I have enjoyed Seattle and believe that Seattle is the home of Gnomedex. The “new” media is in Seattle, challenge yourself and get the “old” media to come to us!!! That would make a true statement.

I promised you the keys to the City in another thread, and I’ll see that they are delivered. If need be, we’ll get you and Ponzi to the front door of the conference on a fire truck. Tell us what you need, and we’ll make it happen. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Stay Safe and Be Well,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

In case you wondered…

http://lafd.blogspot.com/2006/04/day-in-life-lafd-ubergeek-brian.html

I am ‘all in’ wherever you plan on holding the event. The hallway was as good as the lunch was as good as the main room and the breakout sessions. It rocked.

Additionally, the Griffith Observatory will have a brand-new planetarium theatre. It used to be capable of seating 300; I don’t know what it will be capable of now. They’re also majorly overhauling the parking situation, which previously was horrendous. More details will be available at GriffithObs.org, I’m sure.

My gut response to your consideration of bringing Gnomedex to L.A. provoked some mixture of thrill and disappointment. Thrilled because I live in L.A., and that increases the likelihood I’ll be able to attend the event. It’s that same reason, however, that’s got me slightly disappointed; I kind of like the idea of travelling elsewhere to attend Gnomedex. Yet the thought of combining the event with a location I’ve been fond of for most of my life (and haven’t been able to visit these past 5 years or so) thrills me to no end…

I have never been to a Gnomedex, but I would if it were in my own backyard. And maybe if I went to that first one I would continue to go year after year, no matter the location. Actually, I’m probably going to go to #7 even if it remains in Seattle.

Aside from all the cool stuff you can do in LA, it’s so easy to get to from everywhere.

Bring it to LA. Try it, you’ll like it.

BTW, doesn’t have to be Hollywood. Could be downtown or Westside/Santa Monica. There’s quite a bit of tech in Santa Monica. You will also draw people from Orange County, San Bernardino County, Santa Barbara, etc.

Re: cranky old men. You can get your point across without being grumpy – and will probably convince more people if you do.

And I say that as one who is older (57) than some/most of the grumps.

Gnomedex rocked for me this year, but not cuz of a couple of good sessions, but because there seemed to be a bit of a reality check, some dissent– even in the form of cranky old guys (I love the cranky old guys, and the cranky old-guys in training /crunch)… more backchannel and hallway stuff. And more fearless everyday folks. It was beautiful!

We can keep innovating and trying out the future stuffs, but one of those feet has to be rooted in the reality of everyday life. You can’t sell the idea of something better if you can’t reach the largest group of people that doesn’t think there’s something better.

Paradox, no?

There’s a reason why people are moving to WA from CA by the truck load. It isn’t for the jobs, it’s to get away from the Cali-based BS. On behalf of the Washington residents who are proud to have their state known for this event, please consider the long term reactions of “going hollywood”. But also understand that you are my friend and I will support your final call on this matter, even if we see things differently.

Remember to consider the casual attendee before the “power-participants”.
I am there either way. But Cali? Yuck!