Wisconsin - Anyone interested?

Those that are planning to attend and have not submitted their home zip code to me please e-mail directly so I can update the preliminary club map. Thanks!

Rathskeller Update:

The Rathskeller does not serve tap beer till 3pm in March. But they will have bottled domestic beer at the Rathskeller and wider variety of imports in the games room (billards, etc) around the corner in the Memorial Union. However, for about 10 people attending, which we should clearly be at if everyone comes that say they will, we can have him open the tap beer section early. This all according to a conversation I had with the Rathskeller Assistant Manager today. Could everyone get back with me before mid-march and let me know what they prefer. They will certainly have some non-alcoholic drinks available as well.

I wanted to have the meeting by 1pm since that would give us enough time for a couple hour meeting or so and for most people to be back home by dusk or earlier (assuming we only meet for 2 hrs or less and this you never know) and also, hopefully, avoid the potential early morning fog and/or ice problem. The average daily air temperature high on March 29 in Madison should be in the high 30s to low 40s. So that should, hopefully, be warm enough to keep the ice down or off the roads during the afternoon but not the potential snow. However, if we have enough large SUV drivers come we might just be able to warm up the atmosphere enough that we can all go outside and enjoy the wonderful "green house" affect. :-)

Invites:

Some of you have mentioned that you are having one or two people come along. I and all but one of the other members agree we should not be inviting factory representatives or their proxy: Audio Dealers, or at the very least, not have them attend our the first meeting or meetings when the rest of the group did not ask them to attend. I am sure it would be fine for them to know that there is a focused interest in 2-channel hi-end stereo in Wisconsin demonstrated, in part, by our interest in forming a club around that idea. Almost all of them seem like great people and fun to be around. But for now, lets keep the obvious vested interest groups out. In fact, another factory rep from Wisconsin said it would not be appropriate for him or any other rep or dealer attend unless explicitly invited to come present equipment or company viewpoints on technology etc at a meeting (which he for one would be glad to do).

The US Audio Manufacturers Map has attracted considerable interest. This helps me to plug away on it from time to time. It is unforescene if the Map project will go very far but there seems to be an "under-current" of interest when I talk about it to non-audiophiles and audiophiles. With this in mind I have created some template language I am thinking about sending to manufacturers that may manufacture their products in the US. If you visit the map and see a manufacturer that simply has an administrative office in the US and has their equipment made outside of the US please let me know via direct e-mail rather than posting your comments here (more efficient that way).

Here for your comments till March 15, 2003 (just decided to have some sort of deadline) is the template e-mail memo I plan on sending to manufacturers:

"I am producing a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) map identifying companies in the US that may or may not be owned by US Entities but none-the-less have their manufacturing facilities in the US and employ US Citizens. At this point this is just a freebie (free in the sense that I am not being paid to work on it) product as part of the about to be formed "Wisconsin Audio Society" (it is a high end audio enthusiast group, we may change our name after our first meeting on March 29, 2003). Since GIS enables data base queries to produce different mapped and quickly intellectually assimilated (because the information is graphic) perspectives about records (in this case the US Audio Companies) I can develop information of almost infinite variety about these companies. These perspectives include starting date of manufacture and of current ownership, number of US citizens employed, and export market countries etc. At this point I am just looking for the most basic of information. Could you tell me where your products are manufactured and where the majority of parts are manufactured? The map at this point uses a US Zip Code database to identify locations. So any information should include full addresses with zip code.

I hope that at some point with more information collected about the related companies I , probably in conjunction with a journalist, can produce very positive article(s) that point to the success of these little known, to the masses, US companies. US Companies that not only compete with the foreign mass market competition but is imported into those counties in Asia, for example, where much of the mass market electronics are made under less rigorously regulated conditions and less than optimum labor conditions. Of course, since this is a freebie on my part I am not sure when this project will be or if it will be "completed" but already there seems to be quite a bit of interest in the concept of celebrating the US companies that compete on world stage while still employing people under favorable working conditions and with respect to the environment. Any thoughts on types of information you think should be included in this project would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some early maps related to the Society: http://www.fototime.com/inv/5F60B09F3573615

Here is the thread that got this thing started and to get updates:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?lclub&995054231&openusid&zzA71spud&4&5#A71spud ".

Lets see what we can do to help spread the word about these US companies that, among other things, have incredible support services (we all have our own near "kindred spirit" level of attention stories these company's support teams have provided us over the years and the reverse sort of "support" from less "interested" companies) and are facing incredibly stiff competition on many fronts. It was once said "Rising waters lift all ships" but the reverse is just as true "Lowering waters lowers all ships". Maybe a few, some, or most of these companies are dead horses coming out of the starting gate of this century but some positive exposure never hurts. But maybe you disagree. So let me know. It is a free country......well mostly anyway.

I'm not sure I can make the first meeting, but would appreciate if someone could keep me updated as to future get-togethers. I live in Green Bay and my email is suekraft@new.rr.com Thanks!