Nerd Nite Edmonton is back for the Fall, and we’re eager to welcome you back. Join us to hear about video game reviews and why they suck, bike lanes in our cities, and video game history.
When: Thursday, Sept 26th, at 7:30pm
(Doors & bar open at 7pm, with drinks available all night)
Where: Backstage Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
How much: $30
Nathaniel Romance-Senneville: Why Video Game Review Scores Suck
Before you may play a video game, you must buy a video game. The core thesis of this (hopefully humorous) talk is that the video game score that many use to determine whether a game is worth purchasing is less valuable than we perceive it to be. Quantified scores left by reviewers attempt to quantify so much qualitative about a game, where you can’t be sure of the journalistic rigor behind it. The aggregate score on platforms such as Steam store page and Metacritic are made of a lot of, what may politely be considered, questionable data.
Nathaniel started playing video games around the age of four, and hasn’t been able to kick the addiction. No cross-country move, undergraduate degree or soul crushing jobs have gotten in the way of the playing of video games (He even got his partner addicted.) When moving (back) to Edmonton, the bus allowed three bags. He only brought the essentials: His desktop computer, his monitor, and other things he couldn’t remember. In his spare time, he sleeps and works a full-time job.
Karly Coleman: Co-Design and City Governance – Self and Others in a Dispute Over Bike Lanes
I examine how people engage socially with changes to the material infrastructure of the urban environment, and I specifically look at how people argue about bike lanes in Edmonton. I concentrate on how humans influence urban infrastructure and how that infrastructure influences human behaviour.
Karly grew up in small towns located in northeastern Saskatchewan and central Brasil, giving her an eye for exposing the taken-for-granted in people’s lives. She seamlessly blends practicality with humour and so returned to university to pursue her Ph.D. She’s interested in bikes, cats, cozy murder, creative non-fiction, phenomenology and history. When she’s not writing about bike lanes, life in general, and her life specifically, she’s renovating her home, quelling cat fights, or performing random acts of gardening.
@szaracat – Twitter
Nisha Patel: It’s Dangerous to Go Alone
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone focuses on a brief history of games as an emerging and evolving medium for art, writing, and play, and the alarming loss of game history that continues to grow. Games are being lost every day, and without concentrated advocacy for recording and access, many may be lost forever.
Nisha Patel is a Poet Laureate Emeritus of the City of Edmonton and a Canadian Poetry Slam Champion. A queer and disabled artist, Nisha is a recipient of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund Award. Her sophomore collection of poetry, A Fate Worse Than Death, engages in the necropolitics surrounding disability, and is out now with Arsenal Pulp Press.
@anothernisha – Instagram
@anothernisha – Threads
There’s no such thing as a fish (shout-out to one of the best podcasts out there). But there is such a thing as Nerd Nite Edmonton #81, which has an aquatic theme! You’ll learn about what effect bad data collection can have on fish populations, aquatic citizen science, and places to scuba dive you may not have thought about.
When: Thursday, May 30th, at 7:30pm
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
(Doors & bar open at 7pm, with drinks available all night!)
Where: Backstage Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
How much: $30
Shona Derlukewich: Does the misidentification of fish have a significant repercussion on our fish populations?
In fisheries management, accurate fish species identification is critically important as the first basic step in data collection. Provincial and Federal legislation states, we must distinguish each species and implement the appropriate management/measures to protect fish and fish habitat. If not, we run the risk of costly, inaccurate data collection which could ultimately lead to the extinction of a species.
Over the years, I have known fish identification to be underappreciated and I strive to tell students why we need to change our mentality to care for all fishes especially the “small-bodied fishes”. From the ecosystem functionality to socio-economic impacts, I will guide you through the effects of misidentifying these underwater mystic creatures. Let’s go on the journey in the life of a fish without a name and offer them more respect!
Shona Derlukewich is a graduate of the University of Alberta – Conservation Biology and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology – Renewable Resources programs. She has provided field knowledge and educational teaching in fisheries over the past 18 years. With the help of Consultants, Governments, Trout Unlimited Canada and friends, Shona’s fish identification guides and workshops have provided the necessary tools to ensure the longevity of our fisheries and sustainable use. She is passionate about circulating her fisheries field knowledge to anglers, biologists, and technologists across Canada. She believes that together we can provide mentorship, education, and awareness to ignite the passions in our fisheries.
Facebook: School of Fish
Web: School of Fish
Lee Burton: Release The Minnow!
The Minnow is an exciting new citizen science tool. Come on a virtual tour and learn all about “The Story of Water” in this exciting new facility rolling out to a waterway near you!
Lee J. Burton is the Secretary to the Board at the Aquatic Biosphere Society of Canada. An experienced scuba diver and amateur filmmaker, Lee’s passion is to bring the mysteries of our water to the public eye. Through key roles at the Aquatic Biosphere Project, the MacEwan Scuba Club and the Alberta Underwater Council, Lee has shared a deep passion for water for over 20 years.
LinkedIn: Lee J Burton
Terina Hancock: Journey beyond the warm waters of the tropics
When most people think about scuba diving and holidays they think of tropical warm water, coral reefs and sandy beaches. However, there is a vast world out there amongst the cold waters and rocky shores. Journey with me as we go on a cool adventure beyond El Fin del Mundo.
Terina is a freshwater biologist with a BSc. in Conservation Biology that is passionate about scuba diving and learning/exploring our natural world in all forms. Although diving is not part of her day job, as a biologist she combines her curiosity of the natural world with her diving by exploring local lakes, differing oceans and recently underwater caves. In 2009 she visited Antarctica above water learning about the above ice world and after visiting the Arctic (Svalbard and East Greenland), she finally made her way back to Antarctica in 2024 to also experience below the water.
Facebook: Terina Hancock
Nerd Nite Edmonton #80 comes crashing into April with another stellar roster of speakers. Come learn about AI (Machine Learning), how people get recruited into cults, and birds (including our favourite: owls).
When: Thursday, April 25th, at 7:30pm
(Doors & bar open at 7:00 pm with drinks available all night!)
Where: Studio Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
How much: $25
Matthew Dowling: First Sip of AI: An Introductory Brew to Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have been around for a long time. Some of the ideas behind the so called Deep Learning models were invented in the late 1950s. It wasn’t until late 2022 though, when ChatGPT was released, that the public really started to consciously use AI instead of it being something hidden from view. In this talk I want to give an intuitive understanding of how ML and AI are different from regular computer programs and share some of my experiences with developing ML applications and playing with it over the last few years.
I am currently a Senior Lead ML Developer at AltaML, an Applied Machine Learning company based in Edmonton. I have a PhD in particle physics from the University of Alberta and have been working in the ML community for the past 6 years. I’ve been with AltaML since day 1 and as a result have worked on a large variety of ML problems in various industries ranging from Finance and Insurance to Industrial Operations. Most recently I’ve been doing a lot of work with Large Language Models (like GPT) and Generative AI.
LinkedIn: Matthew Dowling
Twitter: @MLMatt_D
Heather Hutchinson: The Siren Song Remains the Same: Cult Recruitment Tactics and Rhetoric
In spite of the advances of the digital age, cults remain as popular as ever. Does social media make their recruiting methods different? Are they more dangerous now because of the internet? Communications renegade Heather Hutchinson will tell you all. Or at least some.
Heather Hutchinson is a recent graduate of MacEwan’s Professional Communications program. She is fascinated by rhetoric, persuasiveness, cults, true crime, and enjoys playing the ukulele and yelling at people on Twitter.
Web: hutchcomms.com
Jana Teefy: Beaverhill Bird Observatory, MOTUS, and owls of Alberta
The Beaverhill Bird Observatory has over 40 years of migration monitoring data, which we collect through standardized bird banding practices. I’ll talk about our research, population trends over time, our MOTUS research. I’ll touch on a few owls of Alberta and the threats to their populations.
My name is Jana Teefy (Jay-na Tee-fee), self declared bird nerd and Head Biologist of the Beaverhill Bird Observatory. I have been with the observatory for 4 years. I have an Environmental Sciences diploma from Lakeland College with a major in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation and was a veterinary nurse in my previous career.
Instagram: @jana_loves_adventure, @beaverhillbirds
Facebook: Beaverhill Bird Observatory-BBO
