Ignite Seattle 17 will be March 1st at 7pm, and we want YOU to speak! The submission deadline is January 25th, but we encourage you to submit your Ignite talk early!

What are you waiting for? Enlighten us, but make it quick.

We’re super excited about our list of our lineup for the tonight’s Ignite Seattle. We’re back once again at the King Cat Theatre. The event starts at 7pm and speakers go on stage at 8:30.

And now, presented in no particular order, our speakers for Ignite Seattle 16.

Ignite Seattle 16 Speakers

Rich Lengsavath (bigstove) Lean Food Startups: Beyond Food Trucks
It has been said that the best way to make a small fortune in the food business is to start with a large one. Restaurant failure rates are downright depressing. Considering most food businesses start with zero clients and a massive loan payment, the results are not surprising.

Imagine a world where chefs could try their hand at creating amazing restaurant experiences without raising capital or spending their life savings. Imagine a world where test kitchens abound like concert venues, and chefs “play” at popup restaurants like rockstars at a concert.

Shannon Houghton (@MsHoughton) From Helicopters to Jetpacks: Using Your Geeky Powers for Good, Not Evil, at Your Kid’s School
You’ve procreated and now your spawn has entered the education system. How can you help support your kid reach their superhero potential without being the overbearing helicopter parent that teachers talk about in the staff room?

Elementary Gifted/Talented teacher Shannon Houghton will detail the top three actions you can take to help navigate the world of parent-educator relations. You’ll be ready to strap on your jetpack in no time.

Hillel Cooperman (@hillel) I give you permission to be a shitty parent.
I expose the secret world of parenting that nobody ever tells you about.

Brady Forrest (@brady) Art of Burning Man
Why do people spend all year making art for a temporary city? Why is it a good thing? And what can we do to bring that creativity back to the city?

Alyssa Royse The Math Of Love
How many times have you been baffled by your partners response to something that you did? Or had to deal with emotional phrases like “you just don’t seem to value me,” and had no idea where THAT came from. Good news, there’s a math for that.

I’ll take some common relationship “drama” and show you how you can use math to predict it, and fix it. Easy as pie. After all, a relationship is made up of the sum of its parts.

But be warned: the math is right, but that doesn’t mean you are.

Beth Kolko (@bkolko) Break All the Rules, Save the World
Hackers, Makers, DIYers, Tinkerers….these are the people who are inspiring innovation and creative breakthroughs. This is a talk about what happens when innovation and expertise clash, and when too much experience just gets in the way of the New.

Truly disruptive technologies – the game-changers that freak everyone out – increasingly come from the un-credentialed and the de-institutionalized. Get out of academia and industry research labs and look at what amazing things are being built by the folks who make their own gold stars. Get ready for Hackademia.

Pablos Holman (@pablos) 3D Printing Food

Nathaniel James (@james_nathaniel) Awesome Foundation: Micro-philanthropy for Macro-Impact
Awesome Foundation makes monthly micro-genius grants. Our Trustees donate $100 every month and collectively award a $1000 grant to the best project idea that comes through our very simple online application. Grants can go to individuals, non-profits or for-profit organizations. Awesome Foundation was founded in Boston in 2009 and has since spread to over 20 cities in North America, Europe and Australia. Seattle Awesome Foundation gave out its first grant last night (public announcement coming Monday).

Jen Waak (@jenwaak) How a Keyboard Athlete Climbed Kilimanjaro
Climbing one of the seven summits takes more brains than brawn.

Find out how this self-proclaimed Keyboard Athlete, non-camper, and non-hiker put her research and Energy Bank manipulation skills to work to out-think Kilimanjaro and make it to the summit with energy to spare.

Steven Stone (Sound_Spirits) Ignite Booze – The Creation of Sound Spirits Distillery
Head Distiller Steven Stone talks about the launch of Sound Spirits, Seattle’s First Craft Distillery since Prohibition

Matt May (mattmay) Extemporaneous Speaking: Enlightening people quickly, beyond Ignite
Extemporaneous speaking is one of the most valuable life skills you could have learned in high school. Extemp combines research, persuasion and presentation skills with a random subject and a 30-minute deadline.

Did you miss out? Learn how you can be an informed, effective advocate for your cause, on a tight schedule, with the right preparation.

To prove it can be done, the talk itself will be prepared on the evening of Ignite Seattle 16, in 30 minutes, from a blank slide deck.

Tiberio Simone (cheftiberio) Pleasure Activism 101
Chef Tiberio Simone – author of La Figa: Visions of Food and Form – lives a life devoted to bringing pleasure to others. His motto is “I love everybody – and you are next.” In this talk, you will learn how you too can become a Pleasure Activist.

Dominica DeGrandis (@dominicad) Kanban – wtf?
Kanban may well be the latest buzzword in software development and IT services, but what the hell is it? Kanban explained in 300 seconds by Dominica DeGrandis, member of the 1st US IT team to implement Kanban – ironically, at a local Seattle media company.

Maria Moses (@docksidecoop) Reefer Madness: Fact & Fable from the Medical Cannabis Industry.
A cannabis co-op owner provides the inside scoop on the true nature of the controversial and ever-changing world of medical marijuana.

Once again, we’ll be at the King Cat Theatre. Doors open at 7:00 pm, mixer is at 7:30 pm, and talks start at 8:30 pm. Let us know you are coming by visiting our event page on Facebook and leaving an RSVP.

Check out our speaker list, we’ve got a fantastic lineup for Ignite Seattle 16. Hope to see you there.

We’re super excited about our list of our lineup for the next Ignite Seattle on December 7th. We’ll be back once again at the King Cat Theatre. The doors open at 7:00 pm, mixer at 7:30 pm, and speakers go on stage at 8:30.

And now, presented in no particular order, our speakers for Ignite Seattle 16.

Ignite Seattle 16 Speakers

Rich Lengsavath (bigstove) Lean Food Startups: Beyond Food Trucks
It has been said that the best way to make a small fortune in the food business is to start with a large one. Restaurant failure rates are downright depressing. Considering most food businesses start with zero clients and a massive loan payment, the results are not surprising.

Imagine a world where chefs could try their hand at creating amazing restaurant experiences without raising capital or spending their life savings. Imagine a world where test kitchens abound like concert venues, and chefs “play” at popup restaurants like rockstars at a concert.

Shannon Houghton (@MsHoughton) From Helicopters to Jetpacks: Using Your Geeky Powers for Good, Not Evil, at Your Kid’s School
You’ve procreated and now your spawn has entered the education system. How can you help support your kid reach their superhero potential without being the overbearing helicopter parent that teachers talk about in the staff room?

Elementary Gifted/Talented teacher Shannon Houghton will detail the top three actions you can take to help navigate the world of parent-educator relations. You’ll be ready to strap on your jetpack in no time.

Hillel Cooperman (@hillel) I give you permission to be a shitty parent.
I expose the secret world of parenting that nobody ever tells you about.

Brady Forrest (@brady) Art of Burning Man
Why do people spend all year making art for a temporary city? Why is it a good thing? And what can we do to bring that creativity back to the city?

Alyssa Royse The Math Of Love
How many times have you been baffled by your partners response to something that you did? Or had to deal with emotional phrases like “you just don’t seem to value me,” and had no idea where THAT came from. Good news, there’s a math for that.

I’ll take some common relationship “drama” and show you how you can use math to predict it, and fix it. Easy as pie. After all, a relationship is made up of the sum of its parts.

But be warned: the math is right, but that doesn’t mean you are.

Beth Kolko (@bkolko) Break All the Rules, Save the World
Hackers, Makers, DIYers, Tinkerers….these are the people who are inspiring innovation and creative breakthroughs. This is a talk about what happens when innovation and expertise clash, and when too much experience just gets in the way of the New.

Truly disruptive technologies – the game-changers that freak everyone out – increasingly come from the un-credentialed and the de-institutionalized. Get out of academia and industry research labs and look at what amazing things are being built by the folks who make their own gold stars. Get ready for Hackademia.

Pablos Holman (@pablos) 3D Printing Food

Nathaniel James (@james_nathaniel) Awesome Foundation: Micro-philanthropy for Macro-Impact
Awesome Foundation makes monthly micro-genius grants. Our Trustees donate $100 every month and collectively award a $1000 grant to the best project idea that comes through our very simple online application. Grants can go to individuals, non-profits or for-profit organizations. Awesome Foundation was founded in Boston in 2009 and has since spread to over 20 cities in North America, Europe and Australia. Seattle Awesome Foundation gave out its first grant last night (public announcement coming Monday).

Jen Waak (@jenwaak) How a Keyboard Athlete Climbed Kilimanjaro
Climbing one of the seven summits takes more brains than brawn.

Find out how this self-proclaimed Keyboard Athlete, non-camper, and non-hiker put her research and Energy Bank manipulation skills to work to out-think Kilimanjaro and make it to the summit with energy to spare.

Steven Stone (Sound_Spirits) Ignite Booze – The Creation of Sound Spirits Distillery
Head Distiller Steven Stone talks about the launch of Sound Spirits, Seattle’s First Craft Distillery since Prohibition

Matt May (mattmay) Extemporaneous Speaking: Enlightening people quickly, beyond Ignite
Extemporaneous speaking is one of the most valuable life skills you could have learned in high school. Extemp combines research, persuasion and presentation skills with a random subject and a 30-minute deadline.

Did you miss out? Learn how you can be an informed, effective advocate for your cause, on a tight schedule, with the right preparation.

To prove it can be done, the talk itself will be prepared on the evening of Ignite Seattle 16, in 30 minutes, from a blank slide deck.

Tiberio Simone (cheftiberio) Pleasure Activism 101
Chef Tiberio Simone – author of La Figa: Visions of Food and Form – lives a life devoted to bringing pleasure to others. His motto is “I love everybody – and you are next.” In this talk, you will learn how you too can become a Pleasure Activist.

Dominica DeGrandis (@dominicad) Kanban – wtf?
Kanban may well be the latest buzzword in software development and IT services, but what the hell is it? Kanban explained in 300 seconds by Dominica DeGrandis, member of the 1st US IT team to implement Kanban – ironically, at a local Seattle media company.

Maria Moses (@docksidecoop) Reefer Madness: Fact & Fable from the Medical Cannabis Industry.
A cannabis co-op owner provides the inside scoop on the true nature of the controversial and ever-changing world of medical marijuana.

Ignite Seattle 16 is happening on December 7th and talk submissions are open. If you have a 5 minute talk that will inspire, teach or just make people think then throw your hat in the ring. We’ve extended the talk deadline to October 21st.

Submit your talk here.

If you need inspiration about “How and Why to Give an Ignite Talk,” Scott Berkun can help you out.

Ignite Seattle 16 will be December 7th at 7pm, and we want YOU to speak! The submission deadline is October 18th, but we encourage you to submit your Ignite talk early!

What are you waiting for? Enlighten us, but make it quick.

Our big summer event is tomorrow, Saturday, August 20th and here’s your clip and save cheat sheet. We hope to see you there! Note: One small change to the talks, at least one of them will be done suspended in air.

Details

Where: Fremont Outdoor Movies at N 35th and Phinney Ave
When: ThingOut starts at ~4:30pm. Ignite doors open at 7pm. Speakers are on at 8pm (or when the sun permits)
Cost: $5.00
Who can come?: All Ages Show
What to bring: blanket/sweater and a folding chair. Food and drink if you so desire (no alcohol, please).
More tips here

ThingOut Projects

Here are some of the groups and projects coming tomorrow.

• Jigsaw Renaissance
• ALTSpace
• Ada’s Technical Books
• Hand-powered Rail Car
• Tweeting Race Car
• Coil Gun
• Liquid Nitrogen Hovercraft for Squirrels

Ignite Speakers (actual order TBD)

George Dyson – Alan Turing: The first 100 years
Alan Mathison Turing (1912-1954), conceived one hundred years ago, conceived the Universal Turing Machine in 1936: the common denominator that brings science and tech together.

Scott Berkun (berkun) Teaching Seattle How To Drive
From merging on I-5 to the snowpocalypse, we have proven, year after year, that our driving skills as a city are wanting. We are surprised by rain, confused by four way stops and baffled at how to turn two lanes into one. Here is a fun but ranty plan for teaching Seattle how to drive right.

Bryan Zug (bryanzug) How to be a Christian without being a Dick

Glenn Fleishman (glennf) Letterpress Revival
Letterpress printing was a dying art in the 1980s and nearly dead in the 1990s. Technology has revived it. You can now design on a computer, print out a plastic plate, and use 500-year-old technology that reconnects you to the mess and smell of ink, paper, binding, and industrial-age machines. Letterpress is messy, each print is unique, and it’s the antidote and complement to the perfection-with-abstraction of the Web, ebooks, and the rest. People crave real connection that the screen doesn’t provide. Letterpress puts you right up to the metal and pushes.

Jason Quick The Juggling Act of Life
As a professional one-armed juggler and inspirational speaker, I strive to make every show about an important aspect of being human in relationship with other humans. I am a juggling geek, a relationship geek, and a circus freak who loves to juxtapose the tragic with the comic in order to bring the audience to a new balance within the dialectics that define our lives: comfort and pain, self and community, task and maintenance, love and fear…I will make of these five minutes something you will never forget.

Bennett Haselton Circumventing Internet censorship around the world
My full-time job is working on software to help people in get around Internet censorship in countries like China and Iran, where the government filters what people can access on the Web. I can talk about the history of methods used by repressive government to censor the Web, and the parallel history of the tools for users to defeat that censorship. I will address some of the misconceptions that people have about the nature of circumvention software and the battle between the censors and the circumventors. And finally I will pose some of the (as-yet-unsolved) problems faced by the developers of circumvention software — problems that perhaps the geeks in the audience would enjoy taking home and thinking over.

Amber Straub (shadalicious) Unparenting – tips from a geeky mom.
Now that many of my geek friends are having children (I had mine in my early twenties, somewhat “early”) I want to share some shortcuts and musings that my partner and I have discovered on the way.

I will talk about some parenting rules that have been passed down that can reevaluated and rethought. Are bedtimes really necessary? Our daughter has never had an enforced bedtime, and yet she arrives to school on time every day. It’s ok to rethink and reevaluate how we raise children; it’s ok to try new things.

I will present some signs of being a crazy helicopter parent (not a good thing). Kids *can* be left alone. Kids *can* fly unaccompanied. Kids *can* walk to school alone.

I will point out how we are fostering curiosity and creativity, and how we are teaching personal responsibility, common sense, and early independence. How do we deal with consequences for actions, present rewards and handle necessary chores.

I will show some ways that she gets the attention and care that she does need and want, and how she is thriving with the freedoms afforded to her.

And for those who don’t have kids, I will ensure that the talk applies to those who have kids in their lives. Kids want to be related to as peers, not as “little snotty things that talk”.

Molly Nixon (thebeastieswee) mouse-o-nomics
Almost all of the medical advances we enjoy today were first tested in mice. Most what we know about human physiology was first studied in mice. However, the general public’s understanding of lab mice is usually limited to a few characteristics – they’re white, and they’re probably trying to take over the world.

In truth, all mice are not created equal (many of them aren’t even white!). Over the past century an entire industry has developed that is devoted entirely to the creation and production of lab mice. My talk will cover the factors that make some mice more useful than others, and the mouse-industrial complex that exists to meet the needs of modern science.

Beverly Sobelman (bev_sobelman) How to Run Away and Join the Circus
Mid-life career changes are all the rage these days. I went from software engineer to circus artist OVERNIGHT! Except.. I didn’t. I took a bunch of steps that happened to lead away from software and into a career as an aerialist. This talk will walk you through the steps that I took, in hopes that my story might inspire a few others to try something new and different – whether it leads to a new career or simply a great story to tell your grandkids.

Shawn Murphy (shawnmur) Naked Safety or How To Secure a Parade With Simple Psychology
Large events like parades, conventions, and conferences often require large private security forces to maintain order and security. In a post 9/11 world, we’re told that this is required for our safety. It’s possible to control large crowds, effectively and safely, by applying modern psychology instead of barricades.

The Fremont Solstice Parade draws tens of thousands of spectators, but the parade is secured with fewer than 25, unpaid, volunteers with no security background and less than 20 minutes of training.

Security is often a boring subject, but keeping the Fremont Solstice Parade secure, safe, and (barely) a good show are the essence of hacking and good geekery — it’s also surprisingly funny.

Gwen Rowe hacking parents and other authority figures
At the age of 9, Gwen is ready to share her favorite ways to beguile parents and others in charge. It is much easier to convince grandparents to do what you want. A simple please with a cute look goes a long ways But the real big challenge comes in when you need to convince parents or other adults not already enamored with you to do what you want. This talk is full of techniques explained by a kid that can be used to charm and convince nearly anyone.

Techniques including:

• it was your idea,
• its educational, I will learn from it
• one for you, one for me

I will take care of it

• oops (aka forgiveness v. permission)
• quoting
• the power of reasons – because I said so is not a reason
• Robots!

Pascal Schuback (schuback) Tech; Disasters and YOU! (Geek approved road trip!)
Crowd sourcing has always been around but with the current technologies, its capabilities have grown tremendously. This presentation will focus on the use of these tools in an environment vastly growing by the number catastrophic events around the world. The month of September is National Preparedness Month and with that CrisisCommons, a volunteer technical community that connects people and organizations who use open data and technology to innovate crisis management and global development, will be going on a road trip. (ROAD TRIP!!!)

Catherine Carr (mamatweeta) You Are Not Your SAT Score: A Crash Course in Multiple Intelligence Theory
As the head of Cranium’s editorial department for 8+ years, I got hooked on Dr. Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory, and I still find it to be a uniquely powerful tool for inspiration and general perspective-broadening. And in the current educational climate, when just about everything revolves around reading and math scores, I also think it’s incredibly important for the kids (and grown-ups!) in the crowd to hear these messages:

1. There are lots of ways (beyond just “reading” and “math”) to be smart!
2. We’re naturally inclined toward some of the intelligences, but we can improve and develop in any of them.
3. If something seems tedious or difficult to you, you can use the multiple intelligences to change your perspective.

Amanda Shumack (amandahoops) What is all the Hoopla?
We’re talking Hoop Dancing – a style of Advanced Hula Hooping that your parents NEVER did!

Amanda (aka Sirin) will talk of the hooping sub-culture and how this modern take on an old fitness craze has taken a very new and different look. It’s become such an addiction to some that they’ve built careers out of hooping, branched off the sub-culture into sub-sub-cultures such as fire hooping, hoop yoga, hoop aerobics and hoop dancing.

These silly circular kids toys are inspiration to people who are looking to get fit, have fun and it CANNOT be done without a smile!

Amanda will also do some LED hooping (yes, this hoop has LIGHTS, people!) and give all the details to anyone who is looking for more info on getting started or who just wants to see what crazy folks are coming up with to spend your free time.

WARNING: Hoop Addictions have started with less…

Jen Matson (nstop) Field Guide to Record Collectors
While everyone (of a certain age) remembers the first record they bought as a kid, only a small number of us end up loving the spinning slab of vinyl as much as the music itself.

Drawing on my own experience both as a longtime music geek and onetime used record store clerk, I’d like to present a High Fidelity-style Top Five List covering the most common habits and characteristics of that odd breed known as the record collector. Through a few profiles of collectors I have known and loved, I’ll cover such mysteries as:

- Why people own multiple copies of what appear to be the same record
- What is the proper record fair etiquette
- The sanctity of the first pressing

Even the most physical-format-shunning music fan should come away from my talk with a newfound understanding of (if not appreciation for) why we vinyl enthusiasts continue to lug our heavy boxes and crates of LPs and 45s around with us from place to place.

Deepak Singh (mndoci) #arseniclife
In a world of Twitter and blogs, scientific peer review takes on a new meaning. From press releases, to TV appearances, to controversy in the blogosphere, this talk will dive into the history of one of the more interesting hashtags that Twitter has seen. The #arseniclife controversy portends the future of peer review, and it continues to be great sideline viewing.

Josh and I are both very excited to be organizing ThingOut, which is the pre-Ignite entertainment tomorrow. We’ll open the doors for the DIY festival around 4:30. AND, if you’ve got something you want to show off, feel free to bring it down.

Here are some of the groups and projects coming tomorrow that I’m most looking forward to.

• Jigsaw Renaissance
• ALTSpace
• Ada’s Technical Books
• Hand-powered Rail Car
• Tweeting Race Car
• Coil Gun
• Liquid Nitrogen Hovercraft for Squirrels

Plus a bunch more! Hope to see you there.

Josh Kopel from Dorkbot (and a former Ignite Seattle organizer) made a handy flyer to promote the event. Click here or the image below to download a high quality version that you can print out and distribute at work, your favorite bar or coffee shop.

Huge thanks to David Amdal who wrote us with a few tips to share with everyone for this weekend’s event.

First two items are VITAL for everyone!

Bring a blanket or sweater for when the sun goes down. Or two very close warm friends.

All bring own personal folding chairs. BYOC. It’s a drag-in performance — you sit on what you drag in.

Food: There’s a supremely great PCC deli two blocks away, with take away in any quantity. There are food trucks nearby.

Drinks: Brouwers Belgian Brew Pub is right across the street for your sitdown food and alcohol requirements and there are a half dozen bars within a couple blocks. Red Door Pub is right across from PCC so you can have a drink on your way back.

We’re pleased to add science historian and maker, George Dyson to this weekend’s Ignite Seattle roster.

George Dyson – Alan Turing: The first 100 years

Alan Mathison Turing (1912-1954), conceived one hundred years ago, conceived the Universal Turing Machine in 1936: the common denominator that brings science and tech together.

More about George Dyson

From his TED bio page:

A member of the fabulous Dyson clan, George Dyson is sometimes defined as a son-of and a brother-of, but he has found his own voice as a chronicler and a philosopher of science and the future. The son of physicist Freeman Dyson, George grew up inside one of the most fervid hotbeds of scientific research in the Atomic Age. He spent his early adulthood living in a treehouse, and designing and building Aleutian kayaks (chronicled in his book Baidarka: The Kayak). While he maintains his kayak business now, his parallel interest in science and the future has brought him to the fore.

Here’s a TED talk George did in 2002 detailing the top secret Project Orion, a nuclear powered spacecraft that could have taken us to Saturn in five years.

Ignite Seattle 15 details

Reminder, Ignite Seattle is this Saturday, August 20 at the Fremont Outdoor Cinema and we’ve got a fantastic lineup.

Our next Ignite Seattle is little more than 2 weeks away on Saturday, August 20th and we’ve got a stellar line up. This is a very special event as we’re celebrating the summer by having Ignite outside at the Fremont Outdoor Movie Space for this all ages event. Earlier in the day, we’re collaborating with our good friends at Dorkbot for ThingOut, an event for builders, garage hackers, diy makers and the generally curious. Learn more about ThingOut here.

And now, presented in no particular order, our speakers for Ignite Seattle 15.

Ignite Seattle 15 Speakers

Jason Quick The Juggling Act of Life
As a professional one-armed juggler and inspirational speaker, I strive to make every show about an important aspect of being human in relationship with other humans. I am a juggling geek, a relationship geek, and a circus freak who loves to juxtapose the tragic with the comic in order to bring the audience to a new balance within the dialectics that define our lives: comfort and pain, self and community, task and maintenance, love and fear…I will make of these five minutes something you will never forget.

Bennett Haselton Circumventing Internet censorship around the world
My full-time job is working on software to help people in get around Internet censorship in countries like China and Iran, where the government filters what people can access on the Web. I can talk about the history of methods used by repressive government to censor the Web, and the parallel history of the tools for users to defeat that censorship. I will address some of the misconceptions that people have about the nature of circumvention software and the battle between the censors and the circumventors. And finally I will pose some of the (as-yet-unsolved) problems faced by the developers of circumvention software — problems that perhaps the geeks in the audience would enjoy taking home and thinking over.

Amber Straub (shadalicious) Unparenting – tips from a geeky mom.
Now that many of my geek friends are having children (I had mine in my early twenties, somewhat “early”) I want to share some shortcuts and musings that my partner and I have discovered on the way.

I will talk about some parenting rules that have been passed down that can reevaluated and rethought. Are bedtimes really necessary? Our daughter has never had an enforced bedtime, and yet she arrives to school on time every day. It’s ok to rethink and reevaluate how we raise children; it’s ok to try new things.

I will present some signs of being a crazy helicopter parent (not a good thing). Kids *can* be left alone. Kids *can* fly unaccompanied. Kids *can* walk to school alone.

I will point out how we are fostering curiosity and creativity, and how we are teaching personal responsibility, common sense, and early independence. How do we deal with consequences for actions, present rewards and handle necessary chores.

I will show some ways that she gets the attention and care that she does need and want, and how she is thriving with the freedoms afforded to her.

And for those who don’t have kids, I will ensure that the talk applies to those who have kids in their lives. Kids want to be related to as peers, not as “little snotty things that talk”.

Molly Nixon (thebeastieswee mousonomics
Almost all of the medical advances we enjoy today were first tested in mice. Most what we know about human physiology was first studied in mice. However, the general public’s understanding of lab mice is usually limited to a few characteristics – they’re white, and they’re probably trying to take over the world.

In truth, all mice are not created equal (many of them aren’t even white!). Over the past century an entire industry has developed that is devoted entirely to the creation and production of lab mice. My talk will cover the factors that make some mice more useful than others, and the mouse-industrial complex that exists to meet the needs of modern science.

Bryan Zug (bryanzug) How to be a Christian without being a Dick

Glenn Fleishman (glennf) Letterpress Revival
Letterpress printing was a dying art in the 1980s and nearly dead in the 1990s. Technology has revived it. You can now design on a computer, print out a plastic plate, and use 500-year-old technology that reconnects you to the mess and smell of ink, paper, binding, and industrial-age machines. Letterpress is messy, each print is unique, and it’s the antidote and complement to the perfection-with-abstraction of the Web, ebooks, and the rest. People crave real connection that the screen doesn’t provide. Letterpress puts you right up to the metal and pushes.

Beverly Sobelman (bev_sobelman) How to Run Away and Join the Circus
Mid-life career changes are all the rage these days. I went from software engineer to circus artist OVERNIGHT! Except.. I didn’t. I took a bunch of steps that happened to lead away from software and into a career as an aerialist. This talk will walk you through the steps that I took, in hopes that my story might inspire a few others to try something new and different – whether it leads to a new career or simply a great story to tell your grandkids.

Shawn Murphy (shawnmur) Naked Safety or How To Secure a Parade With Simple Psychology
Large events like parades, conventions, and conferences often require large private security forces to maintain order and security. In a post 9/11 world, we’re told that this is required for our safety. It’s possible to control large crowds, effectively and safely, by applying modern psychology instead of barricades.

The Fremont Solstice Parade draws tens of thousands of spectators, but the parade is secured with fewer than 25, unpaid, volunteers with no security background and less than 20 minutes of training.

Security is often a boring subject, but keeping the Fremont Solstice Parade secure, safe, and (barely) a good show are the essence of hacking and good geekery — it’s also surprisingly funny.

Gwen Rowe hacking parents and other authority figures
At the age of 9, Gwen is ready to share her favorite ways to beguile parents and others in charge. It is much easier to convince grandparents to do what you want. A simple please with a cute look goes a long ways But the real big challenge comes in when you need to convince parents or other adults not already enamored with you to do what you want. This talk is full of techniques explained by a kid that can be used to charm and convince nearly anyone.

Techniques including:

• it was your idea,
• its educational, I will learn from it
• one for you, one for me

I will take care of it

• oops (aka forgiveness v. permission)
• quoting
• the power of reasons – because I said so is not a reason
• Robots!

Pascal Schuback (schuback) Tech; Disasters and YOU! (Geek approved road trip!)
Crowd sourcing has always been around but with the current technologies, its capabilities have grown tremendously. This presentation will focus on the use of these tools in an environment vastly growing by the number catastrophic events around the world. The month of September is National Preparedness Month and with that CrisisCommons, a volunteer technical community that connects people and organizations who use open data and technology to innovate crisis management and global development, will be going on a road trip. (ROAD TRIP!!!)

Catherine Carr (mamatweeta) You Are Not Your SAT Score: A Crash Course in Multiple Intelligence Theory
As the head of Cranium’s editorial department for 8+ years, I got hooked on Dr. Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory, and I still find it to be a uniquely powerful tool for inspiration and general perspective-broadening. And in the current educational climate, when just about everything revolves around reading and math scores, I also think it’s incredibly important for the kids (and grown-ups!) in the crowd to hear these messages:

1. There are lots of ways (beyond just “reading” and “math”) to be smart!
2. We’re naturally inclined toward some of the intelligences, but we can improve and develop in any of them.
3. If something seems tedious or difficult to you, you can use the multiple intelligences to change your perspective.

Amanda Shumack (amandahoops) What is all the Hoopla?
We’re talking Hoop Dancing – a style of Advanced Hula Hooping that your parents NEVER did!

Amanda (aka Sirin) will talk of the hooping sub-culture and how this modern take on an old fitness craze has taken a very new and different look. It’s become such an addiction to some that they’ve built careers out of hooping, branched off the sub-culture into sub-sub-cultures such as fire hooping, hoop yoga, hoop aerobics and hoop dancing.

These silly circular kids toys are inspiration to people who are looking to get fit, have fun and it CANNOT be done without a smile!

Amanda will also do some LED hooping (yes, this hoop has LIGHTS, people!) and give all the details to anyone who is looking for more info on getting started or who just wants to see what crazy folks are coming up with to spend your free time.

WARNING: Hoop Addictions have started with less…

Jen Matson (nstop) Field Guide to Record Collectors

While everyone (of a certain age) remembers the first record they bought as a kid, only a small number of us end up loving the spinning slab of vinyl as much as the music itself.

Drawing on my own experience both as a longtime music geek and onetime used record store clerk, I’d like to present a High Fidelity-style Top Five List covering the most common habits and characteristics of that odd breed known as the record collector. Through a few profiles of collectors I have known and loved, I’ll cover such mysteries as:

- Why people own multiple copies of what appear to be the same record
- What is the proper record fair etiquette
- The sanctity of the first pressing

Even the most physical-format-shunning music fan should come away from my talk with a newfound understanding of (if not appreciation for) why we vinyl enthusiasts continue to lug our heavy boxes and crates of LPs and 45s around with us from place to place.

Deepak Singh (mndoci) #arseniclife
In a world of Twitter and blogs, scientific peer review takes on a new meaning. From press releases, to TV appearances, to controversy in the blogosphere, this talk will dive into the history of one of the more interesting hashtags that Twitter has seen. The #arseniclife controversy portends the future of peer review, and it continues to be great sideline viewing.

Scott Berkun (berkun) Teaching Seattle How To Drive
From merging on I-5 to the snowpocalypse, we have proven, year after year, that our driving skills as a city are wanting. We are surprised by rain, confused by four way stops and baffled at how to turn two lanes into one. Here is a fun but ranty plan for teaching Seattle how to drive right.

Ignite Seattle and Dorkbot Seattle are collaborating to bring you a new kind of festival this August. On the afternoon of Saturday, August 20th (before Ignite Seattle 15), we’ll be opening up the Fremont Outdoor Movie Cinema parking lot (N. 35th St. & Phinney Ave) for builders, garage hackers, diy makers and the generally curious. Everyone is encouraged to bring an interesting project to share or something to show off. There are a few caveats, though. We have a limited amount of power, so we can’t promise electricity for everyone. And if you’re bringing something dangerous (please do!), let us know, so we can make sure the appropriate signage gets posted.

If you’re interested in participating, or if you know of a cool project we should seek out, let us know in the comments of this post, or on the Facebook Wall. We’ll be adding additional information about the event as we get closer to the day. Get building!

We’ve had a few requests to extend our deadline for talk submissions, so we’re extending until Monday, July 18th. If you’d like to speak, have your talk submitted here, no later than 11:59pm, July 18th.

Our next event will be August 20, 2011 at the Fremont Outdoor Movies and will be an all ages event.

Here’s a small set of photos from Ignite Seattle 14. If you took photos at the event, we’d love for you to add them in the Ignite Seattle Flickr group.

Videos from Ignite Seattle 14 will be coming soon.

We want YOU to speak at the next Ignite Seattle. Got an idea for a talk? We’d love to have you to give a talk at our next event. Submission deadline is July 15, 2011, so SUBMIT YOUR TALK IDEA NOW.

A Very Special Ignite

We like it when speakers hack our format (within our normal rule set, of course) and we encourage you to submit talks that might take advantage of our lovely outdoor location at the Fremont Outdoor Cinema space.

• it’s outdoors
• it’s all ages

One caveat

We’ve never really limited the kinds of topics at our events, but we are going to be outdoors and an all-ages show, so it presents some special considerations. Given that the show will be all ages, we’ll likely not accept talks that aren’t acceptable for an all ages show.

See you in August

Ignite Seattle 15 will be held on Saturday, August 20th. Speakers will go on stage at 8:00. Watch for future announcements of special pre-event activities that we are actively planning now.

The next Ignite is going to be OUTDOORS on SATURDAY, August 20th at the Fremont Outdoor Movies space. We intend for this to be a family friendly event and we’ll be looking for under 18 speakers. This is our first ever outdoor event. Please come out in droves and make it our best one yet.

Submit your talk ideas now!

Here’s our schedule:

7:00pm: Doors Open.
7:30pm: Icebreaker game. As always, this is optional, but definitely a lot of fun! This time it should only be about 15 minutes.
8:00pm: Talks start!
8:45pm: 15 minute intermission.
9:00pm: A surprise! We’re only having 8 speakers this time because Brady has an awesome surprise for us. We’ll be ending around the normal time though, so don’t worry about being out too late!

Ignite Seattle 14 Speaker List

Teresa Valdez Klein (TeteSagehen) The art of subvertising on Facebook
All of us have been conditioned from birth by our families, our friends, and marketers to want (or not want) certain things. And while I’m a big fan of Facebook, I have this theory that it reinforces social conditioning in some pretty insidious ways.

In this talk, I’ll explain how I used Facebook’s self-serve advertising platform to combat the social pressure cooker.

Geoff Smith (lookatlao) How To Shoot Better Food Porn
Why: With the advent of food-focused social media and celebrity chef bloggers—not to mention understaffed magazines—food photography is everywhere. Everybody is taking photos of what they eat and very few are doing it right.

What: I would like to identify the four major enemies of good food porn and offer simple solutions on how to avoid them. The presentation will show real-world examples of failed attempts at shooting good food porn and the necessary steps and equipment needed—both purchased and improvised—to make your food porn better.

This presentation will be funny and informative and there will be immediate take aways as well as a few hints on how to take things to the next level for those so inclined.

Mehal Shah (mehals) Sociopathic Boardgaming: Fun for everyone.
You like board gaming, but lately the fun has gone out for you. Maybe you have a closet full of board games that never get played anymore. Maybe you have an hyper-competitive jackass attending your board game nights, who you feel ruins the fun for everyone. Maybe you just hate following a bunch of silly rules in your games and the fun goes away after half an hour. Let’s re-examine what makes board gaming great and see how we can modify existing games to make them fun again, and how turning up the hostility is often the best way to turn up the fun.

Sarah Novotny (sarahnovotny) living the OG lifestyle – Original Geek, that is
geeks have lead the most recent evolution of our society and some do it better than others. i’ve been incredibly curious about how geek praxis outside of a professional setting has contributed to geek success and would like to share a few ways i’ve found that geeks harness their obesssions and obsessive natures for fun and profit.

As a young geek i know said “feel free to make fun of me now, i’ll forgive you and maybe even hire you when we’re adults”.

Scott Ruthfield (scottru) How to Go to Kindergarten
When I was a kid, you started Kindergarten down the street, or maybe the Catholic school a few blocks away. Today, though, Seattle parents have an incredibly complex system of both public and private schools – and parents don’t know how to navigate it (or that there’s even anything to navigate).

If you might have a kid entering Kindergarten someday, and you’re the kind of person who builds a 10-column spreadsheet to pick the next flat screen TV, you might want to know how this process works – and how to optimize for your own family.

Nathalie Molina Niño (globalmisfit) Life lessons from a [recovering] Alpha Male
Since launching her first internet dot com at 21, Nathalie’s been neck deep in high-tech, masculine, start up juice. She recently left Seattle, her dream home and a $100M business she helped found in order to chill out, meditate and continue her path as a recovering Alpha Male in relaxing New York City. During her first return to her beloved Seattle as a special guest at SIFF 2011′s opening GALA, hear Nathalie as she comes out publicly about her personal experience as a global business misfit and how it took nearly killing someone for her to realize she needed to rethink how businesses work.

Dominic Holden (dominicholden) The Tunnel

Erica May (ericaannemay) How Social Games about Farms Ruin Your Life
Do you sit at work saving up your virtual currency for a Shetland Pony? Do you create Facebook profiles for your cats, dogs & infants just so that you can ensure your crops are properly hydrated? What has our world become when people actually decorate their virtual barns for Christmas? Did you pre-order Farmville for Dummies on Amazon.com? Let’s take a peak at the illusive look at how virtual farms are ruining your life and pretty much the entire planet one virtual seed packet at a time.

See you there

Looking forward to seeing everyone at 7pm at the King Cat Theater! Tickets are $5 at the door, and bring a friend!

Has it been almost 4 months already? We’ll be posting all the videos from Ignite 13 very soon, but we’re super excited to tell you who is speaking at Ignite Seattle 14, on May 18 at the King Cat Theater!

We have a little surprise for the next Ignite Seattle. Don’t worry, we’re still doing 5 minute lightning talks, but we’ve shortened our line up to feature something special. The only trick is, we can’t tell you what it is, (although we may drop a few hints between now and then).

Without further ado, we present the speakers for Ignite Seattle 14

Ignite Seattle 14 Speaker List

Mehal Shah (mehals) Sociopathic Boardgaming: Fun for everyone.
You like board gaming, but lately the fun has gone out for you. Maybe you have a closet full of board games that never get played anymore. Maybe you have an hyper-competitive jackass attending your board game nights, who you feel ruins the fun for everyone. Maybe you just hate following a bunch of silly rules in your games and the fun goes away after half an hour. Let’s re-examine what makes board gaming great and see how we can modify existing games to make them fun again, and how turning up the hostility is often the best way to turn up the fun.

Sarah Novotny (sarahnovotny) living the OG lifestyle – Original Geek, that is
geeks have lead the most recent evolution of our society and some do it better than others. i’ve been incredibly curious about how geek praxis outside of a professional setting has contributed to geek success and would like to share a few ways i’ve found that geeks harness their obesssions and obsessive natures for fun and profit.

As a young geek i know said “feel free to make fun of me now, i’ll forgive you and maybe even hire you when we’re adults”.

Scott Ruthfield (scottru) How to Go to Kindergarten
When I was a kid, you started Kindergarten down the street, or maybe the Catholic school a few blocks away. Today, though, Seattle parents have an incredibly complex system of both public and private schools – and parents don’t know how to navigate it (or that there’s even anything to navigate).

If you might have a kid entering Kindergarten someday, and you’re the kind of person who builds a 10-column spreadsheet to pick the next flat screen TV, you might want to know how this process works – and how to optimize for your own family.

Nathalie Molina Niño (globalmisfit) Life lessons from a [recovering] Alpha Male
Since launching her first internet dot com at 21, Nathalie’s been neck deep in high-tech, masculine, start up juice. She recently left Seattle, her dream home and a $100M business she helped found in order to chill out, meditate and continue her path as a recovering Alpha Male in relaxing New York City. During her first return to her beloved Seattle as a special guest at SIFF 2011′s opening GALA, hear Nathalie as she comes out publicly about her personal experience as a global business misfit and how it took nearly killing someone for her to realize she needed to rethink how businesses work.

Geoff Smith (lookatlao) How To Shoot Better Food Porn
Why: With the advent of food-focused social media and celebrity chef bloggers—not to mention understaffed magazines—food photography is everywhere. Everybody is taking photos of what they eat and very few are doing it right.

What: I would like to identify the four major enemies of good food porn and offer simple solutions on how to avoid them. The presentation will show real-world examples of failed attempts at shooting good food porn and the necessary steps and equipment needed—both purchased and improvised—to make your food porn better.

This presentation will be funny and informative and there will be immediate take aways as well as a few hints on how to take things to the next level for those so inclined.

Teresa Valdez Klein (TeteSagehen) The art of subvertising on Facebook
All of us have been conditioned from birth by our families, our friends, and marketers to want (or not want) certain things. And while I’m a big fan of Facebook, I have this theory that it reinforces social conditioning in some pretty insidious ways.

In this talk, I’ll explain how I used Facebook’s self-serve advertising platform to combat the social pressure cooker.

Dominic Holden (dominicholden) The Tunnel

Erica May (ericaannemay) How Social Games about Farms Ruin Your Life
Do you sit at work saving up your virtual currency for a Shetland Pony? Do you create Facebook profiles for your cats, dogs & infants just so that you can ensure your crops are properly hydrated? What has our world become when people actually decorate their virtual barns for Christmas? Did you pre-order Farmville for Dummies on Amazon.com? Let’s take a peak at the illusive look at how virtual farms are ruining your life and pretty much the entire planet one virtual seed packet at a time.

See you there

Mark your calendars – May 18th, 2011, King Cat Theater. Doors open at 7pm, talks start at 8.

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED Thanks for submitting! – edited April 14, 2011

Our next Ignite Seattle will be May 18th, 2011. Submissions are now open and we’d love to have you speak at our next Ignite. Submissions are due by April 13th, although earlier submissions are encouraged!

We’ve heard some people say they always want to come to the event, but they forget as the date approaches. If this sounds like you, take a second and sign up for our Ignite Seattle Newsletter, and we’ll make sure you don’t forget. Additionally, you can follow us on Twitter and “like” us on Facebook for updates in those places.

Stay tuned to the Ignite Seattle blog for videos from the last Ignite coming soon.