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December 1st, 2021 “Vinny-Rini-Martini” Happy Hour held at Land-Grant Brewing Company


Our Zettabytes.today Martini Happy Hour was a smashing success! We had a nice turn out at Land-Grant Brewing Company in the Franklinton District and got to mingle with a very interesting and diverse group - from tech professionals to tech students and everyone in-between!






While we’ve had several virtual events this year, this was our first live, in-person event since the Pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt.







After a few martinis and samplings of Land Grant’s best (the “Tinsel” Holiday brew was my favorite), we ventured across the way to Strongwater Food and Spirits for dinner.


We had a GREAT time! 
You will NOT want to miss our next event, featuring Jyllian Spikes of Black out and Proud and Scott Kirkendall, “Go Be You” coach.

Which Martini will you choose? The Rini or the Vinny?

Zettabytes.Today's Co-Founder Rini Das and I became fast friends over a variety of topics, but one thing that always brings us together is the martini. Crisp, briny, and ever so boozy, the Martini never fails to satisfy. Moreover, you'll often find Rini and myself at a Rini Vinny Martini happy hour, where we'll enjoy martinis and chat about the goings on in the tech community here in Columbus. 

Historically speaking, the birthplace of the martini is unknown, although most stories include the Gold Rush in California and the town of Martinez. The original refined version of the cocktail emerged during Prohibition, which was a gin and vermouth based cocktail. Then, in the early 1950's and 1960's, vodka became increasingly popular, and with a little help from James Bond, the Vodka Martini, or kangaroo cocktail, was born. Interested in learning more about the origins of the Martini and its long history? Check out this USA Today article here.

Shocker and spoilers here: Rini and I find ourselves on the opposite ends of the Martini spectrum. While we're not opposed to each other's school of thought around the coveted cocktail, we're strongly committed to our personal spins on each. 

The Rini Martini

Rini prefers a more classic take on the Martini, with good gin and vermouth being the stars of the show. 


Here's what you'll need: 

3 parts good Gin (Rini prefers Plymouth, Roku, or Hendrick's)
1 part Extra Dry Vermouth
1 Lime Ribbon
1 Martini Glass
1 Drinker Shaker
Ice

Put your glass in the chiller. 
In a shaker, combine ice, gin, and vermouth. 
Stir for 20-30 seconds(about 20 times around the glass). 
Pour into cold Martini glass. 
Garnish with lime ribbon. 
Enjoy! 

The Vinny Martini

As is no surprise, I prefer a more modern take on the Martini, which is essentially an extra dry dirty martini.

Here's what you'll need: 

3 oz of good vodka, (I prefer Chopin or Ketel One for my Martini)
.75 oz of olive juice
3 Pimento Stuffed Olives, skewered
1 Martini Glass
Ice

Fill your Martini Glass with cold water and ice. Set aside. 
In a shaker, combine vodka, olive juice, and ice. 
Stir for 15-20 seconds. 
Discard the water and ice out of the martini glass. 
Pour the vodka mixture into the glass.  
Garnish with olive spear.   
Enjoy!



No matter how you prefer your martini, you are always welcome at Vinny Rini Martini

Want in on the next one? Meet us at Land Grant on December 1st at 5:30pm to come enjoy one with us! 

You can register for the event and see the details here!

What's your favorite spin on the martini? We want to know! 
Are you Team Rini (Gin) or Team Vinny(Vodka)? 
Let us know in the comments below! 

November 11, 2021 - Great time at the Tech Life Takeover with Tech Life Columbus, Tech Elevator, and Zettabytes.Today!

 The Zettabytes.Today team had an absolute blast at the Tech Life Takeover event! 



Tech Life Takeover, hosted by 1487 Brewing and Tech Life Columbus, is a monthly event where the bulk of the proceeds go to a specific charitable organization. This month, we supported ACS PanOhioHope Ride and Union County Special Olympics! 




It was also incredible getting to see the huge turnout from the Tech community here in Columbus, as well as all Tech Elevator students who are gearing up for graduation! 



Bummed you missed out on the fun? Come check out our next event at Land Grant Brewing on December 1st for Vinny Rini Martini hour! Register for the event here: 


See you there! 

October 27, 2021 Tandem and Zettabytes.Today present “Don't break your new things budget: How to push an iOS app with no experience.”


What’s spookier than not having access to reliable childcare? Tandem CoFounders McKenzie Kennelly and Natalie Aimling taught us how Tandem is helping to alleviate that concern with their product, an app that provides the ONLY free marketplace for reliable, vetted childcare.



Vinny and Connor, dressed as Shaggy and Fred from the mystery gang, gave us a humorous cocktail demo for a tasty “Finding Scooby Doo” cocktail. Recipe below!




Then it was time for the main event! Tandem CoFounder McKenzie Kennelly taught us how to create and host an iOS App. She told us their story of launching a MVP (minimum viable product) fast; Then they kept developing to get to where they needed to be.




She heavily recommends having a “new things budget”, where you can use what you know and put aside some funds for learning. They started their journey using Heroku, because that’s what they knew and could get off the ground fast. They advised a mindset of thinking through how you can get off the ground, the “what do you need to know vs what do you know already?”




After some Q&A (there were many questions, get em Rini!) and some spooky monster trivia with Dhruva, Natalie was able to speak to Tandem’s awesome culture! They shared that they believe that they are all active stewards of the environment. That they expect their team to treat each other with respect, vulnerability, and kindness. No matter how long someone has been at the company, all are expected to lead as much as they follow, to learn as much as they teach.


Sounds like an incredibly wonderful and collaborative place to work. 
Interested in learning more?
They are hiring! Visit https://www.join-tandem.com/ and reach out about their exciting opportunities!


September 29, 2021 The Ultimate Agile versus Lean Showdown with Dhruva Vyas of Nationwide and Rini Das of RD Management Consulting Inc.

The Invitation: Here is the invite

The Agenda: 

Community Partner: Jaron Terry, President of PFLAG Columbus discussed the history of PFLAG and announce any upcoming events to celebrate National Coming Out Day on October 13, 2021.
Headline: The Ultimate Showdown! Agile versus Lean. Dhruva Vyas of Nationwide representing AGILE versus Rini Das of RD Management Consulting Inc. representing LEAN.
Key Bartender: Connor Pilbeam demonstrated a mocktail/cocktail to celebrate Autumn. 




PFLAG -- Jaron Terry





Headliner: Dhruva Vyas and Rini Das





Showdown: Facilitated by Robbin Bowman




National Coming Out Day Luncheon, hosted by the Designer Brands

National Coming Out Day Luncheon, hosted by the Designer Brands

Mindy Halasz, Co-Chair of  (LGBTQIA+ Brand Employee Group- BRG) of Designer Brands (that includes brands such as DSW), invited us -- aka Vinny Sanfillipo, Lisa Kagy and Rini Das of  Zettabytes.Today team and Stacy Drake of PFLAG Columbus to speak at their annual National Coming Out Day Luncheon.

The Leaders of MySELF BRG are:

  • Mindy Halasz  – Co-Chair
  • Sonya Voronkova – Co-Chair
  • Erica Melton – Community Committee Chair
  • Kimberly Hensley – Communications Chair
  • Margaret Kluk – Business Committee Chair
  • Todd Roudabush – Talent Committee Chair
  • Jared Poff ( EVP CFO) – Executive Sponsor

Panel:

We were delighted to speak and we discussed many topics including

  • Coming out can be a lifelong journey. How do you manage coming out in different situations? 
  • Coming out as "Transgender or Non-binary" at your work-place
  • How to be an ally for those who are "coming out" at your work-place?
  • How to support as a parent or a grandparent or relative when a child or grandchild or young relative comes out?
  • How to support someone in their journey in coming out in a virtual work environment
  • What resources can we provide?
There were more than seventy globally-dispersed attendees at the virtual event. Some of the attendees and speakers and the MySELF leaders are included in the photo below.

 


Come out when you are in a safe environment and at your time-table.


#VisibilityMatters
#NationalComingOutDay



"Coming Out" Resources:

Launch of Zettabytes.Today website and new programs made me think about the most frequently asked question (FAQ)

Zettabytes.Today is shiny and new.

  • New!! Become a Zetta Star Membership program.
  • New!! Become a Megabytes, Gigabytes or Zettabytes Sponsor.
  • Register and attend Events!! via our new platform

Check out our new website:

Welcome Home

Hear Us -- Read and hear.

Meet Us -- Meet all who makes Zettabytes.Today your network

See Us -- Check out upcoming events and all our past news and events

Join Us -- Participate -- darn it!


The Beginnings: Lisa Kagy and I chat about how it all got started in August 2019.

As we launch the new membership, sponsorship and new event management program, let us answer the most FAQ: How did we get started?



August 25, 2021 Olive AI's CTO David Landreman discusses AI in Healthcare and its Ethical Considerations and how it Impacts Queer Community

The Invitation: Here is the invite




The Agenda: 

David Landreman, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Olive AI talked about how his team is working to apply artificial intelligence to close gaps and connect disconnected systems in healthcare.








Chase McCants of Zettabytes.Today spoke as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, how he finds Olive AI'sinclusive environment in the workspace.

Key Bartenders: Vinny Sanfillipo and Robbin Bowman of Zettabytes.Today presented Dirty Martinis.






June 30, 2021 Do's and Don'ts of Networking

The Invitation:  Here is the link.


The Agenda:


Feature Bartenders: Brooke Cartus and Eileen Galvin of Covered Dish -- Listen to them on Tuesdays at 7 pm, their YouTube channel 



The Attendees:



April 7, 2021 Reboot. Zettabytes.Today Big Teaser Event!

The Invitation: Here is the invite.





The Agenda: 


The Speakers:

Nick Saltsman of Equitas Health sharing how to get Covid-19 vaccine.





Featured Bartenders: 
Laurie Granger of Two Truths Bar  - A Lesbian Bar presenting Cocktail and Mocktail hour






Trix Dix doing a mocktail demo.


The Attendees:








And here's to the start of virtual events -- our "New Normal".

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