Difference between revisions of "Meeting notes"

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== Minutes from previous years ==
 
== Minutes from previous years ==
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[[Meeting_notes (2019)]]
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[[Meeting_notes (2018)]]
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[[Meeting_notes (2017)]]
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[[Meeting_notes (2016)]]
 
[[Meeting_notes (2016)]]
  
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[[Meeting_notes (2010)]]
 
[[Meeting_notes (2010)]]
  
== September 26, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
 
* 9 members present
 
* Recap of last meeting minutes
 
* Financials:
 
** A little lower this month than last, but still about a month in the bank
 
** Big insurance payments are now done
 
** Michael to add an account to average those insurance fees across a whole year for better budgeting / foresight
 
** Drinks tend to sell better than food
 
** Quite a bit more in membership dues compared to last year
 
* Unit upstairs (cheaper by $600/month) is becoming available soon - Michael to reach out to Bob Brown. Will look into it and report back.
 
* Anti-social: Michael won't be running it, but Wayne sounded like he might want to.  Best not to rush it to ensure a better turnout. Michael will talk to Wayne to make plans.
 
** Michael wants to eventually plan a smaller, quieter, more geeky night targeted towards members of SkullSpace and their friends.
 
* Papers we love is at the space tomorrow.  Some fancy text to speech stuff.
 
* Communications strikeforce has met. More coming soon.
 
* Meeting over 6:42pm
 
 
== August 29, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
 
  
*Intros
+
== September 2020 and beyond ==
*8 members including Michael, Stefan, Thor, Edwin, Keith...
+
We ended up losing track of the notes that were left in Slack, and now Discord. If you'd like to find the notes for a specific month but you cannot access those platforms, let someone else (or the board) know and we'll try to copy those notes here.
*financials
 
**we have 1 month rent as backup
 
**downward trend due to insurance will continue for another month.
 
**events made August somewhat profitable
 
*Lockpicking event happened - it went well
 
*Ingress event happened - it went well
 
*attendees at lockpicking event had trouble swiping in at front door, possibly due to to much use
 
*member reports getting lock in the space because motion sensor is flakey
 
**get a sign asap
 
**look into installing pushbar
 
*member suggests hold a "fixing the space" hackathon
 
*b-sides nov4-5, looking for speakers
 
*should get update photos for the computer for refugees soon
 
*member suggests creating strikeforce to update wiki, webpage, member intake process etc. 
 
*motion to turn air cond. back on
 
  
== July 25, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
+
If you have some time and want to help with that, please go through September 2020 and onward, compiling notes from each meeting and recording them here.
  
*Members: 8
+
== February 28th, 2023 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
*3D Printing Workshop over here. IEEE might be sponsoring refreshments? 5 or 6 talks. Reverse engineering Tiko. Retrofitting the motors, etc.
+
* We achieved quorum
*Ai-Kon went good. We had a lot of interest and there were no hiccups. It was like a mini comic-con.
+
* Year in review:
*Financial news:
+
** Finally back in force after being on break since 2020.
**We're seeing a spike in members after all last month's memberships started coming through. We won't be relying quite as hard on event funds, but those will still be necessary for now.
+
** We got a whole whack of really old augmented-reality headsets. Most seem to be running an old version of Android. Neat!
**We're still in that four-month period every summer where we're paying for insurance. We're continuing a downward trent, but we shouldn't fall below where we were in February.
+
** There was a burglary into one of the higher floors, and our footage was able to confirm that someone left the building with another tenant's bike.
*Our air conditioner might have problems. It seems to be working now, but we'll keep an eye on it. Someone predicted a few years ago that it was on its last legs.
+
** We ground the hinges off the door to regain entry after there were errors in the fob system. It may have been a case of loose wiring. The new fire-safetied door has a keyhole for emergencies.
 +
** We upgraded various computer system. The fob and camera management computer was toast, so we updated the hardware and the software platform. We also got our hands on a new server with many GBs of RAM.
 +
** We started meeting on Discord.
 +
** We started hosting events on the first Friday of each month again.
 +
** Finally got our occupancy permit, after more than ten years in the space. We can hold events now.
 +
* Voting for 2023 board.
 +
** We had 5 candidates, so the board was acclaimed:
 +
*** Edwin Amsler
 +
*** Michael Kozakewich
 +
*** Thor Robinson
 +
*** Mark Campbell
 +
*** Justin Labrie
 +
** We held a mock election for any two of Pirates, Clowns, and Ninjas. The winners were Pirates and Ninjas.
 +
* Financial report
 +
** We've climbed slowly from dangerous levels back up to an acceptable amount.
 +
** This was because we got a massive cut in rent, and we've been allowed to set our rent quarterly based on what we can handle.
 +
** At the moment, our trajectory is very flat, maybe trending downward slightly.
 +
** As we gain members, that'll increase. Then we'll increase our rent to flatten it again. That'll continue until we're back to our 2019 level of membership and our 2019 level of rent.
 +
** Everything else is pretty normal.
 +
* Other news
 +
** Movie nights are still happening. Next is March 17th.
 +
** HAX is coming up! We're announcing a list of presenters on Friday, and HAX itself is coming up on March 31st.
  
== June 27, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
+
== January 31st, 2023 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
  
* Intros
+
== December 27th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* 3D printing intro day - stay tuned for sometime this summer
+
== November 29th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* X-Carl is now operational once again (thanks Edwin!)
+
== October 25th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* Finances appear to be stabilizing
+
== September 27th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* New Keyfobs are in - rejoice!
+
== August 30th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* Mark Jenkins is presenting a talk at the space tomorrow - "Resisting the Surveillance State"
+
== July 26th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* SkullSpace fund2013 minutes are at [[Meeting_notes\2013]]
+
== June 28th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== May 31st, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== April 26th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== March 29th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== February 22nd, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== January 25th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
  
raising campaign is active - check out http://skull.space/summer - Donation matching!
+
== December 28th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* Michael K is still looking for volunteers for the AiKon table, hit him up if you are available!
+
== November 30th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* Temporary water service is now in effect @ 374 Donald
+
== October 26th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* Unix Epoch rollover to 1500000000 is happening on July 13 - stay tuned for an event announcement
+
== September 28th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== August 31st, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== July 27th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== June 29th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== May 25th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== April 27th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
== March 30th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
  
 +
== February 23rd, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
* Got quorum.
 +
* Year in review:
 +
** This is our 12th online meeting.
 +
** We mourned Chris Johnson's passing in June.
 +
** Thank you to Thor for holding his movie nights.
 +
** Edwin bought us some new tools, third hands, and soldering irons.
 +
** We had the online Hax event in October.
 +
** About three pop-in hackathons.
 +
* Voting for 2021 board.
 +
** We had 5 candidates, so the board was acclaimed:
 +
** Edwin Amsler
 +
** Michael Kozakewich
 +
** Thor Robinson
 +
** Pietra Shirley
 +
** Kyle Martin
 +
* Discussions on whether we can set up a budget for our electricity bill. Either through Hydro our do it ourselves.
 +
** Not really necessary, really.
 +
* Snack donations haven't been accounted for, but we don't expect much given the lack of attendance.
 +
* Bitcoin endowment fund it's at 0.51687800 of a bitcoin.
 +
** https://blockchain.info/address/35RRPxpKJARa2SrLVpXieRQdQtv2947kMx
 +
* Question was asked when we would be out of money. The estimate is approximately 12 months.
 +
* Concerns were raised about abuse of membership signup process where a member could cancel/renew their membership based on the weather.
 +
** Putting one's membership on hold at a gym, for example, is usually limited to once per year
 +
* Raised that we'd like to have a new rave once vaccinations are in order and we're allowed to assemble.
 +
** Get occupancy permit
 +
*** Probably need railing on back steps up to fire escape.
 +
** Get licensed as a live music venue which allows us to run events when we'd want. (LGCA)
 +
** Expecting to try this around the end of the summer.
 +
** Ben has offered to run through this process.
 +
** There would be a license cost of $500-$1000 per year versus $150-$200 per event and adds the requirement of 4 weeks advance notice. Considered a reasonable investment.
 +
** The donation method of fundraising via livestreams has proven successful, provided a coordinated presentation and well marketed donation initiative
 +
** We're pending further information from the government before re-opening for usual events and gatherings.
 +
** Province sets the public health laws and guidelines
 +
* Meeting ended at 6:56 PM.
  
== May 30, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
+
(We'll have to finally compile all the notes from Slack! Please let me know if you'd like to help with that from September onward.)
  
*Intros
+
== January 26th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
*April minutes read
+
== December 29th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
*72 Princess location for social- Chris made preliminary contact.
+
== November 24th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
*Free credit pinball today
+
== October 27th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
*Two pinball events still to come - contact Manitoba Pinball Asc. or just show in interested
+
== September 29th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
*Edwin asked developer for discount on KISS slicer. Developer gave gave us a free licence
 
*Edwin and Thor experimenting with mater control for 3d printer
 
*X-Carl may have a damaged arduino and/or X-axis stepper driver
 
*Edwin ordered replacement and upgrade parts for Carl
 
*Edwin looking for Windows Vista licence for some bizarre reason
 
*1st pinball event happened, it was fun
 
*Papers we love happened it wen well, apparently it's on YouTube
 
*Student films screening event being planned
 
*cyber-defense challenge happened, it went well
 
*Front street being torn up from June 8 - July 27, good luck parking.
 
*sandbox table still incomplete  and broken
 
*abridged financial report because scripts were configured for USD not CAD. Micheal may email complete report after meeting
 
  
== April 25, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
+
== August 25th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
* Financials
 +
** We managed to get a rent reduction of 20% for the year.
 +
** We finally got the new directors added to our bank account
 +
** Hydro estimated an extra $100 for no reason. That just means the price will be lower in a later month.
 +
** We appreciate any extra donations!
 +
** Mark C is willing to fund volunteer work for SkullSpace. He has the money, but not the time. Are you interested in running online classes or live-streaming electronics stuff?
 +
** We discussed power usage. We're going through roughly $30-$40 per week, mostly because of our servers. It would be nice to lower that, but we're not pushing too hard.
 +
* We put an old Google Meet link on our sites and such, but apparently only Mark has access to it. We might need to make a different link.
 +
* Mark J is planning another Hax festival on October 17th.
 +
** Virtual event, live sessions, no pre-bake.
 +
** Payment offered for each half-hour session.
 +
* Edwin is now a director. Pirates won the mock vote against Ninjas.
 +
* September's movie stream: "Fantastic Voyage" and "Innerspace"
 +
** It was postponed from last month.
  
* Introductions
+
== July 28th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* We read the minutes from last week.
+
* Financials
* Adrian had a suggestion for an Anti-Social space. 72 Princess, third floor, $450.  
+
** June wasn't super bad. July is super bad.
** Freight elevator if needed.
+
** We're losing members at about our usual rate, but we aren't replenishing them with new members.
* Financial Report:
+
** We got a bonus from some old gift card funds. (Remember FundScrip?)
** We had made some money from events, so we're holding steady.  
+
** We also forgot about some of Nate's expenses, so I went back and lowered our NYE profits and took out some snack profits.
** We have a couple new members.  
+
** We're looking into the emergency rent reduction stuff
** The insurance payments in the summer are what usually do us in.
+
** It seems like we're supposed to be surviving through our members' CERB payments.
** Member dues essentially pay for rent. We rely on donations and event revenue to cover insurance and utilities.
+
* We've had a couple people ask about getting tours, so we should start maintaining a presence at the space again.
* Plans for the floor? Getting ends of linoleum would be nice and cheap. We should be able to just roll it out without gluing.
+
* Reminder: SkullSpace offers email addresses to members. If you'd like one, just send an email to admin@.
* Chris's friend has some ideas on how to decorate the place.
+
* We should collect impact statements from all the participants of our TEC workshops.
 +
* We updated our website with more COVID-19 info.
 +
* The election for the new director is on Tuesday. No other candidates besides Edwin, yet. Mark J is our election official, and has plans for encrypted public-channel voting. If there are no other candidates announced, he'll hold a mock vote for Pirates vs Ninjas.
 +
* Events
 +
** Online board game night next Tuesday (Aug 4) at 6:00.
 +
** August's movie stream: "Fantastic Voyage" and "Innerspace".
  
== April 11, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald - Special Meeting ==
+
== June 30th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
* Financials
 +
** It turns out Google Drive wasn't backing up Michael's copy of the books, and so a data-loss event ruined several months of records. No reports this month while he rebuilds it, but we expect that the downward ramp will continue.
 +
* Chris Johnson passed away at the very end of May. There's a notebook at the space for anyone who'd like to record some memories. The book will be given to his parents at some point in the future.
 +
** Because of the new opening on the board, we're going to call some new elections. Edwin has been cleared by his company, so he'll fill that spot if no-one else nominates themselves.
 +
** Some members wanted to work on a memorial project for Chris. There were some ideas on Slack, but a lot of us are probably waiting until we can gather safely.
 +
* Edwin had brought the Prusa printer home some months ago, and was thinking about bringing it back.
 +
* Colin E. had some leads on a donation of synth production gear.
 +
* Michael would like to try to keep up appearances online even when we go back to face-to-face meetings at the space.
 +
* Thor is streaming movie night. This month was "Blast from the Past" and "Bubble Boy". Next month is "Starship Troopers" and "Ender's Game".
  
* Meeting held to vote on proposed amendments that were not voted on during 2017 AGM due to procedural error.
+
== May 26th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
** Due to not meeting a quorum, the bylaw amendments were not voted on.
+
* Financials
 +
** Starting to see that drop. Memberships down $60 from last month, which will continue.
 +
** We tend to get a member or two leaving every month or two, so we rely on incoming members.
 +
** Everything else is roughly the same
 +
* 16 virus cases in total in MB, so things will either get better and better, or worse and worse.
 +
* Thor has been streaming movie night. This month was 'Ready or Not' and 'The Cabin in the Woods'. Next month is 'Blast from the Past' and 'Bubble Boy'.
  
== March 28, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
+
== April 28th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
 +
* 6:03: Ratified last-month's minutes
 +
* 6:06: Financials
 +
** The net worth is steady, but we will be losing over the next little bit due to member loss.
 +
** Expenses are pretty flat. Income had quite a bit of food and drink.
 +
** We earned $40.00 from the coffee machine, this month.
 +
** Membership slightly down - have not been chasing for dues, though we also haven't heard that anyone is unable to pay.
 +
** Michael removed members who didn't respond since February and March.
 +
** Michael will pay a coworking fee for using the fancy desks during April.
 +
** Our average monthly cost is $2400 ($1890 rent + $210 insurance + $200 utilities + 70 bank)
 +
** A few scenarios:
 +
*** If literally all money stopped coming in, we'd last about three months.
 +
*** If only our PAD amounts were still coming in, we'd last about six months.
 +
*** If we continued on as usual, but we lost about three or four of our members, we'd be on a sixteen-month slope unless we held fundraisers.
 +
* 6:31: 3D Printer was making the PETG face mask straps, but clogged. Largely its been operating fine but Edwin will be ordering a replacement bed as the previous one was damaged slightly
 +
* 6:39: Province to announce opening up again soon in a limited fashion and we will keep people up to date
 +
**  No events, yet, and use space sparingly.
 +
* 6:40: Need for an IRC bot set up for slack.
 +
* 6:48: If anyone is having trouble paying dues for April/ May, let Michael know in case we can get reimbursed.
 +
** Due to the pandemic, we have lost a few hundred dollars and it would be nice if we could get some of that.
 +
** We might need our members to pay with money from their own government subsidies. That might be how we're supposed to get help from the government for this.
 +
* 6:56: Thor streamed his movie night. The same might happen next month.
  
* Meeting called
+
== March 31st, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel ==
* Approved previous minutes
+
* Introductions
* Financial report: Looks okay. We had a good event with the synth meetup, so we probably aren't losing anything this month. Michael doesn't have the bank records at the moment.
+
* Last minutes
* Why is the door always locked now?
+
* Financials
** The architects lock it at 5:00?
+
** I forgot to arrange some server space with Mark, so instead I made a really long web link for the financial results
* A lot of members had applied lately, and we're contacting them one by one.
+
** http://rhombitruncated.icosidodecahedron.com/skullspace_financial_reports_as_of_2020-03-31/
* Hackaday is hiring contract writers! Writing about projects and such, so apply today.
+
** Net worth is holding pretty steady, all things considered.  
** (P.S. we should document all the neat stuff we do here.)
+
** We outlaid some expenses to get groceries and the like.  
* Was there money in our fund to purchase upholstery?
+
** Our drink and snack income were fairly high, so thank you to Nate for restocking that.  
** So Chris had the idea to get furniture to make our space better.
+
** Membership is holding steady for now.
** More flooring! Stuff like that.  
+
** I didn't collect enough over-dues.
** We need lockers, too. Costco has a sale.  
+
* Stuff
*** We can probably get old ones from Habitat for Humanity, too.
+
** 3D Printer had problems again. It looked overheated. Edwin will take it home to look at it.
** We took a vote. The people who didn't show up will never know.
+
** The half-taken-apart TV is Edwin's.
* Flickr is full of pictures from other events, but never anything in our space. We should take more photos in the space.
+
** The whole place has pretty much been in stasis
* Edwin talked about pinball and such. Virtual pinball, etc.
+
* COVID-19
* We've got an orange (the construction type) SkullSpace toque for sale.
+
** We're trying to reduce the number of people in the space. So far there have never been more than about six.
* Marcel is looking for a video camera (camcorder?) for an upcoming trip. He was looking for something "a step up from an iPhone."
+
** We just reached 100 cases of the disease in Manitoba.
* Upcoming events:
+
** At the time, it could have started doubling every few days, but that's the exact point where the curve-flattening started working.
** Ron's CTF event this Saturday
+
** “I can’t go out, I’m washing my hands tonight”
** Manitoba Comic Con this Saturday and Sunday. We have a table.
+
** We're not locking the space down, but we are urging members to stay home.
 
+
** The ‘modular petting zoo’ is cancelled until further notice.
== February 28, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald - Annual General Meeting ==
+
** Gatherings of up to 10 people should still be fine.
 
+
** We updated the front page of the website with a message.
 
+
** We'll need to keep on top of lost funds due to cancelled memberships and non-payment. Please talk to Michael K if you need to make arrangements.
* Introduction
 
* Announced bylaw meeting which will come up after the AGM.
 
** Give us suggestions if you missed them
 
** We will announce the meeting for voting three weeks in advance
 
* Financial update for the year
 
** This month's projection still shows downward slope, two months left
 
** We're losing ~$300 per month until the major expense of insurance kills us
 
** Balance seems high at $13,000 but liabilites are at ~$10,000
 
** Yearly figures show earnings of $30,000 and $24,000 expenses
 
** High donation amount, power's been a consistent expense
 
** Expenses were surprisingly even with earnings
 
* Year in review
 
** Members who have come and gone
 
** Events we ran this year
 
*** Months electronics workshops in the beginning
 
*** 3D Printing Events
 
*** Comic Con
 
*** Jimcon
 
*** Aikon's Winterfest
 
*** GIS Event
 
*** Weekly drone events
 
*** Computer Refurb
 
** Space change
 
*** Great purge of 2017
 
*** Adrian rekagiggered the server rack
 
*** Sean improved our Wifi
 
*** We no longer have VOI as a provider internet
 
*** Winnitron is now updated with new games
 
** Projects of the year
 
*** Pong game with Troy and Edwin
 
*** PDP-8 restoration by Adrian
 
*** Arcade Joystick
 
*** Bluetooth hacking with Troy and Edwin
 
*** Ben's ball-o-buttons
 
*** Synthesizer modules created by Jordan Justice
 
*** RAM dumping by programming
 
*** Netbright signs with Jay
 
  
== January 31, 2017 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
+
== February 25th, 2020 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
 +
* Started 6:00pm
 +
* Attendance was taken
 +
* We have quorum. 15 people in attendance, two proxy
 +
* 6:04: Year in review
 +
** Movie team paid for the Space and didn't use it. We made $2,000 and they cleaned the windows for us.
 +
** Two very well received and attended socials. A good mix of a traditional social and our gaming/hangout space.
 +
** Earned $1,500 for the first and $1,700 on the second.
 +
** Year-over-year we're doing quite well as far as earnings
 +
** Presented cashflow, income and expenses from the past 12 months
 +
** Donations for the tech club $500
 +
** Helga's donation for our help
 +
* 6:10: Membership count is currently at 58. Down from 60 last AGM.
 +
* 6:15: Discussing net worth, how we track what people owe us
 +
* 6:15: Rent was not sustainable at one point and we re-negotiated. How are we with the landlord.
 +
** We checked the property value and it was under $400,000. Could we buy the building?
 +
** We should offer to renew early?
 +
* 6:20: Revisiting year in review:
 +
** Tech club occurred in October and November which taught electronics on three separate events.
 +
*** Arduino session, intro to 3D printing, Arduino 7 segment display
 +
*** 15 kids aged ten to sixteen came out.
 +
*** Funding from the city
 +
*** Super success!
 +
** MGUG events held at least five evenings.
 +
** YIMBY events held ten meetings.
 +
** First Fridays have happened.
 +
** Movie nights have been a grand success.
 +
** Helped local artist realize their "Shimmer" exhibit
 +
** Carl (CNC machine can cut metal things now and is much quieter)
 +
** Began building out an office-like space with the earnings from the first social
 +
*** Two 4K monitors and desks
 +
*** Built a wall
 +
* 6:30: Discussions about wall building
 +
* 6:33: Final notes
 +
** Thor: Participation is important, letting other members have a try
 +
** Brad: It was a good experience. Recommend it to build a higher profile
 +
* 6:36: New board decided without a vote.
 +
** Chris Johnson
 +
** Kyle Martin
 +
** Mark Campbell
 +
** Michael Kozakewich
 +
** Nate Wild
 +
* Action item:
 +
** 3D print something for the tech club contributors
 +
** Wall builders strike force. Help come build more wall. Next Tuesday March 3rd.
  
* Meeting called 6:00pm
+
== January 28, 2020 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald ==
* FPV update
+
* No introductions needed
** FPV Wing build moved to Feb 23rd
+
* Previous minutes
** discontinuing the regular FPV extravaganza until further notice, lack of interest
+
* Financial
* Members: Read the Bylaws and propose any changes
+
** NYE Social boosted it a bunch
** announce proposed changes to bylaws on Feb 7th (still waiting for members to submit proposed changes)
+
** We still haven't gotten back up to peak members, so we'd be on a slight downward slope without these fundraisers
* Synthesizer petting zoo is gaining momentum
+
** Everything else is similar. It seems it mostly boils down to membership levels and fundraisers.
* Bylaw amendment ideas
+
* NYE Social:
** requiring invitation to apply for membership seems outdated as per our recent practices
+
** Got too much alcohol
** one guest per member in the space rule
+
** Managed to return most of that
** need to update wiki as per meeting requirements
+
** In the end we made about $1400, so it was a success
* Finances!!!! - [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aYGwbmIYlze4-M6j6GtLXJzbj61HPsWAjZ5vzSV7qug/edit?usp=sharing see report here]
+
** More than half our guests used EventBrite
** forecast: early April is when we die should we not grow our membership
+
** We keep on underpricing drinks
** next big upfront payment - july?? need to confirm
+
** The downstairs has been leased, so we can't throw any more of this type of social
* Membership strategies: we need to throw more events to gain more members!  Our efforts reflect membership growth, need to keep up the good work
+
*** Or can we? It seems the second floor of the adjoining building is still open, so that's an avenue of discussion
** Government Grants - paying for events, supplies
+
* AGM soon
** IEEE wpg section?
+
** Any bylaws or such need to be in by February 4th.
* Malware analysis was well attended
 
* Teddy Ruxpin > Furby
 
* POS terminals working - for snacks!?!?!?
 
* KeyFOBs should be hear by Feb 3rd
 
* Meeting adjourned @ 18:41
 

Latest revision as of 05:29, 3 March 2023


This page serves as the index for SkullSpace meeting minutes.

Contents

Minutes from previous years

Meeting_notes (2019)

Meeting_notes (2018)

Meeting_notes (2017)

Meeting_notes (2016)

Meeting_notes (2015)

Meeting_notes (2014)

Meeting_notes (2013)

Meeting_notes (2012)

Meeting_notes (2011)

Meeting_notes (2010)


September 2020 and beyond

We ended up losing track of the notes that were left in Slack, and now Discord. If you'd like to find the notes for a specific month but you cannot access those platforms, let someone else (or the board) know and we'll try to copy those notes here.

If you have some time and want to help with that, please go through September 2020 and onward, compiling notes from each meeting and recording them here.

February 28th, 2023 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald

  • We achieved quorum
  • Year in review:
    • Finally back in force after being on break since 2020.
    • We got a whole whack of really old augmented-reality headsets. Most seem to be running an old version of Android. Neat!
    • There was a burglary into one of the higher floors, and our footage was able to confirm that someone left the building with another tenant's bike.
    • We ground the hinges off the door to regain entry after there were errors in the fob system. It may have been a case of loose wiring. The new fire-safetied door has a keyhole for emergencies.
    • We upgraded various computer system. The fob and camera management computer was toast, so we updated the hardware and the software platform. We also got our hands on a new server with many GBs of RAM.
    • We started meeting on Discord.
    • We started hosting events on the first Friday of each month again.
    • Finally got our occupancy permit, after more than ten years in the space. We can hold events now.
  • Voting for 2023 board.
    • We had 5 candidates, so the board was acclaimed:
      • Edwin Amsler
      • Michael Kozakewich
      • Thor Robinson
      • Mark Campbell
      • Justin Labrie
    • We held a mock election for any two of Pirates, Clowns, and Ninjas. The winners were Pirates and Ninjas.
  • Financial report
    • We've climbed slowly from dangerous levels back up to an acceptable amount.
    • This was because we got a massive cut in rent, and we've been allowed to set our rent quarterly based on what we can handle.
    • At the moment, our trajectory is very flat, maybe trending downward slightly.
    • As we gain members, that'll increase. Then we'll increase our rent to flatten it again. That'll continue until we're back to our 2019 level of membership and our 2019 level of rent.
    • Everything else is pretty normal.
  • Other news
    • Movie nights are still happening. Next is March 17th.
    • HAX is coming up! We're announcing a list of presenters on Friday, and HAX itself is coming up on March 31st.

January 31st, 2023 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

December 27th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

November 29th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

October 25th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

September 27th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

August 30th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

July 26th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

June 28th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

May 31st, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

April 26th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

March 29th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

February 22nd, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

January 25th, 2022 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

December 28th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

November 30th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

October 26th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

September 28th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

August 31st, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

July 27th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

June 29th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

May 25th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

April 27th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

March 30th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

February 23rd, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

  • Got quorum.
  • Year in review:
    • This is our 12th online meeting.
    • We mourned Chris Johnson's passing in June.
    • Thank you to Thor for holding his movie nights.
    • Edwin bought us some new tools, third hands, and soldering irons.
    • We had the online Hax event in October.
    • About three pop-in hackathons.
  • Voting for 2021 board.
    • We had 5 candidates, so the board was acclaimed:
    • Edwin Amsler
    • Michael Kozakewich
    • Thor Robinson
    • Pietra Shirley
    • Kyle Martin
  • Discussions on whether we can set up a budget for our electricity bill. Either through Hydro our do it ourselves.
    • Not really necessary, really.
  • Snack donations haven't been accounted for, but we don't expect much given the lack of attendance.
  • Bitcoin endowment fund it's at 0.51687800 of a bitcoin.
  • Question was asked when we would be out of money. The estimate is approximately 12 months.
  • Concerns were raised about abuse of membership signup process where a member could cancel/renew their membership based on the weather.
    • Putting one's membership on hold at a gym, for example, is usually limited to once per year
  • Raised that we'd like to have a new rave once vaccinations are in order and we're allowed to assemble.
    • Get occupancy permit
      • Probably need railing on back steps up to fire escape.
    • Get licensed as a live music venue which allows us to run events when we'd want. (LGCA)
    • Expecting to try this around the end of the summer.
    • Ben has offered to run through this process.
    • There would be a license cost of $500-$1000 per year versus $150-$200 per event and adds the requirement of 4 weeks advance notice. Considered a reasonable investment.
    • The donation method of fundraising via livestreams has proven successful, provided a coordinated presentation and well marketed donation initiative
    • We're pending further information from the government before re-opening for usual events and gatherings.
    • Province sets the public health laws and guidelines
  • Meeting ended at 6:56 PM.

(We'll have to finally compile all the notes from Slack! Please let me know if you'd like to help with that from September onward.)

January 26th, 2021 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

December 29th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

November 24th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

October 27th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

September 29th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

August 25th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

  • Financials
    • We managed to get a rent reduction of 20% for the year.
    • We finally got the new directors added to our bank account
    • Hydro estimated an extra $100 for no reason. That just means the price will be lower in a later month.
    • We appreciate any extra donations!
    • Mark C is willing to fund volunteer work for SkullSpace. He has the money, but not the time. Are you interested in running online classes or live-streaming electronics stuff?
    • We discussed power usage. We're going through roughly $30-$40 per week, mostly because of our servers. It would be nice to lower that, but we're not pushing too hard.
  • We put an old Google Meet link on our sites and such, but apparently only Mark has access to it. We might need to make a different link.
  • Mark J is planning another Hax festival on October 17th.
    • Virtual event, live sessions, no pre-bake.
    • Payment offered for each half-hour session.
  • Edwin is now a director. Pirates won the mock vote against Ninjas.
  • September's movie stream: "Fantastic Voyage" and "Innerspace"
    • It was postponed from last month.

July 28th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

  • Financials
    • June wasn't super bad. July is super bad.
    • We're losing members at about our usual rate, but we aren't replenishing them with new members.
    • We got a bonus from some old gift card funds. (Remember FundScrip?)
    • We also forgot about some of Nate's expenses, so I went back and lowered our NYE profits and took out some snack profits.
    • We're looking into the emergency rent reduction stuff
    • It seems like we're supposed to be surviving through our members' CERB payments.
  • We've had a couple people ask about getting tours, so we should start maintaining a presence at the space again.
  • Reminder: SkullSpace offers email addresses to members. If you'd like one, just send an email to admin@.
  • We should collect impact statements from all the participants of our TEC workshops.
  • We updated our website with more COVID-19 info.
  • The election for the new director is on Tuesday. No other candidates besides Edwin, yet. Mark J is our election official, and has plans for encrypted public-channel voting. If there are no other candidates announced, he'll hold a mock vote for Pirates vs Ninjas.
  • Events
    • Online board game night next Tuesday (Aug 4) at 6:00.
    • August's movie stream: "Fantastic Voyage" and "Innerspace".

June 30th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

  • Financials
    • It turns out Google Drive wasn't backing up Michael's copy of the books, and so a data-loss event ruined several months of records. No reports this month while he rebuilds it, but we expect that the downward ramp will continue.
  • Chris Johnson passed away at the very end of May. There's a notebook at the space for anyone who'd like to record some memories. The book will be given to his parents at some point in the future.
    • Because of the new opening on the board, we're going to call some new elections. Edwin has been cleared by his company, so he'll fill that spot if no-one else nominates themselves.
    • Some members wanted to work on a memorial project for Chris. There were some ideas on Slack, but a lot of us are probably waiting until we can gather safely.
  • Edwin had brought the Prusa printer home some months ago, and was thinking about bringing it back.
  • Colin E. had some leads on a donation of synth production gear.
  • Michael would like to try to keep up appearances online even when we go back to face-to-face meetings at the space.
  • Thor is streaming movie night. This month was "Blast from the Past" and "Bubble Boy". Next month is "Starship Troopers" and "Ender's Game".

May 26th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

  • Financials
    • Starting to see that drop. Memberships down $60 from last month, which will continue.
    • We tend to get a member or two leaving every month or two, so we rely on incoming members.
    • Everything else is roughly the same
  • 16 virus cases in total in MB, so things will either get better and better, or worse and worse.
  • Thor has been streaming movie night. This month was 'Ready or Not' and 'The Cabin in the Woods'. Next month is 'Blast from the Past' and 'Bubble Boy'.

April 28th, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

  • 6:03: Ratified last-month's minutes
  • 6:06: Financials
    • The net worth is steady, but we will be losing over the next little bit due to member loss.
    • Expenses are pretty flat. Income had quite a bit of food and drink.
    • We earned $40.00 from the coffee machine, this month.
    • Membership slightly down - have not been chasing for dues, though we also haven't heard that anyone is unable to pay.
    • Michael removed members who didn't respond since February and March.
    • Michael will pay a coworking fee for using the fancy desks during April.
    • Our average monthly cost is $2400 ($1890 rent + $210 insurance + $200 utilities + 70 bank)
    • A few scenarios:
      • If literally all money stopped coming in, we'd last about three months.
      • If only our PAD amounts were still coming in, we'd last about six months.
      • If we continued on as usual, but we lost about three or four of our members, we'd be on a sixteen-month slope unless we held fundraisers.
  • 6:31: 3D Printer was making the PETG face mask straps, but clogged. Largely its been operating fine but Edwin will be ordering a replacement bed as the previous one was damaged slightly
  • 6:39: Province to announce opening up again soon in a limited fashion and we will keep people up to date
    • No events, yet, and use space sparingly.
  • 6:40: Need for an IRC bot set up for slack.
  • 6:48: If anyone is having trouble paying dues for April/ May, let Michael know in case we can get reimbursed.
    • Due to the pandemic, we have lost a few hundred dollars and it would be nice if we could get some of that.
    • We might need our members to pay with money from their own government subsidies. That might be how we're supposed to get help from the government for this.
  • 6:56: Thor streamed his movie night. The same might happen next month.

March 31st, 2020 - 18:00 @ Slack General Channel

  • Introductions
  • Last minutes
  • Financials
    • I forgot to arrange some server space with Mark, so instead I made a really long web link for the financial results
    • http://rhombitruncated.icosidodecahedron.com/skullspace_financial_reports_as_of_2020-03-31/
    • Net worth is holding pretty steady, all things considered.
    • We outlaid some expenses to get groceries and the like.
    • Our drink and snack income were fairly high, so thank you to Nate for restocking that.
    • Membership is holding steady for now.
    • I didn't collect enough over-dues.
  • Stuff
    • 3D Printer had problems again. It looked overheated. Edwin will take it home to look at it.
    • The half-taken-apart TV is Edwin's.
    • The whole place has pretty much been in stasis
  • COVID-19
    • We're trying to reduce the number of people in the space. So far there have never been more than about six.
    • We just reached 100 cases of the disease in Manitoba.
    • At the time, it could have started doubling every few days, but that's the exact point where the curve-flattening started working.
    • “I can’t go out, I’m washing my hands tonight”
    • We're not locking the space down, but we are urging members to stay home.
    • The ‘modular petting zoo’ is cancelled until further notice.
    • Gatherings of up to 10 people should still be fine.
    • We updated the front page of the website with a message.
    • We'll need to keep on top of lost funds due to cancelled memberships and non-payment. Please talk to Michael K if you need to make arrangements.

February 25th, 2020 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald

  • Started 6:00pm
  • Attendance was taken
  • We have quorum. 15 people in attendance, two proxy
  • 6:04: Year in review
    • Movie team paid for the Space and didn't use it. We made $2,000 and they cleaned the windows for us.
    • Two very well received and attended socials. A good mix of a traditional social and our gaming/hangout space.
    • Earned $1,500 for the first and $1,700 on the second.
    • Year-over-year we're doing quite well as far as earnings
    • Presented cashflow, income and expenses from the past 12 months
    • Donations for the tech club $500
    • Helga's donation for our help
  • 6:10: Membership count is currently at 58. Down from 60 last AGM.
  • 6:15: Discussing net worth, how we track what people owe us
  • 6:15: Rent was not sustainable at one point and we re-negotiated. How are we with the landlord.
    • We checked the property value and it was under $400,000. Could we buy the building?
    • We should offer to renew early?
  • 6:20: Revisiting year in review:
    • Tech club occurred in October and November which taught electronics on three separate events.
      • Arduino session, intro to 3D printing, Arduino 7 segment display
      • 15 kids aged ten to sixteen came out.
      • Funding from the city
      • Super success!
    • MGUG events held at least five evenings.
    • YIMBY events held ten meetings.
    • First Fridays have happened.
    • Movie nights have been a grand success.
    • Helped local artist realize their "Shimmer" exhibit
    • Carl (CNC machine can cut metal things now and is much quieter)
    • Began building out an office-like space with the earnings from the first social
      • Two 4K monitors and desks
      • Built a wall
  • 6:30: Discussions about wall building
  • 6:33: Final notes
    • Thor: Participation is important, letting other members have a try
    • Brad: It was a good experience. Recommend it to build a higher profile
  • 6:36: New board decided without a vote.
    • Chris Johnson
    • Kyle Martin
    • Mark Campbell
    • Michael Kozakewich
    • Nate Wild
  • Action item:
    • 3D print something for the tech club contributors
    • Wall builders strike force. Help come build more wall. Next Tuesday March 3rd.

January 28, 2020 - 18:00 @ 200-374 Donald

  • No introductions needed
  • Previous minutes
  • Financial
    • NYE Social boosted it a bunch
    • We still haven't gotten back up to peak members, so we'd be on a slight downward slope without these fundraisers
    • Everything else is similar. It seems it mostly boils down to membership levels and fundraisers.
  • NYE Social:
    • Got too much alcohol
    • Managed to return most of that
    • In the end we made about $1400, so it was a success
    • More than half our guests used EventBrite
    • We keep on underpricing drinks
    • The downstairs has been leased, so we can't throw any more of this type of social
      • Or can we? It seems the second floor of the adjoining building is still open, so that's an avenue of discussion
  • AGM soon
    • Any bylaws or such need to be in by February 4th.