Nerd Nite 59 Home Edition: Vol. 4

The days are heating up and the nights are getting longer, but nothing is longer than the wait for the next Nerd Nite.

Coming to your computer on May 27, please join our eminent speakers!

Tickets are offer-what-you-will and available here courtesy of our partners at The Fringe! Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for speaker announcements. RSVP on Facebook or manually enter this into your calendar.

The Intense, Intricate, and Intriguing Lives of Ants

by Ilan Domnich

Did you think that people were the dominant animals on Earth? Think again! Ants are virtually everywhere and with many species comes a wide array of remarkable strategies for survival. Join us to learn about some ants with some truly unique abilities. Presentation is arachnophobe-friendly.

Ilan Domnich completed his B.Sc. in Animal Biology, with a specialisation in Invertebrate Zoology. A passionate, young entomologist, Ilan’s enthusiasm for insects is unparalleled. He has volunteered as an invertebrate specialist at the Royal Alberta Museum for the past six years, caring for live animals in the collection and contributing to outreach events. Ilan also has a degree in Finance from the University of Alberta, with a minor in Accounting. In his free time, Ilan works on his art and enjoys exploring the outdoorsX.

Follow Ilan on Instagram: @crude_organism

Our Curvy View of Black Holes

Dr Sharon Morsink

by Dr Sharon Morsink

When light travels through a wine glass, it travels on a curvy path, giving a distorted view of objects behind it. Similarly, gravity causes light to travel on curved paths leading to a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. This effect allows us to view far away galaxies, the back sides of neutron stars, and the regions near black holes! In this talk we will look at recent images of stars and black holes and learn more about their properties.

This talk will be best enjoyed along with stemmed glassware filled with a transparent beverage.

Sharon Morsink is a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta. Her research focus is on understanding neutron stars and black holes using theoretical computational modelling and observations of light and gravitational radiation.  She teaches a variety of astrophysics and physics courses at the University of Alberta at all levels ranging from introductory astronomy courses to graduate courses. Recently she was a member of a team (including Nerd Boss Ross Lockwood) that developed a free (non-credit) online course on black holes, available on the Coursera platform. Follow Sharon on social:

The Nerdiest Parenting Tool: Dungeons and Dragons 

by Trevor Prentice

Teach your kids probability, math, rules, strategy, accounting, creativity, story telling, drawing, acting, improvisation, and leadership; D&D has it all.  Tune in to Trevor’s presentation to nerd out about D&D, how he first got roped in to playing, more kid friendly versions, and how to best get started playing with your kids. Learn how to be a nerdy parent on social:

By day Trevor runs The IP Link, helping businesses make the most out of their investment into patents.  A certifiable nerd, Trevor has a BSc in Physics, a Masters in Aerospace Engineering, and a Certificate of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.  In his spare time, Trevor sells speed cubes (better Rubik’s cubes) online through Rocket Cubes and sends out a weekly newsletter called The Nerdy Parent with fun strategies for intelligent parents!
Pre-covid he was a capture the flag and urban tag aficionado (and hopes to be again soon).  He is also known for building a neighbourhood ranking web-app called ‘Hood Rank and for running the Margaret Zeidler Star Theatre, fulfilling his dream of choreographing 10 watts of raw laser power, live, to an audience of up to 250 often sober minds.

Nerd Nite 58: Home Edition, Vol. 3

We are so happy to be back, we have nothing snappy to say. We hope you’re glad to be back with us and will tune in to our next event on April 29!

Get your tickets now from Fringetheatre.ca!

Tickets are pay-what-you-can.

RSVP to the event on our Facebook page to get event reminders and to show off to your friends that you’re coming.

Workers Of All Worlds Unite!

by Olav Rokne

Science fiction is filled with depictions of standard capitalist employment relationships, but little thought seems to have been given to how workers in the future will assert their rights. Join Olav Rokne as he explores the troubled history of labour unions in science fiction, and makes an argument as to why this history matters.

Weird and Wonderful Museums in Small Town Alberta

by Lianne McTavish

If “World Famous Gopher Hole Museum in Torrington Alberta” doesn’t make you want to get a ticket, I don’t know what else to say.

Did you know Demi Moore had a pottery double in Ghost?

by Lori Fossum

Well, not exactly, but there was a professional potter that made the pieces she pretends to throw on the wheel.  It takes years to learn how to make a tall beautiful vase like the one in that famous scene.  I’ve been making pottery for almost 20 years and in 20 minutes I will break down how to make a mug.  We’ll travel together from raw clay to finished glazed piece.  I’ll explain all the pottery jargon as I go through steps in the making process and in the end you’ll see a finished mug!

NN #57: Home Edition Vol 2.

New year, new Nerds. We hope you didn’t have the misfortune of missing our first Nerd Nite in over a year. That was back in February. Now it’s March, and there’s no excuse for not nerding out with us. We’ve worked out the technology. We’ve located the nerds. We’ve secured the venue (your house). Sadly, we still haven’t found a way to get you beer, but you’re capable adults so we believe in you.

Save the date for Nerd Nite 57: Home Edition Vol. 2 on March 25.

Join us at 7:30 pm on Fringe TV.

Pay what you want for your ticket at Fringe Theatre’s ticketing page.

We appreciate whatever you can offer, and if you are strapped for cash, we’ve got you covered!

Featuring:

Cobra Effects: How Legal Solutions Often Make the Problem Worse

Laws intended to solve a problem often make the problem worse—as with a bounty on cobras causing an increase in the cobra population. This talk will describe a number of these situations, and what can be done to avoid them. Presented by Ian Runkle, a local lawyer.

With:

Advantages of Inbreeding: Banging yourself for the win.

Dr. Kate St. Onge will talk about the surprising evolutionary advantages of the most extreme form of inbreeding: selfing. Selfing is a common mating system seen in plants. Evolutionary shifts from outcrossing to selfing have lead to lots of diversification in flowering plants.

And:

My Journey into Nature Photography

Join nature photographer Shane Turgeon as he dives into his photographs, how his story lead him to pick up a camera, and how the many facets of nature photography are of tremendous benefit to our mental health.