A microbiologist, a wireless communications specialist, and a San Francisco history aficionado walk into a bar… THIS IS NOT A JOKE! This is what’s going to happen on the third Wednesday of July and it’s going to be awesome! So get your anti-heebie-jeebie meds ready, smartphone charged, and sense of awe geared up–we’re going to talk emerging pathogens, wireless disaster response, and Ferry Building history with music, chili, and copious amounts of alcohol to help steady the nerves. Be there and be square!
Wednesday, 7/16/2014
Doors at 7 pm, show at 8
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St @Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets available here!
———————
“Out of Sight: Emerging Pathogens in a Changing World” by Dr. Shannon Bennett
Join us on a morbid journey of discovery to find out where the microbes that make us sick come from and how they got here. From the tropics to your own backyard, encounters with infectious diseases abound, challenging our immune systems and indeed our very existence. Be prepared to ponder viruses with terrifying names like break-bone fever! Be a responsible host: Leave no trace.
Shannon heads the Microbiology Department at the California Academy of Sciences, where she applies advances in genomics and bioinformatics to study dengue, hantavirus, influenza, and bacteria found in mosquito vectors. She is particularly interested in mutations that give viruses the ability to cause epidemics or switch to new hosts.
———————
“Broadband Deliverance: How Wireless is Changing the Face of Disaster Response” by Aaron Mason
Natural disasters scramble everything: They flatten buildings, wash away neighborhoods, and leave communities reeling. But what happens next? We’ll take a look at the aftermath of a disaster and dig into some of the new wireless technologies that are changing the face of response–from long-range WiFi to inflatable satellite dishes, to the surge in community-based response.
Aaron deploys things that help people communicate. He spent over a year in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and has deployed wireless networks around the world with Inveneo. Today he’s part of the team at OnBeep and serves an advisor to the SF Mayor’s office on communications strategy.
———————
“The Ferry Building: Portal to the Past and Gateway to the Future” by Justin Jones
In downtown SF, ships and other remnants of the past lie buried right below our feet. But little of the city?s early history remains visible, except for the Ferry Building, whose saga chronicles the founding–and near destruction–of our beloved city. Long before BART and bridges, it was the gatekeeper to Baghdad by the Bay, with over 250,000 passengers a day passing through its marble halls. Hear how this survivor of two major earthquakes, the premature death of its architect, and dreaded redevelopment endures as a symbol of the future and reminder of our wild past.
Justin is a Bay Area native, SF history aficionado, active CityGuide, and board member of the SF Museum and Historical Society. When not driving his girlfriend crazy with random history facts, he works at a healthcare startup.
———————
With: Alpha Bravo, who’ll be spinning tunes specially selected to match the presenters’ themes. Follow the setlist on Twitter @djalphabravo.
And: Get your spice on with Kevin & Gail’s Chili Palace, who’ll be serving delicious hot chili upstairs.