Category Archives: Announcement

Once more, with FEELING!

Many seasons have passed since Patrick, wise and benevolent and kind, looked out over the realm he had helped create and declared the order of geeks, which once gathered regularly in this domain, was to be no more.  He laid down the calling horn and left the realm, venturing on to distant lands in a changed world. This brought a silence down upon the land. This was the end of the First Age.

Time passed and the silence was broken. Shattered it was, though not by a horn… instead, by a whisper. A small stirring of geeks, brought together by a certain large moose, came searching softly but diligently through the realm. They came seeking out those geeks that once had gathered but still remained, as well as new geeks who would join their cause. Whispers became banter, banter became discussion, discussion filled with emphatic gesticulation, and a rally of gathering soon formed into the dawn of the Second Age.

Now we sound the horns again! Now we gather, geeks one and all!

…and if you’re still reading this, you’re probably one of us, too. ;) Welcome to the new GeekGather.org!

…And Thanks For All The Fish

Well, the time has come. Consider this the official pronouncement that Geek Gather is no more.

I started Geek Gather several years ago as an attempt to have a once a month time to get together with my fellow geek friends and talk tech without boring the non-geeks in our lives — and maybe collaborate or connect on the occasional project or two. The idea came from my wife, Bethany’s, own “Stitch and Bitch” sessions with her girlfriends where they would do the same (with a decidedly more female and crafty bent).

Over the many years, there have been evenings where a dozen of us have been there and others where it has only been two. All have been worth the time and I cherish each one. That said, as of the past several months, it has mostly been just a couple of us or, at most, three. And while I certainly enjoy the company, I have decided that that time slot spent away from my family could be better allocated to more purposeful pursuits. Michael (the usual number two with me in recent months) agreed and, thus, we have decided to put an end to Geek Gather now.

That said, we will be at The Chatterbox this evening if you swing by. We will be holding our first meeting of our replacement endeavor, The Finishing School, which I welcome all to join. Even if not, you will be welcome at the table all the same.

So, thanks agin for the years of wonderful memories and may we all gather again around other tables soon.

Patrick Rhone
December, 2012

WordPress Complete 2.7+ Book

April Hodge Silver, here. I’m new to Geek Gather, having lived in the Twin Cities for just 3 months and attended 2 Gathers so far. And now for some only slightly shameful self-promotion:

wordpress_bookJust last month, my first (and possibly only? Time will tell) book was published by Packt Publishing. It’s called WordPress Complete 2.7+ and replaces an earlier version of the book from 2004. I rewrote this book from the ground up.

I thought the Geek Gather crowd might be interested in knowing about WP Complete, which covers a wide range of topics, from how to install and using the wp-admin all the way to the basics of writing themes and plugins. There also a whole chapter on using WP as a CMS for a regular non-blog website.

If anyone is interested in reading the book and writing a review on your blog or website, or for Amazon.com, let me know and I can get you a free copy.

More info: