Software QA and Testing

NuCalm is a patented, drug-free neuroscience technology designed to rapidly reduce stress, improve sleep quality, and aid recovery by shifting the body from a "fight-or-flight" state to a deeply relaxed parasympathetic state within minutes. [https://stamina.xosialx.com/nucalm.html](https://stamina.xosialx.com/nucalm.html) It uses neuroacoustic software, a biosignal processing disc, and light-blocking eye masks to guide brain waves from active beta states down to alpha/theta (relaxation/meditation) levels NuCalm uses a patented, clinically proven pitch and frequency matrix with non-linear oscillating algorithms to safely present your brain with precise signals, prompting what is known as a frequency-following response. Your brain synchronizes with the incoming NuCalm signals helping you naturally and effortlessly manage your state of mind by speeding up or slowing down your brain wave frequencies. NuCalm has mapped all of your brain wave frequency zones and created products to safely and predictably guide you to whatever mental state you desire. The amazing thing is, NuCalm is all-natural and works every time you use it within minutes. The best thing to do now is to watch the video on the website and download the NuCalm app. All you need is a headset and eye mask. This app purchase is covered with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Get started today and FEEL the difference even 15 minutes can make. WATCH THE VIDEO ON THE WEBSITE. [https://stamina.xosialx.com/nucalm.html](https://stamina.xosialx.com/nucalm.html)

EVERY FRIDAY! FREE dance classes & social dancing and Reggaeton every week with Obsesión Latina - Salsa & Bachata & OYE Latino at The Albion Rooftop - South Melbourne! Main room: 6:45pm Doors open. Come in for a drink! 7:00pm 2 levels of Salsa classes 8:00pm 2 levels of Bachata classes 9:00pm Non-stop Bachata & Salsa 11:00pm Reggaeton all night! Rooftop: 11:00pm After the Bachata & Salsa in the main room, we can head upstairs to the rooftop for some more Bachata & Salsa until late. FREE entry all night every Friday! Book your class spots to helps us manage the class ratios and also because we may need to start capping numbers as we sometimes have over 140 students! First-timers welcome! No need to bring a partner, but the more the merrier! Dress as you would usually going to a bar or club. Guys smart casual, no trackies! https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/free-salsa-bachata-classes-social-every-friday-in-south-melbourne-tickets-1978557074471?aff=oddtdtcreator

TO MAINTAIN A GENDER BALANCE ALL MALES MUST ATTEND WITH A FEMALE FRIEND, NO EXCEPTIONS. All females are welcome to attend alone but encouraged to attend with a female friend too for free drinks and food! MUST TAP “ATTEND” and include all guests. UNLIKE other meetups which are overwhelmingly male dominant, we provide ONLY gender balanced events where females also have a chance to meet other females, not only men. WE ARE COMMITTED TO EQUAL GENDER REPRESENTATION IN THE IT INDUSTRY. 8PM EVERY FRIDAY & SATURDAY (LAST ENTRY STRICTLY 8.30PM) AT 215 QUEEN’S

Keep the energy high with our Saturday Pickleball Socials! Whether you’re playing for fun or looking for some friendly competition, this session is perfect for all skill levels. 💰 $10 per person \| 1\-hour session 🏓 Basic paddles & balls provided 👥 Approx. 6 players per court 🔥 Great for fitness & social play! 📍 Location: SPORTS POINT Altona North, Unit 1, 64-66 McArthurs Road, Altona North, VIC 3025 📞 Contact: 0403 556 859 \| ✉ Email: admin@sportspoint\.com\.au Register for SOCIALS using any of the below options: \- https://bookings\.sportspoint\.com\.au/ \- https://opensports\.net/sports\-point\-indoor\-pickleball/tab/events

**🙋‍♀️**Welcome to FREE FRIDAY Social + language ​exchange meetup. Meet people from many countries and make new friends. 👉We always have MANY people attending our Friday event since this event is listed in 3 different meetup groups. Some people come early some come late, best time is between 6:30pm to 9:30pm. 👉This is a great opportunity to learn to speak English with native and non-native speakers. Many English speakers, Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and other Asians attend our fun and friendly party. 👉It is suitable for international students, working holiday people, professional ex-pats, and local Australians.

**Welcome to Incubator Melbourne!** Curious about how board games are made? This is our regular event to test prototype games. Newcomers are very welcome and no experience is needed. You don’t need to bring a game to join and play. ***Please RSVP here and cancel if you cannot attend.*** *Total attendance is higher than the Meetup RSVP list, and we typically have a good-sized group on the day.* 🗺️ **HOW TO FIND US** The Lion Hotel is on level 3 of Melbourne Central. We’ll be down the back at Jac’s Bar. Look for our tables and grab a seat. 👀 **WHAT TO EXPECT** • Bring a game to test, or just join in others’ games • Two sessions: short games first, longer games after lunch • Quick intros, setup, lunch break, then afternoon games ⏰ **TIMES** • 11:00–11:30am: Intros and setup • 11:30–1:00pm: Short games • 1:00–1:30pm: Lunch • 1:30–4:00pm: Longer games

**—— Details ——** We will meet at the starting point, take round trip around the Tan and a short stroll inside the botanical garden. BYO coffee/ water bottle. Dress for outdoor walk. Come along & simply say, "Hi, it's my first time joining the group event." or ask the organiser to introduce you. You can take it slow and start from there. If you enjoy the conversations, take the initative to invite others to hang out over a bite/ drink after. **\-\-\- Running Late \-\-\-** If you are running late, please message at least 30 mins in advance. We will wait up to 15 mins before heading off. We won't be able to keep track of messages once we start. **\-\-\- RSVP / Change of Plan \-\-\-** Change of plan or decide not to attend is absolutely okay. Please do update your RSVP to "NO", so others can have the opportunity to attend. **\-\-\- Intro \-\-\-** Kudos 2 Friends is a Melbourne based community created for individuals who are looking to expand their social circle and form long term friendship overtime. Join us on a fun journey as we explore cafes, restaurants and bars, including drinks, meals, outings, hiking, sporting, chilling, etc. Above all, we’d like to celebrate the importance of friendships. So if you are looking to expand your social circle and explore new adventures and venues in Melbourne, come join us! **\-\-\- Heylo App \-\-\-** We use Heylo App for more fluid communication, including ideas, interest groups, questions etc. Please download the Heylo app from the App store and let the organizer know if you would like to be added to the Heylo Group at the event. We will send an invite to attendees to the group. (give us some time) **\-\-\- Rules \-\-\-** Admin will only add members to the group with a clear profile picture. (No hidden behind sunglasses, masks, drawings) **You might be removed from the group in the case of…** * no show * without a clear profile picture * anti-social behaviour (i.e. acts rude / disrespectful regularly) * take advantage of individuals for personal gain(s) **\-\-\- Privacy \-\-\-** Do not disclose your contact number in this post comment. We will delete your comment/info as soon as we see it to protect your privacy.

It's Jugger time! Get on down to Hawthorn for fun, sun, exercise, and silly shenanigans! * ✅ Free to attend * ⚔️ Jugger Equipment is supplied * 🍜 Post-training social lunch - all welcome * ➡️ [Find us on Discord](https://discord.gg/WHnMyk56Cu) Jugger is an exciting, mixed-gender soft combat sport. Two teams use a selection of padded foam spars to tag opponents as they aim to put the jugg (the game ball) into their opponent's goal. **Watch Jugger being played in [this excellent short demo video](https://vimeo.com/28592980).** Jugger Melbourne training sessions include both full games of jugger, as well as a variety of training drills designed to promote **teamwork, communication, exercise, health and fitness, and teach core game skills.** After training we head across to Glenferrie Rd for lunch and socializing, which you are welcome (and encouraged!) to join. **‍🏃‍♀️‍➡️ New Player Info / Who Can Join** New players are always welcome! Our experienced coaches will teach you basics to get you and and swinging in no time Jugger is easy to pickup the basics while deep to master. We have a minimum age policy of 16 years (please note, anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a guardian), but other than that we welcome anyone of all fitness levels. Jugger is a great way to keep active, and a fun way to meet new people in a friendly and inclusive community! **👟 How to Join a Session and What to Bring** Joining is simple - just show up! RSVPing on Meetup or Discord is a big help as it helps us plan around expected numbers. You are also welcome to bring along any interested friends and family. **⚔️ Jugger equipment is supplied.** We have a collection of gear to loan out to new players. Bring a water bottle (there is a tap nearby), sunscreen, and wear comfortable clothes and shoes for running around in - and that you don't mind getting a bit dirty! Recommend but not required items include: sunglasses, football boots, kneepads, and gloves if you have them. You don't need any of these to get started, but you may find you want them if you become a regular. **✅ Are there any costs are involved?** Our training sessions are **free to attend** as often as you like, we are essentially just a group of friends that meet for training and socializing on the weekend. The Australian Jugger League has a voluntary annual membership that helps to support the sport (including maintaining equipment and paying for Meetup), and we encourage people to join once they become a regular attendee or begin attending tournaments. However there's no obligation so spend any money when you're first trying it out or just attending casually. **➡️ External Links** We organise our regular players through our Discord group and their attendance is not often represented in the Meetup attendance numbers (we use Meetup to reach out to new people). Events are also (though less regularly) posted to Facebook, while event photos and videos are shared on our Instagram. * [Join our Discord](https://discord.gg/WHnMyk56Cu) * [Jugger Melbourne on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/JuggerMelbourne) * [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/jugger_melbourne/) * [Australian Jugger League website](https://www.jugger.au/) \*\* See you on Sunday \*\*

Join us for a relaxing time of folding together at the Ratio chocolate factory in Brunswick! Bring a fun origami project to fold and share, all while sipping on delectable hot chocolate! Standard origami paper will be provided. We just ask for a gold coin to help with group expenses.

**Music Soothes the Savage Beast** How do we measure the affect of a person and their work on people? How did Mozart affect his generation and future generations? What is Elvis’ affect? Why is Taylor Swift so popular? **1\. Music and affect** Read part of the article by Reimer. “When I was sixteen, a junior in high school in Brooklyn, I auditioned for the City High School Band of New York and was placed as first chair clarinet. First rehearsal, a piece we played (I don't remember what it was except that it was new to me) had a long, melodic clarinet solo, with accompaniment. When we finished playing it the director stopped the band and said, "Very nice, first clarinet. Let's do it again, this time with more feeling." Reimer, B. (2004). Once More with Feeling: Reconciling Discrepant Accounts of Musical Affect. In Source: *Philosophy of Music Education Review* (Vol. 12, Issue 1). [https://about.jstor.org/terms](https://about.jstor.org/terms) 1. What does it mean to “Play with Feeling”? 2. Which music has moved you? Was it how it was played, the person playing it or the music itself? 3. What sort of emotion did you feel when moved by music, can you label the emotion? **2\. Mozart and Affect** Clip from Amadeus Film [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKRened1Fik](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKRened1Fik) 0:00- 3:00 - 7:20- end 1. What were your impressions of the person of Mozart versus the music of Mozart? 2. What emotions were present in the room? 3. What context did knowing that Salieri was the court composer and the king himself playing the music have on the affect/feeling in the room? **3\. Theories of The “Mozart Effect” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLASrOujkGw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLASrOujkGw)** a) Why do you think people thought Mozart made people smarter? b) Has music ever contributed to better study or cognitive effects for you? c) Why do we feel that classical music is more “virtuous” than pop or rock music? **4\. Elvis \- clip from a Ed Sullivan** Video 1: Ed Sullivan Performance [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYWl13IWhY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYWl13IWhY) Video 2: Cultural impact of Elvis’ performance [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLISRukZc10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLISRukZc10) 1. What is the initial response to Elvis’ presence and performance? 2. What is the audience response to his introduction to the song? 3. What moral and cultural rules did Elvis break? **5.a Cardigan Music video** **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-a8s8OLBSE ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-a8s8OLBSE)** **5.b Article** “We’re in a log cabin replete with open fire, the kind of warm Romantic environment where one imagines Thoreau writing into the evening. On the wall hangs a faded portrait beside an oil painting of a rustic country cottage. It’s early in the morning, or late at night, and a singer, wearing what appears to be an antebellum nightdress, is serenading us on a battered old piano, before suddenly she opens the top of the instrument and climbs in, all the time enveloped in an enchanted golden powder. She reappears in a mythic forest imbued with vivid green hues and vibrant, saturated moss. We’re watching the music video for Taylor Swift’s first single “cardigan,” from her 2020 album folklore.1 Like Lewis Carrol’s Alice or the children in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia, Swift opens the piano lid and enters another world (Figure 1). The fantastical folkloric quality of this setting in the Arcadian woods, what Vernallis would call the “implied geography of the video” (258), is rein­forced by emotive lighting and majestic waterfalls (Figure 2). Next, the piano stool acts as a portal, transporting Swift to sea, the instrument itself acting as life raft in a scene not unlike one from James Cameron’s Titanic (1997), before finally taking her home. The drenched protagonist comforts herself with the eponymous cardigan upon her return, in a significant teleological moment of audio-visual synchronization (Figure 3). What is being mediated here? Why this turn to folklore and indie-folk esthetics in Swift’s work? I suggest that this single and, indeed, the album folklore provide a peak example of a societal search for foundations during the pandemic”. McGrath, J. (2023). The Return to Craft: Taylor Swift, Nostalgia, and Covid-19. *Popular Music and Society*, 46(1), 70–84. [https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2022.2156761](https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2022.2156761) 1. What is Swift evoking in her video? Do you agree with McGrath that she's evoking a sense of a more magical world? 2. Why do you think this song had such an impact during the pandemic? 3. Does Swift remind you of other artists or evoke another time that's nostalgic to you? **Afterparty** What is your favourite music? Do you use music to soothe yourself or psyche yourself up to anything? Think of powerful songs that have stayed with you for a long time. Why do you think they have stayed with you?

Join us for a small, friendly English conversation meetup at a cafe. This is a relaxed language practice event, not a dating or party group. We’ll use simple conversation topics and small-group chats so everyone gets a chance to speak. All English levels are welcome. Mistakes are okay — the goal is to practise, build confidence, and meet respectful people over coffee. Please buy a drink or snack to support the cafe.

**Welcome to our Saturday Social + Language Exchange Meetup 🌍** We meet at **The Oxford Scholar, 427 Swanston Street (Melbourne CBD).** We ask that you **pay $3 at entry**. *** ### 💬 Find your people (New!) Looking to practice a specific language? Post in the discussion using: * **#LearnSpanish** * **#LearnEnglish** * **#TeachEnglish** * **#LearnJapanese** * etc. 👉 This helps others find you faster and makes it easier to connect. *** ### *** ### ⏰ What to expect We consistently have **100–120 attendees** every Thursday (across multiple Meetup groups). People arrive at different times — **best time to come is between 6PM and 9PM.** Come solo or with friends — most people come alone and join conversations naturally. *** ### 🌏 Who attends? A mix of: * Native & non-native English speakers * International students * Backpackers & working holiday travellers * Professionals & expats * Local Australians You’ll meet people from: Europe, China, Japan, Korea, Latin America, and more. *** ### 🗣️ Why join? 👉 A relaxed, social way to practice English 👉 Meet people from around the world 👉 No pressure, no structure — just conversations *** ### 🍕 FREE DRINKS & FOOD FOR FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERS! We’re looking for **friendly volunteers** to help welcome newcomers and keep the vibe social. 👉 You’ll get: * Free drinks (beer/soft drink) * Food (pizza, wedges, etc.) * A fun team to hang out with No experience needed — many of our volunteers are **first-timers too**. Interested? 👉 [www.Linguas.au/Volunteer](www.Linguas.au/Volunteer) *** 📲 **More info:** [https://instagram.com/Linguas.AU](https://instagram.com/Linguas.AU) or **@Linguas.AU**

QA or the Highway is a one-day, affordable, regional, professional conference featuring real-world experience and thought leadership in the QA and testing industry. This is a ticketed event please register here: https://www.qaorthehwy.com/ Featured Keynote Speakers: **Matthew-Hope Eland** **(Wizard at Leading EDJE)** \- An AI Specialist and Wizard at Leading EDJE who is known to teach software engineering\, AI\, and data science concepts in the most ridiculous ways possible\. Matt has used machine learning to settle debates over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie\, reinforcement learning to drive the behavior of digital squirrels\, data analytics to suggest improvements to his favorite TV show\, and AI agents to play board games and create an AI agent with the personality of a dog\. Matt is the author of "Data Science in \.NET with Polyglot Notebooks" and "Refactoring with C\#" as well as several LinkedIn Learning courses\. Matt helps organize the Central Ohio \.NET Developer Group\, runs several blogs and a YouTube channel\, has a Master’s of Science in Data Analytics\, and is a current Microsoft MVP in AI and \.NET\. **Tatyana Arbouzova** **(CEO at Innovate QA)** \- Tatyana Arbouzova is an engineering and business leader with a strong background in Quality Engineering across multiple industries\, including Big Tech\, Healthcare\, and Entertainment\. She has held leadership roles at world\-class companies such as Microsoft\, VMware\, Disney\, and The Pokémon Company International\, where she focused on building quality\-driven cultures and scaling teams to deliver high\-impact products\. With decades of experience\, Tatyana has helped organizations transform their quality practices so teams can deliver software efficiently\, confidently\, and with measurable business outcomes\. Today\, Tatyana advises software companies on adopting AI to optimize quality practices and improve how software is delivered at scale\. She is also a passionate community builder and the founder of Innovate QA\, a thriving Seattle\-based community and conference for quality professionals\.

**\*\*\* We've Moved! Bold Penguin - 6555 Longshore St, Dublin, OH 43017 \*\*\*** Talk by Todd Nussbaum LGTM is not a Strategy Pull requests are where quality is won or lost, and too many teams still treat reviews with a rushed "LGTM". In this talk, you'll learn a practical, repeatable approach to high-quality PR reviews that balances speed with risk management - covering how to triage changes quickly, review in layers, and write comments that lead to better outcomes without friction. We'll also show how QA and developers bring complementary lenses to the same review, turning acceptance criteria, scenarios, and observability into shared responsibility instead of production surprises. You'll leave with a lightweight framework and concrete habits for authors and reviewers that make reviews faster, kinder, and more effective. **AGENDA:** * See updates to parking below * Doors open at 5:30, feel free to come and hang out before! * Official start of the meeting is at 6:30pm * After the meeting is done, we will go hang out at a nearby space in Bridge Park! If you can, please sign up via meetup by noon the day of the meeting so we can have an estimate headcount for food :) We always order extra, so feel free to join us even if you don't get signed up! Thank you to Bold Penguin for providing the food and location! **Parking & Arrival:** **Parking:** Parking in Bridge Park is free. The closest lots are the Mooney Garage and the Hotel/Endres Garage. **Entry:** The doors to the office are to the right of PINS. The street level door and elevators lock at 6pm. If you arrive after that, someone should be there to let you in, else call the number posted. Take the elevator to the 2nd floor. Once you exit the elevator, turn right. \*\*\* We are a bunch of professionals, students, and geeks who are excited about Ruby programming language ([http://ruby-lang.org/](http://ruby-lang.org/)) and Rails framework ([http://rubyonrails.com/](http://rubyonrails.com/)) and the joy they have brought back to web development. Our main goal is to share the love of the Ruby and Rails ecosystems with anyone that is interested. We cater to everyone, whether a non-programmer through advanced Rubyists. * We give lectures on programming topics * We freely provide decades worth of experience * For full details of this month's meeting please visit [http://columbusrb.com](http://columbusrb.com)

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** TBD **YouTube Link** TBD

Columbus Code & Coffee is an inclusive, informal co-working session. People of all skill levels attend, and we love it that way. Many people (optionally) bring projects to work on, and many other people (optionally) socialize the entire time. It's entirely up to you! **What to Expect at the Intro Circle** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ Near the beginning of the event (1:30 pm), we do a standup: * Organizer announcements, updates, and logistics Round 1 - (7 secs max): * Your name * What you're working on * What you can help others with Round 2: * Community events you wanna plug. If none, that's cool too. Round 3: * Job opportunities you're hiring for OR announce that you are looking for one. If none, that's cool. After the introduction circle, everything is self-organized! Feel free to work alone, pair up, attend one of our workshops/presentations, or mingle!

Our hybrid event takes place both as a face-to-face and as an online meeting using the GoToMeeting software application: [ ](http://app.goto.com/meeting/449766181)[CinMIC LINK](https://meet.goto.com/449766181). This club is an operating stock investment club, open to the public as an educational opportunity. Each month this club covers an investment educational topic or presents a teaching segment. Stocks are discussed and studied. Because it is EARNINGS SEASON, we will be having full reports on more than half of our portfolio holdings along with a short educational presentation. There will be a stock study and if time allows, we end the meeting with a "Talkin' Stocks" segment of two quick company overviews. Investors at all levels are welcome at the face-to-face meeting or online by using this[ ](http://app.goto.com/meeting/449766181)[CinMIC LINK](https://meet.goto.com/449766181). Get to know fellow investors!

Customer identity resolution becomes increasingly complex as organizations scale across multiple systems, regions, and data formats. Traditional rule-based approaches often fail to keep up with data variability, require constant manual tuning, and struggle with real-time processing needs. This session presents a practical approach to building a scalable identity resolution pipeline using AWS services and modern AI techniques. The architecture combines data ingestion through Amazon S3 and AWS Glue, transformation pipelines using Spark on EMR, and machine learning models deployed via SageMaker for entity matching and standardization. Graph-based relationship modeling is implemented using Amazon Neptune to improve resolution accuracy by incorporating household and shared attribute context. We will walk through how machine learning models can be used for name and address normalization, how intelligent blocking strategies improve matching efficiency, and how feedback loops can be introduced to continuously improve accuracy. The session also highlights how serverless components such as AWS Lambda can be used for orchestration and real-time processing. **SPEAKER BIO** Mosaic Syed is a Senior Data Engineering and Cloud Solutions Architect with over 20 years of experience designing and delivering scalable, secure, and high-performance data solutions across global enterprise environments. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosaic-basha-syed-92300856 **CALL FOR SPEAKERS** Learn more: [https://www.awscolumbus.com/get-involved/](https://www.awscolumbus.com/get-involved/) **THANK YOU** *VEEAM* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Veeam*, please visit their website: [https://www.veeam.com/](https://www.veeam.com/) **DIRECTIONS** 8800 Lyra Dr #450 · Columbus, OH go to 4th floor. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com