-- Start log: Wednesday, March 7, 2012 9:04:24 pm ASI Meeting Server time-- 
Lunadyne says, "Who did that?" dcarson says, "me" Lunadyne says, "Just
to repeat the membership report, the # stands at 146, +2 from the last
meeting." dcarson says, "hurray" Lunadyne says, "Sorry Dana, didn't see you
sneak in." Lunadyne says, "Now that you're here, we can talk about the
Treasury." dcarson says, "ok" Lunadyne says, "As I recall, your friend was
going to look into 501c3 capable accountants?" dcarson says, "haven't found
one yet" Lunadyne says, "Well it seems we have a bit more time before the
QuickBooks tutorials can get underway, so that's okay. We do need to keep
this a priority, as it feeds into a lot of other things we can't do until
we get everything straightened out." dcarson says, "very true" Scottyg
says, "Dana, I think we can start Quickbooks tutorials next week." dcarson
says, "good" dcarson says, "let me know when you want me here" Lunadyne
says, "It may be we're out of luck on accountants until after the Ides of
April." dcarson says, "yeah, spending time getting my stuff together so I
can go to mine for taxes" Lunadyne says, "ditto" Scottyg says, "How does
9:00 EST work for you Dana?" dcarson says, "pm?" Lunadyne says, "Is that
21:00 or 09:00?" Scottyg says, "Finished my taxes Monday." Scottyg says,
"21:00" dcarson says, "sounds fine" Scottyg says, "Dana isn't awake at
09:00." Strangelv-3 has yet to look at the 1065; has precinct conventions
to worry about first Lunadyne says, "Excellent. (in best Monty Burns
voice)" dcarson says, "I am some days" dcarson says, "more often going to
bed real late though" Lunadyne says, "Unless I missed Peter, Ben or Jason
popping in, looks like the next item to talk about on the agenda is the
2012 ISDC." Scottyg says, "Yeah, sometimes I'm awake at 05:00 too, but not
often." Scottyg says, "Ken. 21:00 is the middle of the day for Dana."
Lunadyne says, "Our track is confirmed for Sunday afternoon. Four hours."
bnault has arrived. Strangelv-3 says, "I believe we have quorum now" bnault
says, "hello everyone! sorry for the late arrival..." Strangelv-3 says,
"You made it earlier than a few others" bnault says, "I guess we are
waiting for a few others." Lunadyne says, "Welcome Ben!" bnault says,
"hello Ken!" bnault says, "we may want to discuss my recommendations of
3-4wks ago re: the Kindle project." Scottyg says, "According to Team
Director, we have 4 new members and a net gain of 2, so we must have lost
2." Lunadyne says, "I believe we do have a quorum. We were just discussing
the 2012 ISDC." bnault says, "ISDC is in DC yes?" dcarson says, "this year
yes" Lunadyne says, "Correct. Our track is confirmed for Sunday afternoon,
four hours." Lunadyne says, "There's a call tomorrow night with NSS on the
tracks." Lunadyne says, "I just got a call from Dave who wants to talk
about tomorrow's call." bnault says, "Sunday PM is a bit unfortunate, if it
is like ISDCs I remember a lot of folks will be leaving." Lunadyne says,
"You got it, which means we need to be spectacular." Lunadyne says, "We can
do some marketing if we host a hospitality suite again." bnault says,
"hopefully if our track is good, we can get a better spot for 2013."
dcarson says, "Space Solar Power Smposium is also Sunday" Lunadyne says,
"Seems odd they'd put it so late in the con if that's one of their big
pushes right now." dcarson says, "http://isdc.nss.org/2012/schedule.shtml"
dcarson says, "there is stuff on Manday also" Lunadyne says, "Doesn't mean
anyone will be there for it. My 2007 conference was primarily local folks
getting Moon Rock certification on Monday." pjbanyai has arrived. Lunadyne
says, "Hey Paul! We're just discussing ISDC." pjbanyai says, "Hi everyone."
dcarson says, "I won't be at ISDC, is the same weekend as Balticon where I
help with the science track" dcarson says, "could drive down some evening
to get together though" Lunadyne says, "How does everyone feel about
hosting a hospitality suite? Having a bit of budget would help in that
regard. Moonshine ain't cheap." Strangelv-3 says, "erk. Didn't they do this
last time it was in DC?" Lunadyne says, "Do what?" Strangelv-3 says, "Have
a date collision with Balticon" Lunadyne says, "I doubt it entered into
their planning." dcarson says, "no last time they were a week apart, I made
both" dcarson says, "unless I'm missing one and it was the time before
last" lesausl says, "'Hospitality suite' Isn't that where we rent a hotel
room and basically just party with people and tell them about lunar
settlemtn?" dcarson says, "yep" Strangelv-3 says, "Technically they have
special rooms that are the suites" lesausl says, "I'm for it. Even though I
won't be there . . ." Lunadyne says, "Last year there was a specific suite
for it near the con offices." Strangelv-3 will not be able to attend. He's
only made it to ISDC 2007 Lunadyne says, "We had a LOT of fun, and SFF
changed their party planning based on what we had done." Lunadyne says, "I
don't hear anyone against the idea, so I will pursue it." Lunadyne says,
"I'll keep everyone updated as the track evolves." Scottyg says, "I think a
budget for hospitality suite supplies is in order." Lunadyne says, "Since
I'm going to be spending the money, I won't make any recommendations."
pjbanyai says, "Was Peter reminded of today's meeting? My sister is one of
the new members. She spoke with Peter a few days ago about possibly helping
out on MMM." Scottyg says, "Yeah, I forwarded her registration comments to
Peter." Scottyg says, "About being willing to help on MMM." Lunadyne says,
"Ben, I seem to recall you want to help out with MMM as well." Scottyg
says, "I didn't see any meeting reminders." bnault says, "not with MMM per
se, but with the Kindle project, yes." bnault says, "we need to set up
Yahoo Group reminders..." Lunadyne says, "What were you going to say
earlier about your recommendations re: e-book project." bnault says, "let
me look for my original email..." pjbanyai says, "I have not had time to
work on the Google apps calender I had set up. I sent a manual reminder for
a previous meeting." Lunadyne says, "The main holdup we have is that we
don't want to set up the Amazon admin stuff until we have our books worked
out and 501c3 status cemented." Lunadyne says, "So the main priority is to
keep converting Classics and Themes until we can publish them." Lunadyne
says, "The more we have publishing ready, the bigger the splash we can
make." Lunadyne says, "I do want to do a press release when they do come
online." bnault says, "here is my email of feb 10 (I hope copy and paste
will work):" bnault says, "Here is an update." bnault says, "Converting to
Kindle from a PDF works, but the results are not great." bnault says, "The
PDF format keeps the relative sizing and positioning constant. In Kindle
format, all that is lost." bnault says, "The text flows too tightly, in my
opinion, and reformatting would be desirable, necessary even: adding spaces
in between articles, sections, etc." bnault says, "I have attached a Kindle
version of the MMM Classics#1 sent to me by Peter." bnault says, "Since he
is a Kindle Fire owner, I include Dennis on this email. Dennis, please give
us your detailed feedback as to the issues you see." bnault says, "I am a
bit disadvantaged as I do not own a Kindle. I use the PC version of the
Kindle which has the drawback that screen sizing and proportions are
variable and can be changed at will. This does not give me an accurate idea
of what a document looks like on an actual Kindle." bnault says, "As I
mentioned before, the ideal format to convert from is the MS-Word document
(*.doc). This is not my opinion - it is what is recommended by Amazon's
Kindle formatting guide:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2RYO17TIRUIVI" bnault
says, "So, I attempted to convert the PDF version into a .doc version using
a paid version of Adobe Acrobat (version 8). The resulting .doc file is
also attached to this email." bnault says, "The results are clearly
disappointing. Much of the formatting was lost, headers do not work, text
fonts are too small, text "flow" around images does not work, etc. etc."
bnault says, "All the formatting work done by Peter on the PDF would need
to be redone. Essentially doubling the work required to produce a Kindle
book." bnault says, "I conclude from this initial test that the formatting
work needs to be done directly in MS-Word." bnault says, "IF the MMM's were
strictly text documents with simple separations or formatting (i.e.
chapters), we could conceivably work from PDF. But it does not work with
the MMMs as they are: too many images, different layouts, etc." bnault
says, "Ken, for this project to work, I would make the following
recommendations:" bnault says, "(1) buy a copy of MS-Word (Mac version) for
Peter - there is no sense working with software that requires the work to
be done multiple times;" bnault says, "(2) have the Moon Society also look
into buying actual Kindles for the Kindle book team - I do not know exactly
how many we need. But we need to seriously look into this and discuss. The
alternative is to find reliable reviewers (Kindle owners) willing to spend
time looking at our multiple conversion attempts AND supply detailed
feedback. " dcarson says, "the kindle apps seem to work a lot like the
actual tablet" bnault says, "it does work a lot like the actual tablet, but
it does not have the shape and size of the tablet." dcarson says, "friend
of mine has a Kindle Fire, can try some on that " bnault says, "problem is
if we rely on friends, friends of friends, we will never finish. " bnault
says, "we need quick reliable feedback." bnault says, "Even Dennis,
mentionned in my email, never provided feedback." Strangelv-3 says, "$80
for a new kindle; not sure what a used legacy model off of EBay would be"
Lunadyne says, "I would say it makes sense to buy at least one Kindle for
the team. " bnault says, "Recommendation #2 is useless without discussing
recommendation #1." bnault says, "it is more problematic, IMHO." Lunadyne
says, "Hold on a sec." Lunadyne says, "Okay, it was Bryce I was talking
with." lesausl says, "You mean Bryce Waldon, right?" Lunadyne says, "One of
the things to consider is Peter's role as both editor and main content
contributor for MMM." Lunadyne says, "Bryce Johnson." lesausl says, "Oh."
Lunadyne says, "I see his role as far more valuable in the content
contribution department." Lunadyne says, "I'd like to have him spend less
of his time editing MMM, and more of his time contributing content. And
working on other projects." bnault says, "sorry Ken...his role...him...??
Peter?" Strangelv-3 says, "Non-broken legacy kindles on EBay are a large
percentage of teh price of the new cheap one. $50 to get past the ones with
broken screans or can't power up" Lunadyne says, "Yes, Peter." Lunadyne
says, "I'm seeing $65-80 on Craigslist here in Dallas." Strangelv-3 says,
"So if price is what we care about we might as well get the new one"
Strangelv-3 says, "Only get a used one to test earlier models" Lunadyne
says, "Ultimately, we need a new editor for MMM. Paul's indicated his
sister want's to help out, as did Bryce J. Thing is, I don't want Peter to
think there's some sort of palace coup going on for control of MMM."
Lunadyne says, "I'm only in favor of the most recent model of Kindle, but
without any bells or whistles." bnault says, "Agree with James, but as I
said, getting Kindles is secondary to the making sure we get good workable
source files." dcarson says, "we might have to send proof of 501c3 status
but
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/Microsoft-Word-2011-for-Mac-license/2208903.aspx?cm_mmc=ShoppingFeeds-_-GoogleBase-_-Software-_-2208903_Microsoft%20Word%202011%20for%20Mac%20-%20license_MBC-D48-01044"
Lunadyne says, "Agreed, but do we get MS Word for just Peter, or all of the
editors?" dcarson says, "word for $30 bucks" Strangelv-3 checks the title
of contributing editor. That might be Peter's new title if he's replaced as
editor in chief bnault says, "finding someone to do the MS-Word work for
Peter may be the way to go." bnault says, "are we eligible for Charity
status?" Lunadyne says, "I asked Bryce J. to come up with a mack-up of how
he'd do MM." lesausl says, "Would it still be 'MMM'? No name change?"
Strangelv-3 says, "HOw about executive editor? The actual editing is
delegated to the actual editor atnd Peter does the writing" bnault says,
"the name MUST not change" lesausl says, "Ok." Lunadyne says, "Sorry, yes,
MMM." Strangelv-3 firmly agrees. it's getting close to 25 years dcarson
says, "we are a 501c3 so we should be" Lunadyne says, "We're supposed to be
501c3, but there's a break in the 990-N chain that we have to file with the
IRS so our status is uncertain until we can get an accountant to give us a
clean opinion on our books and back-fill the past 990-Ns and get us all
current with everyone." lesausl says, "I prefer to keep it 'MMM' also."
Scottyg says, "By definition 501c3 is a charity." Strangelv-3 says,
"December 2014 implement a 5, 10, and 25 years ago column?" Lunadyne says,
"I like." Lunadyne says, "At this point we're getting Dana up to speed on
QuickBooks so he can start generating reports, and finding an accountant
for the clean audit and 990-N filing." Lunadyne says, "I do think we need
to get a copy of MS-Word to whomever ends up with the gruntwork end of the
editing." Lunadyne says, "Like I said, I think Peter is most valuable in
the generation of content. The actual layout is a time suck." pjbanyai
says, "I just sent a few Guidestar admin invites and a forward of the
Google Calendar reminder [I had turned off autoforwarding while setting up
the email account]. " dcarson says, "and is easier to learn then creating
stuff is" bnault says, "I agree with you Ken. " Strangelv-3 says, "MAke him
executive editor -- the actual editor does the editing and he's promoted
past editing" bnault says, "We need someone to specifically work on layout
and design, and final production." bnault says, "got the email, Paul"
Lunadyne says, "Something that Bryce J. has expressed an interest in. With
the help of Paul's sister." Lunadyne says, "I am worried about Peter's
response. It is his baby, and he has been doing it a long time."
Strangelv-3 says, "Which means whatever we want needs to be in a form that
will meet with his approval" Strangelv-3 says, "If the actual editor works
for him, it might just be a matter of how happy he is with the editor"
bnault says, "he might appreciate having more time to work on other
projects. plus he has repeatedly expressed the need for a successor."
lesausl says, "What concerns me is putting it all together fom three
different editors in a timely fashion." Strangelv-3 says, "The single
column experiment with the recent issue wasn't very nice looking ot me. It
was too much like trying to read a Dr Bronner's label. it also had a lot
less gravitas" bnault says, "agreed with James: Peter has to approve and
like the editor." lesausl says, "Deadlines arre the name of the game
anyway, but I am concerned about VERY narrow work times." Strangelv-3 says,
"We migcht need a longer pipeline from start to finish, and possibly have
2-3pisodes in various stages at all times?" Lunadyne says, "With a team
they might be able to get a month ahead." Strangelv-3 says, "2-3 issues,
too" bnault says, "the single column was a direct result of the Kindle
format." Strangelv-3 says, "A different workaround might be worth finding"
Strangelv-3 says, "If Peter's no longer doing all the work, it might be
easier to do it two ways" bnault says, "Kindle only supports single column.
period." Strangelv-3 says, "The hardcopy isn't being read with a kindle"
lesausl says, "How 'bout creating a new position exclusively for the Kindle
work. . ." bnault says, "yes, the hardcopy can be multi-column." Lunadyne
says, "Well, let's think about it for a minute. We aren't going to be
putting the newest MMMs on Kindle quickly. I think at minimum a one month
lag, better 3-month, betterer 6-month, and ideally 12-month." Scottyg says,
"It may be possible with Word to create two different styles and paste the
content into both. One produces two-column hardcopy format, the other
produces single-column Kindle format." Lunadyne says, "My preference is
that we start with issue #1 and work forward. After the Classics and Themes
and all." Lunadyne says, "Good idea, we'd just have to standardize the
placement of cross-page items." Scottyg says, "I probably shoud have called
them templates, not styles." Strangelv-3 says, "What if we retcon Peter's
title from editor to publisher?" Lunadyne says, "Executive Publisher,
emeritus?" Strangelv-3 says, "Actually that may not work" Strangelv-3 says,
"Executive publisher if he still has the responsibility, I'm thinking"
Strangelv-3 says, "That might be the same as publisher, but what he's done
for the past 23 years has been a bit more hands-on that publisher"
Strangelv-3 says, "s/executiev publisher/executive editor/" Lunadyne says,
"Okay, let's table the MS-Word issue till next meeting, but continue to
work on the back issues." Strangelv-3 wonders if he's alone in wathing to
preservze the historical interest only articles bnault says, "Ken, the back
issues work also requires MS-Word..." Lunadyne says, "Yes, but we do have
other issues on the agenda and we've spent a lot of time on this issue, and
as with many things it doesn't look like we're going to make much progress
tonite." bnault says, "I thought you were talking about back issues of MMM,
ooops!" Lunadyne says, "Well, it's all encompassing." Strangelv-3 reads the
meeting agenda Strangelv-3 looks at Ken Lunadyne says, " I'm typing and
erasing a flurry of comments because Ben has my brain on hyperdrive right
now and my fingers can't keep up." Lunadyne says, "Here are the issues:"
Lunadyne says, "1) We can't publish yet on Amazon." Lunadyne says, "We
can't get a cheap copy of MS-Word." Lunadyne says, "3) We're still working
out the kinks in the system" dcarson says, "depends on what they want as
proof of 501c3 status" Lunadyne says, "I don't want to be cleaning up
financial crap later. I want a clean audit and a backfilling of the
990-Ns." Lunadyne says, "Trust me. Cleaning up financial crap is sooooo not
fun." lesausl says, "Amen." Lunadyne says, "Okay, I want to talk postcards.
" Lunadyne says, "It looks like 1000 of them will run $100-150-ish."
Lunadyne says, "I'd like to get budget approval to print up say $250 buck
worth of postcards to distrubute to chapters and at cons." Lunadyne says,
"Over the next week I'll circulate the designs that Peter came up with.
We'll need to work out some text." Lunadyne says, "I know we haven't
resolved the Kindle issues, but we only have 20 minutes left and I'm
getting a call from Dave immediate after this meeting." Lunadyne says, "Any
comment on postcards?" lesausl says, "It sounds like you want @ 2000 cards.
Right?" Lunadyne says, "Thereabouts. 2500 might be a price point." lesausl
says, "Ok. No objections here." bnault says, "none here either." Lunadyne
says, "Alrighty then, excellent. Maybe we can have these by ISDC." dcarson
says, "souds reasonable" Lunadyne says, "Please note that we have elections
coming up. My position will be open, as will Secretary and I think 3
director positions." Lunadyne says, "I'll stand for a regular term."
Lunadyne says, "But of course, there may be competition." lesausl says,
"Newt. . .?" Lunadyne says, "SRSLY?" Strangelv-3's choice of detour is a
state party chair who's served since 2004 and has agreet to run for
re-election one more time lesausl says, "I'll never tell!!" Lunadyne says,
"If anyone has recommendations for Directors let us know. Al may be ready."
Strangelv-3 admittedly hasn't played the nomination game for awhile. He's
dropping too many red-hot irons that he's jeuggling as it is, though bnault
says, "which directors are up for reelection?" Lunadyne says, "Checking..."
Lunadyne says, "Fred Hills' spot, and Ron Brooks is retiring. Something
happened with the Moon encyclopedia project, and he was underwhelmed by our
less than enthusiastic response." Lunadyne says, "Peter also seems to have
forgotten that we made Scotty Chairman of the Board. (in absentia?)"
Strangelv-3 says, "I thought that was chair emeritus" Lunadyne says, "As
far as I'm concerned Scotty have whatever title he wants." Strangelv-3
says, "Could we get him to run for the board again?" Lunadyne says,
"Supreme Emeritus Chairman?" Strangelv-3 says, "What are the nomination and
announcement dates?" bnault says, "would it be a concern if both Al and I
were on the Board at the same time? given that we both come from the same
"outpost", maybe soon to be chapter^^" Strangelv-3 says, "IIRC we have a
hard time meeting the dates" Strangelv-3 says, "Our bylaws have no
crestrains on that" Strangelv-3 says, "Would et be safe to nominate
Deitzler from St Louis? Or would we run the risk of underwhelming him?"
Strangelv-3 is probably misspelling Dietzler Lunadyne says, "You tell me."
bnault says, "ok for the bylaws, but what about perception and\or feelings"
Strangelv-3 says, "Dana or Scotty might knrow him better than I do. Most of
my interaction with him was over Artemis List about a decade ago and I
don't remember very much" pjbanyai says, "I am trying to get an easy to
read logic map of Board membership positions. Here is what I have so far."
pjbanyai says, "1)The voting members of the Board of Directors shall
consist of 5 Board members elected by the general membership." lesausl
says, "Anyone following the Facebook site lately? We have (dues-paying)
members there taking active interest. we could contact one of them
privately. . . " pjbanyai says, "2)Ex-Officio Members: All Officers of the
Society who are not elected members of the Board of Directors shall be
ex-officio members thereof. " pjbanyai says, "3)An ex-officio member of any
Body of the Society shall have no voting powers within that Body and shall
not have the right to be counted as part of a quorum at meetings of that
Body. An ex-officio member of any Body of the Society shall for that Body
have all other privileges and powers of a voting member." pjbanyai says,
"4)The Board of Directors shall select a Chairman from their number by
majority vote of the Board." dcarson says, "posting a reminder that
nominations are open might make sense also" Lunadyne says, "I don't follow
the discussions on FB, but do post. I do note we are up over 100 likes
since I started a couple of months ago." lesausl says, "It could do bno
harm to post an invite to interested MEMBERS of the Society (not the FB
Group) to inquire for qualifications. . ." lesausl says, "Two minute
warning!" Lunadyne says, "Alright, looks like we've run out of time for
this evening." Scottyg says, "A quick comment...." Lunadyne says, "Go."
Scottyg says, "I stepped down as Director because I felt new blood was
needed. I still feel that way." Lunadyne says, "Yes, I know I need to draw
in some new blood." Lunadyne says, "Having a hard time getting folks signed
up, though." Scottyg says, "And it makes time to do things (Like help Dana)
that is otherwise occupied with admin stuff." Scottyg says, "That said, if
we can't find people to fill all our positions, my arm can be twisted."
pjbanyai says, "5) Chairman of the Board is listed as an officer position
and does not require being a Director. The Bylaws do not say that a
Chairman is selected from the Voting members of the Board of Directors but
from the "number" of the Board. With the exception of actually voting and
being counted as part of a quorum all Officers of the Society are also
members of the Board with "all other privileges and powers of a voting
member." There is also no apparent limit on the number of chairmen so a
co-chair is possible." Lunadyne says, "Are you suggesting me, you, or
Peter?" Lunadyne says, "Okay, we're in overtime. Do we have a motion to
adjourn?" pjbanyai says, "Any member of the Board Voting or
Non-Voting/Ex-officio is elligible to be a chairman." bnault says, "motion
to adjourn" Scottyg says, "I'm not sure I agree with that interpretation
Paul." dcarson says, "second" Lunadyne says, "In favor?" lesausl says,
"Aye." bnault says, "aye" Scottyg says, "aye" pjbanyai says, "Since a
chairman is essentially an ex-officio position any way since they do not
have voting ability, it woould be better to not decrease possible director
votes." Lunadyne says, "Aye" dcarson says, "aye" Lunadyne says, "I'm trying
to remember when the next quarterly BoD meeting is." bnault says, "may 16"
Lunadyne says, "It's not shown on the website, which still has the 2011
calendar." bnault says, "I have Peter's wonderful Moon Society calendar
pasted on the wall here. Very useful." pjbanyai says, "I am still working
on sorting out the logical understanding of the bylaws(been about 10 years
since I took a logic class) and it is easier to understand in a single
document instead of spread out on MOO." lesausl says, "Night guys. . ."
bnault says, "OK need to leave. G'night all!" Lunadyne says, "Dave just
called..." dcarson says, "gnight" Strangelv-3 looks at Ken bnault has
disconnected. lesausl says, "Dave?" pjbanyai says, "Dunlop?" lesausl says,
"Do I need to hang out to see what he had to say?" Lunadyne says, "Yes,
Dunlop. No, he wanttalk his track ay v ISDC." lesausl has disconnected. The
housekeeper arrives to cart bnault off to bed. Scottyg says, "G'nite all!"
Scottyg has disconnected. The housekeeper arrives to cart lesausl off to
bed. The housekeeper arrives to cart Scottyg off to bed. Lunadyne has
disconnected. The housekeeper arrives to cart Lunadyne off to bed. pjbanyai
has disconnected. Strangelv-3 has disconnected. The housekeeper arrives to
remove Strangelv-3. The housekeeper arrives to cart pjbanyai off to bed. 
--End log: Thursday, March 8, 2012 7:28:48 am ASI Meeting Server time --