Nerdnite....

Everyone knows that Tim and I are nerds. We even confirm the stereotype that nerds wear glasses and like comic books. We also love school and seem to be attending indefinitely. Only people who truly love it would spend so many years pulling in relatively little income to conduct research, read articles and write manuscripts.

With that said we got wind of something designed especially for nerds right here in Wellington: Nerdnite. We weren't sure what to expect but decided to venture out this past Monday to Hotel Bristol (a bar, because nerds like to have a drink just like everyone else) to see what this was all about.

It turned out that Nerdnite is quite popular as the house was already packed when we arrived (a few minutes early). And, mind you, this says something as Kiwis are not the most punctual bunch. We squeezed in towards the front and waited for the three talks to begin.

The first was a structural engineer who specializes in a type of construction called Post-Tensioned Timber. In short, this setup allows a building some 'give' when an earthquake occurs - it can move from side to side with less damage than might be sustained from traditional concrete foundational supports. The difference is that cables stretch throughout the building allowing it to move and then return to 'center'. As you might imagine this is highly applicable for NZ as we have many earthquakes each year. I found the talk interesting and the concept elegant in that this type of construction isn't necessarily cutting edge. I mean you're using post-tensioned wood to construct portions of buildings. Hopefully, this catches on here in Kiwiland.

The second talk gave a glimpse into the cycling trip of a guy who decided to ride solo over the Andes Mountains. It wasn't what I would expect for a 'nerd' topic but I think he made a really good point. That is, we dream about taking extended trips to faraway places all around the globe but we forget that there are 'micro-adventures' to be had right in our own backyard. So he encouraged people to capitalize on the time when you're not working (5pm - 9am) and try something new. I think this is something we're learning since coming to NZ - we've traveled half way around the globe but are still finding new and exciting things to do right in the city.

The last speaker didn't really give a talk but instead tackled the task of building an Arduino board in twenty minutes. They had rigged up a camera so you could see as he put the components together. He was able to build it and use a simple program to turn on an LED and then to make it flash on and off. While I've never built any type of electronics it was interesting to see how he each component played an integral role in the end result (illuminating the LED). After seeing this we agreed that we would build something with the Arduino board that Tim brought along from the US (see below).

A few days later we tried building something together for the first time. I had to smile because today, coincidentally, I had my first tutorial on using/writing/programming with Med PC (a system that runs our equipment in the lab). After seeing the code for Med PC I could immediately see similarities in the language commands that we used to write a little program for our Arduino 'music player'. After wiring up the components we typed up the code and were able to play the tones that made up Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I realized two things after doing this: 1) I can build and program simple electronic systems! and 2) it gave me a new appreciation for the complexity and sophistication of modern day electronics.

Yay nerds! I know other people think we're insane but I wouldn't have it any other way.