r/Eugene • u/SluttyMuffler • Jun 27 '24
Eugene native looking for good people interested in tech. Meetup
Hi everyone! I'm a 30-year-old married guy with lots of hobbies but finding fellow tech enthusiasts in Eugene has been tough. I'm into computers, AI, quantum field theory, and hypothesizing future tech. Are there any good ways to meet locals with similar interests? My other hobbies don't quite align with tech. Any leads appreciated, looking forward to connecting!
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Jun 27 '24
Post a time and a place then see if people show up
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Jun 27 '24
This is definitely an option, but for anyone who's tried this, let alone 5 or 6 times, it quickly becomes far from the most appealing...
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u/Pavona Jun 27 '24
post a meetup for a past date and see if the time-travel hypothesis is confirmed
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u/Chairboy Resident space expert Jun 27 '24
The Eugene Maker Space (eugenemakerspace.com) has a lot of folks with similar interests as well as an active Discord server where you don't need to be a paying member to join.
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u/TwoGirlsOneFungi Jun 28 '24
This place was a joke when I checked it out. Instead of anyone creating anything, it was just several unhoused young adults taking advantage of a place to hang out at.
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u/Chairboy Resident space expert Jun 28 '24
Yeah, that was a bummer when that was happening. The member that was facilitating that is no longer there and that problem is resolved. The space was not being used in a fashion consistent with the rules by that group.
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u/thelastpizzaslice Jun 27 '24
Have you been to Tech Tuesdays at The Barn Light Bar? iirc it starts at like 6ish.
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u/Loaatao Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 27 '24
There’s the Eugene tech slack. It’s pretty paltry though, not much activity.
On the inverse in the mens.eugenesocialclub.com discord, we have a large swath of regular members that are software engineers from all backgrounds, myself being one. We also have channels for many other interests and our discord is very active.
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Jun 27 '24
Yeah, what's up with the Eugene Tech Slack?
The impression I've gotten from tech meetups/professionals here is that tech is just their day job... I've seen very little of what I would consider a real "hacker" ethos, where people just sit down and bang out whatever interests them just because they can... I mean there is some of that, but I don't come across it often.
Are all of us tech professionals just too burnt out from our daily grinds?
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u/Creatura Jun 27 '24
Programming used to be a hobby, now it's a job so I spend more time on my other hobbies.
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Jun 27 '24
Tbh, same. I hacked so many little curiosities until I got employed writing code, now by the end of the work day more screen time is the absolute last thing I want... But I'm hoping to find a way to reclaim the joy of programming for myself soon, somehow.
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u/Creatura Jun 27 '24
I hear ya! Although tbh I like my other hobbies a lot more overall. I got better at coding because I think it's a fantastic career for me, but I don't really feel the pull to be a hobby programmer again. Inspiration tends to be roundabout... maybe if you learn a new skill or lean into a wayside hobby you'll provide new context for programming, or as sometimes naturally happens, you'll just want to code as you get sparks flying in a different skill area. That has been my experience at least!
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u/Spore-Gasm Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 27 '24
I’ve got a homelab and tons of Arduino/Pis I rarely touch because my tech job has burned me out. I’d rather go fishing or plinking in my spare time now.
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u/TormentedTopiary Jun 27 '24
There's a lifecycle effect there.
You get into tech because it's neat and makes you feel powerful and (used to be) pays well compared to a lot of other work.
Then you deal with man-made horrors beyond comprehension for a few years while being driven to work way more than is healthy.
During this time you get a bit of a choice; burnout or bastardry.
If you can't set boundaries effectively; and don't learn how to use political power in ways that deflect the effects of overload onto other people... you break. Burnout is a real thing; it's your body and mind telling you that what you were doing was not working.
You might continue working in tech after that; but the energy that got you there is gone.
And Eugene's tech scene is not deep enough to let people avoid burnout by switching employers.
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u/Spore-Gasm Jun 27 '24
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u/TormentedTopiary Jun 27 '24
That's the weak version. Real burnout is when you try to work on something and you can feel your brain having an allergic reaction to the idea of thinking about what's on the screen in front of it.
If merely seeing a path like
/CNOWv2/conf/server.xmlinduces instant nausea and fantasies of walking off into the woods never to be seen again... then you have burnout.2
u/Loaatao Jun 27 '24
Not enough young people. Too many channels. A little disorganized. In the three years I’ve been in it, I’ve seen no improvement.
Where I am originally from, we have a 1000 person tech slack that is incredibly active but that’s because it’s been active, has members who want to keep it active, and they regularly keep it organized.
The Eugene tech slack just can’t seem to do it.
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Jun 27 '24
Yeah, that matches what I've seen. This seems to happen with a lot of public social efforts here. Not sure why. Probably a complex set of factors, I guess.
I hope we as a community get better at community soon!
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u/Loaatao Jun 27 '24
Men’s club is going super strong after two years. Took us 18 months to have a really strong set of regulars. I used to carry the torch solely and now it’s largely hands off.
It’s all about consistency which many people lack.
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u/SluttyMuffler Jun 27 '24
This is the kind of thing I was hoping for. I'll join it this evening thanks!
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Jun 27 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SluttyMuffler Jun 27 '24
Thanks for your reply! I love the idea. I'm not super well versed in coding, but I like working with Arduino projects and remote controlled tech too. All kinda bleeds into each other on that front.
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Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 27 '24
In school I worked on this weather ballon air quality monitor thingy and it was awesome, because I really only knew how to code but all the other volunteers were just hardware/electronics nerds and didn't like the coding part. So that worked out pretty well.
I sometimes have ideas that involve hardware too, but I wouldn't know the first thing about most of what's involved in it.
For instance, why aren't there better/more nerd-friendly RC/autonomous dog toys? SOTA seems to be those dumb rolling/weighted ball toys, but what if I want something with some basic computer vision functionality and anything smarter than a random walk?
Another commenter mentioned a homelab with lots of arduino and pi boards, that might be up your alley!
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u/SluttyMuffler Jun 27 '24
Well sounds like a business idea to me, friend! Being able to mock up ideas with 3D software/printing and putting them through testing could be a fun way to get moving.
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u/letsmakeafriendship Jun 28 '24
I'm into Bitcoin and not a trump voter, been thinking about starting a Bitcoin meetup in town. I also go paddleboarding and play vball nearly every weekend, often with a bigger group unrelated to tech. If those things sound interesting shoot me a dm let's chat :).
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u/TessellatedTomate Jun 28 '24
Hey man, I’m turning 30 in the coming months. Married with probably enough hobbies to mirror your stack, and I’m moving to CG or creswell by the time I turn the dirty thirty.
We’re gonna have no friends up here at first, so if you’re looking to connect I’d love to.
I’m a software engineer who was in fintech for a bit. I built https://getrabbithole.app as one of my more recent AI projects
Got a list of others if you want to shoot me a DM!
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u/very_mechanical Jun 27 '24
quantum field theory
I wish I was better at math.
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u/SluttyMuffler Jun 27 '24
I hardly graduated HS but quantum field theory falls into the computer space now days so I've been learning and listening to all different types of people's opinions and takes. Visual/auditory learning through YouTube has been great for this concept.
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u/SpringTucky101 Jun 30 '24
Whatcha think of Nvidia, Micron, TSM and AMD?
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u/SluttyMuffler Jun 30 '24
I'm curious how far Nvidia will go, and AMD will probably always skate along their coat tails since the CEOs are related if I recall correctly. I don't know a ton about Micron or TSM. I'm probably a bigger fan of AMD in terms of affordability for what you get. But I own a 3080 founders atm.
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u/Spore-Gasm Jun 27 '24
Howdy! I'm a Sr Systems Engineer so I eat/shit tech all day. I'm turning into a neo-luddite though. I think AI is going to be more trouble than good for humanity.