It’s hot. Then it’s wet. Then it’s hot again. It seems you can’t rely on anything these days, except maybe Nerd Nite. We’re just around the corner from the Fourth of July, and it time start training to pack away all that bar-b-que. And what better way to do it than to hear some nerdy talks at Smoke Ring? We’ve got a diverse array of presentations line-up, and perhaps the most peculiar and confounding talk title/description/bio we’ve ever had (and that’s saying something). If any of you can figure out what Obie’s gonna talk about, you’re a better nerd than me. I can’t wait to find out.

——————————————————————————
——————————————————————————
What: Nerd Nite ATL No. 10
When: Thursday 6/19. Show at 8:00pm, but get there EARLY if you want to get a seat and if you want to eat in peace.
Where: Smoke Ring BBQ, 309 Nelson St. SW
Parking: is abundant. There’s a free garage steps from Smoke Ring, there’s street parking, and there’s a $1.00 parking lot across the street.
Cost: $5 Cover
——————————————————————————
——————————————————————————

“Please Don’t Pay Me in Shawarma!: The secret life of a belly dancer” by Margaret Kuberra.

It’s all over pop culture nowadays: Shakira, Akon, America’s Got Talent, but it’s not as easy as it looks. Even so, you’d be surprised to find out that your neighbor, teacher, or grandma might actually be a belly dancer. Come hear about the highs and lows of how this age-old tradition persists in modern American culture — often in the most unexpected places — and maybe pick up some moves and learn how shake your butt…on (belly button that is).

Bio: Margaret has been a professional belly dancer for over a decade in Minnesota and Georgia. She is currently finishing school at Life University in June with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree.

“Accelerando: SpaceTime Data Modeling, Web-Based Munchkin Cthulhu, and Cyborg Expert Systems Harvesting the Brains of the Baby Boomers” by Obie Reynolds.

Whether you’re designing a chemical plant or defending the universe from interdimensional tentacle monsters, life is full of decision-making. Obie has spent far too much time trying to overcome the inadequacies of decision-making processes both in humans and in computers, and is now convinced that semantic data modeling is the key to implementing expert systems with a seamless interface between human and machine. It might not be perfect, but it’s better than that time he dropped acid watching Pacific Rim and attempted to build a mind-meld mech suit. He will evangelize for 18-20 minutes on the merits of ontological decision-making using a bizarre context of engineering design juxtaposed with online fantasy gaming, coming to the inevitable conclusion that we must speed up what can be accomplished in a human lifetime in order to save ourselves from ourselves. As we all know, ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.

Bio: Obie mysteriously disappeared from the Georgia Tech Chemical Engineering Ph.D program in 2010 while studying under Dr. Laban Shrewsbury, who has since also gone missing. In 2012, during a police inquiry into kidnappings and fishing cults in rural South Carolina, Obie was spotted in an abandoned hotel outside of Spartanburg, his room covered in carved stones and painted archaic symbols and filled with strange books and an array of computers. His notes provided police with vital information used to take down the kidnapping ring, though he is still considered a person of interest. He is currently employed by CH2M Hill in Atlanta as an integrator of design tools and architect of engineering data warehouses, but will shortly be travelling to Iceland to continue his researches into ancient seafaring mythology.

“The Evolution of Two-Dimensional Animation” by Ted Murphy.

2-D animation dates back as much as 30,000 years to Chauvet Cave in southern France where light from flames of campfires danced across the contours of the cave walls, bringing simple drawings to life. We’ve come a long way from those caves: to pineapples under the sea, to the New New York in the year 3000, to the tiny town of Quahog. This talk will follow the long lineage of how people have brought their dreams, humor, and imagination to life with drawings that move.

Bio: Ted Murphy is an artist, video editor and animator. He is an unstoppable cartoon-drawing force.