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**❗️IMPORTANT❗️ Please register only on Luma: [https://luma.com/tjrvpd6v](https://luma.com/tjrvpd6v)** ​ In this session, we’ll walk through building a real product landing page — the kind you’d actually ship for a startup, side project, or portfolio. Starting from a Figma design, we’ll move all the way to production-ready code using modern AI tools like Cursor and MCP. ​This is a practical, honest look at how modern designers work closer to real product delivery. ​ ​🧠 **What we’ll cover** ​• Turning Figma designs into reusable code components • Translating a design system into clean, consistent code • Adding subtle motion and interactivity • Where AI fits into a modern design-to-code workflow ​No laptop needed — this is a guided, walkthrough-style session focused on learning and inspiration. ​ 📅 **Date & Time:** January 27, 6:00 PM 🎟 **Entry:** Free ​ ​🎙 **Speaker:** ​[Nima Tahami](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimatahami/) is a product designer, builder, and educator with 15 years of experience turning ideas into shipped products. He has taught 18,000+ students worldwide through best-selling Figma courses and is currently building CueClip, an AI video editor, while helping teams bridge the gap between design and code. ​ ​👥 **Who should join:** ​• Mid+ product designers • Design-minded engineers and builders • Anyone curious about AI-powered product workflows ​ ​📅 **Agenda:** ​6:00 PM — Doors open 6:30 – 6:45 PM — Event intro 6:45 – 8:00 PM — Main session with Nima 8:00 – 9:00 PM — Networking ​ ​✨ Come for the learning, stay for the conversations. Friendly, practical, and community-driven — we can’t wait to see you.

\*\*\*\*\*This is an **EAST END** Skate. Weekly event\*\* 🚇Closest **TTC** Station: **Kennedy** **🚗Free parking** on site! **⛸️Bring your own skates!** Please always check back for updates the day of the event in case of cancellation due to weather or unforeseen circumstances. Cancellations will always be 2-3 hrs minimum in advance. Thank you. 📢 Post a comment if you have trouble finding the group. ❗If you can no longer attend, please kindly change your RSVP to Not Going. Thank you. See you there! 🫶 🩷 [Eliza](https://www.canva.com/design/DAGzpJDtHng/o13GDCBsOLDaTaqb5OpaEQ/view?utm_content=DAGzpJDtHng&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h8097854963)

Happy January NYPGrs! For this quarterly IN-PERSON get together we are booked at the Trio Bar in the North York Novotel Hotel, for Tuesday, January 27th from 5pm to 10pm for drinks, snacks, catching up and comparing notes with our circle of very scientific friends new and old!! We know there are a lot of members who live too far away to attend this informal gathering, but if you can make it, we’d love to see you! We’ve moved the time back to 5pm for people who can come earlier but can’t stay late.. We'll be there at 5pm waiting for you!! The in-person attendance limit is 20 with a waitlist..so if you’ve RSVPd and can’t make it after all, it will be appreciated if you can change your RSVP accordingly. If you have a question ahead of time, plz send Betty a Meetup message. So, NYPG members..whether you come early or later, we look forward to seeing you who can make it in person, on Thursday, January 27th from 5pm to 10pm for an evening of cheer and catchup! Betty and Mohsen +++++++++++++++++ About the North York Physics Group (NYPG) NYPG was established in 2007 and now has almost 2,000 members. Our monthly virtual meetings provide a venue for learning from members and guest academics and scientists. We also have video lectures covering on all aspects of Physics. Our quarterly In-Person meetings are for touching base and catchup for those who can attend personally.) We encourage our members to submit presentations or help us find great Physics presenters, whether they be professional academics, post-grads, or just physics enthusiasts. Within our 3 hour +/- meetup, each member gets to learn and discuss many aspects of Physics. And then there's the No Holds Bar for more informal discussions. The only "formal" qualifications you need to join is a sincere personal desire and enthusiasm for Physics; to keep yourself informed and to courteously share your insights. **BTW**: Some members have asked if we will be going back to in-person regular meetings. That would be nice, but, many of our attendees are at too much of a distance, or prefer not travelling, so the virtual meetings work well. However, we are looking into possible hybrid meetings, meaning that an appropriate, free meeting space with reliable internet service is a must. In the meantime, we are having quarterly in-person informal meetings just to meet and catchup. We hope to see you at our next one!! Mohsen and I would like to thank our Organizing Team: Linda, Dan, Larry and Aaron for their past and present dedicated support of NYPG. Thank you TEAM! Betty and Mohsen.

Do you want to improve your Public Speaking skills, your Impromptu Speaking skills, learn how to present Feedback with Evaluations, and build your Leadership skills? If the answer is YES to any, attend SUN LIFE SPEAKERS CORNER online for an informative and fun filled session each Tuesday at Noon EST/EDT (except following a Holiday Monday). Guests/Visitors are welcome to participate in the Table Topics (impromptu) session. Join and become a Member to have access to all roles and Pathways, the education system. Please email info.sunlifespeakerscorner@gmail.com for the Zoom link.

Visit our Royal Lunch'n'Learn Toastmasters Hybrid meeting, meet people and develop your communication and leadership skills. At today's meeting we will be discussing how "Taste Travels" and how it can contribute to the lives of others. This is a HYBRID event and so you can choose to join us in person, or online. We would like to encourage you to join us at noon! Reach out to us to receive the WebEx link or to reserve your seat. **What to expect:** Find out first-hand what it means to participate in a club meeting. * Watch as one of our members delivers a Prepared Speech. * Learn and practice how to think fast on your feet with an impromptu Table Topics session. * Witness how to give and receive constructive feedback to help encourage and build confidence with our members. Practice the skills you need to communicate with confidence and excellence. Experience a club meeting with Royal Lunch'n'Learn Toastmasters. It all starts with a fun club environment where you will learn and practice together—to grow individually. Contact us to get the Webex link. Get yourself back in gear this January and we can help you get started in moving forward. We meet in person (Hybrid meetings) at RBC Wellington Square on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month (check for variations in our schedule). Plus, all our meetings are online which is super accessible! Guests are **free** to join us for their first three regular meetings - **contact us** to schedule your visit or ask us anything! contact-3648173@toastmastersclubs.org

***This is a ticketed event, please register on [luma](https://luma.com/27b9w1n5) to reserve your spot.*** [​](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrin-gardhouse-988691175) Kathrin Gardhouse presents her draft paper on how liability insurance could function as a form of private regulation for frontier AI, translating catastrophic risk into enforceable safety standards rather than box-ticking compliance. The talk outlines a proposed “minimum insurability pathway” for AI developers and explores whether and how a narrow, restrictive insurance mandate could meaningfully reduce catastrophic AI risks while complementing public regulation. ​​**Event Schedule** 6:00 to 6:30 - Food and introductions 6:30 to 7:30 - Presentation and Q&A 7:30 to 9:00 - Open Discussions ​​If you can't attend in person, join our live stream starting at 6:30 pm via [this link](https://www.youtube.com/@Trajectory-Labs/live). ​​This is part of our weekly **[AI Policy Tuesdays ](https://luma.com/trajectory-labs?k=c)**series. Join us in examining questions like: * ​​How should AI development be regulated? * ​​What are the economic and social implications of widespread automation? * ​​How do we balance innovation with safety considerations? * ​​What governance structures are needed for safer AI?

Are you someone who is local (or a westerner who has lived in the city for a while, understand the local culture and speak the local language) and are confident when meeting new people of different backgrounds and cultures? We’re looking for a lively friendly host to manage some of our weekly Fastfriends meetups in your city. As a host, your role would be to: ✨ Welcome members and make them feel comfortable ✨ Encourage conversations and help people connect ✨ Direct and manage our fastfriending socialising format ✨ Keep the energy positive and the fast friending event flowing smoothly ✨Manage the event relationship with the venue What is in it for you? \- this is a volunteer role but we give you an expense allowance to cover some of your expenses\. \- ⁠you get exposure to the local and international community and can make a positive contribution \- ⁠you get experience with meeting new people\,running social events and managing groups\. We would love to hear from you. Please write a quick message to Dan at +44 7715705005 and let's chat.

In modern Java applications, distributed systems are everywhere, and so are failure modes. But how do you know when your cluster is fragile, or if it’s on the brink of breaking? This talk dives into practical observability and resiliency techniques for distributed Java environments. We’ll highlight key patterns, failure signals, and metrics that matter, backed by a live demo using Hazelcast, Chaos-mesh, Prometheus, and Grafana. You’ll learn: Core Patterns – Leader election, partitioning, replication Metrics That Matter – Backup count, member count, JVM health, Golden Signals Failure-Aware Design – Resilience patterns, chaos testing principles Live Demo – Deploy a working cluster, simulate node failure, and explore metrics to observe how data integrity holds as the system nears its fault tolerance threshold Ideal for Java developers, architects, and SREs, this session blends theory, tools, and real-world failure scenarios to help you build distributed systems that stay online—even when things go wrong. **About the venue** Free Times Cafe has bistro-style seating and a full food and drink menu. Please consider helping to support the venue by planning to have supper during the talk. **Speaker Bio** Joe Sherwin is a Principal Solution Architect at Hazelcast with 22 years of experience in the design, development, and implementation of application systems within multi-tier distributed computing environments. Working with clients such as Vanguard, Fannie Mae, Federal Reserve Bank, Citi Group, Bear Stearns, Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, Comcast Corp, Webster Bank, Gartner Group, The Hartford Life Company, IBM Global Services, Mass Mutual, Lincoln National Financial Corporation, Bank of America, and Barnes & Noble Online Group, Mr. Sherwin has been instrumental in the development of large-scale mission-critical E-commerce, insurance, and financial systems. He has experience architecting & implementing solution using CORBA, RMI, Java EE compliant distributed Object architectures, in-memory high transaction/low latency solutions using Hazelcast IMDG®, GemFire, Ehcache & Oracle Coherence, and solutions deployable on IaaS or PaaS platforms like Cloud Foundry, Amazon Web Services, Rackspace or Heroku.

Let’s do some coding together at a cafe! No more working alone in the weekend. Here, we write code together. And I mean together together. Not occupying-the-same-space-but-separate together. Here’s how it works: Jennifer brings her mobile app project, tells everyone that it is like Pinterest for recipes and she’d like to work on the nav bar. Paul and Chloe think Jennifer's project is fascinating, and they join the group. They gather around Jennifer’s laptop and work on the nav bar for 2 hours. Jennifer is the one typing out the code while Paul and Chloe research, brainstorm, and offer suggestions. If you’re feeling stuck on your own project or need a motivation boost, bring it to mob programming! Want to learn by watching how others code and solve problems? Join someone else’s project at this event! Oh and we love your half-done projects that you are a bit embarrassed to share. Absolutely bring those to the event! **Discord**: We use Discord to share screen & code snippets during the event. Also feel free to share your projects here before the event! https://discord.gg/Da9fZFxPfs **Event policy**: * We have 0 tolerance for harassment. * We don’t allow the projects that are not meant to be shared in public such as school assignments, interview tasks, or trade secrets. * The goal is to write code. We discourage you from pitching business ideas here, doing code reviews, or spending the whole event on planning what to do. * Please buy a drink, and tip the barista well.

**🥰 Deeper Connections Disguised as Game Night \|** STOP Swiping & START Playing\! \| Facilitated Games & "Cards FOR Humanity **= *Board Game foreplay"*** #### * 5️⃣ Welcome to **"Wildcard Wednesdays!"** *Inspired by "Timeleft*" we also curate tables of 5+ people based on your **"Play Personality"** a quiz we created exclusively for our events = Intimate Experience & every week is different depending on the group & games. * 🎲 **Board Game ForePlay!** \~ "Choose your own Adventure" **100+ Games** Collection \~ Something for everyone! = Variety of themes * ***🃏 BYOB \~ Welcome to Bring your own Board games/convo cards/tarot deck & Booze*** 🍺🍹 **[💌 PLEASE ](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1979316462822?aff=oddtdtcreator)*[CLICK ME ](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1979316462822?aff=oddtdtcreator)*[TO RSVP ON EVENTBRITE 🎟️](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1979316462822?aff=oddtdtcreator)** ### **👩‍❤️‍👨 OUR HOSTESS RAINBOW: She hosts this event partly because she is living proof that LOVE is REAL, she has been in a Healthy & Happy relationship for over a decade! & hopes to help others find true love as spontaneously as she did, make sure you ask her how she found LOVE?** ### **🤗 WHO IS THIS FOR?...EVERYONE! :)** * 👩‍❤️‍👨 **SINGLES** & Looking to Mingle? Curated Games for "Slow Connection" vs "speed dating" * 💝 **COUPLES** \~ New Date Nights vs "Netflix & Chill" \~ Discover something new! * 🙋‍♀️🙋🏽 **FRIENDS** \~ Fun way to reconnect & deepen friendships in a playful way * 🌎 **SOLO** \~ Easy to meet new people or **spend an evening as a local** if your a tourist * 🇨🇦 **NEW TO TORONTO? \~** Eager to learn english? Easier to learn while having fun! * **🌈 ALL-INCLUSIVE \~** LGBTQ2S+ & BIPOC & All Ages/Abilities) ⚠️ want more info? please find the full event description on Eventbrite

The public sphere is currently dominated by a handful of social media platforms — for example, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Reddit — all built on centralized networks. Centralized networks concentrate decision-making and infrastructure in a single entity that manages user identity, data storage, policy enforcement, and content curation. This concentration of control grants platforms enormous power over online communication and public discourse. Yet these platforms are operated by unelected actors accountable primarily to shareholders rather than the public. I argue that operators of platforms built on centralized networks can’t legitimately exercise power over the public sphere. By contrast, platforms built on decentralized networks — which distribute control over identity, data, and policy across independent nodes interoperating through open protocols — can in principle exercise their power legitimately. The upshot is that legitimate platform governance requires migrating to decentralized architectures. Chris Howard https://www.mcgill.ca/philosophy/chris-howard Associate Professor Department of Philosophy McGill University About the Speaker: I'm an Associate Professor of Philosophy at [McGill University](https://www.mcgill.ca/philosophy/), where i direct the [Philosophy, Technology, & Policy Lab](https://www.mcgillptplab.com/). My earlier work was in normative ethics & metaethics. Now I work on questions about power, legitimacy, & governance in digital infrastructure. I'm focused on the illegitimate power of centralized social media platforms & AI systems, & on the prospects for legitimate decentralized alternatives. Before joining McGill, I was a research assistant professor at [UNC-Chapel Hill](https://philosophy.unc.edu/) & core faculty in the [UNC/Duke program in philosophy, politics, & economics](https://ppe.unc.edu/). **\* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \*** This is a talk with audience Q&A presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics that is free to attend and open to the public. The talk will also be streamed online with live chat [here](https://www.youtube.com/live/NGJrCWCnkyY). About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca): The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life. In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society. The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai

**Attention attendees!** **To register via Luma, use** [Link](https://luma.com/nusisljv) **To register via Eventbrite, use** [Link](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tech-networking-event-by-startup-valley-in-toronto-tickets-1968182975261?aff=oddtdtcreator) Warning: The meetup is not a platform for RSVP registration; for this, you need to follow[ ](https://lu.ma/z9y3bmps)[thisLink ](https://luma.com/nusisljv)to purchase a registration ticket. The meetup is one of the platforms through which we offer participation in our events. **Join Us for Our Networking Event in Toronto!** We host networking events every two weeks, bringing together startups and investors from diverse industries. This is your chance to connect with leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and like-minded professionals, exchange ideas, and expand your business network. Don’t miss the opportunity to pitch your startup, gain valuable insights from industry experts, and secure funding. We look forward to seeing you at our event! **What You Can Achieve at Our Events:** • **Find Investors:** Pitchers are included in our exclusive distribution to venture funds, syndicates, and angel investors. • **Expand Your Network:** Build meaningful connections with peers, mentors, and partners. • **Receive Feedback:** Gain expert advice on strategies and growth. • **Validate Ideas:** Test your concepts with professionals and industry leaders. • **Scale Your Business:** Learn strategies for growth and market expansion. • **Relaxed Atmosphere:** Network in a casual cocktail-party setting. • **Problem-Solving:** Collaborate with others to find solutions and exchange ideas. At our events, you’ll gain practical tools to tackle these challenges. **Requirements:** • Must be 21+ • Neat appearance • Positive attitude • A minimum of 1 drink purchased at the bar (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) 🤝 **Our Partner Venue:** To continue hosting events at this space, we kindly ask participants to purchase 1–2 drinks at the bar. Thank you for your support. **Who Will Be There:** • Venture capital representatives • Entrepreneurs • Startup founders • Marketers • Experienced professionals from various industries • HR specialists • Innovators • Investors • Accelerator and incubator representatives • AI experts from the USA, Europe, Asia, and the UK 📈 **Pitch Your Startup:** Send your pitch deck to **contact.us@startupvalley.club** and submit your [application!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc2-fPpcfFx0LYKmjo4Yht3c4583c3e6asxJeUEocar7yXw-A/viewform) 💼 **For Investors:** Expand your network, evaluate startups, and access our global database. Complete your application on our [website](https://startupvalley.club) to receive weekly digests and curated lists of startups. Enjoy free access to our events as part of your membership. 🎟 **Reserve Your Tickets Today!** We are also expanding our partner network to provide even more tailored solutions for your projects. Sincerely, **[The Startup Valley Team](https://startupvalley.club/)**

**🏛️ 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/CczLhTWSfgM898ThZWutfp), 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: * 19:00-19:15 - People arrive and chat, get to know each other before the ‘official' start. * 19:15-19:25 - 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. * 19:25-20:45 - 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. * 20:45-21:00 - Bring everyone back together to discuss conclusions of the topic - each group gives a short 1-minute summary. Organizer concludes the meeting and everyone takes a group photo. * 21:00 - The official meeting is over but it’s a great opportunity to get to know people in a non-structured environment, so we often stick around, chat, and get to know each other. **🧧PRICING?** Practical Philosophy Club is FREE to attend! We just ask that if we are meeting in a café, buy a beverage! Some chapters rent a space for us to meet, and they may ask for donations to help contribute to the cost of rent. Donations will always be 100% voluntary though! 💛 **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 Sunday in the Whatsapp group. 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/CczLhTWSfgM898ThZWutfp). * 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/CczLhTWSfgM898ThZWutfp) 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/). **PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY - Making Philosophy Available To All.** ✨ Practical Philosophy hosts weekly, in-person meetups in over 20 countries, including Canada, Spain, Japan, Mexico and many more! 🗺️ \*\*\* Join our [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/L4VJcxyUzS7DwWkFsKP0Q5) 👈 Follow us on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/practicalphilosophyclub) 👈 Our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club/) 👈

Our monthly PHP meetup. A virtual shindig courtesy of Zoom. Check back here for the details around 6:15 pm

**Web Design Decoded: Tools, Practices, and Proven Processes:** **Semantic HTML** At WebDev Columbus, we are exploring some of the most important topics of professional high-end web design and page building. Primarily focused on site building in the WordPress environment, our group explores tools, tips, and techniques for building the best WordPress sites possible. Additionally, we focus on disciplines and technologies that take website design from visually appealing to optimized spaces for delivering you and/or your client's message effectively and with a nod towards extended reach. Each session combines practical demonstrations with real-world insights, giving you actionable knowledge you can apply immediately. Whether you're a seasoned developer looking to enhance your design skills or a newcomer wanting to understand design best practices, this series offers valuable insights for every skill level. **What to expect:** * Hands-on demonstrations of popular design tools * Best practices for design-to-development workflows * Tips for creating responsive, accessible designs * Real-world problem-solving scenarios * Interactive Q&A sessions * Networking opportunities with fellow developers **Each meetup features:** 60 minutes of focused presentation 30 minutes of live demonstrations 30 minutes for questions and discussion **See you there!** Our casual, collaborative environment encourages learning from both presenters and fellow attendees. Bring your questions, share your experiences, and connect with Central Ohio's web development community! **Stay tuned for specific session topics and dates.**

## Details \#\# Learn Infrastructure\-as\-Code \(the FUN Way\) — Through Minecraft 🎮☁️ **Joint Meetup: DevOps Columbus - Azure CBUS - Columbus HashiCorp User Group** What if learning Terraform and Infrastructure-as-Code didn’t feel like a whitepaper… but more like a game? Join us for a joint DevOps Columbus, Azure CBUS and Columbus HashiCorp User Group meetup where **Mark Tinderholt** \(Principal Architect\, Microsoft Azure \| HashiCorp Ambassador \| “The Azure Terraformer”\) shows how **Minecraft** can be used as a surprisingly powerful way to understand real-world Infrastructure-as-Code concepts. In this session, Mark will demonstrate how Terraform and Azure can be used to provision, configure, and manage Minecraft servers—while teaching the same patterns you’d use for production cloud infrastructure. \#\#\# What we’ll cover * Infrastructure-as-Code fundamentals using **Terraform** * Provisioning real infrastructure on **Azure** * Applying **IaC best practices** (immutability, repeatability, versioning) * How playful environments like Minecraft make complex concepts *click* * Why learning through experimentation beats click-ops every time \#\#\# Who should attend * Developers, platform engineers, and cloud engineers * Terraform users (new or experienced) * Anyone curious about Infrastructure-as-Code but tired of boring examples * Minecraft fans who want to see it used in a totally unexpected way No prior Minecraft experience required—just curiosity and a willingness to learn infrastructure the fun way. Come for the blocks, stay for the Terraform. 🧱➡️📐

**TBA**

## Learn Infrastructure-as-Code (the FUN Way) — Through Minecraft 🎮☁️ **Joint Meetup: Azure CBUS × Columbus HashiCorp User Group × DevOps Columbus** What if learning Terraform and Infrastructure-as-Code didn’t feel like a whitepaper… but more like a game? Join us for a joint Azure CBUS, Columbus HashiCorp User Group, and DevOps Columbus meetup where **Mark Tinderholt** \(Principal Architect\, Microsoft Azure \| HashiCorp Ambassador \| “The Azure Terraformer”\) shows how **Minecraft** can be used as a surprisingly powerful way to understand real-world Infrastructure-as-Code concepts. In this session, Mark will demonstrate how Terraform and Azure can be used to provision, configure, and manage Minecraft servers—while teaching the same patterns you’d use for production cloud infrastructure. ### What we’ll cover * Infrastructure-as-Code fundamentals using **Terraform** * Provisioning real infrastructure on **Azure** * Applying **IaC best practices** (immutability, repeatability, versioning) * How playful environments like Minecraft make complex concepts *click* * Why learning through experimentation beats click-ops every time ### Who should attend * Developers, platform engineers, and cloud engineers * Terraform users (new or experienced) * Anyone curious about Infrastructure-as-Code but tired of boring examples * Minecraft fans who want to see it used in a totally unexpected way No prior Minecraft experience required—just curiosity and a willingness to learn infrastructure the fun way. Come for the blocks, stay for the Terraform. 🧱➡️📐 Want to be a speaker? submit your talk to our Call for Presenters!!! https://sessionize.com/azure-cbus-2026/

**PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT NOTES:** 1. The dates listed for this series are about 95% reliable. We are completing our 2026 schedule as we speak, so minor adjustments are still occurring. 2. Each class in this series has an attendance fee, though this first offering is free on a first-come, first-served basis. 3. Each class, from BOTH a sign-up and fee perspective, is a separate entity. **Introduction:** HTML5 is the foundational technology for modern web development, serving as the standard markup language for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. Developed through a collaboration between the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), HTML5 provides a robust system of elements (tags) that tell a browser how to display text, images, and multimedia in a clear and meaningful way. It works in concert with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for presentation and JavaScript for interactivity, forming the core technology stack for virtually all websites and many web applications today. One of the significant advancements of HTML5 is the introduction of powerful new features and elements designed to improve functionality and simplify development. Key additions include native multimedia support via the \ and \ tags, allowing developers to embed media without third-party plugins. It also offers new form controls for better user input, such as date and email types, and introduces web storage capabilities to store data offline for enhanced performance. These features streamline the process of building rich, interactive web experiences. A significant focus of HTML5 is enhanced semantics and better structural organization of content. New semantic elements like , , , , and \ provide meaningful structure to documents, which aids in search engine optimization (SEO) and improves accessibility for assistive technologies. These elements define different parts of a webpage (e.g., a header for the top, a nav for navigation links, a footer for the bottom), making the code more readable and understandable for both developers and machines. This emphasis on clear structure helps in creating more logical and maintainable websites. Developing websites in today's competitive environment requires taking advantage of every technique you can to get the maximum exposure possible. Our HTML5 class will not only show you what's new in the HTML specification, but also the best way to develop optimized web pages that get the attention your client and/or company requires. **The breakdown of the four-class series is as follows:** **Class 1: Introduction to Web Structure and Basic HTML5** This class introduces the core concepts of web development, the history of HTML, and the fundamental structure of an HTML5 document. * **Topics**: * **Web Architecture Overview**: How browsers, servers, and web pages interact. * **HTML Fundamentals**: Understanding elements, tags, and attributes. * **Basic Document Structure**: Using !DOCTYPE html, html, head, and body. * **Text Formatting**: Headings (h1 to h6), paragraphs (p), and text-level semantics (e.g., strong, em, br). * **Lists and Links**: Creating ordered (ol) and unordered (ul) lists, and linking between pages using anchor tags (a). * **Activity**: Students create a basic personal webpage containing text, a list of hobbies, and a link to an external website. **Class 2: Semantic HTML5 and Multimedia Integration** Class 2 focuses on modern HTML5 elements that provide meaning (semantics) to content, improving accessibility and search engine optimization. It also covers adding images and multimedia. * **Topics**: * **Semantic Elements**: Understanding and implementing elements like header, footer, nav, section, and article. * **Images**: Adding images using the img tag and attributes like src, alt, width, and height. * **Multimedia**: Embedding audio and video content using the audio and video tags. * **File and Folder Structure**: Best practices for organizing project files and managing file paths. * **Activity**: Students refactor their Class 1 project to use a proper semantic layout and add an image and a link to a video file. **Class 3: Forms and User Input** This session is dedicated to building interactive HTML5 forms, which are essential for capturing user data and input. * **Topics**: * **Form Basics**: Using the form element, action and method attributes. * **Input Types**: Exploring various input types (e.g., text, password, checkbox, radio, date, submit). * **Form Elements**: Utilizing label, textarea, select, option, and button. * **Client-side Validation**: Implementing HTML5 validation attributes like required, minlength, and pattern. * **Activity**: Students build a complete contact form with different input fields, radio buttons, and basic HTML5 validation. **Class 4: Introduction to CSS3 and Basic Styling** The final class introduces Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to style the HTML content and make the web pages visually appealing and accessible. * **Topics**: * **CSS Fundamentals**: The role of CSS, selectors, properties, and values. * **Integrating CSS**: Using inline, internal, and external style sheets. * **The Box Model**: Understanding margin, padding, border, and content for basic layout. * **Basic Styling**: Changing colors, fonts, and text alignment. * **Accessibility Basics**: Identifying principles of web design usability and accessibility, including ARIA labels. * **Activity**: Students apply an external CSS file to their Class 3 form project to style the layout, colors, and fonts, culminating in a well-structured and styled webpage.

## Learn Infrastructure-as-Code (the FUN Way) — Through Minecraft 🎮☁️ **Joint Meetup: Azure CBUS × Columbus HashiCorp User Group** What if learning Terraform and Infrastructure-as-Code didn’t feel like a whitepaper… but more like a game? Join us for a joint Azure CBUS and Columbus HashiCorp User Group meetup where **Mark Tinderholt** \(Principal Architect\, Microsoft Azure \| HashiCorp Ambassador \| “The Azure Terraformer”\) shows how **Minecraft** can be used as a surprisingly powerful way to understand real-world Infrastructure-as-Code concepts. In this session, Mark will demonstrate how Terraform and Azure can be used to provision, configure, and manage Minecraft servers—while teaching the same patterns you’d use for production cloud infrastructure. ### What we’ll cover * Infrastructure-as-Code fundamentals using **Terraform** * Provisioning real infrastructure on **Azure** * Applying **IaC best practices** (immutability, repeatability, versioning) * How playful environments like Minecraft make complex concepts *click* * Why learning through experimentation beats click-ops every time ### Who should attend * Developers, platform engineers, and cloud engineers * Terraform users (new or experienced) * Anyone curious about Infrastructure-as-Code but tired of boring examples * Minecraft fans who want to see it used in a totally unexpected way No prior Minecraft experience required—just curiosity and a willingness to learn infrastructure the fun way. Come for the blocks, stay for the Terraform. 🧱➡️📐 Want to be a speaker? submit your talk to our Call for Presenters!!! https://sessionize.com/cbus-hug-2026/