Delphi

**For ages 13 and above.** In this class, you will build on the basics from Foil Foundational Class and continue to learn more advanced technical skills and their applications, such as: * Different parries * Compound attacks * Counter riposte * Counter attack ### **Address** 231 Mountbatten Rd, BLK F, #01-01, Singapore 397999 ### **Schedule** Fridays 730PM - 930PM ### **Booking Information** * Please contact **98225900** to find out how to book this class. * The instructor will reach out to you once you've booked the class.

**For ages 18 and above.** Our classes are designed with newcomers, beginners & dance enthusiasts in mind - combing the best of both techniques & choreography. It’s the best and fastest way to learn the essence of bellydancing. Classes are conducted by our world-champion instructors, students are guided step-by-step from simple to elaborate techniques & combinations. Learn how to understand different types of Oriental music and improve your mental agility. Adapt your moves easily into beautiful choreographies. A wide variety of styles will be introduced, from modern bellydance, shaabi, khaleegi, veil dance, to Bollywood & more. ### **Address** 390 Victoria Street 03-35 Golden Landmark, 188061 ### **Schedule** Fridays 730PM - 830PM ### **Booking Information** * Please contact **98225900** to find out how to book this class. * The instructor will reach out to you once you've booked the class.

**For ages 17 and above.** The Cha Cha Cha is possibly the most popular of the five international Latin dances. Deriving from Cuba, Cha Cha is characterized by its fun and flirtatious hip movements, beautiful spins and figures, with a variety of upbeat rhythms. The Cha Cha can be danced to popular pop music, and its catchy beat makes this dance a great hit at parties and social dancing events. ### **Address** 795, North Bridge Rd, #02-01 797, 198763 ### **Schedule** Fridays 730PM - 830PM ### **Booking Information** * Please contact **98225900** to find out how to book this class. * The instructor will reach out to you once you've booked the class.

These classes will help you develop the correct foundation to progress faster and improve your game in new areas. ### **Address** 2 Jurong Gateway Rd, #01-14, JPG 608512 ### **Schedule** Fridays 430PM - 6PM ### **Booking Information** * Please contact **98225900** to find out how to book this class. * The instructor will reach out to you once you've booked the class.

FOC. Room #02-05 opens 6.30pm for networking. Meeting starts 7pm sharp. Free of Charge. Meeting on Zoom. Come Upgrade yr Public Speaking Skills & Leadership skills at the most premier club in Singapore. 1st IN THE WORLD to qualify for 10/10 of the distinguished club program. The club which clocks in all the Memberships ribbons conquer yr Fear of Public Speaking. Singapore's Top Public Speaking Club. FREE OF CHARGE (Usual $10/meeting)

**For ages 14 and above.** Latin Technique class. Solo dance. ### **Address** 80 Chay Yan St, Block 80, Singapore 160080 ### **Schedule** Fridays 9PM - 10PM ### **Booking Information** * Please contact **98225900** to find out how to book this class. * The instructor will reach out to you once you've booked the class.

🏛️ **WHAT'S PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY ABOUT?** Practical Philosophy is a weekly meet-up that brings critical thinkers together for an opportunity to dive deep on a topic, practice communicating, and building a community. All with no ‘official’ philosophy knowledge required! 😎 Practical Philosophy is based on the idea that philosophy should be accessible to all, and not something reserved only for academics. Each week we choose a topic, and the goal is to use the conversation to develop our critical thinking and communication as we explore that topic. The goal is to help develop our Critical Thinking, Communication, and Community 🙌 📓 **HOW DOES IT WORK?** Each week, we pick one topic and discuss it. The topic for the week is shared, generally in the [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Hg7zL8ClpzM3agJCvw5HDS), along with jump-off points to get the conversation going. When groups get bigger than 7-8 people, it’s important that we break into smaller groups. This way we are able to maintain a conversational flow as opposed to having our meetups feel like a discourse or lecture. **General Meeting Agenda** Each Practical Philosophy meet-up follows this general timeline: * 19:00-19:15 - People arrive and chat, get to know each other before the ‘official' start. * 19:15-19:25 - Meeting introduction, explanation of Practical Philosophy and the topic for the week, read the guidelines and the overview so attendees know what to expect in terms of timelines. * 19:25-20:45 - Break into small groups - introduce yourselves and general thoughts on the topic, open discussion afterwards. At this point the group can review the ‘jump-off’ questions as needed, but they are just there to help guide the conversation. It’s not obligatory to answer them. * 20:45-21:00 - Bring everyone back together to discuss conclusions of the topic - each group gives a short 1-minute summary. Organizer concludes the meeting and everyone takes a group photo. * 21:00 - The official meeting is over but it’s a great opportunity to get to know people in a non-structured environment, so we often stick around, chat, and get to know each other. **🧧PRICING?** Practical Philosophy Club is FREE to attend! We just ask that if we are meeting in a café, buy a beverage! Some chapters rent a space for us to meet, and they may ask for donations to help contribute to the cost of rent. Donations will always be 100% voluntary though! 💛 WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY 🗣 “I feel like Philosophy Club helps someone build their own belief system through a series of perspectives while not promoting what’s right and wrong” - Ekam 🗣 “I got hooked from day 1 (the topic was authority) and felt it was the right place for me. I feel it is a place where people can go to learn and discuss new perspectives and increase critical thinking and community by interacting with people who might challenge your point of views but at the same time encourage you to have openness and mind flexibility.” - Daniel **🤓 FAQ** * ​What will we talk about? What's the topic? ​The topic for the week is shared every Sunday in the Whatsapp group. We try to add the topic to the comment section on this event page as well but if you don’t see it, the topic and the jump-off points will be in our [Whatsapp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Hg7zL8ClpzM3agJCvw5HDS). * Do I need to study or read anything to attend? No preparation is necessary. This isn’t a study of other thinkers. We want to know what YOU think about the topic, not what an old philosopher thought. If you have a perspective from a religion or a school of thought to share, throw it on the table and we’ll discuss it, but it's not required. * Is there a specific philosophy that Practical Philosophy is focused on? The goal of our meet-ups is to not have dogmatic discussions, and flex our critical thinking muscles. Because of this, we want to hear from every realm of thought, and don't study a particular school. * Is it mostly men that attend? Surprisingly, no! Although philosophy is seen as a Candelabra affair in a dark room with a bunch of guys, our Practical Philosophy meetups are generally 50/50 between genders, and we don’t meet in any dark rooms. * Can I come alone? Of course you can, we encourage it :) * Can I be late? Please don't be! We do have a 15 minute grace period where we allow people to funnel in while we hang out, but after that if you arrive too late, it disrupts the flow of the conversation. * Where do you meet? The location is posted in Meetup and our [Whatsapp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Hg7zL8ClpzM3agJCvw5HDS) group for this location. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you join the Whatsapp group! If you want to know what other cities have a Practical Philosophy Club, you can see our chapters on our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club/practical-philosophy-locations/). **PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY - Making Philosophy Available To All.** ✨ Practical Philosophy hosts weekly, in-person meetups in over 20 countries, including Canada, Spain, Japan, Mexico and many more! 🗺️ \*\*\* Join our [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Hg7zL8ClpzM3agJCvw5HDS) 👈 Follow us on [Instagram](www.instagram.com/practicalphilosophyclub/) 👈 Our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club/) 👈

**PART I: Purpose exiled** According to Plato, our theories about the world should ‘carve nature at its joints’. *Telos*, the once plausible idea that purpose is a part of the natural order of things, has been steadily banished with the triumph of successive scientific theories in the modern age, culminating in the mechanism of evolution by natural selection and its accompanying metaphor of the blind watchmaker. Here, fitness, defined as the ability to survive and reproduce, is the sole arbiter of design in nature, acquired through so much as the blind lotteries of genetic variation. The momentary surprise that one even scientifically inclined feels at some marvelous specimen of evolution, for example the finesse of a Gray’s leaf insect mimicking not just a leaf but its brown and dying spots to better camouflage against predation ([https://www.biodiversitysingapore.com/in-focus/](https://www.biodiversitysingapore.com/in-focus/)), is to be utterly dispelled by belief in the creative potential of random mutations offering themselves up to selection pressures over geological spans of time. **Emergence: ‘more is different’** Contemplating how mind and intelligence came to be within such a setting presents further aesthetic tension (the mind of everyday experience exclaims, that sounds crazy!). Emergence (1) is a relatively recent concept that purports to explain phenomena like mind while undergirding it with a non-negotiable physicalist ontology. The essence of emergence is that through scaling of individual components, a system acquires so-called novel bases - new foundations upon which regularities can be encoded that were not possible at the lower levels. For example, neurons individually fire action potentials based on the threshold dynamics of local stimuli. Collectively however, groups of neurons fire according to abstract patterns termed ‘basins of attraction’ that represent long-range stable states and may be foundational to concepts like memory (2). Conway’s game of life, anchored by a set of very simple rules, presents a powerful illustration of this dynamic: [https://conwaylife.appspot.com/pattern/gosperglidergun](https://conwaylife.appspot.com/pattern/gosperglidergun) There is a folk account of emergence popular with science writers that goes something like this: while the physics of the system is completely known, predicting what is going to happen is near-impossible just with physics, because there is novel stuff happening at ‘higher’ levels. Importantly, no God or designer directed the organization at the higher levels, but it is not discernible anywhere else. *What does it mean to take seriously a universe in which purpose is nowhere fundamental, yet everywhere invoked?* **PART II: Purpose reconsidered** And yet, there are radical perspectives afoot. Without invoking external designers, some contemporary thinkers argue that natural selection and emergence may not exhaust the explanatory story. Developmental biologist Michael Levin (3) and evolutionary scientist Richard Watson (4) suggest that the mechanisms generating variation themselves may be structured, biased, or even goal-directed, analogous to neural or social learning processes. Levin introduced so-called biobots, which are multicellular living structures assembled from human lung epithelium. Biobots exhibit coordinated movement and problem-solving in novel environments despite having no evolutionary lineage that selected for such behaviors (5). Adaptation appears immediately, as if the system were exploring possibilities rather than stumbling upon them. *Does this point toward a universe where purpose was never fully absent to begin with?* Join us this Saturday as we grapple with where purpose truly lies in nature. **References** 1. O’Connor, Timothy, "Emergent Properties", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) [https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/properties-emergent/](https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/properties-emergent/) 2. Wuensche, Andrew. (1995). The Emergence of Memory: Categorisation Far from Equilibrium. Santa Fe Institute, Working Papers. 3. Levin, M. (2025, February 6). Ingressing Minds: Causal Patterns Beyond Genetics and Environment in Natural, Synthetic, and Hybrid Embodiments. [https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/5g2xj_v1 ](https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/5g2xj_v1) 4. Richard A. Watson, Michael Levin, Tim Lewens; Evolution by natural induction. Interface Focus 19 December 2025; 15 (6): 20250025. [https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2025.0025 ](https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2025.0025) 5. Gumuskaya, G., Srivastava, P., Cooper, B. G., Lesser, H., Semegran, B., Garnier, S., & Levin, M. (2023). Motile Living Biobots Self-Construct from Adult Human Somatic Progenitor Seed Cells. Advanced Science, 11(4), 2303575. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202303575

**Dates:** * 13, 27 Dec 2025 * 10, 24 Jan 2026 * 7, 14, 28 Feb 2026 (17 & 18 Feb are CNY) * 14, 28 Mar 2026 (21 March is Hari Raya Puasa) **Timing:** 2pm onwards **Venue:** HackerspaceSG **Address:** Textile Centre, #08-10, Singapore 199018 ​We'll be hanging out to practice some LeetCode questions together. **\#\# No food provided \#\# Bring your laptop \#\#** # ​Format: * ​Pick a random LeetCode question (easy or medium). * ​One volunteer will connect to screen and attempt the question within 40 minutes. * ​Rest of the group will either role-play as interviewer, collaborator or just observe. * ​At the end of the attempt, the group will provide feedback to the volunteer. # ​Format of Feedback: ## ​Soft skills * ​Ask good questions? * ​What should be talked about? What should demo thru code? ## ​Technical feedback * ​Quality of execution. # ​About JuniorDev SG: ​JuniorDevSG is a developer interest group that focuses on providing a place for junior developers to learn and network with each other. ​At the same time, we seek to be a support system to help junior developers break into tech, navigate their careers as well growing them to one day become senior developers or tech leaders in the tech industry.

## Build an AI Backend ​Chatbots are frontend. The interesting question is: what happens when AI moves into your backend? ​Not a copilot. Not a chat widget. A reasoning layer that sits alongside your services - making decisions that used to be hardcoded, replacing brittle if-else chains with logic that actually understands context. ​[AgentField](https://umami-production-286d.up.railway.app/q/qu0EUyujU) is infrastructure for this. Agents that share memory without Redis. Agents that find each other without service registries. Just Python/typescript functions - no DAGs, no YAML, no workflow definitions. ​Come build something that belongs in a backend, not a chat window. ​**The Workshop:** ​In one hour, you'll build a system where multiple agents research a topic in parallel, share what they find, and go deeper where it matters. ​Not by wiring up message queues. Not by defining DAG configs. You'll write Python (or typescript) functions, and the coordination just happens. * ​**Reasoners** \- Functions where AI makes decisions * ​**Skills** \- Functions where code does the work * ​**Memory** \- State that flows between agents automatically * ​**Discovery** \- Agents call each other by name\, routing happens ​By the end, you'll have a working deep research system - the same pattern that powers everything from due diligence pipelines to adaptive content generation. ​Want to try it before the hackathon? [Join our Discord](https://discord.com/invite/aBHaXMkpqh) \- ask questions\, get help if you get stuck\, or just say hi\. ​**What makes this different:** * ​**Memory without infrastructure** \- Memory that works across all your agents\. No Redis\, no Postgres\, no config\. * ​**Agents find each other** \- Discovery engine routes automatically\. No service registry setup\. * ​**Reasoners vs Skills** \- AI decides\, code executes\. Clean separation that's easy to test and reason about\. * ​**Just simple** \- No workflow DSLs\. No DAG definitions\. Write functions\, decorate them\, done\. ​**The Challenge:** ​Rethink what AI applications look like after the chatbot. ​The chatbot was AI-as-interface: human inputs, AI responds. The AI backend is AI-as-infrastructure: agents that make decisions, share context, and do work - whether a human is watching or not. ​Build the application that exists on the other side of that shift. ​**🏆 Prizes:** ​$2,000 USD in OpenRouter credits: * ​1st Place: $1,000 * ​2nd Place: $600 * ​3rd Place: $400 **⚡ Agenda:** * ​10:00 AM - Kickoff + Workshop: From Hello World to Deep Research * ​10:30 AM - Team formation + hacking begins * ​12:00 PM - Lunch * ​3:30 PM - Hacking ends / Live demos (3 min per team) * ​4:30 PM - Winners announced * ​5:00 PM - Close **Who should come:** * ​You've built chatbots and want to build something deeper * ​You're curious what AI looks like when it's not a UI feature * ​You want to replace some hardcoded logic with reasoning * ​You just like building things ​Python or TypeScript. No agent experience needed. ​**How we'll judge:** 1. ​**New problem space** \- Is this AI\-as\-infrastructure in a domain we haven't seen? Show us something beyond chatbots\. 2. ​**Replaced complexity** \- Did you simplify an architecture that was previously a mess of services\, queues\, or hardcoded rules? Does it make sense cost\-wise? 3. ​**High leverage** \- Either high volume \(worth automating\) or high stakes \(worth reasoning about\)\. Bonus if both\. 4. ​**Previously impossible** \- Does this enable something that couldn't exist before? Not just faster or cheaper \- genuinely new\. **💡 What could you build?** * ​**Pricing that adapts in real-time** \- Considers inventory\, demand\, and competition \(for example\) simultaneously\. Reasoning and autonomous\, not rules\. * ​**Supply chain that coordinates** \- Shortage detected\, alternatives evaluated\, routes recalculated\, alerts sent\. * ​**Code Security Review for PR** \- Every PR launching and finding complex security threats and patterns that are non\-trivial ​Build something we haven't thought of here, and you have your own startup at hand ! ​**📚 Resources:** * ​Docs: [agentfield.ai/docs](https://agentfield.ai/docs/?utm_campaign=hackaton_1&utm_source=aibuilders&utm_medium=hackaton&utm_id=hack_sing-1&utm_content=docs-cta) * ​GitHub: [github.com/Agent-Field/agentfield](https://umami-production-286d.up.railway.app/q/qu0EUyujU) * ​Discord: [Join](https://discord.com/invite/aBHaXMkpqh) to prep and find teammates * ​Deep Research Guide: [Build your first system](https://umami-production-286d.up.railway.app/q/qu0EUyujU) * ​Blog: [The AI Backend](https://agentfield.ai/blog/posts/ai-backend/?utm_campaign=hackaton_1&utm_source=aibuilders&utm_medium=hackaton&utm_id=hack_sing-1&utm_content=blog-cta) **🤝 Hosts:** * ​**AgentField** \- Backend infrastructure layer for autonomous AI\. * ​**AI Builders** \- Community of engineers building the future of AI\. ⚠️ Limited spots. Register now.

**For ages 13 and above.** These classes will help you develop the correct foundation to progress faster and improve your game in new areas. ### **Address** 2 Jurong Gateway Rd, #01-14, JPG 608512 ### **Schedule** Saturdays 10AM - 11AM ### **Booking Information** * Please contact **98225900** to find out how to book this class. * The instructor will reach out to you once you've booked the class.

Whatsapp Philip for any questions: 8452 0693 Hola! Come and pick up some Spanish at Saturday Spanish: Sábado de Español. Learners of all ages and all levels are welcome. All our language-learning meetup events are free of charge. WE WANT SPANISH SPEAKERS TOO! We are on a constant lookout for proficient Spanish speakers (not necessarily native) to come and share their knowledge of the language and culture. If you speak the language, come and join us and make lots of friends. See you there amigos! Directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/mRfYKAMXaL9rLLEz8 *** 1. NO COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES We welcome anyone who is keen to learn a language or help others learn the language. However, this is NOT the platform for individuals who have other intentions, such as recruiting members for their business/organisation, WhatsApp groups or selling products or services. We will not hesitate to ask such individuals to stop attending our meetups if they have been found to be pestering our members for such purposes. 2\. GETTING THERE Take Downtown Line or Circle Line to Promenade MRT. At Promenade MRT take Exit C, turn right and walk into Suntec City, take the escalators or lift to level 3, you will find FOOD ARENA foodcourt next to Burger King. 3\. LOCATING US INSIDE THE FOOD COURT We usually will have a "SPANISH" sign at our table. You can ask the other language groups at the food court where the Spanish Group is sitting, they will help guide you.

**NEW LOCATION: Improving Office in Franklinton** Physical location: Improving Office 330 Rush Alley Suite #150 Columbus, OH 43215 Schedule: * 6:00 p.m.: Socialize, eat, and drink. Improving will be providing pizza and beverages. * 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Main meeting and presentation(s). Lonnie Morgan will be presenting information about the DLT Library. "The Python library `dlt` provides a powerful [REST API toolkit](https://dlthub.com/docs/dlt-ecosystem/verified-sources/rest_api/basic) to ingest data. Combined with our [LLM scaffolds](https://dlthub.com/workspace) and [MCP server](https://dlthub.com/docs/hub/features/mcp-server), you can build a custom connector for any of the 8k+ available sources in 10 minutes by following this guide. Building with LLMs is an iterative process. We will follow this general workflow and give practical tips for each step." See Our [Parking Map](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1u2A4fLNlxwLJn0KA_hKc8bnFlFHLvsHBDh-_8wzX_tk/edit?usp=sharing) We meet on the last Monday of each Month. Presentations are given by members and friends of this group. If you would like to do a presentation (small or large) on a python topic, please contact centralohpython@gmail.com

As you may or may not know--I didn't until late last year--Aristotle wrote extensively on "friendship" in the Nicomachean Ethics. After 69 years the concept of friendship still creates questions and uncertainty. I had close friends in high school and for a few years after high school but our interests diverged and people moved all over the country so it was hard to maintain connections. * So if I/you haven't talked with a friend for several years, are you still friends? Are we friends who meet at Drunken Philosophy or Omnipresent Atheists? * Can you be friends with someone with whom you have virulently divergent political views? Sartre and Camus could not. * Aristotle regarded friendship as essential to a good life, not merely an added "bonus." Do you agree? * In the Nicomachean Ethics (Books VIII and IX), he claims that wealth and power are meaningless without friends. Trump has wealth and power but seems to have no real friends, but wealth and power seem meaningful to him in perverted ways. Can you have meaning in your life without friends? * Do men and women view and maintain friendships in different ways? * Aristotle categorizes friendship into three types, based on what forms the bond: * **Utility**: Based on mutual benefit, but this type is fragile and ends when the usefulness ceases. * **Pleasure**: Based on shared enjoyment (e.g., humor, hobbies). Common among youth but fades as interests change. * **Virtue (The "Complete" Friendship)**: Based on mutual respect for each other's character and goodness. You wish good for the other for their sake, not yours. * **Key Principles of "True" (Virtuous) Friendship:** * **Permanence**: Virtuous friendships last a lifetime whereas those based on utility and pleasure are fleeting. * **Reciprocity**: Requires mutual goodwill; secret or unreciprocated affection does not qualify. * **The "Second Self"**: A true friend is "another self"—their virtue helps you understand and improve yourself. * **Time and Intimacy**: Deep ("complete") friendships are few, built on time and shared experiences. * **Self-Love and Friendship:** * Good friendship starts with being a friend to yourself. * They distinguish shallow egoism (chasing honors) from real self-love (pursuing virtue). * A virtuous person’s pleasant self-company allows them to be a stable, good friend to others. * Aristotle argues that one's social circle ultimately reflects one's character—a view with striking relevance today. Well--the Drunken Philosophy social circle certainly reflects good character!

**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)

Let's check out a Popular Astronomy and Science Based Film at COSI Science Center on their HUGE 360 Degree 4K Spherical Dome Screen Theater, in which is touring the nation and has already sold over 10,000 tickets! COSI is one of the leading Science Centers in America. Alan Watts was one of the Most Influential Amateur Astronomers of the 20th Century and held fascinating views of the Galaxy. Tickets are only $33 plus a small fee and taxes and can be purchased here: [Trust the Universe: Immersive Dome Show](https://www.sphericalpictures.com/tickets) PLEASE purchase tickets for the 8:15 PM Feature on Friday, February 13. There seem to be at least 10 tickets left, possibly more. We should be able to sit together in the same row or at least in the general section. This is an exciting chance to view actual footage of the Solar System on a Large 4k Resolution Screen plus added in Cosmological and Astronomical Related Philosophy! We will plan on meeting at about 7:50 PM by the Atomic Cafe on the first Floor of COSI, where the Movie Theater is located, in order to give us time before the show starts to purchase refreshments. Parking is available at the COSI Garage and in the area on side streets and adjacent garages. We can also walk somewhere in the area and get food afterwards, if anyone wants to do so. Thanks and hope to see you come out!

Our monthly PHP meetup. A virtual shindig courtesy of Zoom. Check back here for the details around 6:15 pm

**Photography 101: Discover The Photographer Within** **Are you ready to unlock the full potential of your camera? Then this beginning photography course is perfect for you!** This beginner-friendly photography class is your gateway to unlocking the power of your camera and developing a confident artistic vision. This course offers an engaging and practical approach to essential techniques and creative principles for impactful photography. We will explore the use of camera settings, composition, and light to tell a story that evokes emotion in the viewer. **Through hands-on exercises and insightful lessons, you will learn to:** * **Master Your Camera:** Learn fundamental camera functions, including aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, so you can confidently control exposure and creative effects in any lighting situation. * **Compose Captivating Images:** Explore and apply classic composition principles like the rule of thirds, leading lines, and framing to create visually appealing and impactful photographs. * **Harness the Power of Light:** Understand how different light sources (natural and artificial) affect your images and learn to manipulate them to create mood, texture, and enhance the overall quality of your photos. * **Control Focus and Depth of Field:** Discover how to effectively utilize depth of field to isolate your subject and achieve captivating background blur (bokeh) or ensure sharpness throughout your landscape shots. * **Work with Lenses and Filters:** Explore the impact of various lens types and focal lengths on photographs and learn how filters can add creative control and protection. **This class provides the foundation needed to confidently create high-quality images and begin a photographic journey, regardless of the camera used.** **Prerequisites:** * A camera (film, DSLR, or mirrorless) that has manual controls is required. Hands-on exercises make having the camera in class highly beneficial. You will need at least one lens to evaluate the results of control exercises. * You may attend this class in one of two ways: 1. With a class voucher provided by your retail camera store 2. Purchasing a seat in the class

### Tools in your AI's Toolbox : An introduction to MCP Servers The generative AI revolution has unlocked unprecedented capabilities, but the next frontier is agency: empowering models to interact with, query, and act upon the world. The current challenge is the “N x M integration problem,” where every AI model requires a custom, brittle integration for each external tool or data source. This approach simply doesn’t scale. How can we give an AI access to our sales leads, code repositories, or IoT devices in a standardized, secure, and reusable way? This session introduces Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), the open-source framework designed to solve this challenge and become the universal connector—the USB-C port—for AI. MCP standardizes how AI models discover and use external tools, moving beyond simple function-calling to a robust, client-server architecture. We will dive into how this open protocol is creating a new ecosystem for building powerful, context-aware AI agents. Join this session for a developer-focused introduction where you will learn how to: Understand the core concepts of the open-source Model Context Protocol and its architecture. Utilize pre-built, open-source MCP servers to instantly connect AI to tools like Git, Slack, and databases. Build a custom MCP server to securely expose your own proprietary data and APIs as tools for any compliant AI. Move beyond bespoke integrations and contribute to a standardized, collaborative, and open ecosystem. Stop building one-off connectors and start building intelligent agents. This session will give you the practical knowledge to leverage MCP and create the next generation of AI that doesn’t just talk, but does. Want to be a speaker? submit your talk to our Call for Presenters!!! [https://sessionize.com/azure-cbus-2026/](https://sessionize.com/azure-cbus-2026/)