These are the voyages of the Nerds of Edmonton. Our continuing mission: to explore strange new topics; to seek out inebriation while learning about stuff; to boldly go where no nerd has gone before! Our November show is all about the stars, so put on your thinking caps and Starfleet uniforms (you know you’ve got one somewhere) and come on down.
When: Thursday, November 30, 2023, at 7:30 pm
(Doors & bar open at 7:00 pm with drinks available all night!)
Where: Fringe Theatre Lobby at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
How much: $25
Margaret Ridder: The Life and Death of the Sun
In this talk, explore the world of low-mass stars and their fate in the Galaxy. Although not as spectacular as their larger cousins, our Sun and stars like it share a beautiful evolution that ends in bizarre physics. We will end with their afterlife as stellar remnants.
Margaret is a third-year PhD student in astrophysics at the University of Alberta. She studies compact stars and radio sources in our galaxy. She got her BSc at the University of Washington, Seattle, and her MSc at the University of Alberta. She is always highly caffeinated.
Kati Kovacs: Astronowatch Live!
What’s up? The sky, of course! Kati Kovacs will tell you all about what’s going on in the night sky over the next little while, including any visible planets, some prominent winter constellations, and of course, the aurora.
Kati Kovacs is a communications specialist and science enthusiast with over 20 years experience editing, writing, and disseminating science. During her twenties she wrote for the student newspaper at the U of A, the Gateway, and was best known for her Astronowatch column, the longest running, single-author column in the history of the Gateway. She has seen every episode of Star Trek a few times over, and is ever curious about how “fully functional” Data really is. Her fave part of the month is creating the Nerd Nite quiz.
@astronogirl – Twitter
@astronogirl – Instagram
@astronogirl – Facebook
Peter Klavins: We Are Stardust
For every element within humans, there’s a cosmic origin story. From the Big Bang to explosive stellar deaths, we’ll explore how everything from hydrogen to molybdenum came to make us who we are.
Peter Klavins is a software developer with a Masters degree in astrophysics. He spends his time learning photography (and eventually astrophotography), imagining roleplaying game worlds and “serenading” his neighbours with his violin practice.
@klavinsap – Instagram
Please come in costume! We’ll have a costume contest in addition to a quiz this month. Bonus points for nerdiness. We will be releasing our speaker info during the month, but tickets are available right now.
When: Thursday October 26th, 2023, at 7:30 pm
(Doors & bar open at 7:00 pm with drinks available all night!)
Where: The Backstage Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
How much: $25
Zita Dube-Lockhart: Let’s Talk About Stress, Baby!
A crash course on how to get your body out of crisis and practice safe stress! Learn why “work/life balance” doesn’t really work, why yoga might cause you anxiety, and how a little play every day keeps the doctor away!
If there’s one thing Zita knows, it’s stress! As an award winning personal trainer, co-owner of Action Potential Fitness, one of Edmonton top fitness studios, Executive Director of the Centre For Trauma Informed Fitness, and a full time Master’s in Counselling Psychology student specializing in the science of motivation, she definitely has her hands full… and that is when she isn’t busy with her actual job of helping with homework, wiping off runny noses, and engaging in the very serious work of Sunday Morning Snuggles. She spends every free minute she has preaching about the power of social belonging, self-acceptance, and radical embodiment in healing the body, the mind, and society as a whole.
Action Potential Fitness – Facebook
@zita.dubelockhart – Instagram
@actionpotentialfitness – Instagram
Iain Gillis: Decoding Encoding: an introduction to the Text Encoding Initiative
You probably already encounter Google Maps, Microsoft Office documents, and Scalable Vector Graphics several times a day. Besides ubiquity, they have another thing in common: XML, or eXtensible Markup Language. You’re less likely to have worked with TEI, another XML “flavour” that’s used in mostly humanities projects and has been around for nearly 40 years! Get a quick history lesson and a crash course in tags, schemas; learn what it means to be well-formed and valid; and be introduced to some snazzy resources on the web that are powered by TEI markup, from Shakespeare to Banksy!
Iain Gillis is a Senior Open Data Analyst based in Edmonton whose expertise spans from data systems to humanities and musicology. Iain has been recognized by NorQuest College as an Inclusive Leader for his work as a mentor in the Autism CanTech! program and nominated for a Cultural Commitments Award in the Helpful category by his peers at the City of Edmonton. He has presented over the years on many topics, including reproducible pseudorandom sampling and complexity management for advanced text search in Tableau dashboards at the Edmonton Tableau Users Group, and presenting his musicological research in Canada and abroad, reflecting his past life as humanities scholar.
@opendataedm – The site formerly known as Twitter
Ilan Domnich: Amazing Ant Abilities
For such small creatures, ants are capable of some incredible things. We will dive into why ants are so diverse and some of their amazing behaviours and adaptations.
Ilan Domnich is an entomologist finishing his Master’s at the University of Alberta. When not outside looking at bugs, Ilan can be found at home working on his art and caring for his many plants and animals.
@crude_organism – Instagram
Welcome back! We’re kicking off the Fall Nerd Nite lineup with talks about sex-linked inheritance, photography, and Robert’s Rules.
When: Thursday September 28th, 2023, at 7:30 pm
(Doors & bar open at 7:00 pm with drinks and snacks available all night!)
Where: The Lobby at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Fringe Theatre Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton
How much: $25
Adrien Veczan: Visual Arts: Painting & Photography
Adrien will explore how the invention of photography disrupted the art world; how photography tried but failed to render painting obsolete, and what each medium can learn from the other.
Adrien Veczan is a photographer best known for his large-scale productions and expert use of complex lighting.
His career started with an internship at the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia, after which he joined the Toronto Star and later the Canadian Press. Adrien has worked for Reuters, the Globe and Mail, USA Today. His photos have been published in the Guardian, the Washington Post and the New York Times. His job has given him access to countless icons including Robert De Niro, LeBron James and Queen Elizabeth II.
Adrien’s elegant, thoughtful advertising photography has reached millions of eyes on billboards and magazines ranging from Wired to Playboy and from People to The Economist. Advertising agencies turn to Adrien knowing even their most challenging projects will be executed smoothly.
Between campaigns, Adrien enjoys working on fine art projects that allow him to experiment and develop new techniques. His series Telephone took him to four continents and revealed the evolution of the device in a groundbreaking way. In 2017, his first solo exhibition in Alberta, Whyte Avenue, showcased the historic and eclectic Edmonton neighbourhood. In 2021 Intermission, an exhibition based on Edward Hopper composition, premiered at the Saddlery Gallery.
www.veczan.com – Web
@veczan – Instagram
Amanda Henry: Better Meetings: Or I How Learned How to Stop Worrying about Robert’s Rules of Order
We spend a lot of time in meetings, and almost as much time grumbling about what a painful experience it is. You’ve probably been in a meeting that used Robert’s Rules of Order, but…it probably wasn’t being used correctly. We’ll explore what Robert’s Rules of Order are, how to use them better, and an argument in favour of a better way to run modern meetings.
Amanda is a versatile strategic planner, researcher, writer, and facilitator, though she has a tough time in rooms that don’t get Star Trek references. She has facilitated dozens of workshops and meetings around Edmonton on topics in governance, strategic planning, and other tools and tactics that help non-profit boards get where they want to go. She was a governance nerd before it was cool.
@amjhenry – Instagram
@amjhenry – Threads
Dr. Kate St. Onge: Sex-Linked Inheritance
Dr. Kate St.Onge is currently a lecturer in the department of biology sciences at the University of Alberta. She teaches in the areas of genetics, evolution and botany. She completed her PhD at Uppsala University in Sweden but Edmonton is her home town. Outside of work, she is a big fan of true crime podcasts!
