Meetup Mashup July 18, 2009 12:55 PM Subscribe
So, how was your meetup? What went wrong? What went right? What would you do different next time?
With so many meetups happening this weekend, I thought it might be a good idea to have after-actions in a little more of a long-form style than tweets. So if you have something to say about your meetup, here's your chance!
With so many meetups happening this weekend, I thought it might be a good idea to have after-actions in a little more of a long-form style than tweets. So if you have something to say about your meetup, here's your chance!
I didn't go. I did spend two minutes praying to the Big Model Railroader in the Sky that no metafites get roofied, rolled, or date-raped.
posted by bukvich at 1:06 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by bukvich at 1:06 PM on July 18, 2009
In retrospect, it was not a good idea to show Dennō Senshi Porygon on so many large Hi-Def televisions at once.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 1:13 PM on July 18, 2009 [6 favorites]
posted by furiousxgeorge at 1:13 PM on July 18, 2009 [6 favorites]
No enough bears juggling chain saws.
posted by iamabot at 1:16 PM on July 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by iamabot at 1:16 PM on July 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
We haven't had our official meetup yet (New Orleans), but there was plenty of hangover-earning done at Mimi's last night. These are some pretty awesome people. ColdChef is one hell of a host. So so far, nothing wrong other than that I can't shake this headache and I ate too much barbecue shrimp.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:16 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by middleclasstool at 1:16 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I put off making my spray painted gifts til it was too late and now they wont be ready in time. Booooo.
posted by The Whelk at 1:23 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by The Whelk at 1:23 PM on July 18, 2009
TOO MANY BEARS JUGGLING CHAIN SAWS.
posted by The White Hat at 1:24 PM on July 18, 2009 [6 favorites]
posted by The White Hat at 1:24 PM on July 18, 2009 [6 favorites]
There were too many people wearing the MeTa-gray color of shirt that were not, in fact, MeFites. I kept walking up to random tables asking "Metafilter?" and getting blank stares. Fortunately jamaro and sarahnade rescued me.
For the next meetup, I want a hologram of the migs signal to beam above the table.
posted by ambrosia at 1:35 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
For the next meetup, I want a hologram of the migs signal to beam above the table.
posted by ambrosia at 1:35 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I kept walking up to random tables asking "Metafilter?" and getting blank stares
"Are you a friend of Matt Haughey?" is traditional, I believe. Worked every time for me, anyway!
I haven't made it to one yet, but plan to tomorrow.
posted by goo at 1:49 PM on July 18, 2009
"Are you a friend of Matt Haughey?" is traditional, I believe. Worked every time for me, anyway!
I haven't made it to one yet, but plan to tomorrow.
posted by goo at 1:49 PM on July 18, 2009
Ours (in Dallas) is tonight. I'm just hoping that my Overthinking a Plate of Beans cake makes the hour long transport intact.
posted by dejah420 at 1:51 PM on July 18, 2009 [5 favorites]
posted by dejah420 at 1:51 PM on July 18, 2009 [5 favorites]
I would have added myself to the list of Mefites on Twitter. I'll be tweeting the NYC party at /misspinkkate.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:54 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:54 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I am already picturing a riot at the Dallas meetup as everyone scrambles to be the first to grab a handful of the cake and hide it somewhere in the room.
posted by ook at 2:15 PM on July 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by ook at 2:15 PM on July 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
MetaFilter: overthinking a cake of peas
posted by heyho at 2:42 PM on July 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by heyho at 2:42 PM on July 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
What would you do different next time?
The next 10 year reunion should be held sooner.
posted by DU at 2:43 PM on July 18, 2009 [6 favorites]
The next 10 year reunion should be held sooner.
posted by DU at 2:43 PM on July 18, 2009 [6 favorites]
Aw, why all the anti-celebratory emphasis on "what went wrong"? Many of us haven't had the anniversary meetup yet!
Yay Metafilter!
posted by painquale at 3:05 PM on July 18, 2009
Yay Metafilter!
posted by painquale at 3:05 PM on July 18, 2009
I wish the Berlin meetup hadn't been wiped from the face of meetup-dom! Last time, Your Time Machine Suck's spousa brought plastic toy animals, ostensibly for the children, and I was hoping for a redux.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 3:06 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 3:06 PM on July 18, 2009
dejah420, I may be overthinking that cake, but I think those are peas.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 3:13 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 3:13 PM on July 18, 2009
And now I can see that heyho also thinks that, so yay for me and commenting before finishing the thread.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 3:14 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 3:14 PM on July 18, 2009
No, no...they're bean pods. Beans. BEANS I tell you!
posted by dejah420 at 3:17 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by dejah420 at 3:17 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I always pictured kidney or baked beans, myself. Those are bean-peas. But still an awesome cake!
posted by goo at 3:22 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by goo at 3:22 PM on July 18, 2009
Peas.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:30 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:30 PM on July 18, 2009
So far, the only bad thing about the PDX meetup is that it hasn't started yet.
posted by rtha at 3:31 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by rtha at 3:31 PM on July 18, 2009
I kept walking up to random tables asking "Metafilter?" and getting blank stares
i did this last night when dashiv & i went in search of others in town for #mefi10nola. went to deja vu, where someone had tweeted they were having chili cheese fries about an hour earlier, and walked up to one of the only occupied tables. a couple who looked like they'd started drinking *early* in the day were sitting in front of empty glasses, so i walked up to them (safe enough bet, eh?)/ 'excuse me,' says i, 'are you here for the meetup?'
the guy heaved his head up, pivoted in my direction, stared for a second, and said, 'huh?' 'metafilter,' i said. 'HUH?' says the guy, and the woman just sat there sort of frozen. 'oh, never mind, my mistake,' i said. 'you see, we're looking for people we don't know.' the poor guy: 'HUH? WHA?' 'well of course, we don't know you, but you're not the people we don't know who we're looking for, you're just people we don't know.'
i slowly backed away from the table.
we headed down to molly's instead & were found by absalom, mygothlaundry, moonbird, middleclasstool, niceguymike, and new user jeannie whose username i can't remember sorry jeannie! don't mean to out you but i honestly can't remember!
a lively and surprisingly hungry group so far. official meetup begins in 2.5 hours!
posted by msconduct at 3:33 PM on July 18, 2009
i did this last night when dashiv & i went in search of others in town for #mefi10nola. went to deja vu, where someone had tweeted they were having chili cheese fries about an hour earlier, and walked up to one of the only occupied tables. a couple who looked like they'd started drinking *early* in the day were sitting in front of empty glasses, so i walked up to them (safe enough bet, eh?)/ 'excuse me,' says i, 'are you here for the meetup?'
the guy heaved his head up, pivoted in my direction, stared for a second, and said, 'huh?' 'metafilter,' i said. 'HUH?' says the guy, and the woman just sat there sort of frozen. 'oh, never mind, my mistake,' i said. 'you see, we're looking for people we don't know.' the poor guy: 'HUH? WHA?' 'well of course, we don't know you, but you're not the people we don't know who we're looking for, you're just people we don't know.'
i slowly backed away from the table.
we headed down to molly's instead & were found by absalom, mygothlaundry, moonbird, middleclasstool, niceguymike, and new user jeannie whose username i can't remember sorry jeannie! don't mean to out you but i honestly can't remember!
a lively and surprisingly hungry group so far. official meetup begins in 2.5 hours!
posted by msconduct at 3:33 PM on July 18, 2009
Have you people never seen beans before they're processed and put in a can???
posted by bwanabetty at 3:42 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by bwanabetty at 3:42 PM on July 18, 2009
I saw beans in a jar once. But I couldn't guess how many.
posted by ook at 3:48 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by ook at 3:48 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
Why yes, bwanabetty, I just picked some green beans for my dinner. Last month I was picking peas for dinner. Dejah420's adorable little peas in their pods look like storybook characters: Lil'beth, Jack-a-boy, and Teentsy (the littlest pea pod of them all) go on an adventure!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:48 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:48 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
Now that I think of it they might have been jelly beans. But those are grown in pods, aren't they?
posted by ook at 3:52 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by ook at 3:52 PM on July 18, 2009
And now I have to go on an adventure as I attempt to make Biryani (with peas) for dinner. Too bad there is no pea cake for dessert.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:52 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:52 PM on July 18, 2009
The sudden (re-?)confrontation everyone has been having in the last day or two with what kind of beans they are has, I will admit, been a source of joy to me.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:58 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:58 PM on July 18, 2009
I'd love it if the MeFi10 tagged photos also included geographic information. I've been scratching my head at where some of these are.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:05 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:05 PM on July 18, 2009
I totally borked my schedule and failed to make it to the DC meetup.
I can only imagine how depriving those poor people of my presence has darkened their lives.
posted by Nomiconic at 4:11 PM on July 18, 2009
I can only imagine how depriving those poor people of my presence has darkened their lives.
posted by Nomiconic at 4:11 PM on July 18, 2009
I was told there would be strippers.
Well, it's still early.
posted by mds35 at 4:16 PM on July 18, 2009
Well, it's still early.
posted by mds35 at 4:16 PM on July 18, 2009
I should be in Sao Paulo right now, but with my super busy work all week I have lamely had a long nap and am now sitting in my hotel room surfing the Internet instead.
I hope that Zé Pequeno finds it in his heart to forgive me...
posted by Meatbomb at 4:38 PM on July 18, 2009
I hope that Zé Pequeno finds it in his heart to forgive me...
posted by Meatbomb at 4:38 PM on July 18, 2009
Let me tell you, ColdChef knows how to make a prostitute smile. trufax.
posted by middleclasstool at 5:01 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by middleclasstool at 5:01 PM on July 18, 2009
how to make a prostitute smile
TBSAIT
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:17 PM on July 18, 2009 [3 favorites]
TBSAIT
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:17 PM on July 18, 2009 [3 favorites]
The only thing that could have made the Richmond, VA meetup better would have been some additional attendees! We just had me, rainbaby, junkbox+Mr. junkbox, and longtime lurker/recent RVA transplant Quantum Meruit. Perfect evening to sit outside, though.
In honor of Matt's Oregonian home base, I drank Widmer hefeweizen like it was my job. I would not dream of doing that differently.
posted by emelenjr at 6:03 PM on July 18, 2009
In honor of Matt's Oregonian home base, I drank Widmer hefeweizen like it was my job. I would not dream of doing that differently.
posted by emelenjr at 6:03 PM on July 18, 2009
fontophilic provided some first-rate table-tents that said "Are you from the internets?" In Metafilter Blue, which were quite handy.
Name tags woulda been nice, though -- I can remember meeting spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints (it's so simple & mnemonic, right?), freshwater_pr0n & popechunk , but I'm really not sure who-all else I met, username-wise.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:04 PM on July 18, 2009
Name tags woulda been nice, though -- I can remember meeting spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints (it's so simple & mnemonic, right?), freshwater_pr0n & popechunk , but I'm really not sure who-all else I met, username-wise.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:04 PM on July 18, 2009
beans! peas! beans! peas! beans! peas!
and a new MetaFilter meme is spun-off...
It does have a 'duck! rabbit!' style to it, so I'd like to be the first to add "would you like to shoot me now (for not making it to a meetup) or wait 'til you get home?"
posted by wendell at 6:18 PM on July 18, 2009
and a new MetaFilter meme is spun-off...
It does have a 'duck! rabbit!' style to it, so I'd like to be the first to add "would you like to shoot me now (for not making it to a meetup) or wait 'til you get home?"
posted by wendell at 6:18 PM on July 18, 2009
I'm pretty sure that I read once on Wikipedia that beans do grow on trees. I think that they have a special machine that shakes the beans out of the tree while the bean tree farmer's children laugh and dance underneath, gleeful that it is raining beans.
I should have planned better so that I could have gone to the meeting. I'll bet I missed a good time.
posted by double block and bleed at 6:25 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I should have planned better so that I could have gone to the meeting. I'll bet I missed a good time.
posted by double block and bleed at 6:25 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I really enjoyed our meetup, but I thought more of the people who rsvp'd yes or maybe would come. There are so many mefites in my area, but we numbered ten. And I already knew three of them :-)
posted by pinky at 6:31 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by pinky at 6:31 PM on July 18, 2009
Not many people showed up to the pre-meetup meetup at the park here in L.A. Which just left more of Thin Lizzy's awesome MetaFilter cupcakes for those who showed.
(Psst, we're bringing more to the nighttime meetup)
posted by Bookhouse at 6:37 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
(Psst, we're bringing more to the nighttime meetup)
posted by Bookhouse at 6:37 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I was feeling bad that I didn't plan to drive to a meetup but then my latest grandchild decided that this morning made a fine day to have a birthday.
As soon as he's old enough I'm gifting him an account for the occasion.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:44 PM on July 18, 2009 [5 favorites]
As soon as he's old enough I'm gifting him an account for the occasion.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:44 PM on July 18, 2009 [5 favorites]
We got our meeting done in Beijing, but since it was just the three of us who already knew each other plus friends at a regular haunt missed a bit of the special occasion flavour.
posted by Abiezer at 7:53 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by Abiezer at 7:53 PM on July 18, 2009
My only regret was that I forgot to wear my mattdidthat-official FIAMO t-shirt on the one day when it would have mattered, but then I got to the DC meetup, and Inara and I had a great time hanging out with a number of fine people, including orthagonality, with whom we ate some tasty portobellos.
And then anotherpanacea came up, introduced himself, and without irony asked what it was we were eating.
It was perfect, really.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:56 PM on July 18, 2009
And then anotherpanacea came up, introduced himself, and without irony asked what it was we were eating.
It was perfect, really.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:56 PM on July 18, 2009
The San Francisco picnic was delightful. Unfortunately I have to run a stage show tonight, so I couldn't attend the beach bonfire.
I met sambosambo, mattdidthat, potch, and many other MeFites whose handles I can't remember.
My only complaint is that Golden Gate Park is annoyingly difficult to access via public transit. Difficult in that it took me an hour and twenty minutes to get there via BART and SF Muni from Berkeley.
posted by spitefulcrow at 8:02 PM on July 18, 2009
I met sambosambo, mattdidthat, potch, and many other MeFites whose handles I can't remember.
My only complaint is that Golden Gate Park is annoyingly difficult to access via public transit. Difficult in that it took me an hour and twenty minutes to get there via BART and SF Muni from Berkeley.
posted by spitefulcrow at 8:02 PM on July 18, 2009
I checked out some pages of meetups that I thought would have been cool to go to and then proceeded to continue to pack for our move to Madison. Maybe then I'll eventually make it to a meetup.
posted by mrmojoflying at 8:02 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by mrmojoflying at 8:02 PM on July 18, 2009
Um, I'm an idiot and I forgot the key for my router. So everyone who wants wifi is fucked. And I'm a little too cautious to just reset the router and set the internet free.
posted by greekphilosophy at 8:46 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by greekphilosophy at 8:46 PM on July 18, 2009
There wasn't one within easy driving distance :(
also, I was too chickenshit to organize one on my own :( x2
posted by ArgentCorvid at 8:56 PM on July 18, 2009
also, I was too chickenshit to organize one on my own :( x2
posted by ArgentCorvid at 8:56 PM on July 18, 2009
Speaking for myself, the Boston crossed the "too many people" threshold. OVERSTIMULATION
posted by danb at 9:13 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by danb at 9:13 PM on July 18, 2009
It thought it was pretty kickass. danb, I wish I had realized at the time that you do Cruise Elroy!
posted by ignignokt at 9:55 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by ignignokt at 9:55 PM on July 18, 2009
Stickers at the Boston meetup were A+
posted by oinopaponton at 9:59 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by oinopaponton at 9:59 PM on July 18, 2009
In Toronto, things went well, save that gman had to respond to about thirty-five different people asking concernedly about the health of his dog.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:31 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:31 PM on July 18, 2009
NYC was the bomb! I bought 200 name tags and we ran out before the party was officially over. That may have been due to a large influx of non-Mefites near the end, but they were delightful, one and all.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:32 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:32 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
Toronto meetup was great! Actually it's probably still going on right now.
Name tags might have been a good idea, but also might have been too... I don't know what, exactly. But as discussed at the meet-up, they make people worry that some sort of team-building exercise is going to happen.
As a first-time meet-up attendee, I was kind of surprised that it took a while for the group as a whole to get rolling with the introductions thing. Several people arrived after I did, introduced themselves, and got friendly but anonymous responses. This isn't a criticism though, maybe just something for folks to keep in mind for future meet-ups?
Also we failed to obtain any beans that could be put on a plate and photographed. My suggestion was to photograph an empty plate, photoshop the beans in later, and get the NYT to publish it.
posted by FishBike at 10:39 PM on July 18, 2009
Name tags might have been a good idea, but also might have been too... I don't know what, exactly. But as discussed at the meet-up, they make people worry that some sort of team-building exercise is going to happen.
As a first-time meet-up attendee, I was kind of surprised that it took a while for the group as a whole to get rolling with the introductions thing. Several people arrived after I did, introduced themselves, and got friendly but anonymous responses. This isn't a criticism though, maybe just something for folks to keep in mind for future meet-ups?
Also we failed to obtain any beans that could be put on a plate and photographed. My suggestion was to photograph an empty plate, photoshop the beans in later, and get the NYT to publish it.
posted by FishBike at 10:39 PM on July 18, 2009
Also we failed to obtain any beans that could be put on a plate and photographed. My suggestion was to photograph an empty plate, photoshop the beans in later, and get the NYT to publish it.
Some of us came prepared.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 10:47 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
Some of us came prepared.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 10:47 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
dejah420, don't fret about the beans vs. peas dichotomy. I'm sure the pea-oriented people will simply pick the li'l fellers off and use them to decorate the vicinity shortly before you prepare to serve the pastry to the assembled Mefites.
posted by mwhybark at 10:53 PM on July 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by mwhybark at 10:53 PM on July 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
just got in from the Toronto meetup - it was great!! great turnout, great venue, great conversation.
i got to meet a ton of lovely people! kuujjuarapik (Todd) and Cheeto (Chelsea) made me feel welcome immediately (thanks guys!) and over the course of the night, i met gman, the dief, ricochet biscuit, dirtynumbangelboy, The Card Cheat, Fuzzy Monster, Go Banana, chunking express, randomination (and his +1, Michelle), maudlin, SassHat, skwt, tehloki, ODiV, Phire, Popular Ethics, seanmpuckett, joe clark...
i might be missing some (i met a few people whose names i didn't catch) but everyone i met was awesome.
it was a GREAT meetup! (thanks again, gman!)
posted by gursky at 11:04 PM on July 18, 2009
i got to meet a ton of lovely people! kuujjuarapik (Todd) and Cheeto (Chelsea) made me feel welcome immediately (thanks guys!) and over the course of the night, i met gman, the dief, ricochet biscuit, dirtynumbangelboy, The Card Cheat, Fuzzy Monster, Go Banana, chunking express, randomination (and his +1, Michelle), maudlin, SassHat, skwt, tehloki, ODiV, Phire, Popular Ethics, seanmpuckett, joe clark...
i might be missing some (i met a few people whose names i didn't catch) but everyone i met was awesome.
it was a GREAT meetup! (thanks again, gman!)
posted by gursky at 11:04 PM on July 18, 2009
SF meetup was great fun.
Kudos to whoever staked out the bonfire spot with the view of the gypsies roasting a pig/lamb/dog on a spit.
posted by clorox at 11:14 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
Kudos to whoever staked out the bonfire spot with the view of the gypsies roasting a pig/lamb/dog on a spit.
posted by clorox at 11:14 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
What would you do different next time?
data point: durian + caviar = fail
posted by small_ruminant at 11:15 PM on July 18, 2009 [5 favorites]
data point: durian + caviar = fail
posted by small_ruminant at 11:15 PM on July 18, 2009 [5 favorites]
The Dallas party was fantastic. Lots of folks showed up, everyone had a blast, and pictures will be forthcoming. I only wish I had remembered to bring name tags. But I tell ya, as a group, the Dallas crew is a fun, fun group! Plus, they're all gorgeous. This was a pretty, pretty table to sit at for dinner. And...we had belly dancers.
posted by dejah420 at 11:19 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by dejah420 at 11:19 PM on July 18, 2009
I loved that the SF one(s) were outdoors. I hate bars.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:44 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by small_ruminant at 11:44 PM on July 18, 2009
Not enough Walter Cronkite chat.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 11:50 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 11:50 PM on July 18, 2009
Not enough stickers for everybody.
posted by ostranenie at 11:59 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by ostranenie at 11:59 PM on July 18, 2009
Wrong: Somebody brought durian fruit to the party. Right: Same somebody brought whiskey to the party. The world is balanced.
posted by iamkimiam at 12:28 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by iamkimiam at 12:28 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry to have missed the SF meetups but the PDX meetup was pretty dam great.
posted by rtha at 12:42 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by rtha at 12:42 AM on July 19, 2009
Melbourne - we posted a "stunt post" and it got deleted.
posted by bendy at 12:51 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by bendy at 12:51 AM on July 19, 2009
The Boston meetup was great, around 60-70 people and the location was perfect - just the right size, just the right degree of semi-backroomness, and a very "Boston" vibe to the broader venue.
The only thing that was sort of weird is that most of our meetups are the same 10-15 people plus 5-10 semi-regulars and newcomers. This time we had all the regulars and about 50 newcomers. While I wasn't quite as overwhelmed as danb (who certainly covered it well), it was a little odd to find myself doing more introducing than catching up.
Total blast, though. Really enjoyed getting to know some new people, and catching up with some people I haven't seen in a while. The only sour note to the evening was getting back to my car, starting to leave, and realizing that traffic downtown was gridlocked *SOLID* due to the Jonas Brothers concert emptying out. Rather than drowning in semi-deafened soccer moms screaming at their urchins, we opted to trek back and grab some (surprisingly good) food downstairs.
posted by Ryvar at 12:53 AM on July 19, 2009
The only thing that was sort of weird is that most of our meetups are the same 10-15 people plus 5-10 semi-regulars and newcomers. This time we had all the regulars and about 50 newcomers. While I wasn't quite as overwhelmed as danb (who certainly covered it well), it was a little odd to find myself doing more introducing than catching up.
Total blast, though. Really enjoyed getting to know some new people, and catching up with some people I haven't seen in a while. The only sour note to the evening was getting back to my car, starting to leave, and realizing that traffic downtown was gridlocked *SOLID* due to the Jonas Brothers concert emptying out. Rather than drowning in semi-deafened soccer moms screaming at their urchins, we opted to trek back and grab some (surprisingly good) food downstairs.
posted by Ryvar at 12:53 AM on July 19, 2009
Should have worn comfy shoes. Should have brought name tags. Other than that? Flawless!
posted by Space Kitty at 1:00 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by Space Kitty at 1:00 AM on July 19, 2009
Like Space Kitty said, L.A. was flawless.
Thanks scody for setting it up. We packed a little bar with 50 or so Mefites (and thanks Thin Lizzy for the [+] and [!] cupcakes. )
posted by eyeballkid at 1:07 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
Thanks scody for setting it up. We packed a little bar with 50 or so Mefites (and thanks Thin Lizzy for the [+] and [!] cupcakes. )
posted by eyeballkid at 1:07 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
Yup, pretty much flawless up in Toronto, too.
Weirdly, though, we got crashed by a reporter from the local alt rag. She must've caught the buzz from the Globe.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 1:17 AM on July 19, 2009
Weirdly, though, we got crashed by a reporter from the local alt rag. She must've caught the buzz from the Globe.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 1:17 AM on July 19, 2009
SF was superior. Ours was the best. We win. Three locations to include the ocean plus a semi-location for pizza collection. We were indeed drinking whiskey and rye. We had a durian. One person brought the durian and a bottle of rye.
posted by ambient2 at 1:17 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by ambient2 at 1:17 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
Portland was a blast. Here's to another ten years!
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 1:24 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 1:24 AM on July 19, 2009
The Brisbane meetup was great! We ended up sitting in a nice dark little nook in a very funky cafe and chatted about .. well, pretty much everything. Everyone was sitting out the front of the cafe when I walked up and I was able to spot Jilder by her stunning hat and I said 'hi I'm hoopy err Linda! Yer Metafilterites, right?' and was greeted with, 'yes we are people from the Internet!' and b33j said 'if you hadn't turned up I would have had to track you down and hit you' and it all went swimmingly from there!
Thanks all and happy anniversary Metafilter!
posted by h00py at 1:36 AM on July 19, 2009
Thanks all and happy anniversary Metafilter!
posted by h00py at 1:36 AM on July 19, 2009
greekphilosophy and the Philadelphia Mefites put on a fabulous show. Totally glad I joined 'em.
posted by HotPatatta at 1:38 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by HotPatatta at 1:38 AM on July 19, 2009
Sydney turned on the weather for us, bloody ripper day!
Sydney venue
Everyone was totally friendly.
posted by Duke999R at 1:38 AM on July 19, 2009
Sydney venue
Everyone was totally friendly.
posted by Duke999R at 1:38 AM on July 19, 2009
Yeah, LA bar bash at the Formosa went perfectly -- we'll definitely have to go back there for another large meetup. Special thanks to Thin Lizzy for the cupcakes! And to mandymanwasregistered for the picnic in the park, as well... I'm just sorry the heat conspired to make so many flake out on that part of the day.
Good to see some new faces, as well as plenty of old friends. A very happy anniversary indeed!
posted by scody at 1:39 AM on July 19, 2009
Good to see some new faces, as well as plenty of old friends. A very happy anniversary indeed!
posted by scody at 1:39 AM on July 19, 2009
I had a great time at the DC meetup (although I would be lying if I claimed I expected to remember everyone's name tomorrow). Overall it seemed like a phenomenal success (but I expect it has become clear that my opinion is a bit biased at this particular point in time as I am, ahem, not quite myself at the moment).
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:40 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:40 AM on July 19, 2009
how was your meetup? really, really small; we were me, my husband, and my dog. Husband doesn't have a membership, but he still counts because I force him to read occasional threads, and while he's not quite sure about the difference between metafilter and metachat, he doesn't call it "that blue site". The dog counts, because she's been a subject of AskMe, plus she sits under the table while I read Metafilter and looks up at me every time I chuckle. Then she sort of wearily flops her head back down as if to say, eh, meh, just that site again; nothing to get excited about. Like a walk, for example. Is it time for a walk yet? Is it? Is it?.
What went wrong? Not a thing; the shrimp were delicious, the alcohol flowed, and the conversation was stimulating.
What went right? Nobody got lost, nobody puked, and since it was over 100F outside, our choice of location (the kitchen) was perfect.
What would you do different next time? I might be arsed to actually try to organize a Greek meetup, but the numbers don't look so good.
posted by taz at 1:52 AM on July 19, 2009 [3 favorites]
What went wrong? Not a thing; the shrimp were delicious, the alcohol flowed, and the conversation was stimulating.
What went right? Nobody got lost, nobody puked, and since it was over 100F outside, our choice of location (the kitchen) was perfect.
What would you do different next time? I might be arsed to actually try to organize a Greek meetup, but the numbers don't look so good.
posted by taz at 1:52 AM on July 19, 2009 [3 favorites]
The greatest fortune cookie fortune EVAR!@@#@#!!!!
posted by ColdChef at 1:54 AM on July 19, 2009 [13 favorites]
posted by ColdChef at 1:54 AM on July 19, 2009 [13 favorites]
Another fantastic L.A. meetup! I had a great time. I know I promised a whole bunch of Mefites the Metafilter [more inside] stuffed cupcake recipe so here it is (obsessive process photos can be found on my flickr page). My apologies in advance for the super-long MetaTalk comment:
If you want to make custom fondant cutters-
Print out the shapes and tape the paper to foam core. Take a pin and prick holes around the shapes to transfer the outline. Cut out the foam core shapes. Cut out strips of metal (the bottom of a disposable baking pan works great) and bend around the shapes. Super-glue the ends and clamp while drying.
Make the filling before you make the cupcakes because it needs to cool-
1 tbsp. cocoa powder, 1 3/4 tbsp. corn starch, 6 tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 2 egg yolks, 1 cup whole milk, 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped, 3 drops almond extract, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 1/2 tsp unsalted butter
Put everything except the butter and vanilla in a sauce pan over medium high heat and stir constantly until you've brought it to a boil and it starts to thicken. Strain through a mesh strainer, then stir in the butter and vanilla immediately. Pour into a big plastic bag and cool in the fridge for a few hours.
Then make the cupcakes-
2 cups all purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup butter, 2 tsp. vanilla, 2 eggs
Put everything except for the eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix until just incorporated. Beat on high for 2 minutes- 3 if you're using a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer. Add eggs one at a time and beat on low speed after each one until incorporated. Beat on high again for another 2-3 minutes (depending on your mixer). Line cupcake tins with papers and fill no more than 2/3rds full. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Stick them in the fridge and let them chill before frosting.
Then make the fondant-
1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/2 cup shortening, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. clear vanilla, 1.5 lbs powdered sugar, plus additional powdered sugar and cornstarch as needed. You'll also want to pick up a can of store-bought chocolate frosting (not whipped).
Stir together the corn syrup and shortening. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Slowly mix in the sugar by hand. When it becomes too thick to stir, kneed it in. Keep a 50/50 mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch on hand to dust your hands with. When coloring the fondant, only use gel colors (you can get them at a baking supply store for less than $2 each). Water based colors (like the droppers at the grocery store) will break down the fondant and turn it into a sticky mess. Kneed in the coloring. Wrap each ball of fondant in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Once taken out and used, keep fondant at room temperature, otherwise it will start sweating.
To fill:
Take a paring knife and hold it at a 45 degree angle. Cut in a circle around the top of a cupcake. Flip out the cone of cake and cut the inner cone off, leaving the top. Cut the corner off the bag of pudding and use it as a pastry bag to fill the cupcake and stick the top back on.
To decorate:
Use the store bought chocolate frosting to do a very thin crumb-coat on the top of the cupcake. Make sure the seam where you filled the cupcake is now filled in with frosting. Roll out your fondant to 1/4" thick (make sure to dust your area with the cornstarch/sugar mixture) and cut a circle out with a cutter or glass. Lay this on top of the crumb coat. Stick some of the store bought frosting in a ziplock bag and cut a tiny hole in one corner to use as another pastry bag. Cut out decorative shapes with the cutters you made and stick fondant to fondant with a small dab of frosting. Brush finished cupcakes with the cornstarch/sugar mixture to retain their matte finish.
posted by Thin Lizzy at 2:38 AM on July 19, 2009 [19 favorites]
If you want to make custom fondant cutters-
Print out the shapes and tape the paper to foam core. Take a pin and prick holes around the shapes to transfer the outline. Cut out the foam core shapes. Cut out strips of metal (the bottom of a disposable baking pan works great) and bend around the shapes. Super-glue the ends and clamp while drying.
Make the filling before you make the cupcakes because it needs to cool-
1 tbsp. cocoa powder, 1 3/4 tbsp. corn starch, 6 tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 2 egg yolks, 1 cup whole milk, 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped, 3 drops almond extract, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 1/2 tsp unsalted butter
Put everything except the butter and vanilla in a sauce pan over medium high heat and stir constantly until you've brought it to a boil and it starts to thicken. Strain through a mesh strainer, then stir in the butter and vanilla immediately. Pour into a big plastic bag and cool in the fridge for a few hours.
Then make the cupcakes-
2 cups all purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup butter, 2 tsp. vanilla, 2 eggs
Put everything except for the eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix until just incorporated. Beat on high for 2 minutes- 3 if you're using a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer. Add eggs one at a time and beat on low speed after each one until incorporated. Beat on high again for another 2-3 minutes (depending on your mixer). Line cupcake tins with papers and fill no more than 2/3rds full. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Stick them in the fridge and let them chill before frosting.
Then make the fondant-
1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/2 cup shortening, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. clear vanilla, 1.5 lbs powdered sugar, plus additional powdered sugar and cornstarch as needed. You'll also want to pick up a can of store-bought chocolate frosting (not whipped).
Stir together the corn syrup and shortening. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Slowly mix in the sugar by hand. When it becomes too thick to stir, kneed it in. Keep a 50/50 mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch on hand to dust your hands with. When coloring the fondant, only use gel colors (you can get them at a baking supply store for less than $2 each). Water based colors (like the droppers at the grocery store) will break down the fondant and turn it into a sticky mess. Kneed in the coloring. Wrap each ball of fondant in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Once taken out and used, keep fondant at room temperature, otherwise it will start sweating.
To fill:
Take a paring knife and hold it at a 45 degree angle. Cut in a circle around the top of a cupcake. Flip out the cone of cake and cut the inner cone off, leaving the top. Cut the corner off the bag of pudding and use it as a pastry bag to fill the cupcake and stick the top back on.
To decorate:
Use the store bought chocolate frosting to do a very thin crumb-coat on the top of the cupcake. Make sure the seam where you filled the cupcake is now filled in with frosting. Roll out your fondant to 1/4" thick (make sure to dust your area with the cornstarch/sugar mixture) and cut a circle out with a cutter or glass. Lay this on top of the crumb coat. Stick some of the store bought frosting in a ziplock bag and cut a tiny hole in one corner to use as another pastry bag. Cut out decorative shapes with the cutters you made and stick fondant to fondant with a small dab of frosting. Brush finished cupcakes with the cornstarch/sugar mixture to retain their matte finish.
posted by Thin Lizzy at 2:38 AM on July 19, 2009 [19 favorites]
I and my two best pals these days (H1 and N1) had a nice light supper and a cuddle. MAYBE in 10 years we'll do it again; I'd be willing to not, in spite of the special intimacy.
posted by reflecked at 2:41 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by reflecked at 2:41 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
For those of you who missed the Budapest meetup… count yourselves lucky, perhaps. Oh… how do I begin… first off, only me and the visiting Breadfruit and friends were there. Others had notified me that they were not coming but we both had had hoped for a surprise visit by Dee Extrovert. Meanwhile, during the afternoon Hungary was beset by unusually violent summer thunder storms.
I had reserved the normally quiet and alternative-friendly Csiga Café a week ahead, but at the last minute they had booked a local stag party. I was thinking of changing venues, but the stormy weather made staying in one place seem a better idea. Luckily, because of the storms, only 15 of their expected 50 showed up. These were clean cut yuppie fascists wearing Hungarian nationalist T-shirts who spent the next four hours bellowing racist, anti-Semitic, and anti Gypsy chants and performing skits involving yarmulkes and spray-painting the bathroom wall with a slogan that identified the groom as the co-editor of a rightist magazine edited by the Hungarian mercenary that got killed while plotting to assassinate Bolivian president Evo Morales last april. The bar owner spent the evening hiding in the kitchen.
Budapest is never, ever boring.
Need I mention that I am Jewish and Breadfruit is originally from India and both of us speak Hungarian? Lucky for us, we were in no danger, it was almost amusing in a sociological kind of way. Also, a large contingent of Breadfruit's acquaintances were visiting Estonians, and Hungarian nationalists generally don't have any beef with a table full of girls chatting in Estonian.
Around midnight the right wingers jump up and abruptly disappear, and soon a troop of Budapest police showed up looking for them, and it seems that while fleeing from the cops one of them stole the bicycle of Breadfruit’s friend. We don’t know what the fuck happened.
Next time I vote for a meetup in Romania. I think I’ll have that little drinky now.
posted by zaelic at 3:13 AM on July 19, 2009 [25 favorites]
I had reserved the normally quiet and alternative-friendly Csiga Café a week ahead, but at the last minute they had booked a local stag party. I was thinking of changing venues, but the stormy weather made staying in one place seem a better idea. Luckily, because of the storms, only 15 of their expected 50 showed up. These were clean cut yuppie fascists wearing Hungarian nationalist T-shirts who spent the next four hours bellowing racist, anti-Semitic, and anti Gypsy chants and performing skits involving yarmulkes and spray-painting the bathroom wall with a slogan that identified the groom as the co-editor of a rightist magazine edited by the Hungarian mercenary that got killed while plotting to assassinate Bolivian president Evo Morales last april. The bar owner spent the evening hiding in the kitchen.
Budapest is never, ever boring.
Need I mention that I am Jewish and Breadfruit is originally from India and both of us speak Hungarian? Lucky for us, we were in no danger, it was almost amusing in a sociological kind of way. Also, a large contingent of Breadfruit's acquaintances were visiting Estonians, and Hungarian nationalists generally don't have any beef with a table full of girls chatting in Estonian.
Around midnight the right wingers jump up and abruptly disappear, and soon a troop of Budapest police showed up looking for them, and it seems that while fleeing from the cops one of them stole the bicycle of Breadfruit’s friend. We don’t know what the fuck happened.
Next time I vote for a meetup in Romania. I think I’ll have that little drinky now.
posted by zaelic at 3:13 AM on July 19, 2009 [25 favorites]
All the Nazi's and gypsy haters at the Sydney meetup left early. Well, except me and Tellurian. There are photos somewhere, but it was an awesome afternoon out. The weather couldn't be bought and I have now officially made profit from metafilter! There were about a dozen present, and although there was a little angst when we heard Melbourne was streaming video, we figured they were also streaming rain, so we sat in the sun drinking beer instead.
posted by bystander at 5:51 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by bystander at 5:51 AM on July 19, 2009
"The rest of you: as you were", bendy?!? I'm sorry, but that's not a shoutout, that's barely a mumbleout.
posted by wendell at 6:06 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by wendell at 6:06 AM on July 19, 2009
Not enough Walter Cronkite chat.
Speak for yerself -- I shared a table with the dief.
Anyway, Toronto's was brilliant: thanks very much to gman for putting it together.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:35 AM on July 19, 2009
Speak for yerself -- I shared a table with the dief.
Anyway, Toronto's was brilliant: thanks very much to gman for putting it together.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:35 AM on July 19, 2009
Everybody at the NYC meetup is still passed out, apparently; there's how well our meetup went!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:48 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:48 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
> Shoutouts!
Hah! The rest of you:suck it! as you were!
posted by languagehat at 6:59 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
Hah! The rest of you:
posted by languagehat at 6:59 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
Madison: small, friendly city, small, friendly meetup. But we're all old and we were all home by eleven! That's summer in a college town....
posted by escabeche at 7:06 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by escabeche at 7:06 AM on July 19, 2009
Awesome clip with birthday wishes from a soon-to-be mefite in Chicago - too funny.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:34 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by madamjujujive at 7:34 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
Boston was pretty cool although really packed! Apples to Apples, Broken Picture Telephone and lots of talking and drinking, and stories with houses with exploding sewerlines in the basement.
posted by canine epigram at 8:06 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by canine epigram at 8:06 AM on July 19, 2009
This meetup was by far the greatest credit-received:effort-expended ratio for me ever. The entire night people were thanking me for organizing it, and hell if I did more than clicking a few buttons and making a few posts.
Still, glad everyone had fun, and it was great to put some faces to names.
posted by explosion at 8:07 AM on July 19, 2009
Still, glad everyone had fun, and it was great to put some faces to names.
posted by explosion at 8:07 AM on July 19, 2009
New York was fantastic. There was music, and dancing, and cupcakes that turned people's mouths blue.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:13 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by ocherdraco at 8:13 AM on July 19, 2009
Chicago could not have been improved upon. Well, I would have brought my own bottle opener. But that's it.
posted by desjardins at 8:36 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by desjardins at 8:36 AM on July 19, 2009
Boston was awesome. Not a flash to be seen! The only complaint I had was that this was in a bar that did not serve vodka. Apparently, I should have inferred this by the words "micro brewery," but I have been to many a brewery before were the harder spirits were available.
(And yeah, I don't usually drink, but g-ddamnit, I had to spend as much time on the effin' train as I did AT the meetup, AND I had to leave early to get home, so I was gonna PARTY.)
I didn't think there were too many people... until I came in here and saw users who were apparently in Boston who I don't recall meeting. And I didn't even have vodka! So, uh, perhaps it was a bit of a crowd. And yeah, there was definitely a moment where I felt TORN between "hanging out with 'old meetup' clique... or play APPLES TO APPLES." There really was a sort of clique, but it wasn't in any exclusionary sort of way.
Except when I got kicked out of The Chair. That was most definitely exclusionary.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:47 AM on July 19, 2009
(And yeah, I don't usually drink, but g-ddamnit, I had to spend as much time on the effin' train as I did AT the meetup, AND I had to leave early to get home, so I was gonna PARTY.)
I didn't think there were too many people... until I came in here and saw users who were apparently in Boston who I don't recall meeting. And I didn't even have vodka! So, uh, perhaps it was a bit of a crowd. And yeah, there was definitely a moment where I felt TORN between "hanging out with 'old meetup' clique... or play APPLES TO APPLES." There really was a sort of clique, but it wasn't in any exclusionary sort of way.
Except when I got kicked out of The Chair. That was most definitely exclusionary.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:47 AM on July 19, 2009
I CAN HAZ PHOTOS. (Is this were I post them? I don't even know.)
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:58 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:58 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
grapefruitmoon - I was debating starting another MeTa requesting meetup photos, as my working-Saturday lameness kept me from attending the Portland one. Then I thought those wanting to share were likely to post them in here. Either way is fine with me, but I'll probably refrain from starting the MeTa for the moment - there's a fair amount of vicarious fun in here!
posted by EatTheWeek at 9:14 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by EatTheWeek at 9:14 AM on July 19, 2009
Yeah, Boston was great except that the venue was very noisy. Would have loved to meet the 50 or so newcomers, but I couldn't hear anything.
posted by Melismata at 9:16 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by Melismata at 9:16 AM on July 19, 2009
Your meetup page should have an "add photos" link in the upper right-hand corner.
posted by eamondaly at 9:17 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by eamondaly at 9:17 AM on July 19, 2009
Thnx, eamondaly. Now added to Boston page.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:25 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:25 AM on July 19, 2009
Can I just say: what kind of a bar is out of wings at 7:30 on a saturday?
posted by juv3nal at 9:28 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by juv3nal at 9:28 AM on July 19, 2009
We have to go to each individual meetup page to see people's photo links? Can we have a thread/link that compiles all the individual thread photo links (not just Flickr photos tagged with Mefi10)?
posted by iamkimiam at 9:41 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by iamkimiam at 9:41 AM on July 19, 2009
Can we have a thread/link that compiles all the individual thread photo links (not just Flickr photos tagged with Mefi10)?
I bet pb would be able to throw that together, yeah, if we ask him really nicely.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:44 AM on July 19, 2009
I bet pb would be able to throw that together, yeah, if we ask him really nicely.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:44 AM on July 19, 2009
Will second the Boston = awesome sentiments. This was my first meetup, but I felt very welcomed and would definitely attend another in the future. I didn't meet everyone by far, but everyone I did chat with was pretty excellent. Good venue, too - plenty of space for the size of group, good light, decent appetizers. I also enjoyed having my picture taken overthinking Horace Rumpole's plate of beans.
posted by marginaliana at 9:47 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by marginaliana at 9:47 AM on July 19, 2009
I wanted to go and when I thought more specifically about it, I realized, I have absolutely no self-esteem at all. So I stayed home and read old posts.
posted by anniecat at 10:02 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by anniecat at 10:02 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
Hi pb,
I was wondering if you wouldn't mind putting something together, maybe a link, that compiles all the links people have posted of their Mefi10 meetup pictures? That way, we don't have to visit each individual meetup thread to view pictures, and we aren't missing out on links to pictures not posted on Flickr and tagged with Mefi10. If it's too much trouble, no worries. If it can be done easily, that would be super swell. Thanks!
Best,
Kim
posted by iamkimiam at 10:03 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
I was wondering if you wouldn't mind putting something together, maybe a link, that compiles all the links people have posted of their Mefi10 meetup pictures? That way, we don't have to visit each individual meetup thread to view pictures, and we aren't missing out on links to pictures not posted on Flickr and tagged with Mefi10. If it's too much trouble, no worries. If it can be done easily, that would be super swell. Thanks!
Best,
Kim
posted by iamkimiam at 10:03 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
Please.
Shit, what part of 'ask nicely' didn't I understand?
posted by iamkimiam at 10:04 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
Shit, what part of 'ask nicely' didn't I understand?
posted by iamkimiam at 10:04 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
The Kamloops meetup was reduced to the ultimate in MiniMeetups but good times were had by all on the beach. Notwithstanding the crazy wind that had waves breaking on the beach across the direction of flow of the river.
posted by Mitheral at 10:10 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by Mitheral at 10:10 AM on July 19, 2009
The Boston meetup was made of win. This was my first meetup, and I thought the whole experience was way greater than the sum of its parts, and the parts were pretty freakin' awesome. It had a plate of beans, broken picture telephone, enough room to circulate and breathe, and a giant herd of snarky, interesting, charming mefites! It was a wee bit loud and by no means did I get to meet everyone, but I had a good time, my +1 had a good time, and the whole experience cemented my belief that mefites = doubleplusgood folk, so yay Plate of Beantown!
posted by Diagonalize at 10:12 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by Diagonalize at 10:12 AM on July 19, 2009
We need to find a way to flag these videos as inappropriate.
posted by eamondaly at 10:20 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by eamondaly at 10:20 AM on July 19, 2009
I would not be feeling yucky/slightly ill and burned out/ vaguely hostile-feeling after putting together job applications regardless, and consequently would have gone.
posted by raysmj at 10:20 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by raysmj at 10:20 AM on July 19, 2009
or not have been. anybody in nola who wanted to say hello, write and maybe we can do lunch or something! doing better today, albeit still not quite over the burned out part.
posted by raysmj at 10:22 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by raysmj at 10:22 AM on July 19, 2009
I have nothing but praise for the Portland meetup. It was ten different kinds of amazing! I met so many fascinating people, and I felt right at home. I'm already looking forward to the next meetup.
One thing that worked well is that we arranged for an impromptu pre-meetup gathering. Five of us MeFites met at a central downtown location beforehand, got briefly acquainted with one another, and traveled to the meetup together on public transit. This turned out to be a great way to ease into the social environment of the larger meetup and allay a bit of social anxiety. I really enjoyed having company for the round trip. I would definitely do this again!
posted by velvet winter at 10:35 AM on July 19, 2009
One thing that worked well is that we arranged for an impromptu pre-meetup gathering. Five of us MeFites met at a central downtown location beforehand, got briefly acquainted with one another, and traveled to the meetup together on public transit. This turned out to be a great way to ease into the social environment of the larger meetup and allay a bit of social anxiety. I really enjoyed having company for the round trip. I would definitely do this again!
posted by velvet winter at 10:35 AM on July 19, 2009
Thin Lizzy, words cannot express how awesome those cupcakes are. Thank you for posting the recipe!
posted by velvet winter at 10:38 AM on July 19, 2009
posted by velvet winter at 10:38 AM on July 19, 2009
The Washington DC meetup was most awesome. Everyone was very cool and the cake was delicious.
I could have done without my $112 bar tab of all PBR though.
posted by Loto at 10:43 AM on July 19, 2009
I could have done without my $112 bar tab of all PBR though.
posted by Loto at 10:43 AM on July 19, 2009
Madison: What escabeche said. It was just mimi & her fella, escabeche, and me. We had us some lovely conversations and all left at the same time, so we didn't get to have the traditional "talk about people after they've left."
But we can do that next time.
posted by Floydd at 10:45 AM on July 19, 2009
But we can do that next time.
posted by Floydd at 10:45 AM on July 19, 2009
I will now forever refer to Boston as "Plate of Beantown," which is not going to help with that "people looking at me like I'm insane" thing.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:46 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:46 AM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
SF Post-bonfire bar band could have used 100% more banjo. I don't really understand how you have a band with a fiddle, mandolin, uke, and kazoo but there's no banjo. Apparently they don't really want to sleep with hipster girls.
Also, the fire should have been ten times bigger! Nerds, alcohol, ocean, and fire: always a good combination!
posted by sarahnade at 10:56 AM on July 19, 2009
Also, the fire should have been ten times bigger! Nerds, alcohol, ocean, and fire: always a good combination!
posted by sarahnade at 10:56 AM on July 19, 2009
In SF, a wolf - named Blue - materialized at our feet.
Quod erat demonstrandum.
posted by thejoshu at 11:52 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
Quod erat demonstrandum.
posted by thejoshu at 11:52 AM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
The Phily meetup was lovely, as always. I only wish we could've shown up earlier and stayed later than we did, as I only got to talk to a tenth of the people I wanted to. :(
Anyway, good show, greekphilosophy and lagreen. Wonderful time, and thank you both for putting this shindig together.
posted by shiu mai baby at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2009
Anyway, good show, greekphilosophy and lagreen. Wonderful time, and thank you both for putting this shindig together.
posted by shiu mai baby at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2009
*Philly, obviously. Still so sleepy I can't type the name of mah own damn city proper.
posted by shiu mai baby at 12:09 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by shiu mai baby at 12:09 PM on July 19, 2009
explosion - I felt the same way - clicking a few buttons, sending a few MeMails and phoning to make a reservation = not very much work at all.
Things I am glad I did - seeing this thread before leaving home, and thus bringing name tags. Contacting everyone on the list of both confirmed and maybes (and a few others I thought might be around) - I think that contributed to all but one of the confirmed, and a few others all showing up. (Course, with a limit of 30 MeMails an hour - something like New York's hundreds would be time consuming).
Things I wish I did - bring the cable to attach the camera to the computer. I made do with the webcam for shoutouts and a few pics for Flickr-age, but it would've been faster with the cable. Also, I would confirm that there wasn't going to be a loud band playing in a small venue - luckily we were able to move to an outside table (though the attenuation of the music was barely palpable). Also, I would make the MetaFilter sign bigger - a handful of people who attended said "A sign would've been good" - and then I pointed out the letter sized sign, and that was unsatisfactory...
posted by birdsquared at 12:11 PM on July 19, 2009
Things I am glad I did - seeing this thread before leaving home, and thus bringing name tags. Contacting everyone on the list of both confirmed and maybes (and a few others I thought might be around) - I think that contributed to all but one of the confirmed, and a few others all showing up. (Course, with a limit of 30 MeMails an hour - something like New York's hundreds would be time consuming).
Things I wish I did - bring the cable to attach the camera to the computer. I made do with the webcam for shoutouts and a few pics for Flickr-age, but it would've been faster with the cable. Also, I would confirm that there wasn't going to be a loud band playing in a small venue - luckily we were able to move to an outside table (though the attenuation of the music was barely palpable). Also, I would make the MetaFilter sign bigger - a handful of people who attended said "A sign would've been good" - and then I pointed out the letter sized sign, and that was unsatisfactory...
posted by birdsquared at 12:11 PM on July 19, 2009
What went wrong? I'll tell you what went wrong. "There are no other MetaFilter members nearby, sorry."
But zero is OK. Zero is way less pressure than one would be.
posted by pracowity at 1:02 PM on July 19, 2009
But zero is OK. Zero is way less pressure than one would be.
posted by pracowity at 1:02 PM on July 19, 2009
I thought all the stickers and flags and things people made (not to mention the cake!) really made it feel like a party. I might be in a minority but I kind of wish there had been fewer chairs and tables so folks would have moved around more. Looks like things loosened up considerably after I had tro make my early exit though.
Small number of DC photos here.
posted by JoanArkham at 1:51 PM on July 19, 2009
Small number of DC photos here.
posted by JoanArkham at 1:51 PM on July 19, 2009
Hangover helpers from around the world.
*some of them make me wanna puke. Tripe fuckin' soup?
posted by gman at 2:37 PM on July 19, 2009
*some of them make me wanna puke. Tripe fuckin' soup?
posted by gman at 2:37 PM on July 19, 2009
Er, Otis 24...hic...and I...hic...ended up with the whiskey.
hic
posted by iamkimiam at 3:07 PM on July 19, 2009
hic
posted by iamkimiam at 3:07 PM on July 19, 2009
Sadly, there was no bacon or bread in the house this afternoon, but the leftover risotto and a cheese-veggie omelet seemed to hit the spot.
posted by maudlin at 3:09 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by maudlin at 3:09 PM on July 19, 2009
I'm having trouble adding photos to the SF meetup page -- keep getting the "This action requires Javascript" page, even though js is enabled on my IE7 and FF. Weird.
Anyhoo, photos here.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 3:19 PM on July 19, 2009
Anyhoo, photos here.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 3:19 PM on July 19, 2009
I think there needs to be a mega-meetup somewhere soon, for those of us unable to attend the 10th, to help assuage our sadness/envy/remorse from not attending thie weekend's festivities.
posted by jayder at 3:31 PM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by jayder at 3:31 PM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
My best friend got married on the same night that the closest celebration was scheduled...so next time I would try to make it to a meetup.
This is my sad face, cuz I couldn't come...
:<
posted by schyler523 at 4:19 PM on July 19, 2009
This is my sad face, cuz I couldn't come...
:<
posted by schyler523 at 4:19 PM on July 19, 2009
I think there needs to be a mega-meetup somewhere soon, for those of us unable to attend the 10th, to help assuage our sadness/envy/remorse from not attending thie weekend's festivities.
A Makeup Meetup?
posted by pjern at 4:24 PM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
A Makeup Meetup?
posted by pjern at 4:24 PM on July 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
I think LA would've been better if I hadn't come down with a migraine at 1730 on Friday, half an hour before work let out, and thus hadn't spent the rest of the weekend on Planet Fairytale's Other Head Vaguely Hurts.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 5:56 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 5:56 PM on July 19, 2009
What would you do different next time?
ColdChef in a ball gown.
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:10 PM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
ColdChef in a ball gown.
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:10 PM on July 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
bystander - no rain in melbourne... hells, I got sunburnt yesterday (though that was prior to the pub-indoorsery of the meetup)... I'll admit you guys did have a better view though...
posted by russm at 6:25 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by russm at 6:25 PM on July 19, 2009
*some of them make me wanna puke. Tripe fuckin' soup?
I can vouch for tripe soup - ate a lot of it in Turkey *yum*
As for leaving "early", it was so beautiful & sunny that I was afraid of the rooftop turning cold once the sun fell below the trees - clear days in winter usually mean chilly evenings.
Mustn't have been in a mental state to conceive of a simple solution like simply going inside.
Regrets? Well, I appreciate a good pub hamburger, and those guys just weren't even trying. As a bare minimum, they should prepare their own patties, not use some kind of frozen styrofoam. Especially if it's going to take almost an hour to arrive, lukewarm.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:43 PM on July 19, 2009
I can vouch for tripe soup - ate a lot of it in Turkey *yum*
As for leaving "early", it was so beautiful & sunny that I was afraid of the rooftop turning cold once the sun fell below the trees - clear days in winter usually mean chilly evenings.
Mustn't have been in a mental state to conceive of a simple solution like simply going inside.
Regrets? Well, I appreciate a good pub hamburger, and those guys just weren't even trying. As a bare minimum, they should prepare their own patties, not use some kind of frozen styrofoam. Especially if it's going to take almost an hour to arrive, lukewarm.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:43 PM on July 19, 2009
My only regret? Not staying in New Orleans the extra day - I drove back to Fort Worth today. The meetup was utterly fantastic, as were the various mini-meets and wanderings around the city on Friday and Saturday.
NOLA piccy pool is Here, plus I've got a few additional ones in a set Here.
I'll sort out the Aquarium and War Museum pictures once I catch my breath. And, you know, unpack and stuff.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 6:53 PM on July 19, 2009
NOLA piccy pool is Here, plus I've got a few additional ones in a set Here.
I'll sort out the Aquarium and War Museum pictures once I catch my breath. And, you know, unpack and stuff.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 6:53 PM on July 19, 2009
Whoa, which meetup was this?!
Antarctica. eotvos throws one hell of a party.
posted by maqsarian at 7:05 PM on July 19, 2009
Antarctica. eotvos throws one hell of a party.
posted by maqsarian at 7:05 PM on July 19, 2009
I would book my flight to Portland, OR much earlier!
posted by humannaire at 7:10 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by humannaire at 7:10 PM on July 19, 2009
Garsh, gorgeous gals with glasses galore! Matt could open up a fetishist subsite and he'd be a millionaire in no time. BespectacleMe.
posted by Devils Slide at 8:51 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by Devils Slide at 8:51 PM on July 19, 2009
What went right:
My sister accompanied me since my husband had a band gig. She bumped into lots of virtual comrades from her days on Echo and The Well, so I actually was able to talk to other human beings while in her presence, rather than stand in the corner and contemplate the floor (Plan A).
what went wrong:
Aforementioned sister decided the internet is waaaay too small.
Also:
Metafilter Blue...
Poo?
Who Knew?
posted by stagewhisper at 8:51 PM on July 19, 2009
My sister accompanied me since my husband had a band gig. She bumped into lots of virtual comrades from her days on Echo and The Well, so I actually was able to talk to other human beings while in her presence, rather than stand in the corner and contemplate the floor (Plan A).
what went wrong:
Aforementioned sister decided the internet is waaaay too small.
Also:
Metafilter Blue...
Poo?
Who Knew?
posted by stagewhisper at 8:51 PM on July 19, 2009
Just got back from my second MeFi 10 meetup in the REAL Portland--full of win all around. Polar opposite from Boston in terms of size, but so much fun. Mainers are cool.The only thing that would improve the meetups I attended would be to (as Eideteker suggested today) have my own private jet so I could go to MORE meetups.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 8:59 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by DiscourseMarker at 8:59 PM on July 19, 2009
Oh yes, the private jet. Mile High Meetup club, here I come!
posted by Eideteker at 9:30 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by Eideteker at 9:30 PM on July 19, 2009
I have sand all over my bathroom floor because I came home with my jeans still on.
Also my dog smells like bonfire and he still isn't telling me his username.
posted by tangerine at 9:55 PM on July 19, 2009 [3 favorites]
Also my dog smells like bonfire and he still isn't telling me his username.
posted by tangerine at 9:55 PM on July 19, 2009 [3 favorites]
someone had tweeted they were having chili cheese fries
Dude, that was us. I felt like we were tweeting into the ether for a long time, there, like screaming into the darkness and not hearing an echo. But we made it to Mimi's on Friday and The Columns on Saturday and all was good.
posted by cabingirl at 9:56 PM on July 19, 2009
Dude, that was us. I felt like we were tweeting into the ether for a long time, there, like screaming into the darkness and not hearing an echo. But we made it to Mimi's on Friday and The Columns on Saturday and all was good.
posted by cabingirl at 9:56 PM on July 19, 2009
Wahooo! Hawai'i had it's ** FIRST ** Mefite meet-up -- and how cool we did it for the Anniversary! It was just perfect! (... albeit, we lacked beans/peas, Hungarian skin heads, projectile vomiting and bonfires ...)
Pzarquon was tweeting from the event: http://www.tweetphoto.com/527bb9 Small crowd, big aloha. We talked like crazy. Good fun all around.
Mahalo to all - Kanuck for great planning, Pzarquon and beautiful family for traveling so far. Scottymac and Jody for treking out by bus, and Snez, Lil' ears and baby for making it in spite of Sunday plans.
And to other islanders -- don't worry, we all vowed to do more meetups -- and we might even crash Pzarquon's 'Manoa Geeks' meetups, too.
posted by Surfurrus at 9:57 PM on July 19, 2009
Pzarquon was tweeting from the event: http://www.tweetphoto.com/527bb9 Small crowd, big aloha. We talked like crazy. Good fun all around.
Mahalo to all - Kanuck for great planning, Pzarquon and beautiful family for traveling so far. Scottymac and Jody for treking out by bus, and Snez, Lil' ears and baby for making it in spite of Sunday plans.
And to other islanders -- don't worry, we all vowed to do more meetups -- and we might even crash Pzarquon's 'Manoa Geeks' meetups, too.
posted by Surfurrus at 9:57 PM on July 19, 2009
how was your meetup? Just the right size! And the Three Monkies was just the best venue for us - the nook h00py was this little pillow lined warm niche with the walls wrapped with thick turkish rugs and floaty curtains, and the food was good and the conversation was great. I'm always a little afraid of being the only extrovert at Parties from the Internet, but everyone was friendly and talkative and unspeakably awesome.
What went wrong? Metafilter Blue is the hardest shade of blue in the world to find. Also, I have taken an insufficiant amount of photos. And I drank a ridiculous amount of mediocre wine that, given the Monkies is BYO, I had no need to inflict on people.
What went right? Everyone found everyone else, we had a great private space in a public cafe, the service was great, excellent conversation and hte pub crawl afterwards was surprisingly fun for a Sunday night in Brisbane. West End is perfect for this sort of thing.
What would you do different next time? More photos, less Vampire Wine.
posted by Jilder at 10:11 PM on July 19, 2009
What went wrong? Metafilter Blue is the hardest shade of blue in the world to find. Also, I have taken an insufficiant amount of photos. And I drank a ridiculous amount of mediocre wine that, given the Monkies is BYO, I had no need to inflict on people.
What went right? Everyone found everyone else, we had a great private space in a public cafe, the service was great, excellent conversation and hte pub crawl afterwards was surprisingly fun for a Sunday night in Brisbane. West End is perfect for this sort of thing.
What would you do different next time? More photos, less Vampire Wine.
posted by Jilder at 10:11 PM on July 19, 2009
Oh, and I wouldn't have LEFT MY CAMERA at the cafe. Stupid wine.
posted by Jilder at 11:07 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by Jilder at 11:07 PM on July 19, 2009
I brought a camera but found that the memory card was full of photos & video clips from my trip to Burma, about six months ago, and I wasn't 100% sure I'd backed them all up yet...
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:27 PM on July 19, 2009
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:27 PM on July 19, 2009
I was gonna call you dudes from Cedar Point and be all "Hey happy birthday MetaFilter, I'm on a roller coaster!" but I ended up in the emergency room instead (not due to any mishaps involving cellphones or roller coasters) and thought it was tacky enough texting Twitter messages from my gurney.
posted by Spatch at 5:34 AM on July 20, 2009
posted by Spatch at 5:34 AM on July 20, 2009
The one thing I would strongly encourage any future meetup planner to consider would be getting themselves an eamondaly. That guy put together an amazing gathering.
posted by quin at 8:13 AM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by quin at 8:13 AM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
Antarctica. eotvos throws one hell of a party.
G-d dammit. They got naked and ran around outside again, didn't they? Anyone have a direct link to the pics? (Previous link was to the #mefi10 tag page.)
An acquaintance was a winterover last year, and let me tell you the amount of outdoor nakedness that occurs at -75F is just disturbing. Yer bits, man! You'll need those later once you're out of there. I promise!
posted by elfgirl at 8:51 AM on July 20, 2009
G-d dammit. They got naked and ran around outside again, didn't they? Anyone have a direct link to the pics? (Previous link was to the #mefi10 tag page.)
An acquaintance was a winterover last year, and let me tell you the amount of outdoor nakedness that occurs at -75F is just disturbing. Yer bits, man! You'll need those later once you're out of there. I promise!
posted by elfgirl at 8:51 AM on July 20, 2009
for the record: mefi10 nyc was awesome. everybody I met there was the fucking bomb and I'll always remember those portions of the night that did not occur during my blackout.
posted by shmegegge at 9:03 AM on July 20, 2009
posted by shmegegge at 9:03 AM on July 20, 2009
Dublin was a good night. I don't think anyone would describe it as epic, but it was really great because we had a chance to really get to know each other a bit. I love my fellow Ireland mefites and we will definitely do more meetups!
What would you do different next time? I am bummed I didn't think to put (plate of jelly) beans on the metafilter cupcakes, which otherwise rocked. I also had plans for mefi badges to go with the mefi birthday balloons, but I didn't get the artwork sent off in time.
There was other stuff I wanted to do like nametags and an actual mefi birthday card but I ran out of time. And organisation. And ink.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:51 AM on July 20, 2009
What would you do different next time? I am bummed I didn't think to put (plate of jelly) beans on the metafilter cupcakes, which otherwise rocked. I also had plans for mefi badges to go with the mefi birthday balloons, but I didn't get the artwork sent off in time.
There was other stuff I wanted to do like nametags and an actual mefi birthday card but I ran out of time. And organisation. And ink.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:51 AM on July 20, 2009
I bet you're sorry you missed the Brazil meetup! (extremely NSFW)
posted by desjardins at 10:51 AM on July 20, 2009
posted by desjardins at 10:51 AM on July 20, 2009
LA was pretty fun, and it was great to see people from the Central California meetup, plus people I know by handle but not by face. The space was great, and having snacks was fantastic, though I felt like I ate too many, but I did bring banana bread muffins to share. A huge thanks to those who took pictures (liquoredonlife, mrzarquon, and VikingSword's wife), because I was able to talk with people instead of trying to be a photogeek with my pocket digicam and futzing with settings all night.
Unfortunately, I'm one of those awkward chaps with a low voice who doesn't converse well in loud areas, and the room got louder as the evening went on. Next time, I'll make the picnic, as that would have been awesome.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:57 AM on July 20, 2009
Unfortunately, I'm one of those awkward chaps with a low voice who doesn't converse well in loud areas, and the room got louder as the evening went on. Next time, I'll make the picnic, as that would have been awesome.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:57 AM on July 20, 2009
One of my favourite moments in Toronto -- gman trying to attraction the attention of another mefite across the patio and belatedly realizing that maybe "Phire! Phire!" wasn't the best thing to shout in a crowded bar.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:04 AM on July 20, 2009 [18 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:04 AM on July 20, 2009 [18 favorites]
elfgirl: what happened was, some flickr user had posted a bunch of hardcore porn pics, and tagged them as mefi10 (among other things), so they showed up in our stream. They've probably been removed by now. I'm at work, so I'm certainly not going to check.
posted by maqsarian at 11:39 AM on July 20, 2009
posted by maqsarian at 11:39 AM on July 20, 2009
I've been flagging those photos on Flickr. I've seen one or two users on Flickr using the MeFi10 tag who I suspect are not MeFites.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:54 AM on July 20, 2009
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:54 AM on July 20, 2009
I've seen one or two users on Flickr using the MeFi10 tag who I suspect are not MeFites.
Funny story (or not): Towards the end of the evening in Boston, a couple wandered in to the party to play pool. Yeah, four pool tables in the room and we were using precisely zero of them. So, there we were and then these people come in and we all glance and whisper to each other "Those people are NOT from the internet."
The end.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 11:57 AM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
Funny story (or not): Towards the end of the evening in Boston, a couple wandered in to the party to play pool. Yeah, four pool tables in the room and we were using precisely zero of them. So, there we were and then these people come in and we all glance and whisper to each other "Those people are NOT from the internet."
The end.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 11:57 AM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
At some point during the PDX meetup a couple young women seemed to be trying to crash our party for the free beer (or maybe the free wine, or food) but were so unnerved by our collective nerdiness that they fled, unbeered. Ha!
I would like to point out that autocorrect tried to make "nerdiness" into "neediness" and this makes me laugh.
posted by rtha at 12:20 PM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
I would like to point out that autocorrect tried to make "nerdiness" into "neediness" and this makes me laugh.
posted by rtha at 12:20 PM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
someone needs to do a post: "How to Identify a Mefite in the Wild"
posted by desjardins at 12:47 PM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by desjardins at 12:47 PM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
So, there we were and then these people come in and we all glance and whisper to each other "Those people are NOT from the internet."
Ha! After a few hours at the Formosa, a group of 20something Young Hollywood types wandered in, and we all immediately did the same thing.
posted by scody at 1:08 PM on July 20, 2009
Ha! After a few hours at the Formosa, a group of 20something Young Hollywood types wandered in, and we all immediately did the same thing.
posted by scody at 1:08 PM on July 20, 2009
You guys are all doing it wrong! We managed to get our non-internet people in on the debauchery. Proof by little e.
posted by Loto at 1:14 PM on July 20, 2009
posted by Loto at 1:14 PM on July 20, 2009
Damn it, I just realized I should've made an anniversary cake. Oh well. 2019 isn't so far away.
posted by eamondaly at 1:38 PM on July 20, 2009
posted by eamondaly at 1:38 PM on July 20, 2009
A couple more from the early part of the D.C. meetup in the Smithsonian's (baby friendly) Kogod Courtyard.
posted by onlyconnect at 1:39 PM on July 20, 2009
posted by onlyconnect at 1:39 PM on July 20, 2009
Damn. Posted those in the wrong thread. Our Kogod Courtyard meetup in DC was great -- I especially liked the part where we went around and introduced ourselves and explained how we had first found Metafilter. It would have gone better if my friend hadn't been feeling under the weather and had been able to meet more people. Oh well, next time. Hurray for meetups!
posted by onlyconnect at 1:44 PM on July 20, 2009
posted by onlyconnect at 1:44 PM on July 20, 2009
Some photos from the Friday London meetup. I'll be adding more to this set as soon as I get to processing and uploading them....
posted by klausness at 3:47 PM on July 20, 2009
posted by klausness at 3:47 PM on July 20, 2009
Ha! I think I heard nat trying to explain to those Boston billiards fans what was going on, but they seemed suspicious.
posted by danb at 4:03 PM on July 20, 2009
posted by danb at 4:03 PM on July 20, 2009
We managed to get our non-internet people in on the debauchery.
Our meetup started with dinner, and I booked a table for ten at a buger place in the middle of town. They gave us the whole upstairs, which was nice.
It was also where the bathroom was, and of course, none of us have ever seen each other before and therefore don't know who we're looking for. For a while there, waiting for the last few people to turn up, we were the Very Enthusiastic Bathroom Greeting Committee.
MeFi: Happy you're going to the potty.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:11 PM on July 20, 2009 [2 favorites]
Our meetup started with dinner, and I booked a table for ten at a buger place in the middle of town. They gave us the whole upstairs, which was nice.
It was also where the bathroom was, and of course, none of us have ever seen each other before and therefore don't know who we're looking for. For a while there, waiting for the last few people to turn up, we were the Very Enthusiastic Bathroom Greeting Committee.
MeFi: Happy you're going to the potty.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:11 PM on July 20, 2009 [2 favorites]
After a few hours at the Formosa, a group of 20something Young Hollywood types wandered in, and we all immediately did the same thing.
I'm glad we went with The Formosa. When I was driving back to catch the 101 north, I saw gaggles of 20something Young Hollywood types flocking to Those Hot Clubs. The Formosa just had stragglers who couldn't brave the throngs, or something of that sort.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:10 PM on July 20, 2009
I'm glad we went with The Formosa. When I was driving back to catch the 101 north, I saw gaggles of 20something Young Hollywood types flocking to Those Hot Clubs. The Formosa just had stragglers who couldn't brave the throngs, or something of that sort.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:10 PM on July 20, 2009
Happy Tenth Birthday, MetaFilter. Thanks for the journey.
posted by ColdChef at 5:19 PM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by ColdChef at 5:19 PM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
A lot of youse at NOLA seemed to be dressed up. What up with that?
(Awesome video!)
posted by rtha at 5:26 PM on July 20, 2009
(Awesome video!)
posted by rtha at 5:26 PM on July 20, 2009
Ha! And you laughed at my cufflinks! Once more I say, ha! :-)
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 9:32 PM on July 20, 2009
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 9:32 PM on July 20, 2009
Except for my rocking shawl that I got from my Mom, the rest of my getup was purchased at the French Market the day before. I bothered to put on makeup for a change.
posted by lilywing13 at 11:32 PM on July 20, 2009
posted by lilywing13 at 11:32 PM on July 20, 2009
Someone left the audio setup unattended and was SURPRISED when they got Rickrolled.
The bachelorette party girl trying to crash the party by stealing Greg's nametag was inspired though.
posted by subbes at 7:47 AM on July 21, 2009
The bachelorette party girl trying to crash the party by stealing Greg's nametag was inspired though.
posted by subbes at 7:47 AM on July 21, 2009
And you laughed at my cufflinks!
You have to understand, I am from Vermont where wearing cufflinks is like wearing a tiara. I did say they looked nice though!
That was a really pretty dress, lilywing13. We woke up to find our nametags and one that said WILLIS which was definitely not someone from our event.
I would have stayed in the same hotel as everyone else, even though it was sort of awesome to stay in The Columns on the night of the party. GregNog's bike rental idea was inspired. I really like what the Chicago meetup did where they had people do little short "happy birthday metafilter" videos. And maybe a "match the tattoo to the MeFite" game next time. It was really nice how many people brought +1's. I would have brought a map so people could say where they had travelled form. At NOLA we had people from: KY, NC, MA, VT, IL, MN, CA, NY, TN, AL, TX and of course LA. Am I missing any?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:33 AM on July 21, 2009
You have to understand, I am from Vermont where wearing cufflinks is like wearing a tiara. I did say they looked nice though!
That was a really pretty dress, lilywing13. We woke up to find our nametags and one that said WILLIS which was definitely not someone from our event.
I would have stayed in the same hotel as everyone else, even though it was sort of awesome to stay in The Columns on the night of the party. GregNog's bike rental idea was inspired. I really like what the Chicago meetup did where they had people do little short "happy birthday metafilter" videos. And maybe a "match the tattoo to the MeFite" game next time. It was really nice how many people brought +1's. I would have brought a map so people could say where they had travelled form. At NOLA we had people from: KY, NC, MA, VT, IL, MN, CA, NY, TN, AL, TX and of course LA. Am I missing any?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:33 AM on July 21, 2009
And maybe a "match the tattoo to the MeFite" game next time
That sounds like the most awesome game ever.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:43 AM on July 21, 2009
That sounds like the most awesome game ever.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:43 AM on July 21, 2009
That sounds like the most awesome game ever.
Until you realize I have a tattoo of a barber's poll.
posted by Loto at 10:46 AM on July 21, 2009
Until you realize I have a tattoo of a barber's poll.
posted by Loto at 10:46 AM on July 21, 2009
lilywing13 was stunning indeed that night. I felt distinctly underdressed, talking with her.
At NOLA we had people from: KY, NC, MA, VT, IL, MN, CA, NY, TN, AL, TX and of course LA. Am I missing any?
You forgot AR, duh.
posted by middleclasstool at 11:05 AM on July 21, 2009
At NOLA we had people from: KY, NC, MA, VT, IL, MN, CA, NY, TN, AL, TX and of course LA. Am I missing any?
You forgot AR, duh.
posted by middleclasstool at 11:05 AM on July 21, 2009
We also had at least two UK transplants there, subbes and Nice Guy Mike. Which I will stretch to call ours a trans-Atlantic meetup and therefore even more superior to all others. Suck it, Antarctica.
posted by middleclasstool at 11:07 AM on July 21, 2009
posted by middleclasstool at 11:07 AM on July 21, 2009
As far as I care, things went well at the Ann Arbor Ypsilanti meetup. One problem: being pretty much the only person under 21 (I'm 20), it was sort of unforunate I was one of 2 people there who did not have beer.
Can't wait for MeFi's 11th!!!
posted by JoeXIII007 at 10:06 PM on July 29, 2009
Can't wait for MeFi's 11th!!!
posted by JoeXIII007 at 10:06 PM on July 29, 2009
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I'd also have liked to have name tags, simply to avoid embarrassments like "Who was that guy again".
On the good side, it was great to see the local crowd and have some intelligent conversation.
posted by pjern at 12:59 PM on July 18, 2009