Last day for early-bird registration to CodeMash is this Saturday!

http://groups.google.com/group/codemash/browse_thread/thread/dcb651262a9ea124

The conference, held annually in a safari-themed indoor waterpark and resort in Sandusky, OH in January, got very high marks from a number of local a2geeks last year, some of whom return this year as speakers. Dianne Marsh at SRT Solutions is an organizer for the conference.

An interesting talk by Tim O'Reilly last week here at Stanford, at their weekly computing systems colloquium (which UM should do, in addition to the weekly entrepreneurship seminar series):

Watching the Alpha Geeks: What Hackers and Enthusiasts Tell Us About the Shape of the Future

Time after time, new industries are born through the activities of people having fun. The personal computer and the world wide web as well as sports like snowboarding and kitesurfing were pioneered not by entrepreneurs - they came later - but by hackers, enthusiasts, and other amateurs playing with technology in their spare time. In this talk, Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, will look at what the hackers are telling us now, in areas including Web 2.0, collective intelligence and the future of the internet, mobile computing, sensors, synthetic biology, personal genomics, and the future of manufacturing.

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Who are you and what do you do?

I'm Eli Neiburger, Associate Director for IT and Production at AADL. I'm responsible for the Library's Community Relations, Marketing, IT, and Production departments, including library events, aadl.org, aadl.tv and our other web products, software development, networking and IT support for AADL's 5 locations, plus planning, budgeting, content partnerships and other CTO-type stuff.

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

I'm attending Arbcamp because we're a little disconnected from Ann Arbor's geek community here in our nonprofit world, and I'd like to get a better idea of what needs there are in the geek community that the Library could help meet. I'm also very interested in helping hacker culture hit critical mass in Ann Arbor and provide a foundation for truly geeky projects and events around the area.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

I'd like to lead a session about geeks and the library if that's not too self-serving; also we've been doing a lot with Drupal here and I'm always interested in trading ideas with other Drupallers. I'm also interested in geekly informal education; I think that the whippersnappers of today don't have the same opportunities to get deep into hardware or programming the way that we children of the 70s and 80s did, and that there are some great opportunities to pull the geek community together and produce some awesome youth-oriented events that give kids a chance to see past the interface.

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I aspire to form a Klezmer band that plays only covers of videogame music.

Where can we find you?

My personal blog is http://ulo.tricho.us and I'm ulotrichous on Twitter.

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Les Orchard, and I am a {web,mad,computer} Scientist working for the Mozilla Corporation. I telecommute from our house in Livonia, often from coffee shops in Ann Arbor, and sometimes from the Corner Brewery in Ypsi. I don't work on Firefox, but I work on many of the web properties supporting Firefox and other Mozilla products - eg. addons.mozilla.org, support.mozilla.org, crash-stats.mozilla.com

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

I'm attending ArbCamp because I lived out in the Bay Area for 2 years and really dug the handful of BarCamps and SuperHappyDevHouse events I managed to attend. Having returned to Michigan, I'd really like to see a hacker / knowledge worker community and industry grow here and be a part of it.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

I'm not sure - I'd like to see what people are interested in. I can cover things such as social software sites like Twitter or Delicious (wrote a book, worked there); working with RSS/Atom feed content (wrote a book); working with JavaScript and JS frameworks (wrote a book); Mozilla projects and how they're run (I work there); and even World of Warcraft papercraft (I made a pumpkin and a rabbit).

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I really, really like Domokun.

Where can we find you?

I can be found on Twitter as http://twitter.com/lmorchard and more of my spew can be found at http://decafbad.com/

MichiPUG and Google hosted an AppEngine hackathon in Ann Arbor last Monday.

77 people registered for the event (according to the a2-appengine-hat-2008 group set up for it), and aside from some initial hiccups with the guest wifi access, everything went smoothly. Kudos to Google's Matt Simmons and MichiPUG for an excellent event!

Between an API presentation, demo app walkthrough, pizza and soft drinks, and lots of time spent hacking (with the benefit of having Google's Joe Gregorio to answer questions directly), a number of teams got to the point of demoing AppEngine projects they developed on-site. A few examples (please contact me if I've left you out - I was not able to attend the event in its entirety):

• An interactive, multiuser chat application by a team of Ruby guys that came all the way from Holland, MI
• A Google Maps mashup by the same
• A foosball score tracker by Zach Steindler and Brandon Dimcheff for use at Zattoo
• A web session module for AppEngine developed by SI professor Charles Severance, who is also teaching a class at SI and working on a book about AppEngine development. He's already made some of this material available online at http://www.appenginelearn.com/

Matt Pizzimenti and I got a working prototype of our lunchboat app, but not far enough to demo. Look for it soon!

Google doesn't allow photos inside, so I don't have any to post, unfortunately. It was a lot of fun, though, and there's rumor of an Android hackathon next - let Matt know if you'd be interested!

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Patti Smith (TeacherPatti on the wide, wide world of web). I am a special education teacher of the visually impaired in Detroit Public Schools. I teach middle schoolers and I have the best job in the world. (I used to be an underpaid, unhappy legal aid lawyer...shudder).

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

2. I am attending ArbCamp because I am constantly trying to integrate technology into my classroom. Thanks to technology, my kiddos can do more than ever before. It's up to me to find it, learn to use it and then teach them how to be as successful as they possibly can be.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

I'm too new at tech stuff to lead anything! I guess I could teach you all how to use JAWS (screen reader program).

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I brew and drink copious amounts of beer.  You can often find me at the Corner Brewery.

Where can we find you?

I am TeacherPatti on Twitter, Patti Smith on Facebook and Teacher in the Hood (http://pattimst3k.livejournal.com) on the Web.

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Fred Posner and I am a VoIP/Network engineer. I have a small business (Team Forrest) that provides tech consulting work for a variety of companies. In the past, I've worked mostly for large VoIP carriers (such as VoIP.com), designing and implementing Internet phone service for more than 20,000 users. Lately, I'm trying to work more with small businesses where we can utilize open source software and provide effective communication while decreasing costs.

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

I moved to Ann Arbor from Florida just in time to catch the first snowfall. I'm excited to live in an area where geeks do not live in caves and only socialize virtually. I am attending to meet fellow geeks and learn, share, discuss.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

VoIP isn't just telephony. It's presence — and designing VoIP systems to be an extension of your presence is my passion. With today's technology, integrating a voice or data device to sql, web, or any networkable item is key. VoIP can help bring the telephone into the digital age, whether through speech recognition, HD Voice, conferencing, call centers, or anything you can imagine.

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I own my dream vehicle - a Harley Davidson Road King and ride it as much as possible.

Where can we find you?

http://www.voiptechchat.com
http://www.teamforrest.com
http://twitter.com/fredposner
facebook and linked in.

Who are you and what do you do?

Hello fellow thinkers, tinkerers, and travelers. I am Brandon McNaughton and I am a Research Fellow and Translation Research Scholar at the University of Michigan. I research a new method for rapid medical diagnostics, using tiny spinning magnets. I have built and tested a lab prototype and am currently in the process of developing the next stage prototype device.

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

I am interested in meeting other people who want to do something creative and take their ideas to the next level.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

I am always geeked out about "garage inventions" and crazy/new ideas. So, I would lead a session about anything related to these topics, such as interfacing gadgets to computers, rapid prototyping, or turning ideas into something physical that can be tested and/or thrown (if it does not work!).

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I have been to 50 states, but feel like I need to go to more.

Where can we find you?

http://www.umich.edu/~bmcnaugh

Where	Kai Garden
When	11-21-08, 12 - 1:30 lunch
Facilitator	Dug Song
Scribe	Dug Song, Ed Vielmetti
Invitees	everyone
Attendees	Dug Song, Ed Vielmetti, Jonathan Duty, Marshall Weir, Matt Pizzimenti, Zach Steindler, Jonathan Cohen, Kevin Dangoor, Mark Ramm
Missing	Brian Kerr, Ross Johnson (said maybe?)

Agenda

• General Tso's chicken and tofu
• Scallion Pancakes
• Brown Rice

Minutes

ArbCamp will be what its participants make of it. Prior ArbCamp organizers had the intent of drawing a diverse crowd, which we should try to honor, but we're all geeks - Ed honestly has the best chance of doing this with 300+ a2b3 subscribers. Tangent: perhaps the original goal for ArbCamp would be better served as an a2b3 conference, timed with the Summer Fair, maybe with an application to AAACF for a community grant. Need to meet with previous organizers to explore.

PR around the event needs to support this mission, but in an unconference, whoever shows up is what you have to work with. We will try to support this a bit by calling for attendee profiles to post that represent the diversity we're hoping for. We realize the partnership with SPARK may be as off-putting to some as the keynote speaker was for others last year, if this is to attract non-techies.

Goals for the event:

• Good turnout, high participation
• Teach others how to do this themselves, inspire many other similar events
• Share the event logistics to help the community help themselves (Mark had trouble getting WCC, which Ed said was a just a matter of talking with Charlie Penner - inside baseball we can all use). Open-source event planning.

Non-goals for the event:

• Ensure the topics and people we want are represented. We must accept that an unconference will be unpredictable. If we have goals to support diversity, our only tool is affirmative action, as we cannot dictate the material. We will try to reach out as far as our networks go - any and all help is appreciated...

Key Outcomes

Space

Four corners of the room, plus a small conference room, so 5 parallel tracks. Can make a field trip to SPARK to visit the space later and check on things.

Schedule

6 PM	Food and mingling
7 - 7:30 PM	Opening session. MCs in priority order of availability: Brian Kerr, Ed, Mark, Matt Pizzimenti
7:30 - 10:30 PM	5 parallel tracks of half-hour blocks (possibly combined to make longer sessions), so anywhere from 15 one hour sessions to 30 half-hour sessions possible
10:30 PM	Lightning talks to wrap up based on leftover session ideas and any other prepared topics anyone submits. Talk duration will be fixed, and determined based on the number of topics to cover - anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes per presenter. This is the closing session for the unconference, but the opening session for the afterparty...

Attendance Cap

SPARK holds 100. When we hit this, we close off website registrations and open a waitlist.

Resources

• Need whiteboards, SPARK doesn't have many. Jonathan Duty, Dug Song to bring some. Prop Dispo also has them for $5 each.
• Zattoo brings one projector and screen, SPARK has one. Marshall to look into another.

Sponsors

Zach will be the sponsor coordinator. Ed suggests printed materials as sponsorship opportunities.

Next Steps

• Meet every Friday for lunch at Kai Garden until the event, skipping next week (Thanksgiving)
• Dug out all next week, maybe available a bit online.
• Next meeting: Friday, Dec 5, noon lunch
• Manually reconcile Facebook event regs with the website (Jonathan Duty?)
• Zach to work with designer friend to finish blog badges and flyer design
• Dug to follow up with Matt at a2skatepark.org to find out about 4x6 glossy club flyers we did
• Zach to coordinate UM street team to hit up computing sites, bulletin boards, hallways
• All: reach out to publicize event. Invite profiles from diverse representation of attendees

Open Issues

• After Party? Actually, Hathaway's Hideaway would be a perfect community unconference space...
• Contingency plan for an overflow or alternate space (Google A2 only holds 110)?

Who are you and what do you do?

I'm Devon Persing. I don't have a company, but I do freelance and contract info architecture, front-end web design, and online writing/editing work. I got an MS from the UM School of Information in 2006, in the Library and Information Services track. I also have a BA in creative writing. In my work, I like to keep things simple, accessible, and usable. During the day I help manage digital services for the Kresge Library at the Ross School of Business.

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

As an interdisciplinary nerd, I'm interested in meeting other interdisciplinary nerds, seeing how they manage their worklives, and learning more about what they're up to and where collaborations are possible.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

I just finished reading Rosalind Williams's Notes on the Underground: An Essay on Technology, Society, and the Imagination, and it's been shaping my recent thoughts about technology. Since I come from a liberal arts background, I've always been interested in the intersections between science and art, and of late I've become particularly taken with the history of technology and how it has influenced literature and other art forms, and how all this affects daily lives. So, if I were to lead a session, it would probably be about those intersections, and perhaps how people in the group have experienced them.

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I grew up in an amusement park.

Where can we find you?

blog: http://viscousplatypus.net
sad, sad pro site: http://dpersing.com
twitter: viscousplatypus

Who are you and what do you do?

I telecommute for NVIDIA from my house in AA. I work in the Research group, which means it's my job to think about what a GPU might be 3 years from now. I'm also interested in figuring out how to use the current generation of GPUs for scientific computing. Mostly I write a ton of code in CUDA.

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

Dug Song is a persuasive dude. But really, I'd like to get more involved in the local tech scene.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

Parallel programming is the future (and increasingly the present), but most people don't realize it yet. I work in CUDA a lot, which is NVIDIA's parallel version of C, but there are lots of other interesting parallel languages and models out there. I'd love to talk about the state of the art in parallel programming, and find out what other people are doing and how they plan to adapt to a world where processors are getting wider but not faster.

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I'm trying to learn how to ice skate. My legs are covered in bruises.

Where can we find you?

http://www.jcohen.name

!http://markmaynard.com/skins/custom/img/MMpic.gif|align=right!http://markmaynard.com/?p=108

MarkMaynard.com interviews Dug Song on ArbCamp

I don't like interviews, but here goes.

MM: What's ArbCamp?

ArbCamp is an unconference for Ann Arbor geeks of all stripes (tech, art, music, science, biz, etc.) - an informal but intense meeting where the schedule is built by its participants. Every attendee is expected to lead or actively participate in discussions, or otherwise contribute to the event in some way - there are no spectators. ArbCamp's goal is to accelerate the process of community formation by quickly and meaningfully connecting people through their shared passions and diverse interests.

For tech geeks (esp. those from the Unix community), this is culturally familiar as the evolution of the ameoba-like "hallway track" into self-organized "Bird of a Feather" (BoF) sessions at traditional conferences, now formalized and branded as BarCamp events (just as "Work-In-Progress" (WIP) sessions became "lightning talks", and now Pecha Kucha and O'Reilly Ignite events). This basic collaborative meeting format has been used by many groups decades before BarCamp, though - see "Open Space Technology" for some history...

MM: Would someone who isn't necessarily technically inclined, like myself, be welcome?

Absolutely! A central tenet of such events is that whoever shows up is exactly who should be there - and that the participants decide the sessions to be held, not the organizers. Even highly technical barcamps tend toward topics of broader community interest because of this.

MM: I know last time someone attempted a "barcamp-esque" event in Ann Arbor there was a lot of controversy due to the fact that, unlike other barcamps being held around the United States, there was a somewhat set agenda, people were charged to participate, and people weren't allowed to stay overnight. Did you think that criticism was legitimate? And, if so, how's it been addressed this year?

The criticism seemed to be more around having a specific theme for the event (potentially alienating those who couldn't connect with "publishing" as a topic), and the pricey admission for a high-profile keynote speaker imparting "expert" wisdom - elements of traditional conferences that unconferences were developed as a reaction to. I'll defer to Andrew Turner on this one - he's another friend that left Ann Arbor early this year after starting his company here (Mapufacture, recently acquired in August by FortiusOne):

• http://highearthorbit.com/arbcamp-unconferences-and-the-appropriate-uses-of-a-community-brand/

We've addressed it this year by organizing the event with only 4 weeks' notice. The less organized the event, the more inviting it can be for everyone to help shape it. I hope. Now, it's just a race to get the word out, and motivate people in our community to get involved.

MM: I know that you, having watched a lot of geek friends leave the area over the years, have kind of made it a personal mission to build a geek infrastructure here in southeast Michigan capable of sustaining geek culture. I think it's incredible work you've been doing lately, and I wholeheartedly endorse it, but I worry that, in spite of the huge University presence, we might be too small of a metro area to keep good people. And here's my question... Are there any models out there? Are there any cities of our size that have gotten the critical mass to become "geek sticky"? Austin has 740,000 people. Portland has 550,000 people. Madison has about 225,000. Ann Arbor has around 114,000. Ypsilanti has 22,000 more. It is possible given those numbers?

Yes! Look at the vibrant startup / geek scene Brad Feld catalyzed and cultivated over in Boulder, CO (another old hippie University town comparable to Ann Arbor in many ways). Boulder is now an exciting, bonafide destination for smart, entrepreneurial geeks:

• http://www.american.com/archive/2008/september-october-magazine/start-up-town

How did this happen? As David Cohen notes, "a UFO didn't land in Boulder and drop off VCs", and it's not just the skiing. They built a geek/tech community through a lot of grassroots organizing, community-building, and direct mentorship:

• http://www.globalnerdy.com/2008/11/14/david-cohen-at-startup-empire-boulder-and-techstars/

This is the kind of fun environment that attracts and supports smart, entrepreneurial geeks. Case in point: recent UM grads Jeff Powers and Vikas Reddy started a company (Occipital) last year in Ann Arbor, moved it to Beaver Island, MI (!) , then to New York City, and then finally landed in Boulder this summer after I pointed them to the phenomenal TechStars accelerator and community:

• http://venturebeat.com/2008/09/23/at-techstars-twelve-teams-show-that-boulder-co-can-produce-some-fantastic-tech/

Smart, entrepreneurial geeks can take their ideas and ultralight software startups anywhere they want. They can also raise money anywhere they want. They choose to go to Boulder for the geek culture and close-knit startup community. In their own words:

• http://www.dynamittechnologies.com/blog/?p=111
• http://occipital.com/blog/2008/09/27/live-better-work-in-boulder/
• http://www.contentious.com/2008/04/17/the-cup-the-cool-boulder-geek-hangout/

Another example - Evan Cooke recently finished his PhD here, and decided to build a startup with some other monkeys. They're now working remote between SF and Seattle. I recently saw him at a UM Tech Transfer event celebrating innovation, where he exhibited a system he built with Jon Oberheide using some of my open-source code, which they're also using for his startup, Twilio:

• http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/20/twilio-powerful-api-for-phone-services-that-can-recreate-grandcentral-in-15-lines-of-code/

He could have stayed. Not that I'm bitter about it or anything, after bugging him for years to do a startup here. I will simply drug him at the monkey Thanksgiving in Palo Alto next week and drag him back in a gunny sack.

From my experience in the open-source community, I know that you need critical mass, but the sheer number of people isn't the most important factor - it's a matter of getting the right people involved, or in actively acculturating the people you have to the behaviors and attitudes that build a foundation for growth (reaching out, mentoring, never underestimating people, failing fast, etc.). Geeks are basically hardwired to learn from each other, but they can be horrible about taking responsibility for their own social lives (just ask my wife) - so we can't just hope that connections here and there eventually form into the social fabric of a community. Hope is not a strategy. We have to make it happen, and catalyze the process through events and platforms that force geeks to meet, inspire, and connect with each other.

And such events aren't hard. Regular social mixers over coffee, breakfast, lunch, or drinks? Informal geek show-n-tell presentation nights? We just need people to step up and organize things - students included. Do we really need outsiders to help introduce us to each other? Or to hold a night at the bar? Here's a brilliant Boulder geek event (and startup company) centered around Geeks Who Drink...

MM: Regardless of whether we can create a self-sustaining technology community on the order of those seen in entrepreneurial hotbeds, I think it's necessary to improve the infrastructure we have. We might not be able to keep everyone who graduates, but we can certainly do more. What, in your opinion, needs to happen? Do we need more early stage venture money? Do we need more social events?

We need more innovation, starting at the University level. The Media Union was supposed to be our answer to the MIT Media Lab, or UT Austin's ACTLab, but somehow devolved into a glorified 24/7 library and computer lab. We need to promote hacker culture here - UT Austin even offers courses on this - to teach young geeks how to innovate (failing fast, rapid iteration, testing reality, etc.). I am indebted to Peter Honeyman and the good folks at UM's beleaguered island of hacker culture, CITI, for sheltering me after my first startup experience (Anzen) to prepare me for my second (Arbor Networks). Open-source student groups like MESH used to produce excellent hackers, but I don't hear of many campus groups innovating and mentoring each other like this anymore. I mostly hear of top-down, bureaucratic bounty programs for undergrad projects that are good while they last, but fizzle out after a term.

For young hackers, the University offers some support, but little guidance. And almost no connection to the wider tech community in the area, leaving students little choice but to leave UM's nest to find their flock elsewhere.

In terms of infrastructure and environment, a big problem we face is the lack of anchor employers. When you do a startup in the Bay Area, you do so knowing you can fallback on Yahoo, Google, Cisco, etc. - and with non-competes illegal in California, there's almost no reason not to try (in fact, with standardized acquisition strategies at companies like Cisco, I know folks who have serially spun out companies to sell back to the mothership, successfully). But I believe this could be overcome if there were simply enough startups going in the area, and enough innovation to keep driving it. Access to seed capital certainly helps - but while there's some money here, the risk profile and focus of local investors often doesn't align with tech entrepreneurs who can simply find funding elsewhere.

Another environmental issue is our lack of enabling spaces. Geek watering holes. Hackerspaces. For example - in 2006, Paul Boehm (aka enki, or for security folks, the notorious typo from Team TESO) started a hackerspace called Metalab in downtown Vienna, Austria - not exactly a hotbed of geeks and new technology development. But such enabling spaces attract people who want to spend their free time actually making things (see Brooklyn's NYC Resistor, Philly's Hacktory, etc.) - and sometime those things end up being companies. Last year, Paul joined an angel group to spin up an accelerator based on Paul Graham's famous YCombinator model, and called it YEurope, which has now spun out Soup.io and Mjam, among other projects, out of their little geek space.

When local geeks want to hang out to hack on software, where do they go? Coffeeshops and breweries. Hardware hackers and makers? To private machine shops, garages, basements. Is this really the best we can do? There is a huge town / gown divide between geeks here - you rarely see students at local user group meetings, and you rarely see non-students at events on campus. I believe this is partially an issue of space - where do you hold an event that attracts both? I'd love to figure this one out.

In terms of culture, we need to celebrate the successful startups we've had in town, and mentor many more. We need to get out of the mindset that a little seed money and business training will fix everything. These things are certainly necessary, but not sufficient. We need to foster the kind of explosive innovation that emerges from the chaos of a real geek community, to celebrate the people who actually invent and make things. If we don't figure out how to support and value technical innovation, it will continue to leave.

This is the mission of http://a2geeks.org - and we invite everyone with a vested interest in keeping smart geeks here to join us.

MM: Any other words for the readers of MM.com?

You should really try the gizzards at Mary's Fabulous Chicken and Fish over on Packard. I swear, it is a near-religious experience.

Also, if you don't completely hate youth and fun, come show your support for the Ann Arbor Skatepark as we discuss the MOI and Fund Agreement with City Council to be voted on:

Thanks, Mark!

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is David Buchanan and I am the owner of Coefficient Media, a web and new media company in Jackson Michigan. We work hard to guide businesses and orginazations in using the web and things like podcasting and online video in new and rewarding ways.

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

I am attending ArbCamp to share with and learn from some of the best creative minds in Michigan. Arbcamp is a great opportunity to spend a little time learning form people that are not only super smart at what they do but are also willing to share that information. When we work together to learn and grow there is little surprise that amazing things happen!

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

If I were to lead a session it would probably be about either podcasting or the iPhone. I have been involved with the podcasting community since 2004 and have seen the medium grow and evolve. Podcasting has given a voice to anyone who has something to say... literally, they can just record themselves talking. There are few times in history when we see a new platform emerge and it is interesting to see how technology effects the way people access information. With the introduction of the iPhone and iPhone applications we are seeing just how useful a powerful handheld computer that is constantly with you and connected to the Internet can be. I have takes both of these topics and combined them with my most recent podcast The App Show.

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I enjoy collecting rocks.

Where can we find you?

• http://www.coefficientmedia.com
• http://www.twitter.com/audiocollective
• http://www.theappshow.com

Who are you and what do you do?

Peter Baker, founder of Elevated Works, a design & development firm started in Chicago in 2004 under the Blue Line of the El Train. Also a published and exhibiting photographer, and partner in Elevated Press, a local letterpress invitation and stationary design and printing company.

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

Recently moved to Ann Arbor from San Francisco, and looking to meet up with the fellow entrepreneurs trying to turn Ann Arbor into (or keep it as) Michigan's tech center.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

Good question. Either; The legitimization of small or one-person companies in the eyes of bigger players through branding, marketing, and business practices. Or; Freelancing doesn't have to be temporary. Or; Simplicity as a good thing.

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I've had the same haircut for 15 years.

Where can we find you?

• http://elevatedworks.com (My design company)
• http://peterbaker.net (My photography portfolio)
• http://ptrbkr.com (My random-stuff blog)
• http://twitter.com/treemeat

Who are you and what do you do?

Jonathan Duty, Software Engineer at Zattoo

Why are you attending ArbCamp?

To meet and geek out with others in the Ann Arbor area!

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?

At my current job we are using DoubleClick's DART DFP product in some pretty interesting ways. It's amazing how far online advertising has come since just showing banner ads. I'd love to discuss the technical aspects of online advertising, specifically DART, and some of the challenges/lessons learned in when getting into that space.

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I have a stuffed armadillo holding a beer bottle on my desk. It was a wedding present.

Where can we find you?

https://dutyfamily.blogspot.com and Facebook

From	Rebecca Lopez Kriss [email protected]

http://concentratemedia.com/blogs/posts/RebeccaLopezKriss5033.aspx

Be there or miss the free stuff!

Good news: Melange, 314 S. Main Street, downtown Ann Arbor, has graciously offered to host the next YP Underground networking event on Thursday, November 20th starting at 5:00. Melange Management couldn't resist your devilish charm and will be providing free appetizers to our group. Who can resist such a delicious (and generous) offer? Get there early to take advantage of the other happy hour specials (1/2 off ordered appetizers, sushi, select libations, and wines by the glass) that run until 6PM.

So before you face your family to enjoy/endure another Turkey Day, join us for cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and vibrant conversation.

As always: the YP Underground is an informal networking group for young(ish) professionals who live or work in the Ann Arbor area. We are not fighting for a cause, but are always looking for an excuse to get together for conversation. If you don't know what a YP is, or why you're getting this email, please contact Rebecca ([email protected]) or Angela ([email protected]) for further information. You can also contact either of us if you wish to be removed from the list, but that would just be crazy.

Angela and Rebecca
—
Rebecca Lopez Kriss
248.376.4086

• Next YP Underground is 11/20 at Melange. Ask me for more details.
• And you'd be a fool to not check out http://getmedowntown.com/ for our next trip on 11/21!

Detroit Volume #2

WHERE: This Pecha Kucha event will be held in the DIA's Prentis Court, which can be accessed from the John R. (East) entrance of the museum. WHEN: Doors open to the public at 6:30PM, at which time food and beverages will be available for purchase. A full cash bar will be available as well. The offical event will start promptly at 8:20pm. PARKING: Will be available across the street from the musuem's John R. entrance for a minimal fee. Please note that the museum will be closed at the time of the event, so access to the event will not be available from other museum entrances, including Woodward.

http://www.pecha-kucha.org/cities/detroit/2

Join us December 18, 2008 at 7 PM at SPARK Central for ArbCamp 2008!

ArbCamp is an ad-hoc unconference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense community-building event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees.

Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.

When you come, be prepared to share with ArbCampers.
When you leave, be prepared to share it with the world.

http://a2geeks.org/display/geek/ArbCamp+08

From: Matt Simmons
The Michigan Python Users group in conjunction with Google are happy
to present: Google App Engine Hack-a-thon: Ann Arbor

What: An App Engine developer event for Google App Engine!

    * Learn about Google App Engine: We will have talks on the major
features of Google App Engine at different points throughout the day.
We will run through developing an app with the SDK and show you how to
deploy and manage applications on Google App Engine.

    * Build With Us, or Build Your Own: You are welcome to bring along
anything you can prepare ahead of time (sketches, designs, web page
mock ups, etc.) and use the time and information provided to develop
your idea into a working application, then share it with the world.
Or, you can code along with us in building a Google App Engine
application from start to finish.

Who: You! Your ideas and your enthusiasm complete the mix. We will
assume some basic skills and preparation for the event, including an
existing knowledge of the Python programming language. We'll provide
power, copies of the SDK, and an awesome ambiance. Just bring yourself
and your laptop. Some light snacks and beverages will be available, as
will a pizza lunch. If you decide to bring extra food, please make
sure it is computer friendly.

When: Monday Nov 17th, 2008 10AM-6PM

Where: Google's Ann Arbor Office: 201 S. Division St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104

You can read more about previous hack-a-thons at the AppEngine blog
(http://googleappengine.blogspot.com)

RSVP for the Ann Arbor event with the link below.
http://hackathon.appspot.com/index.html?event=agloYWNrYXRob25yDAsSBUV...

Looking forward to seeing you there

The GO-Tech guys have put videos of some of their recent meetings online:

• http://vimeo.com/tag:gotech

Videos of the weekly M-Powered Entrepreneurship Hour Friday seminars are also online here:

• http://mpowered.web.itd.umich.edu/index.php?n=Main.Video

Ellen Levy's LinkedIn talk was particularly good.

We should do this with our public Zattoo Tech Talks, too. Any other local groups with presentations online?

From: Dianne Marsh and Jason Gilmore

Fellow CodeMashers,

After much debate, cajoling, discussion, and gnashing of the teeth,
we're pleased to announce the list of accepted sessions. With each
passing year this process becomes much more difficult, not only
because of the high quality of submissions, but also because of the
growing quantity. In fact, this year we received over 300 submissions!
Accordingly, we're pleased to announce the addition of a 7th
concurrent track, bringing our total count over the two-day period to
a whopping 63 sessions!

Below you'll find the list of sessions, ordered according to the
presenter's first name. In the coming days we'll be posting the
titles, descriptions, and speaker bios on the CodeMash site, along
with a schedule.

http://groups.google.com/group/codemash/msg/35d9fd0b2721acb2?pli=1

Speakers: in the coming days I'll be following up with you regarding
various speaker-related matters, and of course am always available via
this e-mail address.

Jason Gilmore and Dianne Marsh
CodeMash Speaker Coordinators

The next GO-Tech meeting is this Tuesday, November 11, at 8 pm.
We'll be in our new location, A2 Mech Shop, the new shared technical
space that several of us are setting up.  We're still moving in, but
there will be plenty of space for meeting, and much easier to bring
in vehicles and other demonstrations.  We should have WiFi set up by
then, and video projector.

If you have a chair you can bring for the meeting, that would be
helpful.  We only have 15 or so right now.  (And if you know where we
can find 15-20 stackable chairs at a reasonable price, let me know!)

A2 Mech Shop is just around the block from our previous meeting
space, and is located at 240 Parkland Plaza, 48103
(http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=240+parkland+plaza,+48103)
on the west side of Ann Arbor, MI, off of Jackson between Zeeb and
Wagner.  From Jackson, you'll turn onto Parkland Plaza.  Go past
Little Lake Drive, and it is the first building on the right.  We are
in the back half of the building--enter by the door farthest from the
road.

Parking:  Park in any open parking space or on Parkland Plaza, but
please don't block the drive or garage doors.

At this meeting, we'll have a slide show from the Austin Maker Faire,
a progress report on A2 Mech Shop, and your cool projects.

--Dale

GO-Tech (formerly NotBAGO) is a meeting for Ann Arbor area readers of Make Magazine, Circuit Cellar, Home Shop Machinist, Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools, slashdot, etc.  That is, people who are interested in and make things using technology, whether that's a metal cutting lathe or a Python script.  A kind of generalized mixture of CerealBar, DorkBot, Oxford Geek night, and Portland Machinist Guild.  We have machinists, electrical engineers, software folks, industrial control types, and so on.  We share projects, information about tools and ideas, and connect with like-minded people.

(from eli neiburger at the AADL)

Hello, all, I apologize for the spammy cross-posting, but we're having
a garage sale at AADL this sunday and getting rid of a lot of
equipment and I figured both a2b3 and a2geeks would be interested.

We're selling CRTs, LCDs, thin clients, keyboards, mice, rackmount
hubs, barcode scanners, printers, mounting hardware, servers, an old
selfcheck chassis, even our old Digital Alpha (albeit without drives).
Plus we're clearing out the library basement of tables, chairs,
office cubes & modular desks, file cabinets, all kinds of stuff, at
crazy low prices with no reasonable offer refused. The sale is this
Sunday, 11/9, from Noon to 6 pm in the basement of the downtown
library. Please check http://www.aadl.org/aboutus/equipment_sale for
slightly more information, but please be aware that everything is
being sold as-is (although there will be a test bench available) and
cash and carry.

Again, pardon the interruption, and please let me know if you have any
questions about this.

Thanks,

-eli

from Ed Vielmetti, at http://vielmetti.typepad.com/vacuum/2008/11/coffee-house-coders-wednesdays-9pm-11pm-eastern-espresso-royale-cafe-state-st.html:

Coffee House Coders is a programmer's group that meets Wednesday nights at ERC State St in Ann Arbor.  A large long table in the back hosts a dozen or so laptops, and the assembled crowd works on whatever code they are working on.

Organized by Zach Steindler, this group when I visited last week was mostly current and recent UM engineering students, with a few people from out of town visiting old friends.   I saw a demo of a new product under development by Occipital, which looked kind of like Doom set in cities, designed to run on a mobile phone.

At Coffee House Coders I learned about CouchDB, an object database which has an interesting data model - throw JSON objects into a big flat store, and retrieve them with Javascript map/reduce functions. My favorite Django person, Brian Kerr, pointed me at a tutorial on how to implement a hierarchical database in this system.

One notable aspect of Coffee House Coders is that they don't try to create an existence for the group between meetings; there's no ongoing email list as such for discussion, and no permanent home on the web for chit-chat.  To make up for that, their network is online and connected when the meeting happens via IRC (irc.freenode.net, channel #coffeehousecoders; I used Mibbit as a client), Twitter (#coffeehousecoders), and Skype (coffeehousecoders).

The a2geeks mailing list is used to gently nudge people to show up.