[Leaplist] Florida Linux Show 2009 JAX

[John Simpson]

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On 2009-01-27, at 1938, Vernon Singleton wrote:
> On Tue, 2009-01-27 at 18:39 -0500, Fred Moore wrote:
>> Vernon Singleton wrote:
>>>
>>> We just got the go ahead from the JAX show.  Folks who email through
>>> me in order reserve your spot to man the Orlando LEAP booth at the
>>> Florida Linux Show 2009 in JAX on March 9 will get free registration
>>> and a badge waiting for them at the door of the show.  It looks like
>>> we will be using "leftovers" from the CDs and DVDs for hamcation at
>>> the JAX show, and if we need to print up some more, Phil will help  
>>> us
>>> do that.
>>
>> When was this discussed at a meeting, as I recall the overall  
>> response
>> when this was discussed last year was that we didn't wish to  
>> participate
>> in anything thats has a sole purpose of making one person some  
>> money.  I
>> don't remember his name but you brought him to an install fest,  
>> when he
>> was looking for our support to get an Orlando show.  I only  
>> remember two
>> people who wanted to do this (you were one).. Please help me
>> understand..  how is LEAP suddenly  involved and using  
>> leftovers...  Fred
>
> I've posted to this list several times about this, and spoke at  
> several
> meetings about this, and you are the only one who has complained ...
> imagine that, Fred.

i remember you mentioning it on the list a few times, always with very  
minimal if any response. however, i don't recall this other guy  
speaking at ANY meetings. i remember you introducing him to me at an  
installfest, but that's it.

i also don't remember hearing ANYTHING about using "leftover" CDs from  
the hamcation for this other show. not that i would have a problem  
with it, i just don't remember it having ever been discussed.

i don't think anybody here is going to stop you from participating in  
the show, or using LEAP's mailing lists and meetings to find others  
who want to participate- anything which promotes linux is a good thing.

however, until/unless the board approves it, you cannot use LEAP's  
name in conjunction with this. and as a board member since september,  
i don't recall the issue coming up for a vote at all. does anybody  
from last year's board recall voting on this?

and just because fred is the only person publicly questioning this  
guy's motives, doesn't mean everybody else magically trusts him (or  
cares one way or the other.) i remember him talking about how he was  
already a professional conference organizer, but i seem to remember  
him saying that this was the first show he had tried to start entirely  
from scratch and that he wanted to "get it profitable" as quickly as  
possible... i didn't think much of it at the time, but i do remember  
getting a vaguely uneasy feeling about his choice of the word  
"profitable" as opposed to something like "successful". i didn't say  
much about it at the time because fred had already picked up that  
particular flag and started marching. but guess what? i don't recall  
fred's concerns ever being addressed, and now you can add my voice as  
a second person with the same concerns.

LEAP's charter says we exist to promote linux, not to help somebody  
else turn a profit. even ignoring the "for profit" angle, i have to  
wonder if "yet another linux-themed show" is really going to do much  
to promote linux. the people who attend a "linux show" will, for the  
most part, already know what linux is about, will probably already be  
using linux on one or more systems, and won't be looking to learn  
about linux- they'll probably be looking to find a linux-based  
solution to some specific problem rather than just learn about linux  
itself. the idea of LEAP participating in that kind of a "linux show"  
seems like a waste of time to me. i think those shows are more geared  
toward people who offer solutions BASED ON linux, rather than people  
like LEAP who simply want to promote linux itself.

hamcation, on the other hand, i think is a really good idea. the  
people who attend the show are already technically minded, but may not  
know much about computers or operating systems- in other words, these  
are the guys who are prime prospects to start using linux, even if  
they don't realize it.

those of us who were at the last regular meeting saw phil showing off  
the "fldigi" software using a .wav file from the previous evening to  
simulate the audio coming from a radio. to me this was like a preview  
of what we hope to do at the hamcation- the only difference is that i  
will hopefully be connected to a real radio, with an antenna on the  
roof, and we can make some real two-way contacts. i can see guys  
calling their buddies in tennessee or michigan and saying "hey frank,  
get on the radio and see if you can hear me doing some PSK on  
14.070"... using linux. i'm also planning on making a hand-out sheet  
which shows exactly how the demo station is wired, and if the  
individual parts are available from hamcation vendors, a list of who  
has what, so people can get on the air.

another reason we do the hamcation every year is that OARC, the group  
who puts on the hamcation every year, is also a non-profit  
organization. their surplus money goes to pay for and maintain amateur  
radio repeaters, which are used by hams in emergencies, to assist the  
authorities. people may not realize this, but when a hurricane comes  
to town and the county opens the shelters, every shelter has one or  
more ham radio operators on-site, WITH THEIR OWN EQUIPMENT. the  
shelters use the hams as a communication channel to keep the county  
EOC informed about how many people are in the shelter, what kinds of  
special needs they have, and so forth. this frees up the telephone  
lines (when/if they're still working) and the city/county radio system  
(again, when/if it's still working) for more critical traffic. there's  
also a second ham station at the EOC with an HF radio, used to stay in  
contact with the state EOC in tallahassee- and if the long-haul  
telephone lines are cut, that HF station IS how the county and the  
state keep in touch.

and in my mind, supporting a non-profit organization who serves the  
community, is a lot better than serving a for-profit person who's  
trying to line his own pockets. not that i have a problem with the guy  
trying to make a living, i just get the feeling that you (vernon) are  
the only LEAP member who's really interested in what he's doing.

again, feel free to participate in his show, and talk it up on the  
lists and at the meetings... just don't use LEAP's name unless the  
board approves it first. there will be a board meeting at the 2/7  
installfest, i recommend you bring it up then so the board can vote on  
it.

and no, i haven't already decided against it. i'm looking forward to  
hearing what you have to say at the meeting, and it's not something  
about which i really have strong feelings one way or the other- so it  
is entirely possible for you to talk me (and probably most of the  
other board members) into voting "yes".

(for the record: this is me speaking as myself, and should not be  
taken as any kind of official statement on behalf of LEAP. any  
official statements would need to come from the board as a whole,  
after hearing from everybody who's involved or interested.)

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| John M. Simpson    ---   KG4ZOW   ---    Programmer At Large |
| http://www.jms1.net/                         <jms1 at jms1.net> |
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| http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173 |
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