Nerd Nite Boston

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Dear Friends of Nerdnite,

There’s no better way to wrap up your memorial day weekend than with a beer and some nerdy infotainment.  So join us on Monday May 30, 8pm at the Middlesex, for the next Nerdnite, and learn a thing or two about psychopaths and beating slot machines with math.

Before we get to the talks, I just want to direct everyone’s attention to our new Facebook “Page.” In the past, Nerdnite Boston has used a Facebook “Group.” For some reason, Facebook has seen fit to encourage folks like us, who use “Groups” for announcing events, to switch over to “Pages.” So head on over and give our Page a try — you can “Like” us and sign up through RSS or “page favorites” to receive updates on our events. For now, you can follow announcements and happenings related to Nerdnite Boston on both the Group and Page, but we’ll be looking for feedback from you to see which everyone likes better.

And with that, here is the lineup for Memorial Day Nerdnite:

Talk 1:  “Free Money: The Art and Science of Beatable Slot Machines”
by Zach Alexander
Zach is a cook at the Beacon Hill Friends House by day and an aspiring web entrepreneur by night. He was formerly a neuroscience lab administrator and research assistant at Harvard, until spring 2010 when he quit to embark on a road trip across the U.S. and Canada as a professional advantage gambler, or as he likes to say, “freelance applied mathematician.” He is considering writing a book about the experience, and competing for the Guiness World Record for “Most Hilarious Career Path Ever.”

Talk 2: “Stalking the Sasquatch; Or, Are There Psychopaths Among Us?
by John Fennel
If you ever wanted to know what happens to failed philosophy Ph.Ds, here is one sad case. After giving up philosophy, John Fennel became an attorney who represents convicted sex offenders at lifetime civil commitment hearings. Young nerds heed his sorry example! In this talk, John will discuss the science behind that staple of detective novels and movie thrillers — the psychopath — and how this science is applied in our legal system. John hastens to emphasize that he doesn’t spend *all* his time with sex offenders — he is a true bicycle geek (owner of 6 1/2 bicycles who once, inadvertently, blew his nose on Viatcheslav Ekimov during a bicycle race in South Carolina).

Be there and be square!
Monday May 30, 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge
$5
Look for us on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr.

Friends of Nerdnite,

We’re thrilled to announce the lineup for the first-ever Boson Nerdnite Nerdtacular, which will take place Friday May 6, 7pm at the MIT Museum in Cambridge.  The Nerdtacular will feature three really awesome (and nerdy) speakers, a larger venue, and a convenient Friday night timeslot. As you can imagine, we are very excited about it, and we hope you are too. In case you’re wondering, since the event is in a museum… yes, beer will be served, and nerd-appropriate tunes will be spun. It’s just like a regular Nerdnite, only more Nerdtacular.

This event is part of the fabulous Cambridge Science Festival, which runs from April 30 to May 8 — check out the full schedule here. There are tons of events that will appeal to the median Nerdnite audience member…we highly recommend you peruse their website and see if anything strikes your fancy.

Here is the Nerdtacular lineup:

1. “Shapely Sheets: Curved folding at an [almost] architectural scale”
by Joel Lamere

Joel has been teaching courses in architectural geometry, design and representation at MIT since 2007. He also has been active in architectural practice in the Boston area, working on design and realization of the Community Rowing Boathouse and Brown University’s Joukowsky Institute, both while with Anmahian Winton Architects. He also acted as canopy design and fabrication consultant to Utile Inc. for their Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion, currently under construction on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. In 2010, he co-founded GLD, a collaborative design practice.

2. “Pwned: The history of debt in the U.S. and how banks came to own you”
by Louis Hyman

Louis is a historian and newly-minted member of the Labor Relations, Law, and History faculty at Cornell University. His book, “Debtor Nation: The History of America in Red Ink” came out recently. He worries what the book will do to his credit rating.

3. “Epitaph for the plankton: How tiny dead things quietly built the world as we know it”
by Hilary Close

Hilary is an organic geochemist finishing her Ph.D. in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. With degrees in Geology and Earth and Planetary Sciences, she considers her specialty to be an amalgam of prefixes, including Geo, Bio, Chem, Paleo, Marine, Organic, and Isotope. Her research has addressed biological contributions to the geologic record from modern times back to over a billion years ago. She is particularly fond of rocks, fossils, lipids, carbon isotopes, and the gunky green stuff in the ocean.

Plus — nerd-appropriate tunes by the Brobots.

Be there and be square
Friday May 6, 2011.
7pm
MIT Museum lobby
265 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

Dear friends of Nerdnite,
Nerdnite is branching out — we’ve got two new events coming up in the next few weeks that we’ve never tried before, and we hope you’ll join us for both.  We are super-excited about our first ever Nerdnite Nerdtacular, which will take place Friday May 6 at the MIT Museum as part of the Cambridge Science Festival.  More details about that event are coming soon.

Because we’re gearing up for the Nerdtacular pretty soon, we thought we’d try something new with our usual last-monday-of-the-month time slot at the Middlesex.  Hence, we present to you “Nerdnite: The Trivia Night.”  You’ve been to trivia nights before, but you’ve never seen the Nerdnite take on it.  Yes, that does imply the use of Power Point.  So gather some friends, form a team (or find one when you arrive), and get ready to be challenged, entertained, and maybe even learn something.  Oh, and there will be prizes.

Please note: teams will be limited to 6 people max.  But if you come with more than that we expect that there will be a fair amount of new team formation as nerds mingle.

As always, DJ Claude Money will provide the nerd-appropriate tunes.

Thanks also to our co-sponsors for this event, Young Professionals in Energy. YPE is a non-profit energy industry networking organization with over 20,000 members worldwide. YPE is dedicated to providing a forum for networking and career development for professionals in the global energy industry. The desired outcome of YPE is to foster an environment where members can learn from each other’s experiences, share industry knowledge and discuss career matters. For information on upcoming events and leadership opportunities, please visit www.ypenergy.org and click
‘BECOME A MEMBER.'”

Be there and be square
Monday April 25, 2011. 8pm.
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge
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The next Nerdnite is fast approaching — Monday March 28, 8pm at the Middlesex Lounge. In this edition, our talks will feature what I like to think of as “the lighter side of nerdery” — sports and video games. As always, DJ Claude Money will be on hand to spin nerd-appropriate tunes.

The talks:
#1: “The Sexy Social Science of NBA Basketball: Insights into Economics, Sociology, and Psychology from Professional Hoops”
by Adam Waytz

Adam is currently a post-doctoral fellow in psychology and neuroscience at Harvard University and will begin an assistant professor position in Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management in Summer, 2011. He is also a founding member of the Free Darko writing collective and co-author of two books on NBA basketball, “Free Darko Presents: The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac” and “Free Darko Presents: The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History.”

#2 “Break it Down: Prototyping Dance Central”
by Matt Boch
As a lead designer at the videogame design company Harmonix, Matt guides the direction of some of Harmonix’s premier titles. Matt began at Harmonix 4 years ago. In his first position, as creative hardware designer, Matt helped develop the look and feel of Rock Band’s iconic set of instruments. Matt transitioned to the game design world when Harmonix began work on Dance Central, where he was able to utilize his love for both music and dance. In his spare time, Matt is the lead singer for the Main Drag, is a VJ and video artist and makes video game remixes through his music project, AniGif.

Be there and be square!
Monday March 28, 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge

Dearest Boston nerds and friends of nerds,

Nerdnite is exceptionally excited about January’s special event, which will be held at the A.R.T. Oberon theater in Harvard Square (please see below for full event details).  For those of you who have been wondering whether Nerdnite might occasionally take place in a more spacious setting … your time is now.  We have the A.R.T. to thank for this, and for making available the director of their new show on Buckminster Fuller to speak at Nerdnite about this famous pathbreaker in the field of nerdery.  Also thanks to A.R.T. it’s possible to buy advance tickets to this month’s Nerdnite. They’re only $5. As always, tickets will also be available at the door.

Naturally, DJ Claude Money will be spinning nerd-appropriate tunes throughout the night.  Here’s the lineup:

Talk 1: R. Buckminster Fuller: Prototype of the American Nerd By D.W. Jacobs

D.W. Jacobs is the playwright and director of “R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE” which starts Jan 14 at the A.R.T.  You can read more about the play here, or buy tickets here.

Talk 2: Derivatives Work: The Brief Histories of “Happy Birthday” and “Who Let the Dogs Out” By Ben Sisto

Ben Sisto is an artist and event producer living in Brooklyn, NY. A graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art’s SIM program, he has exhibited works at Harvard University, Mass MoCA, Artists Space, and Printed Matter; organized live events for the likes of Susan Blackmore, Fugazi, and Silver Apples; spoken at NY’s Open Video Conference, and will be moderating a panel on visual arts for World’s Fair Use Day 2011 in Washington DC.

Be there and be square!
Monday January 17, 2011
Oberon Theater
2 Arrow Street
Cambridge, MA
(617) 496-8004
$5 at the door or in advance — buy tix here

Hello all,

The last Monday of November approaches, which means it’s time for another exciting Nerdnite.  We hope you’ll hustle back from your Thanksgiving break to check out our last Nerdnite of 2010.  Yes you heard that right — since the last Monday of December lies between Xmas and New Year’s, we’re going to assume people have other things to occupy their time that day.  However, we’ll be back rested and tanned (or whatever the nerd equivalent of “tanned” is…) in 2011.

Before we get to this month’s lineup, a couple of things to check out.

First, Channel 5’s “Chronicle” did a piece about us, which you can watch online here.

And second, don’t forget to check out Punkin Chunkin (the pumpkin-launching contest I mentioned at the last Nerdnite) on Thanksgiving evening, 8pm on the Science Channel.

Now — on to the November speakers, who will be joined as always by DJ Claude Money spinning nerd-appropriate tunes:

Talk 1: “City Hauls: Foraging for wild plants and other foodstuffs within the city limits”
by David Craft

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