[Noisebridge-discuss] Roombas for HSB?

[Meredith L. Patterson]

Steve, and everyone,

First of all, I apologize for being so uncommunicative. Nobody's heard
much of anything out of me for the last couple of months because I've
been spending most of my time struggling with Belgian bureaucracy (think
of the most hidebound, rules-worshiping government agency you've ever
dealt with, square it, then put it in a language you don't speak very
well yet) and trying not to get deported. When the government says "oh,
we can't process your paperwork yet" for four months, then turns around
and says "because this paperwork is now four months late, you're here
illegally", it's hard to find time for much of anything else. I've spent
the last two weeks, 9 am to 5 pm, in one government office or another
trying to get my immigration status resolved. Fortunately this is now
fixed, and hopefully there are no more surprises lurking.

But not keeping in touch was my fault; Steve, I should have at least
dropped you an e-mail to let you know what was up, and I am sorry for that.

I have been to the Belgian post office, and they were not especially
helpful; the question right now seems to be where the package *is*, as
they don't seem to know. (UPS said "we delivered it to Belgium, it's De
Poste's problem now.") If it gets returned to you and you want to
re-send it, I will step up and cover both sets of shipping charges; if
you would prefer not to deal with the hassle, I'll certainly cover the
first charge.

I'm also open to alternative resolutions -- if my offer is insufficient,
please feel free to counter-propose something. I'm open to talking it
out here or in private, as you prefer.

Again, I apologize for my flakiness. Please let me know what I can do to
make it right.

Best regards,
--mlp

steve camuti wrote:
> Dear Noisebridgers,
> 
> I am not a fan of publicizing private events nor am I a fan of
> needless conflict, but I see no other realistic resolution to my
> current situation with another noisebridge member than to bring our
> business interaction that started on a discuss posting, into public
> light.
> Please feel free to respond to the list (If you think even more
> traffic is a good thing) or me personally for more tactful approaches
> I may take.
> 
> The message I sent 2 weeks ago:
> 
> Hi Meredith.
>     I am feeling really frustrated and taken advantage of by you. You
> asked for help making some cool hacking toys manifest in a foreign
> country and I agreed to help make magic happen. And then you responded
> with a promise to look into what happened with the delivery. And it
> has been a month. And I don't have any more information today than I
> did a month ago. Nor do I have any money. You are being far less than
> excellent to me and our agreement. If something came up, it is your
> job to tell me. If you need more time to get money, it is your job to
> tell me. Any way I look at it you are failing to uphold your end of
> the bargain.
> 
> Annoyed. Frustrated and broke-
> steve
> 
> On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 5:21 AM, Meredith L. Patterson
> <mlp at thesmartpolitenerd.com> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> At last night's Hacker Space Brussels meeting, we got onto the topic of
>> Roomba hacking. Unfortunately, no one here has had much of an
>> opportunity to explore this, as Roombas are ridiculously expensive here
>> (~300EUR or thereabouts).
>>
>> I know that a number of people will be coming to HAR this August; would
>> anyone be willing to pick up a Roomba and bring it with them? We can pay
>> you for it in advance or at HAR, whichever you prefer. Doesn't need to
>> be anything fancy -- the only criterion is that it support the Roomba
>> serial control interface. A used one would be fine as well.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> --mlp
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