[Semibug] Planning meeting place and time

[Josh Grosse]

On Mon, Nov 09, 2015 at 08:39:22PM -0500, Michael W. Lucas wrote:

> I'm inclined to go to plan B: goldfish tea. But don't want to switch
> at the last minute and scramble everything.
> 
> Thoughts, people?

I'm OK with either place for a first meeting.  The tea house 
lacks a private room, and the track lacks a full kitchen at
the moment.

(My travel was just deferred to December or later and I'll be
able to join the first meeting.)

More thoughts follow...        

We need a place where we can sit, to discuss and share ideas.  

This requires chairs.  With our size group, I prefer circles to
theather seating, because it aids interaction.  I expect no more 
than a dozen or so at a typical meeting, based on the size of the 
current mailing list.

It requires quiet -- from others, and the toleration of the noise
we will make in others around us.  

It requires the ability to share ideas in written / drawn form.  We
present, even if in-the-round rather than from the front of a room 
or from a stage.

It requires food and beverage.  Stuff that won't kill Michael.  Or 
kill me.  If not on vicinity, then very close by with the ability and 
permission to traipse in with it.  We are considering dinner-hour 
starting times, or missed-dinner-hour arrival times for more 
distant travellers, and most everyone will have to deal with rush 
hour traffic, weather, and construction delays.  Perhaps the track 
will become a better option for us in the spring when they 
restart their seasonal kitchen.

It requires repeatability.  We need a facility that will have 
us back.  Will *want* us back.

---

I'm most concerned about quiet -- for ourselves, and others.  
This is the one issue I have about Goldfish.  I like the 
place, but not having a back room is something of a detriment.
It has sufficient space for our expected small group, but noise in 
both directions may be a problem.  Or become one.

---

For communication of ideas, we can really make do here.  We all 
carry portable WiFi access points everywhere with us, and we can all 
install VNC clients on laptops/netbooks/tablets.  I even have a VNC 
client on my portable WiFi access point ... er.. phone.  

Sometimes a whiteboard is all you need. Or a flip chart.