Some of you may already be aware of the Drupal Usability Testing Efforts at the University of Minnesota. Dries has also posted some thoughts on this project and how it fits into the greater Drupal usability plan.
A few folks have asked whether or not we were planning on holding a local Drupal meetup event, given that Dries and a handful of core developers would be hanging out in TC for a few days. The answer to that question is: Yes! We have a jam-packed few days of work for the Drupal team, but we're going to start things off with an informal public meetup on Monday, February 25 at 6:00pm:
Details
* Location: Campus Club (Directions and Parking)
* Time: Begins at 6:00pm
* Catered by the Campus Club
What we'd like to know is, who's in? Please help us out with an informal RSVP by posting your name and an optional affiliation to this wiki page. Thanks!
If you have resources to contribute or have other ideas regarding this event, please contact Cody Hanson: hans1794 at umn.edu.
People Attending this Event:
- Chad Fennell (libsys) - (University of Minnesota Libraries)
- Cody Hanson - (University of Minnesota Libraries)
- Samir M. Nassar (steamedpenguin) - (SteamedPenguin) (TCLUG)
- Barry Madore (Advantage Labs, Inc.)
- Geoff Hankerson (Hamline University School of Law)
- Kai Curry (Sundays Energy, Inc.)
- Angela Byron (webchick) - (Lullabot)
- Jeanne Byron (jeanne beanie) - webchick's Mom. :)
- Kieran Lal (Amazon) - (Acquia)
- Kevin Hoogheem
- Greg Knaddison - (GrowingVentureSolutions)
- Nathaniel Catchpole (catch)
- Karen Stevenson (KarenS)
- Drew Gorton - (Gorton Studios)
- Erik Anderson - (Logic Product Development) (TCLUG)
- Erik Mitchell - (Logic Product Development)
- Bryan Ruby - (CMS Report)
- Tony Yarusso - (St. Michael's Lutheran Church (soon to be Drupalified), Project Virtual Northstar at Saint Paul College)
- Rob Raleigh - presuming I don't forget about it... (responsible for: moby.com, moceanworker.com, and many many other drupal-based sites)
- Joe Shindelar (eojthebrave) - (Triangle Park Creative)
- Matt J. Sorenson (emjayess d.o, g.d.o); I live way out in the prairie & sticks, but perhaps I could venture into the big scary city for this one.
- bryan kennedy - (Science Buzz) (Science Museum of Minnesota)
- Joel Back - (Science Museum of Minnesota)
- Chach Sikes - (Disease Detectives) (Science Museum of Minnesota)
- Morgan - (Science Museum of Minnesota)
- Joe Turgeon (detour) - (Sundays Energy) (Third Ave Design)
- Dan Feidt (hongpong) - (Politics in Minnesota)
- Michelle Schmidt (icelink) - (Icelink Design) (Drupal For SEO)
- Gabe Ormsby (gormsby) - (Friends of the Mississippi River and various others)
- Bevan Rudge (Bevan) - (CivicActions)
- Joshua Radke
- Dries Buytaert
- Hans Lund
- Amanda Luker - (Science Museum of Minnesota)
- Curtis Griesel - (Hopkins Public Schools) (Free Geek Twin Cities)
- Allie Micka - (Advantage Labs, Inc.) (pajunas interactive, inc.)
- Jer Davis
- Christian Haberstroh (lonelyrobot) - (Triangle Park Creative)
- Neil Drumm
- Ronan Dowling (Gorton Studios)
- David Naughton (nihiliad)
Venue Suggestions:
Thanks to all for the suggestions - it looks like we'll be able to host the event at the Campus Club in Coffman Memorial Union. (Directions and Parking) Time: 6 . /libsys
I fly in to MN at 5:56pm, so later is better for me. What's the best/fastest/cheapest way from the airport to the Campus club at that time of day? Thanks, Bevan
This might be a good time to start narrowing down our venue options. Our group is getting large enough that some venues would appreciate some heads up ahead of time. - SteamedPenguin
Other Suggested venues were:
* Stub and Herbs? Google Map (Isn't Stub and Herbs out of business? ed. SteamedPenguin)
* Town Hall Brewery - Parking garage is near. who cares about parking, oatmeal stout! - catch
* Espresso Expose ( University of Minnesota Medical Center ) - Non-alcoholic venue - Wireless available.
* The Purple Onion ( Dinkytown ) - Non-alcoholic venue - spacious - Wireless available.
* The Happy Gnome ( Saint Paul ) - Not close to the u of m campus, but good beer and nice atmosphere.
* The Kitty Kat Klub (Dinkytown) - Close and easy to fit a bunch of folks. Google Map
Suggested Hotels:
| Hotel | Phone | Proximity |
| Radisson University Hotel | 1-800-822-6757 | 2 blocks |
| University Days Inn | 612-623-3999 | 6 blocks |
| Holiday Inn Metrodome | 1-800-448-3663 | 1 mile |
| The Depot Minneapolis | 612-375-1700 | 1.5 miles |
I am not making any recommendations or assertions of quality by posting this. The hotels are only ranked by distance from my place of employment, the University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC).
The closest intersection to UMMC is Washington Ave. and Harvard Street. This puts in the heart of the University of Minnesota. From around 0700 until 1900 Route 16 runs every 10-15 minutes, which can take you to downtown Minneapolis in 5-7 minutes. Route 16 connects to our Light Rail Metrodome Station and has several stops within the University of Minnesota area.
Another frequent route is Route 2 which runs every 15 minutes. This route threads through many areas in the University of Minnesota. (SteamedPenguin)
Wouldn't mind hearing which hotel(s) people have decided to stay while visiting for this event. I'd rather the right hotel where other Drupal folks will be staying. - Bryan Ruby
Transportation:
If you are arriving by airport it is very easy to get to downtown Minneapolis. It is also cheap.
The easiest and cheapest way is to take Light Rail Transit. There are stations on either concourse, Humphrey or Lindberg.
The ticket machines take US coins and paper as well as credit cards (Visa, MasterCard). Make sure to take the train on the side that says "To Minneapolis." The train will go all the way to downtown Minneapolis in about 30 minutes. If you are staying at a hotel downtown make sure to ask them what their closest light rail stop is. To get to the University of Minnesota directly from the airport you want to exit the light rail at the Metrodome Station and take a Route 16 bus. You can ask the driver to call out the stations so you know to pull the yellow cord that indicates that you are requesting a stop. Make sure you keep your Light Rail ticket. It is good for use and re-use for two and a half hours after the time it was issued and is valid for train rides. To get to the event you want to exit the bus as the Coffman Union stop.
There is also the option to take a taxi, and some hotels have shuttles. Taking a taxi from the airport to the University of Minnesota is probably going to run around USD 30.00. (SteamedPenguin)
Advertising:
You can use the attached HTML (dries-meetup-countdown-snippet.txt) in conjunction with the Countdown Timer module to advertise the meetup on your site.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| dries-meetup-countdown-snippet.txt | 631 bytes |