A Macintosh and iPhone Programming User Group

**ATTENDANCE POLICY:** To keep this group running smoothly and ensure that spots are available for those who genuinely want to attend, please RSVP only if you are confident you can make it. If you RSVP “Yes” and do not attend without updating your RSVP in advance, you may be restricted from attending future events for a period of time. We understand that things come up. If you can no longer attend, simply update your RSVP as soon as possible so your spot can be offered to someone on the waitlist. Repeated no-shows will result in removal from the group. Thank you for respecting everyone’s time and helping us maintain a reliable and engaged community. **SUPPORT THINKERS AND DRINKERS:** Thinkers and Drinkers International is a registered 501(c)7 nonprofit organization. We work hard to create an organization that adds value to our communities while keeping membership free for all. If you find value in what we’re doing, please consider donating through Patreon: [https://www.patreon.com/thinkers](https://www.patreon.com/thinkers) **CONNECT:** Instagram: @ThinkersDrinkersInternational Facebook: [https://www.facebook.com/thinkersdrinkersinternational/](https://www.facebook.com/thinkersdrinkersinternational/) Podcast: [https://www.spreaker.com/user/thinkersdrinkersinternational](https://www.spreaker.com/user/thinkersdrinkersinternational) Email: [[[ThinkersDrinkersInternational@gmail.com](mailto:ThinkersDrinkersInternational@gmail.com)]

[Profs and Pints DC](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Facing Fascism,”** on the history, hallmarks, and lingering power of a deadly ideology, with Kevin Matthews, professor of history at George Mason University and teacher of courses on early 20th century European history. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-facing-fascism](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-facing-fascism) .] Few political movements have aroused as much anger and fear as fascism. But despite its legacy of violence, persecution, and genocide, fascism continues to hold a strange attraction to many. Join historian Kevin Matthews for an in-depth look at an ideology that brought death to millions in Europe and yet continues to deeply influence our politics and culture. Dr. Matthews will start by discussing how the ideology of fascism arose in the aftermath of the First World War and took hold in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. To give you a better grasp of what exactly fascism is, he’ll discuss its central themes: Anti-democracy. Extreme nationalism and anti-communism. The use, or threat, of violence in politics. Rejection of established values such as scientific objectivity. Denial of equal rights, especially for women. The assertion of power where a power vacuum exists. We’ll examine the rise and fall of two notorious fascist dictators, Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy. For a time it was believed that fascism died in the ashes of the Second World War, but it clearly didn’t, and we’ll look at where it remains a political force today. Finally, we’ll examine how fascism continues to permeate popular culture in ways that trivialize it, popping up in music from punk to Madonna, with its latent eroticism making it the subject of films such as *The Night Porter.* Having been called “the most self-consciously visual of all political forms,” it enlisted fashion leaders to produce uniforms and continues today to inspire a look known as “Nazi chic.” Dr. Matthews previously has given fantastic Profs and Pints talks on Ireland’s fight for independence and on World War II German submarine attacks off our coasts. He’s sure to leave you with a much better understanding of fascism and a recognition that is has hardly gone away. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler during Mussolini's 1940 visit in Munich (photographer unknown / public domain).

An All Hardware Re-Imagining of the 1995 Landmark Cyberpunk Anime. IYKYK.
 April 20th - HacDC - 7PM - **$15 Suggested Donation NOTAFLOF** 
A Complete Rework - we strip all the score, leaving the dialog and sound effects, cut the film down to an hour, completely retime every edit, and create a new all hardware score to be performed live. *4/18 - NY - Millenium Film Workshop* *4/19 - MD - Mercury Theater* *4/20 - DC - HacDC* *4/21 - PA - Grays Warehouse* *4/23 - CT - Best Video Hamden* *4/26 - MA - The Hotel Vernon* *4/27 - MA - Visions Video* *4/28 - NY - No Fun* *4/29 - NY - The Psychic Garden* *5/1 - NY - Wavefield*

This CREATIVE HAPPY HOUR is for creative people and folks who appreciate creativity. Whether you attend, produce, appreciate, or promote, you are welcome to join us on Monday, April 20, 2026 from 5pm-7pm for CREATIVE HAPPY HOUR at Silver Branch Brewing Co in Silver Spring, MD. Register on Eventbrite at [https://HappyHour4-20-26.eventbrite.com](https://HappyHour4-20-26.eventbrite.com). Come meet, network, and enjoy. Only those ages 21 and up can attend. Happy Hour specials are from 5pm-6pm: $5.95 beer and select drinks. Entrance is free. This is a casual event. Register on Eventbrite at [https://HappyHour4-20-26.eventbrite.com](https://HappyHour4-20-26.eventbrite.com). Check out our DC Filmmakers T-shirts on Amazon at[ https://a.co/d/gXACa1Y](https://a.co/d/gXACa1Y) to help support the group. This event is produced by[ DC Filmmakers Group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/dcfilmmakers) in partnership with, [ ](https://reelabilities.org/greaterwash/)[ReelAbilities Film Festival: Greater Washington](https://reelabilities.org/greaterwash), [ TIVA](https://www.tivadc.org/) (Television, Internet, and Video Association of DC),[ WIFV](https://www.wifv.org/) (Women in Film & Video),[ Wheaton Film Festival](https://www.wheatonfilmfestival.com/),[ Docs in Progress](https://www.docsinprogress.org/), DC Media Makers Group, etc. Sponsored by[ Brian Frankel Law Firm PLLC](https://brianfrankel.com/),[ Creative Colony Spaces](https://www.creativecolonyspaces.com/membership/overview), and Adobe Software. Enjoy delicious craft beers, tasty snacks, and great company in a relaxed atmosphere. Whether you're a beer enthusiast or just looking to unwind after a long day, this event is perfect for you. Don't miss out on the opportunity to kick back and relax with us at Silver Branch Brewing Co. Use the QR codes at the table to order food and drinks, and be prepared to mingle. Check out the[ Silver Branch Brewing Company's Menu](https://www.silverbranchbrewing.com/lagerhaus-biergarten/). PARKING: Paid parking available one block away at the county's Cameron Street Garage on 8530 Cameron Street (Better pricing than street or private parking.) See you there on 4/20/26! Register on Eventbrite at [https://HappyHour4-20-26.eventbrite.com](https://HappyHour4-20-26.eventbrite.com).

Tally Ho Toastmasters meets regularly on the 1st and 3rd Monday each month. Our friendly club offers great opportunities to improve communication and leadership skills while providing excellent evaluations by the members. Learn more on our website at http://tallyho.toastmastersclubs.org/. Please, do not get discouraged by the number of members signed up on this MeetUp. Most of our active members do not use MeetUp to RSVP. We usually have around 10-15 members attending our meetings. Come check it out yourself!

🇺🇸 Honor the Fallen – Community Manion WOD at Marine Corps Memorial Join us on April 25 at the Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima) for a powerful community event honoring our nation’s fallen heroes. This is more than a workout—it’s a chance to come together, reflect, and take action in remembrance. The Travis Manion Foundation WOD is an all-abilities, family-friendly fitness event open to veterans, first responders, families, and members of the community. *** ### 💪 The Workout (All Levels Welcome) * 400 meter run (or walk) * 29 squats (weighted or air squats) * Repeat for 20 minutes 👉 Go at your own pace. Modify as needed. No experience required. *** ### 🎯 Why We Do It The workout honors 1st Lt. Travis Manion and all those who gave their lives in service to our country. We don’t just remember—we live out the spirit of: **“If Not Me, Then Who?”** *** ### 📍 Event Details **Location:** Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington, VA **Date:** April 25, 2026 **Time:** [Insert your start time] *** ### 💲 Registration Required This is a registered event through the Travis Manion Foundation. 👉 Please sign up here: [https://www.travismanion.org/events/manion-wod/2026-travis-manion-foundation-national-capital-wod](https://www.travismanion.org/events/manion-wod/2026-travis-manion-foundation-national-capital-wod) (Registration supports the mission of honoring the fallen and empowering veterans and families.) *** ### ⚠️ Important Notes * Open to **all ages and fitness levels** * Bring water (no hydration stations on site) * Wear comfortable workout gear * You can participate at your own pace *** 🎥 Watch the Event Video: https://youtube.com/shorts/6nMjGXo5txQ?si=vCQpacKoc63mXmMm *** ### 🤝 Who Should Come * Veterans & active duty * First responders * Fitness enthusiasts * Families & kids * Anyone who wants to be part of something meaningful *** ### Final Word You don’t have to be a high-level athlete. You just have to show up. Come sweat. Come remember. Come be part of something bigger than yourself.

DC iOS returns to the Capital One campus for another meetup! And not only just DC iOS, we are collaborating with [iOSoHo](https://www.meetup.com/iosoho/), [DC Android](https://www.meetup.com/dcandroid/), [New York Android](https://www.meetup.com/new-york-android-engineers/) and the Dallas iOS Developers Group for a big combined meetup! Come and meet with fellow Apple AND Android developers in the DC Area, enjoy some food, networking, and a great tech talk! PLEASE INDICATE IF YOU WILL BE ATTENDING IN PERSON OR OVER ZOOM. **Agenda (NOTE THE LATER START TIME):** • 6:00 PM - Doors Open (in-person attendees). **Don't forget your ID!** • 6:30 PM - Welcome (in-person and Zoom attendees) • 6:35 PM - **First Talk: From Shared Logic to Shared Pixels: A KMP & CMP Deep Dive** (Live from DC) • 7:05 PM - Community Announcements • 7:15 PM - **Second Talk: Swift on Android** (Virtually from NYC) • 7:45 PM - Networking **First Talk Description:** • From Shared Logic to Shared Pixels: A KMP & CMP Deep Dive Clinton Teegarden Explore the complete lifecycle of Kotlin and Compose Multiplatform, tracing the journey from compiler mechanics down to the practical day-to-day developer experience. By building a Flappy Bird-style game, we'll unpack how shared UI rendering actually works while navigating the realities of iOS interoperability and common architectural gotchas. You'll leave with a clear roadmap for seamlessly translating shared business logic into performant, cross-platform pixels. Clinton is a Distinguished Engineer at Capital One with a focus on Mobile and AI core platforms **Second Talk Description:** • Swift on Android Marc Prud'hommeaux The release of Swift 6.3 features official support for the Android platform. This is the culmination of over 10 years of effort to bring the Swift language to Android, first through a series of independent and uncoordinated projects and then eventually coalescing into an official Android Workgroup under the umbrella of the Swift project. The result is the Swift SDK for Android, a cross-compilation Swift SDK that can be used on macOS and Linux to compile Swift code into the various Android architectures as a native library. But what can you actually do with Swift on Android? Far from being limited to just libraries for sharing business logic between Android and iOS, you can, in fact, use it to build and distribute entire apps. This talk will discuss the various ways in which the Swift SDK for Android can be used to create applications, from the lowest-level manual native interaction with the Android NDK and SDK, to synthesizing Java bindings generated with the nascent swift-java project, all the way up to creating full Jetpack Compose powered apps using [Skip.dev.](http://Skip.dev.) Swift is now a contender among the languages that can be used to build applications for both iOS and Android. While it is a newer entrant compared to the established players like Dart, JavaScript, and Kotlin, it features some distinct advantages that make it worth considering for your next app project. Marc Prud'hommeaux has been developing apps for iOS and Android since 2008, and was the author of the very first ebook reader for the iPhone: Stanza. He has worked in a variety of roles over the years, designing and building apps for giants like Amazon, Bose, and the New York Times. In 2022 he started [Skip.dev](http://Skip.dev) ([https://skip.dev](https://skip.dev/)) with the vision of bringing Swift and SwiftUI application development to Android, and is one of the founding members of the Swift Android Workgroup. He is also the founder of the non-profit App Fair Project ([https://appfair.org](https://appfair.org/)) and an advocate for software freedom. Zoom Link: [https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86441046804?pwd=l2Thmnyi92YAQmCd1iqbUuo9GRRl1R.1](https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86441046804?pwd=l2Thmnyi92YAQmCd1iqbUuo9GRRl1R.1) **Location:** Capital One, C2 Building 1680 Capital One Drive, Mclean VA, 22102 100A Visitor parking is either in the garage attached to 1680 Capital One Drive, or the open lot next to 1600 Capital One Drive. After that you will walk over to the main entrance of 1680 Capital One drive, and then walk around the right to the corner to room 100A For the metro, take the Silver Line to the McLean metro stop, then walk into main campus (about a 5 minute walk). From there, walk to the main entrance of 1680 and then go to room 100A **What you need to bring:** ID **When to arrive (NOTE LATER THAN USUAL START TIME):** Doors open at 6:00pm ET Event will start at 6:30 pm ET **Will food and drinks be provided?** Yep! **Will there be rapid testing provided?** No **Will masks be required?** No

[Profs and Pints DC](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Doom and Dinosaurs,”** a look at how mass extinctions shaped the dinosaurs and what research on these events tells us about Earth life’s long-term prospects, with Ian Wilenzik, paleontologist and visiting assistant professor of biology at George Washington University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-doom-and-dinosaurs](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-doom-and-dinosaurs) .] Pity the poor dinosaurs. They lacked both scientific research to help deal with potential environmental catastrophes and places where they could have a beer and discuss it. You, on the other hand, have the opportunity to come to Profs and Pints to hear a fascinating talk on the impact of mass extinctions on dinosaur evolution and what research on dinosaurs tells us about biodiversity and Earth’s current biodiversity crisis. Dr. Ian Wilenzik, who has studied and taught courses on dinosaur evolution, population spread, and extinction, will leave you with a greater appreciation of the resilience of life on earth and how we’re both the product and source of biologically catastrophic events. Many of us are familiar with how a big meteor impact about 66 million years ago wiped out the Earth’s dinosaur population, leaving us only with their feathered descendants, birds. Less well known is how the Earth actually has undergone five periods of mass extinction that wiped out nearly all life, and how dinosaurs arose from one and endured another—both caused by volcanic activity—before meeting their match in the third. To ground his discussion, Dr. Wilenzik will talk about how we study mass extinctions by looking for geologic evidence of volcanic activity, meteoric blasts, and other catastrophic activity and of gaps in the fossil record after them. He’ll also discuss what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur, describing their distinct anatomical features. He’ll talk about how they and other forms of life evolved over long periods of time and were affected by extinction events. We’ll look at how the meteor-caused mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous paved the way for the rise of mammals and the emergence of primates, and, eventually, us. Looking ahead to future mass extinctions and what might survive them, we’ll talk about how that plant you forget to water might have the last laugh, as well as why crocodiles might be around a while. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: A *Triceratops* mounted skeleton at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History (Photo by Allie Caulfield / Wikimedia Commons).

We will be doing a combined iOS and Android meetup this month! Come and meet with fellow Apple and Android developers in the DC Area, enjoy some food, networking, and some great tech talks - as we enter opposite land for an evening **Agenda:** • 6:00 PM - Doors Open (in-person attendees). • 6:30 PM - Welcome (in-person and Zoom attendees) • 6:35 PM - **Talk: *From Shared Logic to Shared Pixels: A KMP & CMP Deep Dive*** • 7:05 PM - Community Announcements • 7:15 PM - **Talk: *Swift on Android*** • 7:45 PM - Networking • 8:30 PM - Doors close **Talk Descriptions:** **From Shared Logic to Shared Pixels: A KMP & CMP Deep Dive** Clinton Teegarden Explore the complete lifecycle of Kotlin and Compose Multiplatform, tracing the journey from compiler mechanics down to the practical day-to-day developer experience. By building a Flappy Bird-style game, we'll unpack how shared UI rendering actually works while navigating the realities of iOS interoperability and common architectural gotchas. You'll leave with a clear roadmap for seamlessly translating shared business logic into performant, cross-platform pixels Clinton is a Distinguished Engineer at Capital One with a focus on Mobile and AI core platforms **Swift On Android** Marc Prud'hommeaux The release of Swift 6.3 features official support for the Android platform. This is the culmination of over 10 years of effort to bring the Swift language to Android, first through a series of independent and uncoordinated projects and then eventually coalescing into an official Android Workgroup under the umbrella of the Swift project. The result is the Swift SDK for Android, a cross-compilation Swift SDK that can be used on macOS and Linux to compile Swift code into the various Android architectures as a native library. But what can you actually do with Swift on Android? Far from being limited to just libraries for sharing business logic between Android and iOS, you can, in fact, use it to build and distribute entire apps. This talk will discuss the various ways in which the Swift SDK for Android can be used to create applications, from the lowest-level manual native interaction with the Android NDK and SDK, to synthesizing Java bindings generated with the nascent swift-java project, all the way up to creating full Jetpack Compose powered apps using [Skip.dev](https://www.google.com/url?q=http://Skip.dev&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw3I5ILdv2sMo1xwliX7CkaF). Swift is now a contender among the languages that can be used to build applications for both iOS and Android. While it is a newer entrant compared to the established players like Dart, JavaScript, and Kotlin, it features some distinct advantages that make it worth considering for your next app project. Marc Prud'hommeaux has been developing apps for iOS and Android since 2008, and was the author of the very first ebook reader for the iPhone: Stanza. He has worked in a variety of roles over the years, designing and building apps for giants like Amazon, Bose, and the New York Times. In 2022 he started [Skip.dev](https://www.google.com/url?q=http://Skip.dev&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw3I5ILdv2sMo1xwliX7CkaF) ([https://skip.dev](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://skip.dev&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw3hCAQLAUiBQYGyWIa3Djpv)) with the vision of bringing Swift and SwiftUI application development to Android, and is one of the founding members of the Swift Android Workgroup. He is also the founder of the non-profit App Fair Project ([https://appfair.org](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://appfair.org&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw2_5gond6tqviw59Pu0QKSj)) and an advocate for software freedom. **How to find us:** 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA 22102 We'll be located in C2 **100 A**. The area is publicly accessible. If you can't find it, you can ask the front desk for directions to the **C2 100 A** **Attending Virtually?** Zoom Link: [https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86441046804?pwd=l2Thmnyi92YAQmCd1iqbUuo9GRRl1R.1](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86441046804?pwd%3Dl2Thmnyi92YAQmCd1iqbUuo9GRRl1R.1&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw2MZCwwtil3TnK_8ktQz6p6) Meeting ID: 864 4104 6804 Passcode: 324839 **Parking**: You can park at 1680 Capital One Drive; this garage has a sign indicating public parking. Or at the WEGMANS parking lot.

**☕ Code & Coffee \| Black Code Collective** Pull up, plug in, and enjoy some good company. Join us for a chill Sunday coworking session — bring your laptop and your current project (or no project at all). All skill levels welcome. **Free to attend. Coffee & treats provided. Just show up.** 📅 **Sunday, April 26** 🕙 **10:30 AM – 12:30 PM** 📍 **Falls Church, VA** Please note that we would be located on the 5th floor with the listed address below. 105 W Broad St, Suite #410 · Falls Church, VA 22046

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Facing Fascism,”** on the history, hallmarks, and lingering power of a deadly ideology, with Kevin Matthews, professor of history at George Mason University and teacher of courses on early 20th century European history. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-facing-fascism](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-facing-fascism) .] Few political movements have aroused as much anger and fear as fascism. But despite its legacy of violence, persecution, and genocide, fascism continues to hold a strange attraction to many. Join historian Kevin Matthews for an in-depth look at an ideology that brought death to millions in Europe and yet continues to deeply influence our politics and culture. Dr. Matthews will start by discussing how the ideology of fascism arose in the aftermath of the First World War and took hold in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. To give you a better grasp of what exactly fascism is, he’ll discuss its central themes: Anti-democracy. Extreme nationalism and anti-communism. The use, or threat, of violence in politics. Rejection of established values such as scientific objectivity. Denial of equal rights, especially for women. The assertion of power where a power vacuum exists. We’ll examine the rise and fall of two notorious fascist dictators, Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy. For a time it was believed that fascism died in the ashes of the Second World War, but it clearly didn’t, and we’ll look at where it remains a political force today. Finally, we’ll examine how fascism continues to permeate popular culture in ways that trivialize it, popping up in music from punk to Madonna, with its latent eroticism making it the subject of films such as *The Night Porter.* Having been called “the most self-consciously visual of all political forms,” it enlisted fashion leaders to produce uniforms and continues today to inspire a look known as “Nazi chic.” Dr. Matthews previously has given fantastic Profs and Pints talks on Ireland’s fight for independence and on World War II German submarine attacks off our coasts. He’s sure to leave you with a much better understanding of fascism and a recognition that is has hardly gone away. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler during Mussolini's 1940 visit in Munich (photographer unknown / public domain).

Join Women & Gender eXpansive Coders DC for brunch at Union Market! We will get a large picnic table outside the main Union Market building. Come for 30 minutes or for the whole time. Meet fellow tech women and nonbinary folx over a cup of coffee or a meal from one of Union Market's many tasty restaurants. Getting there: Union Market is a short walk from the NoMa-Gallaudet University metro (Red line). Parking is usually available in the lot in front of the market, or on the street, although street parking can fill up on busy weekends.

Spec-driven development flips the traditional workflow on its head: instead of code being the source of truth, the specification becomes the backbone of design, collaboration, and delivery. In this session, we’ll explore how GitHub Spec-Kit enables teams to treat specifications as first-class artifacts—living documents that drive architecture, implementation, and verification. You’ll learn how Spec-Kit helps teams clearly express intent using structured, version-controlled specs that live alongside code. We’ll walk through a practical workflow that starts with defining system behavior and constraints, then progressively refines those specs into testable, automatable outcomes. Along the way, we’ll show how specs can reduce ambiguity, improve cross-functional collaboration, and make design decisions explicit before a single line of production code is written. This talk will cover: --What spec-driven development is (and what it isn’t) --How GitHub Spec-Kit fits into modern developer workflows --Using specs to align product, engineering, and AI-assisted development --Real-world examples of turning specs into implementations with confidence Whether you’re building greenfield systems, integrating AI into your stack, or trying to reduce costly rework, spec-driven development offers a scalable way to move faster without sacrificing clarity. Attendees will leave with concrete patterns and a clear mental model for adopting GitHub Spec-Kit in their own projects.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Doom and Dinosaurs,”** a look at how mass extinctions shaped the dinosaurs and what research on these events tells us about Earth life’s long-term prospects, with Ian Wilenzik, paleontologist and visiting assistant professor of biology at George Washington University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-dino-doom](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-dino-doom) .] Pity the poor dinosaurs. They lacked both scientific research to help deal with potential environmental catastrophes and places where they could have a beer and discuss it. You, on the other hand, have the opportunity to come to Profs and Pints to hear a fascinating talk on the impact of mass extinctions on dinosaur evolution and what research on dinosaurs tells us about biodiversity and Earth’s current biodiversity crisis. Dr. Ian Wilenzik, who has studied and taught courses on dinosaur evolution, population spread, and extinction, will leave you with a greater appreciation of the resilience of life on earth and how we’re both the product and source of biologically catastrophic events. Many of us are familiar with how a big meteor impact about 66 million years ago wiped out the Earth’s dinosaur population, leaving us only with their feathered descendants, birds. Less well known is how the Earth actually has undergone five periods of mass extinction that wiped out nearly all life, and how dinosaurs arose from one and endured another—both caused by volcanic activity—before meeting their match in the third. To ground his discussion, Dr. Wilenzik will talk about how we study mass extinctions by looking for geologic evidence of volcanic activity, meteoric blasts, and other catastrophic activity and of gaps in the fossil record after them. He’ll also discuss what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur, describing their distinct anatomical features. He’ll talk about how they and other forms of life evolved over long periods of time and were affected by extinction events. We’ll look at how the meteor-caused mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous paved the way for the rise of mammals and the emergence of primates, and, eventually, us. Looking ahead to future mass extinctions and what might survive them, we’ll talk about how that plant you forget to water might have the last laugh, as well as why crocodiles might be around a while. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: A *Triceratops* mounted skeleton at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History (Photo by Allie Caulfield / Wikimedia Commons).

Join our new group’s fourth meeting. Meet fellow tech enthusiasts west of the beltway. ​Our meetings are a great place to work on and show off what you do. We are always welcoming. ​Our format is great for people who have started on but not finished one or several side projects. ​We will start off with basic introductions and what we are working on, along with what our goals are for the session. We’ll break the rest of the meeting into two working sessions. In between, we’ll do a quick check-in to see how folks are going. We also have some polls available which we use to shape our events: ​[https://submatrix.net/article/Meetups/e9ym4fr8Ca](https://submatrix.net/article/Meetups/e9ym4fr8Ca) You can also find or RSVP to our events on these platforms: https://luma.com/vw8ha8bj https://www.linkedin.com/events/7444552350616272896

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Twister Talk,”** on tornadoes and advances in our understanding of them, with Jeffrey Halverson, professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and author of *An Introduction to Severe Storms and Hazardous Weather.* [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-twister-talk](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-twister-talk) .] Springtime brings tornado outbreaks and devastation across the United States. The good news for those of us who anxiously eye the skies: Tornado science is rapidly evolving and improving, as are the means by which we detect funnel clouds and warn of their approach. Get up to speed with what’s known about tornadoes with the help of Dr. Jeffery Halverson, a severe storm expert with the *Washington Post* Capital Weather Gang who previously has given excellent Profs and Pints talks on hurricanes and snowstorms. He’ll describe how, with the help of research conducted by tornado hunters, meteorologists are using ever more sophisticated computer simulations and datasets to try to “crack the code” when it comes to how and where tornadoes form. We’ll look at how science teams wielding Portable Doppler Radars on small trucks are learning that tornado wind speeds are much stronger than once presumed. We’ll consider how decades of data are changing how we think about “Tornado Alley,” and we’ll review what’s known about the relationship between tornadoes and climate change. Professor Halverson will conclude by discussing the technological strides being made in terms of tornado warning and detection, and how tornado scientists are teaming up with social scientists to gain a better understanding of what leaves us vulnerable to natural hazards. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: An F5 tornado over Elie, Manitoba in June 2007 (Photo by Justin Hobson / Wikimedia Commons).

Important: Register on [AICamp website](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026043014) is required for admission. **Description:** Join us for a community-led developer event focused on AI-assisted coding with GitHub Copilot. This event brings together developers to explore practical workflows, real-world use cases, and hands-on experiences using GitHub Copilot. Whether you are new to GitHub Copilot or already using it, this event will help you better understand how to apply AI-assisted coding techniques in everyday development. **Speakers/Topics:** \- Reynald Adolphe\, Microsoft\. Stay tuned as we are updating speakers and schedules. If you have a keen interest in speaking to our community, we invite you to submit topics for consideration: [Submit Topics](https://forms.gle/JkMt91CZRtoJBSFUA) **Sponsors:** We are actively seeking sponsors to support AI developers community. Whether it is by offering venue spaces, providing food, or cash sponsorship. Sponsors will not only speak at the meetups, receive prominent recognition, but also gain exposure to our extensive membership base of 5,000+ AI developers in D.C and 500K+ worldwide.

Most AI meetups end up as just networking. **We’re different.** At **AI Tool Explorers Night \| Connect & Make New Friends**, you’ll: ✨ Walk away with a *real learning nugget* (a tool, workflow, or strategy you can use immediately) ✨ Connect with people who share your curiosity for AI, productivity, and automation ✨ Enjoy a fun, casual setting where new ideas and friendships spark naturally 👉 **Our promise:** every session delivers structure, substance, and takeaways you can use when you get home. ### 📅 Event Flow * **6:00–6:15 PM** → Arrivals & intros * **6:15–6:45 PM** → AI demo / learning nugget * **6:45–7:00 PM** → Q&A and group discussion * **7:00–8:00 PM** → Networking & contact sharing ⚡ Please hold networking until after the presentation so we can all learn together. Plenty of time at the end to connect and exchange cards! **Let's explore AI Tools that actually *work* in our day-to-day life!** *** #ChatGPT #Claude #Grok #Gemini #Perplexity #DeepSeek #NotebookLM #Cursor #GitHubCopilot #Replit #Windsurf #v0dev #Lovable #Zapier #Makecom #n8n #Descript #OpusClip #Synthesia #Runway #Sora #Kling #Veo #PikaLabs #LTXStudio #AdobeFirefly #Vidu #Hailuo #LumaDreamMachine #Wisecut #Elaiio #Capsule #Filmora #Gling #Magisto #AdobePremierePro #ElevenLabs #Suno #Udio #Soundraw #Riffusion #Mubert #BeatovenAI #AIVA #Loudly #SplashPro #Soundful #MagentaStudio #WavTool #MakeBestMusic #BandLabSongStarter #TadAI #EcrettMusic #Midjourney #DALLE3 #CanvaMagicStudio #NotionAI #Gamma #Fathom #FirefliesAI #MLX

Non-programmers are absolutely welcome—you don’t need to know how to code to join. This meetup is for anyone interested in tech to share what they’re working on, propose ideas, or just have good conversations about technology. We typically meet once a month at the Centreville Regional Library, with occasional meetups in Chantilly or other nearby libraries depending on availability. We usually start with a totally optional intro circle. You can share as much or as little as you’d like—your name, background, interests, what you’re working on, or simply pass and listen. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to reach out: timothyfilippone@gmail.com