August 2024 TEC Events & News
It's August and there's lots going on in addition to our standing monthly events, our Right to Repair Workshop and Privacy PIE meetup. We've also got an upcoming tech field trip, a survey to determine future actually useful workshops TEC, a hilarious programming blog-rant from Nikhil Suresh for our TEC Article Club, and some new TEC Talks Podcast episodes in the works. Scroll for all the details about all the things. Don't forget to join the TEC Discord server (if you're new to Discord, you can find a basic guide here).
August 2024 Right to Repair Workshop:
Keep Your Laptop Juiced & Cool
You're not the only thing that gets drained in the summer heat. Your laptop needs to refresh its battery occasionally and stay cool to operate. This month, we'll cover how to change your laptop's battery safely and also how to keep your laptop cool, even in this heat.
- Tuesday, August 13 at 7 p.m.
- Advanced Cyber Systems Lab, at Gateway Community College
- Click here for ACSL directions and parking.
- The ACSL is located in Room 2108 of the MA building.
- This event is free and open to the general public.
DETAILS
🔧 We have all the specialty tools you’ll need thanks to iFixit! That includes everything from technical screwdrivers to antistatic tables.
👨🏫 Wyatt Johnson will lead a session on replacing your computer's battery safely and tips for keeping it nice and cool. There will be brief section on the theory behind this and then attendees will try it themselves under Wyatt’s guidance.
💻 Bring your own computer or use one of ours to practice on worry-free!
🌍 Save the planet! And money! Your old tech does NOT have to end up in a landfill and you don’t have to be a techie to save some money.
💡 Wyatt Johnson, a TEC board member, is the CNT/CIS Program Director at Gateway Community College in Phoenix, AZ and teaches mainly Networking and Cybersecurity classes.
💲 This event is free, but the insurance that enables us to put on public events isn't (we think that's lame, too). Help us keep this and other awesome events open to the public by making a tax-deductible donation to TEC here.
August 2024 Privacy PIE:
Shop Online Without Giving Away Your Personal Data
You can shop online and live your life – even make hotel reservations! – without giving away all your personal data. This month Sebastian will give a presentation that covers many aspects of a TEC blog post he wrote that remains one of our most popular posts.
- Tuesday, August 20 at 6 p.m.
- Advanced Cyber Systems Lab, at Gateway Community College
- Click here for ACSL directions and parking.
- The ACSL is located in Room 2108 of the MA building.
Sebastian will discuss how to better protect your personal data when using credit cards, having a cell phone, and signing up for online services and events (like this one!). They'll also briefly touch on the risks associated with leading a more privacy-conscious life since end license user agreements do, in fact, exist. None of the information presented at this event is intended to be nor should it be taken as legal advice.
Sebastian is currently a security administrator. His previous experience includes working as the Cyber Security Analyst for the Arizona Department of Public Safety Fusion Center, the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC). They have worked with other security-related not-for-profits as well, specializing in privacy-based topics and server administration.
This event is free, but the insurance that enables us to put on public events isn't (we think that's lame, too). Help us keep this and other awesome events open to the public by making a tax-deductible donation to TEC here.
NEW AND UPCOMING TEC TALKS PODCAST EPISODES
In case you missed it (which is impressive, given how much we've promoted it), the TEC Talks podcast is now on the air!
Our first three episodes are short segments with working technologists that give a practical and realistic feel for what the daily grind is like in different tech jobs.
- Gavin Klondike shared insights on being a cybersecurity consultant.
- Somehow, Eric Miller told us about being a principal and co-founder of PADT, an industrial 3D printing facility, along with his many other tech-related endeavors, in under 15 minutes.
- TEC's CTO, Charles Knox, broke down exactly what it's like to be a full-stack developer.
- UPCOMING: Connor Johnson sat down and talked with us about being a web developer for a prestigious medical university.
Stay Tuned
We have several longer-form podcasts in the works. These include:
- An interview with Laura Ellington, an engineer who discusses what it was like to be a woman in STEM in the 1980s. This will be a deeper discussion jumping off from her written interview published as a TEC blog published on August 5, 2024.
- A discussion with national political consultant Sam Stone on why lawmakers on all levels, from municipal government to Congress, just don't seem to grasp what tech is, what it does, or how to regulate, govern or legislate about it. This is a nerdy, nuts-and-bolts discussion of tech policy and governance, not a political debate episode. To hear Sam and Christina to debate whilst maintaining the unlikeliest of friendships, listen to this. (Please note Christina has since resigned as a school board member).
Bookmark podcast.techedcollab.org and never miss an episode!
Be on the show!
If you're an experienced technologist and would like to be on the show, contact us or email contact@techedcollab.org. Interviews for day-in-the-life segments can be done remotely and generally take about 30 minutes. Longform interviews and discussion topics are also welcome.
Record Your Own Podcast: Reserve the FREE ACSL Podcast Studio on the TEC Website
This podcast studio is located in the Advanced Cyber Systems Lab and is free to the public.
The studio has two headsets and two microphones but can accommodate up to four (you must bring your own additional microphones and headsets).
Bring a jump drive on which to save your recording. No technical knowledge required; everything is set up to start recording in two clicks and the flick of a switch.
Hours:
Monday - Thursday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Click here for ACSL directions and parking.
Love 3D Printing? Join TEC on a Tour of PADT!
TEC is hosting a tour of PADT, an industrial 3D printing facility, on Tuesday, September 24th at 5:30 p.m.
Join us on this free tour and gain an insider's look at industrial 3D printing. We do need advance notice of attendance, so contact us at contact@techedcollab.org if you're interested.
To learn more about what industrial 3D printing is, check out our podcast episode with Eric Miller, founder and principal of PADT. He discusses his favorite print job he ever did and it's pretty wild!
August 2024 TEC Article Club
I Will F*ing Dropkick You If You Use That Spreadsheet
To participate in this discussion, just join the async discussion on the TEC Reads channel on our Discord server.
The August 2024 Article
I Will F*ing Dropkick You If You Use That Spreadsheet
In a hilarious blog that's really more of a rant, Nikhil Suresh, director at Hermit Technology, discusses why not to spreadsheets in automated processes. His burning rage and hatred for this practice is well supported on a technical level, and he's pretty funny to boot, so it promises to be an enjoyable read for everyone. And yes, he's been invited on to the podcast, too.
Publication: Ludicity (https://ludic.mataroa.blog/)
Long and Ugly Link:
https://ludic.mataroa.blog/blog/i-will-fucking-dropkick-you-if-you-use-that-spreadsheet/
Date Published: February 28, 2023
Discord live virtual Discussion Date: Thursday, August 29, at 6 p.m.
We Need Info From Real Technologists for An Actually Useful Workshop
TEC needs your help to level up the "Education" part of its name and mission with workshops that will close the gaps between formal computer science and IT education and practical work experience.
We want these workshops to be as beneficial as possible for both new technologists and the organizations that employ them so we're asking for YOUR feedback via this four-minute survey (it will probably take less time than that).
The survey asks more specific questions (with an open-ended option), but what what we're ultimately trying to determine is:
- If you hire new technologists or tech interns, what do you wish they knew on Day One they usually don't?
- Or, if you're already a technologist, what do you wish you had known on your first day on the job?
- If you're a tech educator, what do you wish you could teach that you may be unable to?
Let us know here. Or copy and paste this link into your browser:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfsSfDkrPNEAvhIuhtnbX1npVF1-4aDKtJcy6Ug3kbDLmY0gw/viewform
If you're interested in collaborating with TEC on this initiative, want to answer but don't want to deal with Google Stalk, please send an email to contact@techedcollab.org or drop a line in the TEC Discord.
Thanks for making it down to the end! If you love what TEC does and want to see more great events, opportunities to interact with the community and more, we welcome your support.
We are an all-volunteer Arizona 501(c)3 nonprofit and donations are tax deductible.