Nerd Nite Philly

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Guys,

What could be nerdier than hackers, donkeys and 3D printing all in one night?  Only you holding a beer and listening to talks about these things.  Just kidding.  (Ok, not.)

The details:

Wednesday, October 10, 2012
doors at 6:30, show at 7:30
Frankford Hall
$5 cover

For your edification and amusement, we present:

“Join the Hackerspace Revolution.” by Georgia Guthrie 

News flash: the hacker uniform is no longer limited to snarky black t-shirts, shorts, and mid-calf socks. Anyone can be a hacker today, and at The Hacktory we think everyone should be a hacker. In this presentation, we’ll talk about our definition of “hacking” (no, it doesn’t include stealing credit card numbers), the roots of the hackerspace movement, what we hack at The Hacktory, and why you might want to get involved. We will have a brief demo of a project we’re currently working on with Carbon Dance Theatre and the Immersive Kinematics lab at UPenn, and details about the most amazing Halloween party ever that we’re hosting this October.

Bio: Georgia Guthrie is the Director of The Hacktory, Philly’s first hackerspace and a Designer at the Action Mill. For the past three years she has worked to expand people’s notion of hacking by creating new partnerships that explore the intersection of art and technology with the likes of Design Philadelphia, the Fleisher Art Memorial, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, NextFab Studio, Breadboard, Public Workshop, and others. This year, under her direction, The Hacktory was awarded a Knight Arts Challenge grant to create a tech-arts apprenticeship program, and she was named Hacker of the Year by Geekadelphia.

“The Kunga: Solving the Riddle of this Royal Steed” by Jill Weber

Ancient authors wrote about the Kunga – a prized animal that pulled the chariots of kings and gods – in the 3rd millenium BC.  But, was this donkey x wild half-ass hybrid real, or just propaganda for the State? Here, I recount my pusuit of this animal across the Syrian wilderness and through the maze of academic intrigue.

Bio:  Jill Weber received her PhD in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006.  This has allowed her to continue her travels to Syria, Turkey and Armenia – making many other stops and drinking lots of wine along the way.  She opened Jet Wine Bar in Philadelphia in November of 2010, and continues to drink lots of wine!

“Modern Fabrication Techniques: Laser Cutters, Milling Machines + 3D Printers” by Adolphe Alexander

In this age of computing labor intensive processes of fabrication are being handed over to machines. Compared to traditional machining, computer-aided manufacturing increases productivity, precision and safety of the human-operator. This presentation will explore the current capabilities and the future potential of various automated manufacturing processes.

Bio: Adolphe Alexander is a researcher, designer and engineer who specializes in fabrication of electronic and mechanical devices. He has a decade of experience developing test-equipment for civilian, military and commercial research facilities including CERN, JPL and Seagate. His current set of interests focus on radio-frequency amplification, aquaponics and geological illumination.

And featuring music by The Missing Keys
Drawing on an eclectic collection of influences, The Missing Keys have combined elements of Rock, Blues, Jazz and Psychedelia(!) into a sound that stands tall on even the most eclectic shows.
BE THERE AND BE SQUARE.

Hey guys!

Oktoberfest is here!  We at Nerd Nite are amped up to celebrate it with you in as nerdy a way as possible.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012
doors at 7:00, show at 7:30
Frankford Hall at Frankford & Girard
$5 cover

On tap:

Dear Nerds,

Join us for the August edition of Nerd Nite.  It will be creepy, crawly, delicious and magical!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012
doors at 7:00, show at 7:30
Frankford Hall at Frankford & Girard
$5 cover

On tap for you:

“Grow. Cook. Teach.” by Danny Gerber
Danny has been teaching nutrition in Philadelphia for the past 18 years and he’ll be sharing some of some of the hands-on, interactive food systems lessons developed at the Urban Nutrition Initiative over this time.  Along with some stories from the field, this workshop will provide an overall picture of what’s wrong with our food system and how you can get involved in the movement to transform it.  Time permitting there will be an awesome hands-on food prep demonstration with opportunities for audience participation!

“How the $%@# Did You Do That? (Why Magic Tricks Work Best on Smart People)” by Francis Menotti
We always ask how magic tricks work. Perhaps a more pertinent question is why they do. Grab a drink, watch some magic, then learn a bit about psychology of misdirection and deception that magicians use to fool your senses. Maybe even learn a trick or two in the process!

Francis Menotti does the impossible. OK… he creates the illusion thereof.  A full-time magician based out of Philadelphia, Menotti also writes, creates and directs magic for other magicians, theatre, film and television. Steve Martin calls his work “very clever,” and Teller has referred to him as “the future of magic,” but what do they know?

And featuring: magic by Francis Menotti and music by Carol Cleveland Sings

Dearest Nerds,

Please do join us for the next Nerd Nite:

Wednesday, July 11, 2012
doors at 7:00, show at 7:30
Frankford Hall at Frankford & Girard
$5 cover

“BEER MYTHS DEBUNKED!” by Suzanne Woods of Allagash Brewing Co. and Mark Weinman of Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Let’s debunk some beer myths.  Why are triples lighter than dubbels?  Why the fancy schmancy chalice for the aforementioned beers?  Who put sugar in my beer?  Why the skunk?  I’m bloated and it’s all beer’s fault!  Dark beer = strong beer.  Suzanne will debunk some age-old myths and hopes to help people to become better beer lovers, tasters and activists.  Mark will share his brewery’s story – What makes Great Lakes so, well . . . GREAT.   He will execute a tutored tasting of the Wright Pils and Dortmunder Gold which Frankford Hall runs regularly.

Bios: Suzanne Woods has been slinging and singing about beer in Philly since 2001. She founded In Pursuit of Ale, a lady-centric beer clubs in June of 2005. She judged the World Beer Awards in 2007 and won the 2009 Memphis Taproom “Mystery Beer weekend challenge” by identifying 27 out of 30 beers. In other words, she drinks A LOT. She spends her days cruising I-95 as the Mid-Atlantic market manager for Allagash Brewing Co.  Mark Weinman is the regional sales manager for Great Lakes Brewery.  People appreciate him for his love of beer and soccer but resent him for graduating from St. Joes.  He knows a lot about water and isn’t afraid to admit it.

“What is Float Glass?” by Jill Betters
Listen people, the stuff in your doors and windows just didn’t appear out of thin air. Come on down for a brief introduction to the materials and manufacturing processes of float glass, the sexiest building product out there today. There’s enough material to fill at least three hours, so bring tomatoes for the 20 minute mark.

Bio: Jill Betters spent five years working in the glass industry not using her Chemistry degree. She knows entirely too much about the insulating properties of spacer systems and fenestration heat transfer. Most of her nerding is now done via articles in Scientific American and beer “research”. Jill lives in Fishtown and spends a lot of her free time wreaking havoc in the neighborhood association.

“Traumatic Brain Injury? Technologically Beyond It!” by Thomas Dixon
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has been labeled the “signature injury” of the Iraq war because of the concussive forces at hand in explosions, which soldiers are surviving through in greater numbers due to improvements in body armor. Apparently, being hit by a car can lead to a similar presentation of symptoms, as had happened in my case. I ended up with an episodic memory deficit (i.e. difficulty with being able to keep track of my life’s events), while all other areas of functioning remained intact. In this talk, I aim to show how certain strategies, in light of currently available technology, have allowed me to both compensate for and go far beyond what is possible in organic episodic memory function.

Bio: One of Philly’s nerdy native sons, Thomas Dixon kept himself busy during college with mood disorder research in child and adolescent psychiatry at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and teaching ESL to immigrants. After coming back from teaching middle school students in S. Korea, and while preparing to enter medical school, his life changed drastically on a run on 11/22/10…

AND:
Music by Beta Test, a small ensemble playing contemporary classical music, video game/geek soundtracks, and rock music.