Publicity
by Paul W. Frields
Chris,
I think you asked earlier -- although I can't seem to put my hands on
the specific email -- about how widely to publicize FUDCon. (At least
I'll be splitting this thread out now, hope that helps.) You noted
that there might be as many as several hundred students interested in
attending, and I think you were concerned that might overwhelm our
ability to provide effective event support.
We could limit the need to provide limitless funding if we do one or
more of the following:
* Limit gifts (T-shirt, FUDPub coverage) to a pre-arranged number of
pre-registrants.
* Seek sponsorship from one or more places. Seneca is already giving
us free facilities so I'm loath to go there, but perhaps the user
education track gives us a way to seek sponsorship elsewhere.
A further thought about Point #1: Running the pre-registration process
through the wiki works tolerably well and requires little effort on
our part, but it's not going to be easy for planning technical
sessions. We may need to find and set up conference management
somewhere on Fedora infrastructure.
--
Paul W. Frields http://paul.frields.org/
gpg fingerprint: 3DA6 A0AC 6D58 FEC4 0233 5906 ACDB C937 BD11 3717
http://redhat.com/ - - - - http://pfrields.fedorapeople.org/
irc.freenode.net: stickster @ #fedora-docs, #fedora-devel, #fredlug
14 years, 7 months
FUDCon - Dave & Busters Proposal
by Chris Tyler
Here is the proposal from D&B.
Notes:
- They have 'appetizer-style' buffets and 'dinner-style' buffets. The
former include finger food such as cheese and crackers, kebabs, and bar
burgers; the latter, a more traditional meat-starch-vegetable-salad
menu. For our event type and budget, only the appetizer style seems
appropriate.
- Drink tickets are charged on a as-consumed basis -- if a $5 drink is
ordered, we pay $5, if a $7 drink, then $7, if the ticket isn't used, no
charge. We can include the non-alcoholic drinks via ticket, or for
$2.59/person have unlimited tea, coffee, and soda. Tickets can have a
maximum value attached; $7.20 (recommended) covers most drinks.
- They will throw in the space rental for free under their current
promotion. Of the various spaces available, the space that looks best to
me includes 9 pool tables, a snooker table, and two hand-shuffleboard
tables (which will be covered and used for the buffet for part of the
evening). This is the "Viewpoint 2/3" on the proposal -- it's normally
$125/hour.
- They have recommended "Power Cards" for each attendee -- these can be
used on the midway. They are optional -- we can just have the pool
tables available, and if someone wants to use the midway they can pay
their own way. If we include the Power Cards, we're over budget.
Hope this info is useful. Paul, in case Mailman scrubs the attachment,
I'm CCing you on this mail directly.
-Chris
-------- Forwarded Message --------
From: jacqueline_scott(a)daveandbusters.com
Reply-to: <jacqueline_scott(a)daveandbusters.com>
To: chris(a)tylers.info
Subject: Feodora Project - Software Developers 12/5/2009
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:23:07
See Attachment(s):
Hello Chris.
Deposit Due:
I have attached your party proposal. Please read over and confirm that
everything is correct. if you have any changes or questions please feel
free to contact me. I came in a little over budget but there are lots of
things we can adjust.. my goal was just to give you an idea of costs and
we can add/change/delete as you'd like.
Please fill in the credit card info on the Authorization page and then sign
and date the contract page where it asks for host signature. Then fax or
scan it back to me to confirm your space.
Thank you for choosing Dave and Buster's to host your event. I look
forward to working with you in the future.
Jacqueline Scott
Special Events Representative
905.760.7600 x 236
905.760.7603 Fax
jacqueline_scott(a)daveandbusters.com
14 years, 7 months
FUDCon Fact-finding Trip
by Chris Tyler
I stopped by the FUDCon candidate hotels and Dave & Buster's this
afternoon.
Hilton Garden Inn:
- More expensive than Marriott ($129/dbl occupancy)
+ A bit nicer (e.g., Herman Miller desk chair)
+ Adjacent to Viva station, 600m to D&B
+ Restaurant is breakfast/lunch/dinner, room service available
+ Reliable wireless signal
- 1.6 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload on wireless, carrier is Rogers
+ Has offered a king suite for hospitality ("hacking room"), discounted
breakfast vouchers
Marriott Courtyard:
+ Cheaper ($99/dbl occupancy)
- Slightly more basic decor
- 600m to Viva station (5-10 minute walk), adjacent to D&B
- Restaurant is breakfast-only
- Wireless only in lobby
+ 2.66 Mbps download, 2.66 Mbps upload, carrier is MTS Allstream
The hotels are otherwise basically equivalent (pool, hot tub, fitness
room (Hilton's is slightly larger), close to other restaurants for
Thursday/Sunday night, etc).
If the Hilton will drop their price a bit to better compete with the
Marriott, they would get my recommendation. I'll see what I can talk
them into.
Dave & Busters:
- We could easily spend over the budget, but there are some ways to do
it for $30.
- Best option appears to be an appetizer-style buffet in a room that has
9 pocket pool tables, 1 snooker table, and two shuffleboard tables.
- They're going to forward a proposed package for our review, I'll pass
it along when it arrives.
--
Chris
14 years, 7 months
Spot's on board
by Paul W. Frields
I've added Spot to the membership roster since I know he is keenly
interested in our progress. Spot, there's not much in the archives,
it would probably only take a couple minutes to either scan the
entries in the web interface, or import from the archives.
Paul
14 years, 7 months
request from EMEA
by Max Spevack
I've had a request for a few folks in Europe to see if we can have the
hotel provide the FUDCon rate for extra nights (maybe up to a week)
after FUDCon. Some of the European folks are thinking of making a
Canadian vacation out of FUDCon.
Passing it along,
Max
14 years, 7 months
Meeting with Hotels and D&B
by Chris Tyler
Hi Folks,
FYI, I've set appointments to drop into the two hotels and D&B on
Thursday afternoon to see the properties in detail and speed up the
negotiations a bit. (Will take laptop to check wlan :-)
-Chris
14 years, 8 months
FUDPub
by Paul W. Frields
Chris Tyler had a fantastic idea for FUDPub, which is Dave & Buster's,
apparently just a little ways across the street from the hotels we're
considering. As I told him, normally I'm not a big fan of chains but
I make an exception for D&B.
The best comments we've ever had for people enjoying FUDPub came from
the Boston FUDPub this past January, which we held at the billiards
place a few blocks from MIT. Having something to do other than hold a
drink and talk makes people *more* likely to socialize (go figure).
So a place full of the latest video and interactive games seems like a
hit to me.
Paul
14 years, 8 months
Re: FUDPub Possibilities
by Andrew Overholt
> There is a possibility we may have a Magic Bus available
There is a company here called "The Magic Bus Company" that has
interestingly-painted buses that it rents for pretty cheap.
> Would having a FUDCon Bus available during the week change a lot of the
> things we're able to plan/do in Toronto?
I figure we'll mostly be in and around York's campus. It's quite far
out of the city centre, but outside of pub night is this a big deal? I
guess we could take a bus trip downtown but transit is cheap and very
accessible if we wanted to go that route.
Andrew
14 years, 8 months
FUDPub Possibilities
by Chris Tyler
Hi Deepak, Lilly, and Andrew,
I want to bounce some ideas around for FUDPub. There are obviously tons
of great places to hold one in our fine city, but there are limited
options within walking distance, so transportation becomes an issue.
The Underground at York (http://www.myunderground.ca) is within walking
distance of TEL/SEQ, and I think it's probably the first choice --
though I'd categorize it as very convenient, very flexible, but slightly
boring. Other nearby options could include the restaurants/pubs at
Interchange (near the hotels), or we could take advantage of the fact
that York is a transit hub and go farther afield (though this makes
things more complex).
What do you think?
-Chris
(To clarify venue plans: we've got the use of the SEQ building space
that we normally use for FSOSS for Saturday (Barcamp) and Sunday
(Hackfest day 1). On Monday (Hackfest day 2), we have the room we used
for the F10 release party, plus a medium and two small conference rooms
and two other classrooms).
14 years, 8 months
