As noted, the Boston / Cambridge meetup group has a meeting approximately every other Sunday at 2pm in Kendall. This week we also have a bonus activity.

As LW user Chronophasiac describes it:

I and a few other Less Wrong readers are trying to make fire.

No, seriously.

We're building the "technology tree" of humanity from the bottom up, both as a bit of fun and an exercise in group problem-solving. I've been experimenting with basic stone tools and rope. The next step is to start a fire, using nothing but what we can make ourselves out of pre-technological raw materials. So far our best bet is to make a bow drill: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_drill

We'd like to invite the Cambridge LW meetup group to participate in our first attempt, tentatively scheduled for this Sunday at 4pm to coincide with the normally scheduled meetup.

I'm soliciting the meetup group for location suggestions. We would like to carry out this activity in a heavily wooded area. We'll need access to many different kinds of plants: young saplings to make rope, birch trees to make kindling, and so on. We'd also like it to be T-accessible and as close to Cambridge as possible.

This is a rain-or-shine event. I'll be bringing a cordless drill and pre-made wooden parts, plus tinder and lighter fluid. Fire WILL be made, even if we have to cheat.