Distributed Systems

**What we talk about when we talk about AI** Wendy Grossman We talk about “artificial intelligence” as if it were a single thing, but in reality it’s an umbrella term that can mean anything from a computer program that generates an image from a prompt composed of a few words or automates keeping meetings notes to a non-biological superhuman consciousness to which we seem as dumb as a computer program that prints “Hello, world” seems to us. The issue is exacerbated by a number of factors: the hype “AI” companies’ marketing people sprinkle on everything; the depictions in science fiction books, movies, and TV shows; and, not least, our eternal desire for companions and superhuman guardians and our ability to anthropomorphize absolutely anything. This talk will tease apart some of these threads, and provide some guidelines in deciding how to navigate the difference between the state of the art and fantasy. Wendy M. Grossman is the founder and former editor of The Skeptic magazine. For 35 years, she has focused on computers, freedom, and privacy in books and for publications such as the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, New Scientist, Scientific American, and Wired. Since 2001 she has published a weekly blog, net.wars. She is also a sometimes folksinger.

Join us to discuss The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen. We will be in the function room (please ask at the bar if you can’t find us) Please arrive from 6.30pm and order any food or drink for a 7pm start. Your first meet up is free and then it is £1.50 to cover Meet Up's costs. You are welcome to bring suggestions for June (we vote 2 months in advance) 😊

Join us for some fun, competitive, but friendly games at our 4-court sports hall. We use Yonex Mavis 600 Nylon shuttles during the 2-hour session. **PAYMENT** * **Session Fee: £9** * We are cashless, kindly pay the session fee **by midnight** on the night before the session. You are welcome to pay early! You can even pay when you book! See our About page for the full process. * If no payment is received, you will be removed and may even be liable for a late cancellation fee if your spot is not taken. * Please use **“your meetup name + date of event”** as payment reference * **Account name:** Thomas Lam * **Sort code:** 04-00-03 * **Account number:** 7478 8608 **LATE CANCELLATION OR NO-SHOW** * **All** **no-shows or late cancellations** (24 hrs or less) will be charged if your spot is not taken by someone else - you will have a title next to your name with the amount and date owed. * Members with 2 no shows/late cancellations will be removed from the group unless outstanding payment is received * **The late cancellation policy** is set up to discourage last-minute cancellations and therefore applies with or without the presence of a waitlist * **Note:** If you are on the Waitlist and a spot becomes available, you will automatically be bumped onto the On list provided the event has not yet started. It is your responsibility to **remove yourself from the waitlist** if you can no longer make it to avoid being charged a no-show if someone cancels late. **PLAYING** * Please wait to be marked off before entering the hall. * Sessions are to finish promptly on the hour by school requests. * If you finish a match with 5 minutes to go, please start packing up instead of starting a new game. **RACKET HIRE** * Please note that we won't be hiring out rackets, so kindly bring your own racket. **PARKING** * There is parking available, but it is now paid parking. Parking is opposite the entrance. Please check the signs for parking payment instructions. **TRACK & TRACE** * We will collect your phone number on-site. Your phone number will also be used in case of fire to contact you if you have not made it to the fire evacuation areas. You can see maps at the venue. We are excited to see you guys on the court! Team LSBC

This is our regular club meeting with prepared speeches, speech evaluations and "Table Topics" - a chance to practice impromptu speaking. Please arrive from 6:35pm for a prompt 6:45pm start. **Guests are always welcome and it's completely free**, but we do request that you buy drinks at the bar on arrival and during the break to support the venue. ABOUT BLOOMSBURY SPEAKERS Hello! Bloomsbury Speakers is a fun and friendly Toastmasters club near Farringdon in central London. We meet twice a month to improve our communication and public speaking skills by practising in a safe and supportive environment. New guests are always welcome and it's completely free. No need to book in advance (other than to receive a helpful reminder) - just show up on the evening! TYPICAL MEETING AGENDA A typical meeting agenda is as follows: 6:35 Doors open - meet and greet 6:45 Welcome from Club President 6:50 Introductions from Toastmaster and other meeting roles 7:00 Prepared Speeches (from club members) 7:40 Guest Introductions (a quick hello from the guests) Short break for refreshments 8:00 Speech Evaluations (of earlier speeches) 8:15 Table Topics (impromptu speeches of 1-2 minutes each) 8:35 Table Topics Evaluations 8:40 Reports and General Evaluation (of the meeting) 8:55 Awards (best speech, best evaluator, etc.) and announcements 9:00 Meeting close - retire to the bar! COME ALONG TO FIND OUT MORE! Visit our website for more information: https://www.bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk Toastmasters has helped thousands of people overcome nerves and improve their speaking confidence. Come along and find out how! Find your voice at #BloombsurySpeakers!

We're excited to be back and pleased to say this event is being sponsored by [pgMustard](https://pgmustard.com). On the talks front, we have **Anton Borisov and Vlad Bokov** from Fresha who will take us through how they recently upgraded their fleet with zero-downtime. We will then host our first ever debate, on a topic to be determined! WHERE Join us at **Doggett's Coat and Badge on 14 April from 18:30.** PROGRAM 18:30 Welcome 19:00 Swapping the Elephant Without Breaking the Room: Zero-downtime Major PG upgrades in practice (Anton Borisov and Vlad Bokov, Fresha) - abstract below 19:45 Sandwiches and bar snacks (paid for by our sponsor) 20:00 Debate — topic TBD ABSTRACT **Swapping the Elephant Without Breaking the Room: Zero-downtime Major PG upgrades in practice** Upgrading PostgreSQL across hundreds of production databases without downtime sounds impossible, especially when logical replication slots, Debezium CDC pipelines, and outbox event streams are in play. At Fresha, we faced exactly that: mission-critical workloads still on PostgreSQL 12, and no safe way to reach 17 without freezing the business. This talk walks through how we designed and automated a blue-green upgrade framework using logical decoding, controlled WAL overlap, and connector orchestration. We’ll dive into how Debezium connectors, replication origins, and PgBouncer pools were coordinated to guarantee continuity for both CDC and outbox topics, with rollback and dry-run modes built in. Attendees will learn practical techniques for: * Orchestrating zero-downtime Postgres major upgrades on RDS or self-managed clusters * Managing replication slots and Debezium connectors safely across clusters * Handling sequence alignment, WAL overlap, and connector state transitions * Designing reversible, testable database cutovers This is a practical session from real production experience: no magic tools, just PostgreSQL internals, Debezium, careful planning, and a few well-placed bash scripts. SPEAKERS **Anton Borisov** architects real-time data systems centered on PostgreSQL. At Fresha, he designs zero-downtime migrations, Debezium-based CDC pipelines, and overall data strategy integrating Postgres with Kafka and Flink. His work spans query planning analysis, partitioning and indexing, autovacuum and bloat optimization, and performance tuning under high-concurrency workloads. He also builds downstream lakehouse integrations with Iceberg, Paimon, and StarRocks. Anton publishes technical deep-dives on PostgreSQL internals, streaming infrastructure, and production reliability at medium.com/@borzoniusy **Vlad Bokov** is a Staff Engineer at Fresha working on systems behind activity feeds and communication between partners and customers. He deals with what breaks at scale: PostgreSQL under heavy write load, WAL bottlenecks, replication issues, Kafka pipelines, and zero-downtime migrations. Most of his work is about making production systems behave: fixing what is slow, unstable, or too expensive, and making trade-offs that hold up under pressure. He works across Snowflake, StarRocks, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, and Redis, and is currently exploring newer streaming approaches, including Apache Fluss, for real-world workloads. *** THE OFFICIAL BITS The meet-up abides by [PostgreSQL Code of Conduct](https://www.postgresql.org/about/policies/coc/). Postgres, PostgreSQL and the Slonik Logo are trademarks or [registered trademarks of the PostgreSQL Community Association of Canada](https://www.postgresql.org/about/policies/trademarks/), and used with their permission.

**Space is limited so book and pay early to avoid disappointment.** This evening workshop provides a perfect opportunity to experience the deep and insightful Systemic Constellations process in an intimate group setting. A unique and powerful therapeutic method for self-exploration, understanding core behaviours, removing blocks, and reintroducing movement and growth. It is used as a major resource in supporting healthy relationships, working through trauma, and assisting in depression treatment. **Issue Holder (client) and Representative spaces are available, please follow the link to book:** **For Representative (Participant) Booking £35** **[https://calendly.com/illiadato/in-person-family-constellations-evening-workshop](https://calendly.com/illiadato/in-person-family-constellations-evening-workshop)** **For Issue Holder (Client) Booking £175:** If you wish to attend as an Issue Holder at this workshop and have your own Constellation done please email your request to: [ih@londonconstellations.uk](http://ih@londonconstellations.uk/) Read comments of workshop participants here: [https://bit.ly/33Asprs](https://bit.ly/33Asprs) **WHAT ARE SYSTEMIC CONSTELLATIONS?** The Systemic Constellations method is a unique therapeutic process of exploration of the forces that move us in life. Such forces are often appearing as difficulties or a sense of being 'stuck' in life, affecting our behaviour, relationships, career, health/wellbeing, or even financial circumstances. This method provides a three-dimensional ‘map’ of one’s life as it is at present. It is a simple yet powerful way to explore entanglements and blockages in our personal life and our family history. The method brings awareness and clarity into personal challenges by focusing the client on the root cause of such difficulties. Constellations provide an opening for a positive life shift and present ways for deep healing processes to occur. **WHAT HAPPENS IN A CONSTELLATION SESSION?** In Constellations work the ‘client’ is referred to as the ‘Issue Holder’. The method uses workshop participants as ‘Representatives’ to stand in for key people in the client’s life such as family members, colleagues, partners, ex-partners, etc., sometimes ‘abstract’ concepts such as an emotion, country of origin, religion, or destiny are also represented. All participants are invited to take part as Representatives. Workshop participants often report (see reviews: [https://bit.ly/33Asprs](https://bit.ly/33Asprs)) experiencing profound insights into their own lives by simply witnessing the process, regardless of how they choose to take part. **WHY DOES THIS WORK?** Scientific research shows that the experiences of your ancestors can determine your behaviour today and affect future generations.\*\* Recent scientific research into DNA reveals that a component named epigenetics is embedding the effect of a traumatic experience by altering the genetic structure. It means that some of our behaviour patterns can be attributed to traumatic events in our family history. This notion has always been one of the guiding principles of Systemic / Constellations Therapy, a form of work that is dedicated to exposing and dealing with issues emerging from our family system. *“It is only now that science is catching up with what is evident in Systemic Constellations work and visible in every one of our therapy sessions; trauma in the family history directly affects future generations' behaviour"* Illi Adato MD Our group provides a safe space where deep personal work is done and where maintaining confidentiality and respect for each other's privacy is paramount. **\*\* DNA research paper and news articles:** Discover - Grandma's Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes [https://bit.ly/3dLwEkK](https://bit.ly/3dLwEkK) BBC News - "Memories" pass between generations [http://bbc.in/1dNShPe](http://bbc.in/1dNShPe) **Facilitated by Illi Adato** MA Lon\. Inst\. SQHP\. Crt\(HYP\)\. Crt\(COACH\)\. Systemic\, Organisational & Family Constellations member of ISCA \| Hypnotherapy member of GHR \(UK\) & IHF \(USA\) \| Tune\-In Counselling \| Advanced NLP Therapeutic Specialist™ *** 💬**Personal one-to-one counseling** can be combined with group work. **Book here: [https://calendly.com/illiadato/1st-personal-session](https://calendly.com/illiadato/1st-personal-session)** **VIDEO COURSES** 📌 Watch anytime \| 📩 Instant access after payment **Becoming a Bridge - Working with Death As a Key Resource In Constellations** £19 Explore the transformative power of death in Systemic Constellations with Illi Adato in this recorded 1.5-hour video course. Designed for facilitators, practitioners, and those drawn to deep experiential learning, this session offers practical insights into holding space for loss and transition. **🛒ACCESS HERE: [https://calendly.com/illiadato/becoming-a-bridge-video-course](https://calendly.com/illiadato/becoming-a-bridge-video-course)** **Constellations, Systemic Principles & How They Affect Us - Video Crash Course** £6 Explore the hidden forces shaping your life with this **recorded mini-course** by Illi Adato. Learn the **Orders of Love**, uncover deep-rooted patterns, and experience a guided **HypnoConstellations™** process for personal healing. **🛒ACCESS HERE: [https://calendly.com/illiadato/systemic-principles-crash-video-course](https://calendly.com/illiadato/systemic-principles-crash-video-course)** Have questions? Reach out: [office@londonconstellations.uk](http://office@londonconstellations.uk/) Looking forward to another moving experience of learning together! London School of Systemic & Family Constellations

uSwitch is located on the first floor of the ZPG building at 5 Copper Row, London, SE1 2LH, London (Click on the map for directions) What 3 words location: [https://what3words.com/puts.sudden.else](https://what3words.com/puts.sudden.else) The Clojure dojo is a collaborative way to learn Clojure/ClojureScript through practice. The aim is to learn a little more than before you started. This event is for those new to coding through to more experienced developers. We organise into small groups (2-4) people and write code to solve challenges great and small, chosen by those at the event. We aim to ensure someone in your group has some Clojure experience, so you shouldn't feel lost (well no more than all developers do when Stack Overflow is broken). Example challenges for the coding dojo are listed on this website: http://www.londonclojurians.org/code-dojo/ Various past exercises have been loaded to [https://github.com/ldnclj](https://github.com/ldnclj/lisp1.5/blob/master/src/lisp1/5.clj) # Approximate schedule: 18:40 Doors open and start collecting suggestions 18.45 Pizza should have arrived 19:00 Quick intros and vote on suggestions 19:15 Break out into groups and start practising 20:45 Gather together for a quick show and tell # What should I bring? We organise into small groups, so if you have a laptop with a working Clojure environment please bring it along (there are lots of online Clojure environments, so you can just use your browser too). # How do I get in to the building? At the glass doors press the buzzer to inform the security guard you are here. Say you are here for the event on the first floor. Is there way to talk with the Clojure community? Why yes. The Clojurians Slack channel is full of friendly people who love to try and help. People based in London are often in the #clojure-uk channel. Sign up for a free account to the Clojurians Slack community via http://clojurians.net/ What is Clojure? Clojure is a JVM language that has syntactically similarities to Lisp, full integration with Java and its libraries and focuses on providing a solution to the issue of single machine concurrency. Its small core makes it surprisingly easy for Java developers to pick up and it provides a powerful set of concurrency strategies and data structures designed to make immutable data easy to work with. If you went to Rich Hickey’s LJC talk about creating Clojure you’ll already know this, if not it’s well worth watching the Rich Hickey “Clojure for Java Programmers” video or Stuart Halloway “Radical Simplicity” video .

**You are invited to join a deep healing group process that extends beyond us as individuals into the wider 'field' of historical/ancestral influences, where our family's past traumas are seen, acknowledged, and attended to, so that they do not limit our well-being today.** In these **short videos, our facilitator Illi Adato** explains the key aspects of the Systemic and Family Constellation approach to therapy and healing: [https://www.facebook.com/LondonFamilyConstellations/videos](https://www.facebook.com/LondonFamilyConstellations/videos) We shall meet at The Kailash Centre in St. Johns Wood, London NW8 for this month's group session, **open to all**. Issue Holder and Representative spaces are available: **For Representative (Participant) Booking £45:** **[https://calendly.com/illiadato/in-person-constellations-representative](https://calendly.com/illiadato/in-person-constellations-representative)**[ ](https://calendly.com/illiadato/in-person-constellations-representative) **For Issue Holder (Client) Booking £175:** If you wish to attend as an Issue Holder at this workshop and have your own Constellation done please email your request to: [ih@londonconstellations.uk](ih@londonconstellations.uk) **Please Note:** There are limited issue holder spaces available, please book early to avoid disappointment and wait for a confirmation email of your booking. This workshop provides a perfect opportunity to experience the deep and insightful Systemic Constellations process. A unique and powerful therapeutic method for self-exploration, understanding core behaviors, removing blocks, and reintroducing movement and growth. It is used as a major resource in working through trauma and it can assist in depression treatment. To read comments from participants in previous workshops click this link [https://bit.ly/33Asprs](https://bit.ly/33Asprs) **WHAT ARE SYSTEMIC CONSTELLATIONS?** The Systemic Constellations method is a unique therapeutic process of exploration of the forces that move us in life. Such forces often appear as difficulties or a sense of being 'stuck' in life, affecting our behavior, relationships, career, health/wellbeing, or even financial circumstances. This method provides a three-dimensional ‘map’ of one’s life as it is at present. It is a simple yet powerful way to explore entanglements and blockages in our personal life and in our family history. The method brings awareness and clarity into personal challenges by focusing the client on the root cause of such difficulties. Constellations provide an opening for a positive life shift and present ways for deep healing processes to occur. **WHAT HAPPENS IN A CONSTELLATION SESSION?** In Constellations work the ‘client’ is referred to as the ‘Issue Holder’. The method uses workshop participants as ‘Representatives’ to stand in for key people in the client’s life such as family members, colleagues, partners, ex-partners etc., sometimes ‘abstract’ concepts such as an emotion, country of origin, religion, or destiny are also represented. All participants are invited to take part as Representatives. Workshop participants often report (see reviews: [https://bit.ly/33Asprs](https://bit.ly/33Asprs)) experiencing profound insights into their own lives by simply witnessing the process, regardless of how they choose to take part. **WHY DOES THIS WORK?** Scientific research shows that the experiences of your ancestors can determine your behavior today and affect future generations.\*\* Recent scientific research into DNA reveals that a component named epigenetics is embedding the effect of a traumatic experience by altering the genetic structure. It means that some of our behavior patterns can be attributed to traumatic events in your family history. This notion has always been one of the guiding principles of Systemic / Constellations Therapy, a form of work that is dedicated to exposing and dealing with issues emerging from our family system. Our group provides a **safe space** where deep personal work is done and where maintaining confidentiality and respect for each other's privacy is paramount. **\*\* DNA research paper and news article links:** Discover - Grandma's Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes [https://bit.ly/3dLwEkK](https://bit.ly/3dLwEkK) BBC News - "Memories" pass between generations [http://bbc.in/1dNShPe](http://bbc.in/1dNShPe) **Facilitated by Illi Adato** MA Lon\. Inst\. SQHP\. Crt\(HYP\)\. Crt\(COACH\)\. C\-h\-a\-n\-g\-e\.co\.uk \- Systemic\, Organisational & Family Constellations member of ISCA \| Hypnotherapy Senior Member GHR \(UK\) & IHF \(USA\) \| Tune\-In Counselling \| Advanced NLP Therapeutic Specialist™ \| Looking forward to another moving encounter! ###### 💬**Personal one-to-one counseling** can be combined with group work. **Book here: [https://calendly.com/illiadato/1st-personal-session](https://calendly.com/illiadato/1st-personal-session)** **VIDEO COURSES** 📌 Watch anytime \| 📩 Instant access after payment Find all the videos here: https://www.meetup.com/london-family-constellations/events/ **Becoming a Bridge - Working with Death As a Key Resource In Constellations** £19 Explore the transformative power of death in Systemic Constellations with Illi Adato in this recorded 1.5-hour video course. Designed for facilitators, practitioners, and those drawn to deep experiential learning, this session offers practical insights into holding space for loss and transition. **Constellations, Systemic Principles & How They Affect Us - Video Crash Course** £6 Explore the hidden forces shaping your life with this **recorded mini-course** by Illi Adato. Learn the **Orders of Love**, uncover deep-rooted patterns, and experience a guided **HypnoConstellations™** process for personal healing. Have questions? Reach out: office@londonconstellations.uk

🎉 Come along to the London Scala Talks! 🎉 In this event you'll hear from Haoyi Li, Martin Durchov and Adam Deegan. **Agenda** 6:00pm - 🥤 Doors open. Come along and grab a drink! 6:35pm - 🗣️ Introduction 6:40pm - 🗣️ Haoyi Li: Scripting on the JVM with Scala 7:20pm - 🍕 Intermission: Join us for some free food and drinks! Vegan, vegetarian options are provided. Let us know if you'd like something special - we'd be happy to accommodate. 7:50pm - 🗣️ Martin Durchov: ScalaMeta: Treating Scala code as data 8:10pm - 🗣️ Adam Deegan: Practical Java Interop for Scala Effect Systems 8:30pm - 🥤 Socialising: Grab a drink and let's discuss the talks. 9:00pm - 🍻 Join us in a pub to discuss the talks! 🌐 **This event may have a live stream** Watch this space for more details. **🗣️ Haoyi Li: Scripting on the JVM with Scala** This talk will explore the use of Scala as a scripting language, replacing the Bash and Python scripts common throughout the industry. ⭐ Haoyi Li ⭐ Li Haoyi graduated from MIT with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering, and since then has been a major contributor to the open source community. His projects have over 10,000 stars on Github, and are downloaded over 20,000,000 times a month. Haoyi professionally built distributed backend systems, programming languages, high-performance web applications, and much more. **🗣️ Martin Durchov: ScalaMeta: Treating Scala code as data** Scala source code is usually something we write and hand off to the compiler. But what if we could parse it, inspect it, build it, and transform it all from regular Scala code? ScalaMeta is the metaprogramming library that makes this possible, and it underpins a lot of modern Scala tooling ecosystems: Scalafmt, Scalafix, and Metals are all built on it. In this talk we'll look at what ScalaMeta is, how its AST models Scala programs, and the core operations it provides: parsing, quasiquotes, tree traversal and more. We'll then turn to how we use it at Quantexa, where it powers code generation for our clients. Along the way we'll cover practical patterns that make code generation manageable at scale, and the rough edges you should know about before adopting it yourself. ⭐ Martin Durchov ⭐ I graduated from UCL in 2019 with a MSci in Theoretic Physics and started work in TxOdds, a small company focused on ultra-fast data streaming and processing, where I first encountered Scala, working with Typelevel libraries. Since January 2025 I have been working at Quantexa in the team responsible for data ingestion and processing also relying heavily on the Scala functional libraries and ScalaMeta. **🗣️ Adam Deegan: Practical Java Interop for Scala Effect Systems** Interfacing with a highly autonomous Java library in a functional manner is difficult. In this talk we'll explore the ways in which we've approached this; issues we found along the way; and the trade-offs between purity and pragmatism when there's a runtime which isn't yours to control. ⭐ Adam Deegan ⭐ Adam Deegan graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in Computer Science in 2021 and has worked at Quantexa ever since. He started off as a Data Engineer and moved into software engineering a couple of years ago, working on the addition of a case management capability. His first true programming love was making Minecraft mods. ———————————————————— 🗣️ Would you like to present, but are not sure how to start? Give a talk with us and you'll receive mentorship from a trained toastmaster! Get in touch through [this form](https://forms.gle/zv5i9eeto1BsnSwe8) and we'll get you started 🏡 Interested in hosting or supporting us? Please get in touch through [this form](https://forms.gle/3SX3Bm6zHqVodBaMA) and we can discuss how you can get involved. 📜 All London Scala User Group events operate under the [Scala Community Code of Conduct](https://www.scala-lang.org/conduct/). We encourage each of you to report the breach of the conduct, either anonymously through [this form](https://forms.gle/9PMMorUWgBnbk1mm6) or by contacting one of our team members. We guarantee privacy and confidentiality, as well as that we will take your report seriously and react quickly.

**Space is limited so book and pay early to avoid disappointment.** This evening workshop provides a perfect opportunity to experience the deep and insightful Systemic Constellations process in an intimate group setting. A unique and powerful therapeutic method for self-exploration, understanding core behaviours, removing blocks, and reintroducing movement and growth. It is used as a major resource in supporting healthy relationships, working through trauma, and assisting in depression treatment. **Issue Holder (client) and Representative spaces are available, please follow the link to book:** **For Representative (Participant) Booking £35** **[https://calendly.com/illiadato/in-person-family-constellations-evening-workshop](https://calendly.com/illiadato/in-person-family-constellations-evening-workshop)** **For Issue Holder (Client) Booking £175:** If you wish to attend as an Issue Holder at this workshop and have your own Constellation done please email your request to: [ih@londonconstellations.uk](http://ih@londonconstellations.uk/) Read comments of workshop participants here: [https://bit.ly/33Asprs](https://bit.ly/33Asprs) **WHAT ARE SYSTEMIC CONSTELLATIONS?** The Systemic Constellations method is a unique therapeutic process of exploration of the forces that move us in life. Such forces are often appearing as difficulties or a sense of being 'stuck' in life, affecting our behaviour, relationships, career, health/wellbeing, or even financial circumstances. This method provides a three-dimensional ‘map’ of one’s life as it is at present. It is a simple yet powerful way to explore entanglements and blockages in our personal life and our family history. The method brings awareness and clarity into personal challenges by focusing the client on the root cause of such difficulties. Constellations provide an opening for a positive life shift and present ways for deep healing processes to occur. **WHAT HAPPENS IN A CONSTELLATION SESSION?** In Constellations work the ‘client’ is referred to as the ‘Issue Holder’. The method uses workshop participants as ‘Representatives’ to stand in for key people in the client’s life such as family members, colleagues, partners, ex-partners, etc., sometimes ‘abstract’ concepts such as an emotion, country of origin, religion, or destiny are also represented. All participants are invited to take part as Representatives. Workshop participants often report (see reviews: [https://bit.ly/33Asprs](https://bit.ly/33Asprs)) experiencing profound insights into their own lives by simply witnessing the process, regardless of how they choose to take part. **WHY DOES THIS WORK?** Scientific research shows that the experiences of your ancestors can determine your behaviour today and affect future generations.\*\* Recent scientific research into DNA reveals that a component named epigenetics is embedding the effect of a traumatic experience by altering the genetic structure. It means that some of our behaviour patterns can be attributed to traumatic events in our family history. This notion has always been one of the guiding principles of Systemic / Constellations Therapy, a form of work that is dedicated to exposing and dealing with issues emerging from our family system. *“It is only now that science is catching up with what is evident in Systemic Constellations work and visible in every one of our therapy sessions; trauma in the family history directly affects future generations' behaviour"* Illi Adato MD Our group provides a safe space where deep personal work is done and where maintaining confidentiality and respect for each other's privacy is paramount. **\*\* DNA research paper and news articles:** Discover - Grandma's Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes [https://bit.ly/3dLwEkK](https://bit.ly/3dLwEkK) BBC News - "Memories" pass between generations [http://bbc.in/1dNShPe](http://bbc.in/1dNShPe) **Facilitated by Illi Adato** MA Lon\. Inst\. SQHP\. Crt\(HYP\)\. Crt\(COACH\)\. Systemic\, Organisational & Family Constellations member of ISCA \| Hypnotherapy member of GHR \(UK\) & IHF \(USA\) \| Tune\-In Counselling \| Advanced NLP Therapeutic Specialist™ *** 💬**Personal one-to-one counseling** can be combined with group work. **Book here: [https://calendly.com/illiadato/1st-personal-session](https://calendly.com/illiadato/1st-personal-session)** **VIDEO COURSES** 📌 Watch anytime \| 📩 Instant access after payment **Becoming a Bridge - Working with Death As a Key Resource In Constellations** £19 Explore the transformative power of death in Systemic Constellations with Illi Adato in this recorded 1.5-hour video course. Designed for facilitators, practitioners, and those drawn to deep experiential learning, this session offers practical insights into holding space for loss and transition. **🛒ACCESS HERE: [https://calendly.com/illiadato/becoming-a-bridge-video-course](https://calendly.com/illiadato/becoming-a-bridge-video-course)** **Constellations, Systemic Principles & How They Affect Us - Video Crash Course** £6 Explore the hidden forces shaping your life with this **recorded mini-course** by Illi Adato. Learn the **Orders of Love**, uncover deep-rooted patterns, and experience a guided **HypnoConstellations™** process for personal healing. **🛒ACCESS HERE: [https://calendly.com/illiadato/systemic-principles-crash-video-course](https://calendly.com/illiadato/systemic-principles-crash-video-course)** Have questions? Reach out: [office@londonconstellations.uk](http://office@londonconstellations.uk/) Looking forward to another moving experience of learning together! London School of Systemic & Family Constellations

Welcome to our April event. We're delighted to welcome [Alex Le Peltier](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-le-peltier/), Chief Technology Officer, Signapse and [Daniel Jones](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljoneseb/), Head of Product, re:cinq. **Alex** answers - “what if AI could sign for the entire world - in real time?” From Heathrow flight announcements to Netflix live streams, find out how Signapse is making accessibility possible at scale on AWS. **Daniel** answers - “how do you turn 100 developers AI-native in just a few weeks?” Daniel reveals the psychology, strategy, and surprising human side behind one of the most ambitious agentic coding rollouts in enterprise tech. A big thank you to our sponsors [The Scale Factory](https://rebrand.ly/scalefactory) and [Cloudscaler](https://rebrand.ly/cloudscaler)! **Programme:** 18:00: Arrival, registration 18:15: Talks start 20:00: Networking with food and a drink provided by the generosity of our sponsors. **Talk 1:** ***Real-Time Sign Language in the Cloud: Building Accessibility Infrastructure on AWS with Alex Le Peltier*** Accessibility is too often an afterthought - bolted on at the end, limited by budget, or simply impossible without a human interpreter in the room. Signapse is changing that. In this talk, Alex Le Peltier, CTO of Signapse, will show how a proprietary GenAI model hosted entirely on AWS is delivering real-time AI sign language at mass-market scale - from live flight announcements at Heathrow to Netflix live streams. By combining AWS infrastructure with custom and public LLMs, Signapse has built a platform that fills the critical gap where interpreters can't be present, freeing up scarce interpreter resources for where they matter most. **Alex** is a serial startup-er and tech leader with over 13 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. He’s passionate about understanding what challenges are faced by the deaf community and building innovative solutions that make a difference in people's lives. **Talk 2:** ***Agentic Coding For 100 Developers with Daniel Jones.*** How has a $3b Stockholm SaaS company transitioned 100 developers to AI-native development over a few weeks? Daniel shares how he helped Odevo with exactly this, but the answer might be more than you expect - it involves just as much discovery and psychology as it does training. Learn about the social and business prerequisites for such a transformation, the syllabus that enables developers to use multi-agent workflows, and how 'one-and-done' training is insufficient for this type of behavioural change. **Daniel** is Head of Product at re:cinq, an AI-native transformation consultancy, and a CTO Craft 100 member. He founded cloud consultancy EngineerBetter, spent six years helping banks, government and defence organisations deliver software faster, then scaled and sold the business. Now he focuses on agentic coding, AI-native engineering, and software factories - with a practical, engineer-first perspective: fix your path to production before you let agents anywhere near it. **Do you have a story to share?** If you are interested in speaking at one of our events, please check out our [call for papers here](https://awsuguk.org/call-for-papers/). We are advocates for greater inclusion & diversity in UK Tech and are especially keen to receive talk submissions from people in underrepresented groups. If you are interested in speaking at a future meetup but would like to discuss what to expect or need assistance, please contact our Inclusion & Diversity Lead Natalie Gray - graynataliej@gmail.com or DM her [@natjgray](https://twitter.com/natjgray) Check out our [website](https://awsuguk.org/) for more information about our community. Remember to follow us [@AWSUserGroupUK](https://twitter.com/AWSUserGroupUK) and on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/aws-ug-uk) for the latest updates, and you can find videos of our past meetups [here.](https://awsuguk.org/our-videos/)

Join us for the first gathering of Leesburg Rational Spiritualists – a group for people who want to take both inner life and clear thinking seriously. This is not a church, not a debate club, and not a wellness brand. It’s closer to “philosophy club with cushions”: * 15 minutes of simple, silent meditation * 45 minutes of open discussion around a pre-determined topic You do not need prior meditation experience or any spiritual, religious, or philosophical background. *** **Theme for Meeting 1:** *Why meditate at all? Attention, experience, and what we’re even doing here.* We’ll do: 1. Brief intro 2. 15 minutes of silent meditation (basic breath/attention practice) 3. An optional short reading (sent in advance) on why paying attention to experience might matter 4. Group conversation: * What did you actually notice sitting still for 15 minutes? * What do you hope practice and reflection might change in your life? * What effects does the meditation have on your experience now? *** **Ground Rules:** * We’re here to practice and inquire, not to convert anyone to a belief system. * We speak from first-person experience (“I noticed…”, “I think…”) rather than making grand pronouncements. * We respect time: start & end on time, keep contributions reasonably concise. If you’re looking for a place to rant about politics, sell anything, or fix other people, this is not that. *** **Location & Logistics:** * **Where:** Ida Lee Park near the gazebo. Look for the zen frog! * **When:** April 18, 2026 - 11am * **What to bring:** * Something to sit on (yoga mat, blanket, or folding chair) * Weather-appropriate clothes, water, maybe bug spray * Optional: small notebook + pen **Weather plan:** If the forecast looks bad (heavy rain, storms, or very cold), I’ll post an update at least 3 hours before. In that case we’ll probably reschedule. *** **This is a 4‑meeting experiment** This group is starting as a **4‑session experiment**. After a few meetings, we’ll decide together whether to keep going, change the format, or let it end gracefully. If this sounds interesting but you’re shy or unsure, showing up and sitting quietly is enough.

**Agenda :** * 4.45 to 5.00 PM ET: Food and Networking * 5.00 to 5.50 PM ET: "Hands-On : GitHub Copilot SpecKit" Hello Everyone! Please join us for our April 14th edition of the AI-ML MeetUp. **Please note this is an in-person meeting and light refreshments/food will be provided. You will need a government-issued ID to enter the facility.** **Title:** Hands-On : GitHub Copilot SpecKit **Description:** Spec-Driven Development **flips the script** on traditional software development. For decades, code has been king — specifications were just scaffolding we built and discarded once the "real work" of coding began. Spec-Driven Development changes this: **specifications become executable**, directly generating working implementations rather than just guiding them. In this hands-on lab, we will be covering building your application using SpecKit. Pre-requisites: VSCode v1.107, GitHub Copilot, Python 3.13 + uv, Git installed. **Location:** The meeting will be hosted in the Applied Information Sciences ( AIS ) office in Reston, at 11440 Commerce Park Dr # 600 · Reston, VA. The location is also right off the Silver Line metro's Wiehle-Reston Metro Station. **Parking:** Parking is paid and can be validated at the AIS office reception. We will meet in Room Lake Anne. We hope to see you all there!!!!

This is our weekly training session. NOVA Jujutsu is a self-defense focused system incorporating Geri (Kicking), Atemi (Striking), Uke (Blocking), Tai Sabakai (Body Movement), Tai Hodoki (Escapes), Kansetsu Waza (Joint Locks), Nage Waza (Throwing), Shime Waza (Choking), Katame Waza (Grappling), Tantojutsu (Knife), Bojutsu (Bo), Kenjutsu (Sword), and Kata (Forms). Come on down to a class and see for yourself what this group has to offer. You will get a great workout! You will have an awesome learning experience! You will meet some good people! We look forward to meeting you. See you there. TAGS: japanese, martial arts, self-defense, jujutsu, jujitsu, juijitsu, bujutsu, defense, karate, koppo, kenjutsu, bojutsu, tantojutsu

Let’s reboot the DC Postgres Meetup series! This inaugural meeting will be hosted by John Porvaznik and Eddie Pickle and all are welcome. We’re actively looking for speakers, co-hosts, event spaces and other folks that want to help bring this group back to life. If you can’t make it but want to be involved in the future, please let us know. John Porvaznik will present a talk on Postgres fundamentals including shared buffers, memory usage, pages, and more. John is a long time PostgreSQL Engineer and DBA in the government space with focus on ETL / Data Ingestion, PostGIS and spatial data sets, query optimizations, Database Design // DDL, benchmarking and specifications, data health, and system healths and monitoring. This meetup will be hosted near the Snowflake office in Tysons (event space sponsored by Snowflake). We’ll have pizza and drinks for folks. 6:00 arrival and networking, 6:30 talk followed by discussion, 7:45 close. The event is at 1750 Tysons Boulevard, McClean, VA, 22102, in the 1750 Tysons Conference Center. This is Metro Accessible from the Silver Line to Tyson's Corner station. Parking at the mall next door is free or the event building has paid parking.

Have you been thinking about trying self-defense training, but do not want a loud, aggressive, or overly competitive environment? This free intro class is a simple way to get started. Maryland Systema offers practical self-defense training for adults in Rockville with a focus on movement, awareness, breathing, posture, and calm under pressure. This class is designed for beginners and first-timers who want real-world self-defense training in a welcoming setting. You do not need experience. You do not need to be in top shape. You do not need a martial arts background. You just need to show up ready to learn. This is not a sport-based class built around winning points, memorizing routines, or trying to look impressive. It is a more practical approach to adult self-defense training that helps you stay balanced, aware, and functional when things feel uncertain. If you have been searching for self-defense classes in Rockville, beginner self-defense near you, or practical self-defense training for adults, this class is a good place to start. **What you will work on** * Breathing and staying calm under pressure * Movement that improves balance and mobility * Awareness and posture * Simple partner drills * Practical self-defense training for beginners **Who this class is for** * Adults new to self-defense training * Beginners looking for a low-pressure class * People who want practical self-defense instead of sport martial arts * Adults in Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Rockville, and nearby areas looking for realistic self-defense classes **What to wear** Please wear comfortable workout clothes. No uniform is required. **Why start with this class** This free intro class gives you a chance to experience the training, meet the group, and see whether Maryland Systema is the right fit for you before joining regular weekly classes. **RSVP** Reserve your spot and come try a beginner-friendly self-defense class in Rockville.

Do you know how to protect what feeds us? What about that protection to begin with - ever thought about it? Lucky us, the April CyberTech event is here! Join us on **Tuesday, April 14, 2026,** at **Honor Brewing Company** at **42604 Trade West Dr, Sterling, VA 20166**! Want a custom name tag to enhance your networking opportunities? Register here and yours will be ready at the door: https://share.hsforms.com/12XOIQJUmSUeWF_8p8xm13Qdwxz1 Join us for an eye-opening evening with our spotlight speaker, **Kristin King, CEO of AnzenOT & AnzenSage!** In this session, **Kristin King** pulls back the curtain on the invisible systems powering our food supply and what's at risk when they're disrupted. From farm to distribution to global supply chains, she explores ***how cyber threats can ripple far beyond the field***, impacting economies, security, and daily life. Kristin is a cyber and OT risk expert focused on proptecting critical food and agriculture systems. As **CEO of AnzenOT** and **AnzenSage,** and **VP of Food Cybersecurity at CSAFI**, she brings a rare, systems - level perspective shaped by more than 25 years in technolog and environmental work. Join us on April 14 to meet **Kristin King** and dive into the effects of cyber on food and agriculture! **Agenda** 5:30 Social hour and networking begins 6:10 Welcome & RSA Recap 6:20 Spotlight Speaker - **Kristin King** 6:50 Q&A 7:00 Open Mic & Networking Continues 7:30 Adjourn