Ocean Kayaking

**Can R tame the MCP chaos? Or better yet… can it speak foreign? 🤖** “I Like It When You Talk Foreign” An evening exploring MCP, AI tooling, databases, and graphs — all through R. Two talks. Two live demos. One evening that might completely change how you think about R in the age of AI. Refreshments and networking from 18h00. **Agenda** **16h30 – 16h45 \| Welcome and News \- Handre Williams & Luis de Sousa** **16h45 – 17h20 \| Handre Williams** **Talking to Your Database in Plain English — MCP Clients in R** What if you could query your database conversationally? This talk explores how R can act as an MCP client — allowing LLMs to interact with databases through natural language while R orchestrates the workflow underneath. You’ll see: \- How MCP clients work in R \- How LLMs can interact with databases safely \- Where structured workflows still matter \- A live demo of conversational data access **17h20 – 17h55 \| Luis de Sousa** **Talking to Your Graph in Plain English — MCP + Graphs in R** Graphs are everywhere: relationships, systems, networks, dependencies. But what happens when AI can explore them conversationally? This talk explores how MCP and R can expose graph structures to LLMs — turning graph queries, traversals, and analysis into natural language interactions. You’ll see: \- How graphs can be exposed through MCP workflows \- Conversational querying over connected data \- Where graph reasoning becomes powerful \- Where the abstraction breaks \- A live demo **17h55 – 18h00 \| Wrap up\, questions & close** **18h00 \| Refreshments & networking** Continue the conversation in person. **Details** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ When: 12 May 2026 @ 16h30 to 18h00 (GMT+2) Where: Microsoft Campus in Bryanston, South Africa Location: https://goo.gl/maps/4ffcC3N6T7S2 Keen to speak at a future event? Submit your session abstracts at https://sessionize.com/johannesburg-r-user-group/ **Stay connected** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ \* Website: https://www.rusergroup.co.za \* Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/joburg-r-users-group \* Twitter: https://twitter.com/JHBRUserGroup \* GitHub: https://github.com/rusergroupcoza \* WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/3CeDifS

**Can R tame the MCP chaos? Or better yet… can it speak foreign? 🤖** “I Like It When You Talk Foreign” An evening exploring MCP, AI tooling, databases, and graphs — all through R. Two talks. Two live demos. One evening that might completely change how you think about R in the age of AI. Refreshments and networking from 18h00. **Agenda** **16h30 – 16h45 \| Welcome and News \- Handre Williams & Luis de Sousa** **16h45 – 17h20 \| Handre Williams** **Talking to Your Database in Plain English — MCP Clients in R** What if you could query your database conversationally? This talk explores how R can act as an MCP client — allowing LLMs to interact with databases through natural language while R orchestrates the workflow underneath. You’ll see: \- How MCP clients work in R \- How LLMs can interact with databases safely \- Where structured workflows still matter \- A live demo of conversational data access **17h20 – 17h55 \| Luis de Sousa** **Talking to Your Graph in Plain English — MCP + Graphs in R** Graphs are everywhere: relationships, systems, networks, dependencies. But what happens when AI can explore them conversationally? This talk explores how MCP and R can expose graph structures to LLMs — turning graph queries, traversals, and analysis into natural language interactions. You’ll see: \- How graphs can be exposed through MCP workflows \- Conversational querying over connected data \- Where graph reasoning becomes powerful \- Where the abstraction breaks \- A live demo **17h55 – 18h00 \| Wrap up\, questions & close** **18h00 \| Refreshments & networking** Continue the conversation in person. **Details** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ When: 12 May 2026 @ 16h30 to 18h00 (GMT+2) Where: Microsoft Campus in Bryanston, South Africa Location: https://goo.gl/maps/4ffcC3N6T7S2 Keen to speak at a future event? Submit your session abstracts at https://sessionize.com/johannesburg-r-user-group/ **Stay connected** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ \* Website: https://www.rusergroup.co.za \* Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/joburg-r-users-group \* Twitter: https://twitter.com/JHBRUserGroup \* GitHub: https://github.com/rusergroupcoza \* WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/3CeDifS

**TBA**

Hi ladies. We will meet in front of the Nature Center and head to the two Observation decks. We will then hike Hickory Ridge, Ripple Rock, Overlook and Sugarbush trails to get approximately four miles total distance. We will walk approximately a 18 minute mile pace. Please wear appropriate hiking shoes.