Keep your eyes peeled, big changes are in the works.

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This event will explore the guiding principles used by three well-known
fast growth companies. All three were recently showcased in a Crain’s
article about companies who have come very far with little or no
outside funding (http://chicagobusiness.com/).

Our panel of speakers are:

Mike Domek, CEO of TicketsNow.com (http://www.ticketsnow.com)
$142 million in annual sales without outside investors

Jason Fried, CEO of 37Signals (http://www.37signals.com)
Web-based products with over 250,000 subscribers

Lucas Roh, CEO of Hostway (http://www.hostway.com)
nearly $100 million in sales with no major VC investors

Unlike the days when venture capital was abundantly available, the
focus has turned to financial discipline, The phrase “Get large or get
lost” had been the wisdom of the boom days. Now standard business
models are back in with a greater emphasis on profit over growth. A
tight funding climate has retuned us to the virtues of capital
efficiency which, for many, has resulted in smarter hiring decisions,
picking the right customers and using technology in creative ways to
enable the business.

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Seminar – Business Failures: Learning, Letting Go, and Starting Again

Presented by The Coleman Entrepreneurship Center
DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson, Room 7305, Chicago
June 28th, 7:30am – 10:00am
$45

312-362-8625
http://Cec.depaul.edu

Introducing IT: Roadmap: Chicago
It’s where you’ll hear brilliant IT strategies delivered direct to you from Network World editors six months ahead of outsiders even knowing about it.

Where you can meet personally, one-on-one, with an IT all-star to discuss how coming technology will reshape your enterprise.

June 27, 2006. Free. Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Organized by NetworkWorld.
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Often tech savvy people lack networking skills. Attend this (free) event with a top notch speaker. She’ll help your networking opportunities turn from ackward stressful times into tremendously beneficial opportunity explosions. (Okay, I embellished a little… but come on over and introduce yourself to me!)

Date: 6/26/06
Host: Jewish Vocational Service Chicago’s Career Connections for Professionals
Location: 1 S. Franklin, Room 102, Chicago, IL
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Cost: Free (includes refreshments)
RSVP: Required by 6/23
Contact: jvsccp@jvschicago or 312-673- 3437
Featured speaker is Melissa Giovagnoli who is a sought-after executive coach, best-selling author and one of the foremost leaders on building leadership networks for individual and organizational success. She is the founder of Networlding. Her clients have included such companies as Motorola, American Express, AT&T and Disney. Her unique benefit to clients is her combined depth of knowledge of the best networking strategies, a database of the best companies to work for and her extensive leadership.

June 26-28, 2006, $100
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)

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PHP User Group (phpug)
Event start date:Â 6:00 pm to 8:30 or 9:00 pm
Event location:Â (new location!) 150 N Michigan Ave Suite 2800, Chicago, IL
Event purpose:Â php beginners and experts, and related technologies such as mysql, postgresql, gd, ming, etc.
Event cost:Â $0
Event related website:Â http://chiphpug.php.net
Event contact name:Â richard lynch
Event contact phone:Â 773-252-8914
Contact email:Â chiphpug@l-i-e.com
Business cards:Â business cards optional

We are very excited to announce that our June 20 event will be The Chicagoland RPX Group Innovation Whiteboard Challenge, presented in association with RPX Group, LLC. The winning presenter will go home with a $3,000 check, and two runner-ups may win $500 each — if they’re good enough.

Be prepared to witness a dynamic, high-energy and fun event. Behold a dozen or more highly innovative business concepts presented in real time.

No panel of talking heads at this event. This is real innovation at its best! And for the angel investors out there, this is an excellent opportunity to learn about innovative ideas you probably wouldn’t know about otherwise.

We’re filling up fast for this unusual and highly popular event. We’re anticipating a capacity crowd with an early registration cutoff. There will be no walk-ins admitted. So if you would like to join us on June 20, please register now!

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This Monday is the first TechCoffee for the summer: 6-8am at Caribou Coffee at Lake/LaSalle.
The proposal is that every Monday morning from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., open source hackers meet somewhere in downtown Chicago and work on the projects that interest them. We could even setup projectors and let bystanders help find bugs on the big screen… or having a big screen would just serve to bystanders as a window into the wacky world of non-paid software development. It can reduce your temptation to just loaf around and read Slashdot….

All developers and technologists are welcome: Pythonizers, Rubyists, Perl Mongers, PHPimps, and Javanauts are welcome. Even Lispers, Schemers, OCamlists, Haskellians, Eiffelers, HyperTalkers, and Stegosauruses (COBOL programmers), too.

• The first TECHcoffee will be on Monday, June 19th, 6-8 a.m. in the Loop. Location: Caribou Coffee (Northwest corner Lake/La Salle)
• Read more and RSVP at: http://TechCoffee.com

Saturday, June 17: Texas Holdem Charity tournament for Save Abandoned Babies Foundation

Secure Your Spot! Limited to 100 Players!
(volunteers needed too — email me “jawolter at gmail” -Jonathan)

A Texas Hold ‘Em Benefit for
Save Abandoned Babies Foundation

Saturday, June 17
6:00 Poker Registration
7:00 Start
(Glenview location provided at RSVP)

$100 buy-in, $50 rebuys first hour of play. Limited to 100 players.
$25 spectators.
Includes food and drink!

Prizes! Raffle!
Round trip tickets to Las Vegas. Brunch & Cruise Lake Michigan on the Artemis for 6-8. Two people to crew on the Artemis for Chicago’s Leukemia Cup Race including before and after party at the Chicago Yacht Club, Cubs tickets, theater, restaurants, spa services and more!

“Cash Dash” from the IL Treasurer’s office reunites owners with their forgotten property! Ever forgotten to close a checking account, lost track of stocks purchased years ago, or forgot about a safe deposit box? That’s where this fun comes into play. There will also be Tarot card readings, an artist doing caricatures, and a wonderful selection of raffle items.

RSVP, Questions? hiDawnie@aol.com or pensue681@comcast.net

• The Save Abandoned Babies Foundation is a non-profit, all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to raising public awareness of the Illinois Newborn Infant Protection Act, or “safe haven” law.
• Donations are tax deductible and greatly appreciated. Please send to: Angie Adler, c/o Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, 3702 Radcliffe Drive, Northbrook, IL 60062

Profiting from IP enabled convergence: Fixed-Mobile-Wireless and IT-Telecommunications is it right for me?
Wireless technology is poised to change the way people communicate in the 21st century. Are you ready for this revolution? Is your business strategy ready?

June 14th 6-9pm, free, @Rice, Wheaton Campus

Seating is limited so registration is required. Registration closes at 5:00 P.M Tuesday June 13th. Don’t wait until it’s too late and miss this informative meeting!

Register by sending an email to IP@jerryrmitchellandassoc.com We will send you a confirmation. Include your name, company and title in order to be registered.

There are now more mobile users than fixed users. This increasing “demographic” shift requires an essential re-examination of the relationship between fixed and mobile networks. It also makes it very clear that mobility must be a core capability of the NGN.

Your sales force needs access to critical business data. Your employees must stay in touch when they are traveling or working outside your corporate campus. A wireless network maybe the best answer, but it also means risk - and you must determine how to securely integrate your wired and wireless networks.

By attending this seminar you will receive the most up to date and comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals and evolution of mobile and cellular technologies, networks and services.

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Meet a large contingency of the Chicago Linux community, help organize an upcoming Install Fest, and enjoy a Potluck!
Where: 728 W Jackson Blvd. (Roof of building)
Date: Tuesday 06/13/2006
Time: 7 pm - whenever we get kicked out.
Cost: Bring some food

There will be a BBQ available, no planning is really going to be done, so everyone bring something and we’ll munch on whatever is available. (Or we’ll order a pizza and jolt a healthy part of a geek’s daily diet)

Building is the next going east to the one were the 24-h Gyros place is, right after crossing the highway. There is a very visible Staples Store being finished across the street from my building entrance (This is on Jackson).

We’ll be discussing locations, dates, events, resources. I’d like to have local mirrors established for just about every distro that we’ll support. Or at least the big ones, Ubuntu, Gentoo, Debian, RH/FC. *BSD maybe?

I believe all parties interested so far are: UIC LUG, IIT LUG, UFO, and Depaul. We’ll be discussing whether to focus on the install fest or simply make it into a conference and schedule speakers, presentations etc. Split it into a 2 different venues, have multiple speakers going at the same time.. (maybe a newbie track and a more advanced track).

I’d like to thank my VP for hosting this event at his place.

Samir Faci (samir at esamir.com)
UIC President

Presenter: Xabier Barandiaran - Series Talk #2
Monday June 12, 7-9pm
Polvo - 1458 W. 18th St. 1R | Chicago IL | www.polvo.org
Co-Sponsored by AREA Chicago Art/Education/Activism and CriticalArtWare
www.areachicago.com | www.criticalartware.net
Title and Abstract of the talk:
“Hackmeeting and Hacklabs: technopolitics and reality hacking in
south-european autonomous networks”

For the last 6 years a number of autonomous collectives called
HackLabs (hacker or hacktivist laboratories) have been created at
different squat social centers and other self-managed spaces around
europe. The network of hacklabs has now more than 40 nodes (most of
them located in Spain and Italy) dedicated to build-up community
based free-software and open access spaces for skill sharing and
collective intelligence, technopolitic experimentation and direct
action on several digital struggles (cybercontrol, digital rights,
intelectual property, etc.).

HackLabs were born as a result of Hackmeetings: underground
self-organized hacktivist meetings where grassroot activist
and geek culture meet to discuss, exchange and
coordinate different knowledge, resources and initiatives around
technologies and politics. The talk will focus on a set of
trajectories within the hacklabs and hackmeeting networks: the
experience of Metabolik (one of the first hacklabs in europe), the
distributed and self-managed organization of spanish and european
hackmeetings and the recent direct action campaing against
intellectual property (CompartirEsBueno.Net). Emphasys will be made
on philosophical background, discussion on technopolitical tactics
and opportunities for coordination.

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Chicago Ruby Users Group Meetup (rsvp at http://www.chirb.org/uger/event/show/2)

Topic: RSpec/BDD presentation
Time: Monday June 12, 2006 06:30 PM
Description
David Chelimsky (Object Mentor), Aslak Hellesøy (ThoughtWorks), and Dave Astels (www.daveastels.com) will be presenting on RSpec and BDD. (See rspec.rubyforge.org for an explanation of RSpec/BDD)

As always, bring your laptop, there will be coding exercises!
Location: ThoughtWorks
651 W. Washington Blvd. Suite 600
Chicago , IL 60661
(312) 373-1000

After Hour Access:
The building entrance on Desplaines will be open until 7. The elevators will be on until 7 as well so that people can get to the 6th floor. After that, please feel free to call Jake at 773/905-9102 and I’ll have someone get you.

Directions:
Take the Washington exit off of 94/90. ThoughtWorks is at the corner of Desplaines and Washington.

Monday, June 12: MEF semi-annual networking party 5:30 - 9pm
MIDWEST ENTREPRENEURS’ FORUM, INC. Monday June 12th Mid Year networking event

Admission will be $30 for MEF Members and $40 for Non- Members
Payment at the door (cash, check or cc).

We are asking you to please preregister so we can better plan on the food and other services we must order ahead of time in order to have a successful event. Please register by sending an email to:
MEF@jerryrmitchellandassoc.com
You will need to provide your name, company name and your title and if you are a member.

5:30 - 9:00 PM
At the Union League Club - 2nd Floor Lounge
65 West Jackson in Chicago

An semi-annual get-together of many of the Chicago area’s most successful entrepreneurs, MEFs Board members, international representatives, a host of budding entrepreneurs, and many of the Chicago area’s most influential business people.

• Enjoy a cash bar and a wonderful hors d’ oeuvres buffet.
• Anyone interested in meeting entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurial supporters such as lawyers, accountants, consultants, academics, and others.
• Anyone interested in working with early stage or entrepreneurial Companies
• Entrepreneurs looking for highly skilled management and ways to enhance their company performance
• Anyone interested in expanding a personal network
• Anyone interested in attending a great party!
• Members of the scores of companies who have presented to the group in the past.
• Door Prize Drawings will occur throughout the evening
• Door prize to display and donate? Call Bill Miller at (847) 864-8384

For further information call the MEF Headquarters at (312) 857-0301

June 8, 2006 7pm (pre-meeting announced on mailing list)
Monadnock Building, downtown Chicago
53 W Jackson Blvd at Dearborn, room 826
$3-$5 donation for room and board

Please confirm attendance by 3 PM June 8 by email to mtobis att gmail dott com; in theory you will need ID to get past building security.

The Monadnock is very convenient to all CTA lines and a short walk from the terminus of most RTA lines or the second to last stop (Van Buren) on the South Shore and Electric RTA lines.

Relatively inexpensive parking is available less than 1/2 mile away at State and Harrison, or on Plymouth between Harrison and Polk.

** There will probably be a pre-meeting at a nearby cafe (like
Intelligentsia) for early arrivals. Check the mailing list for more.

Topics
* Python Image Library (PIL) to rip the Unicode glyphs to create wall-sized ascii-art (Peter Harkins)
* UserDict (some Ian Bicking guy?)
* StdLib Roundup (everyone)

About ChiPy
ChiPy is a group of Chicago Python Programmers, l33t, and n00bs.
Meetings are held monthly at various locations around Chicago.
Also, ChiPy is a proud sponsor of many Open Source and Educational
efforts in Chicago. Stay tuned to the mailing list for more info.

ChiPy website:
ChiPy Mailing List:
Python website:

Presented by The Kellstadt Marketing Center

DePaul Center, 25 E. Jackson Blvd, Chicago

9:00am -12:00pm

$89/per person

312-362-5913

www.learning.depaul.edu/mtk