FC 2011-11-24 Transcript

[20:59] <@Rintaran> Hello, hello. [20:59] <@MikeBleskie> Good e'en [20:59] <~MikkelPaulson> hey there [20:59] <~MikkelPaulson> whoa [20:59] <~MikkelPaulson> quorum! [21:01] <~MikkelPaulson> so, being that we have quorum and it's 9:00, I'll call the meeting to order [21:01] <~MikkelPaulson> is there any business? [21:01] <~MikkelPaulson> yes, I got your message about the transcripts, Shawn [21:01] <@MikeBleskie> I have one piece [21:02] <@MikeBleskie> It's not a big one, but I thought it was rather comical considering the nature of it [21:03] <~MikkelPaulson> oh? [21:03] <@Rintaran> Go ahead Mike. [21:03] <@MikeBleskie> Remember during the branding of the VPN, there were quite a few names put forward? [21:04] <~MikkelPaulson> I do [21:04] <@MikeBleskie> It turns out the domain or.ca, which was a suggestion of mine, has gone into redemption status [21:04] <~MikkelPaulson> (Rintaran how far back did you want to go?) [21:04] <@MikeBleskie> and so I'm looking into getting a form so I can bid for it [21:04] <~MikkelPaulson> interesting [21:05] <@MikeBleskie> Though the price might be quite ridiculous in the bidding itself [21:05] <~MikkelPaulson> yes [21:05] <~MikkelPaulson> absolutely [21:05] <@Rintaran> Well, you were going to send me the last three weeks, but that was last weekend. My netbook is back from its trip to London, so I only need the one and the WordPress template. [21:05] <@Rintaran> And it can go to my @pirateparty address. [21:05] <~MikkelPaulson> 4-letter domains go for muy dough [21:05] <~MikkelPaulson> okay [21:07] <@Rintaran> Mikkel, I received a message from James earlier, neither he nor the translator he found that I advised you of and Stephane passed on to directors@ have received the vote letter for translation yet. [21:07] <~MikkelPaulson> okay, I'll send it on to them, and see that they're added to the list [21:08] <@Rintaran> In my opinion, you should clear the list and start a new one with them. [21:09] <~MikkelPaulson> valid point [21:09] <@Rintaran> The other "translators" didn't even reply to say they wouldn't be able to do it. Start with what we have available, and we can add as we go. [21:10] <~MikkelPaulson> though one of them just showed up in #canada [21:11] <@MikeBleskie> Another thing: I went over to observe the Ontario New Democratic Youth conference in town recently, and aside from heavily debating with Trotskyists in attendance, I got to converse with Paul Dewar, Peggy Nash, and Romeo Saganash [21:13] <@Rintaran> How did it go? [21:13] <@MikeBleskie> I should especially note that each gave their absolute commitment to continuing their opposition to legislation like C-11 [21:15] <@MikeBleskie> I was especially impressed, but not surprised, by Dewar's answer which went beyond the realm of the other two in that he could explain the specifics of the usage of copyrighted works in education, the importance of fair use, and the economy of media [21:15] <~MikkelPaulson> they're the official opposition, that's their job [21:15] <~MikkelPaulson> but still encouraging [21:15] <~MikkelPaulson> cool [21:15] <@MikeBleskie> I cannot wait until the NDP debate in Sudbury [21:15] <@MikeBleskie> Brian Topp is to be in attendance, and I want to hold him to task [21:15] <~MikkelPaulson> when I run into NDs, I just say, "trust Charlie Angus" [21:18] <@Rintaran> He's a good man. Had a few good conversations with him and Thibeault in the past. [21:18] <@MikeBleskie> But this also leads me to thinking about what I'm doing politically, and in fact, I have recieved increased pressure to join the NDs from both people I know in the party, and in fact from Paul Dewar himself [21:18] <@MikeBleskie> And being in Thibeault's riding, it's an attractive pull [21:20] <~MikkelPaulson> I can imagine [21:22] <~MikkelPaulson> well, they definitely have a lot more to offer you than we do here [21:22] <@Rintaran> Well, things are beginning to roll here in Ottawa. [21:23] <@Rintaran> We have a pirate ship that we can use as part of a float, which when combined with some pamphlets for distribution and a flag would work as decent advertisement of the party in a parade. [21:24] <@Rintaran> I just popped out our latest bi-weekly e-mal update/reminder, and our next local meeting is this upcoming Tuesday. [21:24] <~MikkelPaulson> our next should be next Thursday I guess [21:24] <@Rintaran> We should be looking at having at least 5 people out this time, from the confirmations I've received so far. [21:24] <~MikkelPaulson> haven't actually done it for a couple of months because I keep forgetting to announce in time [21:25] <~MikkelPaulson> I'll do that this time [21:25] <~MikkelPaulson> hope so! [21:25] <@MikeBleskie> If I had stayed in Ottawa, things would certainly keep trucking on for me here. Like I said, I'm not ready to quit entirely [21:26] <@Rintaran> Also, I've decided that I will be running for the political board after the constitution has finally been ratified, and I plan to enter the next election. [21:26] <@Rintaran> I don't know where I'll be living in 2015, but I'm hoping I'm already there. [21:27] <@MikeBleskie> Fantastic [21:27] <@Rintaran> The possibility exists that I may relocate to London within that time, in which case I'll just have to hand over the Ottawa reins to Ascroft and start up a regular group there. [21:27] <@Rintaran> :) [21:28] <@Rintaran> I know there's copyright and digital rights interest in Sudbury too Mike, you just need to start getting the ball rolling. [21:28] <@Rintaran> Contact the various writing groups and arts organizations. Give a brief speech or so, and you can get a core group going. [21:30] <~MikkelPaulson> I'm glad to hear it, Shawn [21:30] <~MikkelPaulson> (sorry, stepped away for a moment) [21:30] <~MikkelPaulson> I've been on the fence about running again [21:31] <~MikkelPaulson> on one hand, I think the right move for me and for the party would be to step away [21:31] <~MikkelPaulson> on the other, the party is in very much the same position as it was when I first ran: in need of a leader and without any strong candidates [21:32] <@Rintaran> Ah, but the new method of voting requires the strongest choices by will of the party to explicitly deny the leader and deputy leader positions. [21:33] <@Rintaran> I would think it likely whomever had the most approvals would accept the role as the will of the electorate. [21:33] <@Rintaran> It'll be precedent setting regardless of which way it falls. [21:33] <~MikkelPaulson> who would run? [21:33] <~MikkelPaulson> would/will [21:34] <@Rintaran> Well, I'm running for political board. I believe jfweiss will be as well. I'm trying to convince James to run, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ric did too. [21:34] <~MikkelPaulson> wait, so one doesn't run for leader anymore? [21:34] <@Rintaran> No. You don't run for leader anymore. [21:34] <~MikkelPaulson> I missed that part of the amendment [21:35] <@Rintaran> You now run for political board. It's by approval voting. The one with the most approval votes wins leadership. They can opt to deny the leader position (which also denys them deputy leader position) [21:35] <~MikkelPaulson> I see [21:36] <@Rintaran> It moves down the chain until someone accepts the leader position. [21:36] <~MikkelPaulson> well, based on your performance in the last election, I think that gives you a real chance of winning leadership if you'll accept it [21:36] <@Rintaran> And the next one after that becomes deputy leader. [21:36] <@Rintaran> If that's how it crumbles, I'll accept it. [21:37] <~MikkelPaulson> I'm glad to hear it [21:37] <@Rintaran> If it doesn't crumble that way, I'll accept deputy leader, or just political board member, or shake hands with the winners and help from the sidelines. [21:38] <~MikkelPaulson> assuming the rest of your life stops getting in the way, I think you'd make a fine leader [21:38] <@Rintaran> I think I got life handled now. [21:38] <@Rintaran> It looks like they'll be hiring me on proper where I'm temping. [21:38] <~MikkelPaulson> glad to hear it [21:38] <~MikkelPaulson> I'm still working on mine [21:39] <@Rintaran> The kid's finally getting things ironed out regarding health card, and is enrolled for next semester in high school. And the wife has a temp job while she waits on results from her exam. [21:39] <~MikkelPaulson> cool [21:40] <@Rintaran> Things are finally going smooth, and my job lets me conduct my own research, write articles, compose long-winded update e-mails, and read through government reports between actual work-related tasks. [21:40] <~MikkelPaulson> and it sounds like things are going well with galvanizing PPCA support in Ottawa [21:40] <~MikkelPaulson> not so much in Montreal as yet, but I'm not about to give up? [21:40] <@Rintaran> It's starting. Between the interviews, and meeting with school groups, the questions on the bus ride home, etc things are spreading. [21:40] <~MikkelPaulson> s/?// [21:41] <@Rintaran> I caught someone looking us up on their smartphone on the bus today. Had a great 20-minute chat on the way to Hurdman. [21:42] <@Rintaran> Do we have any sort of update concerning the formation of BCPP or PPQC? [21:43] <~MikkelPaulson> sounds like PPQC is dead in the water, with Jack planning on refocusing his efforts on supporting us instead [21:43] <~MikkelPaulson> which disappoints but does not surprise me [21:43] <~MikkelPaulson> haven't heard about BCPP [21:43] <@Rintaran> drew was working on BCPP right? [21:43] <~MikkelPaulson> I believe so, yes [21:44] <@Rintaran> Do we have an e-mail address for him? I'd like to drop him a line and find out if there's anything we can do to help. [21:44] <@Rintaran> Provincial parties are going to be a good way to grow our base in a more localized fashion. [21:44] <@Rintaran> The more often they see our name, even if its with a provincial party, the better. [21:45] <~MikkelPaulson> and we need more targeted efforts [21:46] <~MikkelPaulson> recruiting "Canadians" hasn't been hugely effective [21:46] <@Rintaran> We need to get that survey done to find out our current demographics and start running a properly targeted advertising campaign using all channels available to us. [21:47] <~MikkelPaulson> indeed [21:47] <~MikkelPaulson> and for what it's worth [21:47] <@Rintaran> I'd also love to extend our merch line to some more useful items if possible. Messenger bags and tote bags come to mind as things we can use for sales-fundraising or as give-away items. [21:47] <~MikkelPaulson> I would trust Jack with handling our IT needs [21:48] <@Rintaran> I can say I don't really know him, but if I could get his e-mail, I could certainly begin to form a good working relationship there as well. [21:49] <~MikkelPaulson> not sure if I have it, actually [21:49] <~MikkelPaulson> I'll see what contact information I can track down [21:49] <~MikkelPaulson> I do have him on Facebook and Twitter [21:50] <@Rintaran> It looks like he's yanked the pirateqc.ca page and is using it as a quasi-blog now. [21:51] <@Rintaran> Did you get an order in for those flags? [21:51] <@Rintaran> And what kind of pricing should I pass on to my crew? [21:52] <~MikkelPaulson> depends [21:52] <~MikkelPaulson> do we want to make a profit from them? [21:52] <~MikkelPaulson> they're about the most visible promo items you can get [21:52] <~MikkelPaulson> so I think it's worth running a narrower margin on them than other merch [21:53] <@Rintaran> A reasonable profit wouldn't hurt. Nothing extravagant, but a narrower margin sounds good. [21:54] <~MikkelPaulson> well our ~$30 cost of printing is high enough [21:54] <@Rintaran> Is that for the outdoor ones we were going to order, or the regular indoor ones? [21:54] <~MikkelPaulson> a reasonable profit would put it out of the reasonable price for a flag [21:54] <~MikkelPaulson> that's for the ones we ordered before [21:54] <~MikkelPaulson> so the small ones would be less, the big more [21:55] <@Rintaran> A 30 - 40% profit is reasonable. If we have the cost figures, we can do the calculations, round to nearest whole dollar. [21:55] <~MikkelPaulson> which means $60+ for a 3x6' flag? [21:56] <~MikkelPaulson> I don't think so [21:56] <@Rintaran> ? [21:56] <@Rintaran> Wouldn't that be 100% profit? [21:56] <@Rintaran> If they're about $30, then 30% would bring it to $40 [21:56] <@Rintaran> (well, $39) [21:57] <~MikkelPaulson> … right [21:57] <@Rintaran> Calculator jammed on you right? :P [21:58] <~MikkelPaulson> no, just my abacus is missing a bead [21:59] <@Rintaran> Makes sense to me. :) [21:59] <@Rintaran> I'm assuming you've already ordered the quantities we discussed last week, so you should have the actual costs on hand right? [21:59] <~MikkelPaulson> the present flags are $30 and change [22:00] <~MikkelPaulson> I think the outdoor ones were $40–45ish [22:00] <~MikkelPaulson> but we can discuss pricing once we have pricing [22:00] <@Rintaran> Ah. So not yet ordered. [22:00] <~MikkelPaulson> how would I do that? [22:01] <@Rintaran> Pretty much have to put in the order, or use the request a quote option through the site you used last time. [22:01] <@Rintaran> Maybe Stephane was the one that handled it then? [22:01] <@Rintaran> I thought it was you, but I could be wrong. [22:01] <~MikkelPaulson> wasn't me [22:01] <~MikkelPaulson> as far as I know, Stephane is the only one who can [22:02] <@Rintaran> He's the only one on as an official agent for the party isn't he? [22:02] <~MikkelPaulson> actually the Pirate Party of Canada Fund is at present [22:03] <~MikkelPaulson> which is him and his wife [22:03] <@Rintaran> Right, so all expenses and payments do currently need to go through them. [22:03] <@Rintaran> Can you get in touch with him and get the scoop on how to move forward? [22:04] <~MikkelPaulson> will do [22:05] <@Rintaran> I also still need that WordPress template if you can send it. [22:05] <@Rintaran> It'll help me get it into the hands of all candidates and get my own "vote for me" site up and running sooner. :) [22:05] <~MikkelPaulson> okay [22:06] <~MikkelPaulson> indeed [22:06] <@Rintaran> Bleskie, are you still around? [22:06] <@Rintaran> I'd like to know how both of you feel about the UBB ruling. [22:06] <@Rintaran> It's a little late to the party, but we need to get an article on the front page concerning it. [22:08] <~MikkelPaulson> baffled, gratified, and terrified [22:08] <~MikkelPaulson> with the CRTC, one bit of good news… [22:10] <@Rintaran> That's a bit of a confused reply, care to expand on it any? [22:10] <@Rintaran> Preferably with something I can quote... :P [22:15] <~MikkelPaulson> It's encouraging to see the CRTC defending the rights of Canadians, but one supportive ruling isn't enough to change the fact that the CRTC needs a complete overhaul to prevent conflicts of interest from undermining a level playing field in the telecom industry [22:16] <@Rintaran> Sounds like a great line to quote to me. :) [22:16] <~MikkelPaulson> good enough? [22:16] <~MikkelPaulson> I'm good at that [22:16] <~MikkelPaulson> :) [22:18] <~MikkelPaulson> sorry, I'm going to have to leave right away [22:18] <~MikkelPaulson> and being that Mike has already gone, I think that about wraps it up for tonight [22:18] <@Rintaran> No problem. I think we're more or less done anyways. [22:18] <@Rintaran> Next time I pop you off an e-mail though, can you pls reply to at least let me know you got it? [22:20] <~MikkelPaulson> will do [22:20] <~MikkelPaulson> sorry, I don't get my PPCA email at work, so I might be a bit slow [22:20] <@Rintaran> Ah. Mine goes to my cell now. So I can get it, I just don't like to reply that way. [22:23] <~MikkelPaulson> hm [22:23] <~MikkelPaulson> okay [22:24] <~MikkelPaulson> anyway, thanks for coming [22:24] <~MikkelPaulson> I'll try to get that template to you tonight [22:24] <@Rintaran> Good to see you out again Mikkel. :) [22:24] <@Rintaran> I'll have the minutes for last week and this week up tonight. [22:24] <@Rintaran> The previous two meetings will go up this weekend now that my netbook is back. [22:24] <@Rintaran> And thanks in advance for sending me the template. [22:25] <~MikkelPaulson> sounds good [22:25] <~MikkelPaulson> goodnight Shawn [22:25] <~MikkelPaulson> thanks for coming [22:25] <@Rintaran> G'night.

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