Happy Saturday, everyone! Here on Global Nerdy, Saturday means that it’s time for another “picdump” — the weekly assortment of amusing or interesting pictures, comics, and memes I found over the past week. Share and enjoy!
The screenshot above is another regular reminder from Yours Truly that the LLM isn’t always right, but the final decision is always yours. Sometimes, you need to sass back — not necessarily to get better results, but to remind yourself not to abdicate completely to AI.
In case the first line in my prompt sounds familiar, but you can’t place it, here’s the source:
Here’s the video version:
Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, February 16 through Sunday, February 22!
This list includes both in-person and online events. Note that each item in the list includes:
✅ When the event will take place
✅ What the event is
✅ Where the event will take place
✅ Who is holding the event
This week’s events
- Monday, February 16
- Tuesday, February 17
- Wednesday, February 18
- Thursday, February 19
- Friday, February 20
- Saturday, February 21
- Sunday, February 22
Monday, February 16
Monday at 6:30 p.m. (online): Join Saint Petersburg AI Collaborative Intelligence Group for an interactive 2-hour workshop that will change how you think about building software! Ever wondered how Netflix builds features in weeks instead of months? Or how startups with small teams compete with tech giants?
The secret is multi-agent coding – where specialized AI agents work alongside human experts to dramatically accelerate development while improving quality.
Find out more and register here.
Tuesday, February 17
Wednesday, February 18
Thursday, February 19
Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Kforce (Tampa): Tampa Bay AI Meetup is teaming up with Tampa Bay Java User Group to bring you Pratik Patel from Azul, who’ll be talking about the architecture of AI-native applications. These aren’t traditional applications with ML models bolted on, but a whole new class of software designed from the ground up to learn, adapt, and act autonomously.
Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at Independent Cafe (Tampa): Tampa Bay Designers (which has incorporated Tampa Bay UX) is holding a Design Hangout! You’re invited to join other designers and grab a drink, talk shop, or whatever else comes to mind.
Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at 511 Franklin (Tampa): Tampa Bay Techies is holding aTech Networking Happy Hour! It’ll be a relaxed, business-casual event where you can meet and connect with tech professionals, job seekers, and enthusiasts. Whether you’re a seasoned tech pro, a student eager to break into the industry, or just someone passionate about technology, this event is for you!
You must be 23 or older to attend. They’re offering a FREE drink for the first 30 guests!
Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Wild Rover Brewery (Tampa): It’s Lean Beer time! Lean Beer is an alternative to the early morning Lean Coffees, for folks who can’t always join at 7:30AM. Lean Beer is a great place to ask questions and share your stories of using Agile and Lean software approaches, over an adult beverage, if you choose.
They discuss any topics on Agile and Lean that are of interest to whomever is gathered. You suggest the topics, then the group prioritizes that list democratically, through a good ole’ fashion vote. They manage our discussions via time boxes, and a Roman vote (drinks up/drinks down). Vegas rules apply!
Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Top Golf (Tampa): Tampa Bay New-in-Tech is holding an evening at Top Golf! Whether you’re a pro at tech, golf, or neither, this is all about having a good time, meeting great people, and making connections.
This isn’t about how well you golf – it’s about meeting awesome people, swapping stories, and having a blast.
Find out more and register here.
Friday, February 20
| Event name and location | Group | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Repair Clinic 2079 Range Rd |
Tampa Bay Technology Center | 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM EST |
| Friday Board Game Night Bridge Club |
Tampa Gaming Guild | 5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EST |
| Privacy Pop-up with WebWipe Tampa Bay Innovation Center |
Tampa Bay Bitcoin | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST |
| MTG: Commander FNM Critical Hit Games |
Critical Hit Games | 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EST |
| “The Miracle of Mindfulness” – Thich Nhat Hanh, Part II The Skills Center |
Tampa Stoics | 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EST |
| Taps & Drafts | EDH/MtG Night 1Up Entertainment, Tampa |
Nerdbrew Events | 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST |
| Modern FNM Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games | 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EST |
| Sula by Toni Morrison Discussion Baba in St. Pete (outside) Baba Restaurant |
Classic Book Club – Dinner Edition | 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST |
| Friday Pokemon Tournament Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games | 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM EST |
| Return to the top of the list | ||
Saturday, February 21
Sunday, February 22
About this list
How do I put this list together?
It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.
In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.
What goes into this list?
I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:
-
- Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
- Tech project management / agile processes
- Video, board, and role-playing games
- Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
- Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
- Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
- Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
- Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
- Anything I deem geeky
Categories
Your first warning
Coming soon to your favorite podcast platform: me and Cory Doctorow — two guys from Toronto — on the This Week in Tech podcast!
The live recoding will take place on Sunday, March 8th at 5:15 p.m., and you’ll be able to catch it on most podcasting platforms and YouTube the next day.
Categories
Saturday picdump for Saturday, February 7
Happy Saturday, everyone! Here on Global Nerdy, Saturday means that it’s time for another “picdump” — the weekly assortment of amusing or interesting pictures, comics, and memes I found over the past week. Share and enjoy!
Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, February 9 through Sunday, February 15!
This list includes both in-person and online events. Note that each item in the list includes:
✅ When the event will take place
✅ What the event is
✅ Where the event will take place
✅ Who is holding the event
This week’s events
- Monday, February 9
- Tuesday, February 10
- Wednesday, February 11
- Thursday, February 12
- Friday, February 13
- Saturday, February 14
- Sunday, February 15
Monday, February 9
Tuesday, February 10
Wednesday, February 11
Thursday, February 12
Friday, February 13
| Event name and location | Group | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Repair Clinic 2079 Range Rd |
Tampa Bay Technology Center | 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM EST |
| Friday Board Game Night Bridge Club |
Tampa Gaming Guild | 5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EST |
| Friday Night Magic at Conworlds Emporium Conworlds Emporium |
Tarpon Springs Community Fun & Games | 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM EST |
| MTG: Commander FNM Critical Hit Games |
Critical Hit Games | 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EST |
| Onesie Mini Golf Congo River Golf |
Gen Geek | 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EST |
| Taps & Drafts | EDH/MtG Night 1Up Entertainment, Tampa |
Nerdbrew Events | 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST |
| Modern FNM Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games | 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EST |
| Sula by Toni Morrison Discussion Baba in St. Pete (outside) Baba Restaurant |
Classic Book Club – Dinner Edition | 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST |
| Friday Pokemon Tournament Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games | 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM EST |
| Channelfront Tiki Game Night Meet & Greet Jack Willie’s |
Tampa Bay Meetup (20’s & 30’s) | 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM EST |
| Return to the top of the list | ||
Saturday, February 14
Sunday, February 15
| Event name and location | Group | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Ironman suit 3D printing MakerSpace Pinellas |
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group | 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST |
| Sunday Gaming Tampa Bay Bridge Center |
Tampa Gaming Guild | 1:00 PM to 11:00 PM EST |
| Sunday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa Whole Foods Market |
Chess Republic | 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST |
| D&D Adventurers League Critical Hit Games |
Critical Hit Games | 2:00 PM to 7:30 PM EST |
| Sunday Pokemon League Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games | 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM EST |
| Sew Awesome! (Textile Arts & Crafts) 4933 W Nassau St |
Tampa Hackerspace | 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM EST |
| A Duck Presents NB Movie Night Discord.io/Nerdbrew |
Nerd Night Out | 7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EST |
| Return to the top of the list | ||
About this list
How do I put this list together?
It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.
In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.
What goes into this list?
I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:
-
- Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
- Tech project management / agile processes
- Video, board, and role-playing games
- Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
- Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
- Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
- Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
- Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
- Anything I deem geeky
How upset is Sam Altman about Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads for Claude, which poke fun at ChatGPT and their inclusion of ads? Upset enough to call them “authoritarian,” in the same way a tween would call their parents “fascist” because they wouldn’t give them permission to go to a slumber party.
But daaaaamn, are they memorable and funny.
There are four such ads, each one featuring two actors, with one playing the part of the user, and the other playing the part of ChatGPT. The acting is perfect, with the user clearly in need of answers, and ChatGPT with slightly delayed responses delivered in a saccharine tone and a creepy smile at the end (“Give me your creepiest fake smile!” must’ve been part of the audition process). All the ads end with a snippet of the rap version of Blu Cantrell’s 2003 number, Breathe, which features Sean Paul and one of the best beats from that era.
I’ve posted the four ads below, from my least to most favorite. Each one features a common LLM use case.
Here’s Treachery, where a student is asking ChatGPT to evaluate her essay:
Deception features ChatGPT providing advice on the user’s business idea:
Violation’s user wants a six-pack — the muscle kind, not the beard kind — and is about to regret telling ChatGPT his height:
And my favorite, Betrayal, starts with the user trying to get closer to his mom, and ends on a cougar-riffic note:
OpenAI CEO and owner of the world’s most punchable voice Sam Altman is, as the kids say, crashing out over these ads, calling them “dishonest” (they’re more hyperbolic) and “authoritarian” (which is Altman himself being hyperbolic):
- Entrepreneur: Sam Altman Rants About Anthropic’s ‘Dishonest’ and ‘Authoritarian’ Super Bowl Ads
- TechCrunch: Sam Altman got exceptionally testy over Claude Super Bowl ads
- The Verge: Sam Altman responds to Anthropic’s ‘funny’ Super Bowl ads
- Just Jared: Sam Altman Responds to ChatGPT Diss in Claude Super Bowl Commercials
…and the most blunt headline of the bunch:
- Futurism: Sam Altman Is Spiraling
