Tag: science

Nerd Nite #14: Chemical Explosions, Toys, and Boobs!

Thursday, July 30, Nerd Nite Denver wraps up its Summer season by celebrating some of the best parts of being human: science, toys, and boobs.

This month, Amanda explains how your life is actually one big chemical explosion;  David talks toys; and Martha explains our relationship to mammalian fun bags — we assume that’s their scientific name.collectors_logo2

Plus! A percentage of every ticket purchase this month goes to Collectors Care, a non-profit that brings toys to children in need.

Grab your tickets ASAP!

  • When: Thursday, July 30 – doors at 6:30pm, show at 7:00pm
  • Where: The Oriental Theater
  • Tickets: $5 online, $8 at the door – 18+

Eventbrite - Nerd Nite: Chemical Reactions, Toys, and Boobs!


Blow Up Your Life! (Figuratively Speaking) 

by Amanda Yuill

Have you ever wondered how your life journey is like a chemical reaction? Specifically, a detonation? Amanda Yuill is here to solve the mystery at last. By comparing what we experience during our major life transitions to the chemical and physical processes that take place during explosions, we can better prepare ourselves to minimize the potential for collateral damage.

Speaker creds:  Amanda Yuill is an Australian explosives chemist turned career & lifestyle coach. She founded Light Yourself Up after realizing that working in corporate America was not her dream job. Learning that there was a scientific basis to happiness allowed her to geek out while helping people find purpose and passion in their working lives – the stuff that lights them up! Amanda serves on the board of the Colorado chapter of the International Coach Federation. Other things that light her up include playing the trombone, travelling, skiing, scuba diving and taking photos of race cars.

Toy Story: Our connection with toys and other representations of legends, learning, and history

by David Bledsoe

Worldwide toy sales top $84 billion annually, but most people don’t associate the playthings of their youth and the collectibles of their adulthood as purely consumer-driven purchases. These simple pieces of plastic and metal help us connect with meaningful stories and lessons in our life – developing our intellect and moral foundations, and providing greater life fulfillment.

Speaker creds:  David Bledsoe is the Founder and Executive Director of Collectors Care, a children’s charity providing toys year-round for sick & needy kids. As a long-time fan of comics, movies and television, David intimately understands how the imaginative stories of his youth can shape the morals and character of any child, and help them overcome some of life’s worst circumstances. Collectors Care has allowed David to combined his personal passion with his professional expertise in the nonprofit and public relations sectors. David is a certified nonprofit manager through Indiana University’s top-ranked School of Public and Environmental Affairs, with over 15 years of nonprofit management and communications experience.

Boobs!

by Martha Illige

“I know what’s flashing through your mind when you hear that word. Culture, nature, and nurture play roles in our beliefs about and responses to boobs. Let’s get in a Darwinian mindset and examine their function in Class Mammalia Genus Homo Species Sapiens.”

Speaker creds: Martha Illige came to Denver early in her career as a family doctor and teacher, and has not left except to travel the world. She found Nerd Nite late and loves the fun. And drinks. Intellectual curiosity is a Prime Mover so let’s celebrate it!


Sexpot Logo

As always, a huge thanks to our primary sponsor Sexpot Comedy and to our photographer partners in crime From the Hip Photo!

Take a moment to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates and fun facts, and be the first to know event details by signing up for our email list (in the bar to the right).

Want to be a Nerd Nite speaker? Do you know someone who should be? Let us know!

Return of the Nerd Nite!

NN Returns - Twitter

The holidays are over and the breaking of resolutions is well underway. So what better time to talk about the science of responsibility, marijuana, and dead bodies. Wait…what? Join us JanuSexpot Logoary 22 for a new year with new speakers and the same ol’ rowdy nerdery!

 

Plus we’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with Sexpot Comedy! These hilarious, Denver-based wunderkinds are the masters of all things entertaining in the Mile High City and look forward to bringing you the science of comedy throughout Nerd Nite in 2015. Keep an eye on our Nerd About Town calendar for other exciting Sexpot shows around town.

  • When: Thursday, January 22 – doors at 6:30pm, show at 7:00pm
  • Where: The Oriental Theater
  • Tickets: $5 online, $8 at the door – 18+

Embrace that inner early-bird and grab your tickets now!

Eventbrite - Return of the Nerd Nite!

 

—————————————————————-

What Makes a Responsible Person?

by Rachel Weston Rowell

The Responsibility Process is a model that explains how your brain responds to a problem. In an effort to allow you to cope with problems and move on quickly, your brain does a lot of work to give you someone or something else to pin your problem on. The process includes steps such as Blame (someone did this to me), Justify (the world/environment/situation did this to me), Shame (blame myself), and Obligation (the world/environment/situation I created is doing this to me). In our lives we spend a lot of time in Shame and Obligation. The issue with all of these responses is that they are coping, not growing and learning spaces. Only when we move to responsibility can we move beyond the problem. Rachel teaches us how to get there.

Speaker creds: Rachel did her undergrad and graduate work at UC Berkeley and CU Boulder respectively in communication and linguistics and now works for Rally Software in Boulder investigating what’s next for the ever-challenging work of building Lean and Agile teams. When she isn’t transforming engineering and business practices, Rachel does improv at the Bovine Metropolis Theater in Denver and volunteers for Code for America through the Code for Denver Brigade. That is, when she isn’t enjoying her very own at home hilarity: her husband and 3 year old daughter.

A Complete Guide to Marijuana

by Jake Browne

We all have an endocannabinoid system, but what is it and how did it get there? Why do some marijuana smell like a dead skunk and why do some people actually like that? Jake Browne, marijuana critic for the Denver Post, breaks down everything you never knew about marijuana, from the gene level to Cheech and Chong sized joints.

Speaker creds: Jake Browne is a Denver-based comedian, writer, and co-host of the Whiskey and Cigarettes podcast. He founded the HempBox, a subscription box focused on hemp consumer goods, in 2014; is co-host of Comics Against Civility, a Cards Against Humanity themed game show that runs monthly in Denver; and is a writer for CULTURE Magazine. He also happens to be a pot critic for The Denver Post. Check him out on Facebook and Twitter!

Inside the Mind of a Coroner

by Lora Thomas

We’ve all seen intense, case-solving, music montage scenes with coroners on CSI or The X-Files but what does a coroner actually do? Do you even want to know? We do! Lora explains the real world of dead bodies and how a hyper-sucessful cop becomes a coroner.

Speaker creds: Lora Thomas was elected Douglas County Coroner in 2010 and served until January 13, 2015. The county coroner is responsible for determining the cause and manner of death. Lora’s term was nothing if not eventful. She cut the budget by 33% while the caseload increased 45% and two former employees are now convicted felons! Wha?

Before being elected coroner, Lora Thomas worked with the Colorado State Patrol for 26 years, becoming the first woman captain and major in the organization.  She has earned an MBA, finance, and criminal justices degrees.

—————————————————————-

Take a moment to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates and fun facts, and be the first to know event details by signing up for our email list (in the bar to the right).

See you soon!

p.s. Want to be a Nerd Nite speaker? Or know someone who should be? Let us know!