I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet:
http://dorkbotpdx.org/
It meets every other Monday at Backspace(on NW 5th Ave just north of Burnside). So, for your time window that will be at 7pm on November 8th. You will at least get a chance to meet the originator of the wiki(Ward Cunningham) who is a regular. The crowd ranges from artists, electronics & robotics enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs who have hardware and software products in all stages of development. It is a very informal beer filled atmosphere with live demonstrations of projects and discussions of topics common on HN.