Global Nerdy : Tampa Bay’s Technology Blog

My speedrun as the HP ZGX Nano Developer Advocate: Two months, one podcast, zero regrets

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 28, 2025

Just over two months after my announcement that I was doing developer relations for HP’s ZGX Nano AI workstation — an NVIDIA-powered, book-sized desktop computer specifically made for AI application development and edge computing — HP ended the Kforce contract for the ZGX Nano program, so my last day is Friday.

In my all-too-brief time working with HP, I got a lot done, including…

I landed the ZGX Nano appearance on Intelligent Machines

On the very day I announced that I was doing developer relations for the ZGX Nano, I got an email that began with this paragraph:

I’m Anthony, a producer with the TWiT.tv network. Jeff Jarvis mentioned you’re “a cool dude” from the early blogging days (and apparently serenaded some Bloggercons?), but more importantly, we saw you just started doing developer relations for HP’s ZGX Nano. We’d love to have you on our podcast Intelligent Machines to discuss this shift toward local AI computing.

First of all: Thanks, Jeff! I owe you one.

Second: I didn’t pitch TWiT. TWiT pitched me, as soon as they found out! This wasn’t the outcome of HP’s product marketing department contacting media outlets. Instead, it’s because Jeff knows me, and he knew I was the right person to explain this new AI hardware to their audience:

I generated earned media for HP without a single pitch, press release, or PR agency. My personal brand amplified HP’s brand, and maybe it can amplify your company’s brand too!

And finally: I’m just great at explaining complex technical topics in a way that people can understand. Don’t take my word for it; take Leo Laporte’s:

In case you need some stats:

TWiT Network (home of Intelligent Machines): 25+ million downloads annually
Cost of equivalent advertising slot: $double digit thousands
Time from my hire to major media appearance: 8 weeks
Number of PR pitches sent: 0
Value of authentic relationships: Priceless

I built page-one visibility for a brand-new product —organically

Do a Google search on the term zgx nano (without the quotes) and while you might see slightly different results from mine, you should find that this blog, Global Nerdy, is on the first page of results:

Tap to try out a Google search for *zgx nano* for yourself.

The screenshot above was taken on the evening of Monday, October 27, and two of the articles on this blog are the first two search results after HP.

My content gets found. Within 8 weeks of starting work with HP, my coverage of the ZGX Nano achieved first-page Google ranking, competing directly with HP’s official pages and major tech publications. This organic reach is what modern developer relations looks like: authentic content that both developers and search algorithms trust.

With me, you’re not just getting a developer advocate, but someone with a tech blog going back nearly two decades and with the domain authority to take on with Fortune 500 companies on Google. My Global Nerdy posts about ZGX Nano rank on page one because Google trusts content I’ve been building since 2006.

I enabled the Sales team to go from zero to hero

On day one, I was given two priorities:

First, provide enablement for the Sales team and give them the knowledge and selling points they need to be effective when talking to customers about the ZGX Nano.
Support developers who were interested in the ZGX Nano, or even just AI application development. Unfortunately, I’m not going to get to execute this phase.

But I got pretty far with that first phase! In less than eight weeks, I built a sales enablement foundation for a brand-new AI workstation with scant documentation. I created 50+ pages of technical documentation that gave HP’s global sales force what they needed to sell a new product in a new category.

Some of my big quantifiable achievements in sales enablement:

25+ technical objections anticipated and addressed
- Created comprehensive FAQ covering everything from architecture to ROI calculations
- Translated GB10 superchip complexity into sales-friendly language
- Provided competitive differentiation against NVIDIA DGX Spark, Dell, and Lenovo
12 industry verticals mapped with 60+ business impact scenarios”
- Developed go-to-market strategy for each vertical (healthcare to gaming)
- Created specific ROI talking points for each industry
- Identified 5 business impacts per vertical = 60 total selling points
Turned “It’s just another GB10 machine” into “Here’s why HP wins”
- Differentiated commodity hardware through software story (ZGX Toolkit)
- Created objection handling that transforms skepticism into sales
- Armed sales with “Why HP and not NVIDIA direct””messaging

I’m available starting next week!

All told, it was 2 months, 1 podcast…and ZERO regrets. I enjoyed the work, and I’m grateful to have been selected to be the developer spokesmodel for an amazing AI computer.

I don’t think of this as a termination. It was a high-intensity proof-of-concept for my ability to help launch a new device with little guidance (in fact, the manager who hired me moved to another company on my first week). They asked; I delivered. Now, I’m looking for the next impossible mission.

As I wrote at the start of this article, my last day is on Friday — yes, I wrap up on Halloween — and as of Monday next week, I’m available!

I’m now looking for my next Developer Advocate role. Who needs someone who can…

Land major podcast appearances on Day One?
Has enough SEO know-how and influence to get you to Page One?
Can enable your sales and marketing teams with technical material, explained in a non-techie-friendly way?

If you’re looking for such a person, either on a full-time or consulting basis, set up an appointment with me on my calendar.

Let’s talk!

Hardware Video

New video on the “Global Nerdy” YouTube channel: “How computers work ‘under the hood’”

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 27, 2025

Do you know how your computer works? If not, this video’s for you!

Here’s the video, which is the latest one on the Global Nerdy YouTube channel:

The video features the How Computers Work “Under the Hood” presentation that I gave at a Tampa Devs meetup on November 15, 2023.

In the presentation, I start by talking about the CPU chips in our computers, phones, and electronic devices:

…and then proceed to talk about the building blocks for these chips, transistors:

Then, after a quick introduction to the 6502 processor, which powered a lot of 1980s home computers…

…I introduced 6502 assembly language programming:

Watch the video, and learn how your computer works “under the hood!”

If you’d like to follow along with the video try out the exercises I demonstrated, you can do so from the comfort of your own browser — just follow this guide!

Want the slides for my presentation? Here they are!

Conferences Meetups Security Tampa Bay What I’m Up To

This Tuesday in Tampa: Two tech events, four minutes apart!

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 27, 2025

On Tuesday, two popular tech events take place in Tampa, and you may be wondering which one you should attend. I’ll answer your question by quoting the little girl from that classic Old El Paso commerical:

The two events in question are:

CyberX Tampa Bay, which is run by Computer Coach and Paragon Cyber Solutions, an annual event that’s equal parts mini-conference and celebration of Tampa Bay’s thriving cybersecurity community. It’s happening at Stetson’s Chester H. Ferguson Law Center. It’s scheduled to run from 5 to 8 p.m..

TampaTech Taps & Taco Tuesday, which is run by Kelsey Puryear and happens on the last Tuesday of every month at Hidden Springs Ale Works and is a hangout for Tampa Bay tech people, especially those in cybersecurity. It’s scheduled to run from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m..

Here’s the interesting wrinkle: these two events are only a couple of blocks or a four-minute walk apart!

So if you’re feeling ambitious — and I just might be — you can attend both events with a little judicious scheduling.

Picdump

Saturday picdump for Saturday, October 25

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 25, 2025

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!

aws-code-so-good-we-dont-have-to-review-it

finally_reached_the_rock_bottom_of_humanity

mother-nature-committed-quite-a-few-times

never-be-afraid-to-make-a-mistake-unless-in-git

studied-computer-science-but-became-a-barista

told-plumber-id-leave-good-review-on-github

when-they-wont-let-you-focus-on-that-bug

when-your-ai-girlfriend-was-on-aws-us-east-1

Artificial Intelligence Hardware What I’m Up To

Talking about HP’s ZGX Nano on the “Intelligent Machines” podcast

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 24, 2025

On Wednesday, HP’s Andrew Hawthorn (Product Manager and Planner for HP’s Z AI hardward) and I appeared on the Intelligent Machines podcast to talk about the computer that I’m doing developer relations consulting for: HP’s ZGX Nano.

You can watch the episode here. We appear at the start, and we’re on for the first 35 minutes:

A few details about the ZGX Nano:

It’s built around the NVIDIA GB10 Grace Blackwell “superchip,” which combines a 20-core Grace CPU and a GPU based on NVIDIA’s Blackwell architecture.
Also built into the GB10 chip is a lot of RAM: 128 GB of LPDDR5X coherent memory shared between CPU and GPU, which helps avoid the kind of memory bottlenecks that arise when the CPU and GPU each have their own memory (and usually, the GPU has considerably less memory than the CPU).

It can perform up to about 1000 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) or 1015 operations per second and can handle model sizes of up to 200 billion parameters.
Want to work on bigger models? By connecting two ZGX Nanos together using the 200 gigabit per second ConnectX-7 interface, you can scale up to work on models with 400 billion parameters.
ZGX Nano’s operating system in NVIDIA’s DGX OS, which is a version of Ubuntu Linux with additional tweaking to take advantage of the underlying GB10 hardware.

Some topics we discussed:

Model sizes and AI workloads are getting bigger, and developers are getting more and more constrained by factors such as:
- Increasing or unpredictable cloud costs
- Latency
- Data movement
There’s an opportunity to “bring serious AI compute to the desk” so that teams can prototype their AI applications and iterate locally
The ZGX Nano isn’t meant to replace large datacenter clusters for full training of massive models, It’s aimed at “the earlier parts of the pipeline,” where developers do prototyping, fine-tuning, smaller deployments, inference, and model evaluation
The Nano’s 128 gigabytes of unified memory gets around the issues of bottlenecks with distinct CPU memory and GPU memory allowing bigger models to be loaded in a local box without “paging to cloud” or being forced into distributed setups early
While the cloud remains dominant, there are real benefits to local compute:
- Shorter iteration loops
- Immediate control, data-privacy
- Less dependence on remote queueing
We expect that many AI development workflows will hybridize: a mix of local box and cloud/back-end
The target users include:
- AI/ML researchers
- Developers building generative AI tools
- Internal data-science teams fine-tuning models for enterprise use-cases (e.g., inside a retail, insurance or e-commerce firm).
- Maker/developer-communities
The ZGX Nano is part of the “local-to-cloud” continuum
The Nano won’t cover all AI development…
- For training truly massive models, beyond the low hundreds of billions of parameters, the datacenter/cloud will still dominate
- ZGX Nano’s use case is “serious but not massive” local workloads
- Is it for you? Look at model size, number of iterations per week, data sensitivity, latency needs, and cloud cost profile

One thing I brought up that seemed to capture the imagination of hosts Leo Laporte, Paris Martineau, and Mike Elgan was the MCP server that I demonstrated a couple of months ago at the Tampa Bay Artificial Intelligence Meetup: Too Many Cats.

Too Many Cats is an MCP server that an LLM can call upon to determine if a household has too many cats, given the number of humans and cats.

Here’s the code for a Too Many Cats MCP server that runs on your computer and works with a local CLaude client:

from typing import TypedDict
from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP

mcp = FastMCP(name="Too Many Cats?")

class CatAnalysis(TypedDict):
    too_many_cats: bool
    human_cat_ratio: float  

@mcp.tool(
    annotations={
        "title": "Find Out If You Have Too Many Cats",
        "readOnlyHint": True,
        "openWorldHint": False
    }
)
def determine_if_too_many_cats(cat_count: int, human_count: int) -> CatAnalysis:
    """Determines if you have too many cats based on the number of cats and a human-cat ratio."""
    human_cat_ratio = cat_count / human_count if human_count > 0 else 0
    too_many_cats = human_cat_ratio >= 3.0
    return CatAnalysis(
        too_many_cats=too_many_cats,
        human_cat_ratio=human_cat_ratio
    )

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Initialize and run the server
    mcp.run(transport='stdio')

I’ll cover writing MCP servers in more detail on the Global Nerdy YouTube channel — watch this space!

Current Events Meetups Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events list (Monday, October 27 – Sunday, November 2)

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date October 24, 2025

Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, October 27 through Sunday, November 2!

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

Monday, October 27

Event name and location	Group	Time
Weekly Chess Showdown in the Park Monday, Oct 27, 6:00 PM · 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT	CHESS IN THE PARK SRQ	6:22 PM
NPI District 1 Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals Voodoo brewing	Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)	7:00 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Trinity Professional Business Networking Lunch Meet your next referral Partner. Cantina Viagero	RGA Networking Professional Business Networking	11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Downtown St. Pete Business Networking Connection Lunch~ All Welcome< JOIN In! The Sourdough Co.	RGA Networking Professional Business Networking	11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Radiant Ridge Toastmasters Lakes Region Public Library	Toastmasters Division G	5:30 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Tea Tavern – Dungeons and Dragons Monday, Oct 27, 6:00 PM · 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT	Tea Tavern Dungeons and Dragons Meetup Group – DMS WANTED	5:59 PM
MTG: Commander Night Critical Hit Games	Critical Hit Games	6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Monday night chess American Legion	Casual Monday Chess at American Legion Post 7, Clearwater	6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Monday Feast & Game Night Village Inn	Tampa Bay Tabletoppers	6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Saving Money Using Open Source LLM’s Online event	Saint Petersburg AI Collaborative Intelligence Group	6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Englewood Invites You to North Port Toastmasters 12737 S Tamiami Trail	Toastmasters District 48	6:30 PM to 7:45 PM EDT
Toast of Lakewood Ranch Toastmasters Club Lakewood Ranch Town Hall	Toastmasters District 48	6:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Mothership Monday: Gradient Descent Kitchen Table Games	St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group	6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
TAGM at Kava Kraze Kava Kraze	Tampa Area Game Masters (TAGM)	7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Hidden Gems Night, Presented by A Duck! Online event	Nerdbrew Events	7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Members as far back as 2008 can access their photos none	School is closed- Light Study PRO – A Photography Workshop	7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
ONLINE: TBD Online event	Orlando Stoics	7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
DigiMondays Sunshine Games \| Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!	Sunshine Games	7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Weekly General Meetup Online event	Beginning Web Development	8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Learn to build Passive Income with Shopify, Amazon, AI & Dropshipping Online event	How to build an Online Business with AI & Shopify	8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Where is Bitcoin Going? Online event	Bitcoiners of Southwest Florida	9:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
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Tuesday, October 28

Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. at Chester H. Ferguson Law Center (Tampa): It’s that time again — CyberX Tampa Bay is back!

CyberX Tampa Bay is Tampa Bay’s premier cybersecurity celebration. Whether you’re an established professional, an emerging leader, or exploring a career in cybersecurity, this event offers valuable insights, professional connections, and an inspiring close to October, which is Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

The evening kicks off with networking over light refreshments, followed by engaging breakout sessions tailored to different career stages in cybersecurity. After another round of networking, they’;; recognize an outstanding contributor to the industry before gathering for a thought-provoking panel discussion featuring leading voices in the field. Finally, they’ll wrap up with closing remarks and an opportunity to connect with peers.

Find out more and register here.

Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Hidden Springs Ale Works (Tampa): It’s the last Tuesday of the month, so it’s time for TampaTech Taps & Taco Tuesday, where Tampa’s tech community come to gather for great company, great beer, and free tacos!

Find out more and register here.

Event name and location	Group	Time
Insider attacks are persistent: Enter 2026 risk-ready with Active Directory Online event	ManageEngine’s Cybersecurity Meetups	11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
CyberX Tampa Bay 2025 Chester H. Ferguson Law Center	Tampa Cybersecurity Training	5:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
October \| TampaTech Taps & Taco Tuesday Hidden Springs Ale Works	TampaTech (Kelsey Puryear)	5:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Weekly Open Make Night 4931 W Nassau St	Tampa Hackerspace	6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Pinellas Writers and Authors Weekly Meeting (Online/Zoom) Online event	Pinellas Writers Group	6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
[Hybrid] From Synchronous to Event-Driven: Architecting for Real-Time Systems Dr. Phillips Academic Commons	Orlando AWS User Group	6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Bar Trivia at Henderson’s Henderson’s Bar & Kitchen	Gen Geek	6:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
The Sarasota Creative Writers Sarasota Alliance Church	The Sarasota Creative Writers Meetup Group	6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
What’s New in 3.14 and an Intro to Logging Online event	The Orlando Python User Group	7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write on Zoom Online event	Shut Up & Write!® Tampa	7:45 PM to 9:15 PM EDT
Trading Tuesday Online event	Bitcoiners of Southwest Florida	8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
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Wednesday, October 29

Event name and location	Group	Time
Magic Pioneer Event Wednesday, Oct 29, 7:00 PM · 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT	Sunshine Games	5:53 PM
Inspiring Authors & Book Immersion Meetup Wednesday, Oct 29, 2:00 PM · 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDT	Lady Lake Memoir Writing Meetup Group	2:00 PM
Grow Your Business with focused Referral Networking Sons of Italy Lodge	BNI Tampa -Referral based networking	7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Tampa Highrisers Toastmasters Hyde Park United Methodist Church	Toastmasters District 48	7:45 AM to 8:45 AM EDT
Computer Repair Clinic 2079 Range Rd	Tampa Bay Technology Center	8:30 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Brandon Professional Networking Lucnh Just Love Coffee Cafe	RGA Networking Professional Business Networking	11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Professional Networking and Referrals with the Mavens Online event	Professional Networking & Referrals with the Mavens	11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Lunch Hour Meetup Online event	Sarasota Web Development Meetup Group	12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Table Crafts: Open Studio with a Twist Tampa Bay Mineral & Science Club	Tampa Bay Mineral & Science Club classes offered	1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Wednesday Night Gaming Nerdy Needs	Brandon Boardgamers	5:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Wednesday Board Game Night Bridge Center	Tampa Gaming Guild	5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Orlando Chess Association West Osceola Library	Greater Orlando Chess	5:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Ybor Game Night w/Retro House Retro House Coffee Bar and Asian Bistro	Tampa Event Hub	6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Board Game Night Critical Hit Games	Critical Hit Games	6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
The Fallen Lands 2103 Laceflower Dr	Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group	6:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Casual Commander Wednesdays Sunshine Games \| Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!	Sunshine Games	6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Intro to Peyote Stitch Beading…create intricate patterns one bead at a time! Tampa Bay Mineral & Science Club	Tampa Bay Mineral & Science Club classes offered	6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Game Night! Southern Lights Brewing Company	Drunk’n Meeples the Social Tabletop (Board) Gamers	6:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
BYO Art/Crafts meetup at Alaeddin Brews Alaeddin Brews	ART with New Friends Pinellas	6:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Shut Up & Write!® in Stone Cabin Coffee Stone Cabin Coffee	Shut Up & Write!® New Haven	6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Shut Up & Write!® in Stone Cabin Coffee Stone Cabin Coffee	Shut Up & Write!® Winter Haven	6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Sun Coast Euchre Club The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge	Suncoast Euchre Club -St Pete	6:50 PM to 8:50 PM EDT
Streamlining SOCs: 5 indispensable capabilities to invest for security Online event	Orlando Cybersecurity Meetup	7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Bitcoin White Paper Hodlween Party Tampa Bay Innovation Center	Tampa Bay Bitcoin	7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Games & Grog @ The Grove SoHo! Grove Soho	Nerdbrew Events	7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
New Beginnings & Old Rivalries Online event	Central Florida AD&D (1st ed.) Grognards Guild	7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
ONLINE / SPANISH: CARTAS A LUCILIO DE SENECA Online event	Orlando Stoics	7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Cardfight Vanguard!! OverDress Weekly Sunshine Games \| Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!	Sunshine Games	7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
October Meetup: The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson 3 Keys Brewing and Eatery	Reading the Classics	7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
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Thursday, October 30

Thursday afternoon at 4:00 pm at American Legion Post 38 (Tampa): It’s the Tampa/MacDill AFB Orange Call! In a military context, an “orange call” refers to an alert signaling a heightened cybersecurity state of readiness.

This orange call’s purpose is to gather and network amongst fellow communicators, guardians, and enablers of all ranks, titles, and experience levels, share resources, and seek professional development. They’ll will conduct a round table meet-and-greet and discuss MacDill communicators and missions, including the increasing role of cyber and the importance of defending our nation’s networks.

Find out more and register here.

Event name and location	Group	Time
Grand Bay Canasta Grand Bay Condominimums	Grand Bay Canasta Meetup Group	1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Tampa/ MacDill AFB Orange Call & Networking Event – October 2025 American Legion Post 138	Signal Corps Regimental Association – Striker Chapter (Tampa)	4:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
CNC Thursday’s MakerSpace Pinellas	Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group	5:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Vecna – Eye of Ruin (T4-APL17) Coliseum of Comics Kissimmee	Orlando Adventurer’s Guild	5:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Tech Connect Social @ Armature Works Armature Works	Tampa Bay New-In-Tech	6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Warhammer Night Critical Hit Games	Critical Hit Games	6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Game Night at Conworlds Emporium (Tarpon Springs) Conworlds Emporium	Drunk’n Meeples the Social Tabletop (Board) Gamers	6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
START YOUR OWN SIDE GIG! Small Business Thursdays! MakerSpace Clearwater	Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group	6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Pathfinder Society Critical Hit Games	Critical Hit Games	7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
FABulous Thursdays Sunshine Games \| Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!	Sunshine Games	7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Enchanted Harp	Tampa Event Hub	7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
One Piece Thursdays Sunshine Games \| Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!	Sunshine Games	7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Live streaming production and talent 124 S Ring Ave	Live streaming production and talent	7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Weekly Meetup (Bugonia) AMC Veterans 24	Weekly Movie Group (Tampa)	7:05 PM to 9:05 PM EDT
Thursday Tacos & Tax Write Offs Online event	Nerdbrew Events	7:30 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Weekly Hacks Online event	Hacktivate – Hackathon Meetup Group	8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
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Friday, October 31

Event name and location	Group	Time
Caffeine & Connections: Friday Fuel for Black Professionals Online event	Pinellas County Black Business Meetup Group	8:00 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Computer Repair Clinic 2079 Range Rd	Tampa Bay Technology Center	8:30 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorm together Online event	Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorming together	10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Friday Board Game Night Bridge Club	Tampa Gaming Guild	5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
D&D Epic: The Tarrasque at Baldur’s Gate Critical Hit Games	Critical Hit Games	6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
MTG: Commander FNM Critical Hit Games	Critical Hit Games	6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Modern FNM Sunshine Games \| Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!	Sunshine Games	7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Nerd Brew Halloversary Party 9! Boos, Booze, and Brews! Florida Avenue Brewing Co.	Nerdbrew Events	7:00 PM to 11:59 PM EDT
Taps & Drafts \| EDH/MtG Night 1Up Entertainment, Tampa	Nerdbrew Events	7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
ONLINE / ENGLISH: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor Online event	Orlando Stoics	7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Friday Pokemon Tournament Sunshine Games \| Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!	Sunshine Games	7:30 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
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Saturday, November 1

Event name and location	Group	Time
Come Join the Fun @ “National Cook For Your Pet Day” Game Night Sat Nov 01, 2025 Saturday, Nov 1, 4:45 PM · 4:45 PM to 9:30 PM EDT	Tampa (Citrus Park Area) Games Meetup Group	11:15 PM
Wild Beyond the Witchlight (Tier 1) Saturday, Nov 1, 2:00 PM · 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT	Orlando Adventurer’s Guild	1:45 PM
Become an FCCP Supporter Plus & Access 100+ Hours of Educational Videos Online event	Florida Center for Creative Photography	7:00 AM to 7:01 AM EDT
(DIY) – First Saturday Cars & Coffee – VFW Post 2550 Dunedin – (DIY) VFW Post 2550	Florida Center for Creative Photography	7:30 AM to 10:30 AM EDT
Breakfast & Bitcoin – Central Florida Bitcoiners Flightline Cafe & Catering	Central Florida Bitcoiners	9:00 AM to 11:30 AM EDT
Creative Writing In-Person Monthly Gathering for Aspiring Authors 16120 US Hwy 19 N	Pinellas Writers Group	9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Hunters Creek Toastmasters Hart Memorial Library 2nd Floor	Toastmasters Division E	9:30 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Saturday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa Whole Foods Market	Chess Republic	9:30 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
EZ Stock (Stock, Options, Market) 2079 Range Rd	Tampa Bay Technology Center	10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
66th Annual Fall Gem, Mineral, and Jewelry Show Florida State Fairgrounds	Tampa Bay Mineral & Science Club Events	10:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT
Halo Flashpoint Tournament Critical Hit Games	Critical Hit Games	11:00 AM to 5:30 PM EDT
FREE Fab Lab Orientation Faulhaber Fab Lab	Suncoast Makers	1:30 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
D&D (5e) @ Black Harbor Gaming (FULL) Black Harbor Gaming	St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group	1:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Radiant Citadel Adventures (Tier 3) Coliseum of Comics Clermont	Orlando Adventurer’s Guild	2:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
Savage race 2025 Little Everglades Ranch	Gen Geek	2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Saturday Afternoon Catan Whole Foods Market	Tampa Bay Settlers of Catan	4:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Seminole Game Night (1st Saturday of each Month 4 – 10 PM) Barbara’s House	It’s All Fun and Games Tampa Bay Brandon Riverview and Ruskin	4:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Community Hang-out Night Online event	Nerdbrew Events	6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening Tournament Sunshine Games \| Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!	Sunshine Games	7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
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Sunday, November 2

Event name and location	Group	Time
ONLINE: TBD Online event	Orlando Stoics	9:00 AM to 10:30 AM EST
66th Annual Fall Gem, Mineral, and Jewelry Show Florida State Fairgrounds	Tampa Bay Mineral & Science Club Events	10:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST
Sunday Gaming Tampa Bay Bridge Center	Tampa Gaming Guild	1:00 PM to 11:00 PM EST
DaggerHeart RPG: Witchcraft in the Wild Critical Hit Games	Critical Hit Games	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
Book Club Monthly Meeting – “Our Last Resort” by Clémence Michallon	Thrillers by the Book Club – SRQ Chapter	2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EST
Traveller – Science Fiction Adventure RPG Black Harbor Gaming	St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group	3:00 PM to 6:00 PM EST
Sunday Pokemon League Sunshine Games \| Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!	Sunshine Games	4:00 PM to 8:00 PM EST
Echos of the Classics- Kick Off Event Arlington Park	Echos of the Classics	4:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST
Time for something a little different. Lets take a bike ride. Bike Park	The Maker Team – Plant City	4:00 PM to 6:00 PM EST
Learn Excel – For Beginners, Level 1 Online event	Solo & So-Not-Solo	4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EST
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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