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Nerd Nite: Cheese Rind, New Environmentalism and Immortality | Novato

Every 1st Tuesday Through September 28th.
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Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - 7:00 pm | Cost: $5
Hopmonk Tavern (Novato) | 224 Vintage Way, Novato, CA

Event Details

Cancelled – Nerd Nite North Bay | Novato

Please Note: After two full and fun years of shows, Nerd Nite North Bay have decided to stop doing monthly presentations.

Hang out with smart people and learn some stuff while drinking beer at the Nerd Nite North Bay held on the first Tuesday of the month at Hopmonk Tavern in Novato.

Join Nerd Nite North Bay’s expert speakers for our Tuesday October 6th (1st Anniversary) show on Cowgirl Cheese Rind, Immortality Legends in Research and The New Environmental Movement.

Like a Rind-stone Cowgirl
How Rind Creates and Controls the Cheese Below

Eat all the cheeses and know what you’ll find even before you cut the rind. The Bay Area’s own Cowgirl Creamery sends their expert cheesemaker to share secret knowledge about how different rinds affect cheese flavors as they grow. Learn from one of California’s premier cheesemakers what cheese eating maniacs should look for to make sure you’re getting the good stuff.

Eric Patterson makes cheese for Cowgirl Creamery. After finishing the Agroecology program at UC Santa Cruz, Eric became an organic vegetable farmer, started milking dairy goats as a hobby, and taught himself to make cheese. When dairy trumped vegetables he joined Cowgirl Creamery in 2002 to pursue his cheese-making passion and expand his knowledge. He has done nearly every job in the Creamery from fixing broken equipment to developing new cheeses to troubleshooting cheese issues.

Methusel Ah Ha
Ancient Legends Guiding New Immortality Research

At first glance mythology and science would seem contradictory, but the themes of ancient stories are often recycled into breakthrough scientific research. Immortal organisms like the hydra seem to span the biological and mythological worlds, and Tennyson’s Lesson of Tithonus once defined the problem of lifespan vs. healthspan. Horror stories about the healing powers of young blood terrified previous generations but now have mainstream acceptance as potential cures. Learn how modern scien continues to use old stories to create new medical marvels at the lab bench in the eternal quest for immortality.

Christopher Wiley researches the cellular mechanisms of aging at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. He has a doctorate in Biological Chemistry from UC Irvine, and a Bachelors in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota, where he also minored in Classics. His interests in the biology of aging as well as classical mythology have led him to note that much of aging research has roots in folklore and legend.

Blueprint for a Green Earth
Riding The Next Big Wave of Environmentalism

From the local Bolinas Lagoon to Maui’s Seven Sacred Pools, the modern environmental movement has saved numerous natural wonders from destruction. Former Nature Conservancy President Huey Johnson will talk about the tactics used at the beginning of the movement, including the creation of public land trusts and the bankrupting of development, and what New Zealand and the Netherlands are getting right in the new environmentalism. Also learn how you can join the next generation of advocates to preserve and protect land in the challenging modern age.

Huey Johnson was California Secretary of Resources in the Brown Administration and President of The Nature Conservancy before founding the Resource Renewal Institute. His “Investing for Prosperity” policy was one of the first comprehensive and long-term environmental plans in existence and his book Green Plans: Blueprint for Sustainable Earth is in its third edition.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.


Cost: $5
Categories: Lectures & Workshops, North Bay
Address: 224 Vintage Way, Novato, CA