Information Retrieval

It is supposed to be 60 degrees Thursday. Let’s take advantage with a walk at Brookside Gardens. We will meet to the right facing the visitors center. If anyone is interested we can go to lunch afterwards.

Join DC Metro Crafts for our first Thursday meetup. Bring your own cross stitch, knitting, crochet, or other portable craft. The Southwest Library is right off the Waterfront Metro. Tonight, we start at 6:15 (no room was available before then) and we're upstairs in Conference Room 2. Take the elevator to the second floor and the room is on your left. If you take the stairs, take two rights and the room is on your left.

Everyone’s heard of book clubs where the group reads the same thing and gets together to discuss, which is great… if you have time and interest in whatever’s chosen. This is a different type of book club where you bring whatever you’re currently or recently reading (or just a book you’re super excited about) and talk about it with fellow book lovers. We’ll start with people arriving/ordering food between 615-645, then go around and introduce ourselveslves and give a very brief synopsis of what we’re reading and why we’re excited (or not!) about it. Then devolve into informal conversations until people need to head out. The goal Is to create community and connections in a group of strangers - to facilitate this please make sure you have at least a clear first name on your profile. Upside on Moore has a great selection of food you can order from your phone or at the kiosks. There’s also a bar with happy hour, something for everyone! Arrival tips: if you’re taking the metro, it’s the building above the Rosslyn exit. If you’re driving, you can park in the public lot under the food hall (entrance from the one way bus street) and validate parking after 6!

**Do you want to play and grow with a band, without the commitment of starting a band? Join us for our Blues Jams. Great place to network with other musicians.** \*\*$10 for at the door\*\* \*\*Free for Singers and Drummers\*\* **\*Members Get in free and receive other benefits\*** **[Become a Member](https://patreon.com/DoctorStrings?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink)** **Beginner to Pro Blues jam 21+ only, BYOB. Every Thursday.** This is a smaller more practice focused event at my shop. **Open to everyone and is a learning experience for most.** Just bring your instrument(Electric), no need to bring an amp we have all of that. Do not bring a pedal board with a bunch of pedals. The amps are dialed in for blues, trust me it's all there. Drums are here already, very basic kit. If you want to bring cymbals or any other drum gear, please show up early to set up. Also please be aware that other people are going to play the kit as well.

***In Person Location:*** Rockville Library, second floor meeting room (Collaboration Room 3). We are experimenting with a new virtual join link - [https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers](https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers) If you can make it in person, that's always recommended! Let's resume repeated full end-to-end testing cycles and continue to iterate our design and resolution. We are getting close. Our community is building (and documenting for other teams) how to build a scanning tunneling microscope using a mix of common and 3D printed parts. This will allow us to scan and visualize a single atom - an ambitious we are doing over the course of a few months. The MoCo Makers community is one of the most innovative and competent groups in Maryland, and we've done everything from [publishing cancer research](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38136356/), to [launching products](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gotim/cozy-curvy-multi-contour-pillow), [winning grants](https://covidinfocommons.datascience.columbia.edu/awards/2014255), and inspiring thousands. Now our biggest challenge yet has appeared. We are building a Scanning Tunneling Microscope, that will allow us to scan and visualize single atoms. Does it sound hard? Perhaps.. However! I have every confidence that we are now operating at a level were we can take on this mean, cross-functional project. We continue to build on our past successes, and a key technology we previously applied was increasing the signal of small voltages using OpAmps - which we did during our custom pH Probe project - [https://www.mocomakers.com/ph-probe/](https://www.mocomakers.com/ph-probe/) \- That technology is exactly what we need to get this machine working\, and at a high precision\! To get a better idea of what we are doing, see our reference project here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g) All starting CAD, code, and reference files should exist. However, let's be the first Maker community to document the build process and share it with learners around the world. We have a bit over $2,000 in materials costs, so if you want to sponsor this project, and get banners at events with 20K attendees, and access to our email broadcast of 30K members, please contact matt@mocomakers.com We are also open to university, lab, or community partnerships so feel to reach out if you want to be part of this project. Together, we can do incredible things. ***In Person Location:*** Rockville Library, second floor meeting room (Meeting Room 3). To Join Virtually: https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers

A weekly networking meeting where we have a lot of fun and of course, meet other busy professionals!

Join the IBM Z Skills team at UMD College Park to **inspire** the next generation of technologists to pursue roles on the mainframe! \- IBM will deliver an overview presentation on IBM Z and the critical role the platform plays across industries today\. \- Help introduce students to IBM Z Xplore\, IBM’s premier online learning platform\, giving them a clear path to begin hands\-on skills development immediately\. \- Highlight the wide range of career opportunities available in the industry\, helping students see how their interests and strengths connect to real roles in the field\.

To help us estimate attendance and to see the venue address, please RSVP on Luma!: https://luma.com/af0yjzz6 *A free, public workshop—no technical background needed* ​Artificial intelligence is no longer just getting better at narrow tasks—it’s beginning to look *general*. Many researchers believe we’re entering the early stages of the **AGI transition**: a period where AI systems start to match or exceed human abilities across a wide range of domains. ​This workshop explores what AGI actually means, how to think about it intuitively (without hype or jargon), and what this transition could mean for your job, your relationships, and your day-to-day life—much sooner than most people expect. ​Together, we’ll explore questions like: ​**What is AGI?** ​How do experts define artificial general intelligence, and how is it different from today’s AI tools? ​**Work & Jobs:** ​Which kinds of jobs are already being automated or transformed—and which ones experts believe are most likely to remain resilient? ​**Human Connection:** ​How is AI starting to replace or supplement roles once filled by coworkers, friends, tutors, therapists, and companions? ​**Robots & the Physical World:** ​What happens when advanced AI is paired with rapidly improving robotics—and which parts of the economy could change next? ​**What you’ll get:** * ​A clear, beginner-friendly explanation of AGI and why it matters * ​Real-world examples of how AI is already reshaping work and social life * ​Live demos that highlight both impressive capabilities and emerging risks * ​Interactive discussion and exercises to test your own intuitions about the future ​Come ready to grapple with one of the biggest transitions humanity may ever face—a shift that could redefine not just how we work, but how we relate to each other, find meaning, and navigate a world increasingly shaped by intelligent machines.

DC Code and Coffee is an inclusive, informal co-working session. It's community-led and community-run by devs, for devs. People of all skill levels attend. Whether you’re dev-curious, aspiring, or a professional developer, we’d love to have you! Come chat or learn to code on a Sunday afternoon with coffee and cool-inclusive people. Bring your laptop! We typically meet every month on the weekend. **Join our online community!** For all things Tech in DC and to get latest updates and tech events from the DMV area, join the [DCTech Slack](https://dctech.chat/). All DC Code & Coffee announcements are in the #dccodecoffee channel **How it works** Near the beginning of the event, we do an introduction circle. You say your name, what you can help others with, and what you would like help with. You can also share job opportunities. After the introduction circle, everything is self-organized. **Event Host and Directions** We are meeting in the big meeting room at the back of the library.

Title: What Is Space Density? From Medium Ontology to the Spacetime Constant K Date: March 8 2026 10:00 am - Noon EDT Abstract: Spacetime plays an active role in gravity, wave propagation, and quantum behavior, yet physics rarely treats it as a physical medium with intrinsic properties such as density or inertia. This missing layer creates a major conceptual gap—especially when interpreting large-scale gravitational anomalies that are often attributed to dark matter. In this talk, Lynn will propose a clear conceptual framework for what it means for spacetime itself to possess a density-like property, and Lynn will explain why Unified Field Theory (UFT) naturally encodes this property through the constant K, called the spacetime background inertial intensity constant. Lynn will introduce a space-density constant μₛ as a universal property of space itself—independent of matter, energy density, or gravitational sourcing. However, μₛ cannot be inserted directly into field equations, because it belongs to the ontological level: it describes what space is, not how spacetime responds. To influence dynamics, μₛ must be expressed geometrically. This leads naturally to K, which carries the same physical meaning but operates at the level required by geometric field dynamics. This is a change in representation—not the addition of new physics. This approach provides an alternative way to interpret dark-matter-like effects. Instead of requiring unseen particles, gravitational anomalies can be viewed as consequences of spacetime’s intrinsic rigidity and its global, cumulative response in large coherent systems such as disk galaxies. In local, weak-field environments, standard Newtonian and relativistic gravity remains an effective approximation. The goal of the talk is not to present a final empirical model, but to clarify the physical meaning of spacetime constants and open discussion between UFT and mainstream theoretical physics. Keywords: Spacetime ontology; space density; intrinsic spacetime properties; Unified Field Theory (UFT); spacetime background constant K; geometric response; gravitational coupling; dark-matter-like phenomena Brief Biography Lynn Lou Beran is a Senior IT Security Analyst and an author, translator, and editor working at the intersection of science, engineering, and communication. She translated and edited multiple editions of Zhang XiangQian’s Unified Field Theory and co-authored recent manuscripts developing a geometric, motion-based view of physical reality. Lynn’s broader work focuses on making advanced ideas accessible without sacrificing rigor, and on connecting conceptual insight to testable predictions and practical tools.

⚠️ **IMPORTANT: You must sign up and buy a ticket here to attend:** [https://groupvibe.com/](https://groupvibe.com/) **This is a curated, small-group meetup make new friends in Washington.** Each meetup brings together 4–6 like-minded people for casual conversations over brunch. We use the Groupvibe platform to organize and ensure everyone’s a good fit. 👉 **To attend, you’ll need to complete registration via this link:** [https://groupvibe.com](https://groupvibe.com) Once you register, and **buy a ticket or become a Groupvibe member**, we’ll share the exact location and match you with your group. **Why this works:** \* Smaller groups make real conversations easier \* Matching helps avoid awkward dynamics **Note:** RSVPs here on Meetup don’t reflect total attendance. Many attendees register directly via our website. This meetup is organized by **Groupvibe**, a small team passionate about helping people form meaningful friendships offline.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Ireland’s Fight for Freedom,”** with Kevin Matthews, assistant professor of history at George Mason University and former London correspondent for Vatican Radio reporting on British and Irish news. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/northern-virginia-ireland-freedom](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/northern-virginia-ireland-freedom) .] After centuries of struggle, Irish men and women won their freedom from Great Britain after waging a war that set the pattern for all other independence struggles of the 20th century. But there was a price—the partition of their country, a split setting the stage for the Northern Ireland “Troubles” that didn’t end until 1998. Gain a deeper understanding of Ireland and its history with Professor Kevin Matthews, a historian and frequent Smithsonian Associates speaker who had served as a journalist covering the last stages of the Troubles in Ireland in the early and mid 1990s. He’ll discuss in depth how the Irish won independence in a two-year war between 1919 and 1921, covering topics as the role women played in the conflict, the life and tactics of the revolutionary leader Michael Collins, and the Irish development of “urban guerilla warfare” using small, highly mobile armed units called “flying columns.” Most important, this talk will examine how the conflict between Irish nationalists and Irish unionists led to Ireland’s division and later conflict. From the Easter Rising to the Good Friday Agreement, from Bloody Sunday to Brexit, this conflict has never quite gone away. As the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats once wrote: Now and in time to be, Wherever green is worn, Are changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born. Professor Matthews will explore how the Irish fought to a standstill what was then the mightiest empire in the world and how, more than he could have known, Yeats’ prediction still rings true today. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Members of the Irish Republican Army’s West Connemara Flying Column in 1921. (Public Domain photo.)

All levels of Cantonese proficiency are welcome! 歡迎各水平嘅廣東話愛好者！

Window functions have nothing to do with the Windows operating system but provide a “window” to a result set when used in SQL queries. They are powerful, set-based methods to view data in unexpected ways. Window functions provide easy, set-based solutions to solve some common problems: * Using running totals * Performing operations in intervals * Identifying data gaps and islands * Performing aggregates without losing detail Many people are confused by window functions and do not know how to use them properly. This session will explore window functions, how they work, and how to use them. Demonstrations with several examples will solidify how window functions can simplify queries and make them more powerful.

Join membersrs of the Central Ohio UX and digital design community for a casual monthly breakfast.

**Google Analytics Alternatives** Is it finally time to make the switch away from Google Analytics? Two-and-a-half years ago Jason Packer asked this question at Columbus Web Analytics Wednesday. Since then: Google’s Universal Analytics has been sunset, we’ve changed our name to Columbus Data & Analytics Wednesday, and Jason has released two editions of his book “Google Analytics Alternatives”. Fresh off the release of the 2nd edition of his book, we thought it was time to re-open this conversation. While people love to complain about it, GA’s market share has remained relatively constant (at least in the United States). Why is that? You won’t find any complaints about GA4 in this talk, but rather an overview of what’s currently available in the market and how to frame your decision-making process. We’ll also be giving out some free copies of Jason’s book! So even if you’ve got a “GA4Lyfe” tattoo (no judgement), there’s free books to go with the free pizza and beer. Thanks to our 2026 sponsors: [Clarivoy](https://www.clarivoy.com), [What Box Consulting Group](https://www.whatboxconsultinggroup.com), [Conductrics](https://www.conductrics.com), and [Piwik PRO](https://piwik.pro) More info at [cbusdaw.com](https://cbusdaw.com)

**Tickets go on sale 3/12 . I will post what row to buy your ticket in then .**

We will show a variety of methods for building agents that run in Microsoft Foundry. This covers the different types of agents: Prompt, Multi, and Hosted, as well as the development lifecycle using evals and traces.