Guest Speaker: Damian Conway - Fun With Dead Languages

This isn't a Perl Mongers exclusive meet but we skip our usual last Thursday of the month when a very special someone lands in Toronto. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing Damian talk, you should know he's a mad genius with a gift for speaking and will enthrall you if you have even the tiniest interest in anything tech. He will also hurt your brain... in a good way.

Damian Conway (http://damian.conway.org/About_us/Bio_formal.html) (a former Professor at Monash University in Australia and the principal of Thoughtstream, his IT Training Company) will be presenting the first of two days of talks: Fun with Dead Languages (http://damian.conway.org/Seminars/DeadLanguages.html)

Watch in mesmerized terror as Damian hacks code in several unrelated programming languages (none of them Perl). Along the way, you'll also discover what's wrong with modern CS education, why programmers shouldn't frequent casinos, the power of Thor's Law, the language of moisture vaporators, C++ mysticism, how to use the three shells, state machines on steroids, programming without variables or subroutines, a cheap and eco-friendly alternative for distributed persistent computation, what the Romans used instead of braces, the ancient probabilistic wisdom of bodkins, and the price of fish.

(Ed.: This is going to be the more outlandish of his talks this year. It is a new-and-improved version of a talk Damian last gave in Toronto seven years ago where he demonstrates his virtuosity -- and insanity -- in many programming languages and paradigms. Computer geeks from all language backgrounds should enjoy this thoroughly.)

I can haz donation plz?

Damian's trip here is un-funded... out of his own pocket. Donations would be greatly appreciated. This would go towards his air fare, hotel and food while staying in Toronto. Any excess donations will be given to Damian as an honourarium. Please contact the Meetup organizer (Dave Doyle (http://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Perl-Mongers/members/10713539/)) if you'd like to donate so he can put you in touch with the correct party.