hey all! I’m flying into NYC tomorrow, in part because I’m optimistically running in the NYC triathlon on Sunday. ok ok, I haven’t been training as hard as I could, but also I’ve been training at 2250 meters of elevation (plus some nasty air contamination). every time I come back to Mexico City after an extended stay in a sea-level city, it’s always a body-shock how hard it is to do anything athletic! 20k of hills in SF was nothing compared to 5k of running through tree-lined, flat Condesa when I got back here in May, so I’m hoping I can just count on my good conditioning here as a superpower.
but anyway, I’m sticking around until July 30 to check out new spaces, connect with old and new friends, and see what is what since I last was in NYC in November 2018. if you’re in the area hit me up or check out the events list below for some of the stuff I hope to attend!
resource roundup!
Codeacademy has a new C++ course available! if you’re interested in digging in hard on game development, VR, robotics, or scientific computing, this might be a good place to start!
here’s a library for painting 3D ivy in the Unity Editor by Robert Yang. it’s free and open source and looks wildly fun to play with. I am picking up a new computer next week while I’m in the city, and I can’t WAIT to have something powerful enough to tinker with stuff like this in Unity again. if you want to support Robert Yang’s contributions to open source development, you can donate/tip on his itch.io here.
speaking of Unity, they just announced a refresh of their free beginner and intermediate scripting tutorial videos, including using C#, Microsoft Visual Studio, and Unity 2019. this looks like a friendly, bite-sized way to get started in Unity, with some room to grow in their intermediate series. you can learn more about the refresh here!
SOFT ROBOTS! a team of researchers has developed a soft robot that mimics the movement of a tiny jellyfish. get hypnotized and get inspired! you can read more here.
for some more inspiration, the first issue of Meakusma Magazin includes a personal report on Women in Computer Music by Sonia Güttler. worth a read! you can download the issue here.
opportunities!
NEoN Digital Arts Festival in Dundee, Scotland is hosting an open call for augmented reality works on the theme of “REACT,” exploring how artists use digital systems to effect change within our social and political realities. the deadline for proposals is July 31, so you have a nice chunk of time to get this one sent off. projects will be hosted for the festival this November, and artists will receive a fee of £2000 for the production/licensing of the work. you can learn more here.
applications are open for The Strange’s fall “Decelerator,” a retreat/residency hybrid for those seeking a chance to slow down and focus on an ambitious creative undertaking from a beautiful location in the mountains. this fall’s program will specifically be made available to practitioners whose work extends beyond themselves by generating critical opportunities and support for others. applications are due by August 1! you can learn more here.
hey! did you know that Tech Learning Collective has rolling admissions? did you miss their deadline for the July NET101 course? their courses and events look great and are worth checking out – if you’ve missed the latest deadline for one of their courses, pre-enroll for the next session on their site!
the Recurse Center is accepting applications for Fellowships of up to $10,000 for women, trans, and/or non-binary programmers to work on a project or research at the Recurse Center during their Fall batches. these Fellowships will be directly funded by the Recurse Center, and people of color are especially encouraged to apply! learn more here. apply by 9am on July 22 to be considered!
📅 upcoming events!
tonight July 16! Fat Cat Fab Lab! New York, NY USA: it’s on my radar to try and check out Fat Cat while I’m in NYC this trip, and it looks like they have a bunch of events to aim for, including their weekly open house every Tuesday. I won’t be in town until tomorrow night, so I’ll probably aim for the 23rd, but there’s one on tonight!
Every Tuesday evening, we open our doors so you can visit our hackerspace. There’s no schedule, no speakers, and no pressure. Just drop in, say hello, meet people, and see some awesome projects.
RSVP on Meetup to attend.
Saturday July 20! DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY USA: Come Out & Play 2019 is happening this Saturday, with family-friendly games all afternoon, and new social and physical games for adults in the evening. friend-of-the-newsletter Joe Stevens is trekking all the way from London to present his game Flight Club, a 2-4 player game with 300 PAPER AIRPLANES. if this doesn’t sound like chaotic good idk what does. I’m going to try and make it out to this one!
Sunday July 21! Wonderville! Brooklyn, NY USA: Tech Learning Collective presents Gone Phishing: How to Recognize Fake Websites and Other Online Scams! stop by Wonderville for this workshop to learn the basics of self-defense against web-based social engineering attacks. you’ll learn by doing, i.e. by creating and deploying your own phishing web site designed to steal usernames and passwords. tbh I can’t think of a better way to learn how insidious these sites can be! learn more and register here. tix are first-come, first-served, and there’s a $15 discount for queer and femme folx. I’m going to try and make it out to this one as well if I’m not totally wiped out from the triathlon so come say hi!!!!!
Monday July 22! NYC Resistor! Brooklyn, NY USA: also on my radar is NYC Resistor, a hacker collective in downtown Brooklyn. every Monday and Thursday they have public nights for meeting new people, sharing knowledge, and working on your own projects. you can check out the calendar for all of their events here, and maybe I’ll see you next week!
Sept 16-21! Berlin, Germany: Citizens of Evidence: Independent Investigations for Change is a conference of the Disruption Network Lab this September in Berlin. the conference itself is the 20-21, in conjunction with a workshop presented by School of Machines, Making & Make-Believe on using technology to investigate injustice. this looks really good, and I’m secretly trying to come up with excuses to attend. you can learn more here.
just for lulz!
idk why triathletes became part of the Pokémon mythos, but thx to that I’ve had 3 years of the same twitter profile icon.
*~housekeeping~*
as always, submit to the open artist call if you have anything in the works that you are excited about! I swear I’m actually going to read through them and start pinging people (lol). and if you have an event or opportunity to promote (anywhere), please send me all the details. the next newsletter will cover the week of July 22 to August 2, but I’m happy to promote events further in the future as well and keep them on the calendar.
