Due to the impending snow storm, we have canceled Intro to Guitar and the member meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, March 9.

No decision has been made about the Kids Code organizational meeting scheduled for Sunday yet so stay tuned and we’ll announce a decision at some point tomorrow afternoon.

Wow! February just flew by with all sorts of win around Denhac. We held several well-attended classes on a variety of topics and we’re so excited to continue on into March with a whole new slate of learning and socializing opportunities. Check it out!

March special events / classes:

3/2: Live, Streaming Radio Show Production, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m, in the loft – Did you know that Denhac has an online radio stream? WE DO! You can find the stream at denhacradio.org. The setup – computers, mixer, microphones, software, and phone to receive calls – is on a very generous, long term loan from one of our members, Scott. Now, Scott’s coming by to teach us how to produce live radio shows that can be heard all over the world! RSVP on Meet Up.

3/5: Radio Heads, 8 p.m, in the classroom – A group created to explore different aspects of software defined radio. Topics to be addressed include both the reception and transmission of RF signals, the processing of data captured from the ether, cell phone networks, and ham radio. This is a group, not a class. There is no instructor. Just a handful of similarly minded people trying to learn something at roughly the same time. If you have a pet project you think might apply to this group feel free to propose it. RSVP on Meet Up.

3/9: Intro to Guitar, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m, in the classroom – Madstringer is back for another go at fulfilling our dreams of becoming the next greatest rock god…or, you know, at least give us a fighting chance at Rock Band. If you’ve got a guitar – accoustic or electric, either is fine – bring it with you. If not, Stringer’s got a number of guitars people can use during class on which to learn. RSVP on Meet Up.

3/9: All Member Meeting, 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m, in the classroom – Our regularly scheduled monthly meeting to give our members a chance to mix, mingle, snack, and talk business.

3/10: Kids Code Organizational Meeting, 10 a.m, in the classroom – Have you seen the code.org project? Well we have! And it seems like a natural fit for Denhac. A team of members and people in our community are getting together to discuss how we can get involved with teaching kids to code. If you’re interested in learning more, lending your coding or kid management talents, and want to get involved, stop by! Adults and kids welcome. RSVP on Meet Up.

3/10: MOAR Inventory!, 2 p.m. – Members running amok, evaluating equipment to keep, give away, or recycle. Come by if you’d like to help or just want to dig through the pile of discards.

3/12: Locksport, 8 p.m, in the main room – Our monthly gathering of lock enthusiasts led by the infamous Legion. Never picked a lock and afraid to try? If I can do it, you can too! RSVP on Meet Up.

3/15: dc303, 7 p.m, in the classroom – The local defcon group for Denver. I dunno exactly what they do. They’re very serious. They kinda scare me. Naw, they’re good guys. Uh…I think. Mostly. Tilver’s nice in any event. So if you’re interested in Capture The Flag (CTF) type stuff, stop by. I’m fairly certain no one there has eaten a human liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. Uh…fairly certain.

3/16: I Got a Raspberry Pi…Now What?, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m, in the classroom – We are totally jazzed to have Lordspeed teach this introductory course on how to get started with a Raspberry Pi. The class requires a raspberry pi, sd card, and micro usb charger. We will have a limited number of kits to sell so, if you need to purchase one from our supply (around $50 for the pi, the charge, and the card), please be sure to RSVP and indicate that you will be purchasing from our supply in the comments. As a bonus, in celebration of Pi (+.02) Day, Jane will be baking raspberry pie snacks for your tummy pleasure. RSVP on Meet Up.

3/16: Repair It! with Needle and Thread, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m, in the main room – The lovely and talented St. Jude will be in the house teaching us how to make basic sewing repairs to well-loved garments and other fabric stitched items (bags, pillows, coats, cushions, etc – NO LEATHER as leather repair is a specialized skill). Stuff like buttons, hems (both re-stitching and shortening), seam stitching that has come loose (think split pants seam as an example), basic hand sewing techniques in general and possibly zippers. She’ll bring supplies and a very basic machine to use if needed, though the focus will largely be on hand stitch repairs. Participants should bring an item you’d like to repair, a basic sewing kit: sewing needle, sharp scissors, thread to match (or are willing to use) on the item you want to repair, and a button to replace if you have it. If you have a sewing machine you would like to learn how to use, bring it along and Judy will help you with that too! RSVP on Meet Up.

3/19: Radio Heads, 8 p.m, in the classroom - A group created to explore different aspects of software defined radio. Topics to be addressed include both the reception and transmission of RF signals, the processing of data captured from the ether, cell phone networks, and ham radio. This is a group, not a class. There is no instructor. Just a handful of similarly minded people trying to learn something at roughly the same time. If you have a pet project you think might apply to this group feel free to propose it. RSVP on Meet Up.

3/20: CiGDA Hack Night, 7 p.m. – Colorado independent Game Developers Association monthly meet up. A casual meeting with no agenda. Come and hang out, bring your laptop to work on your game or get feedback on it. RSVP on Meet Up.

3/23: Intro to Video Production, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m, in the classroom – One of our fabulous members, Andy (aka Toast), has graciously offered to give a crash course on the basics of producing quality video. Whether you want to learn how to capture your cat in the next viral LOL video or how to edit your master’s thesis presentation down into a TED talk, Toast is your guy. He’s also the guy who can teach you how to master the art of aggressive inline skating…but that’s another class for when it’s warmer…and for when I’m way braver. RSVP on Meet Up.

3/26: Monthly Denhac Board Meeting, 7 p.m, in the classroom – The monthly board meeting where we make business decisions and try not to talk over the top of each other. Open to the public.

3/29: CiGDA Monthly Meet Up, 7 p.m. – New starting in March! CiGDA will be holding their formal monthly meet up at Denhac. This month Hunter Trujillo will be presenting on Voxel.js:  http://voxeljs.com/ which is basically “Minecraft in the browser”. They haven’t posted the Meet Up event page yet but stayed tuned for RSVP and additional information.

3/30: Adult Firearm Safety, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m, in the classroom – We are extremely fortunate to announce Chance Whaley, certified NRA Firearms Instructor, has agreed to teach this adults only (18+) class on the safe handling, storage, and care of a firearm. Participants are welcome to bring a personal firearm if they would like but it is not mandatory. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE (I cannot stress this enough) do not bring a loaded firearm or live ammunition with you. Chance will totally check and there will be hell to pay if he finds any live rounds. There is a nominal fee of $20 to cover the cost of materials. RSVP on Meet Up.

There are some additional events in the works including a CiGDA hosted spriting class, a Denhac 101 class, and more open times for non-members to stop by and check us out. We’ll be updating the calendar and the website with more information as it becomes available.

Weekly events:

Every Monday: Usenet Theater Presents… A movie night where the movie is free and the floors ain’t sticky (we hope). Popcorn and soft drinks provided!

Every Tuesday: Open House. A night for members and non-members alike to come hang out with like-minded folk, take a tour, and find out what Denhac is all about.

Every Thursday: Work from Denhac Day. Do you work from home and need a break from your partner, your kid, your cat, and/or the deep, dark recesses of your idle mind? Come work at Denhac where there’s a water cooler and company but no cubicles or cats.

If you want to stay abreast of all things Denhac, consider liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, joining us on Meet Up, or circling us on Google +.

Over the last couple of years, since Denhac moved into its current digs, we received a number of used hardware donations which quickly became towers of doom looming in the east side corner of the loft…most of it left to collect dust…forgotten – much of it obsolete -and unused.

Finally, as membership grew and the need for additional space for more stations arose, we looked toward that area and exclaimed, “Hey! Look at that pile ‘o stuff! If we could sort through it, auction off a bunch of it as a fundraiser, and organize it into more manageable piles, there’d be way more room! Room for MORE STUFF!” You know, more stuff in a good way.

If you recall then, Denhac hosted a Hackerspace Auction back in September after the first attempt at The Great Cleanup ensued.

And we got rid of A LOT of stuff.

The problem was that we still had stuff. Much more organized, to be sure, but still…stuff we weren’t using and probably weren’t going to use.

So! This last Saturday afternoon, several members convened to sort the rest of the stuff into 4 piles – keep, give away, recycle, throw away – and, everything in the “keep” pile is getting recorded into an actual inventory of equipment so we know what we have and what we need.

w00t!

Eventually, this will hopefully free up enough room for two or three more stations to which this unburied equipment can be deployed.

But we’re not done.

So! Inventory and Organize Denhac Day: The Sequel has been scheduled for this coming Saturday afternoon after the Intro to Arduino class. We’re hoping to complete the final stages of de-cluttering, organizing, and logging of equipment during that time. Because, once we get everything sorted and then discarded or logged into inventory, we’ll be ready to start building new stations and, frankly, who doesn’t want new stations with new toys to play with?

So! If you’re in the area of Denhac on Saturday, or if you’re wandering aimlessly about town looking for something to do, or, worse, wandering aimlessly about your house, muttering to yourself about those darn kids and your lawn and suddenly realize you’ve become THAT guy and need to get out, stop by Denhac and lend us a hand. You could even come by and dig through another man’s trash looking for your treasure.

At the very least, come by, say hi, bring snacks.