[FreeGeek] Momentum Update (for the next issue)

[Terry Lowe]

Hi all,

Here's what I wrote for a Momentum update. I think I got most of the points,
although I did not mention the discussion about the name of the organization.

I perhaps made it sound as if it's all David's operation (which isn't the 
case), but
I needed something as a focal point, and that bit about the 13-year-old kid 
was
too good not to use, plus David did give his contact info for publication. 
I'm not
comfortable publishing people's home addresses, so I didn't do that.

/* begin paste:

FreeGeek Update

Since the appearance of the article on FreeGeek Portland last issue 
("Geek's Paradise in Portland", Momentum 24), things have been happening 
quickly here in YVR.

Ten people showed up for a fledgling meeting at the Brickyard on Main 
Street. David Repa, one of the organizers (whose contact info appears 
below), quit his job to devote his energy to this venture. He told of how 
he wandered into the Portland facility, and how inspired he was by what he 
saw there. He told of a 13-year-old kid he saw who'd built his own 
computer, proudly named it, and was now helping seniors build their own 
machines. "Instead," David said, "of just playing Nintendo."

Much discussion ensued. Five people volunteered for the nascent board of 
directors, so that the paperwork to establish a new non-profit can get 
underway; and we established a tentative date for the initial Annual 
General Meeting, and that will be sometime in mid-January, 2007.

The group is currently looking for space and startup funding. It already 
has abundant energy and enthusiasm, and that will grow as more people join. 
Its immediate concern is to become self-sustaining.

If and when that is achieved, the plan is: to start reusing as many of 
those perfectly good computers (that otherwise would have been thrown away) 
as possible; to make them available to people who need them but cannot 
afford them; to offer opportunities for education and training; to 
highlight the environmental aspects of removing tons of toxic waste from 
landfills, both here and overseas; and to promote the benefits of 
open-source software.

If that sounds like something that would interest you, take a few minutes 
and look at the links below. Then, decide if you want to join. There is no 
local website up yet (coming soon), but there is a mailing list you can 
subscribe to at: https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/freegeek-van

Or you can contact David Repa directly at 604 690-7372
iamturnip[at]gmail.com

If you don't have a computer and cannot look at the links below, rest 
assured. We will soon be here for you to get one.

Links:
http://www.momentumplanet.ca/?q=node/154
www.freegeek.org

end paste */

If there are any errors or objections, please let me know, but do so quickly.

Thanks,

Terry