High Tech

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.

**REGISTER AT THE LUMA EVENT PAGE!!!** https://luma.com/2e6rhzjo **Agenda:** ​​6:00 - 6:30 PM - Welcome and mingle 6:30- 6:45 PM - Introductions 6:45 - 7:30 PM - Talk 7:30 - 8:00 PM - Wrap up ​​**Description:** ​IAI coding agents can now scaffold entire applications from a single prompt. But for mission-critical systems that require compliance, reliability, and auditability, "it works on my machine" isn't enough. When your agent makes fifty tool calls, rewrites three files, and confidently hallucinates a security vulnerability, how do you even begin to debug that? ​This talk introduces a practical, open-source toolkit for injecting observability, control, and systematic testing into agentic AI development. Using MLflow's tracing and evaluation framework, we'll follow a single throughline: building an AI agent with a coding assistant (Claude Code), tracing both the assistant's work **and** the agent it produces, then evaluating quality with LLM judges - closing the loop from development through production monitoring. ​You'll walk away with a concrete workflow for turning the black box of agentic coding into something you can inspect, measure, and trust. No vendor lock-in required. ​**Speaker Bio:** ​Tim Lortz is an AI Product Specialist at Databricks, where he has worked since 2019. He currently serves as the technical lead for Databricks' go-to-market efforts for AI in regulated industries, focusing particularly on enterprise-grade governance for AI platforms. ​ Prior to Databricks, Tim spent many years in various data science practitioner and leadership roles in the Federal contracting space. He holds a PhD in Industrial & Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!!) and a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with us! We'll have a fun Salsa lesson with professional dance instructor Ray Bugnosen, extra snacks at the snack bar, and great music for a wide variety of dancing (Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country, Hustle, you name it!). Ed and Gail's Tuesday Night Dance for Everyone Tuesday, May 5 7:00-8:00 Salsa Lesson with Guest Instructor Ray Bugnosen 8:00-10:00 Dance (Variety) $15 (cash, check, Venmo, or Zelle)

[Profs and Pints DC](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Torture in the Middle Ages,”** with Larissa “Kat” Tracy, visiting assistant teaching professor of English at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and author or editor of ten books on medieval violence. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-torture-middle-ages](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-torture-middle-ages) .] When *Pulp Fiction*’s Marsellus Wallace vows to “get medieval” on someone we assume that they’re in for some serious pain. Torture—that most notorious aspect of medieval culture and society—more recently has been portrayed in popular culture in series like G*ame of Thrones* and *Vikings*, through lurid scenes depicting torture and gruesome punishment as standard medieval practice. In many modern European cities one can find popular museums displaying such gruesome implements as the rack, the strappado, the gridiron, the wheel, and the iron maiden. The dominant mythology suggests that the Middle Ages was a period during which sadistic torment was inflicted on citizens with impunity and without provocation. The truth, however, is a lot more complicated. Join Professor Larissa “Kat” Tracy, who has extensively researched torture, punishment, and social justice in medieval society, for a talk challenging preconceived ideas that popular historians, films, and media have promoted about the prevalence of torture and judicial brutality in medieval society. She’ll discuss medieval Europe’s actual use of torture—the instruments, the laws, the cultural norms, and the victims—and make clear that the act of punishment was actually a very different legal event. She’ll argue that the portrayals of medieval torture in literature represent satire, critique and dissent; they have didactic and political functions in opposing the status quo. The books that Professor Tracy has written or edited include *Torture and Brutality in Medieval Literature*; *Castration and Culture in the Middle Ages*; *Medieval and Early Modern Murder*; *Flaying in the Premodern World*, and most recently *End Game: Exile and Execution in Medieval and Early Modern Society*. When she gets medieval on you it means you are going to learn. The experience, however, won’t be painful at all. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Torture instruments on display at Prague Castle. Photo by Clayton Tang / Wikimedia Commons.

Join us for our weekly Trivia Night at Glory Days Grill! This Meetup event helps welcome new players to our existing trivia night at the restaurant. Whether you’re a trivia regular or just looking for something fun to do on a Tuesday, everyone is welcome. 👥 Bring a team, come with friends, or play casually at your table 🕖 Trivia starts at 7:00 PM 🪑 We recommend arriving around 6:45 PM to grab a table When you arrive: Please check in with the host stand and let them know you’re there for Trivia Night, and they will direct you to the trivia area. This Meetup is simply to help new players find and join our restaurant’s weekly trivia night while enjoying great food, drinks, and a fun atmosphere. 🏆 Prizes for top teams!

Dallas is best known for oil, cattle, Neiman Marcus and the Cowboys--not mass transit. But Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) provides light rail, "Trinity Railway Express", regional rail, bus routes, GoLink on-demand service, and paratransit over a 13-city territory. TEDC member Katy Kelly will provide an overview of DART's offerings and explore the challenges of providing transit in a Sunbelt community. We'll also have a preview of our next transit outing! Hope you can all make it :-)

Let's get together to play some fun BB level Quads games at Bluemont. **Format**: Doubles **COST**: FREE **Court Type**: Outdoor grass **Minimum Skill Requirements**: Intermediate-BB (click [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/mobilebasic) for details) \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **Smiley Social documents:** 1. [Group Rules ](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HrG35p_0M08leRvCp8XWG3CMkr_GL928XFabl5T6Dvg) 2. [Liability Waiver ](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W2mq-7m99lmvd7gdWYaSUFtvVg4UGnzV6koafAbHmco) 3. [Volleyball Levels](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/)

An open space for real conversation about how technology is shaping our world, and how we can respond with wisdom, purpose, and values. ## COMING UP: ## Life with Augmented Intelligence **Shaping how we live, work, and build in an AI-driven world** From assistants → to collaboration → to autonomous systems *** **A different way of thinking, working, building.** Most people are still using AI at the surface. Answers. Shortcuts. Quick help. But underneath, work is starting to look different: * systems instead of tasks * collaboration instead of commands * design instead of effort This is a space to step into that. Not a workshop. Not a panel. A place to see what’s emerging, hear how others are thinking, and explore what it means for your own life and work. *** ## Tech & Truth Café 📍 Greencourt Innovation Center 🗓️ May 10 & 17 🕐 1:30 – 5:00 PM 1:30 → arrive and connect 2:00 → ideas and conversation 3:00 → demos and exploration 4:30 → wrap up *** **WHO:** If you’ve been experimenting with something interesting, building something, or thinking differently about AI… reach out. We’d love to include you in the conversation. *** **Bring a laptop.** *** For people who feel like: “there’s more to this than what I’m currently doing with AI.” **Come be part of it.** **WHO** **For people who feel like:** "There's more to this than what I'm currently doing with AI." Come be part of it. **WHAT TO EXPECT**

This meetup is designed to be an open forum amongst our community. We intend for it to be an opportunity for members to showcase what projects we've been working on this year related to Linux and AWS. If you are a current (or aspiring) professional looking for a practical way to build your experience with Linux and cloud computing, this event is for you! About us: Respect The Tech is an organization focused on information technology education and innovation. Our mission is to innovate technology education through virtual labs and gamified training. All of our team members are experienced professionals in the cybersecurity and cloud computing field. We are based out of the DMV and aim to serve the DMV with the same tools that enabled us to be successful with technology. ______________________________ Requirements: A functional laptop AWS account created and ready to use (free tier recommended)

**IMPORTANT! Please register on [Luma page](https://luma.com/klm98cuc)** *Ignore the displayed time — it’s 5:30pm VA time.* AI is making us faster than ever — and at the same time, quietly questioning our place at work. ​We’re all feeling it: tools that boost output in minutes, automate entire workflows, and sometimes… do the job better. So where does that leave the human? ​This conversation dives straight into that tension — no sugarcoating, no generic optimism. Just real perspectives from people working inside the shift. ​ **Speakers:** [Nina Borysova, MBA ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nborysova/?utm_source=luma)**Director, Product Management Technical (PMT), Data Analytics and AI Solutions, Mastercard** **​**[Dr. Volodymyr Tkach ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/volodymyr-tkach/?utm_source=luma) CEO \| Ph\.D\, Associate Professor \| MIT Research Fellow \| Cybersecurity\, Threat Intelligence\, Anomaly Detection\, Artificial **​We’ll unpack:** ​– where AI actually boosts productivity vs. where it replaces thinking ​– which roles are evolving — and which are quietly disappearing ​– how teams are restructuring around AI (and what that means for individuals) ​– how to stay valuable when execution becomes automated ​– what “creative work” even means when AI can generate ideas on demand ​– the psychological side: anxiety, denial, adaptation ​If you’re feeling both excited *and* uneasy about AI — you’re not alone. And you probably shouldn’t ignore either feeling. ​Come for clarity. Leave with a more honest map of what’s ahead.

**The next GeoDC will be held on Wednesday, May 6 from 6-9pm at Sudhouse DC (1340 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009) with the program starting at 7pm.** We’ve got 3 presentations scheduled for the evening– Please check out the program details below. Join us early from 6-7pm to grow your network, socialize and grab a snack. Our host, Sudhouse DC has a solid happy hour menu with reasonably priced food and beverage from 4-8pm. Please remember to [RSVP through the GeoDC Meetup page](https://www.meetup.com/geo-dc/), and we hope to see you in a few weeks. *If you’d like to present or sponsor a future GeoDC Meetup, please complete this [form](https://forms.gle/QbAXPfrDnX12GGaS8).* **Brian Davidson:** **Zero to Map: A 10-Minute Geospatial Speedrun with Gemini** * Think building a functional mapping application requires hours of boilerplate and API frustration? Think again. In this talk, we’ll race against the clock to build a live mapping app from scratch using Gemini and Antigravity. You’ll see how to leverage LLMs to handle everything from a mapping provider integration to complex coordinate rendering in minutes. Whether you’re a seasoned GIS pro or a curious dev, my hope is you'll leave with a better understanding of how to turn your idea into a working map before your coffee gets cold. **Noah Goodman**: **Voyager Solutions** * The Voyager platform has enabled customers to resolve data management issues, such as duplication, lack of governance & metadata. Demos of the Voyager platform capabilities and will discussion of a recent State DOT project. **Dr. Aditya Kapoor: Assessment of Inundation Dynamics in Nebraska Using AlphaEarth Foundations** **Embeddings** * This study demonstrates that AlphaEarth Foundation Embeddings (AFE) provide a highly efficient, "analysis-ready" framework for mapping regional surface water inundation without the computational burden of traditional multi-source data fusion. By applying Random Forest classifiers to AFE data across 901 Nebraska lakes from 2017 to 2025, I found that this method outperformed existing products like Dynamic World, which exhibited estimation errors of up to 43.8%. The analysis revealed a critical environmental trend: a mean inundation decline of over 6,600 m² per year, closely mirroring a regional rainfall reduction of 14.18 mm/year. Ultimately, the findings highlight AFE as a scalable tool for identifying hydrological instabilities, particularly in smaller water bodies, offering significant advantages for real-world water resource planning and flood risk assessment.

What does it look like when ideas come to life? Join NOVA Scribes and MAFN for a full-day, in-person open house where the public is invited to step inside the world of facilitation. This is a come-and-go experience designed for curiosity, exploration, and conversation. Whether you are new to facilitation groups, you are welcome. The space will be set up as a "theater in the round," (see the image) with facilitators working live around the room. Throughout the day, you will see different techniques, styles, and modalities demonstrated in real time, from visual templates, facilitation tools, and decision-support methods. You can observe, ask questions, and engage directly with the practitioners as the work unfolds. **What you can expect** * Live demonstrations of 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 facilitators * A chance to see how facilitation can support sensemaking, alignment, and group dialogue **What you might explore** * Methods and templates for planning, strategy, and reflection * Facilitation methods that support participation and decision making * Tools, materials, and setup considerations for live work 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 facilitation can change the energy in the room. Ask the questions you have always wanted to ask. If you have ever been curious about how facilitation works and 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!

Let’s start simple. Technoverts is a new group for introverts in tech who want to connect without the noise and pressure of traditional networking events. This first meetup is a relaxed, small-group coffee gathering—no agenda, no icebreakers, no expectations beyond showing up. If you work in or around tech (cybersecurity, IT, cloud, dev, data, etc.) and prefer quieter, more meaningful conversations, you’ll likely feel at home here. What to expect: • A small group (intentionally capped) • A calm, conversation-friendly setting • The option to participate as much—or as little—as you want

Christians in Tech is a community at the intersection of faith and technology. Our meetups are designed to spark meaningful conversations, promote knowledge sharing, and encourage growth—both in your career and your spiritual walk with God. Whether you're an experienced professional or just starting your tech journey, CIT welcomes you. Our Website [https://linktr.ee/citcbus](https://linktr.ee/citcbus) Sponsors and Partners * Improving (Venue Sponsor) * Bethel World Prayer Center (Fiscal Sponsor) * Fruits & Roots (Coffee Partner)

Central Ohio Radio Enthusiasts—CORE—is an informal community for anyone enthusiastic or curious about radio—whether you're new to radio and want to learn or you've been tinkering for years and want to share. Ham radio operators, GMRS users, Meshtastic fans, software-defined radio nerds, makers, and technical and non-technical folks are all welcome. No experience required or expected. This month we have **Radio Signal Analysis Using SDRs and OpenWebRX+** with **Scott McCrory**. Details are are [core.radio](https://core.radio/).

Customer identity resolution becomes increasingly complex as organizations scale across multiple systems, regions, and data formats. Traditional rule-based approaches often fail to keep up with data variability, require constant manual tuning, and struggle with real-time processing needs. This session presents a practical approach to building a scalable identity resolution pipeline using AWS services and modern AI techniques. The architecture combines data ingestion through Amazon S3 and AWS Glue, transformation pipelines using Spark on EMR, and machine learning models deployed via SageMaker for entity matching and standardization. Graph-based relationship modeling is implemented using Amazon Neptune to improve resolution accuracy by incorporating household and shared attribute context. We will walk through how machine learning models can be used for name and address normalization, how intelligent blocking strategies improve matching efficiency, and how feedback loops can be introduced to continuously improve accuracy. The session also highlights how serverless components such as AWS Lambda can be used for orchestration and real-time processing. **SPEAKER BIO** Mosaic Syed is a Senior Data Engineering and Cloud Solutions Architect with over 20 years of experience designing and delivering scalable, secure, and high-performance data solutions across global enterprise environments. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosaic-basha-syed-92300856 **CALL FOR SPEAKERS** Learn more: [https://www.awscolumbus.com/get-involved/](https://www.awscolumbus.com/get-involved/) **THANK YOU** *VEEAM* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Veeam*, please visit their website: [https://www.veeam.com/](https://www.veeam.com/) **DIRECTIONS** 8800 Lyra Dr #450 · Columbus, OH go to 4th floor. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com

We are a real world Martial arts group. \ Called DO JUNG ISHU (the art of fighting) \ Based off of Jeet kune do we just continued where Bruce Lee left off. \ We have been around a while. \ Every week we get together and work technical skills and full contact spar. \ Almost all of the instructors have been in everything from street fights to the ring and some still compete in cage fighting. \ If you want to take your skills up, improve your confidence, gain self defense skills, get in better shape, test yourself or just want to kill some time and possibly get hit a bit come on down. \ We will be located at 3923 N High St, Columbus, OH 43214 Outside in the grass between the playground and horseshoe area. our instructors are normally in a black and red art of fighting shirt \ if you can not find us call or text me at 6143570295 Saturday 1:30pm Wednesday 5:45pm From Age 16 and up. attendees under the age of 18 must have a guardian with them. \ Wear workout clothes. \ Bring a MOUTHPIECE! \ WE HAVE GLOVES. \ $10 per class $5 per class if you are wearing a club shirt Club shirts are $25 Hope to see you soon. \ let me know if you have any questions :)

NFT's are here to stay folks! This is a group for like minded people interested in understanding, leveraging, using, creating for, profiting from, trading too i suppose, NFT's.. everything around them, complexity, fear and exploits, best practices and more. **PLUS** This group will talk AI ART tools, techniques, artists, video, audio, prototypes and more in the AI assisted production space- ART specifically, but we can get into any aspect of some of the cooler things happening in AI in general.

We are a real world Martial arts group. \ Called DO JUNG ISHU (the art of fighting) \ Based off of Jeet kune do we just continued where Bruce Lee left off. \ We have been around a while. \ Every week we get together and work technical skills and full contact spar. \ Almost all of the instructors have been in everything from street fights to the ring and some still compete in cage fighting. \ If you want to take your skills up, improve your confidence, gain self defense skills, get in better shape, test yourself or just want to kill some time and possibly get hit a bit come on down. \ We will be located at 3923 N High St, Columbus, OH 43214 Outside in the grass between the playground and horseshoe area. our instructors are normally in a black and red art of fighting shirt \ if you can not find us call or text me at 6143570295 Saturday 1:30pm Wednesday 5:45pm From Age 16 and up. attendees under the age of 18 must have a guardian with them. \ Wear workout clothes. \ Bring a MOUTHPIECE! \ WE HAVE GLOVES. \ $10 per class $5 per class if you are wearing a club shirt Club shirts are $25 Hope to see you soon. \ let me know if you have any questions :)

Practical AI for Power BI Developers A year ago, “agentic AI” was mostly hype for Power BI teams. Today, it deserves your undivided attention. For Power BI pros, there is now a real opportunity to reduce repetitive development work, accelerate delivery, and help developers do more, but only when strong DataOps practices are in place to make AI workflows effective. This session is a no-nonsense introduction to effective AI patterns for Power BI and Fabric development. Along the way, we will make sense of the growing pile of terminology, including skills, plugins, hooks, and MCP. You will see examples of how modern AI tooling can help with development tasks across Power BI and Fabric, along with the prerequisites, guardrails, and DataOps principles needed to use it responsibly. Whether you're burned out on AI hype or already using Copilot CLI daily, this session will show you the foundations that are finally making AI-assisted development genuinely useful.