SPUG: RE: Hosting SPUG meetings

Kenneth W. Meyer kmeyer at aa.net
Thu Oct 14 14:20:32 CDT 1999


I live in North Seattle.  I appreciate the kind offer from Mr. Lucent, and it would not bother me to go there.  However, I would like to state that, in my substantial experience, going INTO downtown Seattle on I-5, at least from the North, is not so big a problem during evening rush as alleged, especially after 6 pm -- unless of course, there is a pile-up, or interminable construction project underway, which will bring any route to a stand-still.  520 inbound is probably bad news until quite late, but 90 is typically not so bad (ex Mariner's game nights).  The really difficult thing is parking for less than a King's Ransom after one gets there.  Hutch was fine on that account, but the Speakeasy area is hideous!  Downtown is miserable, as well, except right around 6 pm, when the parking restrictions go off.

Anyone living in Seattle environs is going to be a recluse if a little congestion is anathema to him/her.  To check routes, I use 770 AM (traffic every 10 minutes on the minutes containing "7") and WebFlow (a program you can download from the DOT site -- it allows rapid updates of the freeway traffic map, because the map graphics are on your machine and the program just ftp's down data defining the cell colors to update the map.  It's sort of like planning a military campaign.

Here is a note that I previously sent to Tim, because I foolishly assumed that the site selection would be a "wham-bam" process.  Perhaps you all will find some suggestions to debate here:

Tim -

Have you tried to contact the Java folks, who use a very nice "board room" in 1 Union Place.  It is not clear to me whether a commercial outfit is picking up the tab and donating it to the group, or whether the place is available to people whose organizations inhabit the building, or what.

The Delphi Users used to meet in the Mercer Island Community Center.  Community Centers seem typically to have a charge ($20/hr. at one I have polled), but have some very nice facilities.  I think that they typically also exempt certain organizations, as long as the meeting is open and non-commercial.

Libraries are great places for meetings, but probably want to throw you out at 9 pm.  That would be alright with me -- maybe start at 6:30.  Most libraries have meeting rooms, though they vary in size.  These are free to public meetings, as well.

I kind of like the Speakeasy, but unless they have a separate meeting area, I really wonder about having meetings there.  It can be noisy, and some nights they have music.  I don't see how a group could walk in and expect the general public to "de-frag" to one side of the room so that the meeting could take place in a consolidated area.  If you haven't cased this joint and gotten assurance that meeting nights are not music nights and that consolidated seating is possible, I would really look into the logistics there.

Ken Meyer
kmeyer at aa.net






----------
From: 	Ryan Erwin[SMTP:ryan at erwin.org]
Sent: 	Thursday, October 14, 1999 3:33 AM
To: 	spug-list at pm.org
Subject: 	SPUG: RE: Hosting SPUG meetings

Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 10:23:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ryan Erwin <ryan at erwin.org>
To: spug at pm.org
Subject: RE: Hosting SPUG meetings (fwd)

I also live in Bothell, actually I moved to Woodinville last week.  It *never* takes me more than 40 minutes to get to the spug meetings and usually only takes about 25.  For any of you who live on the Northend, don't take i5.  Take Bothell/Lake City Way to Roosevelt (just after lake city) and follow Roosevelt through the UDist and down Eastlake.  You will be downtown!  No get to the meetings and stop your complaining...

Later

ryan [ryan at erwin.org]

On Wed, 13 Oct 1999, Patterson, David S (David) wrote:

> You make an excellent point.
> 
> I wonder how many more of the 'great unwashed' of the Eastside are
> not speaking up.  Traffic going towards downtown during the evening rush 
> hour is nightmarish even on a good day.
> 
> The offer is still open for the Lucent facilities in Redmond.  Dare I
> suggest we consider multiple venues?
> 
> "Please solve your problems in advance so that we can help
> you better..."
> 
> > 	David Patterson



 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    POST TO: spug-list at pm.org        PROBLEMS: owner-spug-list at pm.org
 Seattle Perl Users Group (SPUG) Home Page: http://www.halcyon.com/spug/
 SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: Replace ACTION below by subscribe or unsubscribe
        Email to majordomo at pm.org: ACTION spug-list your_address





 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    POST TO: spug-list at pm.org        PROBLEMS: owner-spug-list at pm.org
 Seattle Perl Users Group (SPUG) Home Page: http://www.halcyon.com/spug/
 SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: Replace ACTION below by subscribe or unsubscribe
        Email to majordomo at pm.org: ACTION spug-list your_address





More information about the spug-list mailing list