To register and to get a map for the Agile KC meeting or the SAFe Meetup, please visit www.agilekc.org. Please note the Agile KC Meeting will be on Tuesday 2/28/17 (not on our normal Thursday cadence). Agile KC Meeting Topic:  Agile Games!

Meeting Learning: A lot of research and information is available about how we learn as adults.  It's probably not surprising that as we age, the patterns and ways in which we take in and retain new information as adults is very different than how we did it as kids.  What may be surprising is the fact that combining the learning with game play is even more effective for adults than kids.  It could be that we just don't play enough games as adults, or it could be that by learning via game play we can establish and\or bypass neural pathways in our adult minds that make the activity more effective.  Either way, this month is about playing games.

This session will be a joint Agile KC and KC Agile Gaming Meet Up.  Please note this meeting does not follow our regular cadence of the fourth Thursday of the month.  Due to scheduling conflicts at Centriq and the opportunity to collaborate with the new group, we will be meeting on TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2017 at THE DISTRICT POUR HOUSE (see the map above). Attendees are encouraged to bring their own game ideas this month. The group will vote to prioritize which games will be played. However, if you have a tough problem to solve at work, feel free to post a question here (or direct message us) and we will see if we can bring a game to address that need!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Looking Ahead:   Thursday March 2, 2017 at 6:30 - 8:30  PM Scaled Agile Framework Meetup

Topic: A Practitioner's Introduction to SAFe®   Meeting Description:  There has been a lot of buzz in the press and the marketplace about SAFe® since its introduction in 2012.   Companies as varied as TradeStation (an award winning trading platform, trading software provider and online financial brokerage services provider), Elekta (a human care company pioneering solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have all found success leveraging the learnings and structure of the Scaled Agile Framework®.  Even small to mid-sized companies have been able to tap into and scale the productivity and benefits of agile teams.  What about your organization? While the framework provides a solid foundation on which an organization can base their delivery model, there are key learnings and factors that need to be understood as part of a successful implementation.  Just as Ponce de Leon will tell you there isn't a fountain of youth, the SAFe® methodologists and experienced practitioners will tell you there isn't a short cut to realizing the benefits of the framework.  However, unlike Ponce de Leon, organizations utilizing SAFe® are not equipped simply with legendary tales and questionable maps.  There is a deep and rich knowledge base of experiences, best practices and materials available to assist those on the journey. Join us on Thursday March 2, 2017 as Martin Olson (a SAFe® 4.0 Program Consultant Trainer) shares his experiences and insights on what has worked in the past and provides a working overview of SAFe® 4.0.  If you are familiar with the framework and have some specific questions or if you are new to the conversation and would like more information, please plan on joining us on March 2.   Who Should Attend: This is a public event and open to anyone wishing to learn more about SAFe® and\or share their experiences with the framework.  Leaders and executives that are looking to realize the benefits called out in the SAFe® case studies (http://www.scaledagileframework.com/case-studies/) will find the session extremely helpful and informative whether they are getting started or are already using SAFe®.   Coffee, tea and appetizers will be provided by the host.  Wine and beer will be available at a cash bar. Hope to see you there!

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Sunday, March 5, 2017 at 4:00:00 PM Hammerspace 440 E 63rd St , Kansas City, MO

Here's another HammerSpace class sponsored by Planet Comicon...

Cheers, love! The cavalry's here! - Tracer In this all day build class, will be building one of Tracer's Pistol from a 3D printed kits of parts.

As we work, we'll nerd out about Overwatch, gaming culture, 3D printing for prop construction, and finishing techniques. During this class you'll learn about: finishing and painting techniques for 3D printed parts, strategies for masking and applying graphics, methods of creating textures, and installation and of internal LED Lighting effect. We will be using sandpaper, spray paint, and body filler. 

Please wear clothes you are comfortable getting dirty in. Your class fee includes one 3D printed Tracer Pistol Kit. If you would like to build a matched pair of Tracer's Pistol's, additional kits will be available for $45 each

This is an all day class. We will meet from 10am to 12:30pm, break for lunch, then reconvene from 1:30 to 4pm

For Ages: 12-112 years old

**SPECIAL PLANET COMICON DISCOUNT: General admission for this class is $85/person, but only $70/person if you are a Planet Comicon member or have attended one of their past events.

Click here for event

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Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 1:30:00 PM Eggct 5107 Main Street, Kansas City, MO

When you walk in the door, let them know you are with KC Roundtable and they should bring you to the table! 

Click here for event

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Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 12:30:00 AM Centriq 8700 State Line Rd. Suite 200, Leawood, KS

We will discuss various database options and when to use which database type. We will also discuss Entity Framework and how to determine if it is a good fit for your project and how to set up an Entity Framework project.

Bring your laptop, your experiences and your questions.

Click here for event

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Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 12:00:00 AM Stowers Institute 1000 E 50th St, Kansas City,

Please join us for an evening of looking at the exciting past month of PHP news and learning about using Liquibase and the Symfony CLI to do amazing things with a database.

Light refreshments will be provided. Join us to meet new people, discuss PHP, and learn something new. 

Our Evening Meeting Format

We love Web Development and all things PHP. Our meetings are often a little free-formed, but we shoot for this schedule:

6:00pm - Mingling / Meet and Greet

6:15pm - Lightning Talk: Last Month in PHP - Eric Poe

6:30pm - Presentation: Using Liquibase & Symfony CLI to manage, migrate, & seed a mature database - David Stanley

When starting with a clean slate, database migrations and seed files (regardless of your chosen platform) are a pretty easy thing to work with. Need a new table? Create a migration. Need some seed data? Make a new class. The dirty little secret that no one talks about is this - as the database becomes more complex through normalization and relationships, generating good seed data becomes much harder. In this talk, I'll discuss how Help Scout uses Liquibase and a Symfony Console application to manage a mature and highly normalized transactional database.

Your topic here? Contact us to speak! 

Rate the talks! 

All Developers Welcome!

We understand Web Developers often come from all backgrounds, and many work in more languages than PHP. Whether you're curious and just starting out, dabble in PHP on the weekends, write custom PHP on a daily basis, work in a framework like Symfony, Zend Framework, Silex, Slim, Laravel, CakePHP or customize CMS products like WordPress, Drupal or Joomla; our goal is that you will find something new, useful and thought provoking.

Interested in giving a presentation to the group, or demoing something you're working on? Contact one of the organizers through Meetup or talk after a monthly meeting to sign up!

Park in the garage and enter the main building to the west of the garage. Follow the signs and turn right at the security desk. Click here for event

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Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 12:00:00 AM Central Resource Library 9875 W 87th St , Overland Park, KS

Having trouble finding time to write your blog post. Me too. 

I want to have a dedicated time to work on my blog post each week, I figured it would be great to schedule a time to blog and be with other WordPress people. 

Let's get together and write and talk some, but be a support network to get our blog posts written. 

This is not a help session, it is to post blogs. 

This is not an information session, it is to post on your own website.

I plan on two in the morning and two in the evening per Month on Tuesdays or Wednesdays... Depending on my teaching schedule. Hope you to see you there. 

NOTE - The library has free wifi. If you want a secure internet connection, bring your own hotspot - one will not be provided. The library does have secure computers right outside the conference 2 meeting room.

Click here for event

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Sunday, March 5, 2017 at 6:00:00 PM Hammerspace 440 E 63rd St , Kansas City, MO

IMPORTANT: THIS IS PART 2 OF THE 2-PART CLASS. If you signed up for the PART 1 class, then we already automatically added you to this class.

Learn the art of knife smithing and create a beautiful damascus utility knife.

These are a long time favorite of our instructor.  A beautiful and compact knife based on a skinning knife that makes itself useful on a daily basis.

The wood grain pattern of damascus style laminate steel is highlighted by your choice of a variety of exotic hard woods for the handle.

On day 1 we will be shaping the knife in our workshop.  Learn to profile your knife, apply a bevel and create a blade. Apply intricate filework to the spine or add a hole for a lanyard. At the end of this class (or the beginning of class 2) we will heat treat our blades, and acid etch them to bring out the patterns in the steel.

On day 2 we will learn how to attach a handle with brass pins.  We will shape and finish the handles and finish and polish and sharpen the blades.

Click here for event

Read more...

Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 12:00:00 AM Hammerspace 440 E 63rd St , Kansas City, MO

WELDING FOR EVERYONE! In the Welding for Everyone class, the instructor will cover basic welding techniques. A variety of useful welding methods will be demonstrated and then repeated by the students. Open to beginners as well as those who have prior experience. Please bring a long sleeved, preferably denim shirt with you to protect your arms. The class will introduce you to flux-core wire feed, MIG and ARC welding.  For ages: 18-118 (All materials included) Seating is limited. 

Click here for event

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WHAT   Smarter SharePoint KC User Group     WHEN   Tuesday, Feb 28 2017 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM     WHERE   Microsoft Office  10801 Mastin Blvd. Ste 620  Overland Park, KS 66210

SharePoint Server 2016 - What You Should Know About the Latest SharePoint Release Join us for the first Smarter SharePoint of the year! DEG's Mike Pruneau will be discussing the latest and greatest features in SharePoint Server 2016. As we think about the next version of SharePoint Server, we're paying close attention to trends in content management, team collaboration, user experiences across devices, and how the cloud can be blended into existing on-premises scenarios in new and compelling ways. In particular we at DEG are focused on delivering value to customers as part of their on-premises deployments, while at the same time making it easier to take advantage of cloud innovation thru hybrid deployments of SharePoint Server with Office 365. >>REGISTER HERE<<   Location: Microsoft | 10801 Mastin Blvd. Ste. 620 | Overland Park, KS 66210 Food and Drinks will be served! Please register for this event here.

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Saturday, March 4, 2017 at 4:00:00 PM Hammerspace 440 E 63rd St , Kansas City, MO

Can I AXE Something?: Build a Borderlands Buzz Axe

Saturday, March 4th, 10am till finished

All materials included

Students will spend the whole day making their very own Buzz Axe prop weapon from the game Borderlands using EVA foam and realistic painting techniques to make it look like it's made out of metal. You will leave with a sturdy, light-weight, cosplay ready prop and a bunch of useful knowledge about working with EVA foam and achieving worn metal finishes with paint.

**SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR PLANET COMICON MEMBERS & PAST PCC ATTENDEES!**: If you are a member or past attendee of Planet Comicon KC, you get a special 20% discount on the price for this class!

REGULAR PRICE: $120/person

PCC MEMBERS PRICE: $96/person

Open to BOTH HammerSpace members AND non-members.

Click here for event

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Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 11:30:00 PM Garmin International 1200 E 151st Street, Olathe, KS

Abstract:

Spring Boot has greatly simplified how to develop applications with Spring. Its auto-configuration and many starters has fostered a Spring renaissance that makes developing Spring apps fun again!

Stormpath's Spring Boot starter is one of the most sophisticated in the land! It works with and without Spring Security, providing standard authentication flows as well as sophisticated standards compliant authorization flows (e.g. OAuth2 and OpenID Connect). Stormpath also supports adding to a Zuul gateway to secure your microservices infrastructure. Stormpath has also recently released Juiser, which allows you to auto-create an authenticated user object from an X-Forwarded-User header.

Stormpath Evangelists, Micah Silverman and Matt Raible, will demonstrate the wonders of Spring Boot and Stormpath's unique starter that provides an incredible amount of functionality.

Bios

Matt Raible is a web developer and Java Champion. He loves to architect and build slick-looking UIs using CSS and JavaScript. When he's not evangelizing Stormpath and open source, he likes to ski with his family, drive his VWs and enjoy craft beer. He blogs on stormpath.com, his personal blog, and on Twitter (@mraible). 

Micah Silverman is Stormpath's Java Developer Evangelist. With 21 years of Java Experience (yup, that's from the beginning), he's authored numerous articles, co-authored a Java EE book and spoken at many conferences. He brings his love of all things Java to a meetup near you.

On Twitter as @afitnerd.

Location Details 

Garmin's address is 1200 E 151st, Olathe, KS 66062  

Our garage is completely open and access from Ridgeview is North of where it used to be, it is now closer to Sheridan Bridge Lane. 

• You will be able to enter through the left most door until 6:20 pm when the doors will be locked (image).

All guests to Garmin need to register upon entering the North Lobby. The doors will need to be locked at 6:20 pm.   

Schedule 

• 5:30 - 6:30pm - Social Hour with food provided by Adaptive Solutions Group.  

• 6:30pm - Presentation

• Afterwards anyone who is interested is invited to join us at Austin's Bar and Grill located at 2103 E 151st St, Olathe, KS 66062 for an informal social. Drinks and appetizers will be sponsored by Adaptive Solutions Group. 

Click here for event

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Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 12:00:00 AM VML 250 Northwest Richards Road, Kansas City, MO

Brian Lewis from Four Kitchens is going to be in town and will be speaking on Emulsify, a project developed at Four Kitchens for developing a theme using Atomic Design and Pattern Lab.

Click here for event

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Saturday, March 4, 2017 at 6:00:00 PM Hammerspace 440 E 63rd St , Kansas City, MO

IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: THIS IS PART 1 OF A 2-PART CLASS. BY SIGNING UP FOR THIS PART, YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY SIGNED UP FOR PART 2 WHICH IS ON SUNDAY, MARCH 5TH, NOON-4PM.

Learn the art of knife smithing and create a beautiful damascus utility knife.

These are a long time favorite of our instructor.  A beautiful and compact knife based on a skinning knife that makes itself useful on a daily basis.

The wood grain pattern of damascus style laminate steel is highlighted by your choice of a variety of exotic hard woods for the handle.

On day 1 we will be shaping the knife in our workshop.  Learn to profile your knife, apply a bevel and create a blade. Apply intricate filework to the spine or add a hole for a lanyard. At the end of this class (or the beginning of class 2) we will heat treat our blades, and acid etch them to bring out the patterns in the steel.

On day 2 we will learn how to attach a handle with brass pins.  We will shape and finish the handles and finish and polish and sharpen the blades.

Click here for event

Read more...

Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 12:00:00 AM VinSolutions 5700 Broadmoor Street, Mission, KS

Reflection isn't Always Evil

With the current advanced state of the .Net framework, newer .Net developers may have not worked with reflection code, and some more experienced .Net developers insist that it is pure evil, using code and performance metrics that may no longer be the best methods or relevant. Applications and frameworks that we use everyday however are taking full advantage of the functionality that reflection provides.

We will be breaking up what we commonly refer to as reflection into the categories of introspection, manipulation, instantiation, invocation, and type loading. We will review the common classes and methods used within each category along with sample code. We will then take a deeper look at the multiple techniques for method invocation that more recent .Net framework versions provide, along with their corresponding performance, and best scenarios for each.

Whether you choose to use this knowledge for good or evil will be up to you.

Bruce Dunwiddie

Bruce is a lifelong developer with 15 years of professional experience focusing on data, performance, and stability. He is currently contracting for companies with high volume data challenges as a local expert in SQL Server database design, query and index optimization. Bruce also sells data oriented products online; DataStreams ETL library for .Net at csvreader.com and SQL Data Dictionary at sqldatadictionary.com.

Sponsor

Premier Tech, Inc. 
<a>Jason Seaton</a> 

9th Floor Click here for event

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Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 11:30:00 PM Olathe City Hall 100 East Santa Fe, Olathe, KS

Welcome back IoT Enthusiasts!

We hope your year is starting off well.  We are back in the swing and want you to join us to hear how your future will change. Thanks to our partners at TechrIoT, who have been working hard to organize this exciting event! Speakers from local, county, and our state level, along with global corporations, will tell us what they are doing to make our cities smarter. 

5:30-6:00 - Networking

6:00-7:15 - Presentations

7:15-7:30 - Networking

Presenting:

• Doug Hohulin(Leader of Strategic Sales for Nokia): Smart Transportation & Autonomous Vehicles 

• Michael Aldridge (CIO Johnson County) and Jennifer Szambecki (State of Kansas): Mobile-First, Citizen-First GovTech 

• Kirk Rabius (Director, Jacobs Engineering): Current State of Smart Cities 

• Shawn Whitcomb (CIO of Olathe): Smart Cities - Mid-Sized City Focus

Location: Olathe City Hall, Council Chamber Room

Details of the presentations are below:

Doug Hohulin, Leader of Strategic Sales for Nokia: Smart Transportation & Autonomous Vehicles

The Nokia talk will overview the trends in Smart Cities related to Transportation & Autonomous Vehicles.  The talk will focus on Self-Driving Car technologies and ways to make safer and healthier transportation system.  Nokia's CEO, Rajeev Suri, said "Using technology, we now have a better chance than ever before to tackle some of the world's cruelest injustices.  And there can be no greater injustice than when someone dies before their time."  According to the WHO, "About 1.25 million people die each year on the world's roads and between 20 and 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries. Young adults aged between 15 and 44 years account for 59% of global road traffic deaths."  Technology being developed in the next 2 to 10 years can dramatically reduce these number of deaths if implemented.  The speaker:  Doug Hohulin is Head of Strategic Sales at Nokia working to develop next generation 4G and 5G cellular technology for the Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Cities and Self-Driving Car and Drone Communication Technology.

Michael Aldridge, CIO Johnson County, and Jennifer Szambecki, State of Kansas: Mobile-First, Citizen-First GovTech

Nearly 80% of citizens use smart phones, and the percentage is even higher among millennial and urban populations. In fact, more and more citizens are becoming smart phone-dependent. At the same time, citizens give e-gov low satisfaction ratings compared to private sector-generated user experiences. Is it possible this is, in part, because governments require users visit a tangled maze of buildings, websites and mobile apps? Michael Aldridge is CIO of Johnson County and Jennifer Szambecki is Mobile Program Director for the State of Kansas, and they are working together (along with other Kansas counties and cities) finding ways to offer citizens digital solutions with a "one-stop-shop" user experience. They will outline work underway that will make it easier for citizens to do business with government.

Kirk Rabius, Director at Jacobs: Current State of Smart Cities

Over the last two years, Kirk Rabius has been primarily focused on the development of city-driven technology solutions that help to solve infrastructure demands stemming from increased city urbanization by targeting environmental, public safety, transportation mobility, and social sustainability improvements.  Kirk's talk will focus on the current state of Smart City programs and how to identify program risks, project size, scale and speed to adoption in a way that will generate sustained revenue for cities over time. 

Shawn Whitcomb, CIO of Olathe: Smart Cities - Mid-Sized City Focus

In 2015, Shawn Whitcomb joined the City of Olathe as Chief Information Officer with a primary focus on working with all departments as they continue making Olathe a "Smarter City".  Smart City has received a lot of industry attention and the definition will vary depending on a city's size, mission, maturity, and community.  In this short presentation, Shawn will outline the City of Olathe's approach and will focus on activities that the City has completed in the past and are currently in progress as it relates to continuing to build a Smart City.  In addition, his presentation will outline some examples of how the City of Olathe will become Smarter while utilizing technology in the future. 

See you there!

Refreshments sponsored by Nokia.

Chamber Council Room Click here for event

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Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 11:30:00 PM Olathe City Hall 100 East Santa Fe, olathe, KS

Hello Fellow TechrIoT-ers!

We hope your year is starting off well.  We are back in the swing and want you to join us to hear how your future will change.  Speakers from local, county, and our state level, along with national corporations, will tell us what they are doing to make our cities smarter.

5:30-6:00 - Networking

6:00-7:15 - Presentations

7:15-7:30 - Networking

Presenting:

• Doug Hohulin(Leader of Strategic Sales for Nokia): Smart Transportation & Autonomous Vehicles

• Michael Aldridge (CIO Johnson County) and Jennifer Szambecki (State of Kansas): Mobile-First, Citizen-First GovTech

• Ryan Mulligan (Smart City Coordinator, Jacobs Engineering): Current State of Smart Cities

• Shawn Whitcomb (CIO of Olathe): Smart Cities - Mid-Sized City Focus

Location: Olathe City Hall, Council Chamber Room

Details of the presentations are below:

Doug Hohulin, Leader of Strategic Sales for Nokia:  Smart Transportation & Autonomous Vehicles

The Nokia talk will overview the trends in Smart Cities related to Transportation & Autonomous Vehicles.  The talk will focus on Self-Driving Car technologies and ways to make safer and healthier transportation system.  Nokia's CEO, Rajeev Suri, said "Using technology, we now have a better chance than ever before to tackle some of the world's cruelest injustices.  And there can be no greater injustice than when someone dies before their time."  According to the WHO, "About 1.25 million people die each year on the world's roads and between 20 and 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries. Young adults aged between 15 and 44 years account for 59% of global road traffic deaths."  Technology being developed in the next 2 to 10 years can dramatically reduce these number of deaths if implemented.  The speaker:  Doug Hohulin is Head of Strategic Sales at Nokia working to develop next generation 4G and 5G cellular technology for the Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Cities and Self-Driving Car and Drone Communication Technology.

Michael Aldridge, CIO Johnson County, and Jennifer Szambecki, State of Kansas: Mobile-First, Citizen-First GovTech

Nearly 80% of citizens use smart phones, and the percentage is even higher among millennial and urban populations. In fact, more and more citizens are becoming smart phone-dependent. At the same time, citizens give e-gov low satisfaction ratings compared to private sector-generated user experiences. Is it possible this is, in part, because governments require users visit a tangled maze of buildings, websites and mobile apps? Michael Aldridge is CIO of Johnson County and Jennifer Szambecki is Mobile Program Director for the State of Kansas, and they are working together (along with other Kansas counties and cities) finding ways to offer citizens digital solutions with a "one-stop-shop" user experience. They will outline work underway that will make it easier for citizens to do business with government.

Ryan Mulligan, Smart City Cooordinator at Jacobs: Current State of Smart Cities

Over the last two years, Ryan Mulligan has been primarily focused on the development of city-driven technology solutions that help to solve infrastructure demands stemming from increased city urbanization by targeting environmental, public safety, transportation mobility, and social sustainability improvements.  Ryan's talk will focus on the current state of Smart City programs and how to identify program risks, project size, scale and speed to adoption in a way that will generate sustained revenue for cities over time.

Shawn Whitcomb, CIO of Olathe: Smart Cities - Mid-Sized City Focus

In 2015, Shawn Whitcomb joined the City of Olathe as Chief Information Officer with a primary focus on working with all departments as they continue making Olathe a "Smarter City".  Smart City has received a lot of industry attention and the definition will vary depending on a city's size, mission, maturity, and community.  In this short presentation, Shawn will outline the City of Olathe's approach and will focus on activities that the City has completed in the past and are currently in progress as it relates to continuing to build a Smart City.  In addition, his presentation will outline some examples of how the City of Olathe will become Smarter while utilizing technology in the future.

See you there!

Katy

Council Chamber Room Click here for event

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Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 1:00:00 AM Kansas City Public Library: Plaza Branch (Large Meeting Room) 4801 Main St, Kansas City, MO

Changing how headings and text looks on a new WordPress website theme and changing the color of the theme itself are some of the first things every new website owner wants to do. 

This makes CSS one of, if not THE most important coding languages for WordPress newbies to learn first.

Presenter: Scott Schaper of Unravel

Meetup facilitator: Travis Pflanz

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Meetup Schedule 
• Networking - Chat with other group members: 7pm 
• Member introductions: 7:15pm 
• Presentation: 7:30pm 
• Q&A: Immediately following presentation 
• Chat and talk shop: Following Q&A, up until 9pm

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This Meetup is perfect for anyone who is new to WordPress and/or wants to make their own basic stylistic changes to their website.

We'll be in the large meeting room. Click here for event

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Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 12:00:00 AM Cerner Innovations Campus 1024 Hillcrest Road, Kansas City, MO

Having the meetup at Cerner's newest campus -- at the site of the old Bannister Mall.  We will be in a room on the 3rd floor called "the Assembly" which is in the connector building between the two towers.  

Right now I have John Bloom confirmed to talk with a couple of other potential speakers.

Click here for event

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Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 12:00:00 AM The District Pour House & Kitchen 7122 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own game ideas this month. The group will vote to prioritize which games will be played. However, if you have a tough problem to solve at work, feel free to post a question here (or direct message us) and we will see if we can bring a game to address that need!

This meetup will be held in collaboration with Agile KC! (http://www.agilekc.org)
We are expecting a larger group, so your RSVP is very important!

Appetizers will be provided, sponsored by Blueshift Innovation!

Please RSVP if you're planning to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Agile Game Night's mission is to provide a safe place to learn about new tools to solve problems in knowledge work, and/or ways to teach agile and lean concepts.

District Pour House is at the corner of Gregory and Wornall in Waldo. We will be in the basement. Click here for event

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Friday, March 3, 2017 at 12:00:00 AM Hammerspace 440 E 63rd St , Kansas City, MO

Every Thursday, the members of Hammerspace gather to socialize, network, and meet new members of the space. We welcome the community at large to come down during this time to explore the workshop, check out all of the tools, fabrication equipment and work space made available to HammerSpace members, and ask questions of our community of Hammerspace users.

There is a concession stand and kids playroom available, and the evening is always the origin point of new and amazing creative ideas.

Tours are led every 30 minutes for those curious about the tools and capabilities of the facility and staff. This is a free event, open to the public.

1/2 block east of Oak St. on 63rd St. Click here for event

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Friday, March 3, 2017 at 12:30:00 AM The Grid 12022 Blue Valley Parkway, Overland Park, KS

Learn! Practice! Share experiences! Network with others!

The Midwest Scaled Agile Framework®  Meetup Group is for people and organizations that are interested in learning and sharing stories on how to scale their Agile | Lean implementations using the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe). Learn more about SAFe at http://scaledagileframework.com

Join us for a beverage, some hors d'oeuvres, conversation and learning!  

Topic: A Practitioner's Introduction to SAFe®

Meeting Description: 

There has been a lot of buzz in the press and the marketplace about SAFe® since its introduction in 2012.   Companies as varied as TradeStation (an award winning trading platform, trading software provider and online financial brokerage services provider), Elekta (a human care company pioneering solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have all found success leveraging the learnings and structure of the Scaled Agile Framework®.  Even small to mid-sized companies have been able to tap into and scale the productivity and benefits of agile teams.  What about your organization?

While the framework provides a solid foundation on which an organization can base their delivery model, there are key learnings and factors that need to be understood as part of a successful implementation.  Just as Ponce de Leon will tell you there isn't a fountain of youth, the SAFe® methodologists and experienced practitioners will tell you there isn't a short cut to realizing the benefits of the framework.  However, unlike Ponce de Leon, organizations utilizing SAFe® are not equipped simply with legendary tales and questionable maps.  There is a deep and rich knowledge base of experiences, best practices and materials available to assist those on the journey.

Join us on Thursday March 2, 2017 as Martin Olson (a SAFe® 4.0 Program Consultant Trainer) shares his experiences and insights on what has worked in the past and provides a working overview of SAFe® 4.0.  If you are familiar with the framework and have some specific questions or if you are new to the conversation and would like more information, please plan on joining us on March 2.

Who Should Attend:

This is a public event and open to anyone wishing to learn more about SAFe® and\or share their experiences with the framework.  Leaders and executives that are looking to realize the benefits called out in the SAFe® case studies (http://www.scaledagileframework.com/case-studies/) will find the session extremely helpful and informative whether they are getting started or are already using SAFe®.  

Coffee, tea and appetizers will be provided by the host.  Wine and beer will be available at a cash bar. 

Speaker Bio: 

Martin Olson is a Principal with Silicon Prairie Solutions.  Silicon Prairie Solutions helps organizations and their associates grow and adapt more Lean|Agile abilities through training, coaching and mentoring.  Silicon Prairie Solutions and thier partners have clients throughout the US and Europe.

Martin founded the Agile KC (www.agilekc.org) group and continues to lead it after fourteen years.  In addition he has been a founding member of the Agilehood KC (http://kc.agilehood.org/) who's mission is to 'Connect groups and communities to foster collaboration' in the Kansas City Metropolitan area.  He holds an MBA from the University of Kansas and is a SAFe® SPCT 4.0.  Martin is also a member of the International Coaching Federation and a certified Organizational Relationship and Systems Coach (ORSCC). You can reach Martin at [email protected]. 

Click here for event

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Tuesday, February 28, 2017 at 1:00:00 AM South Independence Branch - Mid-Continent Library 13700 E 35th St South, Independence, MO

Do you have an active, fully functional on-online WordPress site, but you can't seem to find the time, motivation, inspiration, ideas and commitment to help you get to the next level? If you answered yes, then you might be interested in joining with up to 3 other like-minded individuals as we work on making our websites better and more effective.

This group is for those who already know WordPress, and would like to meet with others who also want to make improvements to their website(s). The main focus will be working and improving your own website or blog, because it's just too hard to get it done at home. Hopefully, a change of scenery will help with the motivation, inspiration and creativeness. Individuals with blogs or fairly basic websites are the focus group. Technically support or "trouble shooting", is not what this group is about. If you want a meetup like those, please let the organizers know.

To keep this a work focus group, it is limited to just 4 attendees. We will have a private study room that has room for 4, available in the Library. We will meet for 1 1/2 hours on a week by week basis. NOTE - The library has free wifi, but if you want a secure internet connection, bring your own hotspot - one will not be provided.

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