Between a recent vacation, a quick burst of client work, some new gear, and life in general, the home office has been getting a little more cluttered and disorganized than I like, so I dedicated a chunk of this morning to cleaning it up. Here’s a photo from midway through the process.
It’s Saturday — time for another “picdump!” This is the weekly article where I post the technology- and work-related memes, pictures, and cartoons floating around the internet that I found interesting or relevant this 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, May 26 through Sunday, June 1, 2025!
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
Remember: Monday is Memorial Day! Some meetup organizers simply schedule their events “on autopilot” (e.g. “last Monday of the month”) and forget to account for holidays.
Before you attend a meetup on Monday, May 26, check with the organizers to make sure it’s actually happening!
| Event name and location | Group | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown St. Pete Business Networking Connection Lunch~ All Welcome< JOIN In! Carrabbas |
RGA Networking Professional Business Networking | 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT |
| Speakeasy Toastmasters #4698 Online |
Toastmasters District 48 | 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT |
| Game Night at the Brewery! Anecdote Brewing Company |
Game Night at the Brewery! | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
| Mothership Monday: The Haunting of Ypsilon 14 Kitchen Table Games |
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group | 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT |
| Let’s Talk Toastmasters Online |
Toastmasters Divisions C & D | 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT |
| Weekly General Meetup Online |
Beginning Web Development | 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
| Return to the top of the list | ||
Tuesday morning at 10 a.m., online: Computer Coach presents IT Certs Help You Soar – No Degree Required. Are you ready to take your career to new heights in months rather than years? Join this webinar for an empowering webinar where they’ll show you how IT certifications can open doors to high-paying, in-demand roles in technology and beyond.
Find out more and register here.
Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. at Hidden Springs Ale Works (Tampa): Another exciting night of TampaTech, Taps & Tacos!
Tech – Connect & network with fellow tech industry peers
Taps – Enjoy 15% off your tab as a tech attendee
Tacos – A full taco bar… because who doesn’t love tacos?!
No speakers, no presentations — just great conversations and a Raffle (because that’s way more fun! )
Find out more and register here.
Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. at University Boba Tea House (Tampa): Tampa Artificial Intelligence Applications Meetup Group is hosting their weekly meeting!
Find out more and register here.
Thursday at noon, online: Computer Coach presents Your Unique Value Proposition! Your unique value proposition is your secret weapon in the job search. It’s not just about what you do—it’s about who you are, what drives you, and how you solve problems. In this webinar, learn how to clearly communicate your value to recruiters and hiring managers, positioning yourself as the right fit for the right opportunity.
Find out more and register here.
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 & 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caffeine & Connections: Friday Fuel for Black Professionals Online |
Pinellas County Black Business Meetup Group | 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM EDT |
| Business Networking Tampa at Riveters Tampa ***NEW LOCATION*** riveters tampa |
RGA Networking Professional Business Networking | 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT |
| Power BI What-If Magic: Top N & Loan Tools | Ilgar Zarbaliyev Online |
Orlando Power BI User Group | 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT |
| Friday Board Game Night Bridge Club |
Tampa Gaming Guild | 5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT |
| Learn to Solder a Memory Game Tampa Hackerspace |
Tampa Hackerspace | 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
| Return to the top of the list | ||
Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm at Computer Coach (Tampa): Get started with Python at the Python for beginners workshop! Bring a laptop — we’ll help you get Python installed on it, and help you get started with your first Python programs!
Find out more and register here.
Gulf Coast MakerCon provides an opportunity for everyone to join together to share resources, learn a craft, hone their skills, find career and academic opportunities, try new tools and innovations, and showcasing everyone’s amazing creativity!
| Event name and location | Group | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Gen Geeks 1st Get Fit Meeting Walsingham Park |
Gen Geek | 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT |
| Paddle to John’s Pass sandbar War Veterans Memorial Park |
Gen Geek | 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM EDT |
| Sunday Gaming Tampa Bay Bridge Center |
Tampa Gaming Guild | 1:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT |
| Sunday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa Whole Foods Market |
Chess Republic | 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT |
| Traveller – Science Fiction Adventure RPG Black Harbor Gaming |
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group | 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT |
| Return to the top of the 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:
I’m going to be at VueConf US on Tuesday and Wednesday, which very conveniently takes place here in Tampa!
Between my recent trip to Greece, being handed the leadership of Tampa Bay Python, prepping and giving a talk at BSides Tampa, and working with clients, and given that I’ve been working primarily with mobile app and Python development, Vue.js — and by extension, VueConf — has been off my radar.
However, I’m overdue to get up to speed on Vue, and I’ve been invited to attend VueConf. (Thanks to Tampa Java User Group’s Ammar Yusuf for connecting me and Vincent Mayers for the invitation!)
VueConf will take place at USF’s CAMLS center, where CAMLS is short for Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation. CAMLS isn’t located on USF’s main campus, but in downtown Tampa. It’s a pretty new building, and I’ve never set foot in it; I have heard that it has a very nice lecture hall:
While Vue doesn’t have React’s userbase, it’s got a nicer learning curve, doesn’t require you to import everything including the kitchen sink, better DOM manipulation performance, and two-way data binding. It also doesn’t drive me anywhere near as crazy as React does.
It also did well in Theo’s JavaScript framework tier list — I’ve posted the final results above, and the video below:
Anyhow, I’ll write about my experiences at this conference, with the occasional update on my LinkedIn. Watch this space!
It’s Saturday — time for another “picdump!” This is the weekly article where I post the technology- and work-related memes, pictures, and cartoons floating around the internet that I found interesting or relevant this week.
Share and enjoy!
Anitra and I will be at BSides Tampa tomorrow, and we’ll be giving our presentation, Surviving Your Layoff, at 1 p.m. in the Career track (room 3711)!
If you’ve been laid off, or just want to be prepared, you’ll want to catch our presentation at BSides Tampa, taking place tomorrow at USF!