Six nights a year, software engineer Vanessa Fine can find comfort in talking binary code with friends. She knows whenever Geek Night rolls around, she can speak freely with fellow computer junkies who understand her tech-based work life, programming jargon and unique personal interests. “It’s the only place I can sit down and talk with other geeks who have the same kind of tech jobs as me and who come home and watch the same crappy genres of television as I do,” said Fine, 43, of West View. “People will actually laugh at your horrible jokes here.” Every other month, Geek Night is held at the Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville as a way for the technological-minded of Pittsburgh to find companionship, talk industry and even try to score a contact or two. Daniel Clamage, a program developer and frequent Geek Night participant, said the event is a rare public event where computer programmers can feel at home. “As social events go, it’s a very relaxed, unassuming atmosphere,” said Clamage, 47, of Carrick. He said some people try very hard to be social, “which I am sure is something that doesn’t come naturally to a lot of technically inclined people.” It started in 1998 during the dot-com boom as a networking event, said Geek Night cofounder Samuel Robb, 39, a metallurgic engineer from Tarentum. “The atmosphere started as, and still is, a place where recruiters from ‘Big Company’ would come from all over the area to discuss jobs with potential applicants,” Robb said. “Sort of a ‘Let me buy you a drink, we’ll sit down and talk and later on down the road I will let you know when a job appears in my company.'” After beginning with 30 to 40 attendees per event, Geek Night now averages 150 to 200. “It’s a little overwhelming; half the restaurant is teeming with geeks,” Church Brew Works server Jeff Gross said. “Some geeks live up to the stereotype and some redefine it.” Companies such as Google and Sun Microsystems have sponsored the event, paying for pizza and munchies. They, in turn, use the venue to find potential employees. “We are pleased to participate in events such as Geek Night,” Google spokeswoman Erin Gleason said. “(It) allows us to meet other members of the Pittsburgh tech community and to engage the deep local talent pool.” Mike Hasko, 28, a database developer from Shadyside, has been attending Geek Night for more than three years but not with career advancement in mind. He just likes to unwind and mingle with old colleagues. “I go to catch up with my own friends over a good beer,” Hasko said. “(Although) it’s a bonus, it’s not my intended mission to spread my name and business card across the gathered bodies of Golden Triangle nerds.” Computer experts or not, people from all occupational backgrounds can enjoy Geek Night, Fine said. “Geek or no geek,” she said, “everyone speaks the same language of beer and free food.”

Tech sector gets a boost Kevin Lane, spokesman for the Pittsburgh Technology Council, said the increased attendance at Geek Night reflects how Pittsburgh is starting to focus more on technology since the fall of the steel industry. “It is not surprising that Geek Night continues to grow because the (information technology) cluster here is growing,” Lane said. “There have been consistent increases in the number of Pittsburgh IT employees over the past few years, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.” According to a recent Technology Council report, there are 1,572 information technology firms in the 13-county region employing more than 32,000 people. That’s an increase of 6.3 percent during the past three years. Kenneth Fibbe is a journalism student at Point Park University. The Point Park News Service is sponsored by Point Park University, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and the Richard M. Scaife Journalism Foundation. Additional Information:

Geek Night

Where: Church Brew Works, 3525 Liberty Ave., Lawrenceville When: 5:30 p.m. tomorrow Contact: Church Brew Works at 412-688-8200

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