to expect:* * Low pressure conversation * A mix of tech talk and normal conversation Location: (Subject to change as I do more research) High Point Pub Tyson's Whole Foods, 1635 Boro Pl. (This is the cafe space on the second floor of the Whole Foods at the Boro, Tysons. Parking is free in the garage with validation). Time: 11 am (this is when the cafe opens). Everyone covers their own coffee/snacks. I'll arrive early and grab a table and will post details about location in the event discussion. Address: 1635 Boro Pl. Whole Foods 2nd Floor Cafe

📝 **Synopsis:** Last month we got the foundation in place. Now it's time to build on it. Join us as we pick up right where we left off and go hands-on with two of the most powerful services in the AWS ecosystem, EC2 and Lambda, all from your PowerShell prompt. 📘 **Description:** If you were with us in April, you already know how to set up the AWS CLI, install the necessary modules, authenticate securely, and manage IAM users and S3 buckets without ever touching the AWS console. This session picks up right where we left off. This time, we're heading into compute territory. We'll walk through spinning up EC2 instances from scratch—picking the right AMI, configuring security groups, and managing instance lifecycle with just a few clean lines of script. You'll see how to start, stop, and terminate instances programmatically, and why that matters when you're managing resources at scale. From there, we'll shift gears to Lambda, where you'll see how to invoke serverless functions, pass payloads, and pull CloudWatch logs directly from your terminal—no browser required. It's the kind of automation that makes your future self very happy. As always, expect live demos, real-world scenarios, and at least one moment where something doesn't go quite as planned—which, as it turns out, is usually the most useful part. Whether you were with us last month or are jumping in for the first time, you'll walk away with working scripts, a clearer picture of what's possible, and patterns you can actually take back to work on Monday. 📰 Extra credit: Bring your questions, your war stories, and your curiosity. This is a space for PowerShell enthusiasts to learn, share, and build together.

NOVA Code and Coffee is an inclusive, informal, co-working session. People of all skill levels are invited. The concept is simple, bring a laptop and ideas, we'll provide the coffee and donuts! Here's how it works: 1. At 10:15 everyone introduces themselves and briefly describes what brought them to Code & Coffee today (project, homework, networking, etc) 2. For the rest of the day, folks work in the communal space on their projects providing one another help and conversation as needed. Oh and they usually drink coffee and tea too! That's it! Hope to see you there! **Location** Our hosts are the Fairfax City Economic Development Building: [10300 Eaton Pl, Fairfax, VA 22030](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=d7298231ca2df594df822003f9a93517c788fceefe1fcbb79c8976696e341bc6JmltdHM9MTc1MzIyODgwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=180d0745-3b7f-69a1-23a2-11433a7868e5&u=a1L21hcHM_Jm1lcGk9MTA5fn5Ub3BPZlBhZ2V-QWRkcmVzc19MaW5rJnR5PTE4JnE9RmFpcmZheCUyMENpdHklMjBFY29ub21pYyUyMERldmVsb3BtZW50JnNzPXlwaWQuWU44NzN4ODI4MTk2Mjg0NTk5MDM4MTU0MiZwcG9pcz0zOC44NjE0NDYzODA2MTUyMzRfLTc3LjMwMjE3NzQyOTE5OTIyX0ZhaXJmYXglMjBDaXR5JTIwRWNvbm9taWMlMjBEZXZlbG9wbWVudF9ZTjg3M3g4MjgxOTYyODQ1OTkwMzgxNTQyfiZjcD0zOC44NjE0NDZ-LTc3LjMwMjE3NyZ2PTImc1Y9MSZGT1JNPU1QU1JQTA&ntb=1) Conference Room A- Large, Floor 1 This is a new venue for us, so give us some time to get more details about it. Driving is the best option. There is plenty of free on-site parking. Otherwise, we are a 22 minute bus from the Vienna Metro Station. Bicycling from Vienna is possible but difficult, though once you are here, there's a bike rack in the garage behind the building, and there's also a Capital Bikeshare dock 15 min walk away. **Sponsored by:** Thank you [Fairfax City Economic Development](https://gofairfaxcity.com/) and [Mason Enterprise Center](https://enterprise.gmu.edu/) for making this event possible! **Thank you so much to our wonderful sponsors!** Organized by [DMV Petri Dish](https://www.dmvpetridish.com/) **[Code of Conduct](https://github.com/NoVACodeCoffee/admin/blob/master/code-of-conduct.md):** We value the participation of each member of the community and want all attendees to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. To make clear what is expected, all delegates/attendees, organizers, and volunteers at any Nova Code & Coffee events are required to conform to our [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/NoVACodeCoffee/admin/blob/master/code-of-conduct.md).

\*\* Please go to [Ticket leap](https://events.ticketleap.com/events/greentara/women) to confirm registration \*\*\* In ancient Indian traditions, Chakras are seven spinning energy centers aligned along the spine that connect your physical body to your emotional and spiritual well-being. Each center represents a specific aspect of the human experience, ranging from physical safety to emotional connection to higher intuition and spiritual consciousness. In this series, we are going to explore the meaning of chakras and how to nurture them in our lives. This event is for women only. **January 4** Root chakra: security and foundation **February 15** Sacral chakra: Body and sexuality **March 15** Solar plexus chakra: Power **April 12** Heart chakra: Love **May 24** Throat chakra: Creativity **June 28** Third eye chakra: Knowledge and wisdom **August 2** Crown chakra: Spirituality Authentic Relating Women's Circle is an opportunity for women to be their authentic selves in a supportive and inclusive environment. In our society, women are often expected to take care of others and ignore our own needs. At Women's Circle, we give each other permission to voice our desires, frustrations, joys, and take up space. How do you REALLY feel? What is it that you want? How can we help you get there? Let us support you in finding out. Clarity, confidence, laughter, and friendship are likely outcomes. **What Is Authentic Relating?** Authentic is being real, honest, revealed, and transparent, allowing others to see, hear, and know our inner world. Relating is welcoming the other person's authentic self and weaving their reality and experience with our own. Authenticity and vulnerability are possible in an environment absent of judgement where we are confident that we will be received with openness, empathy, and compassion. Authentic Relating is about intentionally creating a space of equity, belonging, and inclusion. In a world where we often wear a mask, presenting some aspects of ourselves and hiding others in order to be accepted, Authentic Relating invites us to show up as we are. All parts, dimensions, emotions, and aspects that make us human are welcome in this practice. When we share from our authentic selves, we create the opportunity for genuine connections and self-understanding. The result is often moving and therapeutic. ### **Principles and Practices for Authentic Relating** Mindfulness: Slowing down, being present and aware of our inner state and surroundings. Empathy: Being aware of and releasing judgement, employing empathy, curiosity, openness, and recognition of multiple perspectives. Authenticity: Vulnerability, honesty, voicing our truth, self-awareness. Centering the other: No interrupting, giving advice, fixing, or telling your own story. Ask for permission to share your opinion, advice, your own story, and questions. Validating: acknowledging, appreciating, reflecting, empathizing, and presencing. Structure: Timed interactions where people take turns sharing, listening, and reflecting. Everyone has an equal amount of time to talk, listen, and be heard. Equity: Conversation partners are assigned randomly in order to avoid choosing partners based on personal preference. Group conversations typically involve going in order around a circle rather than popcorn style. Prepared questions: Directs conversation towards meaningful topics and deeper reflection. ### **Additional Information** What is Authentic Relating? [2 minute video ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJG7R7Da5xA)/ [15 minute video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJG7R7Da5xA) This event is open to woman identifying individuals. All ages, abilities, and sexual orientations welcome! If you would like to participate, please arrive early so we can start on time. Late arrivals jeopardize the emotional safety and flow of the event. Everyone who attends is invited to join a WhatsApp group to stay in touch and connect with others one-on-one. ### **Testimonials** "WOW OH WOW! It was total magic for me! When I got home last night and looked in the mirror, my face was aglow! At least 20 years were melted away! My face was glowing and beautiful! In the morning, I was happily surprised to see the same glow on my face! Somewhere deep inside of me was touched with healing energy. I had dropped my usual protective guard which I wasn’t even aware was there during the meeting. That you, Clara Fang! See you at the next meeting ☺️" "THANK YOU THANK YOU for hosting this event! It was amazing to connect with brilliant, authentic, and caring women, in person. I could not have asked for a more supportive and healing space. My heart is full. Everyone everywhere needs this, but especially here and now!" "Most social events are like fast food--stimulating but insubstantial. Authentic Relating feels like a carefully crafted and nutritious meal, made with love for you." "Clara is a warm and engaging facilitator who makes everyone feel welcome and comfortable to be their authentic selves." \*\* Please go to [Ticket leap](https://events.ticketleap.com/events/greentara/women) to confirm registration \*\*\*

Shut up & Write! meets at the Gum Springs public library room C. We hope to see you there! Shut Up & Write is not affiliated with the Loudoun County Public Libraries.