Category Archives: /dev/random

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

April Geek Gather

If Spring came but once in a century, instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake, and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change! But now the silent succession suggests nothing but necessity. To most men only the cessation of the miracle would be miraculous and the perpetual exercise of God’s power seems less wonderful than its withdrawal would be.
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

See you Tuesday!

April’s Latest Book

(Updated) WordPress 3 Complete is out. This is April’s (not the month, the geek) latest publication. It’s a complete rewrite of the earlier editions for WordPress 2.x that she co-authored.  This one’s entirely April’s.

WordPress 3 Complete
April's WordPress 3 Book

Review

It took me longer than expected to read this.  There’s a lot of information presented here, and it turns out that WordPress itself is bigger than I had imagined.  It seems that there’s a whole culture that has grown up around this stuff, which is good because it means that the environment is rich and the possibilities are great, but it also means that it is easy to get lost.  That’s why it’s helpful to have a native guide, and that brings us back to April’s book.
Continue reading April’s Latest Book

January Geek Gather

“Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first day of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.”
— Henry Ward Beecher

  • Geek Gather
  • 6:30pm
  • Tuesday 2011.01.11
  • Chatterbox Cafe, Saint Paul, MN

Directions are here Google Maps if anyone needs them.

Updated to correct the date.