Join us for Nerd Nite #20 on Thursday, May 7th at 7 pm at Green Jeans Food Hall.
Nerd Nite is a monthly lecture series that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world. We’ve been going strong here in Albuquerque with our own local chapter for the last year or so, and we love bringing you all free, entertaining, and informative talks about nerdoms of all shapes and sizes.
We’ve got a great show lined up for you all. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon. Join us to learn, laugh, and drink!
Our talks:
Title: Vaccines and Polio Blurb: Vaccines have saved millions of lives—but skepticism about them isn’t new. We’ll trace back the history of vaccine resistance to as early as 1950. From early smallpox protests to modern anti-vax movements, we will explore when cultural narratives shaped what people believe about science, and how mistrust can be developed towards institutions. But it’s not all doom and gloom: we’ll also spotlight an unlikely hero in the fight for global health—your grandparent’s local Rotary Club. Learn how a group better known for lunch meetings for retired folks helped lead one of the most ambitious public health campaigns in history. Speaker: Pooja Sheevam, Geothermal Research Associate New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources: Dr. Pooja Sheevam is a returning Nerd Nite speaker and resident rock jock—though tonight, she’s leaving the rocks behind. Instead, she’s diving into a public health campaign right in our own backyard. A third-generation Rotarian, Pooja was inspired by a recent NPR piece on the roots of vaccine skepticism and the timely push to raise awareness for PolioPlus. Expect a mix of science, history, and a reminder that sometimes global impact starts with surprisingly local clubs. DISCLAIMER: Pooja is not an expert on Public health, nor is a medical professional. Sources will be provided during presentation
Title: The 12 Principles of Animation Blurb: The Twelve Principles of Animation are a guide to creating believeable animation that delivers the illusion of life. They are based on the work of traditional Disney animators, who pioneered their use in the 1930s. Every animator must understand each of these principles, consider how they should be used in their own work. When followed, they help create believable movement and action, inform us of the character and story, and help make a piece of animated art memorable. Speaker: Charles Cantu, Animator: Charles Cantu is a local animator who got his start in 2012, learning traditional hand-drawn animation from a classic Disney animator. He specializes in motion graphics and 3D modeling and animation, but his first love is traditional animation, and he enjoys learning and talking about it.
Title: The Hidden Software That Makes Supply Chains Look Easy Blurb: When most people think about supply chains, they picture ships, trucks, warehouses, and boxes. What they usually do not see is the huge amount of software quietly making all of that look simple. This (ideally) is a behind-the-scenes look at the systems that decide where products ship from, how deliveries get routed, why tracking pages are often a story (but actually more of an idea) than a live truth feed, and how many different pieces of software can touch a single order before it reaches your door. Hopefully it will be approachable look at the weird, messy, invisible software world behind modern commerce. Speaker: Devin Hight, Animal Crossing Enthusiast: Devin Hight is a software engineer who has worked on logistics and supply chain technology at Deliverr, Shopify Logistics, Flexport, Drumkit, and now Portless. His work has focused on the hidden systems behind fulfillment, shipping, and the movement of goods through modern commerce. He loves translating complicated technical systems into stories normal people can actually enjoy.
Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
And, as always, if you’re interested in giving a talk of your own, hit us up at this form. Nerd Nite happens because of nerds like you!
Join us for Nerd Nite #19 on Thursday, January 8th at 7 pm at Green Jeans Food Hall.
Nerd Nite is a monthly lecture series that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world. We’ve been going strong here in Albuquerque with our own local chapter for the last year or so, and we love bringing you all free, entertaining, and informative talks about nerdoms of all shapes and sizes.
We’ve got a great show lined up for you all. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon. Join us to learn, laugh, and drink!
Our talks:
Title: Futures News: The Latest from Futurists of Today Blurb: Things these days are moving fast, loud, and weird. Futurists around the world are grappling with how to wrap our heads around what could happen, which is also an exploration of ourselves as poor humans dealing with uncertainty during turbulence. Come hear the latest in futures thinking. Speaker: Susan Wilhite: Susan Wilhite is working on a Unified Theory of Everything. Meanwhile, she has conducted generative Design Anthropology that infuses humanity into the development of products with emerging tech that breaks physics just because it can. Otherwise, Susan runs expeditions into the futures of built environments and post-literacy communications, and endeavors daily to acquire an evolved mindset.
Title: Scambaiting – The Art of Sounding More Confused Than You Really Are Blurb: Scammers suck, but some of their days get ruined by a community of people all focused on preventing them from spending time on actual victims. “Scambaiting” is the process of wasting one or more scammer’s time by pretending to be a victim in order to lull the scammer(s) into a false sense of hope that they will be able to get some money out of someone. This talk will cover the overall process of scambaiting, the variety of techniques different scambaiters employ, where they find scammers in the first place, and how their efforts can lead to actual real world positive outcomes. Additionally, this talk hopefully will make the audience not only aware of what scambaiters do, but also of a variety of scams currently employed along with what’s coming in the future. Speaker: Quinn Palmer, Cybersecurity Analyst: Quinn Palmer been interested in scambaiting for years and am fascinated by the variety of ways that humans will let their greed overcome their humanity & empathy to benefit from the intentional deception of others. He works in cybersecurity for hospitals and sees a variety of scams and fraud attempts in his day-to-day work, but he also watches a variety of scambaiters nearly every day for fun!
Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
And, as always, if you’re interested in giving a talk of your own, hit us up at this form. Nerd Nite happens because of nerds like you!
Join us for Nerd Nite #18 on Monday, November 3rd at 7 pm at Green Jeans Food Hall.
Nerd Nite is a monthly lecture series that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world. We’ve been going strong here in Albuquerque with our own local chapter for the last year or so, and we love bringing you all free, entertaining, and informative talks about nerdoms of all shapes and sizes.
We’ve got a great show lined up for you all. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon. Join us to learn, laugh, and drink!
Our talks:
Title: Behind the Buzz: How Alcohol Disrupts Memory and Movement Blurb: Alcohol disrupts the brain in powerful ways, altering both how we move and how we remember. This talk will explore the brain regions affected by alcohol that underlie coordination problems and memory lapses. We’ll also examine why alcohol has such broad effects compared to many other drugs and take a short trip down memory lane to explore the history—from Prohibition to the 21st Amendment—and the cultural role of alcohol consumption. Speaker: Abbey Myrick , PhD candidate, neuroscience @ UNM: Abbey Myrick is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at the University of New Mexico, where she studies how alcohol affects the brain, focusing on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. As a first-generation graduate student, she traded outdoor labor for a lab coat, a journey that’s been as strange as it’s been exciting. Curiosity brought her to neuroscience—partly to debug the brain, and partly because, well, drugs are fun (scientifically speaking). She is passionate about cutting through scare tactics to share real, useful information about how substances affect the brain. When not toiling away in a windowless lab, she likes to study how alcohol affects her brain (preferably on mountaintops) and can be found ranting about the patriarchy to her two dogs and one cat or attempting to dance bachata with other humans.
Title: Citation Needed: The Chaotic Miracle of Wikipedia Blurb: We all use Wikipedia. And some of us know that anyone can edit it. But how many of us know how it actually works? Peel back the layers and get a better understanding of this massive, weird, and lovable project. Speaker: Nat Baca, Director of Engineering, Wikimedia Foundation: Nat Baca is a Director of Engineering at the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that supports Wikipedia and other projects, where he supports the teams that build the user interfaces that we use every day. He’s also the founder of Nerd Nite ABQ.
Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
And, as always, if you’re interested in giving a talk of your own, hit us up at this form. Nerd Nite happens because of nerds like you!
Join us for Nerd Nite #17 on Thursday, September 4th at 7 am at Green Jeans Food Hall.
Nerd Nite is a monthly lecture series that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world. We’ve been going strong here in Albuquerque with our own local chapter for the last year or so, and we love bringing you all free, entertaining, and informative talks about nerdoms of all shapes and sizes.
We’ve got a great show lined up for you all. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon. Join us to learn, laugh, and drink!
Our talks:
Title: On Tolkien’s Canon: Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Be Okay With Fanfiction Blurb: The Lord of the Rings is a literary giant in Western culture. Since its publication in 1954, it has loomed over nearly every work of fantasy that has been published since. But what do we know about it, and what do we only THINK we know about it? Speaker: Danny Tallon, Tolkien Super-Fan: Nerd Nite Return-speaker Danny Tallon is a high school science teacher and community theater actor who just so happens to be a super-fan of Tolkien. If you don’t believe him, his license plate reads NOROLIM (which means “giddy-up!” in Elvish), and he ended his last best-man speech with an Elvish blessing that brought an “aww” to the audience. He believes that language and literature are vitally important for our culture, and he loves digging at works of fiction to see what truths are lying underneath. When he’s not over-analyzing every book he reads, he is an avid tabletop gamer, RPG game-master, and movie watcher.
Title: Beer! In Space! Blurb: Have you ever been sitting at the bar, staring at your drink, watching the bubbles swirl around, and wondered, how does this work? We’ll talk about how your favorite bevvies stay in the glass on Earth, how that changes once they leave the clutches of gravity, and what sort of silly contraptions people have thought up to enable high-altitude libations (and why beer may not be the best choice). Speaker: Liz Hyde, Aerospace Engineer: Liz Hyde is an aerospace engineer who cut her teeth designing, building, and flying science experiments at NASA and the US Geological Survey. Her projects have ranged from strapping cryocooled infrared astronomy instruments to the back of a 747, to installing small radio beacons to track sea otters in Monterey Bay, to dreaming up commercial economies at the Moon, to traipsing through the forest to measure the effects of Wildfires on landscapes (usings drones, of course). Some of these experiments involved moving fluid around in microgravity, and what better way to test these experiments than parabolic flight campaigns on the Zero-G aircraft. Liz currently works at a space startup in Albuquerque, and has just celebrated her first New Mexi-versery.
Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
And, as always, if you’re interested in giving a talk of your own, hit us up at this form. Nerd Nite happens because of nerds like you!
Join us for Nerd Nite #16 on Thursday, August 7th at 7 pm at Green Jeans Food Hall.
Nerd Nite is a monthly lecture series that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world. We’ve been going strong here in Albuquerque with our own local chapter for the last year or so, and we love bringing you all free, entertaining, and informative talks about nerdoms of all shapes and sizes.
We’ve got a great show lined up for you all. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon. Join us to learn, laugh, and drink!
Our talks:
Title: New Mexico in Hot Water Blurb: Is geothermal energy a Star Trek-style fantasy from the year 2400—or science fact bubbling just beneath our feet? From powering Jurassic Park to keeping your SimCity neighborhoods cozy, geothermal has long had its cameo in nerdy pop culture—but it’s also real, renewable, and a global resource. But are things really heating up in New Mexico, or are we about to be in hot water? Join us for a high-energy, low-emissions romp through hot springs, sci-fi, and the spicy potential of our state’s underground power. Whether you like it red hot, clean and green, or available at Christmas, we’ll explore what geothermal really is, where it’s hiding in plain sight, and the unique geology that brings us this clean energy. Bring your curiosity, your inner science geek, and maybe a lava lamp—because this talk is going to get steamy Speaker: Pooja Sheevam, Geothermal Research Associate New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources: Inspired by NOVA Space documentaries, TNG and Voyager, and fueled by astronaut ice cream, it was Dr. Pooja Sheevam’s childhood ambition to learn how planets work. However, the quest to study planets and space objects brought Pooja closer to Earth. Following this passion, she is currently starting her career as a researcher at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology after receiving her PhD studying geothermal systems. When she’s not out looking at…or licking rocks, she loves digging up information on her latest hobby, or catching up with the “Krispy Bois” network on Discord.
Title: Breaking Up with Harry Potter Blurb: Librarian, podcaster, and former Potterhead, Michael Harle, is sharing the juicy details of his breakup from every millennial’s most beloved franchise. Speaker: Michael Harle, Librarian: Michael Harle recently returned to his hometown of Corrales after 8 years in Texas. Starting out as a volunteer Library Aide at age 12, he now works for the UNM Libraries, where he also earned his Film undergrad through the university’s Fine Arts department in 2011. While employed as a Youth Services Librarian in both Austin and San Antonio, Michael completed his master’s in Library Sciences from Texas Woman’s University in 2023. He is professionally trained in Voice Over and has over 10 years of podcasting experience. In his spare time, Michael is an avid gamer, Broadway-lover, collector of physical media and LEGO, singer of songs loudly in the car, and an advocate and co-guardian for his Autistic brother.
Title: What did they say? A deep dive into localization Blurb: As Nerds, we enjoy media from across the world, and making that media available can take many forms. A discussion on the good, the bad, and the funny of localization, and how it unifies cultures. Speaker: Kenneth Lucero, Software Engineer: Kenneth enlisted in the Air Force and served 6 years. Afterward, he went to UNM where he got a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science. He is currently working as Software Engineer who focuses on user interfaces and user experiences. He has been a nerd for as long as he can remember, and as a nerd, he always had a fascination with communication, and finds that the topic of localization fits right into that category.
Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
And, as always, if you’re interested in giving a talk of your own, hit us up at this form. Nerd Nite happens because of nerds like you!
Thursday, July 10th, 7:00pm Free! Green Jeans Food Hall – 3600 Cutler Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110
Nerds of Albuquerque – Happy Summer!
Join us for Nerd Nite #115 on Thursday, July 10th at 7pm at Green Jeans Food Hall.
(Note that we’ve shifted things back a week to not coincide with the July 4 holiday weekend!)
Nerd Nite is a series of silly, approachable, and informative talks that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world.
We’ve been going strong here in Albuquerque with our own local chapter for the last year or so, and we love bringing you all free, entertaining, and informative talks about nerdoms of all shapes and sizes.
We’ve got a great show lined up for you all. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon. Join us to learn, laugh, and drink!
Our talks:
Title: Killer Robots Blurb: What does an aerial torpedo crash in Ohio have to do with a sneak attack in Ukraine or a robot that can’t tell trees from people? The history of machines made to kill on their own is darkly comic and never more relevant. Bio: Kelsey D. Atherton is an awards winning military technology journalist who now works in advocacy for a less explode-y world.
Title: On Tolkien’s Canon: Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Be Okay With Fanfiction Blurb: TBD Bio: Nerd Nite Return-speaker Danny Tallon is a high school science teacher and community theater actor who just so happens to be a super-fan of Tolkien. If you don’t believe him, his license plate reads NOROLIM (which means “giddy-up!” in Elvish), and he ended his last best-man speech with an Elvish blessing that brought an “aww” to the audience. He believes that language and literature are vitally important for our culture, and he loves digging at works of fiction to see what truths are lying underneath. When he’s not over-analyzing every book he reads, he is an avid tabletop gamer, RPG game-master, and movie watcher.
Title: Contaminated Ducks Blurb: TBD Bio: William Bakewell has seen some weird ducks in his time.
Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
Join us for Nerd Nite #14 on Thursday, June 5th at 7pm at Green Jeans Food Hall.
Nerd Nite is a monthly lecture series that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world. We’ve been going strong here in Albuquerque with our own local chapter for the last year or so, and we love bringing you all free, entertaining, and informative talks about nerdoms of all shapes and sizes.
We’ve got a great show lined up for you all. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon. Join us to learn, laugh, and drink!
Our talks: (More info to come shortly!):
Title: Infrared Astronomy and Optics Blurb: The James Webb telescope launched and revolutionized astronomy and astrophysics. Infrared optics is used in everything from agriculture to astronomy Speaker: Connor Vaught
Title: TBD Blurb: TBD Speaker: Joshua Emms, New Mexico Herpetological Society. Josh is a lifelong New Mexican, and has been a reptile enthusiast pretty much his whole life. He has kept them on and off since he was a kid. He got a Bachelor’s degree in History from BYU-Hawaii, where he spent a lot of time catching non-native herps and snorkeling with sea turtles. He is an Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE) and works for Preventive Pest Control. He carries his love of reptiles into his work and is the “Snake Wrangler” for the company. He has been a member of NMHS since 2009 and has served as Newsletter Editor, Media Relations and President in the past. He has done many outreach programs and displays both professionally and with the society. He has been web designing as a hobby since he started college in 1996. In his spare time he enjoys exploring New Mexico with his wife and four kids while finding as many herps as possible!
Title: How to Lead your Animal Crossing Island in a Revolution Against Tom Nook (And Lose) Blurb: TBD Speaker: Althea Atherton
Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
And, as always, if you’re interested in giving a talk of your own, hit us up at https://tiny.cc/nnabq-speaker . Nerd Nite happens because of nerds like you!
Hey Albuquerque – Join us for Nerd Nite #13 on Thursday, May 8rd at 7pm at Green Jeans!
We’ve got a great show lined up for you all – note that this is a week later than our semi-usual first-thursday-of-the-month, so mark your calendars.
Nerd Nite is a monthly lecture series that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world. And this is our local Albuquerque chapter!
Join us to learn, laugh, and drink!
Our talks:
Title: Onions and New Mexico Blurb: History and genetics of the onion! Speaker: Mariah Tallent has a bachelor’s in chemistry from NMSU. Passionate about plant life and water chemistry. Just wants to talk about native plants and pollinators.
Title: Mind Games: Unmasking the Methods of Psychic Manipulation.” Blurb: Have you ever wondered how psychics seem to know the unknowable? This talk will pull back the curtain on the surprising techniques and psychological principles that fake psychics employ to create the illusion of supernatural abilities. Learn how these methods work and how to spot them in action. Speaker: Will Tarkington is a former practitioner of street-hustle psychic techniques and has given training sessions on the art of appearing to be psychic to audiences around the United States. Drawing on this unique experience, he will reveal the secrets behind successful psychic readings and demonstrations.
Title: Is your house racist? Blurb: A Brief History of Redlining Speaker: Andy Torres is an artist, business owner, and event organizer based in Abq, dedicated to bringing people together and making life a little more fun. As founder of Mobius Theory, he creates bold, iconic designs – blending creativity with community through his background spanning architecture, technology, and design. He’s also a Nerd Nite Co-Organizer!
Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
And, as always, if you’re interested in giving a talk of your own, hit us up at https://tiny.cc/nnabq-speaker . Nerd Nite happens because of nerds like you!
Nerds of Albuquerque: Join us for Nerd Nite #12 on Thursday, April 3rd at 7pm.
Spring has sprung, the cottonwoods are flowering, and we’ve got a great set of talks lined up for you all.
Nerd Nite is a monthly lecture series that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world. And this is our local Albuquerque chapter!
Join us to learn, laugh, and drink!
Our talks:
Title: How to Get a Therapist 101
Blurb: Do you know someone who needs a therapist? Better yet, do you need a therapist? This talk will dive into the ins and outs of getting a therapist in 2025 — all you need to know about the process and helpful recs from a therapist herself. 🫡
Bio: Dr Natalee Price is a clinical psychologist who specializes in researching child emotional development, providing trauma focused therapy services to children and families, and implementing community based grant projects. She has been both a therapist and a client over the years and believes the process should be accessible to all.
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Title: Évariste Galois: The Most Badass Mathematician You’ve Never Heard Of
Blurb: Évariste Galois made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of mathematics during a pivotal period in math’s history: 19th Century France. Unfortunately, Galois was way ahead of his time (not to mention a political dissident), so the importance of his work was not fully understood until well after his violent death at the age of 20. In those 20 years, Galois accomplished more than most of us will accomplish in a lifetime, both in and out of the classroom.
Bio: Chris Alires is a math educator who has worked at colleges, universities, high schools, and libraries. Chris has a passion for making math education more accessible, both conceptually and logistically. For more talks about the intersection of math and politics, look for “xhris_a” on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@xhris_a)
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(One More To Come!)
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Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
And, as always, if you’re interested in giving a talk of your own, hit us up at https://tiny.cc/nnabq-speaker . Nerd Nite happens because of nerds like you!
Nerds of Albuquerque: Join us for Nerd Nite #11 on March 6th!
Nerd Nite is a monthly lecture series that takes place in bars in 100+ cities around the world. And this is our local Albuquerque chapter!
This will be a special “Birthday Edition”, celebrating the official one year anniversary of the founding of the Albuquerque Chapter. There may be an Excel Sheet sheet cake. And party hats.
Join us to learn, laugh, and drink, on Thursday, March 6, at 7:00pm — this month back at Green Jeans!
Our talks:
Title: Micro and Nanoplastics: Don’t Let your Brain Be the Last to Know!
Blurb: As global levels of micro and nanoplastics rise, so do concerns about their impact on human health. Recent studies have confirmed the alarming presence of these tiny particles in vital organs like the kidney, liver, and brain. Surprisingly, brain tissues show higher concentrations of plastics, often in the form of nanoscale shard-like fragments. These findings raise critical questions about how plastics accumulate in our bodies and, more importantly, what they are doing to our brains. Join us for a discussion on how these micro and nano invaders may be linked to different health conditions and what we can do to better understand and tackle their growing presence in our tissues.
Bio: Dr. Marcus Garcia is a native New Mexican, born and raised in Las Vegas, NM. He is currently a PhRMA Foundation Fellow at the University of New Mexico’s College of Pharmacy, specializing in toxicology. His research primarily focuses on the environmental and health implications of micro and nanoplastics, investigating their effects on human tissues, reproduction, and development. Dr. Garcia has been working on innovative techniques to quantify micro and nanoplastics in biological samples, aiming to better understand the potential risks these pollutants pose to human health. With a PharmD from UNM and extensive research experience, he is committed to advancing clinical and translational toxicology to better inform public health decisions and foster sustainable solutions.
Title: The Newsboys Strike of 1899
Blurb: Popularized by the 1992 Disney musical, “Newsies,” The Newsboys’ Strike of 1899 was a youth-led movement that saw the newsboys of New York demanding liveable wages from the two largest publishers of the time, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Though it took place at the turn of the 20th century, the themes of the strike– mobilization, resistance, and triumph over greed– are very much relevant to the struggles workers face today.
Bio: Leyna Inberg is a nurse practitioner, writer and educator. She specializes in treating mood disorders, ADHD, and PTSD, and teaches in the Oak Street Nurse Practitioner and Behavioral Health Fellowship programs. This is her second Nerd Night.
Title: Secret Lights AI : The Science of Fiction, Or how a short story keeps me awake.
Blurb: A meta narrative of how AI is catching up with science fiction.
Bio: Taylor Cheek is a writer and multimedia artist known mostly for his live performances in comedy and music. In 2019 he developed the concept for a comic book called Secret Lights. In this talk he covers the story and how the world changed around it.
Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and to meet fellow nerds. Tell your friends, and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Albuquerque!
And, as always, if you’re interested in giving a talk of your own, hit us up at https://tiny.cc/nnabq-speaker . Nerd Nite happens because of nerds like you!
