Good idea Loren!

I'm in.

- Jon

Hahah, sweeeet. bayeuggggg. Kinda weird to say, but not to bad. I figure since this IS the silicon valley area after all, we should have a good number of linux hackers out there who could show their latest and greatest stuff. Plus, from somewhere else on the BBS it was said that most of the Empegs are shipped to this area anyhoo! There's gotta be quite a few driving around on the morning commute. Now it's a mad dash for the all the "empeg" license plate combinations that you can think of. =]

Maybe in a few weeks to a month or so we could seriously get one going?!

||| loren.cox
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I'll be there...



-Zandr
Mk.I #150
Mk.II #39

Awww, that's nothing. This weekend, every single empeg in the state of Alaska is going to be at the IASCA state championships.

Can you believe it? Two whole empegs at the same place!



See 'ya there, Liufeng.

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

Count me in as well.... though I'm still waiting for #15613. For those Bay Area folks who have done an install, I'd be interested in any suggestions on where to get it done. Does the good guys seem far too reckless a choice?

Derek

#15613

Count me in... I'll be there.

D

Yeah, i'd definately like some advice on good installers. I have a friend who is the head of an install department at Circuit City in the East Bay, but I'm still kinda weary about it. I know he knows his stuff, so maybe i'll have him do it outside of work...but any other recommendations would be great. I'm sure there are many more Bay Area Empegs to come...

||| loren.cox
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We have 45 clients in the 94xxx postal area - is the bay area more specific than that, or wider? This seems to cover SF, Pleasanton (I worked on the California Laser Cafe there once), Sunnyvale and Fremont.

Rob

See my longish post in 'Installation Notes' under 'Becker CDR-220 / Porsche Boxster'. I got mine installed by Monney in Redwood City, $60, 30 minutes, was very happy with efficiency, quality, and access to back to see it installed.

It's actually a pretty easy install (empeg have made things very logical), so my belief is that most places would be able to do a reasonable job.

I think 94xxx to 95xxx. at least! I'm in the south bay with a 95xxx zip.

Calvin

I think 94xxx to 95xxx. at least! I'm in the south bay with a 95xxx zip.

If you include 95xxx, I think you're talking most of Northern California. I'm in 95xxx, and I'm practically in Nevada- not what you would call "Bay Area".

___________
Tony Fabris

Well suffice to say the Bay Area is not defined by zip codes. The Bay area is all the land area surrounding the San Francisco Bay. Some of this area includes 95xxx. But I think 95xxx goes down pretty far south. Where are you Tony?

Calvin

Where are you Tony?

Grass Valley. It's on highway 49, somewhere between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.

___________
Tony Fabris

The Bay Area can be define as zip codes, but its not as clear as 95xxx or 94xxx.

I'm the president of the Bay Area Miata Association, and the national club divides turf by zip codes. They think the bay area is:

940xx-941xx, 943xx-951xx, 954xx, 962xx-966xx

Seems right to me...Tony, you're probably 956xx-959xx, right? (The Sacto Club's turf, along with 942xx)



-Zandr
Mk.I #150
Mk.II #39

Thanks for the info, I'll run a query next week to build a Bay Area mailing list from those zip codes and find out how many people are really there. If someone wanted to organise an empeg meet I'd be happy to email those clients and put them in touch with you.

Right now, I'd guess that's probably the only area with sufficient empeg owners to reach the critical mass required for a successful user club.

Rob

Alrighty, now that i have something to show off...tehe... lets do this. I have no experience with user groups, other than hearing about 'em all the time, so i'm not sure if there's anything more involved that just having one person say meet here at this time and someone to manage a mailing list. I'd be happy to maintain a website for it. Any advice?

Rob, any chance you ran that query yet?

This would be a great chance to have something like a demo-day slash evangelism type thing where poeple who are curious could come check out what the Empeg is all about. You guys at Empeg could put a bulletin or something similar on the site to advertise it to your benefit if we get you some buyers! I'm eager to check out other people's set ups and moreso to learn more about the innerworkings from some software/hardware hacker types.

Just trying to keep this thread alive. =]

||| loren.cox
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I can set up a mailing list for it, if there's a demand to do so.

D

I'm interested at least in the first few meetings.

Ok, I must have missed a post on this cause the first post in this thread looks like a reply to an earlier message. But, I live in the Bay Area, and I'm planning to buy an empeg as soon as my number comes up (14859). So, please include me on any email list for BAEUG, or count me as interested in a Bay Area meet.

Mike
(drakoz@akhara.com)

P.S. As soon as I get my empeg, I plan to have my new truck installed around it. But, I have to admit, waiting for the truck (I had to order it too) is harder than waiting for the empeg.

I'll generate an email list on Monday, and pass it on to someone to co-ordinate. I would suggest an one-off initial meet to guage interest, and then if it works well you can put together some more organised plans.

The most important thing will be to find a location where you can park lots of cars and eat good chinese food. Ah, I almost forgot, just about every strip mall in California qualifies for that!

Rob

Rob,

Drop that e-mail list to me. I've got mailing list software already running for some other lists, and I'm the Bay Area, so I'll volunteer to take care of it.

D

Kick ass. Glad i mentioned it =] Okay, so Dredd is getting the mailing list. I'll see what i can do about a web site. Anyone have any ideas for a location? Seems like any parking lot would do eh? Golden Gate Park somewhere? Presidio? Ideas?!

||| loren.cox
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My personal opinion is that I'd prefer somewhere outside San Fran, for a number of reasons:

o Reinforce that its a "Bay Area" group and not a "San Fran" group
o Traffic into and out of the city can suck ass
o Parking in the city can suck ass

BUT, I think the best plan is to wait until the mailing list is up and running, and after "those who are going to subscribe" subscribe to it, and see where people think they want it.

D

Agreed on all points. We'll figure something out when the list is up and in full force.

||| loren.cox
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Aight, seeing as how Rob has threatened to organize his own Bay Area meet if we don't, i thought i'd dredge up this old thread. I think the motivation and support is there, we are just lacking a ringleader or someone who is willing to organize this puppy. Soooo....any volunteers?! I would love to if i had the knowledge of what all would be required. Rob...any recommendations?

Just a thought as to location... last week i was in Golden Gate Park, and there was a meet of classic cars out on one of the lawns... i know people dread the city, but the park is beautiful, and it would be a nice setting. I dunno, just an idea. I'd guess we'd need some sort of inside place to meet as well. argh.
*passes the baton*


|| loren.cox
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Rob Scofield did a great job organising the Amersfoort meet - I think some tips could be taken from that event.

Essential:

Easy to find location and/or roadside direction markers on the day
A flag or banner to indicate the meet site
Plenty of parking space without major sound restrictions
A nearby indoors area with refreshments available
Nearby restaurant(s)

Cool Ideas:

Best installation competition (everyone votes)
Empeg geek quiz (questions supplied by empeg)
Technology preview by empeg (if we can make it!)
Prize for the attendee that drove the furthest for the meet

I suggest you agree on a date soon - if anyone from empeg is to attend we'll need plenty of notice.

Rob

Oh I don't know rob, I can pretty much manage to leave cold, rainy england for california anytime it's required ;)

Hugo

Loren,

I saw you were subscribed to the list, but then all of a sudden the address you sub'ed with started bouncing and you got unsub'ed manually (by me). (unless there is another Loren who is interested in Bay Area empeg stuff )...

Best bet is to resub to the mailing list, and jump in. There's been a little traffic on the topic but nothing of "Critical mass" (e.g., nobody has yet picked up the ball and started running with it).

There seems to be a lot of interest in it, but nothing's actually "happening". We also need to consider that we're probably going to be better off if we wait until spring (since bay area winters are notoriously rainy for planning an outdoor event)

D

Location wise, I'd have to say the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo (directly across from Six Flags Marine World) is probably the BEST place to do this. It more than meets all the requirements for space, noise, refreshments, etc. Plus, it's directly across from Marine World if any of us feel like going on some coasters. Not to mention that it's a lot easier to get to and find parking than a lot of places closer to SF. It's more centralized for people further south also. It is made for these kinds of events, I goto computer shows there every month, so there will be no problems at all that I can see. The only thing I'm not sure of is reservation costs and such. Contact info is at the following address: Contact Info

I'm not sure if that is contact info for year round scheduling or only for the Fair itself, but it's worth a shot.


Just my thoughts.



________
Donato
MkII/Blue/40GB/080000565

Yeah, my buddy who hosts my email and site has changed locals and DNS about 20 friggin' times in the past year, so i've had a few bounce situations. I'll resub soon.

So Rob, did you guys pay for a meeting room or what? So far that's the only thing i can see that's holding us back... who's gonna pay for it and such up front if it's necessary.

Donato's idea sounds like a good bet. I've never been down there, but the fairgrounds might work out great. Costs?


|| loren.cox
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