HVBrum report

From Bob's Basement

This was the plan HVBrum meet.

The Hackervoice report can be found at the new HVmeeting site.

This is what happened...

We all meet up (apparently all 3 London cars turned up within about 20 minutes of each other) at the Star Bucks inside the Palisade shopping centre. We got acquainted with folks from HV forums/IRC and got to meet the new 'Unplugged' group from Stoke on Trent. If anyone has a URL for this new group please add it.

We then walked around for a while, hung about in a park, the 'Unplugged' boys took the initiative and went off to find us somewhere to have a drink, piece and quiet to record the HV show and some light refreshment. We ended up in a Costa Coffee, unfortunately they were closing the only quiet area 45 minutes after our arrival. We then went off to the Old Joint Stock pub raiding Maplins along the way.

Had a few drinks, played with Belials PMR's from Maplins then set off for White Hill train station to invade Brum2600 and invade we did. Not only did they not know we were coming but we outnumbered them two and a half to one!

We then went back to the Old Joint Stock (don't know why we bothered getting up!) had some drinks and chatted.

Their report can be found here.

The BOfH Critique

Carrying on the theme from the last Brum trip, this trip was a complete waste of time.

Once again, someone suggested a "day out" in Birmingham, which turned into an evening out since noone bothered to turn up until 15:00. There was never going to be a leadership struggle because there was no leadership at all. There was no plan, no schedule and the whole event had the structure of a blind jellyfish trying to bonk a blancmange. The event consisted of milling around in a Starfucks, milling around in a park, milling around in a Costa Coffee, milling around in a Maplins and then going to the pub. These events were interspersed with wondering the streets aimlessly like a bunch of chavs. I could have wondered up and down the Old Kent Road all day and saved myself 3 hours travelling time and £30 in petrol.

The next trip, we should actually arrive before the afternoon and having something of an idea for something to do. I appreciate the social value of the trip but really when travelling half way across the country, I'd at least like it to be worth my time.

Quotes:

"Bloody hell, you'd think they've never seen a Maplins before"

"Piss up and brewery springs to mind"

Bob Plonkers Counter Critique

Well unlike Mike I really enjoyed the previous Brum trip, it was a major blast. Piss poor drunk urban exploration, lots of drinks (obviously), hanging out around Brum. It was so wicked, we even pwned someone a few rooms down from Mikes before crashing out on his floor.

This Brum trip was a bit quieter and more laid back. There was no real itinerary, got to meet some cool people. Had a few great conversations, got to meet a social engineering legend, got a few pointers on a problem I was having, learnt a bit more (need to know a lot more) on encryption and did a fair amount of networking which is what meets are all about.

The driving was a right sod though, next time I will leave earlier and stay over night.

One question for the bastard, what did you expect was going to happen?

The BOfH Response

We were having a day out in Brum, so I'd rather it was a day out. I feel we arrived far too late. If we're traveling half way across the country, why not make a day of it?

I appreciate the social side of things but this is best done in the pub, in the evening, reflecting on the days events. There was a lot of frustration, not just from myself but other members of the group that the day lacked structure, that noone knew what we were doing. I think the day needed a plan, some fun things to do, not just wondering from coffee shop to coffee shop. I created the Bob's Basement wiki page in the hope that this would bring everyones ideas together.

For the next trip, I think we should start around 9:00. If people can't get up then they can travel Friday and stay over. We should appoint a leader and have a plan of things to do. I'm not saying that this should be a military operation with precision planning and to the letter execution but personally I found the whole event boring and frustrating. The lack of leadership meant that everyone was sat around expecting everyone else to make the first move, so nothing happened.