McMenamins Mission Theater & Pub

Demolicious, a monthly pitch event for early-stage startups, is thrilled to announce the first end-of-the-year Champion of Champions pitch event. Held where it all started at the famed McMenamins Mission Theater, 11 past monthly Demolicious winners will compete to become 2024 Demolicious Champion and take home the coveted championship belt!

This event is free and open to the public, but sign up asap because we expect it to be a complete sell out. A waitlist will be created once RSVPs become full.

How Demolicious works:

Team will have 5 minutes to pitch. The audience will vote. Results of the vote will be awarded the championship belt. Pretty simple right!?! Can't wait to see you there.

The Robot Film Festival (RFF) is an annual celebration of robots on screen and in performance. The event features screenings of invited films and juried selections from open- call submissions, live performances by robot entertainers, and a red-carpet awards ceremony.

The eighth annual Robot Film Festival is themed VINTAGE ARCADE REVIVAL. What would the robots of today look like through the lens of 1980's technoptimists? Enter a technological storytelling time machine, and see the modern world through their eyes.

Event Schedule: 4pm Short Film Screenings 6pm Cocktail Party 8pm Botskers Award Cememony

Over the course of the festivities, attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Pearl District; savor delicious locally-made food and beverages, appreciate robotic demonstrations and art exhibits, and discuss the richly varied and thematically curated screening sessions.

History: RFF was founded in New York City in 2011 with the mission of spreading positive storytelling about robotics. Since then, the Festival has expanded its influence with events in San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles. The event is produced by an interdisciplinary team of roboticists, filmmakers, and storytellers. Through these traveling screenings and its online video archives, RFF nurtures a community of creatives and engineers who explore, document, and invent the imaginative world of robotics.

Portlanders in web and mobile tech are creating cool new apps, services and companies. But we aren't sharing them nearly enough. Demolicious shines a well-deserved spotlight on some of the best work. Previous presenters have gone on to raise money from PIE, the Portland Seed Fund and other investors.

Nerd Nite Portland #13 – The Mystique of Terroir: Geology, Soils, Climate and Wines in the Northern Willamette Valley

Nerd Nite is a monthly event that strives for an inebriated, salacious, yet deeply academic vibe. We aim to entertain, educate, elucidate, enlighten, and other things that start with “e.” Be there and be square.

ter·roir/tɛrˈwɑr noun Definition: the environmental conditions, especially soil and climate, in which grapes are grown and that give a wine its unique flavor and aroma.

The Willamette Valley has a certain je ne sais quoi, no? What special quality of the region’s terroir yields such exceptional wines? How do the soil, climate, and conditions lend themselves to lovely Pinot Noirs, but not Cabernets or Merlots? How does the region’s geologic past affect where and how to grow grapes? How does Oregon compare to other wine-growing regions in the United States and other countries around the world? Join us as Dr. Scott Burns, professor of geology and past chair of the Department of Geology at PSU, and wine enthusiast, tells us about all this and more about what makes a vineyard successful.

*A note on the suggested cover: Nerd Nite is completely supported by money collected at the door. We are committed to offering education opportunities to adults who want to learn, so if $8 is a hardship for you, please come anyway and donate what you can.

Nerd Nite is a monthly event that strives for an inebriated, salacious, yet deeply academic vibe. We aim to entertain, educate, elucidate, enlighten, and other things that start with “e.” Be there and be square.

When: Tuesday, February 4, 2014, doors at 6:00pm, event at 7:00pm Where: Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan, Portland Cost: $8.00* suggested cover at the door

This Nerd Nite will feature two excellent talks:

The Willamette River: A History of Sediment and Change

The Willamette River is one of the most important geological features of this area. With no river, no port. And with no port, no Portland. The river has undergone huge changes since the arrival of settlers and cities. Yet throughout the taming the river by building sea walls, the dredging and channeling to facilitate shipping, and the 100+ years of dumping toxins and waste, the Willamette is still a living river with birds and fish and people who dependent on it. Keith Johnson, Manager of the DEQ Northwest Region Cleanup Program, and Kevin Parrett, NWR Cleanup Section Manager at the DEQ, will give us a visual history of the Willamette and how the river and the city have changed each other.

The Subsurface History of Portland

People have been moving the earth around in the Portland Metro area to suit our needs since the earliest days of urban habitation, and this history of cutting and filling impacts many aspects of living and working in the city. Engineer Stuart Albright from Apex Companies will present historic maps and photos of Portland that he uses to evaluate the location and extent of the earthwork and landfilling that has shaped this area. He will also share the history of the locations of some of the largest historic fills, such as Asylum Creek, Guilds Lake, Tanner Creek, and Marquam Gulch, and how those landscapes affect us today.

*A note on the suggested cover: Nerd Nite is completely supported by money collected at the door. We are committed to offering education opportunities to adults who want to learn, so if $8 is a hardship for you, please come anyway and donate what you can.

Please note that you MUST register to attend this free event!

We will be accepting talk proposals until December 2, so if you want to talk, please submit! We will be announcing the agenda in mid-December.

3DV & Autodesk Presents: Autodesk Hits Portland 3.0

Autodesk artists Marcel de Jong, Mark Schoennagel, and Gary Davis are descending upon Portland to provide a rare glimpse of the latest developments in Maya, Mudbox, MotionBuilder, Softimage, 3ds Max, reality capture, Maya LT, and Xgen. The discussion will also include where the industry and technology is heading in 2014 and beyond. The team will be available for questions by the audience after the show.

Schedule:

5:00 - 6:00 Dinner, beer, & Networking

6:00 - 9:00 Demonstration

9:00 Wacom raffle of an Intuos Pro

Wacom Cintiq 24HD hands on display

It's like CSI meets Mystery Science Theater 3000!

Crime scene TV shows like CSI and Bones have helped spawn a fascination for all things forensic, but the science those shows depict is sometimes shockingly inaccurate. Find out what it's REALLY like to be a forensic scientist, and watch and learn as they pick apart some clips from those shows and debunk some of the "science" they portray.

We'll be joined by: - Dan Alessio, Forensic Scientist, Firearms, Oregon State Police Crime Lab - Gretchen Anderson, Forensic Scientist, Latent Prints, Oregon State Police Crime Lab - Eric Tonsfeldt, Medicolegal Death Investigator, Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office - Dr. Nici Vance, State Forensic Anthropologist, State Medical Examiner’s Office

$8.00 suggested cover at the door, online tickets will be available soon.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Nerd Nite is a monthly event that strives for an inebriated, salacious, yet deeply academic vibe. We aim to entertain, educate, elucidate, enlighten, and other things that start with “e.” Be there and be square.

When: Tuesday, November 12, 2013, doors at 6:00pm, event at 7:00pm Where: Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan, Portland Cost: $8.00 suggested cover at the door, or available online

This Nerd Nite will feature just one speaker, the unforgettable Scott Burns!

One of the greatest sets of geological events to ever have occurred in North America was the Missoula Floods. Occurring as many as 40 times during the last ice age, the floods were caused by waters released from ancient Lake Missoula that scoured the Columbia River basin, carved out the Columbia River Gorge, and swept across at least 16,000 square miles of the Pacific Northwest. At this Nerd Nite, Scott Burns, PhD, http://geology.pdx.edu/node/67, professor of geology and past chair of the Department of Geology at PSU, will focus on the incredible story of discovery and development of the idea of the floods by J Harlen Bretz and will discuss the effect of the floods on the landscape of the Willamette Valley and the area around us.

*A note on the suggested cover: Nerd Nite is completely supported by money collected at the door. We are committed to offering education opportunities to adults who want to learn, so if $8 is a hardship for you, please come anyway and donate what you can.

Check out Nerd Nite on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nerdniteportland and Meetup http://www.meetup.com/Nerd-Nite-Portland/.

Nerd Nite #8 – You Say You Want Some Evolution: Gibbons and Spiders Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Nerd Nite is a monthly event that strives for an inebriated, salacious, yet deeply academic vibe. We aim to entertain, educate, elucidate, enlighten, and other things that start with “e.” Be there and be square!

When: Tuesday, October 8, 2013, doors at 6:00pm, event at 7:00pm Where: Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan, Portland Cost: $8.00* suggested cover at the door

This Nerd Nite will feature the following two talks:

Swinging Between Genomics, Evolution, and Conservation The small apes (or gibbons) are amazing primates living in South East Asia and currently threatened by extinction. They have many distinctive traits separating them from their cousins, the great apes (orang, gorilla and chimp), including the ability to move just using their arms (i.e. brachiation), monogamy, and vocalization to defend their territory. Lucia Carbone, PhD, Assistant Professor at OHSU studying genomics and epigenetics, has been studying the gibbon genome to learn more about these species and primate evolution in general. Her talk will go over her latest findings and highlight a fascinating connection between processes in evolution and human disease.

Spider Venoms: The Evolution of an Arsenal Spiders (all 44,000 species) play key roles in our ecosystems as predators of insects. Without spiders there would be many more insects and fewer plants. Evolution over the last 400 million years has created enormous diversity among spiders in predatory tactics, including web and venom use, which has resulted in a phenomenal diversity of silk and venom chemistry. Greta Binford, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology at Lewis & Clark College, studies diversity and evolution of spiders and their venoms, including the toxic brown recluse and its relatives. She will highlight some of the beautiful biological diversity of spiders’ feeding biology, silks, and venoms, and discuss how evolution has generated a "pharmacopeia" of unique toxins that are rich in potential for human applications.

*A note on the suggested cover: Nerd Nite is completely supported by money collected at the door. We are committed to offering education opportunities to adults who want to learn, so if $8 is a hardship for you, please come anyway and donate what you can.

Check out Nerd Nite on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nerdniteportland

On Meetup http://www.meetup.com/Nerd-Nite-Portland/

The Demolicious Cup is up for grabs September 4. Doors open 5:00, Demos start 6:00.

Portlanders in web and mobile tech are creating cool new apps, services and companies. But we aren't sharing them nearly enough. Demolicious shines a well-deserved spotlight on some of the best work. Previous presenters have gone on to raise money from PIE, the Portland Seed Fund and other investors.

Demolicious is a free event open to the public, but for planning purposes we ask that you register your place.

Nerd Nite is a monthly event that strives for an inebriated, salacious, yet deeply academic vibe. We aim to entertain, educate, elucidate, enlighten, and other things that start with "e." Come drink along with us!

Cost: $8.00 suggested cover at the door, or tickets available online

This Nerd Nite will feature: Junk in The Trunk: Recent Controversies in Genomics

You may have heard-- less than 2% of the human genome is comprised of protein-coding DNA. What is the 98% composed of, where does it come from, and what does it do? Sarah Schaack will take you on a guided tour through the genomic landscape of some fully sequenced plants and animals, including humans. Her talk will explore the recent heated debate among biologists surrounding "junk DNA", its utility (or lack thereof), and why bigger isn't necessarily better, at least when it comes to genome size.

Sarah Schaack, PhD, is an assistant professor of biology doing research in the area of evolutionary genomics at Reed College.

Nerd Nite is a monthly event that strives for an inebriated, salacious, yet deeply academic vibe. Featuring short talks by several scientists, artists, experts of all types, and ordinary people with extraordinary skills, we aim to entertain, educate, elucidate, enlighten, and other things that start with "e." Come drink along with us!

When: Tuesday, July 30, 2013, doors at 6:00pm, event at 7:00pm Where: Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan, Portland Cost: $8.00 suggested cover at the door Check out the Facebook event page

This Nerd Nite will feature two awesome talks:

• Genital Plugs, Projectile Penises, and Gay Butterflies: A Naturalist Explains the Birds & the Bees with Becky Jaffe, photographer, naturalist, and educator

• Bugs, Bites, and Bodies: Insects and Death with Eric Tonsfeldt, Medicolegal Death Investigator, Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office

Genital Plugs, Projectile Penises, and Gay Butterflies: A Naturalist Explains the Birds & the Bees

Birds do it, bees do it–even educated fleas do it. Let’s do it, let’s fall in lust as photographer and insect fetishist Becky Jaffe takes us on a romp through Mother Nature’s freaky side. Biophilia? This talk may well bring on a biorgasm!

A photographer, naturalist, and educator living in Oakland, Becky Jaffe teaches high school biology and leads environmental science tours at UC Berkeley’s Botanical Garden.

Bugs, Bites, and Bodies: Insects and Death

To an insect, a decomposing human body left to rot in the woods can be the feast of a lifetime. To a forensic entomologist, those insects can give clues to how the person died, how long they’ve been dead, and even who that person was in life. Eric Tonsfeldt, Medicolegal Death Investigator at the Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office, will explain the ways that bugs can be used to help forensic investigation. Prepare to be creeped out (but in a good way!).

*A note on the suggested cover: Nerd Nite is completely supported by money collected at the door. We are committed to offering education to adults who want to learn, so if $8 is a hardship for you, please come anyway and donate what you can.

The Gluster Community will be holding a workshop in Portland, Oregon, US on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. We welcome wide participation by all community members interested in GlusterFS and the Gluster Forge projects.

If you can join us at the Mission Theatre on Tuesday, July 23rd and would like to share your passion for all things Gluster, please come for a day of learning and fun.

Full agenda and registration available at glusterday-pdx.eventbrite.com

Registration is free of charge (and we'll have free beer) but please make sure to RSVP.

We had a conference at the mission theater, and we have it rented until the end of Tuesday night. Come join us for a movie, and finish off the conference right.

Free and open to the tech public. Come join us!

Write the Docs is a two-day conference focused on documentation systems, tech writing theory, and information delivery. It will be held on April 8-9 in Portland, Oregon.

Writing and maintaining documentation involves the talents of a multidisciplinary community of technical writers, designers, typesetters, developers, support teams, marketers, and many others.

This conference creates a time and a place for this community of documentarians to share information, discuss ideas, and work together to improve the art and science of documentation.

We invite all those who write the docs to spread the word:

Docs or it didn't happen!

Portlanders in web and mobile tech are creating cool new apps, services and companies. But we aren't sharing them nearly enough. Demolicious shines a well-deserved spotlight on some of the best work. Previous presenters have gone on to raise money from PIE, the Portland Seed Fund and other investors.

Demolicious is a free event open to the public, but for planning purposes we ask that you register your place.

The event is FREE - Appetizers & Beer Provided

Two of Autodesk's top Application Engineers (Gary Davis & Marcel de Jong) will be showing the latest Autodesk Suites that include: A Virtual Production Workflow in Maya, Motionbuilder and Mudbox 3ds Max interoperability with After Effects Motionbuilder workflow with Kinect for Motion Capture Special presentations of Sketchbook and Smoke for the MAC New Features

Critical to life on Earth yet, virtually unexplored, the planet’s largest ecosystem - the ocean – holds many mysteries. Though currently subject to rapid change with unknown global-scale consequences, the ocean has been the source of a number of new discoveries of animal life, environments and even extremophiles. At this Science Pub, find out just how much of the planet’s surface is still left to explore, and what kinds of curious creatures live there.

If you had just five minutes to showcase your cutting-edge products, technologies, or methodologies, what would you say? What if you were forced to present those ideas with 20 PowerPoint slides that each rotated automatically after 15 seconds?

The Software Association of Oregon is sponsoring an Ignite event on September 15th. As a speaker, you'll land a platform that challenges not only the way you present your ideas, but grants you access to an audience eager to listen. As an attendee, you'll learn about emerging, innovative, locally-sourced concepts while networking with a diverse and passionate crowd of like-minded, "early-adopters."

What is Ignite? Ignite is a fast-paced geek event where speakers share their personal and professional passions via 20 Powerpoint slides each auto-advancing every 15 seconds, giving each speaker exactly 5 minutes of fame. Quick, fun, thought-provoking, social, local, global - Ignite is all of these and more. It satisfies the ADD in all of us. It's a high-energy evening of 5-minute talks by local people who have an idea - and the guts to get onstage and finally give that "elevator speech" we've all been told we need but rarely get to give.

Agenda 5:30pm Doors open, badges, networking, booths, and music 7:00pm Welcome & Ignite talks begin 7:45pm Break 8:00pm Ignite talks resume 8:45pm Ignite talks end, final networking 9:00pm Event ends

Presenters Presenters We've got dynamic and diverse presenters leading talks on a variety of innovative topics!

View Presentations!

Topics All TechIgnite! proposals should fall into at least one of these categories:

* Products
* Technology
* Methodology
* Concepts
* Open!

Truly a premiere geeky event and momentous first for Portland.

Come for another lovely night of geek festivities and Olympathon closing ceremonies. Prizes galore, with no shortage of fun.

HIGHLIGHTS:
(21+ only please!)

Hosted by the effervescent Chavtastic Jinx of Incubator and the frolicsome Marquis de Maltease of Critical Hit Burlesque.

-TOKEN TABLE
Be sure to get those tokens accounted for, you earned them!

-GEEK TRIVIA
Cort & Fatboy host a special edition of our beloved trivia. This is an all-team event, so be sure to oil up that swiss army knife!

-AWARDS
This is the night when the best of the best are showcased! Don’t think just because you didn’t get the most points you aren’t eligible for some awesome prize packs… Your awesomeness alone could be the clincher.

-PRIZES
Zomg! So many prizes, including the amazing grand prize, a trip for two to San Diego ComiCon ($1300 value, airfare/hotel/passes paid) and literally dozens of other amazing geeky swag.

-PERFORMANCES
from PDX Yar! and Critical Hit Burlesque… Their combined power levels ARE OVER 9000!!!

-COSTUME CONTEST!
The Drinkathon was but a trial run of your best geeky get-up.

-NO COVER!
That’s right, just like the entirety of the Olympathon, because geeks do it best– after all.

Feel free to check out the Awardathon’s Facebook event!

OMSI Science Pub

  Tuesday, April 28, 2009   

  Taking Flight at PDX: From Runways to Air Traffic Control

   How does your plane fly? On a dark and stormy night, how does the pilot find the airport? Why do some planes make more noise than others? If you can’t even get of your driveway in a snow storm, how are they keeping the airport open? At this Science Pub, come find out about these and other aspects of commercial aviation, including the physics of flight, sound propagation, and airport operations. 

  Chris Corich is General Manager of Long Range Planning and Noise, and a 16-year veteran at PDX.

  When:

  Science Pub Portland is the last Tuesday of the month 
  7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Doors open at 5:00 p.m.
  Come early for food, drink, and to get a seat!

  Please Note:

  Science Pub Portland now has a suggested cover charge of $2.00
  (If that's a hardship for you, please come anyway!)

[Featured in The Oregonian on 2009-01-13 ]

Richard Taylor sees a pattern. The University of Oregon professor of physics is leading the way with internationally recognized research into fractals—curious patterns found in nature that repeat themselves. Taylor's startling discoveries show that these patterns-within-patterns may significantly reduce stress and have interesting implications for psychology, medicine, and even the semiconductor industry. Taylor has applied his studies to art, showing how fractal patterns in the work of abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock can distinguish a real Pollock from a fake. Come hear about this amazing intersection of art and science.

Richard Taylor, PhD, is an associate professor in physics, psychology, and art at the University of Oregon. Transforming lives by erasing academic boundaries might be why Taylor was named Outstanding Teacher in Higher Education for 2005 by the Oregon Academy of Science.

Come see physics in action! Jugglers, acrobats, and other circus artists often base their acts on simple Newtonian principles of motion and balance taken to extremes. How does gravity's constant rate of acceleration affect the juggling of bowling balls? Why would a Nobel Laureate beg a vaudevillian to spin a ball on his finger? Which tricks are created using math? Did the Japanese really acquit a 17th-century prisoner on the strength of his inertia skills? Which came first: the bed of nails or the ladder of swords? How many new performance ideas can a desperate juggler glean from a room full of science-minded folks?

Rhys Thomas, has been making a living performing hilarity and dexterity for over 20 years. His science shows have been presented in Trinidad, Singapore, at museums across the U.S. and Canada, and even toured by dogsled across frozen ocean to Siberian Yupik villages. Thomas has served as artist-in-residence at the Smithsonian Institution and performs as an OMSI educator at schools in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and other western states.

Saturday, October 25
Cocktail Cabaret presents: "A NIGHT AT THE CARNIVAL"

All proceeds from this show will be donated to the Oregon Humane Society.

8 p.m. doors, 8:30 p.m. show

$14 advance, $17 day of show

21 and over

COCKTAIL CABARET

Cocktail Cabaret started when a small group of friends came together in late 2004 to form an eclectic cabaret troupe. All members of Cocktail Cabaret bring years of professional performance experience to the stage, ranging from musical theatre and dance to stand up comedy.

Cocktail Cabaret offers its audience a unique experience rarely found today. The show is reminiscent of days past when vaudeville and cabaret were the veins of entertainment. They combine dance, song, risqué innuendos, great costumes, loads of energy, and downright funny stuff to create a new era of cabaret. Cocktail Cabaret specializes in themed shows such as Tropicana, Viva Las Vegas, Broadway Baby, and Follies Bergere along with their more mixed shows that they fondly refer to as A Barrel Full of Monkeys.

Cocktail Cabaret has performed in many of Portland's favorite music venues, including Lola's Room (Crystal Ballroom), McMenamin's White Eagle Saloon, and the Mississippi Pizza Pub. Because the members of Cocktail Cabaret are committed to service, the ensemble also performs for fundraisers and other charity events throughout the year.

Visit www.cocktailcabaretpdx.com for more information.

Bring friends and join us to celebrate the launch of the official Obama '08 iPhone application. We'll screen the presidential debate and then show highlights of the Obama '08 app and meet the Portland members of the development team.

Note: This event is likely to fill up quickly, and is first come, first served. Show up early to get a good seat!

Geckos can run up smooth vertical surfaces but, until recently, no one knew how they did it. Looking at the structure of gecko feet at the nanoscale and measuring the tiny forces involved showed that gecko feet stick mechanically, not chemically. This discovery lead to the development of the world's first adhesive that is dry, self-cleaning, reversible, and can even work in the vacuum of outer space. Designs based on gecko feet are being used to create robots that can run up walls, and this adhesive could bring changes to the manufacture of everything from home electronics to car brakes. At this Science Pub we will talk about how the study of mechanisms and evolution of animal locomotion has lead to biologically inspired materials and machines.

Kellar Autumn, Ph.D., professor of biology at Lewis & Clark College since 1998, does research that has grown into a new field of study at the interface between biology, physics, and materials science. He has authored over 40 scientific papers and his research is featured in textbooks, encyclopedias, and popular books including The Nanotech Pioneers: Where Are They Taking Us? Every major television network has covered his work, as have hundreds of newspaper, magazine, and Internet articles worldwide.

Free tickets for this event are now available at www.LegionOfTech.org.

Please feel free to RSVP here on Upcoming, but understand that this does not mean you have a ticket nor does it reserve a seat at the event. To register you'll need to go to the URL above.

Legion of Tech is very happy to announce Mark Shuttleworth as the next speaker in our Legion of Talk series. Mark is founder of the Ubuntu Project, an enterprise Linux distribution, and became the first African in space as a cosmonaut member of the crew of Soyuz mission TM34 to the International Space Station in 2002.

Does Solar Energy Make Sense in Oregon?

Despite cloudy days and rainy weather, solar energy can be a smart choice for homes and businesses in Oregon. Come learn about the latest in solar technologies and what could work best for you: Solar electricity generation? Solar water heating? Passive solar design? We'll discuss how to take advantage of financial incentives and what to look for when choosing a contractor. This Science Pub will prepare you to take any of Solar Oregon's in-depth workshops, to do more focused research on your own, and even to start working with a contractor.

Stuart Green is a solar educator, engineer, and renewable energy researcher. He is program and events director at Solar Oregon, a local nonprofit that provides solar outreach and education to Oregonians.

doors open at 6 PM