My apologies for taking so long to get a post up about our last meeting.  The shortest and sweetest description of it I can give is, it was excellent.  To note before anything is said, I have the pictures at home.  They just aren’t put up yet.  I’ll edit the post and add them as soon as I can.

[Edit] As promised, pictures are now up.  Check out the Flickr and Facebook postings to see the rest.

We had a record number of people show up.  Quite well more than I think any of us expected.  A whole seven new people showed up, nearly doubling our attendance from the previous meetings.  To top it all off, four of those that showed up knew no one in the group previously, and found us entirely based on our web presence.  So welcome to all those that were brave enough to drop in.  For those that have yet to come, the new people showed up and left with all limbs intact.  We seriously try not to bite, and those that do are kept chained in the shed out back as pets.

In all the meetings seem to be improving as well.  We spent a bit of time covering various portions of our agenda, and had quite a bit more time dedicated to goofing off.  A few of us even managed to pick a lock or two this time around!  There was a lot of good discussion about the non profit status of the organization.  Some suggestions on places to go and people to contact about getting everything up and going.  There’s still a lot of research to be done, but we are certainly well on our way!  The idea was only thrown out there, but everyone definitely needs to be thinking and brainstorming about our bylaws as we’ll be working on our draft soon.  So everyone please keep the ideas rolling, we need every bit of help we can get.  At the end of it all, we finished what business there was to cover and really had a great time speculating what the group can accomplish and directions for it to head in.  Pretty much it came down to the idea that there is little we won’t be able to do.

Pictures by John Wood.

Well folks, this was the second meeting we ever had, and it actually went quite well.  At least better than I had expected.  People actually showed up!  No no, ok so seriously though people came with lots of good ideas and a lot of interest in the whole thing.  Which by my standards is excellent for where we’re at.  Now granted, it did run a little long, but that’s because we actually have a lot to talk about.  Which is also excellent.  I promise, the next meetings will be a little less business, a little more fun, and a good bit shorter.  Some of that we’ll have to figure out as we go.

Hopefully though, this did allow everyone a little bit of insight as well as encouragement for what this can turn into.  I also hope that everyone got a little bit of a feel for what kind of people we’re looking for to be in the group.  I encourage everyone, to right now bring anyone that you can think of who might enjoy all of this.  Members are the biggest thing we need at the moment so bring everyone you can.

Also, the meeting notes are up on the wiki, and pictures are up on flickr.  Don’t forget to go checkout the pictures.

Republic Coffee

Alright folks, everything is in place for us to begin some regular meetings.  We will be meeting once a week, every Friday at 7 PM, at Republic Coffee. (See the Events page for directions)

This will be a time for everyone to get to know one another, show off projects, tinker with something, get help for a project, fantasize about what you want to do, or just show up and enjoy the company/coffee.  As often as possible, some sort of little time passer will be provided.  For this first meeting we are hoping to have lock picking/cracking and possibly jewelry crafting or using other things you can get online like a pisces necklace if you’re this zodiac or into fishes or fishing.  Thanks to Pumping Station: One for the ideas.  They had lock picking at their first gathering, and had knitting at subsequent ones.  Whether you’re interested in these little events or not, feel free to stop in and check us out.  Who knows, you might find that you just enjoy chatting.

Don’t forget to tell friends, family, or random people on the street.  We want to try and draw as many people in as we can.

See you there!