[TriZPUG] Python Hack Night

[Chris Calloway]

On 3/9/2010 9:41 AM, Mark Lavin wrote:
> Thanks for all the great responses. I'm glad so many people are excited
> about Hack Night as me. Unfortunately as you might have seen on this mailing
> list, there is another meeting at CCC this Thursday so I'm still scrambling
> to find a space. I've talked to a number of the public libraries in the area
> with meeting rooms but so far all have been booked. If you know of a space
> that can hold a dozen or so people with their laptops and has internet
> access please let me know as soon as you can.
> 
> On a happier note for those that might be interested, I'm going to be
> playing around with MongoDB (PyMongo and MongoEngine) and seeing if I can
> get it to play nicely with Django.

Mark,

Thanks for pushing this.

I always have a conference room that can hold about twelve available at 
UNC at a moment's notice. It has a nice laptop projector and plasma 
display. We've used it several times.

Downsides we've worked around in the past:

a) Parking: you'll need to park in a municipal lot or deck three blocks 
away and hoof it most times, unless you are lucky and there are spaces 
available in the Swain lot across the street. Both require $s per hour.

http://www.unc.edu/visitors/parking.html (Swain Lot)
http://www.ci.chapel-hill.nc.us/index.aspx?page=192 (Wallace Deck)

b) Network: UNC requires MAC address registration to access the network. 
It only takes about twenty minutes. But that's twenty minutes you wait 
and somebody has to do it for you. Also, it's wired only. You'll need to 
bring a Cat 5 or 6 cable. I have a few.

Wireless access is not allowed for non-UNC personnel. And setting up 
your own ad-hoc wireless on campus will result in extraordinary 
rendition to a secret prison in Bulgaria.

Also, the room only has two network ports (the university ran out of 
money just as the building was being finished). I bought a five port 
GigE switch last fall for a sprint. I can go get a larger switch if 
necessary. I have to buy about eight twelve port GigE switches for a 
PyCamp this year anyway.

c) Power: there are more power outlets than network ports, but not 
enough. I have one large outlet box, but need another if we have twelve 
people.

d) Access: it's not the easiest place to find in the world. It's 
surrounded by other buildings and has no street access. It's so new it's 
not even on a lot of UNC maps. And after 6 or 7pm, it requires card 
access to get in the door. I don't think it's a problem for a 6pm start 
time. But stragglers would probably need a cell phone and somebody to 
call inside.

http://trizpug.org/Members/cbc/chapman-map.pdf (red blob on map)
http://marine.unc.edu/DrivingDirections/chapman

Other than that, it's an awesome place with an ice machine, a small 
kitchen, and clean bathrooms.

If I have, say, maybe a month's advance notice, I can usually reserve a 
high-tech conference-style classroom with seating for at 40 or 60 (and 
even 125 with about three months notice) in other buildings. These rooms 
have power and network at every seat. They only have the parking 
downside (and no kitchen).

TriZPUG used to meet every third month in these classrooms before we 
started meeting at CCC. We've had huge week-long training events in 
these rooms. Sometimes they are even just empty and we've crashed them 
when running out of room in the twelve seat conference room. So keep 
those in mind. I have no problem reserving at least the 40 or 60 seater. 
I just have to jump through dean's office kind of hoops to get them. The 
125 seater takes a little more wheel greasing.

These classrooms are more geared for a talking head at the front of the 
room rather than everyone facing each other. Although, I have been to 
several large (100+ people) sprints in such rooms. They just require 
breaking into smaller groups that can work side by side.

Lack of affordable and usable public space is our society's greatest 
threat to democracy. I'm just particularly reminded of that today, 
because this evening is a precinct meeting night in North Carolina. 
There are about 10,000 meetings taking place tonight in the state, most 
at polling places. Most of these places, the publicly owned ones, are 
"free" by law for one annual party meeting, but require anywhere from 
$60 to $200 in janitorial and police "fees" after the "free" reservation 
(Carrboro Schools began waiving the fee only last year). Many of the 
places (churches, civic clubs) are not free, though, and some will not 
even allow political party meetings. It's a nightmare to try to organize 
just one county's worth of meetings.

-- 
Sincerely,

Chris Calloway
http://www.secoora.org
office: 332 Chapman Hall   phone: (919) 599-3530
mail: Campus Box #3300, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC 27599