Hello all, sorry I didn't get to post this earlier. Josh was kind enough to take some notes on his eee last night. First and foremost, I wanted to say thanks to all that came out last night. It was great to meet you all and share some beer. Whether or not a physical hackerspace ever materializes, I think we should try to do more of these gatherings in addition to the regular VAGUE meetings. I mean, who doesn't like good beer, good food, and good company!
Ok, on to Josh's notes, which I have organized into a form that makes sense to me... First, the "who". In attendance were Josh, Rion, Chad, Nick, Tom, John, Tony, and myself. I'm not going to try to remember all the last names. Projects: Though many project ideas were tossed around, I didn't hear any references to active non-software projects that people have. However, there seems to be plenty of excitement for projects in theory. This is something that will need more work, as a project space without projects might find itself empty. However, last night was only a gathering of 8, which brings me to the next subject... People: Tony was quite concerned about the splintering effect that a new "geek group" such as the hackerspace could present. His concerns are certainly well founded. In the course of discussion, the following geek-attracting groups and mailing lists were mentioned: - VAGUE (obviously) - PHP User Group - vt.net (jsled can liason, if need be) - VTSDA - VT Ruby User Group (dead?) - VT Java User Group (dead?) - Burlington Science Cafe (sounds quite cool!) - Drupal User Group (related to PHP group?) - central vermont amateur radio club -- w1bd.org (Tom Cort is VP; can liase) - champlain valley model rocket club So there is no lack of geek groups out there. Adding another to the mix could definitely be seen as a splintering, though I prefer to think that it is more of a synergy (did I really just type that word??) My hope is that if the idea of a hackerspace/hackergroup can attract members from the existing groups, it will result in some cross-pollination and maybe even swell the ranks of our own VAGUE group. Space: Josh and others (Tony) did some poking around for space in the Burlington area. The specific location that I remember being discussed was something under 1000sqft in Colchester for $1600. However, we also spent quite a bit of time discussing the prospect of sharing space with other groups. The groups that came up were: - VTSDA - Chaos Collective (Burlington) - Montpelier Art Space Collective (Chad has more info) - VT Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET) space on the Trinity Campus at UVM So those were the topics that related to the forming and housing of a hacker/maker/DIY group/space. However, the most interesting (to me anyways) thing that came out of the meeting was a plan to get together as a group of people with common interests and spend a day doing a project. Tony (acarrico) was gracious enough to volunteer his space for this gathering. No concrete plan was made, but the intent is to do this gathering as a Saturday project/cookout at Tony's sometime between now and June. My preference for the day based on my schedule as it exists now is the Saturday before Memorial Day. Several projects were mentioned as possibilities: - Solar powered webcam in a birdhouse - Make an Arduino make an LED blink Also, we will need someone to bring a BBQ, as Tony doesn't think his is up to the task if more than a couple people show up. Another thing that I found interesting was three words that kept coming up: - Community - Collaboration - Creation These are the three words that I think of when I think of the idea for a hacker group/space, and I was happy to see others using the words as well to describe the things we want to see, even if we may eventually splinter into collaboration vs. creation factions :) Ah, there is that splinter word again. Sorry Tony! Anyways, thats all I've got. If I missed anything, please chime in. Kevin
