Hello all,
First off, as Robby posted earlier, it's PDXLUG's two year anniversary this month. It seems so long ago that this started; in fact I was trying to remember when exactly it did start, and I couldn't pinpoint the exact date. I didn't think to just look at the very first post to the mailing list. :-) For those of you who don't know me, I am the person who came started PDXLUG, with the help of Robby Russell, a fellow linux/open source advocate.
I haven't been able to attend meetings lately because I have been very busy building a new company. The new business is called Portland Internet Company, and is run by me and my business partner, Justin. We provide web development services, focused on standards compliance and open source technology. We are the only two at the moment, but we are completely satisfied keeping in that way for a long time.
We just moved into a new space near Fireside Coffee Lodge, the usual meeting place for PDXLUG. It's a nondescript building off of Milwaukie Ave, called the Lafayette Building. We lease office space and share the building with other companies who are mostly involved in the creative industry (film editing, video production, etc).
We have recently been having many gatherings, mostly for personal use, utilizing our office space. After all these successful gatherings I thought, "wouldn't it be fun to have the PDXLUG meetings here?"
The original reason I wanted to start PDXLUG was to have a mailing list with a less flame-war and more on-topic discussion. Later, when monthly meetings were proposed, I envisioned them being more of a social gathering, and less of an audience/speaker dynamic. Our office is an ideal place to hold meetings that are more of a fun get-together, is more private than a coffee shop, and with way cooler amenities, including:
- Wireless/Wired high-speed Internet access (of course)
- 110" movie screen with 1024x768 projector (yes, you can hook your system up to it if you want) for movies/games/presentations/surfing
- Sound system and music (from either our music library or from yours)
- Much better parking; the office is in a residential neighborhood with plenty of on-street parking
- A place to hook up your computer, should you want to bring it in to get help with a problem, complete with monitor (or projector), keyboard and mouse
I would be willing to provide some refreshments and snacks, and if anyone wants to bring something they would be more than welcome. Also available is a coffee maker and an espresso machine, for those who would miss the caffeine at the meetings, and the best part is, it's free. We have libations for people who want a little pick me up, complete with a 50s style mini-bar.
PDXLUG meetings are a great way to meet new people, have fun, and geek out without feeling weird for bringing your laptop to a party. I think having meetings at our office would further encourage those things and might be even more exciting than the meetings at Fireside.
I want to know from anyone who cares to reply, would you want to move the next meeting, or the meeting after, to this new venue? Or do you want to stick with Fireside?
-- Matt King Portland Internet Company http://www.portlandinternetco.com
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