meg 🌸
@cactusflamingo.bsky.social
software engineer, previously principal QA engineer. pedals and runs. honorary yorkshire lass. collector of ancient code scrolls 🧠🌶️
words: https://cactus-flamingo.ghost.io/
words: https://cactus-flamingo.ghost.io/
Time for a cosy Sunday afternoon read. Brain is still feeling super slow but hopefully I can handle this.
November 2, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Time for a cosy Sunday afternoon read. Brain is still feeling super slow but hopefully I can handle this.
Driving in Leeds be like…
(glad it’s not me who has to do it)
(glad it’s not me who has to do it)
November 1, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Driving in Leeds be like…
(glad it’s not me who has to do it)
(glad it’s not me who has to do it)
Burnout is a crafty fucker - it let me think I had just about scraped through all of the big obligations I had, and then loudly announced itself by sitting me on my arse after a stomach bug and not letting me get up again. Even yoga feels too strenuous right now. Guess I’ve gotta take it easy.
November 1, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Burnout is a crafty fucker - it let me think I had just about scraped through all of the big obligations I had, and then loudly announced itself by sitting me on my arse after a stomach bug and not letting me get up again. Even yoga feels too strenuous right now. Guess I’ve gotta take it easy.
Looking at gaudy Rightmove listings whilst listening to the build music from The Sims is becoming a new favourite pastime.
October 24, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Looking at gaudy Rightmove listings whilst listening to the build music from The Sims is becoming a new favourite pastime.
The agony of finding a song which I want to play on loop all afternoon but it loops terribly 😭
October 17, 2025 at 12:29 PM
The agony of finding a song which I want to play on loop all afternoon but it loops terribly 😭
Japan Railway Journal is just so delightful. Thanks NHK World for making this available to me 😂 I love being able to do deep dives on various Japanese trains for no reason.
October 11, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Japan Railway Journal is just so delightful. Thanks NHK World for making this available to me 😂 I love being able to do deep dives on various Japanese trains for no reason.
So you can ask Slack “What does {name}do?” and it comes up with some AI generated summary based on your posts… it says that I’m a QA engineer who provides technical support, referencing a blog I wrote and on-call activities I did. I guess my past careers shape my present approach?
October 6, 2025 at 10:06 AM
So you can ask Slack “What does {name}do?” and it comes up with some AI generated summary based on your posts… it says that I’m a QA engineer who provides technical support, referencing a blog I wrote and on-call activities I did. I guess my past careers shape my present approach?
Now that the wedding is all done and dusted, I can actually focus on other things, like trying to meet new people in this city of mine. Or… I could get a motorbike license and drive many miles down the road to my old city and my long term friends. The license feels more doable 😅
October 5, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Now that the wedding is all done and dusted, I can actually focus on other things, like trying to meet new people in this city of mine. Or… I could get a motorbike license and drive many miles down the road to my old city and my long term friends. The license feels more doable 😅
Oh yay, finally starting to discover what performative behaviour is expected of me as a developer. I’ve been gently nudged to make a big deal out of the work I do by posting on our team Slack channel to Raise Visibility. Like my standup updates & the features don’t speak for themselves.
October 3, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Oh yay, finally starting to discover what performative behaviour is expected of me as a developer. I’ve been gently nudged to make a big deal out of the work I do by posting on our team Slack channel to Raise Visibility. Like my standup updates & the features don’t speak for themselves.
At some point I’ll post about testing and development again… but at the moment I’m far too excited about other things, like the fact I’ve just bought some lovely new kitchen knives. The catalyst for the purchase was the fact I bruised my palm chopping some butternut squash. That was a step too far.
October 1, 2025 at 2:10 PM
At some point I’ll post about testing and development again… but at the moment I’m far too excited about other things, like the fact I’ve just bought some lovely new kitchen knives. The catalyst for the purchase was the fact I bruised my palm chopping some butternut squash. That was a step too far.
Hey everyone, I’ve been away a while and it’s because I got married! Hoping to finally have some headspace for online things again.
Sorry to those who already saw the old post!
Sorry to those who already saw the old post!
September 25, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Hey everyone, I’ve been away a while and it’s because I got married! Hoping to finally have some headspace for online things again.
Sorry to those who already saw the old post!
Sorry to those who already saw the old post!
It is not a good sign when you start your week with the retro being cancelled due to outages over the weekend.
September 1, 2025 at 8:09 AM
It is not a good sign when you start your week with the retro being cancelled due to outages over the weekend.
Yesterday all my worst pairing fears came to pass - I hopped on a call with a senior, got a massive headache and totally forgot how to code. Couldn’t even figure out how to get the First() item from a list or how to do a Select 💀 He was lovely about it, but goddamn I wish this wasn’t a thing.
August 29, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Yesterday all my worst pairing fears came to pass - I hopped on a call with a senior, got a massive headache and totally forgot how to code. Couldn’t even figure out how to get the First() item from a list or how to do a Select 💀 He was lovely about it, but goddamn I wish this wasn’t a thing.
People say don’t cry over spilled milk but what about spilled olive oil? The cost of this little incident alone is enough to make me tear up a little.
August 19, 2025 at 2:06 PM
People say don’t cry over spilled milk but what about spilled olive oil? The cost of this little incident alone is enough to make me tear up a little.
Pretty Hate Machine again? Oh go on then. I still haven’t found many albums better than this.
August 19, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Pretty Hate Machine again? Oh go on then. I still haven’t found many albums better than this.
Bloodstock was awesome 🤘 Machine Head and Ministry absolutely killed it. We had some mega friendly campmates too. So good to feel that sense of belonging whilst also being pummelled by loud noises.
August 12, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Bloodstock was awesome 🤘 Machine Head and Ministry absolutely killed it. We had some mega friendly campmates too. So good to feel that sense of belonging whilst also being pummelled by loud noises.
Since I am “The Dev Who Was A Tester”, I’ve been pulled into the AI & Testing working group along with the QA folks. There’s a list of tools to review provided from up high, and a lot of them market themselves on how effectively they replace testers. This is going to be fun to navigate 😩
August 4, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Since I am “The Dev Who Was A Tester”, I’ve been pulled into the AI & Testing working group along with the QA folks. There’s a list of tools to review provided from up high, and a lot of them market themselves on how effectively they replace testers. This is going to be fun to navigate 😩
M&S have changed their “combo mix” crisps… I saw the packaging had changed and my heart sank. The tube shaped ones now have a stale texture and are just not as crunchy and satisfying. Curse my senses for noticing things like this. Why must the relentless push for “line go up” ruin my fave snacks?
August 3, 2025 at 3:08 PM
M&S have changed their “combo mix” crisps… I saw the packaging had changed and my heart sank. The tube shaped ones now have a stale texture and are just not as crunchy and satisfying. Curse my senses for noticing things like this. Why must the relentless push for “line go up” ruin my fave snacks?
There’s a massive difference between learning something because I want to, and learning something because I have to. The last while, it’s mostly been because I have to. I miss having the space to fall into a wiki hole for an evening!
August 1, 2025 at 7:36 AM
There’s a massive difference between learning something because I want to, and learning something because I have to. The last while, it’s mostly been because I have to. I miss having the space to fall into a wiki hole for an evening!
Has anyone actually managed to make a new friend in real life recently? I’m having trouble finding anyone receptive to new people nearby & I’m wondering what I could be doing wrong. Tried interest groups, classes, pubs etc but the only people who wanna be mates live in the city I moved away from 😭
July 27, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Has anyone actually managed to make a new friend in real life recently? I’m having trouble finding anyone receptive to new people nearby & I’m wondering what I could be doing wrong. Tried interest groups, classes, pubs etc but the only people who wanna be mates live in the city I moved away from 😭
So this was definitely on purpose, right? 😂
July 24, 2025 at 7:59 AM
So this was definitely on purpose, right? 😂
I never thought I’d see the day where developers voluntarily turn themselves into testers, but that’s exactly what they’re doing by inviting LLMs to create outputs from requirements they helped refine which they have to check for errors afterward. Obviously the tester skillset is valuable then.
July 22, 2025 at 1:54 PM
I never thought I’d see the day where developers voluntarily turn themselves into testers, but that’s exactly what they’re doing by inviting LLMs to create outputs from requirements they helped refine which they have to check for errors afterward. Obviously the tester skillset is valuable then.
Wow, I have a pretty severe case of Fuck Mondays.
July 21, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Wow, I have a pretty severe case of Fuck Mondays.
Yesterday I had someone on my team say “Oh Meg is really against AI” & then I was told I have to use it or I’ll get left behind. They just assumed I wasn’t using it or I was using it wrong. I have been using it for years now & I dislike that folks assume I’m ignorant because I criticise it.
July 18, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Yesterday I had someone on my team say “Oh Meg is really against AI” & then I was told I have to use it or I’ll get left behind. They just assumed I wasn’t using it or I was using it wrong. I have been using it for years now & I dislike that folks assume I’m ignorant because I criticise it.