Backbone.js

Come kick back with the Black Code Collective! We'll be on the second floor by the main entrance in the mall! Ample parking in the Ballston Mall garage. Parking available on the street as well.

\-\-\-\-\-\- [REGISTER FOR THE EVENT HERE (ON LU.MA)! ](https://luma.com/fnai8zxh)\-\-\-\-\-\- Join us for an evening of collaborative problem-solving as we work on a variety of civic tech projects together. Project needs vary but often include brainstorming, researching, writing, coding, or analyzing data. Check out [our website](https://www.civictechdc.org/projects) for a list of projects which may make an appearance! Meet other civic tech enthusiasts. Learn new skills. Contribute to a project to improve a local civic issue. **All are welcome and collaboration is encouraged.** Laptops are recommended but not required. **Where do I register?** To better serve our growing community, we’re transitioning our event registrations to Luma! **We still love Meetup** Meetup has been an incredible platform for us to build and connect with our community. We’ll continue sharing upcoming events there so that new people can find us, but Luma will be our primary registration platform moving forward. **Why we're making the switch** Meetup’s registration system has some limitations, and we need more flexibility to manage sign-ups and engagement. \-\-\-\-\-\- [REGISTER FOR THE EVENT HERE (ON LU.MA)!](https://luma.com/fnai8zxh) \-\-\-\-\-\-

🎤 **Calling all mid-week vibe seekers!** Let's gather for good food and tasty drinks (Happy Hour ends at 7PM) while enjyong the finger-snapping, toe-tapping patrons gracing us with their talents during Open Mic Night. *Will YOU take the mic?* 📅 **Date:** Wednesday, Feb 25th 🕖 **Time:** 6:30 PM – 11:00 PM EDT 📍 **Location:** 🍽️ **LISP Lounge** 🎶 \| 6339 Allentown Road Temple Hills, MD 20748 🎟️ **Entry:** FREE 🚗 **Parking:** Onsite, FREE All right, **BLACK EVERYWHERE,** let's enjoy good folks, good food, and good vibes!

**Event overview:** **RSVP/ REGISTER HERE: [Migrate and Modernize: A Blueprint for Virtualization Success](https://reg.experiences.redhat.com/flow/redhat/3259361/redhatfieldeventspreregnoappform/page/landingregistrationpage?sc_cid=RHCTN1260000471156)** The era of static, on-premises infrastructure is over. As organizations accelerate their digital transformation, the strategic migration and modernization of virtual environments has become a critical imperative for achieving long-term agility, security, and cost-efficiency. The **[Migrate and Modernize: A Blueprint for Virtualization Success](https://reg.experiences.redhat.com/flow/redhat/3259361/redhatfieldeventspreregnoappform/page/landingregistrationpage)** event will provide a pragmatic and forward-looking roadmap in navigating this transition. In 2026, the virtualization landscape is defined by the convergence of containers, hybrid/multi-cloud strategies, and the integration of AI-powered automation. We will move beyond the simple "lift-and-shift" to explore the modernization pathways—from replatforming databases to refactoring monolithic applications into cloud-native microservices. The event features **thought leadership talks** on the future of hybrid infrastructure and a tailored, **hands-on lab** that takes a comprehensive look at OpenShift Virtualization. Attendees will gain actionable insights on: * Strategic Planning: Defining a virtualization strategy that aligns with business outcomes and the future of hypervisor alternatives, including leveraging open-source virtualization like KubeVirt/OpenShift Virtualization to avoid vendor lock-in. * Next-Generation Infrastructure: Integrating containers (Kubernetes/OpenShift) and virtual machines (VMs) for a unified hybrid cloud platform. * Operational Excellence: Leveraging AI and automation to streamline migration, ensure day-two operational efficiency, and build real-time resilience. * Security and Compliance: Implementing advanced, built-in security features like micro-segmentation and ensuring compliance across complex, multi-cloud virtual footprints. **Choose your learning path** Participants will select between talking through guided challenges or taking a practical deep dive into OpenShift virtualization in a hands-on lab. **Hands-on lab: OpenShift Virtualization deep dive** The hands-on session will provide practical experience with the core components of OpenShift Virtualization: * Fundamentals and Deployment: Installing and configuring the OpenShift Virtualization operator. * VM Lifecycle Management: Creating, cloning, snapshotting, and managing VMs using both the web console and CLI tools. * Networking and Storage: Configuring complex VM networking (e.g., external VLANs) and provisioning storage using Kubernetes storage classes. * Migration Toolkit: Importing and migrating existing virtual machines from traditional hypervisors (like VMware or RHV) into OpenShift Virtualization. Join us to uncover the essential blueprint for a seamless, low-risk migration, and walk away with the knowledge to future-proof your virtual environment for sustained business success. *We are pleased to offer 4.6 continuing professional education (CPE) credits to those that attend the event. CPE certification at Migrate and Modernize: A Blueprint for Virtualization Success is being administered by Carahsoft Technology Corp. Carahsoft is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. For more information on the CPE credit we are offering, Carahsoft’s CPE sponsor (NASBA), and the submission process, please click the link [here](https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Details/710136-CPE).*

The Craft Cocktails Club is experimenting with mid-week Craft Cocktails at Bobby Van's Grill (not the Steakhouse) to partake in their half-priced Cocktails Happy Hour (until 6pm). Join us for our mid-week adventure. bobbyvansnyave.com/washington-downtown-bobby-van-s-grill-ny-ave-dc-drink-menu

🌙✨ NetSAP (Network of South Asian Professionals) and YBP (Young Bengali Professionals) Community Iftar at Ballston Quarter Market ✨🌙 Join us for dinner or breaking fast together! 🗓Wednesday, February 25 ⏰ 5:30 PM 📍 Ballston Quarter Market (Halal options available!) Please bring your own: 🧎‍♀️ Prayer mat 🌴 Dates 💧 Water Let’s gather, share food, and build community. Everyone is welcome — friends, family, neighbors, all faiths 🤍 See you there! 🌙✨

In an era focused on scalable efficiency, the pursuit of absolute service consistency is often seen as the ultimate goal. But what is gained and what is lost when service offerings are entirely predictable? Does aiming for uniformity stifle necessary adaptation and human connection? Join us for an intimate discussion exploring the often overlooked trade-offs of **service consistency**. We'll dive into when consistency builds “trust and reliability”, and when it becomes “a barrier to designing flexible, empathetic, and truly customer-centric experiences”. **#ServiceDesign #ServiceConsistency #ServiceManagement** **What’s a Service Design DC salon?** Our salons are an excellent opportunity to connect with fellow designers, engage in meaningful conversations, and gain fresh perspectives on the evolving landscape of our field. Space is limited to ensure an intimate atmosphere and encourage deeper conversations. Whether you have been to a past salon or will be a first timer, we’d be happy to have you join this group discussion of service design practitioners and enthusiasts in the Washington D.C. area! **Evening Agenda** * 6:00 P.M. - Doors Open / Socializing \* * 6:30 P.M. - Salon begins * 8:00 P.M. - Salon Wraps up \*We will provide light refreshments, including food and drinks, during the salon. **Note about RSVPs:** * Due to the limited number of available spots, we kindly request that you update your RSVP if you are unable to attend so others may have the opportunity to join. Thank you for your understanding. *** Many thanks to our host and sponsor, **Technical Assent!** *At Technical Assent, we believe that government can be a platform for service innovation where services can be designed to be more relevant to customers, more reliable, and delivered at a lower cost.* *Our company exists to build high-performing government service organizations — government-to-citizens (G2C), government-to-government (G2G), and shared services. Our approach is unique in that we improve service performance from the bottom-up, starting with customer experience. We use that insight to design and modify the talent, tools, and technology that deliver government services to each customer. Technical Assent is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business appraised at CMMI-SVC Level 3.*

Top level Backgammon Tournament play. Have fun and improve your game. Free lessons to new and inexperienced players. Club been active over 30 years, posting on Meetup is new.

The Black Radical Tradition is a historical current of organized struggle rooted in socialist, Pan-African, internationalist, and decolonial politics that confronts racial capitalism, internal colonialism, and imperial domination. This session unpacks how that tradition has been systematically whitewashed and commodified, reducing revolutionary movements and figures into harmless symbols while erasing their politics, organizations, and strategies. We will examine concrete examples of organized resistance—from RAM and the Panthers to international solidarities with Haiti, Cuba, and Palestine—to assess how different tactics emerged from real material conditions and what they achieved in practice. The discussion will focus on how today’s movements, including PACA’s work for community control and Pan-African unity, must reclaim this lineage and build durable organization capable of resisting liberal cooptation and sustaining long-term struggles for liberation. If you are in the DMV, please join us in-person at the Black Workers and Wellness Center, 2500 Martín Luther King Jr Ave, SE Washington DC. Register to attend (both for in person and virtual) at: [https://blackradicalhistory.eventbrite.com](https://blackradicalhistory.eventbrite.com) Please wear a mask and don’t come if you’re sick!

Cost: free Court Type: Outdoor Sand Transportation: Parking will be right in front of the courts. MINIMUM 4 people (no incthe host) in attendance otherwise event will be cancelled the day RSVP ends (the day of event). Level: BB and higher level This is an advanced volleyball at BB or higher level.

Friends Join Us for a Transformative Two-Day Workshop on Authentic Relating on Feb 28th and March 1st. ART Level 1! Authentic Relating is about creating deeper, more meaningful connections by being open, honest, and present with others. In this workshop, you will learn practical tools to communicate more effectively, understand and express your true self, and cultivate empathy and trust in your relationships. **What to Expect:** * **Interactive Exercises:** Engage in a variety of activities designed to help you practice authentic relating principles. * **Group Discussions:** Share experiences and insights in a safe and supportive environment. * **Personal Growth:** Discover new ways to connect with yourself and others on a deeper level. Please RSVP to secure your spot, as space is limited. To learn more please click the link below. You can register online by going here: [https://authenticrelating.co/product/level-1-washington-dc-feb2026/](https://authenticrelating.co/product/level-1-washington-dc-feb2026/) *Enroll before January 28th and get 100 dollars off.*

**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** *Spec-Driven Development with GitHub Spec-Kit: From Intent to Implementation* 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. **YouTube Link** TBA

This is an in-person meeting. Did you know that unwanted emotions like loneliness, sadness, hopelessness, anger, fear, anxiety, or feelings of irritation don’t just fall on you for no reason. They are not random occurrences that simply happen to people's minds. They are definitely not chemical imbalance in your brain due to some nebulous chemical reactions by chance. Your negative emotions are the symptoms of the painful experiences that you have which are not healed, and which are still affecting you. The effects of these painful experiences are exacerbated by the pressures or difficulties of the other problems in your life. For instance, let's say you are already carrying a huge load on your back, then you cannot take on much more, but, let's say something else happens to you, such as the difficulties from the Pandemic, then the resultant combined weight on you can take you over the edge, kind of like the straw that break the camel's back. When this happens, people's attention usually goes to the straw that was added, but actually the majority of the weight had come from the huge load that were already there, holding a person down and causing a person issues. So how do you remove the huge load that was already there? How do you lighten them up? Is it possible to get rid of them? That is what this meeting will be all about. Come to our Meetup, where we can introduce you to some of the knowledge, tools and techniques of the breakthroughs in the field of the mind that we can apply to this ever important area of life. Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. This group is created by the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center of Central Ohio.

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/

**Hello Columbus!** **The community is buzzing and growing well.** **We are thrilled to bring our third BrowserStack QA Meetup on March 12th!** We are creating a space for deeper insights, meaningful connections, and a vibe you won't want to miss. **What to expect:** * **Connect:** Network with Columbus' top engineering and QA minds. * **Learn:** Real-world tactics and trends you can use immediately. * **Enjoy:** Food, drinks, and great community spirit. **Agenda** * **[Sam Gomez](https://www.linkedin.com/in/samueljgomez/)** is presenting "AI is more than LLMs: Choosing the right AI for your needs." **RSVP Essential:** Space is limited, and we want to ensure a great experience for everyone. **RSVP now to secure your spot!** 📍 **Venue:** Leading EDJE, 6515 Longshore Loop, Suite 300, Dublin, OH 43017 📍 **Free Parking:** 6725 Longshore Street, Dublin, OH 43017 📅 **Date & Time:** March 12, 6:00 PM **Stay Connected!** Want to continue the conversation beyond the meetup? Join our **BrowserStack Discord Server** to get updates, connect with fellow QA professionals, and be part of an ongoing discussion. **Don’t miss out—click below to join!** 🔗 [\[](https://discord.gg/6SdCyWTNyW)**[Join the BrowserStack Discord Server](https://discord.gg/6SdCyWTNyW)**[\]](https://discord.gg/6SdCyWTNyW) **A Few Notes:** ✅ This is an **in-person event** ✅ **RSVP does not guarantee a seat** – A confirmation email will be sent one day before the event. **TALK ABSTRACT:** AI is all the hype these days; however, despite (or maybe because of) the excitement around it, a high percentage of AI projects fail. Projects that are over budget, delayed, or that fail to scale past the POC phase are very common. In many of these scenarios, choosing the right approach can be as critical as the solution itself. Should you build a tailored machine learning model, leverage the power of large language models (LLMs), or integrate with AI copilots? Each option has unique strengths, trade-offs, and resource requirements, and the key to success lies in aligning your choice with your business goals and technical constraints. In this talk, we will go beyond the basic concepts and definitions to provide a practical guide that allows attendees to navigate these decisions through real-world case studies. We will examine scenarios in which different AI paradigms were chosen, discuss the factors that influenced those decisions, and outline the process for evaluating needs, constraints, and outcomes. From assessing data availability and team expertise to balancing cost and scalability, you'll gain insights into the critical considerations that guide the selection process. By the end of this session, you’ll have a clear process for determining whether machine learning, LLMs, or copilots are best suited to your AI challenges and understand the resources and strategies needed to bring your chosen solution to life. This talk is ideal for decision-makers, technical leads, and innovators seeking to demystify AI implementation and maximize the impact of their investments.

**New Dojo Location!** **Draft Day Columbus** 1130 Dublin Road Columbus, OH 43215 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 topic suggestions and people interested in presenting at our monthly meetings. To this end we've set up a survey form at [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15eBKF1nQQ2XS5gzD4rvhVRHMBEj7lJtHuA9wXupS3Uc](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15eBKF1nQQ2XS5gzD4rvhVRHMBEj7lJtHuA9wXupS3Uc)

🌿 The Fitness Experience 🌿 This is not just a workout—it’s a vibe. The Fitness Experience is a high-energy, feel-good outdoor fitness meetup designed for every body and every level. Whether you’re just getting started, getting back into it, or already living an active lifestyle, this experience meets you where you are and pushes you just enough to level up. Expect movement, fresh air, challenges, laughter, and real community. We sweat together, encourage each other, and stay accountable—because consistency is easier with friends! Motivation with meaning: ✨ Show up for yourself ✨ Progress over perfection ✨ Consistency creates confidence Each month, we pop up at a new scenic outdoor location—parks, waterfronts, city greenspaces, and hidden urban gems—bringing fitness to life in the most inspiring settings possible. Come solo. Bring a friend. Leave energized.

Meeting @ Improving's office in Downtown Columbus, near Cosi. Parking is paid, food & drink are free! This time we're hanging out after the long winter break. We are going to look at a group-member's project used to help learn the fundamentals of Go, and if time allows, we can take a look at how we like to build Go projects using AI.