Computer Graphics

This week’s Hexperiment explores the idea of “containers of the self” — the skins, shells, and digital vessels we inhabit as we move through online and offline worlds. We’ll look at how identity is shaped, stored, transmitted, and transformed across different containers: • physical bodies • social roles • digital profiles • symbolic membranes • creative outputs The session begins with a short opening prompt inspired by Dispatch #2, followed by open discussion and a focused deep‑dive on one participant’s idea. No preparation needed. Just bring curiosity and a willingness to examine the structures that hold you.

What does it look like when ideas come to life, in real time, on the wall? Join NOVA Scribes for a full-day, in-person open house where the public is invited to step inside the world of graphic recording and visual facilitation. This is a come-and-go experience designed for curiosity, exploration, and conversation. Whether you are new to visual thinking or already working with images and groups, you are welcome. The space will be set up as a "theater in the round," (see the image) with visual practitioners working live around the room. Throughout the day, you will see different techniques, styles, and modalities demonstrated in real time, from large-scale graphic recording to visual templates, facilitation tools, and decision-support visuals. You can observe, ask questions, and engage directly with the practitioners as the work unfolds. **What you can expect** * Live demonstrations of graphic recording and visual facilitation techniques * Multiple practitioners working simultaneously, each with their own approach and style * Short, informal demos and tiny teaches that explain how and why specific techniques are used * Opportunities to talk one-on-one with experienced graphic recorders and visual facilitators * A chance to see how visuals support sensemaking, alignment, and group dialogue **What you might explore** * Graphic recording for meetings, conferences, and retreats * Visual templates for planning, strategy, and reflection * Visual facilitation methods that support participation and decision making * Tools, materials, and setup considerations for live visual work * Different visual languages, from icons and lettering to layout and structure This open house is designed to be accessible, hands-on, and inspiring. You do not need to stay all day. Come for 20 minutes or stay for hours. Watch ideas take shape. Notice how visuals change the energy in the room. Ask the questions you have always wanted to ask. If you have ever been curious about how visual facilitation works, or how graphic recording supports groups, this is your chance to experience it up close. **Open to the general public. No prior experience required.** We’re not charging for this workshop, but we will be asking for donations! Donations cover the costs of hosting events on Meetup, to honorariums for new graphic recorders, and scholarships. Please be sure you are registered on Meetup! If you're not registered on Meetup, you will not be admitted.

The next NoVABeerSec event - "Informal Gathering of Security Minds Over Beer" will be Wednesday, April 29th, 5:30PM til 7:30ish at Aslin Beer Company - Herndon Taproom (767 Elden St., Herndon VA 20170). **Venue for April:** Aslin Beer Company (https://www.aslinbeer.com) - Aslin Beer Co. was founded in 2015 by Andrew Kelley and Kai Leszkowicz. The name, Aslin, comes from the family that connected Andrew and Kai through marriage; they each married a daughter from the Aslin Family. Andrew’s professional background was in finance and consulting, while Kai worked in public service. They bonded over a shared interest of craft beer and home-brewing, which eventually lead to the idea that “We can do this too.” **Additional Info:** We are an inclusive group, so if we missed anyone please let us know or if you want to bring your significant other/spouse please do. We do know there are folks that have changed roles since we last met so please also let us know if we need to add new contact info for people. Have a great week and see you later this month! Cheers, Rinaldi Rampen & Mike McCabe of @NoVABeerSec

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.

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

🗒️ Details Join us for an observability and AI-focused meetup hosted at Clare & Don's Beach Shack, in Falls Church VA 📋 Agenda 🎉 5:30 Introductions, food and drinks (we'll be at [Clare & Don's!](https://clareanddons.com/)) 🎙️ 6 - 6:30 Tech Talks: AI & Observability 💬 6:30 Networking and Q&As 🔚 7:30 The End The event is well-suited for DevOps and Site-Reliability engineers, and we welcome people new to Grafana or observability. We look forward to seeing you there! Speaker info and talk abstracts: Rob Santos, Senior Solutions Engineer @ Grafana Labs Vishal Nakra, Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering @ Grafana Labs

Join us for a calm and cozy afternoon of creating together at Oakton Library. This is a relaxed social art meetup, not a class. No instruction, no pressure. Just time to focus, draw, paint, and connect. We’re keeping this one intentionally small: **Maximum 10 seats** for a more intimate creative space. 🗓 First Saturday of every month 🕐 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM 📍 Oakton Library *** ✨ **What to Expect** This is quiet, focused art time with light conversation. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced artist, you’re welcome. You’re free to come late or leave early. *** 🖌 **What to Bring** Bring any materials you enjoy working with. Keep setups clean and easy for a shared public space. Suggested items: * Sketchbook or loose paper * Pencils, pens, markers, crayons * Small watercolor or gouache setup * iPad or tablet * Crochet, journaling, calligraphy — any quiet creative work is welcome Please avoid messy materials or anything with strong odors. *** 📌 **Important** Seats are limited to 10. Please RSVP to reserve your spot. If you RSVP and can’t make it, let us know so someone else can join.

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.