You can sign up for the May 2007 edition of the Geek Dinner now, and add what you'd like to contribute to the discussions by adding an offered talk or ask others to contribute by adding a requested talk. So far, it looks like we're going to hear about Ruby on Rails by Nick Coyne, some sort of Python propaganda from Bryn (possibly on generic functions, which are pretty geeky) and/or I, and about chess as a social medium offered by Tania.
You can also help suggest where the dinner will be - check out the list of venues under consideration for this and future events, and add your suggestions to them. Also, check out and maybe modify the preferred characteristics of the venues for events. If you have particular wants (are a vegetarian, vegan, or otherwise meal-fussy, or are allergic to stainless steel), you can help make sure you're catered for.
(Oh, and it you happen to know of a company that wants to sponsor the wine or something else, add that too.)
Generic programming geeky? Well, no more so than object orientation (at least in the sense which is usually bandied about). After all, it's just an orthogonal yet functionally equivalent concept.
One problem is that now that generic programming is being rediscovered, it's often mixed up with OO concepts in completely tautologous ways by people who have not studied the underlying theory.
Now MOP... MOP is geeky. :-)
(Sorry, that was off-topic.)
You? Off-topic?! About as likely that you'll diss non-academic programming!
You must forgive us poor commercial glorified web site developers if we find anything vaguely technical "geeky". We've been exposed to non-technical people using words like "Objects" and "SOA" as the reasons why this project will work despite lacking specifications and sufficient resources... ;)
I got shy about my intended chess talk. I reckoned it wasn't going to be geeky enough. So I wasn't gonna talk at all, and then Bryn urged me to reconsider, so I will be doing a 5 minute crash course in Project Management instead (if I don't chicken out all over again -- this is an intimidating audience!). The shortest I have ever done was 15 minutes on this topic, so 5 minutes is quite a challenge.
Yay, Tania - please please talk about something, at least.
Perhaps take on Project Management from a particular angle - like "5 things to do to make your Project Manager love you and not bother you as much"? Or "Why there's only you to blame for your project manager being nasty to you"? ;)