Unix

April Edition ✨✨! We will be at Kraken Tech (Octopus Energy Group), London office! (in-person only event, no streaming) **Talks:** **Digitising Historical Caving Data with Django** - *Andrew Northall* Building an automated pipeline with Django which can extract, structure and publish 2,700+ historical printed reports from scanned PDF copies. *Andrew Northall* is a Python & Django specialist who maintains several open source Django projects/services for the caving and amateur radio communities. **llms.txt for Django: what works** - *Thibaud Colas* The llms.txt format is an emerging standard to structure information for Large Language Models. It’s a desirable addition to the docs of Python packages. Let’s review how to adopt it! We’ll discuss the fundamentals of the format and its benefits as a user of the docs, and as a maintainer. How to produce and consume those files across different tools (Sphinx, mkdocs, Django). How to optimize them for different LLMs with an eval suite. Tools and techniques you should be able to reuse through other engineering tasks with LLMs. *Thibaud Colas* works at Torchbox as developer, core contributor to the Wagtail CMS build on Django. **Want to share your Django or Python knowledge?** We’d love to feature your talk! Just fill out our [speaker form](https://forms.gle/LkaRdKVTF9ApbrEq7) to propose a talk! **Agenda:** • 6:15pm Doors open, socialising • 6:30pm Food and drinks offered by our sponsor • 7:00pm Doors close \*\* • 7:15pm Introduction, News, Talks • 8:30pm Socialising • 9:30pm Fin **Please make sure to arrive between 6:15 PM and 6:55 PM**. If you arrive earlier than 6:15 PM or later than 6:55 PM, you can take a seat in the seating area located in the downstairs reception. **Please note that we cannot accommodate arrivals after 7:15 PM.** Our meetups are governed by a [Code of Conduct](https://www.djangolondon.com/code-of-conduct/). Please take a few minutes to read it. This meetup is sponsored by: • [Kraken Tech (Octopus Energy Group)](https://kraken.tech/): "Kraken is a revolutionary energy tech platform built with predominantly Python & Django. We Serve 54 million households worldwide and have 38GW of contracted capacity." • [JetBrains](https://www.jetbrains.com/): "We make professional software development a more productive and enjoyable experience." Website: [https://djangolondon.com](https://djangolondon.com/) BlueSky: [@djangolondon.com](https://bsky.app/profile/djangolondon.com) Github: [github.com/djangolondon](https://github.com/djangolondon/) Open Collective: [opencollective.com/the-london-django-meetup-group](https://opencollective.com/the-london-django-meetup-group/)

This session is coached and uses the fundamental skills for age groups from 6 years old up 16 years old to grasp footwork, Racket skills to name the core. All levels are welcome. Please bring your racket with you however if you don't have your own racket please let us know ahead of time. We also ask that all players to wear appropriate sports clothing. PAYMENT We are accepting bank transfer rather than Cash payments. £10 pay and play £24 4 session upfront payment. Bank details: Name: The Badminton Collective Sort code: 60-83-71 Account number:69874292 Reference must be your Full Name to match you to the list of attendees. We shall be operating a pay and play system however if you wanting something more long-term we shall be offering term specials. PARKING: Parking is available and free on site. Other information: There is a water fountain however it is outside the building so if you could bring water for the session. If you need further information or have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us on tldnbc@gmail.com or message us on meet up. The Badminton Collective and Royal Docks Academy are not responsible for any injuries or loss of items.

**Venue:** Riverbank House, 2 Swan Ln, London EC4R 3AD **Please note:** 1\. 🚨🚨🚨 A valid photo ID is required by building security\. 🚨🚨🚨 2\. This event follows the [NumFOCUS Code of Conduct](https://numfocus.org/code-of-conduct). Please familiarise yourself with it before attending. If your RSVP status says "You're going" you will be able to get in. No need to show your RSVP confirmation when signing in. If you can no longer make it, please unRSVP as soon as possible. **Code of Conduct:** This event follows the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct. Please get in touch with the organisers with any questions or concerns. As always, there will be free food and drinks, generously provided by our host, Man Group. **Main Talks** 1. **[Nicoleta Lazar](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleta-lazar-921a6864/) Query federation in modern OLAP databases** As analytics ecosystems grow more diverse, organisations increasingly need to query data across warehouses, data lakes, and operational systems without excessive data movement or duplication. **Query federation** has become essential by enabling unified SQL access and intelligent predicate pushdown into heterogeneous sources. This talk introduces the core principles of federation and why it matters for modern OLAP workloads. Using StarRocks as a model system, we highlight its vectorised execution engine, native connectors, and deep Apache Iceberg integration that together deliver high-performance lakehouse querying. 2. [Ben Guerin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjhguerin/) **How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let Claude Code Write the Python [the story of [ismypubfucked.com](http://ismypubfucked.com/ "http://ismypubfucked.com")]** 43,000 pubs. Official VOA data. One question. [ismypubfucked.com](http://ismypubfucked.com/ "http://ismypubfucked.com") got 400k visits in two weeks and wall-to-wall media coverage: from the Mirror to the Telegraph to City AM. I'm not a Python developer. I used Claude Code to wrangle government spreadsheets, match them to OpenStreetMap, and ship a working site. All in less than 6 hours from initial idea to a live website. The AI wrote the Python, I just knew what story the data could tell. This talk covers what happens when tools like Claude Code unlock Python for people who think in narratives rather than syntax, and what a decade of building viral campaigns has taught me about making people actually give a shit about spreadsheets. **Lightning Talks** 1. **TBC** 2. **TBC** \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **Logistics** Doors open at **6.30 pm** (get there early as you'll need to sign in with building security). Talks start at **7:00 pm**, with drinks afterwards from **9:00 pm** at The Banker (EC4). We have reduced capacity for this event, but there will be plenty of people to discuss data science questions with. Please unRSVP in good time if you realise you can't make it. We're limited by building security on the number of attendees, so please free up your place for your fellow community members. If you want me to trim lightning talks down to two or shorten any abstracts, say which ones.

**A software engineers guide to LLMs** In this talk Richard Conway will break down what LLMs are layer by layer, how they work, how they use software principles to work and how to use them in software. This will be a fluid talk with a lot of philosophy, maths from school and how to build your software understanding things like hallucinations and new techniques that can make your management of LLMs more deterministic. We'll consider a lot of things here including the new code generation tools which have developers quivering in their boots, what they mean for our industry and how to use them for effect. Lots of mini-demos and great discussions, good people, beer and pizza! **About the speaker** Richard Conway co-founded the user group, along with Andy Cross, Joe Hancock and Chris Parsons. He is a Microsoft AI MVP and a Microsoft Regional Director and has been writing software in one form or another since his fingers were large enough to hit a ZX81 keyboard.

Registration Portal: [Event Registration Portal](https://luma.com/cclondon26?utm_source=sherif) About Event ​"Why are there no coffeeshops open late? But what if I want to co-work at night?!?" - everyone on Twitter ​Cerebras is excited to present, Cafe Compute. The first, late-night pop-up coffeeshop with a barista bar ☕️, cozy snacks and couches 🛋️, and more. ​​​​​​This event is brought to you in collaboration with OpenAI. ​​Cerebras is the world’s fastest AI inference, up to 15x faster than leading GPUs. Cerebras Inference is powered by our Wafer-Scale Engine (WSE-3) - the world's largest AI chip. Experience the speed for yourself with OpenAI Codex-Spark, powered on Cerebras, and get free compute at cerebras.ai. Location Please register to see the exact location of this event.

Friendly book group Please remember to change your RSVP if you can't make it so someone on the waitlist can take your slot. New books chosen by popular vote and read 2 months later. We look forward to seeing you there!

Vibe Coding Collective is teaming up with **ElevenLabs** to push the boundaries of sound-first vibe coded apps. For one night, we’re getting full access to their tech to explore what’s possible when vibe coding meets voice and music generation. Whether you want to build a voice-controlled game, an AI storyteller, or a children’s app, this is your playground. Use any tools you like (Lovable, Google AI Studio, v0, Cursor, Replit…) and plug in ElevenLabs' power. 🍻 **Format 🛠️** We’ll be teaming up in small groups (2–3 people). We'll provide a specific "Voice & Vibe" challenge, then it’s heads-down building. The goal is to **vibe, experiment with sound, and see how voice and music changes the way we interact with vibe coding**. ## New to vibe coding or voice tech? ✨ No worries! We’ll provide a special **ElevenLabs Starter Kit** with API recipes and prompt examples so even total beginners can get an AI talking in minutes. ## Schedule 🕒 *(Aim to arrive by 6:50 PM so we can get your API access sorted!)* * 7:00 – ElevenLabs Presentation & Tech Demo * 7:20 – The Challenge + Team Formation 🤝 * 7:30 – Round 1: Build & Hear 💻 * 8:15 – Break (Grab a drink, hear what others are cooking) 🍺 * 8:30 – Round 2: Polish & Play 🏗️ * 9:00 – The "Vibe Check" Demos 📺 (Show/Hear what you built!) * 9:20 – Hang out, network, make friends ✌️ ## Who is it for? Anyone! Curious coders, GameDevs, artists, musicians, sound designers, voice actors, entrepreneurs. If you’ve ever wanted to talk to your computer (and have it talk back), you belong here. ## What to bring: * Laptop! 💻 * Headphones (Essential for testing those voice vibes!) 🎧 * Vibes ⚡ ## Location 📍 London College of Political Technology Newspeak House 133-135 Bethnal Green Road London E2 7DG 👉 No gatekeeping. No silence (this time). Just new voices and friends! Disclaimer: By signing up, you consent to the collection and sharing of your name, email address, photos, videos, and software, unless you explicitly opt out by informing the organizers.

Elixir London Meetup; February 2026 edition. All are welcome. **Session 1: Anton Borisov - Distilling Kafka's Binary Protocol into Elixir** We'll trace a produce request to show what any Kafka client has to get right. In the BEAM ecosystem, erlkaf wraps librdkafka, brod implements the protocol in Erlang, and [kafka_ex](https://hex.pm/packages/kafka_ex) goes pure Elixir. Kafka_ex's approach is to generate serializers at compile time from Kafka's own schema definitions: plain structs, pattern matching, structural boilerplate isolated from the logic you actually think about. That design is what let us jump two major versions ahead and adapt to significant protocol changes. Let's dig into the idea, the code, and the tradeoffs. **Session 2: Evadne Wu** **\- JavaScript Execution Strategies in Elixir\-based Agent Frameworks** We'll look at integration points between elixir agents (in the AI fashion) and JavaScript execution, and all the foot guns involved. *The event is kindly sponsored by* [Fresha](https://www.fresha.com). **Time** Doors open at 18, start at 18.30. **Venue** Fresha The Bower, 207-211, Old St, Tower, London EC1V 9NR **Refreshments** Food and drinks will be provisioned on the day. **IMPORTANT**: **If you wish to take photos and post online during the event, please notify organisers first, so that attendees can opt-out from being in photos.**

Discover your ability to unicycle in a no-pressure friendly environment where you will (literally) have someone to lean on. Learn all the secret tips and hints and get up and rolling in no time! Anyone can learn to ride the unicycle and to play unicycle hockey. We have unicycles for you to use and play with, but please let us know in advance so we can ensure we have these available. Just be willing to have a go with a friendly bunch of varying abilities. Costs: £0 until you can unicycle a length of the hall, unassisted £15 for adults £5 for concessions (students, retired, between jobs etc)

Lucky dip is a different theme each month - each meeting will include: meditation, music, poetry and gentle discussion. Previous themes so far this year have included: "Paying attention to Meditation", "What is a blessing?" "New Year Meditation on Resistance" This month's theme will be announced shortly. Heartspaces at Essex Hall is a vibrant and welcoming Unitarian hub in central London, open to spiritual seekers, existing Unitarians and curious newcomers. The Heartspaces programme is a series of weekly spiritual gatherings led by Unitarian ministers and volunteers across London. From the monthly Wednesday lunchtime session to the events every Thursday evening, Heartspaces encourages people to gather, share and discover together. Whether you are a seasoned Unitarian, a spiritual searcher or simply curious, find your space to grow.

We are back! This is going to be a monthly IN PERSON meet up in London. A very big thank you goes to Accurx who is hosting us in their amazing Shoreditch offices. This will include access to facilities including coffee! 😻☕️ **Want to know more? 👇** As with all CoffeeOps, this is an interactive, chatty, build your own adventure type of meet-up. Instead of booking in experts to *learn* *from*, we gather a group of practitioners to ***learn*** ***with***. We have been running for over 4 years now and often get feedback that this is the most useful meetup people join! The event is approximately 90 minutes and always starts by brainstorming topics to discuss. The group then votes on the most relevant/interesting to them and we then cycle through the topics trying to discuss each deeply, but in a time bound slot. To get an idea of topics, you can check out our remote board [here](https://easyretro.io/publicboard/h404NF84Uje4tCcxpJdHr4Ycs9B3/a4a35d2b-181b-409b-832e-a729be1af79c). The general gist is anything is fair game, though we tend to revolve around software delivery and definitely lean towards the more Ops-y or DevOps-y side of things.

PHP London Pub Social – April 9th, Jack Horner, Tottenham Court Road Join us for an informal PHP London pub social at the Jack Horner on Tottenham Court Road! We've got a reserved space from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Thursday 9th April - a mix of seating and standing with a few tables. This is a relaxed, no-agenda evening — just good conversation with fellow PHP developers over a drink. Whether you're a long-time community regular or coming along for the first time, all are welcome. Places are limited.

**Join us for a joint meetup with our friends from Qodo and Tessl** AI coding agents are increasingly embedded in production workflows, but their failure modes are often poorly understood, difficult to detect, and even harder to evaluate systematically. ​This session examines how agent-based systems degrade under real-world conditions, focusing on three critical dimensions: reliability, code quality, and security. We’ll look at where current evaluation approaches fall short, how non-determinism and context drift impact correctness, and why seemingly “successful” generations can still introduce latent defects or vulnerabilities. ​If you’re building, evaluating, or deploying AI agents in production systems, this session will provide a grounded view of where they fail and what it takes to make them robust **Agenda** * ​​​6:00pm Venue opens * ​Join us for Drinks and Pizza! * ​​​6:30pm **Hidden Failure Modes for AI Agents** by Nupur Sharma * ​6:50pm Panel Discussion * ​**Panelists** * ​**Simon Maple -** Developer Relations at Tessl * ​**Brian Vermeer** \- Staff Developer Advocate at Snyk * ​**Nupur Sharma -** Solutions Engineer at Qodo * ​**Kunal Kushwaha -** Senior Developer Advocate EMEA at Cast AI **SPEAKERS** **​** **Simon Maple - Developer Relations at Tessl** ​Simon Maple is the Head of Developer Relations at Tessl, and AI Native Dev co-host. Previously, Simon was the Field CTO, and VP Developer Relations at Snyk, ZeroTurnaround, and IBM. He became a Java Champion in 2014, JavaOne Rockstar speaker in 2014 and 2017, Duke’s Choice award winner, Virtual JUG founder and organiser, and London Java Community co-leader ​ ​**Brian Vermeer** \- Staff Developer Advocate at Snyk ​Staff Developer Advocate for Snyk, Java Champion, and Software Engineer with over a decade of hands-on experience in creating and maintaining software. He is passionate about Java, (Pure) Functional Programming and Cybersecurity. Brian is a JUG leader for the Virtual JUG and the NLJUG. He also co-leads the DevSecCon community and is a community manager for Foojay. He is a regular international speaker on mostly Java-related conferences like JavaOne, Devnexus, Devoxx, Jfokus, JavaZone and many more. Besides all that, Brian is a military reserve for the Royal Netherlands Air Force and a Taekwondo Master / Teacher. ​ ​**Nupur Sharma -** Solutions Engineer at Qodo ​ ​**Kunal Kushwaha -** Senior Developer Advocate EMEA at Cast AI ***

On Wednesday 8th of April, public rallies and other events are taking place around the world in support of greater funding for research into longer healthy lifespans. [The Fund Longevity website](https://fundlongevity.org/en/why/) makes the case as follows: ***Aging Is a Problem***: Aging kills around 110,000 people every day. It is the primary risk factor behind nearly all major non-infectious diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Beyond statistics, aging causes decades of frailty, pain, and loss of independence. It is the greatest source of human suffering that is being accepted as "normal". ***This Is Personal***: Everyone you love will age, suffer, and die because of it. So will you. If we had the ability to prevent this, choosing not to would be deeply unethical. If we can stop aging, we should. ***Stopping Aging Is Possible***: Aging is not a mystery or a force of nature. It is a biological process — and biological processes can be studied, modified, and treated. Over the past decades, scientists have identified many of the core mechanisms that drive aging at the cellular and molecular level. While our understanding is incomplete, it is already sufficient to begin developing real therapies. ***What Do We Mean by "Stopping Aging"?*** We mean treating aging as a medical condition. The goal is to restore and maintain youthful biological function — roughly equivalent to being in your twenties — for as long as you choose. This would prevent or reverse age-related diseases instead of treating them one by one. ***Is This Really Realistic?*** Yes. Thousands of scientists have publicly stated that aging is a solvable problem in the [Dublin Longevity Declaration](https://dublinlongevitydeclaration.org/). Research already shows that aging can be slowed, paused, or reversed in laboratory organisms. Some animals exhibit negligible aging or extreme longevity. Nature has already demonstrated that aging is avoidable — humans simply haven't applied these solutions to ourselves yet. ***Is It Difficult?*** Extremely. Reversing aging in humans will likely be more difficult than landing on the Moon. It will require entirely new biotechnologies and breakthroughs that don't exist yet. We will need to remove senescent cells, repair or replace damaged tissues, and solve many other problems we don't fully understand. This is one of the most difficult challenges humanity has ever faced, but just because it is difficult does not mean it is impossible. Many scientists agree that there are no fundamental laws of physics that prohibits stopping aging. Nature has done it in several animals already, like the hydra. ***What's Missing?*** Scale. Today, fewer than a thousand people worldwide are seriously working on solving aging — researchers, biotech founders, and advocates combined. That number needs to grow by at least 1000×. There is no major government agency dedicated to ending aging. Funding is fragmented. Regulation is outdated. Public urgency is nearly nonexistent. This will not change on its own. ***Why We Act***: Aging is the largest cause of death and suffering on Earth. Solving it requires a society-wide effort — scientific, political, and cultural. That's why we organize. That's why we demonstrate. That's why we demand action. Join us — and help make aging optional for humans and animals.\* == London Futurists gathering on 8th April == The arguments for greater funding for longevity science are strong - but at least a dozen arguments are often raised in opposition to such funding. In our gathering in *Ye Olde Cock Tavern* in Fleet Street, we'll take the opportunity to review these arguments - debating their merits, taking them apart brick by brick, and exploring what really lies behind these arguments. *Anyone who wishes to make a short presentation on this topic during this gathering should contact the organisers in advance.* == Schedule == 5:30pm: The room is available, for early get-togethers 6pm-6:45pm: Food is served; informal conversations 6:45pm-8:30pm: A number of interactive conversations, interspersed with opportunities to visit the bar 8:30pm: Informal networking == RSVP please == Registrations are capped at 40 people. *First-time attendees are welcome.* There's no charge to register or attend, but the pub will expect everyone to order at least one drink, and a reasonable number of attendees to [order some food to eat](https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/ye-olde-cock-tavern/menu?type=main+menu). Please order your food on your arrival, so that all plates can be set aside by 6:45pm to allow everyone to concentrate on the main discussion! == More about the venue == Ye Olde Cock Tavern, 22 Fleet Street, Holborn, London, EC4Y 1AA See [https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/ye-olde-cock-tavern](https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/ye-olde-cock-tavern) We'll be meeting in the room at the top of the stairs, though drinks should be ordered from the bar on the ground floor. \*\* Note that this is an in-person meeting, and there will be no remote access, sorry \*\*

The Fellowship of the Star Schema: Transforming OLTP Data for Power BI One does not simply build reports on OLTP data. Join us on an epic journey from the depths of raw, normalized tables to the shining halls of a well-modeled star schema fit for Power BI greatness. We will demystify the differences between OLTP and OLAP, walk through star schema vs snowflake (and why Power BI has a clear favorite), and show you the compression differences between normalized and columnar storage that will make you never look at an OLTP model the same way again. We will cover the different types of dimensions, when to use them, and how to handle Slowly Changing Dimensions without losing your mind. You will leave knowing exactly how to identify a bad model, how to convert OLTP data into a clean star schema, and how to forge relationships that rule them all. Whether you are a data wizard, a curious hobbit, or somewhere in between, your models will never be the same.

Join us every 3rd Sunday of the month right after the Sunday Service for our Potluck Fellowship — a warm and welcoming time to connect, share, and celebrate community together! Bring your favorite dish to share (homemade or store-bought — all are welcome) and enjoy a delicious meal with friends old and new. It’s a wonderful opportunity to relax, laugh, and deepen your connections. Come hungry for good food, uplifting conversation, and heartfelt fellowship!

Come out to Improving for our monthly iOS and Mac meetings. This Month's Presentation: Nothing yet. (You should volunteer). What is Cocoaheads (http://cocoaheads.org/)? CocoaHeads is a group devoted to discussion of Apple Computer's Cocoa Framework for programming on MacOS X and iOS (including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch). During monthly meetings, members present on their projects and offer tutorials on various programming topics. What is BuckeyeCocoa (http://buckeyecocoa.org/)? BuckeyeCocoa is a group of Objective-C/Swift developers/enthusiasts. We host monthly Cocoaheads and near-weekly NSCoder meetings in Columbus, Ohio. The meetings are free to attend. Presentations! Presenters welcome! We are always in need of people willing to present material. Any Swift and/or Objective-C related topic is welcome. Times can be 5 minutes (i.e. lightning talks) to a maximum of 2 hours. Interested? Contact info is on the BuckeyeCocoa website. To volunteer for a presentation contact us at @BuckeyeCocoa on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter! @BuckeyeCocoa (https://twitter.com/#!/Buckeyecocoa/) For more information: http://buckeyecocoa.org/

At Unity of Columbus, our Youth and Family Ministry nurtures the spiritual growth of children and families through love, joy, and practical spiritual teachings. Each Sunday, children explore timeless spiritual principles through stories, creative activities, music, and group sharing in a safe and welcoming environment. Our program encourages children to discover their own inner light, express kindness, and develop a personal connection with God. Together, we celebrate diversity, cultivate understanding, and inspire each child to live with purpose and compassion. Parents and families are invited to join in this uplifting journey of learning, laughter, and spiritual connection.

Pay attention! We’re delaying a week for those of you who may be on Spring break and/or celebrating the holiday. Ok, no pancakes, but waffles-a-plenty. Join the local UX and Digital Design community for a casual monthly breakfast. Look for us upstairs!

**Men of Unity** is a safe, welcoming space for men to connect, share, and grow together. In this circle, we explore what it means to live with purpose, integrity, and spiritual awareness in today’s world. Through open dialogue, reflection, and mutual support, we learn to balance strength with compassion, confidence with humility, and action with mindfulness. Whether you’re seeking deeper spiritual connection, personal clarity, or simply a supportive brotherhood, this group invites you to bring your authentic self and grow in community. Each gathering may include: * Open discussion on real-life challenges and victories * Guided reflection, prayer, or meditation * Encouragement for living from truth, not fear * Tools for emotional and spiritual growth No preaching. No pressure. Just real men, real conversations, and real transformation.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** GitHub Copilot is powerful, but what if you could scale from a solo AI assistant to an entire team of specialized agents working in parallel? This session introduces Squad: an open-source framework for multi-agent orchestration that lets you define teams of AI agents with specific roles, responsibilities, and expertise. We'll progress from Copilot basics to the Copilot CLI, explore how Agents add autonomy, and see how Instructions and Skills let you customize agent behavior. Then, the climax: a live demo where a Squad team of 3 agents (Lead, Developer, Tester) stands up and builds a working application in real-time, showcasing true multi-agent collaboration. Whether you're new to AI or exploring how to scale your use of Copilot, this session will show you what's possible when agents work as a team. **YouTube Link** TBD