IT in the D, Episode 35: Fashionable Ferndale

IT in the D, Episode 35.

This time around we were joined by Andy and PJ from Go Comedy! Improv Theater and Neil Nosakowski of Activ8 Gaming.

Both companies are located in Ferndale, and have a lot going on that you’re going to want to know about.  And we actually got to that in between the usual mayhem that always takes place during these shows…

ep35_doneAs per usual, we started off with introductions, babbled and covered some stories that have caught our eye in the past week.  From my wife’s birthday party on Saturday night to the 30th anniversary of The Breakfast Club hitting detention, on to Taco Bell sending out phones to people, the rather odd things going on in a limestone cavern outside Pittsburgh and all sorts of other fun.

In our second segment, we dove in with the Go Comedy! guys and learned about the shows that they put on every week, how you can get involved in learning improv, the sessions that they do with companies for team building and other purposes and more.  We also talked a little bit about having brought them in originally because after having the same conversation numerous times with people about the benefits of a class like theirs over some of the public speaking programs that are out there…well, it was time to have them in and let them reinforce the message.  Great guys, and you should absolutely catch a show.  Tickets and more information are available online at http://gocomedy.net/

We then moved on to Neil and Activ8 Gaming.  Neil’s built an excellent gaming lounge, but you can’t just walk up and expect to get in.  You can rent the space by the hour, and there are also portable gaming units available that can come to your location for parties and events.  From old Atari 2600 consoles for the retro gamer to the latest XBox and Playstation systems and games on the market, it’s a good time.  You can check out Activ8 at http://www.activ8gaming.com/

In our fourth and final segment, we talked a little bit about a dust up in our LinkedIn group that took place, our rebranding to IT in the D, a few more random topics…and then we closed out for the night and went off into the darkness.

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Tune in next week when we try and figure out what the hell Bitcoin is and why people are putting actual money into virtual currency.

Links from tonight’s show:

Our latest updates and email blast: https://itinthed.com/14065/detroitnet-org-is-now-it-in-the-d/

Here are the topics we had on “The List”…some we got to, some we didn’t, but all were interesting enough to warrant a look by us, and so we’re sharing them here with you as well:

The Taco Bell phone: http://mashable.com/2014/03/19/taco-bell-breakfast-phones/

The drone that can steal everything off of your phone: http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/20/technology/security/drone-phone/

Half of Detroit’s parking meters don’t work, and the city spends $32 to process a $30 ticket.  Yeesh. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140318/METRO01/303180028

Are bloggers journalists? (and holy crap, what does that mean to us, actually…)  https://theconversation.com/in-the-unverified-digital-world-are-journalists-and-bloggers-equal-24702

Someone’s trying to extort $300 out of major companies to avoid DDOS attacks.  No really, three hundred dollars.  https://signalvnoise.com/posts/3728-basecamp-was-under-network-attack-this-morning and http://meetupblog.meetup.com/

Six secret companies that run the internet – http://bgr.com/2014/02/19/who-runs-the-internet-6-secret-companies/ – and a world view of internet censorship around the globe – http://bgr.com/2014/02/20/internet-censorship-world-map/

Titanium golf clubs are starting brush fires: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/sports/golf/titanium-clubs-can-spark-a-fire-after-striking-a-rock-study-finds.html

ANOTHER Bitcoin exchange falls down, goes “boom”: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/03/23/sound-familiar-bitcoin-exchange-vircurex-freezes-customer-accounts-as-it-battles-insolvency/

The Office of Personnel Management is in a cave outside of Pittsburgh.  It’s an old system of limestone caverns, is 230 feet underground, has 600 employees, and TWENTY EIGHT THOUSAND filing cabinets because all federal employees retirement paperwork must be done…by hand…and stored… http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/03/22/sinkhole-of-bureaucracy/

The latest on Turkey’s attempt to shutdown access to Twitter: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/03/after-dns-change-fails-turkish-government-steps-up-twitter-censorship/

Speaking of Twitter, are they really dumping hashtags and @ replies?  http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/is-twitter-phasing-out-hashtags-and-at-replies

The NSA sells technology to the private sector.  What can possibly go wrong?  http://www.technologyreview.com/news/525541/spinoffs-from-spyland/

Creationists are demanding equal time on “Cosmos”.  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/21/creationists-demand-equal-airtime-on-neil-degrasse-tysons-cosmos-to-provide-balance/

That Naval database tracking parking tickets, etc., : http://washingtonexaminer.com/navy-database-tracks-civilians-parking-tickets-fender-benders-raising-fears-of-domestic-spying/article/2546038

Go Comedy! Improv Theater: http://gocomedy.net/

Activ8 Gaming: http://www.activ8gaming.com/

The IT in the D Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITinTheD

IT in the D on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ITinTheD

Listing of our upcoming events: http://www.ITinTheD.com/meet/