This is a guest post from Gary Sharma (aka “The Guy with the Red Tie”), founder and CEO of GarysGuide and proud owner of a whole bunch of black suits, white shirts and, at last count, over 40 red ties. You can reach him at gary [at] garysguide.com.

Hi folks,

Hackathons are all the rage these days, and even the White House is hopping on the bandwagon. they held their first hackathon a couple of weeks ago, welcoming 21 programmers and tech experts to spend the day working alongside seven members of the administration's own development team on the online petitions platform We the People. Check out the videos.

Applications for the fall 2013 Master of Engineering program at Cornell NYC Tech are now open. Deadline is March 15. Questions? Email admissions@tech.cornell.edu.

Applications for Startup Chile open up soon (March 25) so if you wanna get your hands on that $40,000 cash + 6 months of relaxation, you'd best get on it.

Later this week is the Start Summit, called "Davos for Geeks" by Bloomberg and one of the hottest tech events of the year. Invitations are hard to come by, but hey, its worth a try!

Anyone reading this who isn't a New Yorker? Heads up if so: Warby Parker is giving away a weekend for two here in the city to celebrate the opening of their very first flagship store.

An in-depth report on  my SXSW adventures is coming soon. It's been a blur of schmoozing, boozing, celeb spotting, pool partying, BBQing .... and a monkey who went just BANANAS with my business cards.

And now let's see what's going down in the Alley this week...

5th Annual North by New York City (NxNYC)
Don't want to drive to Austin because you might hit a roadrunner? Don't like cowboy boots because they don't match your black clothing? Don't want to leave because it might rain more in Austin? Then this is the event for you!
Monday (Mar. 11), 6 p.m. @ The Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery

FurtherEd TV Premiere + Launch Party
Think TED Talks but with a sole focus on edtech and entrepreneurs.
Tuesday (Mar. 12), 6 p.m. @ FurtherEd Studios, 61 Broadway, Ste 1105

NY Enterprise Tech Meetup
Fireside chat with Ed Sim (founder, Boldstart Ventures and cofounder, Dawntreader Ventures). Demos by DataHug and Waratek.
Tuesday (Mar. 12), 6:30 p.m. @ Cooley, 1114 Avenue of the Americas

New Challenge Presents Panel & Celebration
Panelists include Cheryl Dorsey (President, Echoing Green), Jeremy Heimens (founder & CEO, Purpose), Sasha Dichter (Chief Innovation Officer, Acumen Fund). Moderated by Bruce Nussbaum (Professor of Innovation & Design, Parsons The New School for Design).
Wednesday (Mar. 13), 6 p.m. @ Theresa Lang Center, 55 W. 13th Street

2013 Fashion 2.0 Awards
VIP reception and red carpet with nominees and presenters, cocktails & hors d'oeuvres, black tie.
Wednesday (Mar. 13), 6:30 p.m. @ SVA Theater, 333 W. 23rd Street

Entrepreneurs Roundtable 56
With Gil Beyda (Genacast Ventures)
Wednesday (Mar. 13), 6:30 p.m. @ NYU Stern School of Business, 44 W. 4th Street

Engineering @ Scale: 3 Failures and 1 (Big) Success
AppNexus CEO Brian O'Kelley tells the story of three failures and one (big) success: the evolution of a startup CEO.
Wednesday (Mar. 13), 6:30 p.m. @ AppNexus, 28 W. 23rd Street, 4th Fl.

Aaron's Law: Crowdsourcing the Future of Anti-Hacking Felonies
Digging into the expansion of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and its current conflicted treatment in the courts. A look at what exactly is meant by "exceeds authorized access," while also looking to potential avenues for reform.
Wednesday (Mar. 13), 7 p.m. @ Projective Space L.E.S., 72 Allen Street, 3rd Fl.

NJ Tech Meetup 34
With David Kidder
Thursday (Mar. 14), 12 a.m. @ Babbio Center, Stevens Institute Of Technology, Hoboken

Investor Feedback Forum
Panelists include David Aronoff (Flybridge Capital), Gil Beyda (Genacast Ventures), Ed Sim (BOLDstart Ventures) and Mark Wachen (DreamIt Ventures). Startup Pitches by Caleb Gandara (DegreeCast), Michael Strong (Zola Books), Melchior Schöller (Poutsch), Rohit Vashisht (Sverve), Domi Enders (Open Assembly), Noah Smith (Dwelleo), Bernhard Mehl (KISIBOX), Dan O'Sullivan (Rock the Deadline) and David Carlos (myHomePayge).
Thursday (Mar. 14), 6:30 p.m. @ Microsoft, 1290 6th Avenue

Cultivated Wit #WhiskeyFriday
With Baratunde Thurston (cofounder, Cultivated Wit and author, How To Be Black) and Ron Williams (cofounder, Knodes)
Friday (Mar. 15), 6 p.m. @ Dorian Gray, 205 E. 4th Street

International Space Apps Challenge Meetup
Calling all space and data geeks! Come learn more about the International Space Apps Challenge.
Friday (Mar. 15), 6:30 p.m. @ AlleyNYC, 500 7th Avenue, 17th Fl.

More events on the horizon...
The Future of 3D Manufacturing - Brooklyn Style on Mar. 18 @ Brooklyn Law School - Moot Court Room
March 2013 NY Tech Meetup on Mar. 19 @ NYU Skirball Center For The Performing Arts
Mobile UX Design: Session 1: Theory and Practice of Mobile UX on Mar. 20 @ Frankfurt Kurnit
Design for Manufacturing Summit #3 on Mar. 21 @ Dumbo Spot
Silicon Dragon Alley 2013: Digital Media Innovators Venture Capitalist Mavericks & Dealmakers on Mar. 21 @ NASDAQ MarketSite
Made in NY Happy Hour on Mar. 21 @ Green Spaces
FinTech Hackathon on Apr. 6 @ AlleyNYC
Big Apple Smackdown: Silicon Alleys 1st Annual Ping-Pong Tournament! on Apr. 14 @ SPiN New York
Kingpins of Silicon Alley on Apr. 15 @ Bowlmor - Union Square
NY Tech Day on Apr. 25 @ Pier 92
Women Entrepreneurs Rock the World - 2013 on May 8 @ Altman Building, NYC

Until next week. Stay thirsty social, my friends! ;)