| Fred Stluka on 4 Dec 2012 15:45:20 -0800 |
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| Re: [PLUG] PLUG should own a projector... |
Walt,
Amul said the only reason FIS was going to be unavailable for a few months was because of low turnout and apparent lack of interest over the holidays. Since he's already said he'd like to have a December meeting if there's interest, why are we still talking about restaurants and buying expensive projectors?
From my point of view, the reasons are: - Amul canceled for 4 months and Bhaskar later agreed that a move might not be a bad idea. From this, I am sensing a lack of enthusiasm on the part of FIS to continue hosting. Not surprising. They've been generous hosts for a while now, and probably don't get much appreciation or other positive feedback. Maybe it's time to let them off the hook. (Or at least be more appreciative!) - FIS has no WiFi, which has often been a problem for speakers. Even attendees (like me) might prefer to be able to connect while attending - FIS doesn't offer food, and doesn't seem to want (as I read the note from Bhaskar -- or did I misinterpret that?) us bringing in our own food and drink. - I like the food at John's Pizza, and would love an excuse to go there more often, especially if I could bring along a beer or two. However, as you reminded us, the bigger problem may be lack of attendance and speakers, especially through the holidays. Paul (and in his absence recently, Amul) makes an effort to round up speakers and generate enthusiasm. They solicit speakers at each meeting, and via the mailing list. Now, with the risk of cancellation, we're getting lots of offers of speakers. Good! Another issue is lack of centralized leadership. Paul has led the group well for years, but seems pretty busy lately. I haven't seen him at a meeting is a while (but then I've missed some recently myself, so maybe he was there?). Amul has stepped in for Paul, by default as the current site host, but I'm not sure he's really anxious to take on any more than he must, since he has a busy life at home with 2- and 4-year-old sons. Other people seem to hold back and wait for Paul and Amul to make decisions, so despite all the suggestions, things kind of coast along, and potential speakers get insulted when no one ever takes them up on their offer to speak. My preference is for Paul and Amul to keep leading, if they are willing, but to find a way to express our appreciation to them, and perhaps to re-inspire them with enthusiasm for their roles. I have a tradition of buying dinner/beer/whatever for the speaker after each meeting, and of doing the same for the meeting organizers. However, Paul and Amul rarely/never join us at Baxter's after the meeting, so perhaps I need to find another way to express my appreciation? I also vote for a change of location that would allow WiFi access and food, but if others prefer to stay at FIS, I will certainly continue to attend regularly. For reference, to avoid everyone having to dig through the archives, here's a brief recap of the meeting room situation. Let's make a decision and keep this group from fading out! (Having said that, I personally have a huge deadline on 12/17, that is keeping me up till 4am every night, writing software and having a blast! So I may be comatose on the evening of 12/17, which is our next 3rd-Monday-of-the-month meeting date. Don't draw any invalid conclusions if I miss this meeting. I'm probably just sleeping.) Paul originally said:
Due the unavailability of our regular meeting location at FIS in November and usual low attendance at winter West meetings, PLUG West meetings are cancelled for November, December, January, and February. There will NOT be a meeting on Monday, November 19.
Lots of people jumped in with offers to speak, and possible topics, and +1's, but no decision has been reached, and no agenda has been proposed. Anyone care to throw up a straw man? I said:
If FIS is not available for a few months, I have a new place to suggest. John's Pizza on US 30 in Frazer, right near the US 202 interchange. It's just a couple of miles from FIS, two exits south on 202, and just as easy on/off 202 as FIS. They have a meeting room that holds 15-20 people at least, that they will allow us to use for free, as long as some/all of us are buying food or drinks. Not a problem for me since I think their cheesesteaks and hoagies are absolutely the best in the world. Also, their pizzas are very good. They supply 20+ pizzas every month to the local Java User Group, delivering them to that group's meeting room in KoP, and everyone raves about the food. They also have free WiFi access. I talked to Chris (the owner, who recently bought the business from John, his dad) tonight, and he'd be happy to reserve the room for us on the 3rd Monday of every month.
Walt asked:
Do they also have a projector and screen?
Bhaskar (senior FIS employee) said:
I didn't know that FIS was not available for a few months - I thought the room was not available just this week because of a visiting customer. But I can check with Amul when he returns after the holiday. In any case, if John's can provide Wifi (which FIS will not be able to anytime in the foreseeable future), and they have victuals and libation (again, something FIS will not be able to), and if they have a projector, maybe that's a better solution all round.
I said:
Sorry for the delay... I wanted to got there in person to check on some things (and eat a hoagie!). Good catch! No, they do not have a projector. I tested their WiFi today. 20MB down, 5MB up, so plenty fast. It's a Comcast connection, with most ports open. I was able to ping, ssh, smtp, pop, and http. So, what do we do about the projector? Any interest in taking up a collection for PLUG to own one? Or does anyone have one we can use?
and Amul (meeting host at FIS) later said:
FIS has some fancy projectors. Granted, we don't have food or wifi, but the view is good. :) I asked Paul to cancel the next few meetings because historic turnout has been depressingly low during these months. Lack of speakers lined up also made me wonder just how many people would come. I am heartened by the renewed interest in the meetings on the mailing list. If people really want a December meeting, lets do it. Besides, the Linux installation on my Netbook suffers intermittent hangs. I need to talk with people who might have suggestions on how to fix it.
and I said:
PLUG folks, We've been talking about meeting locations for PLUG West, and one problem is lack of a projector. I say PLUG should buy a projector. They only cost a couple hundred dollars these days. Option 1: If the PLUG West folks all chipped in to buy one and stored it at John's Pizza or some other restaurant to be used as a meeting place, perhaps the restaurant would chip in too, especially if we allowed them to offer it to other groups who use their meeting room. Option 2: We could buy one without help from a restaurant, and just bring it to all meetings, wherever we hold them. Could maybe share it (and the cost) with PLUG Central and PLUG North. Do enough people attend all 3 meetings that shuttling it to each meeting would be convenient? Option 3: I may buy one myself, for my use at various clients. If so, I'd be glad to bring it to the PLUG West meetings that I attend. Option 4: We could rent a projector for a day, for each meeting. I haven't looked into prices or logistics, and I doubt it would be cheap enough to justify not buying, but it's a possibility... Thoughts?
--Fred ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred Stluka -- mailto:fred@bristle.com -- http://bristle.com/~fred/ Bristle Software, Inc -- http://bristle.com -- Glad to be of service! Open Source: Without walls and fences, we need no Windows or Gates. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ On 12/3/12 11:55 AM, Walt Mankowski wrote:
On Mon, Dec 03, 2012 at 01:35:43AM -0500, Fred Stluka wrote:PLUG folks, We've been talking about meeting locations for PLUG West, and one problem is lack of a projector. I say PLUG should buy a projector. They only cost a couple hundred dollars these days.Amul said the only reason FIS was going to be unavailable for a few months was because of low turnout and apparent lack of interest over the holidays. Since he's already said he'd like to have a December meeting if there's interest, why are we still talking about restaurants and buying expensive projectors? Walt ___________________________________________________________________________ Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
___________________________________________________________________________ Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug