Before I get started on this new topic, here is the link to the pictures, your followup comments and my report for the May 6th MR SoCaL Lunch [forums.macresource.com]

The enthusiasm at our Lunch was wonderful, so I proposed to the Members who attended that we should consider planning our next event right away.

Everyone at the Lunch thought this was a good idea and we discussed having two months for input about ideas and to home in on the date and two months to finalize the details.

I felt that this would allow for greater creativity as to what we would do and also to allow more time for ALL Forum Members to make plans to attend.


When I say that we are inviting all the Members to participate in the next MR SoCal Event, I want to make it clear that we're inviting Haikuman from Hawaii or the Philippines, Clay from Virginia, PeterB from West Newton, Mass, ka jot and trisho from NY, Rain and Zoidberg from wherever they are, well you get the idea and please don't feel hurt if I didn't mention your name because you ARE INVITED wherever you live. Oh yes! that includes you, Stuffed Shirt and OWC Larry and the rest of the OWC staff that are Members of the Forum.

The fact is, one of my early ideas was to have a prize for the Member who comes from the farthest distance

This also means that I will be asking our MR SoCal members to step up and volunteer to pick up out of town Members at the airport or train station and if needed, to provide a place to stay for a night if this would make it possible for a distant-living Member to attend.

I can tell you that the feeling at the Lunch was as if a bunch of family and old friends were getting together, so inviting some of you, who we've known for as long as years, is not like inviting strangers. Of course this is just an idea and space for having a guest would have to be considered as well.

Remember, this is just the beginning and it will be a two month process before we start the last two months of finalizing the details. You have some of my initial thoughts to begin the process, so start adding your thoughts and I will post more of my ideas for THE NEXT GREAT MR SoCal EVENT scheduled for Fall 2006.

Thanks again for joining in!

GeneL



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2006 07:54PM by GeneL.

Thanks. . .nice pics.

I missed when they were previously posted but looks like fun was had by all. . .


Now uz guys have to top it. . .next time!

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Newt, you have my personal invitation! You have four months to figure out how you are going to make it

As I said in my initial post, we will do everything we can to make it possible for all of our distant Members to join us for our next great event.

Believe me when I say we discussed some really fantastic ideas at the Lunch. The only one who will be disappointed will be the one who doesn't come!

As I always say, "that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."

GeneL

Gene you have to promise that we won't have to look at a sticky with that stupid flaming smilley for two months!!

Arrrrrrrgh!

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Aloha, Ken


“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe

Oops. Ken, I didn't see your post and just asked (begged, actually) the same thing in the original post.

Sorry GeneL- I didn't mean to beat up on you!

DM

The "jumping smiley" will be removed from the Heading temporarily at Harbourmaster and dmam's request

But only temporarily because I can't stop it from enthusiastically jumping in on its own



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2006 05:26PM by GeneL.

Harbourmaster Wrote:
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> Gene you have to promise that we won't have to
> look at a sticky with that stupid flaming smilley
> for two months!!
>
> Arrrrrrrgh!
>
> --
> Aloha, Ken
>
SECOND THE MOTION

Please, Please, Please, edit the subject now rather than later.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2006 05:52PM by Panopticon.

Whoops! double post



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2006 05:22PM by GeneL.

I vote for NO emoticons AT ALL in any Stickies. If someone can't see a Sticky that has been up there for like half a century, screw'em.

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GeneL, I have an idea. Why don't you have a contest to come up with the next button design. I can donate them again. We have some real good graphic artists here and many great ideas. I'll throw in a 6" button (it also has a back easel so it could stand on a table or even hang on a wall) for the winner along with also having their name on the back edge of all the buttons. This could help add great enthusiasm as more people post their designs and when it gets close we can all vote on it.

Dennis R

Button, button who's got the button...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2006 05:54PM by Harbourmaster.

So, So Cal is a fairly big place. Where, exactly, would people from out of town makes plans to go?

Dennis R, that's a great idea and it certainly fits with my desire to start building the energy for the MR SO Cal FALL EVENT.

I like the idea of having some special buttons to present as prizes for things like "coming the farthest to the EVENT and other categories we'll have to decide on as we brainstorm.

For instance, we could have a prize button for Harbourmaster if he is able to keep his eyes open this time

Come on Members, Dennis R has thrown down the gauntlet to you "creative" graphics people to submit button designs for the MR SO Cal FALL EVENT.

I'm very interested to see what you all can do.

GeneL

Was this supposed to be a sticky?

AlphaDog Wrote:
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> So, So Cal is a fairly big place. Where, exactly,
> would people from out of town makes plans to go?


Alpha Dog, that's a good question, but it's too early to pin it down.

The only thing that is for sure is that it will definitely be somewhere in Southern California.

One idea I've had is to do a trip to Catalina Island for a day, since staying longer might be too expensive. Of course, if that is what we choose to do, Members could stay longer and come home on their own. My thought is that if we have enough Members and family and friends, we could possibly charter our own boat. Variations of this idea were "floated" (pun intended) at the Lunch with some Members thinking about the "party boats" in Newport Harbor."

I did ask about having the Members "chip in" for the next event and the question became how much?

This will depend on how many of us there are and what we decide to do, so you can see why I wanted to allow at least two months to brainstorm.

In the meantime, I'm going to look into the "boat" ideas and get some costs together, in order to see if this direction is practical.

Anyway, you should be able to see what my thinking is and start adding your ideas to the mix.

You'll have plenty of time to make your plans, once we decide what we 'll be doing.

I say this over and over again, "the key is to make it possible for the greatest number of Members to attend!"

GeneL

MikeF Wrote:
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> Was this supposed to be a sticky?


MikeF, I'm working on it.

GeneL

I'd like to continue this thread, but I've run into opposition from SS to make this thread a sticky.

Originally, he proposed that I start another thread as a followup to our original Lunch thread and to post a link to the pictures and the comments. This I have done in this post, but now he won't make it a sticky as he said he would do with his original suggestion.

quoted from SS's PM:
"In my original communication with you, I strongly urged you to create a new, clean thread, to chronicle and post photos after the event. This is why your PRE-event thread was returned to the ranks of March 31 while you were at the restaurant. So you could create a NEW one. I discussed this with fellow mods as my intent - and waited until I was certain your event was well underway before doing so. On a Saturday, from 3000 miles away - having to be home to do so."

Based on his original PM telling me to start a new thread with a link for the past thread (which I thought was going to be a sticky), I did just that. I wanted to use the enthusiasm built up for the Lunch to help launch our next event. Perhaps I'm wrong to think that this is a good idea, but I know how much energy I had to invest to help make the Lunch a success,

The PM I just received from Stuffed Shirt had a list of rules which taken at face value, will prevent me from approaching the creation of a new event with the effectiveness I enjoyed previously.

quoted from SS's PM:
"The front page of the forum has only THIRTY slots. Planning for another meeting 5 months from now will not be among the threads posted at the top, until just prior to the event as outlined below.
Stickies will be used only for announcement of the event ~15 days prior to the event, and for 5 days post event to direct people to the photos."

I think that this means is that the only way that I can keep our thread on the front page is to continue to start new threads and put a link to this one in my posts.

I think it's important to start building the excitement for our next event at this time. If you agree with me, let me know that you do. If so, I shall continue to do my best to "drive" the momentum for our new event.

Otherwise, I'll shut up, throw in the towel and stand in the corner mumbling to myself about the unfairness of this

Please let me know how you feel about this.

GeneL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2006 10:13PM by GeneL.

We just did 4 days on Catalina for our anniversary. Was fabulous, I hadn't been there since '79.

But it is expensive just for a day.

You are looking at over $100 per couple ($54 r/t each) just for the boat ride to get there. Then food, drinks, any golf cart, snorkle rentals, glass bottom boats etc.

It is real easy to have a $300 day there.

Great place, but probably to pricey for a lot of us for only a day.

If it is warm, I suggest Big Bear. Temecula? Or maybe somewhere at the beach again. Sea World in San Diego.

Will it be an adult gathering or a family get together?

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Strength without compassion is brutality. Compassion without strength is weakness.

We must train our minds to desire what the situation demands.

Ooh, I vote for San Diego!

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