Re: [PLUG] PLUG should own a projector...

-- Bhaskar

On Tue, Dec 4, 2012 at 6:45 PM, Fred Stluka <fred@bristle.com> wrote:

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
Â Âmight not be a bad idea. ÂFrom this, I am sensing a lack of
Â Âenthusiasm on the part of FIS to continue hosting. ÂNot surprising.
Â ÂThey've been generous hosts for a while now, and probably don't
Â Âget much appreciation or other positive feedback. ÂMaybe it's
Â Âtime to let them off the hook. Â(Or at least be more appreciative!)

- FIS has no WiFi, which has often been a problem for speakers.
Â ÂEven attendees (like me) might prefer to be able to connect while
Â Âattending

- FIS doesn't offer food, and doesn't seem to want (as I read the
Â Ânote from Bhaskar -- or did I misinterpret that?) us bringing in
Â Âour own food and drink.

- I like the food at John's Pizza, and would love an excuse to go
Â Âthere 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. ÂPaul
(and in his absence recently, Amul) makes an effort to round up
speakers and generate enthusiasm. ÂThey solicit speakers at each
meeting, and via the mailing list. ÂNow, with the risk of cancellation,
we're getting lots of offers of speakers. ÂGood!

Another issue is lack of centralized leadership. ÂPaul has led the
group well for years, but seems pretty busy lately. ÂI haven't seen
him at a meeting is a while (but then I've missed some recently
myself, so maybe he was there?). ÂAmul 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. ÂOther 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. ÂHowever, 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! ÂSo I may be comatose on the evening of
12/17, which is our next 3rd-Monday-of-the-month meeting
date. ÂDon'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. ÂThere 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. ÂAnyone 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. ÂNot a problem for me since I think their
cheesesteaks and hoagies are absolutely the best in the world.
Also, their pizzas are very good. ÂThey 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. ÂBut 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... ÂI wanted to got there in person to check
on some things (and eat a hoagie!).

Good catch! ÂNo, they do not have a projector.

I tested their WiFi today. Â20MB down, 5MB up, so plenty fast.
It's a Comcast connection, with most ports open. ÂI was able
to ping, ssh, smtp, pop, and http.

So, what do we do about the projector? ÂAny interest in taking
up a collection for PLUG to own one? ÂOr 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. ÂThey 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. ÂCould maybe share it (and the cost)
with PLUG Central and PLUG North. ÂDo 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. ÂIf 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. ÂI 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. ÂThey 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 Â Â Â Â -- Â Â Â Âhttp://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion Â-- Â http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug

___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group Â Â Â Â -- Â Â Â Âhttp://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion Â-- Â http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug

--
Windows does to computers what smoking does to humans