Nerd Nite Orlando

With over 20 events, 3 dozen plus presentations, and plenty of pints consumed, 2015 has been an incredible year for Nerd Nite in Orlando. Check out some of our highlights from this past year with these new Nerd Nite Orlando posters.

Nerd Nite Orlando XXXV: Astronomy Nite

On January 14th, Nerd Nite Orlando returns! We’ll be hosting a very special event in downtown Orlando featuring presentations from our friends of the Buehler Planetarium and the Central Florida Astronomical Society. We’ll explore astronomy, discuss space travel, and get you excited for the 2016 Winter Sky Festival which will happen 2 days after on Saturday, January 16th.

When: Thursday, January 14, 2016. Doors open at 6:30pm. Program begins at 7pm
Where: 189 S Orange Ave #2020, Orlando, FL 32801. (In the Purple Rock Scissors office. 20th Floor of the Plaza, South Tower building)

Theme: Astronomy and Space Travel

Cost: FREE… but you must RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nerd-nite-orlando-xxxv-astronomy-nite-tickets-20290116284

Speaker List:
Derek Demeter
Michael McConville
Bob Vogel

Presentation List:
“Opening Up New Horizons: Pluto at Six Months” by Michael McConville

In the six months that have followed the closest approach of the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto, our understanding of the Solar System’s largest dwarf planet continues to expand with each passing day. Join Michael McConville of the Emil Buehler Planetarium as we explore the incredible discoveries radioed back on a daily basis from New Horizons. From ice mountains to nitrogen plains, from blue skies to canyons that dwarf ones on Earth, this spacecraft is helping to rewrite the history of our Solar System – and solar systems throughout the Universe.

“Naked Astronomy: A Nudist’s View of the Winter Night Sky” by Bob Vogel

Naked Astronomy brings the science of astronomy and the beauty of artistic lore to the general public. Bob Vogel, the Vice President of the Central Florida Astronomical Society, will lead us as we explore the winter constellations and the art they have inspired.

“Space Travel 101: Those Who Want to Get the Hell Off This Planet” by Derek Demeter

Need to jump 20 parsecs out to the Dagobah System? Wondering whether that wormhole in “Sector ENO” is up and working? Having issues with your plasma ion engine? Join Seminole State College Planetarium Director Derek Demeter in an investigation on the latest findings in space travel as well as the reason it may only be a matter of time until such technologies become science fact instead of science fiction.

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Live Nerd Nite presentations in Orlando are always the second Thursday of every month.

If you have any questions or would like to present at a future Nerd Nite, please email Ricardo at

A few friends and I watched the original Star Wars yesterday (aka non-Special-Edition-Star-Wars, Han-Shot-First-Star-Wars) and I imagined what it would be like to sit in the theater in 1977 and see it for the first time. And OMG, what a fucking achievement- from sound effects editing to costume design to John Williams’ score to Alec Guinness’ performance to the love between C-3P0 and R2D2 and so much more.

When George Lucas was pitching the idea of Star Wars to studios in the 70s, he was consistently turned because it was “a little strange”– now everyone is a believer.

Join us at the next Nerd Nite, we’ll be celebrating Star Wars. Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 10th: https://www.facebook.com/events/553640828135096/

-Ricardo Williams
Nerd Nite Orlando

We celebrated incredible women in science, entertainment, and business; plus we heard incredible presentations from an all-female line-up. The second edition of Ladies Nite was a complete success.

Nerd Nite will return on Thursday, December 10th for a special Star Wars party. RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/553640828135096/

Join us for Episode 34 of Nerd Nite in Orlando. We’ll be celebrating the greatest and nerdiest franchise of all time… STAR WARS! We’ll begin the evening by testing your knowledge of Star Wars trivia followed by 2 presentations that bring some fact to the fantasy.

Nerd Nite is an evening of entertaining yet thought-provoking presentations– all while the audience drinks along in a casual bar atmosphere. Speakers present for 15-20 minutes each on a fascinating subject of their choice, often in an uncanny and unconventional way. Following each presentation is a brief Q&A with the audience.

Come meet up, drink, and learn something new!

EVENT IS FREE!

EVENT INFO:
When: Thursday, December 10, 2015, 7:00pm
Where: The Geek Easy (inside “A Comic Shop”)
114 S Semoran Blvd #6
Winter Park, FL 32792

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RSVP on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/553640828135096/

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PRESENTATION TITLE: “Do You Even Know What Artificial Intelligence Is? Killing The Pop Sensation of A.I. and Machine Learning Through Star Wars” by Felix Sosa

Artificial Intelligence. Machine Learning. It’s hard existing in 2015 without hearing these terms and it’s even harder actually understanding what they really are. So, why are you so sure of what they are and how they’re going to affect our lives? Popular understanding of what AI is and what ML does is so skewed it’s unlikely to talk about it in public without the looming idea of global destruction via Terminator in the midst. We’re going to stop this and analyzing the relationships between people and AI systems in Star Wars is going to help us.

Felix is an artificial intelligence researcher at the University of Central Florida’s Evolutionary Complexity lab. There he does extensive research at the intersection of Evolutionary Computation and Machine Learning to help build some of the most complex, deep artificial neural networks (he’ll explain it better at the speech). Outside of the lab he constantly ponders theories of intelligence and the brain and hopes to one day be a leader in the field of AI. But for now he’s living his life, giving talks, making electronics, and pursuing research in the academic heart of Orlando.

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PRESENTATION TITLE: “The Star Wars Futurist Report Card: What They Got Right, and What’s Even Cooler Than We Expected.” by Colin Forward

Colin Forward takes us through the prescient, daring, and sometimes not-so-accurate predictions about gadgets and tech made in the original Star Wars Trilogy. We’ll some of the most exciting new developments in emerging fields like wearables, the cloud, and the Internet of Things, and take a look at where Star Wars got it right. Forward will share insights from the Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab at UCF’s Institute for Simulation and Training where he conducts research on next-generation mobile software for education, healthcare, and governance.

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PRESENTATION TITLE: “Why The Force Will Truly Awaken in the Hands of JJ Abrams”

There’s no question that Star Wars is the premiere franchise in the history of cinema. No set of films has inspired so much fandom and thus spawned an endless amount of animated series, novels, comics, toys, fake languages, etc… But just under 20 years ago George Lucas launched a second set of Star Wars films and though they made butt loads of money, the Geek world was hugely disappointed in the prequel films in comparison to the original trilogy. So with the Force Awakens on its way and George Lucas officially taking a backseat (well, more like being left behind), is there a new hope for a trilogy that can truly stand amongst the original….

The 2015 City of Orlando Elections are here and Prismatic and the Downtown Orlando Partnership are throwing a non-partisan party designed to inspire Orlandoans to get up, get out, and vote on Election Day. RSVP here: http://lovelocalvotelocal.com/

When: Tues., Nov 3rd, 2015 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm

Where: Kasa Restaurant & Bar (183 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801)

​Why: Young professionals are commonly the most underrepresented voters in municipal elections. This is to activate and encourage those to participate and share their voice with the Orlando community by casting their votes on November 3rd.

Who: Organizing the event are Prismatic and the Downtown Orlando Partnership

​What:
* Non-partisan event to encourage and incentivize Orlando locals, mostly young professionals and millennials, to vote in the 2015 City of Orlando Election​s called “#LoveLocalVoteLocal”​

* Those that come to the event with their “I Voted” stickers or proof of voting (by selfie on social media) will receive perks such as a free drink or a chance to win a prize.

* Confirmed prizes that will be raffled off at the event will be from organizations such as the Orlando Magic, Orlando Solar Bears, Orlando City Soccer Fan Pack, Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center tickets, Electric Daisy Carnival Tickets, annual membership for Juice Bikes, and Downtown Orlando Food Tours.

* LIVE MUSIC!!! Local band, The Smoking Jackets, will be performing live.

Weekend Launch is a 3-day sprint taking you from idea to startup in one weekend.

You’ll learn what it takes to launch a company from the ground up, all while getting mentored by Orlando’s best business leaders.

Register here: https://www.eventjoy.com/e/weekend-launch

Nerd Nite Orlando fans can use the discount code NERDLOVE.

Do you want to come spend the day with Catalyst this upcoming Thursday, 10/15 for their Third Thursday Free Coworking day? Did we mention that Happy hour will be on-the-house!

RSVP here for an amazing free day of coworking at Downtown Orlando’s Catalyst Spaces! Doors open at 9 am and close at 6 pm.

Catalyst recently opened their doors as has become Orlando’s newest collaborative shared workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, freelancers, remote workers, and independent creative class professionals. Provide members with a beautiful space outfitted for hyperproductivity, in addition to a diverse community of helpful, interesting people, and resources, tools, events, seminars, and connections that help you take your professional and personal growth to the next level.

***Recommended parking options***

– Garland Ave Lot, right next to the firestation at $1 per hour.
– The Central Ave Garage, right in front of the firestation across the street at $2 per hour.

***How to find Catalyst***

The address is 1 South Orange Ave., however, the entrance is actually on Central, in the same building as Sak, Pita Pit, and Whitewood Cafe. Once you’re at the intersection of Orange and Central (where Whitewood Cafe is located), walk east on Central and you’ll pass the entrance to Tier nightclub. Just past Tier you’ll see glass sliding doors which have a silver button on each side that say “Push to Open” and have large white lettering that says, “1 S. Orange.” Once inside, take the elevators to the 5th floor, where you’ll find Catalyst!

Check out the other awesome Third Thursday events hosted by organizations around downtown: http://3rdthu.com/

Join us for our 33rd consecutive Nerd Nite in Orlando as we celebrate and learn about the achievements of women by an all-female lineup of speakers in our second edition of “Ladies Nite”.

Nerd Nite is an evening of entertaining yet thought-provoking presentations– all while the audience drinks along in a casual bar atmosphere. Speakers present for 15-20 minutes each on a fascinating subject of their choice, often in an uncanny and unconventional way. Following each presentation is a brief Q&A with the audience.

Come meet up, drink, and learn something new!

EVENT IS FREE!

EVENT INFO:
When: Thursday, November 12th, 7:00pm
Where: The Geek Easy (inside “A Comic Shop”)
114 S Semoran Blvd #6
Winter Park, FL 32792

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RSVP on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/892572507496632/

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SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Gert Garman
Jessica Weinstein
Leanna Ellington

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PRESENTATION #1:
“From HaHa! To A-Ha! Using Humor and Playfulness to Get Great Ideas!” by Gert Garman

Talk Description: This presentation is about creativity, innovation and collaboration. And top tips for getting properly inspired to get unstuck and come up with new ways of thinking to tackle challenges!

Speaker Bio: “Gert” Garman is the Director of the Collaborative Design Center at Valencia College. Previously, she was a Creativity and Innovation Catalyst for Disney Destinations, where she facilitated brainstorming sessions and trained fellow Cast Members in Disney’s Innovation Toy Box for the Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide. Gert has a long history of creating immersive experiences through her work with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and with UCF Alumni and Athletics. She is certified as a facilitator in the Creative Problem Solving (CPS), Think X, Four Sight and Five Faces of Genius processes. She regularly attends and speaks at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI), Mind Camp and the Florida Creativity Conferences. She graduated from UCF with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism: Advertising/Public Relations.

PRESENTATION #2:
“Vision Therapy: Looking Beyond 20/20” by Jessica Weinstein

Talk Description: What is vision therapy? What is vision, anyway? Most of us answer the questions “What is it?” “Where is it?” and, “Where am I?” visually. Our eyes and brain coordinate to tell us where we are in space, to see details clearly wherever we look, and to avoid the poisoned berry that is just one detail away from edible. “Ok. So, what is vision therapy?” I get this question a lot, especially when I forget to remove my name tag after work. To answer, my talk will frame vision in a context beyond acuity. I will give an overview of the work I do as a vision therapist, some of the disorders VT can treat, and how visual difficulties can impact reading, learning and daily life. Together, we will explore the many aspects that comprise “vision.” Let’s get to know this important sense!

Speaker Bio: Jessica Weinstein works as a vision therapist in East Orlando. One of her favorite aspects of the job is seeing patient’s confidence toward facing new challenges grow. In her spare time, Jessica likes to create stories and art. She is inspired by Orlando’s growing community ethic, and thanks Nerd Nite for being a part of it.

PRESENTATION #3:
“What Women Want, What Women Need: Scientific Evidence That Women Are Indeed Crazy” by Leanne Ellington

Talk Description: More than 99% of male and female genetic coding is exactly the same – – with less than 1% variation between the sexes. But that tiny percentage is EVERYTHING when it comes to what women desire, what they value, and what they deem important at any given moment.

This talk will give you an inside peek at what really impacts a woman’s mood, thought-processes, well-being, behavior, emotions, and desires — a nurture vs. nature perspective of what makes the female brain tick.

Speaker Bio: Leanne Ellington is an author, a mad scientist, a storyteller, an ambidextrous hoolah-hooper, and wholeheartedly believes that peanut butter should become the fifth food group.

Her career was built off the back of her deepest personal struggles, and now she helps women take a brain-based approach to overcoming theirs. The School for Self Care helps women break up with the thoughts that are holding them back and shows them how to get their body, brain, & heart playing on the same team. She also makes a mean batch of chocolate chip cookies.

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If you have any questions or would like to present at a future Nerd Nite, please email Ricardo at