Pumping Station: One

When: Thursdays, April 8th & 22nd, 8pm
Where: PS:One, 3354 N. Elston

Like an artifact from an alien civilization–or is it from the future?–Haskell fascinates and confounds. Is it good? Is it evil? What does it want from us? PS:One member Robert Lee has investigated its mysteries, cut the Gordian knot of deep mathematese that surrounds Haskell, and emerged with near-mystical coding powers. He comes to share his newfound wisdom with the coder masses.

He has scheduled his first two classes in April. There will be more afterward, to be scheduled. Bring your laptop. Before we start, he requests you  install GHC and spend some time with Learn You a Haskell For Great Good. This will not be an introduction to programming–you probably need some proficiency with basic programming concepts. If you know what recursion is, you’re probably solid.

He promises you will merely gain familiarity with cutting edge techniques in functional programming. Haskell is not madness-inducing. You may go mad, but if you do, it will have nothing to do with this class.

image credit: Gaetan Lee

Guest speakers and mother-son duo Nancy Milnes and Dan Simborg come to PS:One to talk about the technology, promise, and pitfalls of neurofeedback training.

Date: 1/23/2009
Time: 6:00 pm, before the evening’s Hackathon activities

Neurofeedback, or biofeedback with an electroencephalogram(EEG), is a potentially revolutionary technology. You can use it to train your brain for increased focus, improved meditation, and to alleviate various medical conditions. Come early to the Hackathon to learn from two experienced practitioners of neurofeedback:

Nancy Milnes is a licensed clinical social worker with over 25 years experience as a psychotherapist.  in 1999, frustrated with the limits of talk therapy, she began her exploration of neurofeedback.  Along the way, she cured herself of narcolepsy and migraine headaches as well as reduced some of her ADD symptoms.  Nancy has used a variety of systems and approaches and currently combines talk therapy with 2 different kinds of neurofeedback therapy.

Dan Simborg is a sociologist, community organiser, and producer of many artistic events throughout the country.  he took an interest in neurofeedback when his mother “turned him on to it.”  over the years he has seen many advances and changes in the technology and has explored NFB as an effective healing modality.  in 2006, dan went to Victoria, BC, to train under the creators of one of the programs being used by the mother son team.  what he found was an opening of a door into the mind and spirit that surpasses many non-traditional areas of thought.