Tag Archives: lightning talks

Ignite Ann Arbor videos posted!

Ignite talks have been presented all over the country, and I was thrilled to hear that Ryan Burns was organizing them in Ann Arbor.  About 200 people packed into the Neutral Zone on Washington on Tuesday, June 30, for Ignite Ann Arbor. If you missed the event, you can check out the videos posted on the Ignite YouTube channel.  I suspect that the videos will encourage you to attend in person when Ignite talks return to Ann Arbor in the fall!

The Ignite format is …. 5 minutes total, with 20 slides, slides advancing AUTOMATICALLY every 15 seconds.  I've attended and participated in a lot of 5 minute lightning talks, but the auto advancing of slides adds a new twist! Your timing had better be ON or the slide will go on without you (or linger as you wait, uncomfortably).  But, I found that I liked the format.  The energy level remained really high and the slides were engaging and interesting.   The speakers all did a fantastic job of staying on message and keeping with their slides.  I was quite impressed.

Here's a quick summary of what you will find on the You Tube channel:

Eli Neiburger of the Ann Arbor District Library kicked things off in amazing style with "Hack your Library".  His energy and excitement really set the pace for the remainder of the evening!

Matt Orishi is a Neutral Zone teen, and he did an amazing job of composing an electronic lullaby.  Not to mention, he's a TEEN! Good job, Matt. 

I spoke on the Under-representation of Women in Computer Science.  I was shocked to learn that the number of women in this field that I truly enjoy has been declining since I graduated in 1986, and felt the need to talk about this.  I hope that other computer scientists, male and female, will talk more about what we do.  I'll write more about this in an upcoming blog post.

Aydin Akcasu scaled his Wii Will Wii Will Rock You talk down to the Ignite format, and it was quite well received.

James Deakins talked about making your own weather balloon (and sending chocolate into near space!).

Stephanie Murray talked about the past and future of the news in this town.

Zach Steindler thrilled the crowd with a discussion of inexpensive, do it yourself camping gear.  My personal favorite?  The pop can stove.

Brad Boegler talked about receiving real time NOAA weather satellite imagery in your home (pretty sure that when my husband sees this, we will be hacking along with him).

Laura Fisher talked about classic visual ratios.  I didn't know that ratios were so fascinating, but she's right: they are!

Bob Stack talked about his experience with a fabulous group of people, coworking at the Mech Lab.

Kyle Mulka talked about the Many Uses of Twitter.

Eric Jankowski promoted the game Go (he sure makes it sound easy!).

Dave Askins talked about the history of the Ann Arbor Chronicle and the TeeterTalk.

John Barrie wrapped up the night with a discussion about how to end poverty using clean green technology.

Ignite talks will return to Ann Arbor in the fall.  I'm already looking forward to them.

Lightning talks all over the region!

After a year or so of hosting public lightning talks on Fridays, we're finding that it's no longer necessary for us to continue to do so.  We're happy to say that other groups have introduced lightning talks and are holding them in the evenings (of note: Ann Arbor .NET Developer Group, Detroit Java User Group), so there are plenty of opportunities to join in on these talks.  With summer upon us, schedules (and art fair) make Friday afternoon events challenging anyhow, but stay tuned.  We'll announce a replacement for Friday afternoon lightning talks in the fall.

Lightning talks tomorrow (and a special guest!)

As we normally do on every other Friday, SRT Solutions will hold lightning talks tomorrow at our office.  But THIS WEEK, we have a special guest.  Catherine Devlin, one of our favorite python developers and PyCon and PyOhio organizers, will be joining us!  I first met Catherine at CodeMash 2007,and am thrilled that she's making her way "up north" (from Dayton) this week.  Catherine came to one of our first lightning talks last year.  She always has something interesting to say.

As always, I'm looking forward to lightning talks!  Please join us.

Lightning talks are our way of keeping up to date with what the other SRT developers are doing, as well as what the other developers in the community are doing.  We love it when outside people attend.  People come to listen and to speak (no one is forced to speak).  We'll start at 3:30, with people writing their topics on the whiteboard.  Then we'll start, giving each presenter 5 minutes to talk about the topic of his or her choice, before moving on to the next one.  It's great fun and very informative.

SRT Solutions is at 206 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 200, Ann Arbor.  That's at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Washington.  Entrance to our building is from Fifth.  Take elevator to 2R or take stairs PAST Suite 225 to Suite 200.

Lightning talks at SRT Solutions on Friday

I wanted to remind Ann Arborites and those nearby, that SRT Solutions is continuing with Lightning Talk Fridays, and the next event is on Friday, January 30.  Lightning talks are a series of 5 minute talks about any tech topic (no powerpoint necessary, although some people use it).   Anyone can speak, anyone can come just to listen.

We'll start at around 3:30 pm and go until about 5.

We really never know who will show up, or what will be discussed.  But it's always interesting …

Join us!

Ann Arbor events this week: Continuous Integration and Lightning Talks

Jay Harris will be speaking at the Ann Arbor .NET Developer Group Meeting tomorrow night, October 8.  The topic is Continuous Integration.  Join us at SRT Solutions, 206 S. Fifth, Suite 200.  The meeting is open to everyone and free (donations taken for pizza).  The meeting starts at 6 pm.

On Friday, SRT's Lightning Talks will be held, from 3:30-5 pm.  Also open to all, lightning talks are 5 minute discussions on the topic of your choice. Please come, but don't go over the 5 minutes or you'll get buzzed with a kitchen timer.

 

I’m speaking on Scala this week

So, this Tech Events in Ann Arbor post for the week of September 22 finds yours truly speaking at the Ann Arbor Java User Group on Tuesday, September 23 at 6:30.  The meeting will be held at Washtenaw Community College in room BE270.  I'll be talking about "Scala for Java Programmers".  What CAN you do with this language? And why do you care? Is it a Java replacement? We'll explore some of the corners of the functional aspects of Scala, but object-oriented programmers will feel quite at home in this talk. Please come.  I would love your feedback on the language (and on the talk).

On Friday join SRT for lightning talks, from 3:30-5. As always, lightning talks are open to all.  Come to do a 5 minute talk or to listen!

Next week, the Ann Arbor Computer Society meeting will feature Bill Heitzeg discussing JBoss and .NET.  AACS meetings are free and open to the public.  AACS sponsors pizza and soft drinks.  Members qualify for door prizes.

 

Castle ActiveRecord at AADND

It's the second Wednesday of the month (September 10) and THAT means, that it's time for the Ann Arbor Dot Net Developer meeting.  Brian Genisio is speaking, and the topic is "Castle ActiveRecord — Don't Get Good at a CRUDy Job".


Here's his abstract:

One of the worst parts of a programmer's job is writing database CRUD (Create, Retrieve, Update and Delete) code. Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tools help to eleviate much of this pain by mapping your objects to the database. The "Active Record" pattern takes it to the next level by requiring your objects to be responsible for persisting themselves. This talk will discuss the NHibernate and Castle ActiveRecord products for eliminating the CRUD in your code base. Topics included are testing, basic usage, comparisons of NHibernate vs ActiveRecord, queries, pros, cons and alternative approaches to minimize problems with the ActiveRecord approach.

The meeting starts at 6 pm, and is held at SRT Solutions, 206 S. Fifth Avenue, Suite 200.  It's open to the public and free. Pizza will be ordered (pitch in if you're eating).

And don't forget that Friday September 12, we'll have Lightning Talks at SRT from 3:30-5. Learn something new in these 5 minute talks (or talk about something that interests you).  Everyone is welcome.

Lightning talks at SRT on Friday 8/29 from 3:30-5:00 pm

Once again, SRT is hosting lightning talks from 3:30 to 5 on Friday, August 29.  Come to listen, or come to talk at this series of 5 minute talks.  Everyone is welcome to attend, anyone is welcome to speak.  We believe that the entire Ann Arbor community benefits from knowing what others in the area are working on, and what they're learning about.

Hope to see you there!

Tech events in and around Ann Arbor

The end of the month is sort of light on tech events in Ann Arbor, but STILL there are things to do within driving distance!

PyOhio is going on in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday July 26.  It's a free event, and includes talks, open spaces, lightning talks, and poster sessions. If you're planning to attend and want to carpool, check with other Python developers on the MichiPUG Google group.

The Ann Arbor Java User Group canceled their meeting for next week (would have been on Tuesday July 29), but look for their meeting next month.  Rumor has it that the August talk will be on JavaFX, which is getting some air time at OSCON this week.  

Next week, Wednesday and Thursday (July 30-31) is the Michigan Flex Camp in Lansing.  The price is only $40 ($25 if you only want to attend the first day).  This hands-on interactive camp looks really interesting.  Registration is limited to 150 people, so sign up now if you're planning to attend: http://www.theflexgroup.org/camp/.

Lightning Talk Fridays, hosted by SRT Solutions, continue on Friday, August 1 from 3:30-5 pm.

And one non-technical event will be held next week as well.  The WXW Business group is holding a networking event for businesswomen at the Ann Arbor Art Center.  Cost is $10, and registration is limited to 120 people.  Wine and appetizers will be served. Registration is available at http://wxwbusiness.com/.

If you have any interest in traveling to North Carolina in next week or the week after, TrizPugBootCampArama is being held there, with 3 consecutive camps: PyCamp and 2 on Plone.

Oh, and of course, the first week in August will be busy event-wise, with both the Ann Arbor Computer Society meeting on August 6 (topic: Ruby for Domain Specific Languages) and the Michigan Python User Group on August 7.  More details on those meetings to come.

 

SRT Lightning talks during Art Fair!

The Ann Arbor Art Fairs (the "s" is critical because there are several running concurrently) bring a half million visitors to our town.  Parking is difficult, and driving can be challengine.  All of that means that some people avoid downtown that week, unless they are actually spectators, while others try to get in and out using alternate forms of transporation.  I'll be riding my bike in (or taking the bus if the weather is bad).

What does that mean about the SRT-hosted Lightning Talks scheduled for Friday (7/18)?  We're still planning to hold them.  We're also planning to invite customers and friends into our offices for a break from baking in the hot sun. So, if you attend the Art Fairs, or if you're just downtown, please stop by on Friday between 3:30 and 5.  We'll be here.  And for those attending the Art Fairs, we'll be hoping that the ONLY lightning is in the talks.