Architecture Groups Near Me

A Developer’s Guide to Running LLMs Locally- Alan Barber

**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** *Tensors, Tokens & Too Much VRAM: A Developer's Guide to Running LLMs Locally* What actually happens when you send a prompt to an LLM? What are tokens, tensors, attention, quantization, and all those mysterious gigabytes of VRAM doing? And why does your GPU suddenly become the most important piece of hardware in the room? This talk takes a developer-friendly tour through the fundamentals of modern LLMs. We’ll try to demystify concepts like context windows, model quantization, and inference performance without requiring a PhD in linear algebra. Then we'll take those concepts out of the textbook and into the real world, looking at tools such as Ollama, LM Studio, and vLLM and what it takes to run useful models on your own hardware. By the end, you'll have a mental model for what an LLM is actually doing, how local inference works, and why sometimes the answer to "How much VRAM do I need?" is apparently "all of it." **YouTube Link** TBD

September Childfree Connection Night!!

Ladies’ Night Out at RH Rooftop

Join us for a fabulous ladies’ night out at RH Rooftop Easton on Saturday, October 3rd! Come enjoy a beautiful rooftop setting, delicious food and drinks, and a relaxed evening of great conversation and connection. Whether you’re reconnecting with familiar faces or meeting someone new, it’s the perfect excuse to dress up, get out, and enjoy a fun night with the ladies. Can’t wait to see you there!

Building a RAG Assistant with Azure AI Search + Azure OpenAI

**From React Docs to AI Answers: Building a RAG Assistant with Azure AI Search + Azure OpenAI** In this session, I’ll walk through how to build an AI-powered documentation assistant for a modern React web product using Azure AI Search, Azure OpenAI, and a Next.js frontend. The talk will focus on a practical use case: taking documentation, component examples, and product content, indexing it for retrieval, and using that context to generate grounded answers inside a web app. I’ll cover the architecture, data flow, prompt design, chunking strategy, deployment approach, and common mistakes developers run into when adding AI to real web products. The session will include code examples and a demo-style walkthrough showing how a developer could turn static docs or internal knowledge into an interactive AI assistant. Attendees will leave with a practical blueprint for building their own RAG-powered web experience on Azure without turning it into an overcomplicated cloud architecture.

Happy Hour & Book Signing with Sara Elliott

Join us for happy hour at Cento before we head to The Book Loft at 7 pm to support fellow group member and local author Sara Elliott at the signing of her novel, The Shape of Grace. Come meet Sara, hear about her journey as an author, purchase a signed copy of The Shape of Grace, and celebrate this exciting milestone with our community. Whether you’re an avid reader, an aspiring writer, or simply looking to enjoy a fun evening with great company, we’d love to have you join us!

Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday

Alum Creek Trail Hike

Join us for a two mile hike south on the Alum Creek Trail to Ohio Dominican University and back. This paved trail winds along Alum Creek through the woods and alongside ball fields. This is a part of the trail we haven’t hike yet, so join us! It should be pretty flat and have several bridges.

Saturday Mornings @ East Market

Let's grab some coffee/food and share a morning chat! The East Market has an ample parking lot and outdoor and indoor seating. Grab a cup of coffee from Winston's Coffee & Waffles or on your way to East Market and meet us on the second floor - table behind or east of the elevator. Per what this group is about: "Everyone is welcome! International transplants to Columbus who want to improve language skills, Columbus residents who enjoy talking to people from other countries, and those who would like to discuss international travel and culture, and who enjoy getting together for good conversations."

Book Launch Party: The Shape of Grace

Haunted Hike Through Walhalla Ravine

**Dare to Enter Walhalla Ravine?** There are places in Columbus where the city seems to disappear. Walk far enough into **Walhalla Ravine**, beneath the old trees and steep wooded hillsides, and the traffic grows distant. The houses above become harder to see. The path narrows, shadows gather beneath the canopy, and suddenly it becomes very easy to understand why people have been telling strange stories about this place for generations. Stories of **murder, apparitions beneath the bridge, unexplained lights, and the thing once whispered about as the Walhalla Witch** have become part of Clintonville folklore. Most have been embellished over the years. Some can be debunked. Others are simply stories with no way left to determine where the truth ended and the legend began. We’re going in anyway. **Disclaimer:** This is **NOT a scripted ghost tour**, and **I’m NOT a professional storyteller.** **Think of it more as a group adventure**: we’ll hike, explore, discuss the legends and history, and see some of the locations that inspired the stories for ourselves. Come prepared to walk, explore, and get a little off the beaten path. **Click Here: [Read about the ghosts and legends of Walhalla Ravine](https://thearcanefoundry.com/daclaud-lee/haunted-columbus/walhalla-ravine-the-ghosts-witch-legends-of-columbus-ohio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)** This is a FREE event. Tips are appreciated (but never required) for showing you the hidden paths and lesser-known parts of the ravine. Just a reminder: **if you RSVP, please make every effort to attend.** **OPTIONAL:** Afterward, anyone who wants to keep the evening going can join us nearby for drinks at Derive Brewing Company or pizza and drinks at Hounddog’s.

Game Dev Meetup (In-Person @Improving!!!)

PLEASE NOTE!!! This event will be In-Person at Improving! If you know the [Columbus Unity group](https://www.meetup.com/columbus-unity-user-group/) location, we'll be at the same place. There's paid street parking in the garages but on Sunday you can park for free. See image of [parking map here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mr9_LFIggbs-0_Zd3AJTGNqEhgMf2TzQ/view?usp=sharing). \-\-\- On the last Saturday/Sunday of the month, we're having our usual end-of-the-month social gathering with our GameDev Meetup meeting. There will be announcements and presentations followed by some social networking Let's continue the conversations with good vibes and friends. All are welcomed from all ages and backgrounds to this public event. If we can, we'll be streaming or uploading the video later via our COGG YouTube channel here: [https://www.youtube.com/@TheCOGG/streams](https://www.youtube.com/@TheCOGG/streams) (Also please do subscribe if you have not done so!) No game development experience required! If you are interested in doing a 20 minute game development related presentation, please fill out our form online here: [https://goo.gl/forms/lVdTJZiNJewlPJuj1](https://goo.gl/forms/lVdTJZiNJewlPJuj1) Or e-mail us at [info@thecogg.com](mailto: info@thecogg.com) with the following: Your Name, Company/Affiliation, Name of Your Game/Topic, Description, Tech Needs, and Your Contact. Be sure to check out our Discord for real time news updates: [https://discord.gg/NrBhuNQ](https://discord.gg/NrBhuNQ)

🎃 Paint & Propagate: Halloween Planter Workshop

**Get Your Halloween Decorations Ready!** Get ready for Halloween at **The Arcane Foundry** by creating a spooky decoration that's actually alive! Choose from a selection of **3D-printed Jack-o'-lantern and Halloween-inspired planters**, then paint and customize your favorite design. Once your planter is finished, you'll add a cutting of **purple and dark-purple Tradescantia (Wandering Jew)** and learn how to propagate and care for it at home. Its naturally dramatic purple foliage makes it the perfect living addition to your Halloween décor. **$35** - **Your planter, Tradescantia cutting, paints, and materials are all included.** No painting or gardening experience is necessary—just come ready to create your own Halloween decoration and take it home with you when you're finished. ### **BYOB and Refreshments** This is a **BYOB-friendly event**, so feel free to bring your favorite beer, wine, or other beverage to enjoy while you paint. **Light refreshments and non-alcoholic drinks will also be available** at The Arcane Foundry. Come relax, get creative, and enjoy a casual Halloween evening while you paint and propagate your own spooky planter. **Check out the website: =>** [The Arcane Foundry | Makers Studio](https://thearcanefoundry.com/)