Project Management

Welcome to our second London meetup of 2026, where we discuss Gen AI and Kubernetes! Details below: **Location:** Civo Tech Junction, First Floor, 32-37 Cowper St, London EC2A 4AW **Time:** Doors open at 6PM **Drinks, snacks, talks, and networking.** We’re excited to invite you to our second in-person **DevOps Society Meetup** of 2026, proudly **sponsored by Cast AI**. This event is focussed around Gen AI and Kubernetes, with two really exciting speakers lined up for this one in Carly and Kunal. Format of the Meetup: 6:00pm – 6:30pm — Networking on arrival, with food and drinks provided by CastAI 6:30pm – 7:10pm — First speaker + Q&A 7:10pm – 7:20pm — Break for refreshments and networking 7:20pm – 8:00pm — Second speaker + Q&A 8:00pm onwards — More networking at the venue, then at a nearby pub. *Timings can vary slightly depending on Q&A.* We’re excited to welcome everyone to our next DevOps Society London meetup, where we’ll be diving into two incredibly relevant topics in modern infrastructure: observing GenAI applications in production and optimising Kubernetes clusters. We’ll be joined by two brilliant speakers from the ecosystem who are working at the forefront of developer tooling and cloud infrastructure. As always, expect a relaxed evening of technical learning, discussion, and networking with fellow engineers from across the London tech community. *** ## 🎤 Speaker 1 - Carly Richmond **Developer Advocate Lead @ Elastic** ### Observing AI Applications with OpenLit and OpenTelemetry Observability is the ability to measure the current state of a system. With the rapid emergence of LLMs and GenAI applications moving into production, teams now need deeper insight into how these systems behave in real-world environments. In this talk, Carly will explore best practices for observing production AI applications, covering how engineers can capture logs, traces, and metrics to better understand how LLMs interact within their application ecosystem. She’ll walk through a real example of instrumenting an AI agent application written in TypeScript, using OpenLit to generate OpenTelemetry signals. The session will show the types of telemetry data teams can capture to identify usage patterns, detect errors, and troubleshoot issues commonly seen in production GenAI applications. ### About Carly Carly Richmond is Developer Advocate Lead at Elastic, based in London. She’s a UI developer who also writes backend services, a keynote speaker, and a tech writer who is passionate about helping developers build better systems. Outside of tech, Carly enjoys cooking, photography, drinking tea, and chasing after her young son. *** ## 🎤 Speaker 2 - Kunal Kushwaha **Senior Developer Advocate @ CAST AI** ### Optimizing Kubernetes and Unlocking Blockers with Container Live Migration Kubernetes promises automation, yet most clusters run at around **10% CPU utilisation**, leaving large amounts of infrastructure sitting idle. With endless instance types, constantly shifting prices, and the complexity of modern workloads, maintaining efficient clusters can quickly become a full-time job. In this talk, Kunal explores the real-world challenges teams face when running Kubernetes in production. He’ll cover where Kubernetes automation works well, where it falls short, and why optimisation remains difficult for many teams. Topics include: * Why most Kubernetes clusters are underutilised * The realities of autoscaling in production environments * Challenges around instance types and Spot capacity * Common mistakes teams make with HPA and VPA Once these challenges are laid out, Kunal introduces Container Live Migration as a way to overcome some of these long-standing blockers. To bring the concept to life, he’ll run a live technical demo where Pods running a small video game are migrated across nodes in real time, while the audience participates. The game continues running without downtime, demonstrating how live migration can improve cluster efficiency without disrupting workloads. Please register below to secure your spot. Spaces are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. We’re really looking forward to getting the community back together again for our first event of 2026. [Our slack community](https://join.slack.com/t/devopssociety/shared_invite/zt-3mswuylw7-MhJg1IZ70rX_GpJTluG2Cw) \- join in and introduce yourself\! [Our Youtube Channel ](https://www.youtube.com/@DevOpsSociety)for regular podcasts with DevOps professionals + more DevOps content. [Website](https://thedevopsociety.com/) [To partner with us](https://thedevopsociety.com/partnerships) CAST AI website - https://cast.ai/ Thanks! From the DevOps Society team [Ben](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benwhitmarsh/) and [Vytas](https://www.linkedin.com/in/vytasdevops/)

Join fellow product people at The Product Group London on **Thu 2nd April** for an evening of learning, sharing and networking. **Topic of the Night: Product Outcomes Over Outputs** Product management is changing to be much more focused on achieving quantifiable outcomes over outputs and hitting dates. So how do product people make the shift and stay in the outcomes lane? On the night, we’ll explore what this really means incl. the important outcomes to focus on; making the culture shift to outcome focused; adjusting success metrics; using outcomes to drive product strategies, roadmaps, discovery and delivery; getting stakeholders onboard with a different way of thinking, and much more. **Featured Guest: Phil Hornby, Global Product Lead, ZF Group** Phil is a product leader, coach and technologist with over 20 years of experience across SaaS, IoT and Automotive. His career has spanned development, sales and operations, but product management is where he found his home, focusing on solving complex customer problems with scalable solutions. Today, Phil works as Global Product Lead at ZF, leading a tier 1 commercial vehicle diagnostics platform. As a senior IC, he works across multiple product teams to shape cohesive products that combine commercial thinking with deep technical expertise. He also founded a ZF community of practice to connect and grow digital product professionals. Alongside his ZF role, Phil continues to coach product leaders and teams, having supported thousands of individuals across hundreds of companies. He is known for helping people think clearly, make better decisions and take action that drives real impact. Phil is also a regular speaker and co-host of the Talking Roadmaps podcast. **About The Product Group London** The Product Group London is a monthly meetup designed to bring product people of all levels together for topical discussions, as a group and with our guest speakers. With attendees from startups to large enterprises, there is no shortage of opportunities to network and make new connections. And whilst the focus is on product management, we welcome product designers and engineers to join for some friendly and lively discussions. **A word about our sponsor and host, BrainStation** [BrainStation](https://brainstation.io/london) is a global leader in digital skills training, empowering businesses and brands to succeed in the digital age. Established in 2012, BrainStation has worked with over 500 instructors from the most innovative companies, developing cutting-edge, real-world digital education that has empowered professionals and some of the largest corporations in the world.

If you’ve recently stepped into leadership, you’re probably facing decisions that feel heavier than expected. Not because they’re complicated. Because they involve trade-offs. You might be circling: * A hire you’re unsure about * A pricing change with ripple effects * A pivot that feels risky * A messy internal process * A trade-off with no clean answer This is a small, facilitated working session (max 3 participants). We take real decisions and think them through properly. Not networking. Not theory. Not pitching. Structured thinking. ### Format • 3 participants • Each brings one real decision • We clarify the actual problem • Separate facts from assumptions • Map options and consequences • Identify trade-offs • Define the next move

Flamenco Dance Classes for Improvers at Danceworks every Thursday! We will work on the placement of the body, the perception of the rhythm, clapping, footwork, and movements of arms and head. Choreography depends on the level: Alegrías, Bulerías, Tangos, Soleá, etc. If you have dancing shoes and clothes, bring them. Otherwise, don't worry, feel comfortable to dance! When? **Every Thursday** Time: **19:00 - 20:00** Where? **Danceworks** 16 Balderton St, London W1K 6TN Studio 4 Nearest Tube stations: **Bond St.** Marble Arch Cost? £12 per class. **Book here:** https://danceworks.com/london/classes/timetable/ Class bookings become available 7 days in advance. Online bookings close 15 minutes before the class starts but you can book in person up to the start time. **Waiting lists are available.** ***About Maika:*** Maika is a flamenco and Spanish dance teacher with more than 17 years of experience, teaching adults and children in Spain, the United States of America, Mexico, Canada, and UK. She also led flamenco classes at Rey Juan Carlos University from 2013 to 2018. Born and raised in Madrid (Spain), she began studying ballet and Spanish dance at the tender age of nine. Maika studied at Karen Taft Dance Academy and Flamenco Centre “Amor de Dios”, majoring in Spanish Dance at the Conservatory of Dance in Madrid. In 2003, she was awarded a Teaching Methodology Applied to Spanish Dance certificate and then focused her career on dance education. Maika has continued her professional training alongside teachers including Antonio Canales, Alfonso Losa, La Lupi, Rojas and Rodriguez. Maika co-founded the company Spanish Flamenco Tour, based in Miami (USA), a business dedicated to promoting flamenco and Spanish culture, to a local audience. Adding more strings to her bow, Maika embarked on a Master´s Degree in Leadership and Management of Cultural Projects at the Institute of Dance “Alicia Alonso”, Rey Juan Carlos University. Her final master’s project was based on promoting Spanish dance, receiving a First-Class Degree. Maika’s classes are designed to extract every student’s natural ability to dance and show them how wonderful and fun, this art form is.

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

Hello Spring!! Interest rates (will go down), unemployment (still going up), finding deals (Always deals out there), securing mortgages and making profit (THE Critical element). Are you looking to improve your business in 2026? Come join us and you'll get some frank answers and encouraging words from the hosts and regulars. We'll also help people with planning again at this meetup as it is a critical component of your success. If you haven't written out a plan yet, there is still time! If you need a nudge, come see Scott on Thursday (bring a notepad) and/or read his book which outlines exactly what you need to do in 7 simple steps. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Achieve-Anything-SIMPLE-Uncomfortable-UNSTOPPABLE/dp/1839758260/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 or borrow it from the Richmond library network: https://richmond.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/WPAC/ALLENQ/175840303/147362136,1 Put Thursday 7th May 2026 in your diary as the next meetup and we will see you there. Best wishes! Scott and Roxane This meetup is a great place to chat with like minded people about property investing e.g. the various strategies available, ideas on how to raise finance, cashflow vs capital gains, calculating and comparing ROIs, regional pro's & cons, and the various tools and resources people are using to up their property game. This property meetup is open to everyone – from the greenest newbies to the grizzliest tycoons! This is a traditional networking event. There are no sales pitches or “upsells” – it’s just a relaxed and informal get-together of likeminded people!!This meetup is a great place to chat with like minded people about property investing e.g. the various strategies available, ideas on how to raise finance, cashflow vs capital gains, calculating and comparing ROIs, regional pro's & cons, and the various tools and resources people are using to up their property game. This property meetup is open to everyone – from the greenest newbies to the grizzliest tycoons! This is a traditional networking event. There are no sales pitches or “upsells” – it’s just a relaxed and informal get-together of likeminded people!!

We are excited to announce our upcoming Spring Community Showcase. This event is an opportunity for individuals at all skill levels to come together and share their experiences with Rust. Whether you’re working on a personal project, contributing to an open-source initiative, or teaching a concept related to Rust, we invite you to present your work and insights. Take this opportunity to build your confidence and share what you are doing. Speakers === If you would like to give a presentation, please send Ernest a direct message with your talk title and a brief abstract of approximately 60 words. Each presentation will last about 25 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for questions and answers, for a total of 30 minutes. We have four slots available this month. **Dan Groshev** Okmain Library: You have an image, but you want a colour How do you pick a colour that represents an image but also looks good? Dan will talk about his Okmain library, colour science, auto-vectorisation, SIMD, and his experience building it in Rust and PyO3. **Jérôme Étévé** Mockapot: A percolator library in Rust Jérôme is the author of the Mokcaccino library, which started as a way to marry my interests for Rust and for search technology. He will discuss the design, the tricky aspects of Rust he learned along the way, and how Rust and Python complement each other. **Evadne Wu** JavaScript Sandboxing using Deno on top of Elixir & Erlang/OTP. Intelligent AI agents can write code that calls existing APIs in secure sandboxes, allowing higher token efficiency, better performance, and lower per-turn latency. Deno’s primitives in Rust can be integrated into such an agent harness, utilising the Elixir programming language and the Erlang/OTP runtime, which allows you to construct agentic systems that are massively concurrent and fault-tolerant.

We playtest all sorts of games - strategic, silly, creative, or whatever. Some games are almost done. Some are very early ideas. We test anything that will fit into 90 minutes. You don't need to bring a game - we always love to have new playtesters! Please let us know in the comments when you plan to arrive/leave and whether you are bringing a game or not. This helps us to plan the day better. The schedule is: 10am onwards - gathering, chatting 11am sharp - playing for 90 min ('slot 1') 12:30ish - break for food/chat 1pm sharp - playing for 90 min ('slot 2') 2:30ish - break for food/chat 3pm sharp - playing for 90 min ('slot 3') 4:30ish - finish up Often, we might hang around afterwards, to play some already-published games. We are strict on timings, so please try to arrive a few minutes before the session to limit disruption. You can just come for part of the day if you wish. The reason we have fixed timings for the 3 'slots' is to make it easier for folk to do so. Designers of all levels of experience are welcome! But if it's your first time, we ask that you don't bring a game and just spend some time learning how the group works. The group works based on reciprocation. If you expect to test your own game, make sure stay for long enough to play other games. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect to play one of your own games every third 90-minute session. So if you stay a whole day (3 sessions), you can expect to have one session to play your game(s). A good rule of thumb is that if you come all day, you will have one 90 minute session with two other playtesters in which to test your own games. It is sometimes possible to test games with more players. If your game requires 4 or more, please note that as standard you will be allocated half of a session (45 minutes). Pre-covid, we were getting unmanageable. As a result, we may have to limit attendees. This is a free-to-use venue, and we have to be mindful that other folk want to use the same space. Please note: This is an adults only event. We look forward to seeing you!

Sunday rehearsal with Castellers of London. Meet us at the OBC Community Centre to help build human towers! This get together is a great opportunity for you to meet new friends, socialise and have a go and explore your abilities as a human tower builder a.k.a Casteller! For newcomers we have a team of trained Castellers who will introduce you to the group, guide you through the activity and help you safely take part in this unique Catalan tradition. When you arrive just approach us as we are really friendly! If in doubt ask for Cuss! Please let us know if you are bringing guests. After the rehearsal we go to a nearby pub for social drinks where everyone is welcome :) What do you need? 1. Ideally a cotton shirt: to protect your neck and shoulders, the more durable the shirt/top the better. We do not recommend any thin items of clothing! 2. Jeans: allowing you to move freely without breaking. 3. Mask: We still require the use of a mask as you will be very close to your fellow Castellers - basically you will be hugging people! The rest of the equipment is on us! We take health and safety very seriously, both in relation to COVID-19 and also the activity- please be assured that the safety of all participants is of the utmost importance to us and we take all necessary precautions to minimize the risk, ensuring we all have a great time! Our regular members won't be filling in the Meet Up to say they are going 🙂 So don't be put off if you see only a handful have said they are going. A minimum of 25 on the day is normal. What the Meet Up may show is how many new people like yourself are going.

Welcome to our **Free Event - Master the Art of Communication**! Join us at the Church of Scientology **Life Improvement Centre** to learn valuable basics of communication and skills that will help you in both your personal and professional life. During this event, you will learn some fundamentals of communication - what is it, what are the vital parts of the communication formula.... and have the opportunity to participate in these new skills. Hear from trained and experienced communicators, and practice communication techniques in a supportive environment. Whether you struggle with public speaking, conflict resolution, or simply want to improve your relationships, this is for you! Come and discover the power of knowledge and how to achieve effective communication. Find out how you could guide and control communication in your life! Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your communication abilities and connect with like-minded individuals. We look forward to seeing you here!

**PLEASE NOTE:** The location is: **The People's Letters Bookshop** Address: **395 Cambridge Heath Rd, Cambridge Heath, London E2 9RA** ✨Hi all, Let's Get Crafty is back! ✨ Join us for an afternoon of arts and craft at The People's Letters Bookshop. We will provide yarn, needles, hooks, clay, colouring pencils and books, origami paper, etc, or you can buy a colouring book from the store. You're also welcome to bring your own projects along. The bookstore provides a separate and private space for us which is perfect for us auties and ND folk. The store also provides free hot drinks. Accessibility: the store has an accessible entrance and toilet. The People's Letters is a worker-led, cooperatively run bookstore and community event space in East London. Help support what they do: https://peoplesletters.org/support https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/VyYX6pPn Support us: Please support us on Kofi so we can keep providing more free events in the future! https://ko-fi.com/neurodissidentcafe *Please only RSVP if you can make it.* If you cannot make it anymore, please be sure to update your RVSP so we can adapt accordingly. Please do not come if you have not RSVPed.

You want to do your best! You want to realise your potential! You want to make the right decisions at the right time! Obviously- you want to be a success! Do you have all the skills in place? Do you have areas in your life or personality that are weaker and you feel can stop you or hold you back? Would you like a free personal consultation to help locate your strengths and weaker areas? We can help you to maximise on your potential. If you would like a free 1 hour consult then register now! We have various times available for your own personal consultation This is hosted at the Scientology Life Improvement Centre in London. We use the Oxford Capacity Analysis test. https://www.scientology-london.org.uk/personality-test/

They say that pictures speak a thousand words, and so here are pics from this previous day trip on our website (click on this event): [www.aaahiking.co.uk/day-hikes](www.aaahiking.co.uk/day-hikes) **DESCRIPTION** Join us for a scenic countryside trek from Battle Station to Three Oaks, following stretches of the historic 1066 Country Walk. This 18 km route takes in woodlands, rolling fields, and charming villages, with gentle hills and plenty of fresh air along the way. A rewarding linear hike finishing at Three Oaks Station and nearby pub – perfect for walkers looking for a full day’s adventure. Why not stay over night and do next days Hastings Hike? **WHAT TO EXPECT - HIKING INFO** Distance: **18km** Ascent: c.**205m** Estimated Duration 5 hours: Difficulty: \**[Moderate](https://www.aaahiking.co.uk/hike-grade)* **PROGRAMME** Meeting Point: Battle station: **10:30** Ending Three Oaks pub: **16:30** Some recommended train options: Single 8:44 from London Bridge to Battle arriving for 10:18 Single 16:35 from Three Oaks to London Bridge arriving at 18:53 Or could get a return ticket from London Bridge to Three oaks via Battle (which you can specifiy in apps). The 08:14 train from London bridge to make the start of the hike. **COST** The cost is **£10 per person.** for hike only. **HIKE INCLUDES** * Guided Hike planned and led by experienced AAA leaders, trained Summer Mountain Leader with Wilderness First Aid Training. * PayPal fees **PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE** * Travel costs * Lunch, drinks or any refreshments * Souvenirs * Meetup Fee levied on all purchases via meetup * Entrance fees to any attractions you wish to visit **RECOMMENDED KIT LIST \[\(full list\)\]\(\(full list\)\)** * Suitable hiking shoes or boots * Waterproof jacket and trousers (Please no jeans!) * Water [2L recommended] * Warm/Windproof layer, e.g. Down/Primaloft/Fleece * Wicking base layer, e.g. Polyester/Tencil/Merino * Camera & Phone * Picnic lunch and snacks **CANCELLING/REFUNDS** If you can no longer join the event, please message the host and update your RSVP status on MeetUp to 'Not going', to allow others to take your place. If the event sells out, and you have messaged us and have changed your RSVP to 'Not going', please email us on [info@aaalondongroup.com](info@aaalondongroup.com) after the event date, requesting a refund, including your PayPal email address, so we can locate the payment. Unfortunately, as PayPal retains the original transaction fee, we cannot refund this. If the hike is not full, we are sorry, we are unable to issue a refund. **QUESTIONS** If you have any other questions, please check visit our[ FAQ page](https://www.aaahiking.co.uk/faq). If you are still unsure, contact the event Host shown on this page. We have operated over 1,000 events without significant incidents in the last ten years, achieved through meticulous planning. All participants (members and their guests) in any AAA Hiking event or activity are personally responsible for their fitness, safety and welfare, and must be equipped accordingly. If you have signed up for the event, you acknowledge and accept the AAA Hiking Terms and Conditions. [FAQs](https://www.aaahiking.co.uk/faq) \| [Terms and Conditions](https://www.aaahiking.co.uk/terms-and-conditions) \| [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/AAAhiking) \| [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/AAAHikingUK/reviews) \| [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/aaahiking/) \| [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@aaahiking) \| [Trip Advicer](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d19994843-Reviews-AAA_Hiking_Outdoor_Group-London_England.html) \| [TicTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@aaahiking) \| [Website](https://www.aaahiking.co.uk/) © AAA London Group Ltd. Errors and Omissions Excepted

**🏛️ WHAT'S PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY ABOUT?** Practical Philosophy is a weekly meet-up that brings critical thinkers together for an opportunity to dive deep on a topic, practice communicating, and building a community. All with no ‘official’ philosophy knowledge required! 😎 Practical Philosophy is based on the idea that philosophy should be accessible to all, and not something reserved only for academics. Each week we choose a topic, and the goal is to use the conversation to develop our critical thinking and communication as we explore that topic. The goal is to help develop our Critical Thinking, Communication, and Community 🙌 📓 **HOW DOES IT WORK?** Each week, we pick one topic and discuss it. The topic for the week is shared, generally in the [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Ja2H9lXYtWX8RdCKHw6qNK), along with jump-off points to get the conversation going. When groups get bigger than 7-8 people, it’s important that we break into smaller groups. This way we are able to maintain a conversational flow as opposed to having our meetups feel like a discourse or lecture. **General Meeting Agenda** Each Practical Philosophy meet-up follows this general timeline: * 13:45-14:00 - People arrive and chat, get to know each other before the ‘official' start. * 14:00-14:05 - Meeting introduction, explanation of Practical Philosophy and the topic for the week, read the guidelines and the overview so attendees know what to expect in terms of timelines. * 14:05-14:45 - Break into small groups - introduce yourselves and general thoughts on the topic, open discussion afterwards. At this point the group can review the ‘jump-off’ questions as needed, but they are just there to help guide the conversation. It’s not obligatory to answer them. * 14:45 - We do a group conclusion of the things we discussed, and then we typically take a photo and go on our way :) If you don't want to be in the group photo, there's no pressure, it's just a way to close out the meeting. You are free to walk around Calthorpe's Community Gardens afterwards. **🧧PRICING?** Practical Philosophy Club is FREE to attend, and we operate on donations. If you'd like to donate to support our running costs, that helps keep our group self-sustaining. Donations are 100% voluntary, but your contribution is appreciated! QR codes to donate will be present. Tea’s and coffees and are paid by the individual should they wish to have them. **💛 WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY** 🗣 “I feel like Philosophy Club helps someone build their own belief system through a series of perspectives while not promoting what’s right and wrong” - Ekam 🗣 “I got hooked from day 1 (the topic was authority) and felt it was the right place for me. I feel it is a place where people can go to learn and discuss new perspectives and increase critical thinking and community by interacting with people who might challenge your point of views but at the same time encourage you to have openness and mind flexibility.” - Daniel **🤓 FAQ** * What will we talk about? What's the topic? The topic for the week is shared every week in the Whatsapp group before the session. We try to add the topic to the comment section on this event page as well but if you don’t see it, the topic and the jump-off points will be in our [Whatsapp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Ja2H9lXYtWX8RdCKHw6qNK). * Do I need to study or read anything to attend? No preparation is necessary. This isn’t a study of other thinkers. We want to know what YOU think about the topic, not what an old philosopher thought. If you have a perspective from a religion or a school of thought to share, throw it on the table and we’ll discuss it, but it's not required. * Is there a specific philosophy that Practical Philosophy is focused on? The goal of our meet-ups is to not have dogmatic discussions, and flex our critical thinking muscles. Because of this, we want to hear from every realm of thought, and don't study a particular school. * Is it mostly men that attend? Surprisingly, no! Although philosophy is seen as a Candelabra affair in a dark room with a bunch of guys, our Practical Philosophy meetups are generally 50/50 between genders, and we don’t meet in any dark rooms. * Can I come alone? Of course you can, we encourage it :) * Can I be late? Please don't be! We do have a 15 minute grace period where we allow people to funnel in while we hang out, but after that if you arrive too late, it disrupts the flow of the conversation. * Where do you meet? The location is posted in Meetup and our [Whatsapp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Ja2H9lXYtWX8RdCKHw6qNK) group for this location. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you join the Whatsapp group! If you want to know what other cities have a Practical Philosophy Club, you can see our chapters on our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club/practical-philosophy-locations/). 🤝**POLICY** To respect our members privacy, we ask that no one privately message a member without first getting explicit consent. (This looks like speaking in person and being asked to message privately.) Contacting or texting other participants without prior consent is not permitted and may result in removal from the group. Practical Philosophy reserves the right to enforce this policy at its discretion to maintain a safe and respectful environment. **PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY - Making Philosophy Available To All.** ✨ Practical Philosophy hosts weekly, in-person meetups in 25+ countries, including Canada, Spain, Japan, Mexico and many more! 🗺️ \*\*\* Join our [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Ja2H9lXYtWX8RdCKHw6qNK) 👈 Follow us on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/practicalphilosophyclub/?hl=en) 👈 Our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club) 👈

The global Azure community is coming together again, and Columbus is officially on the map. View the session lineup and speakers at [Global Azure Columbus 2026](https://coazure.github.io/cbus-global-azure-2026/) On **Saturday, April 18, 2026**, the Azure Columbus Meetup, DevOps Meetup, and Code and Coffee Meetup are hosting our local edition of Global Azure 2026. This is a free, community-driven event packed with learning, networking, and all things Microsoft Azure. Whether you’re building modern cloud-native apps, experimenting with AI agents, deploying containers, automating infrastructure, or just beginning your Azure journey, this event is for you! **What to Expect** * Engaging technical sessions * Real-world Azure architecture & cloud-native patterns * AI, agents, automation, and modern DevOps * Food and drinks (because learning burns calories) * Time to connect with fellow engineers, architects, and cloud enthusiasts **Who Should Attend?** * Software engineers (any language, any stack) * Cloud architects * DevOps engineers * Data professionals * AI explorers * Platform builders * Anyone who loves solving hard problems with great tools If you build, deploy, automate, scale, monitor, or optimize in Azure, you’ll feel right at home. **Why Global Azure?** Global Azure is a worldwide community event where Azure user groups host learning sessions on the same day across the globe. It’s grassroots. It’s technical. It’s practical. And it’s powered by people who genuinely love sharing what they’ve learned. And yes, it’s free to attend!

We're bringing the community together for a casual happy hour with ServiceNow-themed trivia, food and drinks, and great conversation. Details coming soon - for now, save the date and plan to join us for connection and fun.

Pay attention! We’re delaying a week for those of you who may be on Spring break and/or celebrating the holiday. Ok, no pancakes, but waffles-a-plenty. Join the local UX and Digital Design community for a casual monthly breakfast. Look for us upstairs!

The Humanist Monthly Program is our longest running event and still a community favorite. In the old days it used to be called "Going to HCCO" and we still like to think of it as our flagship event. We will be hearing from Becca Powell, Director of Advocacy and Outreach at Unchained At Last, an organization whose mission is dedication to ending forced and child marriage in the United States through direct services and systems change. Unchained At Last's mission clearly meshes and addresses several of our Humanist Ten Commitments. Becca will educate us about an issue many of us may not be familiar with--but should be. Food and drinks will be provided at the event. Feel free to show up a little bit early to hang out and talk. Going forward our meetings will be hybrid. You can meet us in-person or attend online Join Zoom Meeting [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1) Meeting ID: 878 3656 4953 Passcode: 760812 One tap mobile +19292056099,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (New York) +13017158592,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (Washington DC) The formal presentation will start at noon

The Fellowship of the Star Schema: Transforming OLTP Data for Power BI One does not simply build reports on OLTP data. Join us on an epic journey from the depths of raw, normalized tables to the shining halls of a well-modeled star schema fit for Power BI greatness. We will demystify the differences between OLTP and OLAP, walk through star schema vs snowflake (and why Power BI has a clear favorite), and show you the compression differences between normalized and columnar storage that will make you never look at an OLTP model the same way again. We will cover the different types of dimensions, when to use them, and how to handle Slowly Changing Dimensions without losing your mind. You will leave knowing exactly how to identify a bad model, how to convert OLTP data into a clean star schema, and how to forge relationships that rule them all. Whether you are a data wizard, a curious hobbit, or somewhere in between, your models will never be the same.

**The Data-Driven Brand: Using Analytics to Shape Perception** Can you use analytics to improve tacos? This being CBUSDAW, we think the answer is probably “yes”, but we’re not sure how to implement or test this theory. For our April meetup we’ve got Sara Kear, CMO of Condado Tacos, to investigate this delicious question. Sara will explore how she blends quantitative data and qualitative customer feedback to shape brand positioning and drive business decisions. We all know that marketing and analytics go way beyond attribution. Sara will show how Condado uses customer insights to inform product and pricing strategy. She’ll also highlight how Condado leverages customer feedback at scale to influence operational priorities, positioning marketing as the voice of the customer across the organization. In the last 12 years Condado has gone from one location in Columbus to 52 locations across 10 states, so we’re guessing there’s more to that growth than really good guac (though the guac probably helps). Ultimately, this talk focuses on the intersection of art and science—using data to inform creativity and build a brand that resonates with customers in a measurable way. **About Our Speaker** Sara Kear is Chief Marketing Officer at Condado Tacos, where she oversees brand, restaurant design, menu and pricing strategy, off-premise including catering, and customer data strategy. Since joining in 2021, she has helped grow the brand from 19 to 52 locations while building a data-driven marketing organization focused on loyalty and customer insights. Condado has since been named to the Inc. 5000, recognized as Breakout Retailer by Chain Store Age, and consistently ranked among FastCasual’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers. 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)

**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.