Happy Monday, nerds! Thanks heaps to everyone that came out last week for Cosplay, CAR-T gene therapy, and sex/ behavior/ evolution. And ofc, thanks so much to our speakers for lending their time and expertise. Miss it? No worries:
NEXTLY, important announcement: September Nerd Nite will not be on the third Monday of the month, because it’s going to be on Friday, September 8th, and it’s going to get naughty with presentations by
- Claire Sojourner Harris-Palmer, sociologist and sex researcher.
- Enchantasy’s Intimate Boutique (https://enchantasys.com/)
- Blue Belles Burlesque Show (https://www.facebook.com/bluebelleproductions/)
That’s right- a whole Nerd Nite devoted to sexy topics! And we put it on a Friday, so you can have a few extra dranks and sleep in the next day. We’re still gathering details from our speakers, but we’ll post them as soon as they’re ready. Until then, mark your calendars, and we’ll see you on Friday Sept 8th, 7PM, Fargo Billiards and Gastropub.
Stay curious, my friends.
🙂 T
Greetings, Nerds! Need a little pick me up for this catastrophic month? Look no farther, because topics for August NN are here!
Sex and Violence: Human Behavior from an Evolutionary Perspective.
Evolution by natural selection has shaped, and continues to shape, form and function of all organisms when genetically-based traits ultimately contribute to reproductive success. Behavior is a genetically-based trait, and given that all humans alive today are the product of a long line of ancestors who all managed to successfully reproduce, we can compare behavioral strategies in humans with behavior of non-human animals to examine the role of genes and “free will” in shaping human behavior.
–Brian Wisenden is a professor of animal behavior at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He has authored many scientific papers on the evolution of behavior and the behavioral ecology of fish. He teaches courses in Animal Behavior at MSUM and as a summer field course at the University of Minnesota Itasca Biological Field Station. Brian Wisenden has served on the editorial board of the academic journal Behaviour since 2001 and has served as managing editor of the journal since 2006.
How a Mythological Creature Helped a Little Girl Beat Cancer.
Like all industries, sometimes people in the pharmaceutical industry do the wrong thing. In spite of Martin Shkreli raising the price of a lifesaving drug by 4,000 percent, the pharmaceutical industry does some good things. One is the development of chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T). The only thing probably scarier than Mr. Shrkeli is a chimera! Fortunately the treatment is far less scary. The first child dosed with this therapy was cancer patient Emily Whitehead, shown after and before the treatment. We will talk a little about this therapy, how it works, and what the future holds for an emerging area of medicine called gene therapy.
-James Brown realized after taking, and disliking, his first anatomy course as an undergrad that perhaps pre-med wasn’t his thing. After a graduate degree in chemistry he spent the next 25 years in the biotechnology industry. Two years ago he moved his entire family to Fargo, ND for the opportunity to work at what he thought was a great company, Aldevron, and live in a great community. He was right on both counts.
Cosplay: Capes, Masks & Grease Paint- Oh My!
Who among us hasn’t dreamed of being a super hero, a crime fighter, or an action adventurer? For many costuming, better known by most as cosplay, allows for a chance to slip out of our own lives and into a role we wish to play- if only for a little while. But what is cosplay? How did it begin, how has it evolved and changed over time, and what does it mean to those who play? Join us August 21stwhen Gigi, long-time cosplayer and enthusiast, discusses cosplay and what lies behind all the masks, capes, and grease paint.
-Nicole “Gigi” Kolbe. An avid cosplayer with 14 years of experience, Gigi has spent many hours crafting & honing costumes to present at various sci-fi/fantasy events around the country. She has participated in numerous charity events playing such characters as Effie Trinket, Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones, Blossom Powerpuff & many more. Gigi enjoys talking about the history of cosplay & its cultural significance with anyone who’s game to listen, but she is especially excited to share her passion with the Nerd Nite.
…all this goodness, plus prizes (we’ve been embroidering fools lately- check out the sweet kitchen swag we made below) and a special announcement for September NN. Come check us out on Monday August 21st, 7PM, at Fargo Billiards and Gastropub. As always, Fargo Nerd Nite is free and open to the public, so just show up and bring your friends. See all you beautiful nerds there, and remember: #noh8.
🙂 T
Happy Saturday, Nerds. If you were at July’s NN, you know that we’ll be at Paradox Comics and Cards tonight from 6 – 11, teaching other lady nerds how to embroider their own four-letter words onto dishtowels. Bring $5 and we’ll hook you up with everything you need to make your own offensive stitchery. Plus there will be other crafts, games, trivia, a potluck dinner, and sweet ladies only discounts on Paradox merchandise. The event is free, but there may be charges for the other make and takes, so bring some cash.
Rich (the guy who owns the comic shop), myself, and a few other awesome gals who are helping coordinate the event recorded a podcast about it, which you can listen to here. Also there is information about tarsiers. For funsies.
Ladies Night is for- you guessed it- ladies only, but regular Nerd Nite returns Monday August 21st, 7PM, at the Gastropub, and dudes are welcome to that. If you guys really want to learn to embroider, maybe we can have a speaker on it.
See you beautiful betches there.
🙂 T
Happy Tuesday, Nerds. Thanks so much to everyone that came out last week for July Nerd Nite, and to our speakers for giving us all some ideas and reasons to cut waste and be smarter with our resources, be they edible or electrical. 🙂
If you’re interested in hearing more about combatting food waste, Megan sent the following items to us:
Want to hear more from John about fighting that fossil dragon with solar power? Check out this video about Living with Solar in Fargo, or this article from the Forum when Dr. Bagu and his wife first installed their solar panels and started their journey off the grid. If he sends a video of his Ted Talk from Bismarck, I’ll share that too. 🙂
Lastly, there was one question from a particularly sharp audience member about this graph that Jay used: why are the yield gaps for organic Rye and Alfalfa negative?
I did some searching and found out that in some cases, organic farming does out-perform conventional, as was the case for these two crops. The yield gaps in those two crops are negative for this reason. Check out this super-bitchin’ article about comparing the the two methods, and how they both might be able to benefit from learning from each-other.
That’s all I’ve got for you today, minions. August’s Nerd Nite will be on Monday the 21st, 7PM, at the Gastropub (as usual). Topics include:
- COSPLAY!
- CAR-T GENE THERAPY!
- SEX AND VIOLENCE in EVOLUTION!
Stay tuned for further details, including a special, sexy surprise for September Nerd Nite. See your beautiful faces there.
🙂 T
Happy Monday, Nerds! Know why it’s happy? Because I have the juicy details of this month’s FNN for you!
If you’re like me, and you worry about stretching our planetary resources to meet the demands of our ever growing population, this month’s NN is for you! Three speakers share their creativity and insight into extending the earth’s resource budget in more ways than one. Check it out:
Get the Facts on Food Waste. Food waste is a major issue, with about a third of our planet’s food going to waste each year. That wasted food is enough to feed about 2 billion people. Information will be presented about how, where and why food waste happens, some local movements to address this issue, and why it’s essential that everyone commits to reduce food waste. -Megan Myrdal, co-founder of Ugly Food of the North, local do-gooder, and pot-luck host.
Are We Living in a Dark Mirror Star Trek Universe? We’ll approach this question from a clean energy/transportation perspective while discussing nanoparticle pollution in your brain and your money, and how to prevent one and keep the other. We’ll also discuss prohibited info about how to kill a Dragon named Fossil. -Dr. John Bagu, Biochemist by day, solar panel Batman by night.
Fake News and Alternative Facts about GMOs! Fake news and alternative facts are not new and are not just about politics. The anti-GMO folks have been busy making up all sorts of BS for years! Just like the fake news in politics, anti-GMO news is driven by fear of the new and unknown….and whole foods and other “organic “ food suppliers have used this completely irrational fear to line their pockets. I’ll be showing you why you should not fear GMOs, and give you plenty of reasons to warmly embrace them. -Jay Bjerke, geneticist, entomologist, and sidewalk astronomer.
Sounds awesome, right? So I’ll see you at Fargo Billiards and Gastropub, 7PM, on Monday July 17th. Be there and be square.
🙂 T
Happy Tuesday, Nerds! Thanks so much to everyone that came out last night for 360° Virtual Tours, Climate Change as told by a Geologist, and the Psychology of the Dark Side, and thanks to our speakers for knocking it out of the park, as usual. Lucky for us, they also sent us some internet goodies to share:
- Be More Colorful’s website, and where you can take some of the virtual tours they’ve made. Bonus fact: it sounds like they’ll be photographing an upcoming wedding for a few of our very own! AND, they sent us this super cool 360° image of Nerd Nite at the Gastropub (see below; note the lower quality is because I had to make some adjustments for file size- they one they sent us is brilliant).
- Ben sent us a video that basically covers everything in his climate change presentation, but super fast, and without beer involved, so slightly not as cool, but still cool. 🙂
- Jedi Counsel’s website, where they pick apart the brains of everyone from the Arrow to Wonder Woman, and more! They even have a list of Nerding Out Resources.
The bad news is, now we have to wait a whole entire month until the next Fargo Nerd Nite, but hopefully we’ve got enough extra content to tide you over until then. We’ll be back on Monday July 17th, 7PM at the Gastropub with more nerds, more prizes, and more laughs. See you then!
🙂 T
…so I make up these titles with just jumbles of words relevant to the presentations, but sometimes they come out eerily meaningful. I like to sing this one to the tune of Jamiroquai’s ‘Virtual Insanity’.
…no? No one? Bueller?
Well, anyway, topics and speakers for our June event are in! Check it:
“Psychology of the Dark Side.” Have you ever wondered why people turn to the dark side IRL? We’ll talk about the scientific research on pathways to antisocial behavior and the Sith characters from Star Wars. -Katie Gordon and Brandon Sexton, holders of fancy pants psych degrees and founders of Jedi Counsel, which explores mental health issues in fictional characters.
“Past and Present Climate Change: Distinguishing the Natural from the Unnatural.” What constitutes natural and unnatural climate change? How can geologic information be used to compare the modern rates of temperature and carbon dioxide rise to those of the prehistoric past? (I promise it won’t be all doom and gloom.) -Benjamin Laabs, geologist, climate scientist, ice enthusiast.
“The Science Behind Virtually Spectacular 360º Images.” You’ve probably seen 360º photographic content on Google Street View, but do you know what creating a 360º photo entails? We’ll be discussing the mathematics, technology, and science behind creating breathtaking 360º imagery. -Matthew Chaussee, CEO of Be More Colorful virtual tours.
Sounds awesome, right? Hit us up on Monday June 19th, 7PM, at Fargo Billiards and Gastropub. NOTE that’s 7PM, not 7:30 like it’s usually been. Bring your thirst for knowledge, and your thirst for tasty beers, and we’ll see you there!
🙂 T
This meme was certified clever by real Star Wars geeks. May the fourth be with you, friends. Eleven days until Nerd Nite!
🙂 T
Evenin’, guvnas! Shame on me for not posting earlier to thank our fabulous April speakers; Stuart wowed us with the amazing light absorbing properties of Vantablack, Ben made us question everything we ever learned in Sunday school, and Jen gave us a valuable lesson in always delegating to licensed Vet Techs. ALWAYS.
*jibblies*
Ahem, anyway, topics and speakers for May Nerd Nite are here! Check it:
Botlink: Helping Everyone Fly Smarter. We are working to help anyone to start flying in minutes and to use unmanned arial vehicles (UAVs) to capture actionable data. We’ll talk about how we help people improve their efficiency through the use of aerial imagery and answer questions about the UAV industry. – Shannon Henstorf, knowitall and answerer of online chats at Botlink, Fargo.
Wonder Woman Day is June 3rd, and So Can You! How we learned to love Princess Diana of Themyscira, and why you should too. From the lasso to the tiara to the invisible jet, it’s Wonder Woman 101 to get you ready for her movie! –Rich Early, Paradox Comics-N-Cards, scruffy looking nerd-herder of the FM area.
A Fungus Among us: the Art and Science of Homebrewing. Yeast are exceptional at turning sugar into alcohol, an ability only eclipsed by humans’ capacity to consume said alcohol. In this talk I’ll demonstrate how easy (and complicated) it can be to make your own beer, mead, or cider at home, plus some reasons why you might want to in the first place. – Dr. John Wilkinson, local Biochemist and Beer Enthusiast.
Plus games, prizes, and the usual Nerding awesomeness. We will SEE. YOU. THERE.
🙂 T
PS- spotted this gem while stuck at a red light today. Had to resist the urge to chase them down and invite them to the May show. Nerds: they’re everywhere.
It’s FNN’s second birthday! Help welcome us into our terrible twos on Monday, April 17th, 7:30 PM, at Fargo Billiards and Gastropub. Topics and speakers:
Vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays: “Vantablack™” A superblack surface finish reflects much less light than conventional black materials and allows high powered telescopes and other sensors to improve their performance by having much lower levels of internally reflected light. Learn how this superblack finish can be achieved using Vantablack. –Dr. Stuart Croll, NDSU Dept. of Coatings and Polymeric Materials.
Jesus: A Superman Story Examining the historical argument for the existence of a man named Jesus of Nazareth that inspired Christianity, and why there is reason to doubt. By using the story of our modern day Superman as a comparative model, we can begin to understand how the legend evolved without the man. –Ben Jagim, aspiring/ wannabe historian and semi-professional Thor impersonator.
Anal Glands in the Domestic Dog: how a butt sniff between dogs = a friendly handshake between humans. Whether you own a dog or not, you have probably seen a butt sniff between dogs, or one ridiculously scoot its butt along the floor. Find out why they do these funny acts through a thorough explanation of what anal glands are, why they can be a literal pain in the ass, and how you too can squeeze a dog’s butt. –Jennifer Jordan, licensed veterinary technician and gland expressionist.
Plus trivia, prizes, and CAKE! Can’t wait to see your beautiful faces there.
🙂 T
PS: Happy National Beer Day, nerds! Today in 1933 marks the beginning of the end of Prohibition here in the States, with the enactment of the Cullen-Harrison Act making it legal to produce, sell, and consume beer up to 4.05% ABV. So tip one back and enjoy it, because NN wouldn’t be NN without booze and beer.
