Announcing a speaker for our March Meeting

Melinda Thielbar, PhD will be presenting a talk at our next meeting, entitled Practical AI: An Expert Opinion. In her own words:

Everyone is talking about AI, and it's hard to tell what's real and what's just the latest headline-grabbing press release. This will be a practical guide from a technical person. We'll talk about what these models are, what they are not, how they can be used effectively, and how to prepare for what's ahead.

Melinda Thielbar is a 30-year veteran of the AI industry with a PhD in statistics. Her experience ranges from teaching programming in a dead language to optimizing power systems for navy ships to script consulting. She is currently an AI strategist for tax at a large accounting firm. This talk is based on her personal opinions and does not reflect the opinions of her employer.

Big thanks to Melinda for offering to share her time and expertise! Come out and listen with us at O'Brien's Irish Pub in Santa Monia on Saturday, March 28th, starting at 2PM.

PyCon Booth Volunteering

If you are planning on attending PyCon US 2026, we could use some help staffing our community booth! This is a joint operation between SoCal Python, San Diego Python, the Inland Empire Python Users Group, and PyBeach. It's great opportunity not only to help out, but to meet and hang out with wonderful members of the Python community from all over Southern California, and the rest of the world.

Please fill out this form if you are interested! Note: you must have a ticket to attend PyCon US 2026 in order to volunteer at the booth!

Bluesky Account

In case anyone prefers to get their news via Bluesky, we've created a Bluesky account. It'll have all the same content as the Mastodon, just less purple and more blue.

Until next time,

- The SoCal Python Organizers