Akka

**SUSE X I-share:** **Sprekers:** * [Hugo de Vries](https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugo-de-vries/) (Solution Architect) * [Bert Boerland](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bertboerland/) (Account Executive) * [Keown de Koning](https://www.linkedin.com/in/keowndekoning/) (Head of Channel) **Beschrijving** ''Tijdens deze sessie nemen we je mee door het brede SUSE-portfolio. Van de betrouwbare basis van SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) tot multicluster Kubernetes-beheer met Rancher en zero-trust containerbeveiliging met SUSE Security: SUSE biedt een compleet, onafhankelijk open-source ecosysteem van besturingssysteem tot cloudtechnologieën. We starten met de basis van SUSE en kijken terug naar de ontwikkeling van een Duitse open-source pionier in 1992 tot een wereldwijde enterprise speler van vandaag. Daarbij prikken we door de marketingverhalen heen en delen we praktijkvoorbeelden van organisaties die het volledige SUSE-portfolio inzetten om complexe infrastructuuruitdagingen op te lossen. Ook laten we zien hoe klanten de overstap maken van een Amerikaans georiënteerde infrastructuur naar een Europees alternatief. Tot slot geven we een live Rancher-demo, waarin je ziet hoe alle componenten naadloos samenwerken om moderne IT-landschappen te beveiligen, beheren en schaalbaar te maken. Wat kun je verwachten: * **Het volledige SUSE-verhaal** Hoe een Europese open-source pionier een complete technologiestack heeft opgebouwd – van operating system tot Kubernetes. * **Meer dan alleen containers** Inzicht in het bredere portfolio (Linux & Cloud Native) en waarom dit aansluit bij de behoeften van moderne enterprises. Inclusief mogelijkheden om jezelf hierin te laten opleiden tot specialist. * **Praktijkvoorbeelden uit de markt** Hoe organisaties het volledige ecosysteem gebruiken voor stabiliteit, compliance en schaalbaarheid en waarom SUSE steeds vaker de nieuwe standaard wordt. * **Live demo** Zie het portfolio in actie en ontdek hoe SUSE de volledige keten verbindt: van infrastructuur tot en met de applicatielaag. Of je nu infrastructure architect, platform engineer of security specialist bent: sluit aan en ontdek waarom het SUSE-portfolio perfect aansluit op jouw moderne infrastructuurstack!'' *Het programma zal deze avond als volgt zijn:* * Vanaf 17.15 u: inloop * Rond 17.30/18.00 u: eten * 18.30 u: start sessie * 20.00 u: afsluiting We zien jullie graag dan!

The Rabobank Tech Community together with [CodeLab](https://www.meetup.com/codelabjug/) is organizing a Java meetup for our community. Victor Rentea will speak at Rabobank in the evening of July 2nd. Because of the limited number of seats, please keep your RSVP up-to-date, so we can welcome someone else if you can't make it. **IMPORTANT:** Due to Rabobank security measures, we need to present in advance an attendee list with everyone’s full names. This is partly because Rabobank is, well, a bank, but also related to safety measures in case of an emergency. That is why we need to ask you the following: If you do not use your real full name as profile name at Meetup.com, could you send us your full name in a private message? The attendee list presented to Rabobank will only be used for visitor's registration at the reception and will not be published anywhere, we only do this to comply with said safety measures. The meet-up will be held in a non-public area of the building. This means that without proper registration the security team will not be able to let you in. Hoping for your understanding. === **Agenda** 17:00 Walk in + Dinner 18:15 Talk 20:00 Drinks 21:00 Ending **Talk** **Agentic Engineering - Patterns and Anti-Patterns** A compilation of emerging patterns and common pitfalls observed in over 50 companies. From unhealthy context management, naive prompting, unvetted AI slop, and careless supply-chain to self-learning skills, sub-agent orchestration, AI guardrails, and backpressure. Join this talk to cut through the hype, learn from the early adopters of agentic engineering – see what works, what ships better code 3x faster in production, and what fails **Speaker** Victor Rentea is a Java Champion and an Independent Trainer delivering intense webinars for dozens of companies worldwide since 2014. His passion is Simple Design, Refactoring, and Unit Testing, about which he regularly talks at top conferences, but also to the European Software Crafters Community that he founded. On [victorrentea.ro](http://victorrentea.ro/) you can find his blog, best talks, training curriculum, live masterclasses, and social channels.

Codelab and the [Rabobank Tech Community](https://www.meetup.com/rabobank-tech-community/) are organising a Java meetup with Victor Rentea about: Agentic Engineering - Patterns and Anti-Patterns If you would like to join, subscribe quickly here (seats are limited): https://www.meetup.com/rabobank-tech-community/events/315294956 === **Agenda** 17:00 Walk in + Dinner 18:15 Talk 20:00 Drinks 21:00 Ending **Talk description** A compilation of emerging patterns and common pitfalls observed in over 50 companies. From unhealthy context management, naive prompting, unvetted AI slop, and careless supply-chain to self-learning skills, sub-agent orchestration, AI guardrails, and backpressure. Join this talk to cut through the hype, learn from the early adopters of agentic engineering – see what works, what ships better code 3x faster in production, and what fails **Speaker** Victor Rentea is a Java Champion and an Independent Trainer delivering intense webinars for dozens of companies worldwide since 2014. His passion is Simple Design, Refactoring, and Unit Testing, about which he regularly talks at top conferences, but also to the European Software Crafters Community that he founded. On victorrentea.ro you can find his blog, best talks, training curriculum, live masterclasses, and social channels.

¡Fútbol, español y buena compañía! ⚽🇪🇸🇲🇽🇦🇷 Join Los Habladores at Longhorn Bar & Grill to watch a World Cup match with a Spanish-speaking twist. This is a relaxed event for anyone who wants to watch the game, meet other Spanish learners/speakers, and practice a bit of Spanish along the way. You don’t need to be fluent or native — just dare to join and share! Important: this event may not have an official Los Habladores host. But don’t worry: when you arrive, just tell the staff at the entrance that you are with \*\*Los Habladores\*\*. They will point you to the right table / Spanish-speaking corner where the group is gathering. We never know exactly how many people will join, so please RSVP if you’re coming. That helps Longhorn prepare enough space for us. 📍 Location: Longhorn Bar & Grill, Utrecht 💸 Entry: Free 🍻 Food and drinks available at the bar ⚽ Match: **España** vs **Austria** 🕒 Kick-off: 21:00 ¡Nos vemos! Tot dan! 😃 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/habladores/ Meetup Link: https://www.meetup.com/nl-NL/los-habladores/ Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/los_habladores_utrecht/ Los Habladores!

Join us for an hour of writing! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at Factor-ij Amsterdam on Thursday mornings. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done. SCHEDULE: 11: 15 AM - Quick introductions 11: 30 AM - Timer starts: write for 1 hour 12: 30 PM - The End: chat, take off, or keep writing OPTIONAL SOCIALIZING happens at 12:30 pm after the writing is wrapped. Writing is very solitary. Connecting (and sometimes even commiserating) with other writers is a cool thing. BEING LATE IS OKAY: just show up and get settled, then check-in with me after the session. (I’ll be the person with the Shut Up & Write! sign.) If you were on time, please be willing to make room for the friendly latecomer. Happy writing and I look forward to seeing you at Factor-ij! What Should I Bring? Whatever you need to be able to write! Bring earbuds/earplugs if you want to block the cafe’s overhead music or the occasional conversation by other patrons. Please come with your devices pre-charged, since we probably won't be always sitting somewhere with charging possibilities. Other Important Details: Travel by public transportation: 1. Take Tram 26 from the central station Amsterdam, and step out by the last stop. 2. Take bus 66 from the Amsterdam Bijlmer station, step out by Pieter Oosterhuisstraat, and further walk in the direction of the bus till the corner. FREE Wifi. Compulsory consumption is not required, but please do order a drink to honor our generous host.

Are you an **expat** in **Diemen** and do you want to **learn how to swim?** Look no further! Dive into **personalized swimming lessons** with **Your Personal Swim Coach**. Whether you’re a beginner looking to learn the basics or an advanced swimmer seeking to refine your technique, our expert coaches offer **tailored sessions** that fit your needs. The **AGO** pool in Diemen is a small private pool originally utilized for **aqua therapy**. Therefore the water is nicely **warm** which gives ideal teaching conditions. **Don't wait any longer:** **[Sign up for a Try Out Lesson!](https://www.your-personal-swim-coach.nl/product/try-out-adult-swimming-lesson/)** Want to learn more first? Go to our **[website](https://www.your-personal-swim-coach.nl/)** or **[schedule a call!](https://calendly.com/ypsc/new-meeting)**

This is one for the early birds, but gets you back into the city by 7.45-8am, so you can still make it in time for work. **Route:** https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/441601960 gpx: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QOe7D1FmTbhXCi1M4Hm5WrA1CTfiC09e/view?usp=sharing **Afterwards:** Coffee TBD **Rules:** \- Download the route to your cycling computer so you can always find your way home \- Make sure to arrive on time \- Before you ride\, decide as a group how you want to ride: you can split up in a fast and a slow group or stay together\, but make sure to discuss what pace you are going to ride and whether you are going to wait if someone is slower than the group\, or not\. \- The end of the route is a coffee stop that opens at 7:30am so you can socialize

'THE SYMPATHIZER' by Viet Thanh Nguyen 'The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as seven other awards, The Sympathizer is the breakthrough novel of the year. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Saul Bellow, The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. The narrator, a communist double agent, is a man of two minds, a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam. The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping espionage novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.' ***Please read the book and join us for a lively discussion (in English) about the contents during our afternoon book club meeting.*** \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **PLEASE NOTE:** This is an IN-PERSON event in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Please cancel your attendance in advance if you are unable to join, so that those on the waitlist can participate. Looking forward to seeing you all IN REAL LIFE then! Best regards, Sandra

The Dutch Heuvelrug is a hilly and sandy ridge, running from Hilversum in the north to Rhenen in the south. This National Park is covered in forest, heather and stretches of sand and dunes. On this hike, we will explore the Heuvelrug from Den Dolder. This area is mostly forested, perfect for a (hot) summer’s day! **Where to meet**: we will meet at **10 am** at train station Den Dolder. We will return to the same train station around 3pm. **This hike is fully booked.** [You may register on my website for a place on the waitlist.](https://rewildyourself.nu/dutch-nature-hikes/)

I'm excited to host the 25st edition of *Strangers to Friends*! Every event so far has been warm, fun and full of great connections. So we’re doing it again! Curious about our previous events? Check out our photo albums (only visible on the laptop version of Meetup). **What to expect** * A safe, relaxed environment to meet both locals and expats, whether you want to meet new people, experience an international atmosphere or talk about business, it’s all possible. * Start the evening with a few rounds of conversation cards: pair up with someone you don’t know, answer meaningful questions and rotate every 10 minutes. Within just one hour, you’ll get to know several people really well and enjoy meaningful conversations. * Everyone comes on their own, so it’s easy to connect. **Practical details** * Doors open at 20:00, after 30 minutes we start with conversation cards * Venue: Boekencafé Libertas, Klarendalseweg 477-1, Arnhem * 20 min walk from Arnhem Central * 7 min walk from Arnhem Velperpoort * You’ll receive 1 drink token for (beer/wine/soft drinks) and snacks all night! * Find us on the right side of the café at the bar, by the window and garden Bring a smile and join us for an evening where friendships grow, business ideas spark and real-life connections happen. Back to basics, away from screens, meeting face-to-face. Warm regards, Julia

Iedereen is welkom op onze open Freedom Friday Bitcoin Turnhout Meetup @ het super gezellige café Sint Pieter - Grote Markt 60, 2300 Turnhout Geen presentaties. Geen workshops. Gewoon 1 onderwerp: bitcoin. **Connect with Like-Minded Minds** Engage with the Bitcoin community and mingle with fellow enthusiasts. This meetup is your chance to discuss the future, share ideas, and network with pioneers in the decentralized money world. 🏢 **Central Location**: café Sint Pieter ligt perfect centraal, een ruim cafe op de grote markt van Turnhout. Mark your calendars and spread the word!

grassroots meet up for women / mothers / in Amsterdam who want to bring their children into their fun, spiritual and festival-going lives! this looks like a very family friendly festival, 30 minutes drive from Amsterdam and I do believe it is accessible by public transport. please note: I am not affiliated with this event, just a new mom / family who are finding our way back to events and spaces we loved pre-baby, now ready to enjoy them with our toddler and connecting with like-minded people along the way :) https://wonderfeel.nl

Hello all! Plan is to do this beautiful loop around Arnhem. Please check the route at the following link : https://www.komoot.com/smarttour/28541447?tour_origin=smart_tour_search Distance : \~80 km Climbs : Some climbing involved (I've never done this one). Pace : Chill endurance pace - 20-23 Km / h Start point : Arnhem centraal. Social ride! Let's try to be there for everyone and help each other out :) Please ignore the attendee limit. If you have a friend, bring them along Please bring your own food, repair equipment etc. Maybe if we have time we can find a place to have a bite to eat after the ride.

Maki-e is a traditional Japanese lacquer decoration technique. Techiniques are involved drawing pictures, patterns, and letters on the surface of lacquerware using lacquer, and then sprinkling and fixing metal powder, such as gold or silver, onto the surface. In our workshop, you have the opportunity to create maki-e designs using traditional Japanese patterns (wagara) or your own original designs. Then your canvas can be a glass cup or a glass picture frame. Join us for this unique Japanese art workshop in Utrecht. * Place: CLAY TO PLATE Biltstraat 55, 3572 AG, Utrecht * Price: three options you can choose from €56 pp(for a glass cup) €60 pp (for a glass picture frame) €76 pp (for a lacquerwares) Limited seats available. **Booking is essential for adequate preparations. If you've enrolled/registered on the Meetup app, we'll contact you through the app message. Kindly communicate with us accordingly, and refrain from showing up without prior contact. We appreciate your understanding** Website:[https://japanworkshopnet.com/ ](https://japanworkshopnet.com/) [MAKI-E workshop info](https://japanworkshopnet.com/maki-e-workshops/) Email: info@japanworkshopnet.com Mobile:0616059840

**Latest Dojo Location!** **Knotty Pine Brewing** 1765 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH 43212 We're going to try a new dojo location for a few weeks and see how it works Dojos are informal Python group study sessions where everyone interested in Python gathers to learn about Python, help others with Python, or just hang out. Everyone is welcome from Python beginners to experts. Bringing a laptop is encouraged (we'll have extension cords and power strips). If there's something you want to learn leave a comment on this invite so we can plan ahead. We're looking for speakers for our Monthly Meetups! Fill out the form if you are interested in presenting to the Python Community. https://forms.gle/ehSfUAC2WgR34Crq9

We have moved to guild.host. Look us up there. https://guild.host/events/buckeye-cocoaheads-rcavwd

You can sleep in on the Sesquicentennial (observed), we’re shifting to the following Friday. But join the local UX community for a chat and some biscuits to catch up. If you were in CA for Figma Config, tell us all the lines and you can tell me how I can animate an SVG without coding it by hand, and why I’d even want to. Thanks to the team at Nationwide of supporting the group.

💖 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞-𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 💖 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬! 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝟕 𝐩𝐦 – 𝟗 𝐩𝐦 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝟐𝟓-𝟒𝟎 💖 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞 💖 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐲! 👉 Are you tired of wasting time on people who aren’t serious? 👉 Are you all swiped-left and swiped-right out? 👉 Are you tired of false starts and situationships? If you answered yes to any of the above, then this event was created with YOU in mind! 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐔𝐍 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 “𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧!” The dance class is for BEGINNERS, so therefore no dance experience is required or expected! If you do have experience dancing bachata, then we won’t hold that against you, either! 😂 We will be rotating partners CONTINUOUSLY, so you will have the opportunity to meet and converse with everyone! 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐨𝐟-𝐚-𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧-𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝-𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟: ✅1. Registration and Meet-And-Greet ✅2. Beginner Bachata Dance Class ✅3. Dance Practice and Mutual Matching 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐃! 👉𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭er: MarriageMindedSinglesDance.com Questions? Text Todd Smith 614-774-8146

Join us as we get together for a CAPA Summer Movie event to see the romantic, funny, heartwarming, feel-good classic, PRETTY WOMAN! Julia Roberts and Richard Gere star in this modern-day fairy-tale romance! Here’s a description, trailer and plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: A wealthy corporate raider hires a Hollywood escort as his date for a week of high-society business events. But what starts as a business transaction blossoms into genuine love, challenging both of their lives and leading to an unexpected romance. The film is directed by Garry Marshall and stars Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), Laura San Giacomo and Jason Alexander. MINI TRAILER: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-JghOdhAwc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-JghOdhAwc) SHORT BONUS CLIP #1 - DIRECTOR GARRY MARSHALL Recalls Famous Scenes from the Film: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpIMOzieGPs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpIMOzieGPs) SHORT BONUS CLIP #2 - RICHARD GERE on the Film’s Impact all these years later: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0T3O94dAA8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0T3O94dAA8) SHORT BONUS CLIP #3 - JULIA ROBERTS Remembers a Gift from Director Garry Marshall: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ4AZSjbMsA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ4AZSjbMsA) BUZZ & ACCLAIM: A huge box office hit at the time of its release, PRETTY WOMAN has since gone on to become a modern-day classic! The film catapulted Julia Roberts to superstardom and earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress and her first Oscar nomination! Critics praise Julia Roberts’ star-making performance, the undeniable chemistry between her and Richard Gere, and its warm, funny feel-good story about kindness, self-worth and transformation! The film’s “intelligence and wit,” “first-class performances” and “sharp, funny script” have made Pretty Woman a classic and truly “something special!” THE OHIO THEATRE: The Ohio Theatre is located at 39 E. State Street, between 3rd and High Streets, across the street from the Ohio Statehouse. From classical music to modern dance, yearly family traditions to hot concerts, the world’s best artists come to the 2,791-seat, historic Ohio Theatre. The breathtaking details (including the 21-foot-high chandelier!) of its opulent, Spanish-Baroque architecture make any night at the Ohio Theater an event to remember! PRE-SHOW ENTERTAINMENT: Now celebrating his 33rd year as featured organist for the CAPA Summer Movie Series, Clark Wilson will again provide pre-show entertainment at the keyboards and controls of the Ohio Theatre’s treasured “Mighty Morton” theatre organ 30 minutes prior to each screening. PARKING: Parking is available at Columbus Commons Parking Garage off 3rd or Rich Streets or in Statehouse Parking Garage off 3rd Street. You can find out more about parking in Downtown Columbus by visiting the Downtown Columbus website. PLAN: Purchase your ticket for the 7:30pm showing and we’ll meet outside the theater between 6:50 and 7:00pm. We’ll head in at 7pm to get good seats and enjoy the pre-show organ music! TICKETS: Tickets just $6 adult / $5 senior! Parking is available under the Capital building, in the nearby garage, or on the nearby streets. You can purchase your ticket at the box office on the day of the event or online here: [https://www.capa.com/capa-summer-movie-series/](https://www.capa.com/capa-summer-movie-series/) Look forward to seeing you there, Dan

Columbus Code & Coffee is an inclusive, informal co-working session. People of all skill levels attend, and we love it that way. Many people (optionally) bring projects to work on, and many other people (optionally) socialize the entire time. It's entirely up to you! **What to Expect at the Intro Circle** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ Near the beginning of the event (1:30 pm), we do a standup: * Organizer announcements, updates, and logistics Round 1 - (7 secs max): * Your name * What you're working on * What you can help others with Round 2: * Community events you wanna plug. If none, that's cool too. Round 3: * Job opportunities you're hiring for OR announce that you are looking for one. If none, that's cool. After the introduction circle, everything is self-organized! Feel free to work alone, pair up, attend one of our workshops/presentations, or mingle!

Most people use LLMs by feel: ask a question, read the answer, decide whether it “seems good,” and move on. That works for casual use. It does not work when you are building software, automating workflows, writing important documents, or relying on AI for anything that needs to be repeatable. In this talk, we’ll look at how to improve and evaluate the inputs and outputs of LLMs using practical measurement techniques. We’ll cover how prompt changes affect results, how to compare outputs, how to build simple evaluation sets, and how math-based methods like similarity scoring can help you move beyond guesswork. This will be beginner-friendly, so even if you don't know anything about AI, you should get something out of it. However, this will be a little more technical than our intro talks. You do not need to be an AI researcher, but programmers and technically curious attendees will get a lot out of it. We’ll cover: * Why “it looks good” is not enough * How to improve prompts by changing the input, context, and constraints * How to compare LLM outputs more systematically * Basic evaluation techniques for accuracy, consistency, and usefulness * How embeddings, cosine similarity, and scoring can help evaluate results * Where automated evaluation works — and where humans still need to stay in the loop By the end, you’ll have a practical mental model for treating LLMs less like magic and more like systems you can test, measure, and improve. LOGISTICS AND PARKING: The talk starts at 7:00 PM. The first half hour is reserved for everyone to get set up and mingle. Free pizza and drinks! The cheapest parking option is to find street parking, which will only cost you a few bucks. Otherwise, park in the nearby veteran's museum lot for $8. It's highly recommended you avoid the nearby $15 garage parking.