A Fun Slashdot 15th Anniversary Get-Together in St. Petersburg, FL (Video)

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A Fun Slashdot 15th Anniversary Get-Together in St. Petersburg, FL (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on Thursday November 1, 2012 @05:55AM from the let-loose-the-model-helicopters-of-war! dept.

A lot of people in a lot of places celebrated Slashdot's 15th anniversary by getting together with other Slashdot readers in person. In the Tampa Bay part of Florida, a small and humble meeting was sponsored by an open source company called Fextel at their St. Petersburg HQ. The catering was excellent, and it was a fun group of 12 or so who showed up, about half of whom knew each other from the Suncoast Linux Users Group (SLUG). So we had good food and good people. What else did we need? Remote control helicopter battles, of course! In retrospect, we now believe remote helicopters crashing into each other should be required at any event with a Slashdot theme. We may may just be saying this because we live someplace where the NFL won't let us watch any home games, so we are more entertainment-deprived than most Americans. Then again, maybe helicopter wars are just plain cooler than watching football, and the USA should have fewer NFL games and more Slashdot-based parties.

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St. Petersburg by PoopManners · 2012-11-01 05:56 · Score: 2

What's up with Americans stealing other countries city names?

And only good food and people? No booze? What kind of party is that?
1. Re:St. Petersburg by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 06:11 · Score: 1
  
  Tell me about it. I went to the San Diego CSE party, nobody was there, then I find that the venue was changed at the last minute after the fact to the Intuit complex in San Diego.
  So I show up there piss drunk on Sunday with a fat chick, and there's only one guy there for the Slashdot "party". He explains a bunch of nonsense why nobody else there, I don't listen, then I explain to him that I was banned from posting because I trolled the fuck out of Slashdot and that trolling rocks. The guy said that trolling is annoying, but he was nice enough to give me 4 Slashdot T-shirts. I now use them as bate rags. Maybe they all just hid from me because I'm an asshole. Needless to say, I predict that there won't be a 20th to celebrate.
  -- Ethanol-fueled
2. Re:St. Petersburg by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 06:13 · Score: 0
  
  When folks left their home countries for America they generally did so seeking religious freedom, economic opportunity, a more democratic government, etc.
  I know of no one that left because they couldn't stand the name of their home town. In fact, some of them liked it so much, they brought it with them.
3. Re:St. Petersburg by interkin3tic · 2012-11-01 06:28 · Score: 1
  
  I can't speak for Florida, but in the Midwest it was probably to pretend they don't live in the middle of nowhere.
  
  They certainly didn't name Mexico Missouri after Mexico because they really like hispanic immigrants. And Versailles Missouri wasn't named because of their love of French words: the correct pronunciation is exactly as you would read phonetically in English. If you say "ver-SAI" Missouri, that's wrong. It's "Ver-say-lez."
4. Re:St. Petersburg by solardiesel · 2012-11-01 06:32 · Score: 2
  
  This is not the greatest city in the world. This is just a tribute.
5. Re:St. Petersburg by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 06:36 · Score: 0
  
  I like how Americans say "Paris, France" as if "Paris" alone might have mistakenly been taken to refer to refer to Paris, MIssouri. Then again, knowing Americans, I wouldn't discount that possibility. :-)
6. Re:St. Petersburg by mcgrew · 2012-11-01 06:40 · Score: 1
  
  They were mostly founded by former residents of the cities whose names they "stole". But who was the original Springfield? There is one in almost every state in the union, there's one in Australia and one in Canada. There are probably more elsewhere.
  You have to remember that the US had no cities 200 years ago. And Glasgow sounds suspiciously Russian...
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
7. Re:St. Petersburg by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 06:56 · Score: 0
  
  Or Paris, Hilton.
8. Re:St. Petersburg by DylanQuixote · 2012-11-01 07:28 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The city was named St. Petersburg by a Russian immigrant and railroad tycoon, Peter Demens (Pyotr Alexeyevitch Dementyev, cyrillic: slashdot won't display)
9. Re:St. Petersburg by sa1lnr · 2012-11-01 07:44 · Score: 1
  
  I kid you not, but for ages I wondered what all the fuss was about a hotel in Paris. :)
10. Re:St. Petersburg by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 07:50 · Score: 0
  
  tst
11. Re:St. Petersburg by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 08:14 · Score: 0
  
  They were mostly founded by former residents of the cities whose names they "stole". But who was the original Springfield? There is one in almost every state in the union, there's one in Australia and one in Canada. There are probably more elsewhere.
  You have to remember that the US had no cities 200 years ago. And Glasgow sounds suspiciously Russian...
  There are only 11 Springfield's in the US. I lived in one when the Simpson's movie was being released and all 11 submitted video's to prove they were the Springfield. IL was too low budget after all the state corrupt politicians took their piece of the budget and then lost.
12. Re:St. Petersburg by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 09:55 · Score: 0
  
  Is this what they really teach in US schools?
  most people went to America so they could be persecute people even more religiously
13. Re:St. Petersburg by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 15:14 · Score: 0
  
  Maybe they were referring to Paris, Texas, or Paris, Arkansas, or Paris, Illinois, or Paris, Michigan, or Paris, Kentucky, or Paris, Idaho, or Paris, Maine, or Paris, California, or Paris, Iowa, or Paris, Ohio, or Paris, New York, or Paris, Tennessee, or Paris, Virginia, or Paris, Pennsylvania, or Paris, Paris, Paris, or Paris, Paris, Paris, Paris, or Paris, Paris, Paris, Paris, Paris. or...
14. Re:St. Petersburg by SleazyRidr · 2012-11-05 08:15 · Score: 1
  
  I like Paris, Texas. They have a replica of the Eifell tower, but with a cowboy hat on top. ;)
  
  --
  Is 1563649 a prime number?
Buccaneers by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 05:59 · Score: 1

I have seen every Buccaneers game for the last 10 years, because I don't live in Florida any more.
1. Re:Buccaneers by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 06:15 · Score: 0
  
  You must also subscribe to the NFL network then, if they've ever played on a Thursday night (which I boycott on principle)
2. Re:Buccaneers by kiwimate · 2012-11-01 09:50 · Score: 1
  
  I have seen every Buccaneers game for the last 10 years
  Loser.
8 showed up at Denvers 10/13 anniversary by peter303 · 2012-11-01 06:03 · Score: 1

It was fun
send more coffee by wordsnyc · 2012-11-01 06:11 · Score: 1

Maybe it was the FL dateline that did it, but I initially read the summary as "getting together with other Slashdot readers in prison."

--
Sent from the iPad I found in your car.
OMG by trevc · 2012-11-01 06:36 · Score: 0

OMG - did all twelve of you ROFL?!
1. Re:OMG by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · 2012-11-01 11:27 · Score: 1
  
  Spring Break! Woo Hoo!
Meetup? by DudeTheMath · 2012-11-01 06:36 · Score: 1

I know I was subscribed to /. meetups (even went to a couple, one in St. Pete, one in Carrollwood) once upon a time, but I didn't get a notice. Glad it was fun.

--
You save only 59 seconds over 8 miles by going 75 instead of 65. Do you really have to pass that guy? Do the Math!
1. Re:Meetup? by DylanQuixote · 2012-11-01 07:50 · Score: 1
  
  You should come to one of the SLUG meetings or hacking sessions. We have talks ranging from programming languages (especially new/interesting ones), robotics, war stories, etc. We have had some guest speakers in the past, including the first person to setup a webserver in North America. Disclosure: I've been a member for the last decade; and I'm also the president and meeting coordinator for the Pinellas meetings.
2. Re:Meetup? by DudeTheMath · 2012-11-02 06:34 · Score: 1
  
  I've bookmarked the SLUG site, but I'm already pretty time-constrained (Sunday's one thing, Tuesday's another, Wednesday's a third, etc.): the perils of having both a family and hobbies besides computers.
  
  --
  You save only 59 seconds over 8 miles by going 75 instead of 65. Do you really have to pass that guy? Do the Math!
No Pittsburgh party by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 06:38 · Score: 0

That retard dropped the ball in a big way. What a loser.
Did the 12 of you... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 06:44 · Score: 0

hold an 6502 assembly game coding contest for the Apple IIe? Or march off to the local Microsoft store with a prepared set of challenges to "Bing it on"?
I missed it! by Pat+Attack · 2012-11-01 06:44 · Score: 1

Seriously, how did I not know this was happening? I'm just south of Orlando and I would have loved to make it. Awell. Maybe for the 20th anniversary.
I'm sad. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 06:46 · Score: 0

Right down the street and I didn't know about it. Booooo.
40 People Attended in San Francisco by Naso540 · 2012-11-01 06:49 · Score: 1

We had a good turnout in San Francisco. About 40 people there and yes there was pizza, beer and wine!
Can't get the video to play... by RocketRabbit · 2012-11-01 06:51 · Score: 0

But I'm assuming the whole thing was just a gigantic sausage-fest. Even if any of the attendees has managed to gain the favor of an actual (non-artificial I mean) woman, I somehow doubt they would dare subject her to the awkward stares, spontaneously exploding pimples, or shrieking laughter that one would see at such an event.
1. Re:Can't get the video to play... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 08:16 · Score: 0
  
  gigantic sausage-fest
  Unfortunately for them, their sausages are actually micro-sized.
2. Re:Can't get the video to play... by RocketRabbit · 2012-11-01 09:15 · Score: 1
  
  This is probably a net benefit - keeps the spread of CyberAIDS to a minimum.
3. Re:Can't get the video to play... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 16:38 · Score: 0
  
  Meh, there were girls there -- I was the one playing the video game. There were a couple more as well. We were just too shy to let ourselves be filmed (and only one fatty, before you say anything -- but I'm married with kids, so, eh)
  The guys treated the girls like one of the guys. Humans tend to be a lot more... human... to each other face to face, for some reason.
Blackouts. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 07:23 · Score: 0

As a Bucs fan and nerd who lives in St Pete, any of my kind who complains about not being able to see the blacked out games needs to turn in their nerd card (though I suppose liking football could be a requisite for this as well).

Finding streams of them is incredibly easy, I have yet to miss a single game in the past few seasons since the blackouts started.
Snarky NFL Comment by mistapotta · 2012-11-01 07:54 · Score: 1

The NFL won't let you buy tickets to home games? How droll!
In St. Petersburg... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 07:58 · Score: 0

...dots slash you!
Le title by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 08:19 · Score: 0

Aw crap I missed this? I'm from Orlando but would of been cool to make it out. I propose a /. Orlando meeting XD
sadface by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-01 09:49 · Score: 0

I swear to god I checked for st. pete and nothing was on the list
=(
Better than Vancouver's party by Maow · 2012-11-01 10:37 · Score: 1

In Vancouver, a medium-sized city with about 2 million in surrounding area, there was exactly one person show up, and he was the single most boring person in Vancouver.
Shitty "party".
What's the population of St Petersburg? Fuck, it appears there are about 250,000 people in St Petersburg, 600,000 in Vancouver. Lame...
1. Re:Better than Vancouver's party by DylanQuixote · 2012-11-01 11:26 · Score: 2
  
  St. Petersburg is the second largest city in the metro area, which is called Tampa Bay
  From Wikipedia: "The Census Bureau currently estimates the population for the CMSA at 4,228,855 as of 2010 during consolidation.[3] as of July 1, 2008, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Florida and fourth in the Southeast."
Don't forget old and new York by girlinatrainingbra · 2012-11-01 13:52 · Score: 1

Don't forget the big example of the city so nice that they named it twice: NYNY is New York named for the York in England, and before that, the southern tip of Manhattan was Nieuw-Amsterdam and was the captial city of New Netherland. If they weren't naming colonies after rulers, e.g. Virginia and Georgia, they were naming them after familiar territories back home, e.g. New Hampshire.