Nerd Nite Toronto

Who doesn’t love a Season Finale?
We’re packing up for the Summer with a bang!

May 30 Nerd Nite
Revival Bar – 783 College Street
8pm – doors open at 7
$15 online, $20 at the door

Presentation 1: “The Limits of the Human Body” by Jake Ward

Our bodies are incredibly fragile. They burst, burn, and break, and yet we constantly travel to dangerous places, dive under the ocean, fly, drive, drink alcohol, and otherwise do crazy things that our bodies are wholly unqualified to handle. Tonight we’ll be looking at the science of human limitation, and what fundamental technologies make it possible for us not to suffocate, freeze, catch on fire, or otherwise die the thousand deaths that our unbelievably dangerous lives whisk us past each day.

Jake Ward is editor-in-chief of Popular Science, the world’s largest science and technology magazine. He’s written for The New Yorker and Wired, and has hosted television shows for Discovery, PBS and National Geographic. He splits his time between New York and California.

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Presentation 2: “The Music Geek Quiz” by Alan Cross

In his 30+ years in the music business, Alan Cross has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters.  He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music and The Secret History of Rock.  He’s also written four reference books on alt-rock, recorded four audio books (all top-sellers on iTunes), written liner notes for dozens of CDs and contributed to magazines and other publications in Canada and the US.  He’s also a sought-after college and university lecturer, writes a weekly national music column for Metro and travels to music festivals all over the world.

His new radio show is The Secret History of Rock, which runs across Canada and in the US.  Alan has been deeply involved exploring the present and future relationships between music, technology and social networking.  More information (along with plenty of daily updates) can be found at www.alancross.ca

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Live Music from The Cocksure Lads

A band dreamed up by Murray Foster and Mike Ford, both former members of Moxy Fruvous. Both of them had (and have) a passion for early-60’s British pop, and in the early 90’s, just for fun, they began writing songs that were loving send-ups of that genre. By 2010 they had written 25 Cocksure Lads songs, so that summer they went into the studio and recorded “The Greatest Hits of the Cocksure Lads, 1963-1968”.

They’ve turned that CD into a live, 3D experience, with the help of notable Toronto musicians Tim Bovaconti (Ron Sexsmith, Burton Cummings) on guitar and Blake Manning (The Heartbroken) on drums.

Their sound is classic 1960’s Britpop – super-catchy tunes to go along with twitty, naïve, funny lyrics. It’s a high-energy, melodic show with witty banter between songs, vintage suits and – of course – fake British accents.

A full-length feature film about the band called “You Gotta Stay Cocksure!” is in the works, written and directed by Foster. Filming starts November 2013.

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April 18 Presentations

Presentation 1: “Energy and Resource Limits: Mad Max vs. Leave it to Beaver” by Jason Allen

We live on a planet with finite resources, and yet we think we can grow our economy forever. The truth is, we are running low on almost every non-renewable resource, especially oil. Don’t worry, though. We’ll explore a future that is more Leave it to Beaver than Mad Max; but with iPads and Twitter.

Jason Allen is a corporate trainer who has been thinking about, blogging about, and reorganizing his life around energy and resource limits for the past 5 years. An avid transit user, pedestrian and civic activist, he lives on a 1/8th acre Urban Homestead in downtown Hamilton with his wife, two kids, and a bloodthirsty cat.

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Presentation 2: “Archaeology in Pop Culture: Exaggerations and Excavations” by Bill Lucas

Archaeology has been the backbone for many of our favourite stories. Pop culture references have been known for making grand exaggerations, because of this there are misunderstandings about what it is archaeologists actually do. This presentation discusses how archaeology is the basis of many tall tales while giving a more realistic approach to what they do and how it affect our larger community.

Bill Lucas is an archaeologist. He specializes in North American archaeology, Aboriginal rights and digital media. He is currently enrolled at the University of Waterloo in the graduated program. Bill has done excavations across south Ontario and is thrilled with anything archaeology related!

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Nerd Nite Trivia with Irith Mcconnachie!

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March 14 Presentations

Presentation 1: “Kaboom” by Sunny Hope

Fireworks can be anything from old-school dried bamboo to modern displays worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tonight we’ll take a look at how history, chemistry, and computers all explode the world of fireworks.

Sunny M. Hope can’t remember her first fireworks show, but can still stun friends by remembering the names of commercially available crackers. She has spent inordinate amounts of time ‘designing’ displays for friends’ cottages.

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Presentation 2: “A Walk in the Park: Women and Baseball” by Danielle Van Wagner

Major league baseball, like most professional sports, is played only by men. Yet a quick look at its history and in the stands of stadiums reveals a surprising amount of women. From old ladies keeping score, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, scantily clad blondes dancing on the field, and all types of women in between, I will explore the history of women and baseball and look into the expectations and perceptions of female fans in baseball culture.

Danielle Van Wagner is a historical researcher by trade, and a baseball nerd by hobby. She enjoys assorted activities of a nerdy persuasion, including photography, cat watching, used book store browsing and museum visiting.

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Nerd Nite Trivia with Jonathan and Daniel Moneta!

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Lauren Shorser’s first night as co-boss of Nerd Nite Toronto. Lauren has been described by friends and colleagues as “the bee’s knees”, “the cat’s pyjamas”, and “the weirdo in the penguin suit”. She is very excited at becoming more involved with Nerd Nite.

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Happy New Year!

You can find us at TRANZAC, 292 Brunswick Ave. We’re in the Main Hall. Doors at 7:30, things get rolling at 8pm.

Our first Nerd Nite of 2013 is January 17.
For you planners, the next Nerd Nite Toronto dates are:
Thursday, February 21  February’s event has been canceled
Thursday, March 14
Thursday, April 18
If you or someone you know is interested in presenting, drop us a line at virve@nerdnite.com. The surest way for us to keep you updated is through the Facebook group (Nerd Nite Toronto) or the Twitter feed @nerdnitetoronto.

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January 17: Something a Little Different

Live Recording – Dork Forest Podcast by Jackie Kashian, featuring Debra DiGiovanni and Sean Cullen!

The Epic Nerd Show is helping us take a break from the usual presentations – This month’s event is a live recording of The Dork Forest Podcast with special guests Debra DiGiovanni & Sean Cullen!

We’ll have a little Nerd Nite content before and after the Podcast, with some interesting projects coming up and trivia to follow.

Tickets are $10, available here:
http://empirecomedylive.com/jackie-kashian-toronto-2013/

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Bio: LA Comedian Jackie Kashian has been a national touring comic for over 15 years, and is the host of the long running Dork Forest Podcast.

She has her own half hour special on Comedy Central, was a semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing, has appeared on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and performed at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal.

In 2013, Jackie will be part of the inaugural NY Pod Fest in January, and later in the spring will be part of Gilda’s LaughFest in Detroit, as well as Bumbershoot in Seattle.

Her latest CD, “It is Never Going to Be Bread” was one of the top ten comedy albums on Amazon in 2010.

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Nerd Nite Toronto Holiday Nerdtacular, December 13 8pm

Presentation 1: Sarah Reeves Aljas returns with one of Nerd Nite’s most popular talks, to answer the burning question “Why Does Elmer Fudd Talk Like That?”

Ever wonder what’s really going on with Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety’s speech impediments? The ins and outs of how we produce sounds (a.k.a. talk) and the difficulties some have doing so.

Sarah Reeves Aljas has been a Speech-Language Pathologist for over 10 years, helping toddlers and school-aged children learn to talk and improving the way they talk. She has provided treatment for people locally as well as in NWT, Nunavut and Northern Ontario, both directly and through videoconferencing.

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Presentation 2: “I Build LEGO for a Living”

This presentation will bring us LEGOLAND Discovery Centre’s brand new Master Model Builder, selected from contestants to turn a childhood pastime into a dream career. We’ll hear all about their passion for LEGO, the competition and what to expect from Toronto’s soon-to-come LEGOLAND Discovery Center. legolanddiscoverycentre.ca

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Live Music by Pavlov’s Dogs Handbell Ensemble: Not your typical Holiday fare. Pavlov’s Dogs are Toronto’s hottest handbell ringers, dedicated to rocking out. They ring the bells, and you’ll be salivating. pavlovsdogs.ca

Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest: Last year’s winner killed with a sentimental backstory. This year we’re looking for extreme knitting, pyrotechnics, or bedazllers gone wild.

Building Challenge: Everyone knows an Engineer, now’s the time to bring out the ringers.

Trivia: You didn’t think we’d let you get away without thinking, did you?

Thanks to Discovery for some great giveaway prizes!

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November 22 Presentations:

Presentation 1:  ”The Invisible Biosphere — How Microbes Rule the World” by Tyler Irving

Invisible to the naked eye, microorganisms like bacteria, yeast and algae were almost unknown to science until surprisingly recently. Yet these tiny organisms represent the bulk of all known life; we macroscopic creatures are the exception rather than the rule. This presentation covers the key discoveries that reveal how microbes have influenced the course of human history, the earth’s climate, and even the human body itself. You will be convinced that this is really their planet; we’re merely living on it.

Tyler Irving became fascinated with the world of the very small while designing microalgal bioreactors as part of his master’s thesis at the University of Toronto. Today he is a science journalist who interprets new discoveries for non-specialist audiences, particularly Canadian ones. His blog can be found at tylerirving.ca.

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October 25 Presentations:

Presentation 1:  ”…the cemeteries are full of men this world could not get along without…” by Virve Aljas

It’s a shame that some of Toronto’s most interesting people are the dead ones. This presentation will explore Toronto’s historic cemeteries and the colourful residents within them.

Virve Aljas is the host of Nerd Nite Toronto and sometimes moonlights as a presenter.

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September 13 Presentations:

Presentation 1:  Internal Conflicts — The Biology of Selfish Genetic Elements
Genes and cells are the building block of living organisms, and usually genes cooperate with each other pretty well. But, like in a communal kitchen, the genome is sensitive to free-loading cheaters. Arvid will discuss what prevents selfish genetic elements from completely taking over.

Arvid Ågren is an aspiring evolutionary biologist at U of T, a Junior Fellow at Massey College, and a Swede abroad. He also has an obsession with British politics and a hugely underperforming soccer team.

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Presentation 2:  Say You, Say Meme — From Email Forwards to Cultural Phenomena
Sara will be exploring the meaning behind LOLCats and the history of internet memes. Why are they significant? Why are so many people watching videos of cats on the internet? I can has answer???

Sara Law is a Toronto-based web designer and developer. She is a member of DevTO and Girl Geeks Toronto, is an avid knitter and painter, and can often be found cuddling up with a good book and a huge cup of tea.

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Plus Trivia and giveaways and all that jazz. Maybe cake if you’re good.

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May 9 Presentations:

Presentation 1: We’re Movin’ on Up (to Mars) by Andrew Rader
Earth’s housing bubble is about to burst. Andrew Rader will talk about future prospects for Space settlement, with emphasis on why Mars makes a good candidate for human exploration and colonization. Andrew will also discuss Mars-related research on Earth and how we can prepare to visit the red planet.

Andrew Rader is a Spacecraft Systems Engineer at COM DEV in Cambridge, Ontario. He earned his Ph.D. from MIT in Aerospace engineering, where he conducted experiments on human subjects investigating the long-term effects of spaceflight on the human body. Andrew was president of the MIT Chapter of the Mars Society and is an advocate of both human and robotic spaceflight.

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Presentation 2: Eye Patches are the New Black–The Golden Age of Piracy by Laura Thipphawong

The Golden Age of Piracy: they were the true pirates of the Caribbean, ruling the islands from 1650-1700. They were as dirty, depraved and heinously violent as the legends and folklore depict. We’ll touch on what influenced these fringe societies, including politics, monarchy, government spending, gender issues and pure sadism, as well as recounting some of the most notorious plunders of the golden age.

Laura Thipphawong is an avid researcher of criminal psychology and historical case studies. Her academic pursuit of personality disorders, neuroses and deviant behavior has taken her through highschool to U of T, where she audits courses on abnormal psychology and criminology. The rich history, psychological and sociological aspects of 17th century piracy makes the topic of particular personal interest.

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Trivia trivia trivia

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March 29 Presentations:

Presentation 1: The Canadian Golden Age of comic books by Hope Nicholson
The Canadian Golden Age of comic books: a time when Canada created the world’s first superheroine, Nelvana of the Northern Lights protected the Inuit from Russian invaders, and Johnny Canuck crossed the seas to punch out Hitler–for Canada.

Hope Nicholson is the Associate Producer of Lost Heroes, a documentary airing next year on Super Channel about the history of Canadian superheroes. In her day job she’s a researcher for post-production in film.

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Presentation 2: “Popcorn in the Urban Garden” by Beny Spensieri Jr.
In an urban garden, tomatoes are nice and lettuce barely earns a backward glance–but corn always impresses. Nothing cranks the WTF-factor like announcing that you’re not just growing corn, but actually growing popcorn. It’s not as difficult as you might think.

Beny Spensieri Jr. is a chemical engineer, who works at a lab in Scarborough and sets things on fire for a living. When he’s not (almost) blowing himself to kingdom come, he impresses his friends with random projects from oddball botany experiments to building TV antennas and hammocks.

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Trivia this month will be brought to you by the lovely and talented Catharine Benzie. She works in news and covered the census. Be afraid.

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PLUS: Free copies of the second issue of Nerd Nite Magazine…don’t get too used to this, it’s the last batch

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February 23 Presentations:

Presentation 1: “Alien Minds” by Lauren Shorser

Though most people will only encounter them on a dinner plate, cephalopods (octopus, squid, and cuttlefish) are much more than exotic and chewy seafood. These short-lived, anti-social, and occasionally cannibalistic invertebrates are making a name for themselves as highly intelligent beings, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of what they can do.

Lauren Shorser is a writer and scuba diver with a deep love of cephalopods. She finds it unsettling to write about herself in the third person.

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Presentation 2: “The Science Behind Your Movie Preferences” by Charlotte Armstrong

You love Star Wars, I love Star Trek. Science (and Charlotte) can explain why. Factors like technological advances in film and the viewers’ ability to access facts about the movies can affect their emotional response and attachment to the films.

Charlotte Armstrong has over 10 years experience reviewing and discussing movies in a variety of public forums including television. She is the founder and coordinator of the Southern Ontario Science Fiction and Science festivals, and is also the boss of Nerd Nite Kitchener Waterloo.
Trivia to follow!

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January 19 Presentations:

Presentation 1: “Microchips Ahoy!: The weird and wonderful ways we use computer chips” By Justin Besant

Everyone expects to find microchips in computers, cell phones, and cyborgs. Justin will talk about surprising ways that integrated circuits are infiltrating our society including disease diagnosis, modern art, and beer tasting.

Justin Besant is a PhD student in biomedical engineering at U of T developing new strategies to detect bacterial infections. When he’s not in the lab you might be able to find him goofing around on a piano or churning out hip hop beats.

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Presentation 2: “It Started in a Bar” by Christine Sismondo

Sometimes it seems like everything that ever happened in America happened (or at least started) in a bar — from the American Revolution to the Stonewall Riots. Christine Sismondo argues that the role this powerful institution has played in history has been shamefully neglected when, in fact, America was born in a bar.

Christine Sismondo is a writer and barfly who spends, what some might say is too much time thinking about and drinking in bars. With her new book, America Walks into a Bar: A Spirited History of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog Shops (Oxford University Press), she hopes to change the way the world looks at their local.

For more information and to purchase the book, click here.

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Nerd Nite Toronto Holiday Nerdtacular!

December 8, 2011
TRANZAC (The Toronto Australia New Zealand Club)
In the Main Hall
292 Brunswick Avenue
A handy map to guide your way

We’ll be hearing about 2011 highlights, how to survive   the coming apocalypse, Toronto history with a holiday  spin…. and special guests The Cowgirl Choir!

Bring forth your ugliest Christmas sweaters, practice  your dreidel spinning and start training for your Festivus  feats of strength.

There’s a $5 cover, kids. See you there!

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November 3 Presentations:

Presentation 1: “Dark Energy.” That is all.

Dark energy is driving everything in the universe away from everything else at a faster and faster rate. This year a Nobel Prize was awarded to three astrophysicists who showed that the universe was not only expanding, but accelerating in its expansion. Liam will talk about dark energy’s discovery, its possible explanations, and its dismal implications for the fate of the universe.

Liam Connor is an aspiring cosmologist and actor. He’s starting his Ph.D. in Astrophysics at U of T and will be appearing in the upcoming Bollywood film Agent Vinod as an extra.

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Presentation 2: “I Was a High School DJ:  A twenty-year journey through music, technology, and crowd control”

DJ by night – Government employee by day, MontyB started his journey on a frosty Sudbury Saturday night with stops in Detroit Rock City, Miami to Ibiza and eventually T Dot Oh, with a few unlikely stops along the way.

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September 8 Presentations:

Mini Presentation: A look at more of your favourite Heritage Minutes: “A Lot of $#!? Went Down in Manitoba.” by Virve Aljas

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Presentation 1: Fuel Hacking (Return of the Loblaws Homebrewer)

Homemade booze is fun and easy to make. You can brew it in your kitchen with basic groceries. However bathtub hooch has more applications than just getting drunk — with a few extra steps it can be processed into fuel that will run in your car. “Fuel Hacking” demonstrates a lo-fi process for homemade biofuel, and examines the pros and cons of ethanol as an industrial alternative to petrol.

Mark Coatsworth is a computer engineer, tech entrepreneur, electronics hacker and aspiring alchemist. He has been subjecting his family, friends (and himself!) to various DIY science experiments since 2002.

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Presentation 2: That Drug Does What?  ***UPDATE*** Due to unforeseen circumstances, Michael’s presentation has to be postponed to another date. Trivia and other nerdy goodness to take its place, never fear.

The lighter side of drug side effects? Well only if they’re not happening to you. Michael Plastina, chemist and pharmaceutical veteran, walks you through the fine print of drug labels.

Warning: May cause nausea, vomiting, lower back pain, receding hairline, liver spots, blood clots, uneven tire wear, pyorrhoea, gonorrhoea, diarrhoea, halitosis, scoliosis, loss of bladder control, athlete’s foot, head lice, split ends, haemorrhoids, dry heaving, sexual dysfunction, and the condition known as ‘hot dog fingers.’

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August 5 Presentations:

We’re keeping the trivia train rolling with a mid-nite trivia break. Get your 80′s pop culture hat on. Woo! Trivia!

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Presentation 1:
Sarah Reeves Aljas answers the burning question–why does Elmer Fudd talk like that?

Ever wonder what’s really going on with Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety’s speech impediments? The ins and outs of how we produce sounds (a.k.a. talk) and the difficulties some have doing so.

Sarah Reeves Aljas has been a Speech-Language Pathologist for 10 years, helping toddlers and school-aged children learn to talk and improving the way they talk. She has provided treatment for people in NWT, Nunavut and Northern Ontario, both directly and through videoconferencing.

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Presentation 2:
Todd Van Allen and Ian Atlas talk about Comedy Above the Pub and the finer points of podcasting:

Launched in 2007, the Comedy Above The Pub podcast has risen to prominence in Toronto, and in 2010 was named Toronto’s Best Comedy Podcast by Now Magazine.

Hosted by comedian Todd Van Allen, recent guests have included Henry Rollins, Paul F Tompkins, former Mayor David Miller, Michael Showalter, Anthony Jeselnik, and many more.

Todd will be joined by producer Ian Atlas, and they will discuss the finer points of podcastery and the nerdery therein, including a brief history, technical setup, formatting, and distribution.

At the time of August’s Nerd Nite, Todd and Ian will have just returned from Montreal’s Just For Laughs comedy festival.

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June 10 Presentations:
We’re back at Tranzac for Nerd Nite V, kids. A later start time of 8pm so you can grab a bite beforehand. Doors open at 7:30… arrive early to snag a seat.

We’re mixing it up a bit with some trivia to start the night off. Woo! Trivia!

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Presentation 1:
Rick Roos talks about the science of home building:

Humanity’s need for the comfort of conditioned interior spaces are in conflict with Mother Nature’s socialist agenda. Insisting on “universal laws” such as equilibrium to rob thermally-conditioned spaces from honestly earned heat and moisture, Mother Nature not only participates in wholesale damage to the built environment, but also in global warming.

Rick Roos, ex-organic farmer, occasional musician and full-time hottie, is finishing up his MASc in Building Science. Expects to join Mother Nature’s barbarous thievery cartel in the fall, undertaking book-keeping responsibilities.

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Presentation 2:
D.T. Cochrane, on how diamonds are a war’s best friend:

Why did the Allied countries win WWII? Because we had the diamonds. From the bullets, to the radars and radios, from the airplane engines to the nuclear bombs, industrial diamonds were there.

D.T. Cochrane is a lowly social scientist who has somehow found himself reading academic articles in geochemistry. How else can one understand the complicated social life of diamonds and their 20th century master, DeBeers?

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April 7 Presentations:

Presentation 1:
“Welcome to the Nanoworld” by Kristin Cederquist
Did you know that gold can appear bright red, depending on its size? Nanoparticles are too small for the eye to see, but they’ve been used for over a thousand years as stains and dyes. This presentation will give a brief history of nanoparticles and why they can exhibit such bright colors–and what they’re doing in many of today’s products, from cosmetics to pregnancy tests.

Kristin has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State University and is now a postdoctoral researcher at U of T. She synthesized way too many nanoparticles in her time at Penn State, but is still fascinated by the nanoworld and other advances in science and tech. She also does a killer Sarah Palin impression.

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Presentation 2:
“Rocket Science Invades Your Living Room!” by Kevin Andrews
Inertial navigation is a branch of rocket science finding its way into your every day.  From Wernher von Braun’s Nazi V-2 rocket to the Nintendo Wii, explore how this pervasive technology keeps you safe, informed, and even entertained.

Kevin is a nerd of all trades, dungeon master of none.  Professionally in the business of fitting lasers onto things, typically for the purposes of navigation or mapping, he is always looking for an opportunity to work with sharks.

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Presentation 3:
“Don’t dig that kinda croonin’, chum!”: When Music Genres Collide by Alan Stanbridge
Even Bing and Frankie couldn’t quite get along, style-wise. But what happens when Jazz meets Classical? Or when Opera meets Popular Music? Or when Frankie meets Elvis, for heaven’s sake? The 20th Century was littered with debris from the collisions between musical styles and genres, and this presentation takes you on a whirlwind tour of the most spectacular pile-ups. Who needs Monster Truck Madness when there’s Music Genre Madness? And without the fumes.

Alan is a full-time professor and procrastinator, although he does a pretty good job of the procrastination thing on a part-time basis too. He’s a bit of a jazz guy, but only the good jazz, not the boring stuff with the funny hats. He also likes other music. He was very flattered to be considered worthy of Nerd Nite, and briefly contemplated calling his presentation “Music: Friend or Foe?”

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February 17 Presentations:

Mini Presentation
“The Sun: friend … or foe?” by Adam Evans
Sure, our nearest star provides us with some minor comforts (habitable climates, photosynthesis, a light source for shadow puppets), but what does the Sun have to hide? In this short presentation, we’ll explore how the star works, debunk some sunny myths, and learn how it secretly plans to kill us all.

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Presentation 1:
“On the Nerdiness of Type” by Colin Barrett
Colin Barrett will share his obsession for the history, technology, and culture of typographic design. He’ll discuss some unfamiliar characteristics of some familiar characters.
Colin is a full-time cubicle dweller, amateur bookbinder, and avid type enthusiast. He is grateful for the privilege to practice his public speaking skills at Nerd Nite and for the abundance of liquid courage available on tap at its venue.

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Presentation 2:
“The Art of Geocaching: Hiding Loot is not Just for Pirates…” by Tarmo Remmel and Raja Raudsepp
It has been said that geocaching utilizes billions of dollars of high tech military equipment orbiting in space to find Tupperware in the woods. Bottom-line: It is an international treasure hunt!  With GPS unit in hand, over 600,000 people have taken to the streets, forests, mountains, oceans, and even space (there is a geocache on the international space station), to find many of the over one million caches hidden worldwide.  This presentation will enlighten
you to what it is, how to do it, and how to know when you’re addicted.
Tarmo Remmel, or “kurat”, as he’s known in geocaching circles is a geographer and a geocaching addict.  While not as severely addicted as some, he has been known to bolt out of the house at midnight to be the first to find a newly published geocache or to climb through sewers or up trees to make coveted finds.  Having cached in 7 countries, he takes his love of geography to this extra dimension.
Raja Raudsepp always enjoyed a good scavenger hunt as a kid.  Now, as an amateur geocacher, she’s already suckered in a number of friends and colleagues.  Her goal: to get more of her friends into caching so she’ll have
people to go with.

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November 23 Presentations:

Mini Presentation:
The story behind “I Smell Burnt Toast” and your other favourite Heritage Minutes by Virve Aljas

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Presentation 1:
“The Loblaws Homebrewer” by Mark Coatsworth
Humans were producing booze before we had writing. Fermentation is a fundamental process that occurs in nature and can be easily reproduced. This presentation covers a basic process for producing alcohol with nothing more than Loblaws groceries, hoping to simplify the science of alcohol production and give you some tasty recipes too!
Mark Coatsworth is a computer engineer, tech entrepreneur, old time banjo picker and aspiring alchemist. He has been subjecting his family, friends (and himself!) to various DIY science experiments since 2002. He is also fascinated by entomology and pest control and is working on a control solution to the bedbug pandemic.

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Presentation 2:
“There Is No Noise” by garbageface AKA Karol Orzechowski
“There Is No Noise” is part seminar, part how-to guide on the presence and function of sound in our daily lives. Whether it’s the sound of the highway outside your door, the dripping tap that keeps you awake at night, or the the swishing of your spinal fluid back and forth, sound is virtually impossible to escape from. Toronto sound artist garbageface will present a very brief genealogy of “noise,” followed by a demonstration of how the “noises” of our daily lives can be rethought and reimagined into more pleasing configurations.
garbageface AKA Karol Orzechowski maintains the dubious title the world’s first and only ambient occult rapper. He has been studying noise and its effect on people since the third grade, when his friend’s older brother made him a mix tape that included Slayer.

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Sept. 19 Presentations: