Usability

On Monday, we'll meet in front of the Courthouse Library, 2100 Clarendon Blvd, and head towards the Arlington Cemetery and Memorial Bridge. Notes: If you're not familiar with the area, please review the routes. If it's cold, take cover inside the foyer area of 2100 Clarendon Blvd. Routes: We'll run 20 minutes out and then turn around and run 20 minutes back to Courthouse. Everyone runs at his/her own pace, so the distance will depend on your speed. 1. Courthouse Library > N Rhodes St. Bridge > Arlington Blvd > N Meade St. > Iwo Jima/Marine Corps Mem > Arlington Cemetery > Memorial Bridge. Depending on your preferred pace, you may turn around at any point on the route. Pace: All paces are welcome! We'll be doing an out and back route, so everyone will turn around at the halfway time marker. That way we should all start and end at the same time. Free Parking at Courthouse Plaza: The underground garage is on Clarendon Blvd btwn Wayne and Veitch Sts. (near Strayer/CVS and the AMC Theater). If the first 2 levels on the left are full, you can park on the lower levels to the right. Street and Surface Parking lots should be free in the area as well. Metro: Orange or Silver line to Courthouse Station. Note: Photos taken during the event may end up on Instagram, Meetup, Strava and similar platforms.

Games night is back! With our favorite local game store opening back up, Games night will come back starting Monday June 7th! We are an lgbt+ games group that’s been going for nearly 3 years now! We welcome anyone in the lgbt+ community to come play board games every Monday with our fun and chaotic crew! If you’re brand new to board gaming and looking to make some friends or if you love playing 4 hour space operas and are looking to make some rivals, we’re the group for you! We are an lgbt+ group that focuses on creating a safe lgbt+ community. Non-lgbt+ individuals are welcome when attending with an lgbt+ friend, family member, or partner. Huzzah hobbies currently follows cdc guidelines, where customers who are vaccinated are allowed to not wear masks indoors. With their current hours on Mondays, they are open until 9pm; if they change hours and remain open later, games night will continue until close. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to message us here!

Welcome to our new home at the historic Tivoli Theater! Please check our details for access to the space on [our website](https://www.hacdc.org/visit/). Join the discord for questions / help getting in (use channel #let-me-in) [https://discord.gg/dNjuNhNmeT](https://discord.gg/dNjuNhNmeT)

No sign\-ups required \| All levels welcome \| 21\+ If you're looking for a casual game of chess in a fun atmosphere, this event is for you! Members range from beginner to master level, and games are played both with and without time controls. There are dozens of players each week, with only a fraction of the participants registering on meetup. This event is held at a bar, the Board Room, in Washington, DC, and is intended for 21+ players. We meet upstairs, on the mezzanine. Upon arrival, fill out a name tag and indicate your relative skill, to facilitate match-ups. Chess sets and boards are provided. We don't have club clocks, but most people use the Chess Clock app from Chess.com to play timed games.

*You must read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, [https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf](https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf) and then answer the question that you will see when you RSVP with "I accept" to be permitted on the hike.* 6.8 miles with 127 feet elevation gain. **Let's celebrate Memorial Day weekend by hiking to see some of the wonderful monuments and memorials on and around the National Mall.** The National Mall in DC is full of many beautiful monuments and memorials. One could spend many days exploring them all. On this trek, we will focus on the National Mall and Tidal Basin area The pace will be about 2.0-2.5 mph to allow time to enjoy the sights, take photos, and reflect on our national history as we honor the fallen. We are meeting at the Smithsonian Castle Haupt Garden. I'll be in the back (south side) of the Castle at the Haupt Garden sitting on a bench enjoying the view, so find me thereabouts. This area faces Independence Ave. Our trek will take us to a number of locations including NMAI Native American Veterans Memorial, Eisenhower Memorial, Ulysses Grant Memorial, Peace Memorial, National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, Constitution Gardens, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Franklin Roosevelt Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial. **Best way to get to the Smithsonian Castle:** ***Metro: Best option -The Smithsonian Castle is very close to the Smithsonian Metro Station*** (see [https://goo.gl/maps/aT5Y6Wwte7P2](https://goo.gl/maps/aT5Y6Wwte7P2)), ***be sure to exit to the National Mall side.*** Alternatively you can go to the L'Enfant Metro. Another option is the National Archives metro which is a fairly short walk to the Castle. If you would really rather drive, there is metered street parking available both on Jefferson Dr. (on the front side of the castle) or the Haupt Garden side at 1050 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20560. Please note that parking can be difficult to find on a nice weekend holiday. There are several public restrooms along our route. Bring some hydration and snacks as you desire. The route is basically level. Most of the hike will be on paved surfaces so wear comfortable walking shoes. Dogs are permitted on this hike in accordance with the NVHC Dog Policy. [https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy](https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy) NOTE: There may be some restrictions regarding dog access such as inside the Lincoln & Jefferson Memorials, so please check in advance of bringing your dog. They are certainly welcome outside. Meet at the Castle 15 minutes early to allow everyone to be signed in and get ready to hike at 10:00am. We will plan on an optional rehydration after the hike for those interested. Any questions, please message me here or text/call @202-528-0456. If you text me, please include your name.

Come watch [Belgium vs. Iran on](https://www.volosports.com/d/f49d0a23-51f1-40e8-b3c8-3b60dbacb1e2) **[Sunday, June 21st at 3pm at Wunder Garten](https://www.volosports.com/d/f49d0a23-51f1-40e8-b3c8-3b60dbacb1e2).** **What you can expect:** Great soccer and vibes 🍺 **2 Free Anheuser-Busch products** i.e. Michelob Ultra, NUTRL, Bud Light, Budweiser **Limited edition World Cup merchandise for giveaway and raffle** 🔥 Exclusive, soccer themed Volo Pass swag (Members Only, [sign up here](https://www.volosports.com/volo-pass)) Bring your friends, wear your Belgium or Iran gear, and come ready to celebrate, cheer, and enjoy the game together! Note: General admission and entry to Wunder Garten is free, but the immersive Volo experience and perks are available only this registration.

**REGISTER AT THE LUMA EVENT PAGE!!!** https://luma.com/27ja5gwl Join us for an exciting talk by Mary Gibbs, Senior Applied Scientist at Relativity. ​ ​**​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:** ​If you have ever shipped a model, watched your metrics improve, and later learned from your users that something was wrong, the metrics were always wrong. You just didn’t know it yet. An evaluation consists of three components, a benchmark, a scorer, and a claim about what a score represents. Each component has its own weaknesses. Benchmarks can suffer from narrow coverage, contamination, or saturation. Scorers are often chosen for ease of automation or computation rather than for their alignment with user outcomes. And the claim connecting a score to reality is rarely made explicit. These gaps compound across the model development lifecycle. When metrics improve, teams treat that as a signal and optimize directly against it, which is how a measurement problem becomes a model problem. This talk maps where evaluations can go wrong, considers counterarguments, and ends with practical advice for building better ones. **​Speaker Bio:** ​Mary is a Senior Applied Scientist at Relativity, tackling data science challenges in the e-discovery and legal tech space. She is also an organizer for Women and Gender eXpansive Coders DC (formerly Women Who Code DC), fostering a community dedicated to empowering women and nonbinary individuals to excel in their careers. Mary's experience spans various domains. She has developed data science solutions related to job search and career progression at Teal, cybersecurity challenges at LiveAction Software, and commercial and government consulting at Mosaic Data Science. Before venturing into the field of data science, Mary conducted and published research pertaining to the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment at the National Institutes of Health. In other words, she has dissected and imaged a lot of fruit fly brains. She holds a M.S. in Data Science from The George Washington University and a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Cornell University

Ausarian Tantra Yoga is a practice that infuses the spirit and power of enlightenment through synchronizing breath, movement, meditation, and silent affirmation. Ausarian Tantra Yoga incorporates postures that reflect some of the principles of the Kemetic culture. It is a practice wherein gradual and deliberate movement allows moments for the mind, body, and spirit to connect and express oneness. **Please reserve your spot at www.piesfitnessyoga.com**. The session is offered both InStudio and OnLine. The Zoom link for the OnLine session will be emailed 15 minutes before class starts to those who are registered at www.piesfitnessyoga.com. **Sign up for sessions must be made at least 2 hours prior to class.** The address is 1322 Prince St Alexandria, VA 22314. Our entrance is located on the side of the building, parallel to West St. **Street parking is available and additional parking is located at Shiloh Baptist church, spaces 36,37,38,39.** The church is located across the street from the studio, on the corner of Duke St. and West St. Discount is available to seniors, teachers, students, emergency responders, and military. All can save by purchasing class packs.

**\*\*You must purchase a ticket [here](https://sommcircle.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=650343&item_id=2926832). \*\*** Ever find yourself nodding along at a wine tasting, wishing you knew what to actually say — or even what to look for? This is the evening that changes that. Speak Fluent Wine is a hands-on tasting experience designed to teach you the exact framework wine professionals use to evaluate what's in the glass. You'll go from "I just know what I like" to understanding \*why\* you like it — and having the words to say so. Here's what we'll cover: ?? Sight — What color and clarity reveal before the first sip ?? Nose — How to train your sense of smell and identify aromas with confidence ?? Palate — Decoding what your taste buds are picking up: sweetness, acidity, tannins, body, and finish ?? Structure — How the elements of a wine interact, including how acidity softens sweetness and tames tannins ??? Language — The vocabulary professionals use, demystified and made practical Once we've broken down the framework, Total Wine's expert staff will lead a short guided tasting — putting everything you've just learned directly into practice. Snacks and water will be provided. Cost is $25 No experience necessary. No judgement. Just great wine, a welcoming atmosphere, and the confidence you've been waiting to find. **\*\*You must purchase a ticket [here](https://sommcircle.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=650343&item_id=2926832). \*\***

This meetup is for people that want to play table games: board games, strategy games, episodic RPGs, eurogames, card games and co-operative games. NOT A GAMER BUT WANT TO LEARN? We teach them all... We are open minded on all games. Games we plan to teach and play include Ascension, Azul, Azul Summer Pavillion, Splendor, Magic The Gathering, Melee/Wizard, Backgammon, Castallan, Chess Variants, Compounded, Dead of Winters: Crossroads, Dixit, Dominion, Exploding Kittens, Flux, GravWell, Ghost Stories, Hanabi, Heroquest RPG, Hive, House Divided, House on the Hill, Illuminati, Ingenious, King of Tokyo, Lost Cities, Machi Koro, Munchkin, Pandemic, Pirate Dice, Ogre/GEV, Qwirkle, Race for the Galaxy, Roll Through The Ages, Ricochet Robot, RoboRally, Settlers of Catan, Sagrada, Sentinels of the Multiverse, Splendor, Spot-It, Sushi-To-Go, Takenoko, Ticket to Ride, Tsuro, Up Front, Yahtzee, Advanced Wizards Card Game, etc.

Weekly Saturday group ride, starting at Handy Bikes Retail Showroom. Come ride with locals in the area! This group ride is for average folks who want to go for an average ride. It's not quite a coffee ride, but it's definitely not a race! Routes will vary around the area, with an average speed around 14 mph (minimum of \~10 MPH) for around 15-30 miles. We'll be on pavement so bikes with smooth tires are encouraged, **helmets are mandatory**. Open to any riders who are willing and able to ride with a group including Class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes. No speed demons please! Good group ride etiquette is a requirement. Shop opens at 10:00 am Show up and sign in by 10:15 am Roll out 10:30 am Please RSVP in advance, so that the ride leaders can prepare for the group's size. [Handy Bikes on Strava](https://www.strava.com/clubs/737920/leaderboard) [Handy Bikes on RideWithGPS](https://ridewithgps.com/organizations/14675-handy-bikes)

Come cheer on Sadio Mané and Senegal as they take on Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Matt Freese and the US squad in the [second to last World Cup Warm Up game at on ](https://www.volosports.com/d/29a4ea97-04ac-4fb1-8224-06be8a4aad55)**[Sunday, May 31st 3:30pm at Wunder Garten](https://www.volosports.com/d/29a4ea97-04ac-4fb1-8224-06be8a4aad55).** This game also serves at the beginning of Volo's World Cup watch parties. We're excited to partnering with Wunder Garten, as they will be Volo's headquarters for the World Cup and are FIFA's official home for the games in DC. You can expect a fully immersive and fun experience. **What you can expect:** Great soccer and vibes 🍺 **2 Free Anheuser-Busch products** i.e. Michelob Ultra, NUTRL, Bud Light, Budweiser **Limited edition World Cup merchandise for giveaway and raffle** 🔥 Exclusive, soccer themed Volo Pass swag (Members Only, [sign up here](https://www.volosports.com/volo-pass)) Bring your friends, wear your USA or Senegal gear, and come ready to celebrate, cheer, and enjoy the game together! Note: General admission and entry to Wunder Garten is free, but the immersive Volo experience and perks are available only this registration.

Join PSW Science® on May 29 at 8 PM as we welcome Michael Garrett (U. of Manchester) & Adam Thompson (NVIDIA). During the question and answer period, in-person attendees and live stream viewers may ask the speaker questions, and in-person attendees may also engage with the speaker during the post-lecture reception. Refreshments are served. For more information on this meeting, please visit: https://pswscience.org/meeting/2536 The meeting will be held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, adjacent to the Cosmos Club. The Powell Auditorium is located at 2170 Florida Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008. Use of the Cosmos Club is restricted to the Powell Auditorium, the entryway to the auditorium, and the restrooms immediately outside the auditorium. Please note there is no onsite parking available. PSW Science, founded in 1871, is one of the oldest scientific societies in Washington D.C. Now, over 150 years later, we celebrate the Society's rich history and contributions to scientific discovery and cross-disciplinary collaboration. For information on how to become a member of PSW Science and membership benefits, please visit https://pswscience.org/join/

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** Like it or not, AI agents are now capable of turning a quickly written paragraph of requirements into a pull request that is ready to be integrated into real-world production applications and it's now our responsibility to make sure AI doesn't go rogue and take down prod - or corrupt our data by misunderstanding the requirements or our existing schemas. In this session we'll explore strategies to protect our codebases through unit and integration testing, documentation, and code review along with additional ways of providing context and guard rails to our AI agents as they carry out the work we've assigned them to do. By the time we're done, you'll have a firm grasp of the problem and understand some helpful options for protecting your codebase from vibe coding mishaps getting YOLOed into prod. **YouTube Link** TBD

By popular demand, the group wanted to read and discuss the semi-autobiographical novel by Henri-Pierre Roche, that inspired the Truffaut movie we watched last year. The book is available through the Columbus Library's interlibrary loan system. They reported there are twenty-eight copies available in the state of Ohio. If you have a library card, you can file an interlibrary loan request here: https://www.columbuslibrary.org/library-services/ . There are also used copies available on Amazon and eBay for under twenty dollars. You may want to rewatch the movie after reading the book, so we can compare and contrast in our discussion. The Columbus Library has four copies on DVD, and it's streaming on HBOMax.

Most people use AI like a search box: they type one sentence, hope for the best, and get frustrated when the answer is generic, wrong, or useless. But getting better results from tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI systems is not about memorizing magic prompts. It is about learning how to give the AI better context. In this beginner-friendly session, we’ll break down how to make AI dramatically more useful by improving the way you communicate with it. You’ll learn how to give clearer instructions, provide examples, set constraints, ask for better output formats, and use follow-up questions to turn a mediocre answer into a genuinely useful one. We’ll cover practical techniques you can use immediately for work, learning, writing, coding, planning, research, and everyday problem solving. We’ll also touch on why these same ideas show up in more advanced AI systems, including RAG, agents, evaluations, and AI workflows. No technical background required. Bring your curiosity, your questions, and maybe one real task you wish AI was better at helping you with. **What you’ll learn:** * Why “better prompting” is really about better context * How to structure requests so AI gives more useful answers * How to use examples, constraints, and output formats * How to iterate when the first answer is not good enough * How these skills connect to more advanced AI workflows This meetup is for anyone who wants to move beyond basic ChatGPT usage and start getting more practical value out of AI. 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.

Come out to Improving for our monthly iOS and Mac meetings. This Month's Presentation: Nothing yet. (You should volunteer). What is Cocoaheads (http://cocoaheads.org/)? CocoaHeads is a group devoted to discussion of Apple Computer's Cocoa Framework for programming on MacOS X and iOS (including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch). During monthly meetings, members present on their projects and offer tutorials on various programming topics. What is BuckeyeCocoa (http://buckeyecocoa.org/)? BuckeyeCocoa is a group of Objective-C/Swift developers/enthusiasts. We host monthly Cocoaheads and near-weekly NSCoder meetings in Columbus, Ohio. The meetings are free to attend. Presentations! Presenters welcome! We are always in need of people willing to present material. Any Swift and/or Objective-C related topic is welcome. Times can be 5 minutes (i.e. lightning talks) to a maximum of 2 hours. Interested? Contact info is on the BuckeyeCocoa website. To volunteer for a presentation contact us at @BuckeyeCocoa on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter! @BuckeyeCocoa (https://twitter.com/#!/Buckeyecocoa/) For more information: http://buckeyecocoa.org/

In the year 2044, in the age of AI, a woman named Gabrielle (Seydoux) tries to purify her DNA by purging the inherited memories of her past lives. She (re)lives her life in 1910 Paris and 2014 Los Angeles, and as the procedure goes on, the lines between her worlds become blurred. These three timelines have a lot of connective tissue holding them together; certain symbols and motifs appear repeatedly, not to mention Mackay’s Louis, a figure whom Gabrielle seems drawn to in each lifetime.

Join us as we get together to see Paul Rudd in the latest comedy-drama-musical from John Carney, POWER BALLAD! The film follows a washed-up wedding singer, a fading boy band singer and a stolen hit song. Here’s a description, trailer and plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: Rick, a washed-up wedding singer, and Danny, a fading boy band star, bond over music and a late-night jam session. When Danny turns Rick's song into a hit, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves. Power Ballad is written/directed by John Carney, the master of the modern musical and creative mind behind Once, Begin Again and Sing Street! It stars Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu and Jack Reynor. BUZZ & ACCLAIM: The film premiered to rave reviews at this year’s Dublin International Film Festival where critics call it “a sure-fired crowd-pleaser” that “just might be the feel-good hit of the year!” Others say, “Paul Rudd delivers a career-best performance in this charmer” that’s both “hilarious and deeply moving!” SUMMER OF ICE CREAM, VOL 2: SHAKE NO. 8! Ranked the #1 Ice Cream Shop in Columbus in 2024, this is the perfect place to kick off our Summer of Ice Cream and grab a sweet treat after the show! Their menu features an array of traditional, specialty and vegan shakes, hot cocoa, and more! You can check out their full menu here: [https://www.shakeno8.com/menu.php](https://www.shakeno8.com/menu.php) PLAN: We’ll plan for a 7pm-ish showing and will meet in the lobby area about 20 minutes before the show. Once showtime is announced, advance ticket purchase is advised! Once you have yours, please list your seat number in the Comments section of this event. We'll head to nearby Shake No. 8 immediately following the show! Should be a fun one, Dan