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Fwd: VCF-MA Steering Committee Election Update
by Dean Notarnicola 14 Nov '20

14 Nov '20

Update! The following is the list of current nominees: Ian Primus - Nominated by Adam Michlin Alex Jacocks - Nominated by Jeff Brace Tony Bogan - Nominated by Dean Notarnicola Dave McGuire - Nominated by Chris Fala Jason Perkins - Nominated by Evan Koblentz Nominees should feel free to make statements in support of themselves, if desired. Please keep the nominations coming! Regards, Dean

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Let's Keep Personal Differences Off the List
by Alexander Jacocks 14 Nov '20

14 Nov '20

All, I'm not in any position of authority, but here is my $0.02 worth, on any situation ariging from internal conflict in a group. Please do NOT discuss this on the mailing list. Context is lost and feelings are very easily hurt, since emotions do not convey well in an online discussion. Also, this sort of discussion has no place on a list visited by many folks who know none of us personally. I strongly suggest that the parties involved discuss this directly, off-list. Thank you. Alex

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World of Commodore is going virtual!
by Jeffrey Brace 12 Nov '20

12 Nov '20

Reposting a message from Leif Bloomquist: ******************************* Hi all, We've decided to do a slimmed-down, Virtual-Only World of Commodore this year on December 5, 2020, through Zoom and YouTube. The page with the preliminary info is here: https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2020/ Will be updated as we go along. Soon we'll be looking for volunteers to help out with various things (i.e. Breakout Room moderators, stuff like that). Please email me if you're willing/able to help! We also have a dedicated #woc channel on our Discord server: https://discord.gg/6UTY2aAE6p The Toronto PET User's Group is pleased to announce the World of Commodore 2020! This year it will be a Virtual event with livestreamed presentations and demos, breakout discussion rooms and more. ************************************************ -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Craigslist post
by Jeffrey Brace 12 Nov '20

12 Nov '20

On Tue, Nov 3, 2020 at 6:02 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > If it’s not objectionable to anybody it was I. > Not objectionable and most welcome. It helps you by showing everyone what you are bringing and gives attention to our event. By the way I did a general post for the event, so hopefully it brings lots of buyers! > Mike Rosen > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Nov 3, 2020, at 5:40 PM, Christian Liendo via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > I don't know who did this but it's a good idea > > > > > https://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/ele/d/belmar-vcf-swapmeet-am-stuff-have-… > > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org cell: 732-759-1783

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Can't make event
by Dean Notarnicola 12 Nov '20

12 Nov '20

Glad all is well! On Thu, Nov 12, 2020 at 8:58 AM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > End of quarantine and no symptoms. Negative test. Good to go. Person > that I was exposed to is still sick. She's my assistant so I've had to take > care of both my job and hers. > > > > Seems like the swap meet was a success. Congratulations to all. > > > > Kelly > > Awesome news!! > > Tony

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Ken Thompson video
by Tony Bogan 12 Nov '20

12 Nov '20

> On Nov 10, 2020, at 11:52 AM, Evan Koblentz <evan(a)snarc.net> wrote: > > Last year I got Ken Thompson to come to VCF East and arranged for Brian to be there too. > > The video reached 100,000 views today: https://youtu.be/EY6q5dv_B-o ... no other VCF video is even close. That’s very cool! I had not looked recently to see how much it had jumped since VCF East Virtual happened (a number of older videos were boosted as a result of the event, which would make sense) One can only hope that as subsequent videos are online for as long that they can also see views rise and help increase VCFs visibility! This is certainly a huge boost in that department. It’s awesome when a series of events come together to make an even more awesome event! The original idea of Ken Thompson being suggested to you, the fact that Ken Thompson was in the state, that Brian was also available, that was a once in a lifetime congruence that everyone benefited from. Kudos for being in the right place at the right time and being able to bring it all together! With that many views of the existing video, one can only imagine how many views the video would have at this point had they been able to continue talking! Fortunately we’ve got the conversation they did have on video for posterity’s sake and can relish in this once in a lifetime keynote event. Very cool the video has hit the 100k view mark! Tony

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Moving forward
by Tony Bogan 11 Nov '20

11 Nov '20

Recent discussions have really been liberating, with details many people were unaware of finally being brought to light and pent up feelings and opinions finally being aired. It’s been long overdue. As such, I personally am really psyched moving forward. Speaking as someone who may not even be on the Steering Committee in another month, I couldn’t be more excited for the future of VCF. Some thoughts and extra details I’d like to share. Adam has said from the start of the SC that he wanted his seat to be one of the first up for election. Now that he’s moved to South Carolina, he isn’t running for election (he’s already explained his feelings previously) Knowing what some people were told about me from former management and what others thought (and one expressed recently in comments about the state of the vcf “business”) I insisted mine be the other of the first two. While I’ve enjoyed this first year of the SC, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming elections I’m both excited for the future and to see what the SC does next, with or without me on it, secure in the knowledge that I will continue to do everything I can to help VCF grow as I did before I was on the SC and while I’ve been on it. Doesn’t hurt I have the utmost respect for the other people nominated for the two seats and am often in awe of their knowledge and expertise every time I speak with them or see them at workshops. Win, lose or draw for me retaining my seat on the SC, the future looks awesome indeed. We’ve set up a dedicated fund for warehouse improvements, have a working yearly budget with the ability to request additional allocations from the Board for the museum, have cultivated a working relationship and repaired burned bridges with no less than three other vintage computer museums (two on the east coast and a new relationship with one overseas) started the process of getting estimates for repairing and redoing the warehouse, appointed a liaison to Infoage and the township of Wall, and a whole slew of other things that just weren’t possible or feasible in the past. One of the benefits of having a group of people working towards a common goal with the ability to make decisions and act upon them. We don’t always all agree of course, but with a system in place and a framework (now published for all to see) within which to work, it’s a pleasure to be a part of. The difficulties faced by Infoage, along with museums around the world, and the financial and political aspects were touched upon by Mike Brutman in another thread. Those things are always on our minds along with a dozen other things on any given day! We also have a great working relationship with the other groups at infoage, in particular CDL and The Military Technology Museum of NJ. We have a full time social media coordinator (our social media accounts have never been so alive!) But we need more. We need help at the museum and working in the warehouse. We need help getting the artifacts in the museum and warehouse up and running (never in the 6+ years I’ve been here have we ever had literally almost every machine in the museum running) and just did our first “VCF Artifact” workshop to help achieve that goal. We need ideas for new exhibits (we now change some things up regularly in the museum to give visitors a reason to come back again and again and not see the same exact things every time) We need ideas for improving our current events and adding new ones (like the first swap meet we just did. The first of many that is!) The up front, honest, no holds barred discussion of late was a true breath of fresh air. People don’t need to feel stifled or belittled for having an idea, even a hair brained one! It’s not about letting the inmates run the asylum, it’s about having somewhere to go and know you’ll be listened to And your thoughts, ideas, concerns, whatever won’t just be dismissed out of hand. Members now have five people they can reach out to, and know the person they reach out to will bring their comments to the SC for consideration. Sometimes the answer will still be “no,” but it will be a consensus decision that was given consideration and discussion by a group of people, not dismissed without a second thought. THAT’S what the Steering Committee is there for, and THAT is one of the reasons the Steering Committee was created (only one reason, but an important one!) Tony Sent from my iPhone

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Ken Thompson video - a new dawn
by Dean Notarnicola 11 Nov '20

11 Nov '20

You’re welcome here anytime. There’s always work to do, thanks! On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 2:43 PM laurakid via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I would definitely like to help where I can. Just let me know. Always > been here. I live 15 min from Camp Evans. I do have more going on than I > did in 2018, but I have a very flexible schedule. > > > Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone > > > On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, 12:11 PM, Andrew Diller via > vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > I am going to weigh in with my thoughts, addressing some of the issues and > conjecture presented the past day and ignoring others. > > > tldr; VCF Mid-Atlantic today is still awesome, you should show up and you > will have fun. > > > First, I am a current member of the VCF MidAtlantic Steering Committee. My > seat is not up for re-election this year. I was invited to join the SteerCo > as it's final, and tie-breaker member. I was excited and honored to accept > and never looked back! > > I'm glad we had this airing of grievances before Festivus, fwiw. > > My history in VCF is short, but exciting. I was a lurker on the VCF forums > for years, and one day in the waning of 2018 I decided to get involved. > Wall NJ isn't that far from Philly, where I live. I joined the mailing list > and found out about the upcoming Festivus. > > I enjoyed a wonderful year of Festivus 2018, VCF East 2019, the monthly > repair workshops and Festivus 2019. I tried to attend every workshop, and I > managed to almost do that. I often used them as a venue to git rid of a lot > of my excess vintage gear, to talk and socialize, learn about VCF @ Info > age oh and sometimes work on something I had. Camp Evans itself is a > fascinating piece of history full of interesting groups, people and > artifacts. All willing to share and talk if you take the time. > > > > Since being part of the SteerCo I have seen transformational changes in > VCF-MA (i.e. the parts in Camp Evans (aka InfoAge). Those changes have > happened for a simple reason- there were now a core group of _seven_ > (steerCo + Corey and Jeff) people who were dedicating ridiculous amounts of > their time (and even funds) to assess, prioritize, and execute on projects > that needed doing. Not just one person, but seven. > > > And we are setting up a transparent and accountable process to let > everyone know what and how the steerco is going to do things and also to > ensure outreach and ensure that any interested member can contribute. Even > seven people isn't enough to make VCF a better place as fast as we wanted. > > > I truly feel that anyone can contribute just as much or more than any > steerCo member by doing a simple thing- showing up! > > > Not only will you be able to meet and make some good friends you will be > able to help in the myriad of jobs/tasks that we still need to get done to > make VCF Museum an even more inviting place and a richer nexus for visitors > and members alike. > > > VCF-MA is more than ever involved in cooperation with other local orgs > with similar mandates. > > > Those are my thoughts and I'm sticking to them, > -andy > > > > > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Moving forward
by Dave McGuire 11 Nov '20

11 Nov '20

On 11/11/20 8:59 AM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > What I see is a bunch of my so-called "friends" jumping on a vigilante > bandwagon, as if the group was going nowhere or must "recover" because > my leadership held it back. Pretty much, yes. You didn't lead, you dictated. That dictatorship had some very good results, don't get me wrong, but let's call it what it is. > Fifteen years spent building the collection, the museum, East, pushing > forward the return of West, building amazing relationships with ACM, > Bell Labs, Babbage Institute, CHM, IEEE, and all of the other > collector/hobbyist groups, winning awards at NYC Maker Faire, growing > the budget from zero to $50,000/year ... how easily we forget. Nobody has forgotten the huge amount of very successful work you put into starting the organization. But YOU'VE clearly forgotten who started this thread, and what that initial message was all about. What people ARE complaining about is what you did after you quit. > Corey said it best when I resigned back in December: the group, the > museum, and VCF East all likely would not exist if not for me. I'd say that's very likely. But that's no longer relevant, because you quit and turned yourself into an enemy. And for reasons that I just don't get, you're still allowed on this list, when you all you do is stir up trouble like this. This sort of trouble destroys communities. Is this a typical "if I can't have it nobody else will" type of situation? > Yet hear you all are trampling on my grave and threatening to kick > me out. Hear vs. here. I guess you rely on software assistance with stuff like that when you're being the end-all, be-all of journalism. But that aside, there is no grave, because you never left. You remained subscribed to this list, just so you could stir up crap like this. > Apple without Steve Jobs is nothing special. Are you seriously comparing yourself to Steve Jobs? Evan, you need to spend less time in front of a keyboard and more time in front of a therapist. I've asked you personally to drop this several times. I'm asking you once more. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Moving forward
by laurakid 11 Nov '20

11 Nov '20

Ps. Now I understand all the brackets or tics or tacs.... I did say outsider. Or better, call me a student Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, 3:24 PM, laurakid via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: .... All infighting aside, This discussion has helped me to understand more about VCF and has me excited that maybe I can help out now. I was very active helping before VCF East 2018 and a little here and there up until my friend had surgery and needed my help in April 2019. I hated having to miss VCF East 2019 but my friend’s surgery and recovery took awhile. C’est les vis. I am particularly excited to hear about warehouse improvements! The dust and dirt and crazy climate fluctuations always concerned me. I hope I can help out there. As those who have worked with me know, I am willing and able to do the oddest of odd jobs and also am capable of some heavy lifting (Roller Derby). Speaking of Roller Derby, these sorts of arguments go on in that world too. It is also a group of dedicated, unpaid volunteers running a non-profit labor of love. But some of that fighting is likely quelled because we actually can hit each other (or could, before covid). I sincerely hope I can become more present in the group as I was in 2018. I was just getting to know VCF and many of you. I am an outsider in that I am not a hobbyist and have limited knowledge of the actual history and technology VCF is about, but that is precisely what made me want to volunteer in the first place. My mom did her dissertation on a Commodore 64. I brought a “luggable” computer to my first year of college in 1994. I am truly fascinated and would love to learn more. (Before the Neptune Radio Shack closed down I would spend time browsing different parts and soldering kits, wishing I knew what they were for and how to work with them). I apologize for the rambling. I am just excited. I sorta thought volunteer opportunities were a thing of the past. Warehouse is where I shine. Let me at it 😉 Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, 3:00 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: On 11/11/20 8:59 AM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > What I see is a bunch of my so-called "friends" jumping on a vigilante > bandwagon, as if the group was going nowhere or must "recover" because > my leadership held it back. Pretty much, yes. You didn't lead, you dictated. That dictatorship had some very good results, don't get me wrong, but let's call it what it is. > Fifteen years spent building the collection, the museum, East, pushing > forward the return of West, building amazing relationships with ACM, > Bell Labs, Babbage Institute, CHM, IEEE, and all of the other > collector/hobbyist groups, winning awards at NYC Maker Faire, growing > the budget from zero to $50,000/year ... how easily we forget. Nobody has forgotten the huge amount of very successful work you put into starting the organization. But YOU'VE clearly forgotten who started this thread, and what that initial message was all about. What people ARE complaining about is what you did after you quit. > Corey said it best when I resigned back in December: the group, the > museum, and VCF East all likely would not exist if not for me. I'd say that's very likely. But that's no longer relevant, because you quit and turned yourself into an enemy. And for reasons that I just don't get, you're still allowed on this list, when you all you do is stir up trouble like this. This sort of trouble destroys communities. Is this a typical "if I can't have it nobody else will" type of situation? > Yet hear you all are trampling on my grave and threatening to kick > me out. Hear vs. here. I guess you rely on software assistance with stuff like that when you're being the end-all, be-all of journalism. But that aside, there is no grave, because you never left. You remained subscribed to this list, just so you could stir up crap like this. > Apple without Steve Jobs is nothing special. Are you seriously comparing yourself to Steve Jobs? Evan, you need to spend less time in front of a keyboard and more time in front of a therapist. I've asked you personally to drop this several times. I'm asking you once more. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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