Sunday, July 25, 2010

Other

Monday, July 26th, 7 p.m.

The Future Of Search
Besides helping us sort through vast stores of changing information, is search altering the fundamental way in which people and institutions make decisions?
Ask this question and others of world renowned search innovators, Don Dodge, Developer Advocate, Google; Adam Ferrari, CTO, Endeca; Pawan Deshpande, CEO, HiveFire; and Justin Boyan, VP of Web Data Integration, ITA. The impact of search goes far beyond familiar web search, and Boston is one its centers of innovation. On this panel, you’ll hear about the critical facets of search that will shape our future -- technology, business, society, and user experience.

LOCATION: Endeca, 101 Main St., Cambridge

register at adventures@tedxboston.org

Many more TEDx adventures at http://tedxboston.org/pre-event-adventures

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The next Nerdnite will be Monday July 26, at the Middlesex Lounge, starting at 8pm (full details below). As usual, we've got two fantastic talks lined up, interspersed with nerd-appropriate tunes by DJ Claude Money.

Talk 1: "Joystick Soldiers: Fifty Years of Videogames and War" By Nina Huntemann.

Nina first starting playing videogames in 1978 on a Sears clone of the Atari 2600 and, when her father wasn't looking, on the TI-99/4A he bought at Toys R Us in 1981. She has managed to turn her love of gaming into a career at Suffolk University, where she was granted tenure last year for, among other things, publishing a book about videogames and the military.

Talk 2: "Crazy Vision: The Science Behind Popular Optical Illusions" By Brandon Moore.

Brandon is a graduate from MIT where he studied brain and cognitive sciences. When not studying how the brain does vision he enjoys reading, playing video games, and coming up with bad ideas.

Be there and be square!
Monday July 26, 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave (Central Square)
Cambridge, MA
$5
www.boston.nerdnite.com
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52318050296

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Thursday, July 29
10 am to 6 pm with a reception following

Revolutionary Ideas Start Here
Seaport World Trade Center
register at http://tedxboston.org/

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Groundswell and the Design Studio for Social Intervention present a discussion of mapmaking as an activist practice with Daniel Tucker. Daniel has worked as a cultural and political organizer in Chicago for the last ten years.

Join us on July 28th at 7:00PM
at the Design Studio (1946 Washington Street, Roxbury, MA). The location is on public transit, is wheelchair accessible, and attending doesn't cost a thing.

Artists, activists, cartographers, and everyday experimentalists encouraged to attend!

WHY MAPS?
Because maps are a visual tool for sharing information with others. Because they can be produced by many people and combined together to tell stories about complex relationships. Because maps are never finished and only tell part of a story that can constantly be expanded upon. Because power exists in space, struggle exists in space and we exist in space. Because we cannot know where we are going if we do not know where we are from.

The presentation will focus on Daniel's involvement with the Experimental Geography exhibit (2009) and his organizing of the We Are Here map archive. We will also craft submissions for Notes for a People's Atlas, a book soon to be published by Daniel and friends.

The Groundswell Collective
http://www.groundswellcollective.com/
http://groundswellcollective.com/store
http://blog.groundswellcollective.com/

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Links to events at over 30 colleges and universities at Hubevents (http://hubevents.blogspot.com)
Thanks to Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area (http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html)

Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Energy (and Other) Events - July 18, 2010

GreenPort Forum

Cambridge Urban Gardens Tour

Making the most of urban gardening with a look at container gardening, rainwater irrigation techniques and garage rooftop gardens

TUESDAY JULY 20, 2010

Tour Schedule (times approximate):

116 Henry Street 6:30-7:05pm: Container gardening, irrigation techniques and more.

32 Chalk Street 7:15 pm: A quick stop en route to look at a slow soak irrigation technique from rainbarrels.

8 Fairmont Av 7:25pm: Garage rooftop garden. Look at how this often overlooked resource can be developed.

GreenPort envisions and encourages a just and sustainable Cambridgeport neighborhood

For more information, contact Steve Morr-Wineman at swineman@gis.net

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Hacks/Hackers: "Timeless: Tools for helping reporters create a visual timeline"

July 20 Tue 6:00 PM

Microsoft NERD Center
1 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02142
Who's hosting?
Matthew S Carroll

Price
$10.00 per person

Interested in learning more about the cutting-edge world of data visualization? Want to know how to turn lifeless data into game-changing charts, maps, and visuals?

Main speakers Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda ViƩgas are world-recognized leaders in data visualization. Their pioneering work has reinvented visualization as a mass medium. They will present new tools for helping reporters create timelines.

They led IBM's Visual Communication Lab and their landmark system, Many-Eyes.com, was the first to put powerful visualization tools in the hands of a general audience. Their vision of democratizing visualization has empowered journalists, businesspeople, and scientists to tell stories with data.

Also speaking: Austin Gardner-Smith will talk about Pinyadda.com, a web application designed to make it easy to gather, customize, and share news and information from across the web

The meeting starts at 6 p.m., with munchies until 7, when talks start.

Note: A voluntary contribution of $10 is requested to cover the costs of munchies and drinks. Students are free, btw.
We plan to meet monthly (skipping Aug.) If you have a startup and are interested in presenting in the future, or could be or know a person who would make a good main speaker, send me a note.
Matt Carroll

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Free Software and Web Applications
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
MIT Building E51, Room 325
Seung Chan Lim - slim alumni cmu edu

Seung Chan discusses the use of Free Software principles in web applications.Using currently existing technology, we can choose to make our web applications in such a way that they can be more readily broken apart and inspected by those who wish to, then repurposed in different ways.Seung Chan leads a discussion of the implications of the Free Software idea, and the hurdles, etc...

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Drumbeat Boston — celebrating the open web
Saturday, July 24, 2010 from 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM (ET)

In collaboration with Center for Future Civic Media, The Awesome Foundation, and of course mozilla Drumbeat

What to bring: Yourself! Your ideas, things you're currently working on and curiosity.
What to expect: Come celebrate the open web! Join us for a gathering of open internet & technology advocates and local projects. Look forward to new friends as well as good conversation. The Awesome Foundation will be announcing their July fellow.

Cash bar and hors d'oeuvres will be available.

Where
Media Lab Winter Garden (6th floor)
75 Amherst Street
Cambridge, MA
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Thanks to Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area (http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html)

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Energy (and Other) Events - July 11, 2010

MIT

Monday, July 12, 2010
7 pm
INVENTORS' ASSOCIATION OF NEW ENGLAND (IANE)
Patrick Raymond, Executive Director of the United Inventors Association and independent inventor, will describe best practices for inventors and inventor-friendly companies.

M.I.T. Building 4, Room 231 at 77 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA.
A suggested $5 contribution is graciously accepted at the door to partially defray operating costs of our not-for- profit organization which is run entirely by volunteers. You should plan to arrive at 6:30 PM for pre-meeting networking. Networking also continues after the regular meeting. Membership is currently at $40/year and includes a monthly newsletter and other member benefits. Guests and nonmembers are welcome at all of our monthly meetings.
Contact: 781-274-8500, http://www.inventne.org/

Directions to MIT and the location of Building 4 may be found at
http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?selection=4&Buildings=go
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Friday, July 16, 2010
MIT Energy Club lecture series: Systems Issues in Renewable Energy, life cycle assessment and experience curves
Speaker: Eric Williams, Professor at Arizona State University

Time: 12:00p–1:00p

Location: TBA, please see http://www.mitenergyclub.org/ for listing

Research and Development into renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic cells and biofuels has increased dramatically in recent years. While research at the technology level continues to expand it is also important to consider systems issues such as unforeseen environmental impacts and the potential of technological progress to reduce costs and mitigate environmental impacts. In this talk two approaches are introduced and applied to address these questions. Life Cycle Assessment can model multiple environmental effects of the entire supply chain associated with energy technologies. Results are presented from a recent study of life cycle water use of alternative energy sources. Exploring technological dynamics, results are presented of a study of trends in life cycle carbon emissions of silicon photovoltaic modules. Experience curves and analysis of thermodynamics can be combined to provide insight into the long-term potential of renewable energy technologies to realize cost and environmental goals. Results are presented of a forecast of economic investments needed to bring the price of silicon photovoltaic modules to $1/peak-Watt.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Campus Events, MIT Energy Club, Engineering Systems Division

For more information, contact:
Elsa Olivetti
elsao@mit.edu

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Harvard



7/13/10, 12:30 PM ET

Berkman Center Conference Room @ 23 Everett St., Cambridge, MA

RSVP is required for those attending in person to Amar Ashar (ashar@cyber.law.harvard.edu)

This event will be webcast live

Topic: Crowdsourcing Crisis Mapping
Guest: Patrick Meier, Director of Crisis Mapping and Strategic Partnerships at Ushahidi

Patrick Meier, Director of Crisis Mapping and Strategic Partnerships at Ushahidi, will present on his work on crowdsourcing crisis mapping.

About Patrick:

Patrick Meier is the Director of Crisis Mapping at Ushahidi and the co-founder of the International Network of Crisis Mappers. He was previously the co-director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s (HHI) Program on Crisis Mapping and Early Warning. Patrick has consulted for numerous international organizations including the UN, OSCE and OECD on crisis mapping and early warning projects in countries ranging from the Sudan and Thailand to East Timor and Colombia. Patrick has an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University and is completing his PhD at The Fletcher School/Tufts University. He is also an alum of the Sante Fe Institute's (SFI) Complex Systems Summer School. Patrick has published widely on the topic of conflict early warning and blogs at iRevolution.net and EarlyWarning.

This event will be webcast live; for more information and a complete description, see the event web page:http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2010/07/meier

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Examining China's New Policy Climate
Thursday, July 15, 2010, 12 p.m.
124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North
Jang Ulrich, J.P. Morgan’s Chairman of China Equities and Commodities

About the Seminar
Chinese economic planners in recent months have been engaged in a balancing act of deflating asset bubbles and controlling inflation without dampening growth excessively. This presentation by Jing Ulrich, J.P. Morgan’s Chairman of China Equities and Commodities, will examine the implications of three key shifts that are occurring in the Chinese economy: the shift from an ultra expansionary policy stance toward a tightening bias; recent policy changes in the all-important property sector; and the long-term shift from an investment-driven economy to one that is propelled by private consumption.

Please RSVP for the event with Melissa D'Anello at melissa_danello@hks.harvard.edu.

About Jing Ulrich
Jing Ulrich is J.P. Morgan's Managing Director and Chairman of China Equities and Commodities. She is leading the expansion of J.P. Morgan’s China equity business both in China and worldwide as well as developing business opportunities that arise from China’s demand for commodities. Educated at Harvard and Stanford Universities, Ulrich is one of the most prominent advisers to the world’s largest asset management companies, pension, and sovereign wealth funds. She also serves as an adviser to Chinese institutions seeking to invest overseas.

Ulrich has received numerous industry accolades for her work as a China watcher. She was ranked as one of Fortune Magazine's 50 Most Powerful Global Businesswomen in September 2009. In 2008, she was named to Forbes magazine’s list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World. In March 2010, two prestigious magazines – China Entrepreneur and China Business Watch — ranked Ulrich among the country's top female business elite.

This event is co-sponsored by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and the Harvard University Asia Center.

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Other

Green Jobs Program

The Cambridge Green Jobs Program will be holding information and training sessions on July 14, 2:00 to 4:30 pm and July 22, 6:00 to 8:30 pm at City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway. Attendance is open. A the sessions, attendees will learn about the training programs, eligibility requirements, and the application process. Eligible individuals receive training to be come energy efficiency technicians through the Energy Efficiency Technicians Apprenticeship Program, or green building techicians through the Building Energy Efficient Maintenance Skills Program. Participants also receive job placement assistance and other support services. For more information, contact Pardis Saffari, of the CDD Economic Development Division, at 617-349-4654.

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Robotics Monthly Meeting

July 15, Thursday
6:00 PM
Location: Microsoft
1 Memorial Dr
Cambridge, MA 02142
Contact: http://www.meetup.com/The-Boston-Robotics-Meetup-Group/

Bring your robot projects.
At the last meeting George Gallant displayed and explained his Robot from the well known Trinity college event: ttp://www.trincoll.edu/events/robot/

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Thanks to Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area