Wisconsin - Anyone interested?

Here is another step.

Member Locations: I thought a web site would be easier for me to update and allow members to decide if they want to download or print images. When you get to the web site below click on "thumbnail" image to explode the image. Then select from various options in the dialog box to Print "photo" and to see it at various image sizes. Go to:

http://www.fototime.com/inv/5F60B09F3573615

I will try to some more on this later this week. I am thinking it would be better to get some of this ice off the roads before having our first meeting. Say late March or Early April? Others thoughts?

Nice work Nanderson. If we can ever get this off the ground your map will be most helpful. I will contact others locally and have them send their onfo along to you.

Nrchy and others.

I have a national zip code GIS data layer. So we can add several other separate perspectives (places zip code located)to the Wisconsin map including favorite CD/LP/SACD/DVD stores, hi-end audio shops, repair centers, music venues etc. For hi-end audio stores we can create a data base with such things as top two preamp/amp, speaker, digital, and cable lines; phone number with address (for using in web based mapping sites).

I just need some time to put this together. Before I begin e-mail me your ideas regarding types of places you would like mapped. By the way, for those traveling some distance to visit a hi-end store, for example, it would be great to have some suggestions (identified by place name, zip code, address, phone number) near by for food and/or beverage.

All of these are great ideas. I wonder if any of the other states have this much information available.
Any word on the meeting last Saturday in Madison??? Keep us posted

There was not a meeting last Saturday in Madison. I doubt other state's audio societies have generated the interconnected information. At least not in a mapped format. But to me it seems obvious how much stronger and coherent our proposed society will be if we make the mapped connections between the various parts of the electronically reproduced and live music.

In addition, I would love to go to other parts of Wisconsin and enjoy that area's richness in other ways, beyond audio equipment, as well. For example, I came across a number of home spun books discussing Wisconsin's many local treasures (from various shows on Wisconsin Public Radio):

Wisconsin's Hometown Flavors at
http://www.trailsbooks.com/books/bookdes/WIhomeFlav.html

Classic Wisconsin Weekends at
http://www.trailsbooks.com/books/bookdes/ClasWI.html

Great Wisconsin Restaurants at
http://www.trailsbooks.com/books/bookdes/GWIRest.html

Great Wisconsin Taverns at
http://www.trailsbooks.com/books/bookdes/GWITAV.html

etc etc

I am convinced that we can make these meetings a really rich and rewarding introduction to people, places, and music in various areas across Wisconsin. If somebody up in Bayfield, for example, has Avantgard Trios and he is the only audiophile up there (which I truly doubt but for the sake of argument) I would make the trip to listen to the horns, take in Lake Superior and some local recommended attractions (parks, trails, restaurants, funky old world shops, taverns). On the shorter trips, like to Madison for example, a couple hours of listening to music interrupted briefly with testing the affects of swapping power cords or interconnects (just mentioned these components because we can easily bring these with us) on the music ebb and flow can be combined with beer on Lake Mendota (had to get this in). I think we all know how geeky we can become if all we do it stress out over affects of one tube over another and that is all the meeting is about. Music becomes richer as we do. The more diverse and fun/thoughtful our lifes' experiences the more there is of us to connect to our music. We may not be able to hear a 20 Khz tone at age 75 but we can see in our minds eye the setting of the sun on a Lake Michigan august afternoon as we listen to (you put in the musical artist(s))(the movie "The Big Chill" had a bit of this music/life connection, albeit a bit corny at times). In this way, our enjoyment of audio (aka reproduced music) and how it connects us will continue to grow and give much more to us than the cash (within financial reason of course) we invested in it. You know what I am talking about (I am sure)!