[RTC List] RTC meeting Thurs 9/14

[Jill St Claire]

Yes - please be respectful of others. I have already requested (nicely) that
you limit your conversations, debates, complaints, gripes . . . to those who
WANT to hear it. Some of us are working.


-----Original Message-----
From: list-bounces at redwoodtech.org [mailto:list-bounces at redwoodtech.org] On
Behalf Of John Abela
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 5:13 PM
To: list at redwoodtech.org
Subject: Re: [RTC List] RTC meeting Thurs 9/14

Ah, the joys of feedback when some people want to hear what they want
to hear, and some people don't want to hear what others want them to
hear.

You know, week after week I read on local websites, hear at local IT
meetings, and have meetings with fellow business owners, that the RTC
is just miserably failing to continue walking in their quest to be
"the primary information resource on issues related to the technology
industry on California's North Coast" -- and for a long time I did not
agree with the, yet recently month after month I am beginning to agree
with them.

Yes, we here on the North Coast have a number of things of which to
say "Thank you" to the RTC - but what my previous email was about was
not the ancient past, but rather the distant past, the present, and
the future, in which month after month after month we are told about
topics at the RTC monthly meetings that makes one really stop and ask
themselves, "what in the world does this have to do with IT in
Humboldt County?"

(you'll notice nobody has yet to actually addressed that issue yet,
instead either agreeing with me, or flaming at me, such as the case
may be)


Do anybody remember that meeting where we all got to learn how to
stack boxes and organize our offices? Oh-boy!!  (sorry if the person
who presented that is reading this... I think it's a great topic to
talk about, but in the context of the RTC being "the primary resource
on issues related to the technology industry on California's North
Coast", well I just don't see that being a worthy topic for a monthly
meeting, considering what the RTC claims to be)

Let me address some of these comments that have been posted since I did:

-----------------------------------------
-- Timmons, Julie A. <JTimmons at dor.ca.gov>
Disagree and please don't burden everyone on the list with your
personal thoughts. Take it up with the Board.
-----------------------------------------


Hey Julie, I am taking it up with them - and everybody else!  A good
many of whom seem to agree with me both on-list and off-list  ;-)


-----------------------------------------
-- Rene Agredano <bikerat69 at aim.com>
Regarding your comments about the RTC's agenda this week... It's very
easy to criticize and flame from afar. But if you feel so strongly
that RTC is not contributing to the North Coast in the way that it
should be, then perhaps you might become actively involved and
participate. I've been closely involved with RTC since 1998, and I can
honestly say that I have never seen your name listed on any volunteer
rosters. If you don't like what we are doing, then please, get
involved. If you don't want to get involved, then keep your flames to
yourself.
-----------------------------------------

I believe you've hit the nail on the head!

Why *should* I become involved with the group that claims to be the
leaders of the IT world in Humboldt County when their primary monthly
topics are of very little relevance to the IT of Humboldt County?

You are correct, you've never seen my name on any paper work - that is
because so-far the RTC has done very little to justify the valuable
time and resources I have to offer, nor that of my business. Do I
really want to invest my time into the RTC when they are talking about
stacking boxes in my office, or learning about rockets and JPL? Ummm,
No!

I would tend to ask you, "How many companies in Humboldt County that
are primarily focused on the IT sector and are involved in the RTC on
a volunteer basis?" You being the long-standing member of the RTC that
you are, you should be able to answer that one. I happen to know that
a good deal of them are not, so along with this question, let me ask
you, "Why aren't they?"

When the leading companies of Technology in Humboldt County are not
involved in your organization, how in the world can you sit here and
expect myself and those not involved to "become involved"? -- Perhaps
the answer to this is that the RTC has simply lost it's drive, it's
focus, it's outreach to those people who ARE leading the way in
technology in Humboldt County. I might be right, I might be wrong --
but when I ask my fellow business owners and their staff if they are
involved in the RTC, most of them either chuckle or shrug their
shoulders.

My questions to the RTC would than be:  (a) why is that, and (b) could
your monthly topics have anything to do with this?


-----------------------------------------
-- Jonathan Speaker <jspeaker at streamguys.com>
Well stated.


-- Jason Woods <jason at biztechinfo.biz>
My thoughts exactly!

-----------------------------------------

Why thanks guys! It's nice to know that two folks from some well-known
IT companies in Humboldt Country are in agreement with me!


(** insert over a dozen other off-list emails I've gotten that are
identical to the above two **)


-----------------------------------------
-- Jim Nelson <jcnjr at agreda.com>
Why don't YOU do something about it then!?!?!? Or, take your personal
peeves up directly with the RTC Board (board at redwoodtech.org)? Instead
you rant to the entire list-serv, disrespecting the group and
perpetuating the myth that the RTC does no good for our community. You
obviously have no idea what we've actually accomplished. Daria's
presentation sounds like another perfect example of how technology can
help salvage our dwindling resource-based economy -- she works for JPL
from Humboldt County. Get off your ass and participate or quit your
bitching.
-----------------------------------------

Hello Jim,

Read my statement above.

I mean no disrespect toward anybody - but I do mean to seek an answer
to why the RTC which claims to be the leader of technology in Humboldt
County is using their precious monthly meetings (the very meetings
they want to charge me a fair amount of money for, and expect me to
devote my time to) to talk about things that in the opinion of 95% of
the people I encounter in Humboldt County could pretty much care less
about, and they simply see as further cause to distance themselves
from the RTC because of it.

Jim, everyone... this is about trying to wake up some people - both
those at the RTC and those I encounter (who are probably lurkers, like
I am, on this mailing list).

As I stated above:

I am a business owner. (I have a fair sized business which I operate
out of Humboldt County.)
My business is 100% technology based.
I read about the RTC and their monthly meeting topics and simply shake my
head.
I talk to people in the community to see if I'm the only one who
thinks this, and the majority agree with me.
I talk to other IT Business owners, and they agree with me.
I talk with local IT Mangers, and they agree with me.
I talk with IT Tech Support employees and they agree with me.
(hey, the two guys I posted above agree with me, plus many more who've
emailed me off-list!)


My points here RTC'ers, are:

It seems like you are claiming a lot ("the leaders of the IT in
Humboldt County") yet your monthly meetings are not focused on present
IT issues in Humboldt County.

I read you are increasing your prices for membership, yet what is
coming with it? -- More monthly meetings about topics that have very
little in relationship to those people you NEED to be members of the
RTC.



-----------------------------------------
-- Daria Topousis <dariat at cox.net>

I understand your concern about my talk not relating specifically to
RTC functions.  I do, however, think the talk is useful to the RTC in
that what I'm focusing on is not so much the technical makeup of
rockets but what made
that period of innovation possible, something that I think those of us
trying to make technological changes on the North Coast could learn
from or be inspired by.  That's my intention, anyway.
-----------------------------------------

Daria,

I do sincerely hope you do not take this topic personal -- I really,
really, really do mean that!

This was in no way related to your presentation, but rather a
continued digression away from
present-day-pushing-forward-with-technology-in-humbolt-county, which
is what the RTC claims they are all about, yet appears to be doing
very poorly recently. I operate a fairly moderate size operation and
have thought often about joining the RTC, yet they continual seem to
be focused on topics other than what *I* see is within their mission
statement, and it is that very issue that has lead me to post this
message. By no means are you are apart of this issue!! Please know and
understand this... pretty please :)


-----------------------------------------
-- Jason Woods <jason at biztechinfo.biz>

Isn't it my right as a paying member to express my views on the
list-serv? We'll discuss results later
-----------------------------------------

One would hope so ;)


-----------------------------------------
-- Andy Alm <andy at almlet.net>

My assumption was that the factors that fostered heightened creativity
and innovation in the past in one high-tech sector in California might
be of relevance to us here. I hope others don't make a judgement based
on what they haven't heard yet, and preserve us from flame-wars on this
list.
-----------------------------------------

I agree Andy. I'm simply after answers to my previous answers. I
didn't start the flame-war. All I did was present a perceived problem
with the RTC and sought for clarification -- they say if you throw a
rock into a pack of wolves, the one that whelped is the one that got
hit. Well, I've obviously hit upon an issue that needed further
addressing and possibly clarification by people other than just
myself.



I'm going to close this message now. To you RTC Board Members... I
both request you to answer my questions, and ask yourself these
questions I've asked -- as there are a great deal of IT Business
owners, managers, and employees who are really wondering what the RTC
is doing to fulfill your mission statement, what you are presenting to
your members on a monthly basis, and what you are (or are not) doing
to continue to push forward the technology of Humboldt County. I am
not against the RTC by any means - yet, if you want my support and
money, and the support and money of other local business, and that of
the large group of IT'ers I meet with on a weekly basis, I truly do
feel you need to take to heart what is being said here.


John B. Abela

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