Jan07
10
What I Learned Today
1. Assumption is the mother of all f*ck ups (this was more confirmed than learned).
2. Instant Messaging is a bad way to sort out a disagreement. Or have a conversation.
3. The crowd is a lot more passionate than you’d think.
4. There is a ‘Super-Earth’ in our solar system that weighs 13 times what our Earth does (and we didn’t know this 2 years ago!) - thanks Diggnation!
5. I am too defensive, impulsive and need to shave more regularly.
Lastly, I love the community I’ve become a part of (this whole social media brigade) more than I care to admit. I am an ordinary oke (I watch rugby and spend more than two hours a day in the sunshine) who has fallen in love with tech and geekery because it is, only recently, embracing ordinary humans for the first time ever.
i ask then of the geeks that you assume the best, not the worst of us proprietary, capitalist bastardos and embrace diversity. The thing that made geek dinners and barcamps work in this country last year was the fact that it wasn’t ONLY geeks who were involved. Come on, geeks can’t organise a piss up in a Primi.
We need to find more ways to work together and GROW the community. I was trying to do that, I promise. Not punt me. Not turn you all into Cerebra lemmings. Just foster goodwill and support the movement.
As Paul says, let’s all be friends 
27 will continue, supported by Cerebra (with no effing logo I promise), but will be organised at 27dinner.pbwiki.com, so as not to offend!
“2. Instant Messaging is a bad way to sort out a disagreement. Or have a conversation.”
Oh, you are sooooo right there!
You’re all right for a bloke.
PS another tip re instant messaging - make sure you have the RIGHT window open when you send your flirty message to the cute co-worker you are having a purely innocent (yeah right) flirtation with. Or else you will end up sending it to your boss by mistake. Who will from then on think that you are into him. V v uncomfortable.
Mate shame about the bitching, didnt realise people would mind and maybe have enouph common sense to understand it takes alot of organising to get these dinners together so why not have an organisation sorting it out. Look forward to seeing you again some day over a nice bottle or two of Stormhoek, sounds like you need it, I’ll bring!!.
ag Stop4th we love ya you nutter
We’re going to have a fiercecool year of connecting & playing together within the community.
Was just saying to the chilibean this morning that as geeks we’re all really smart, learn fast (thank heavens - I learnt a lot yesterday) and all have a gr8 sense of humour to smooth out the times when we screw-up. Whew.
Here’s to a year of some damn fine gatherings!
PS. (Tertia!!! hahaha ROTFL :’-D that’s pretty bad)
I am feeling awfully left out. I am not sure if I am able to label myself as a geek. I am attending 27 this month and it’s my first geeked-out event. But now, I am somewhat concerned that I am in way over my over-talkative, personal/amateur-techno blog head.
Anyways, Mike, I look forward to meeting you and all the other geeks. I have heard a lot about you from the Ritz. The dinner sounds like fun irrespective of what sponsors/collaborators pull together. I’m happy to pay my way for the wine, the food and the company.
[...] So Mike, big up to you for standing your ground, even though you grovelled at parts. Thank you for making this something where we can talk about real issues, not the angst of having to sell one’s soul to a capitalist, and especially thank you for pointing out that geeks can’t organise a piss up in a Primi. We’d all be drinking Oros if they tried. Mike, you are an uberJeek - see you all on the 27th. [...]
[...] In these matters ’tis best not to employ the Othello model (in fact almost every Shakespearian tragedy is based on the sequence: incorrect assumption, rage, death, find the truth out too late, regret …oops). Fellow modern humans - we no longer have to wait for the footman/postman/chinese telephone to find out. Get on it (though as Mike pointed out IM may not be the perfect comms platform to sort out your arguments). If, after enquiry, you find that your new opponent has mindfully stepped onto your hallowed ground with poo on their shoe - then you are indeed justified to employ whatever strategic means of warfare are at your disposal. [...]
[...] Frogfoot Joe has stepped up to help relaunch the movement after the split. So thankfully I get to be professor emeritus this time, in an advisory capacity, not gritty logistics. whew. Peachy! Think it’s going to be a little more edgy, offbeat & more irreverent than I think we can dare at the respectable 27dinner. We’ll see
[...]