Knowledge Sharing

📚 Do you love reading, but wish you had a structure and a community to share your insights with? Join our small circle of curious minds (just 4 members per gathering) as we come together for an hour of focused reading—in the calm setting of a library or the cozy atmosphere of a café. Here’s how it works: First part: Quiet reading on your own—bring a book you’re exploring, whether it’s philosophy, history, psychology, literature, or anything meaningful to you. Second part: We regroup and each person shares key takeaways, insights, or questions sparked by their reading. This sparks a structured yet free-flowing conversation around ideas, perspectives, and personal reflections. Why join? Add structure to your reading habit. Discover new books, authors, and ideas through others’ choices. Build real connections by sharing and listening deeply. Socialize around something meaningful instead of small talk.

***“I am struck with how rare it is to find a few good friends on the path. It is easy to find people who simply want to sit and be entertained by teachers, or who want to sit and entertain by playing the role of teacher. In other words, the quest for affirmation often outweighs the quest for truth.*** ***Yet you may have one or two good friends, and definitely have one or two waiting to be discovered. Find them; be thankful.”*** ***— Shawn Nevins*** 'What will make me happy in life?' ... 'Am I my thoughts?' ... 'What is Enlightenment?' ... We meet every week to ask questions like these in the pursuit of Self-Knowledge and Truth. We are interested in topics like: Zen, stoicism, spirituality, psychology, mindfulness, Nisargadatta, non-violent communication, Socrates, existential philosophy, Alan Watts, taoism, Eckhart Tolle, meditation, Ramana Maharshi, etc. But we are not affiliated with any dogma, philosophy, or religion. Our goal each meeting is to serve as mirrors for one another using question-based inquiry in a safe environment. In a session, every participant takes turns discussing the week's question or topic, and the group asks reflective questions without any agenda besides trying to understand the person's beliefs. A few other guiding principles of our group: * No one is obligated to share * Be honest with yourself and others * Do not try to convince others to believe or think as you do * Keep the focus on the person being questioned We meet at the [Bethesda Library](https://maps.app.goo.gl/GWMozF8zpY1m1PY26) every Monday. The library is a 5 minute walk from the Bethesda Metro on the Red Line, approx 25 minute Metro ride from Metro Center and Gallery Place stations. The library has a a parking lot with metered parking for $1/hour. \*\*\* WE WILL BE IN MEETING ROOM 3 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED ----- THE MEETING ROOM IS IN THE BACK OF THE LIBRARY \*\*\* Please contact us with any questions!

We’re excited to bring the community together for an evening of learning and connection. This time, we'll have a community member from PagerDuty sharing a use case and, as usual, an Elastic employee sharing their expertise as well. Come support your fellow developers, learn something new, and meet others who are passionate about search, observability, and security. **Date and Time:** Monday, June 29th, from 5:30-7:30 pm EDT **Location:** Elastic Arlington Office - 4100 Fairfax Drive, Ste 500, Arlington, VA 22203 **Agenda:** * 5:30 pm: Doors open; say hi, grab a seat, and eat some food. * 6:00 pm: **Beyond the Alert: Scaling Incident Response with Elastic, PagerDuty, and MCP**, by Nick Worthington, Senior Solutions Consultant at PagerDuty * 6:30 pm: Q&A with Nick * 6:40 pm: **Observability AI Agents - Behind the Scenes,** by Josh Phifer, Principal Solutions Architect at Elastic * 7:10 pm: Q&A with Josh * 7:20-7:30 pm: Networking & refreshments **Talk Abstracts:** **Beyond the Alert: Scaling Incident Response with Elastic, PagerDuty, and MCP** In this session, we will dive into the next generation of the Elastic and PagerDuty integration. Discover how to leverage Model Context Protocol (MCP) and advanced automation workflows to ingest telemetry, contextualize alerts, and trigger automated remediations. Learn how to reduce MTTR and eliminate alert fatigue, turning your incident management framework into a scalable operation. **​** ​**Observability AI Agents - Behind the Scenes** ​In the age of AI, nearly every observability platform offers some form of intelligent assistance — from automated root cause analysis and incident triage to query generation and dashboard creation. Yet for most users, these AI agents remain black boxes: powerful, but opaque. ​What principles guide their design? How do they reason over telemetry data? And what if you need to customize, extend, or build agents tailored to your organization’s workflows? In this talk, we’ll peel back the curtain on observability AI agents. We’ll explore the reasoning strategies, and orchestration tools that power them. Finally, we’ll dive into how Elastic’s AgentBuilder and Workflow ecosystem enable teams to move beyond out-of-the-box automation - empowering you to shape and build the agent experience your operations demand. **Parking:** * The building’s parking garage is operated by Colonial Parking and is located off N. Randolph Street * Book a spot on[ SpotHero](https://spothero.com/search?kind=address&latitude=38.8818514&longitude=-77.1095268&search_string=4100+Fairfax+Dr+%23500%2C+Arlington%2C+VA+22203%2C+USA) * A Metro Station is located across the street

Website http://bmuscolino.github.io/bushido Picnic dinner and full moon for 10-20 people in beautiful summer weather and green grass Join us Mon Jun 29th - you are invited to full moon celebration. I hope you join us for a life uplifting gathering with positive warm interesting people. You are invited: https://luma.com/jfrucial Come to a future BushidoMoon full moon gathering at Wash Natl Cathedral: https://youtu.be/au_vh91f4OE?si=y1KiapIJu3ZJN27G

**!!Please read to the end for important information!!** Monday night bowling?! What a great idea! Join us for good times and lousy bowling. Lane assignment may vary each week. To find us, tell the front desk you are here for the "OG Lousy Bowlers." We often have a wait list. Too ensure that those who want to attend get a chance to do so: please confirm your plans at least two days in advance (Saturday) of each event and update your RSVP if you can no longer attend. Members will be removed from the group after their second unannounced no-show. **Consistent RSVP changes less than two days before our events will result in a warning, after which they will be considered as a no-show.** ***Check and keep checking*** If you are on the wait list, be diligent in checking Meet Up to see if you have been moved to "Going"! Meet Up email and app notifications are often very slow. Please don't rely on an email or notification to inform you that you are "Going". Open the event and click on the Attendees list to see if you are "In". Frequently, wait listed members get "in". If you are on the wait list, check Meet up. Lack of paying attention to when you get off the wait list will not be an excuse for being a No Show.

Pals, who is up for some Salsa? I saw on our events that there is a huge demand for Salsa and wanted to throw a separate party for it! B A I L A M O S!:) We booked the whole venue for this party Event is free and 21+ Dress Code : Dress to impress We have specials just for our group https://a248.e.akamai.net/secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/6/b/7/600_442358583.jpeg https://a248.e.akamai.net/secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/7/6/d/600_442358765.jpeg METRO & PARKING INFO : Please take into account Metro's Safe Track Work & Service Adjustments. Check it on http://www.wmata.com/ and plan accordingly. Street parking might be a challenge and the event involves drinking. We highly recommend public transportation/ride share/taxi.

If you’ve already learned the basics of volleyball and want to keep improving your skills while having fun, this event is for you! **Skill Level:** Advanced Beginner (click [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/mobilebasic) for details). **Reminders** 1. Attendance: We’ve noticed that the waitlist is growing, so please make sure your name is on the Going list if you plan to play. Our number of nets is limited so this helps avoid too many rotations. If your name is on the list but you don’t show up, it will count as an absence according to Smiley Social rules. Please update your RSVP at least 12 hours in advance if your plans change. 2. Waitlist: The waitlist is not first come first serve. We prioritize regular attendees, and will fill empty spots with new faces closer to the event date. 3. Injuries: Play safely and be mindful of others on the court. Respect positions and avoid risky moves that could lead to injury. If you’re not sure the ball is yours, call it before going for it to avoid collisions. 4. Game Rules: Let’s follow the basic volleyball rules, especially the three-touch rule so we can play properly and improve as a team! **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/)

📚 Do you love reading, but wish you had a structure and a community to share your insights with? Join our small circle of curious minds (just 4 members per gathering) as we come together for an hour of focused reading—in the calm setting of a library or the cozy atmosphere of a café. Here’s how it works: First part: Quiet reading on your own—bring a book you’re exploring, whether it’s philosophy, history, psychology, literature, or anything meaningful to you. Second part: We regroup and each person shares key takeaways, insights, or questions sparked by their reading. This sparks a structured yet free-flowing conversation around ideas, perspectives, and personal reflections. Why join? Add structure to your reading habit. Discover new books, authors, and ideas through others’ choices. Build real connections by sharing and listening deeply. Socialize around something meaningful instead of small talk.

Join us for a special post-AWS DC Summit **“Meet the Community” evening** with **AWS DMV User Group** with special guest, AWS Principal Developer Advocate, Aaron Hunter! This casual networking session is a great way to connect with fellow builders, cloud enthusiasts, and AWS community members after the AWS DC Summit. Whether you’re a student, developer, architect, or just curious about cloud, this is a perfect space to meet like-minded people, exchange ideas, and grow your network. Expect light conversations, meaningful connections, and a relaxed atmosphere as we bring the community together after the big event. 📅 **Date:** July 2, 2026 🕠 **Time:** 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM 📍 **Venue:** Amazon HQ2, WAS19 2.103 + 2.104. 525 14th St S, Arlington, VA 22202 Looking forward to seeing everyone there and discussing the summit with great energy and conversations! Please RSVP with the same name as is on your state-issued ID, which will be required to check in at security.

Sit back and relax as Tibetan & crystal bowls (and other instruments) help bring you back into alignment thru sacred sound therapy. This is a great way to clear yourself and recharge for the week ahead. For those interested, it can also assist in achieving deeper stages of meditation. Space is limited so a RSVP is required. Once you have joined us for an event, you are welcome to text to confirm your spot. FIRST TIMERS: All are welcome as long as you come with an open/positive mind and respectful heart. No prior experience necessary. Please plan to arrive 15 minutes early so you can get situated. You are also welcome to walk our grounds or check out or crystal shop. IMPORTANT DIRECTIONS: The address is 15406 Riding Stable rd. Property is at end of 1/2 driveway into the woods. you will drive over a small stream. Please be EXTRA MINDFUL to drive slowly (5 MPH) as to not stir any driveway dust. It is a shared driveway so it's important to respect our neighbors. Please do not stop to interact with horses. COST: To help make this affordable to all, we have an offering range of $15-$25. If you would like to contribute in another way, please let us know. With Love and Gratitude

This group was originally started by Chad Keith who created and hosts a podcast by the same name in Charlotte, NC. I am hoping to continue his legacy here in NoVa as I recently moved to this area. This group is all about finding community around self-improvement and exchanging ideas on how to be your best self and get the most out of life. This group is for anyone who is interested in overcoming average in all areas - career, ambitions, relationships, hobbies, health, everything. I am so excited to meet driven individuals in the NoVa area so please reach out if you have any questions at all. EVERYONE is welcome so please sign up for an upcoming meetup!

**Tired of surface-level conversations?** Join us for *Ditch the Small Talk*—an evening of deep, real connection with strangers who are down to go there. We’ll meet in the grass at Alethia Tanner park, break into small groups, and draw questions from a deck of cards designed to spark vulnerable, honest conversations. How it works: Draw a card and ask a question. Listen. Don't coach or give advice without permission. Try to ask follow-up questions when people share. You can spend 1 minute on a question or 1 hour, just go with the flow. **If you show up late, please don't interrupt the speaker. Just sit down in a group of your choice and they'll bring you up to speed when whoever is talking finishes. Bring a blanket or chair if you don't want to sit in the grass. *** Rules*** 1. Don't debate politics 2. Keep what is shared in the group within the group 3. If you need to use your phone, step away from your group first

Join us for conversations that go beyond small talk, diving into topics like the shifting nature of spirituality, the challenges and joys of midlife transitions, the impact of culture and capitalism, and the search for meaning in art, travel, and daily life. Our gatherings are about genuine, thought-provoking dialogue, with no set leader or strict agenda—just an open space to share ideas, perspectives, and experiences that matter to us. The direction of the discussion is shaped by everyone who shows up, making each event unique and enriching. Come ready to share, reflect, and connect with others who are also seeking deeper conversations. Let the conversation flow from topic to topic. Optional questions are listed below.

Optional Questions: Life Stages & Transitions

1. What did you think you'd have figured out by now that you're still completely winging?
2. When did you realize your parents' advice was for a world that no longer exists?
3. What are you finally old enough to stop pretending to care about?

Optional Questions: Identity After the Roles

4. Who are you when nobody needs anything from you?
5. What dream keeps resurfacing even though the "practical" time has passed?
6. How do you handle having the freedom you always said you wanted?

Optional Questions: AI & Being Human

7. What human experiences will AI never truly understand?
8. If machines handled all your have-to's, what would you actually do?
9. What becomes more precious as everything becomes automated?

Optional Questions: Belief & Meaning

10. What certainties have you given up, and what rushed in to fill that space?
11. How has knowing someone who died changed how you live?
12. What do you believe now that would shock your younger self?

Optional Questions: The Modern Psyche

13. What anxiety do you carry that previous generations didn't have?
14. Which of your survival strategies are you ready to retire?
15. What uncomfortable truth about happiness did it take you years to accept?

Optional Questions: Work & Purpose

16. When did you stop believing that your job would complete you?
17. What would you do for work if money and status weren't factors?
18. How has your definition of "making it" changed over the years?

Optional Questions: Relationships & Connection

19. What relationship dynamic do you keep recreating, and why?
20. When did you realize your parents were just people trying their best?
21. What kind of loneliness doesn't go away even when you're with others?

Optional Questions: Time & Mortality

22. What are you running out of time to say or do?
23. How differently do you spend your time knowing it's finite?
24. What will you regret not trying, even if you fail?

Optional Questions: Society & Culture

25. What social convention do you follow even though it makes no sense?
26. Which generation do you understand least, and what might you be missing?
27. What aspect of how we live now will seem insane in 20 years?

Optional Questions: Personal Philosophy

28. What rule for life did you create after learning something the hard way?
29. When did you stop believing that everyone else had it figured out
30. What paradox about life have you learned to live with?

📚 Do you love reading, but wish you had a structure and a community to share your insights with? Join our small circle of curious minds (just 4 members per gathering) as we come together for an hour of focused reading—in the calm setting of a library or the cozy atmosphere of a café. Here’s how it works: First part: Quiet reading on your own—bring a book you’re exploring, whether it’s philosophy, history, psychology, literature, or anything meaningful to you. Second part: We regroup and each person shares key takeaways, insights, or questions sparked by their reading. This sparks a structured yet free-flowing conversation around ideas, perspectives, and personal reflections. Why join? Add structure to your reading habit. Discover new books, authors, and ideas through others’ choices. Build real connections by sharing and listening deeply. Socialize around something meaningful instead of small talk.

We're planning a hands-on technical session focused on building AI solutions in ServiceNow - think skills, agents, and real-world use cases. If you’re curious about AI on the platform, RSVP now and stay tuned for more details. Let's build together!

Hi everyone! We're Jared and Petria Walker, local real estate investors based in Columbus, Ohio, with a passion for short-term rentals and hospitality. We're looking to start a casual monthly Columbus-area meetup for entrepreneurs, investors, real estate professionals, and anyone interested in short-term rentals to share ideas, discuss market trends, learn from one another, and build meaningful relationships. Whether you're just getting started or have years of experience, we'd love to connect, collaborate, and grow together. We believe some of the best opportunities begin with great conversations. See you soon!

**Practical Curiosity: Learning from Everyday Data** How do we actually get better at utilizing our day-to-day data? Fancy dashboards and complex models might look nice and draw attention, but that’s not where most of us spend our time. In fact those shiny outputs frequently sit unused, while the real insights are drawn from the analyst’s daily practice. Sometimes it’s as simple and as powerful as noticing that a segment is shrinking, a channel is underused, or certain links keep getting all the clicks. There’s many different places that the spark of insight can come from, but you have to keep your head in the data and know where to look. In this session, we’ll explore real-world examples of how segmentation, testing, and click behavior can uncover practical digital marketing opportunities. You’ll leave with inspiration for your own use cases, along with a few simple ways to ask better questions, spot meaningful patterns, and make smarter decisions without overcomplicating it. **About Our Speaker:** [Elaine Armbruster](https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainearmbruster/) is a Director of Digital Experience at the [American Diabetes Association](https://diabetes.org/), where she focuses on using data and insights to create smarter, more effective digital experiences. A lifelong Columbus resident, she has built her career in email marketing and the broader digital user journey, and is finding she most enjoys working in the messy middle where systems, data, and big ideas don’t quite line up yet. 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)

You can sleep in on the Sesquicentennial (observed), we’re shifting to the following Friday. But join the local UX community for a chat and some biscuits to catch up. If you were in CA for Figma Config, tell us all the lines and you can tell me how I can animate an SVG without coding it by hand, and why I’d even want to. Thanks to the team at Nationwide of supporting the group.

**The idea for this group is to build a community where men can gather together and build connections & learn and grow from each other.** How we start each meeting is by each of us checking in with our "roses and thorns" aka what are the good things and the bad things going on in your life recently? Then we will go into a topic discussion. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS** \*\*THERE WILL BE A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY FOR NO-SHOWS. IF YOU RSVP TO A MEETING AND FAIL TO SHOW UP WITHOUT NOTICE, YOU'LL BE REMOVED FROM THE GROUP. THIS IS TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE GROUP\*\* 1. Confidentiality - EVERYTHING that is shared NEVER leaves this space so that this space remains safe and sacred. There is a zero tolerance policy for this. If a man is in violation of this, they will be permanently removed from the group. 2. Non-Judgement - we respect and honor every man’s truth so that we may receive the same from others. While we may not agree on everything, we commit to respecting every man’s perspectives and engaging in honorable discussion with one another. 3. Be committed - honor your commitment to this group and to yourself. If you attend a meeting, please commit yourself fully to the meeting. Also be committed to your own journey. When we fail, we own it & clean it up. 4. Speak from the heart - this is NOT a space to “look good”, have the “right” answers, and have it all together. Relax and know you are not alone. Be exactly who you are within the safety of this space. 5. Be supportive - This means always willing to provide encouragement to your fellow men, encourage action and momentum in each other’s lives.. Be willing to challenge each other. Be willing to hold each other accountable. 6. Participation - what you receive from this community will be a reflection of what you put into it. Period. We ask that you share your perspectives, reflect on others, and give/receive support when and where it’s needed.

## Candle Making Night at The Arcane Foundry \| Design Your Own Custom Candle **SPECIAL PROMOTION**: Buy 3 and get 1 Free! Step into The Arcane Foundry and create your own custom candle from start to finish. This is a laid back, hands-on experience where **you’ll blend fragrances, choose your vessel, and pour your own candle using 100% soy wax**. Whether you’re coming solo or with friends, it’s designed to be simple, creative, and a good time. We’ll walk you through the entire process, from picking your scents to choosing between a traditional cotton wick or a crackling wood wick. You can go with one fragrance or mix your own blend to create something completely unique**. No experience needed**, just show up and we’ll handle the rest. While your candle sets, feel free to hang out, play a game, explore the shop, or just relax and talk. Drinks and snacks are available, and the atmosphere leans into the **fantasy**, **dark academia**, and **gothic horror** vibe The Arcane Foundry is known for. Learn More: [Candle Making in Columbus, Ohio at The Arcane Foundry](https://thearcanefoundry.com/candle-making/) *** ### What to Expect: * Guided candle making experience * Choose your own vessel, wax, wick, and fragrance * 100% soy wax candles * Optional drinks and snacks * Time to relax while your candle cools *** ### Important Notes: * Please arrive on time so we can start together * Candles will need time to set before taking home * This is a beginner-friendly event *** ### RSVP Required Reserve your spot on Meetup to lock in your seat. **Candle Making** (includes vessel, your choice of wick, wax, scented oil, labels and lids) 5oz Glass Jars $15 8oz Candle Tins $25 12oz Glass Candles $35 12oz Amber Jars $40 16 oz Skull or Jack o Lantern Candle Mugs $65 (Limited Edition!) **All materials included. You just bring yourself (and your drink of choice).** **Payments accepted:** * Credit Card * Venmo: @Daclaud-Lee * Cashapp: $DaclaudL

Most people use LLMs by feel: ask a question, read the answer, decide whether it “seems good,” and move on. That works for casual use. It does not work when you are building software, automating workflows, writing important documents, or relying on AI for anything that needs to be repeatable. In this talk, we’ll look at how to improve and evaluate the inputs and outputs of LLMs using practical measurement techniques. We’ll cover how prompt changes affect results, how to compare outputs, how to build simple evaluation sets, and how math-based methods like similarity scoring can help you move beyond guesswork. This will be beginner-friendly, so even if you don't know anything about AI, you should get something out of it. However, this will be a little more technical than our intro talks. You do not need to be an AI researcher, but programmers and technically curious attendees will get a lot out of it. We’ll cover: * Why “it looks good” is not enough * How to improve prompts by changing the input, context, and constraints * How to compare LLM outputs more systematically * Basic evaluation techniques for accuracy, consistency, and usefulness * How embeddings, cosine similarity, and scoring can help evaluate results * Where automated evaluation works — and where humans still need to stay in the loop By the end, you’ll have a practical mental model for treating LLMs less like magic and more like systems you can test, measure, and improve. LOGISTICS AND PARKING: The talk starts at 7:00 PM. The first half hour is reserved for everyone to get set up and mingle. Free pizza and drinks! The cheapest parking option is to find street parking, which will only cost you a few bucks. Otherwise, park in the nearby veteran's museum lot for $8. It's highly recommended you avoid the nearby $15 garage parking.