LPM: offtopic -- meeting and group interaction

[Rich Bowen]

...
> In the hopes of making UK a top 20 research institution we (UKLUG & ACM)
> are trying to give students and kentucky (anyone) citizens some new
> oppurtunities(misspelled).  In a nutshell we would like to have all the
> technology groups in the state have some kind of formal correspodence and
> shared projects.  We know this isn't for everyone but....

I'm all for this. Making Kentucky a serious consideration for start-up
technology companies who would otherwise go to San Jose is a noble, and
doable, ambition. Having this movement start with the University, rather
than by businesses, is the right way to go.

Having said that, having the endorsement and support of Dr Lee Todd
(CEO, DataBeam Corporation) would be a valuable thing in this sort of
endeavor. Hey, any of you DataBeam folks still on this list? Can we get
Dr Todd's ear on this?
 
> Someone in your group mentioned maybe hosting a joint conference. (YES
> WERE FOR THAT).  The possibilities are endless. We dont per say have a set
> aggenda.  We thought for about a year and came to the conclusion.  If we
> are going to work with all the groups in Kentucky everyone should have a
> say.
> 
> So for a start we would like to hear your interest in such ativities.  And
> if so help us form a committee(members from all groups) to start steering
> this in the right direction.

If you're looking for volunteers, I would be willing to volunteer. Or at
least find someone else to volunteer. This sort of thing is a great
idea, and there are a lot of cool things that we could do with it. And
there's a Perl-centric organization (YAS) that is focused on making
things like this happen, and providing the resources for doing it well.
Not sure if they'd be interested, but it's a good place to get ideas at
the very least.

There are a few of us within the PM that talked about a conference, some
time ago, but we've just never gathered the steam to do this. Would be
very cool.

Rich