ok folks, the weather is getting chilly again and now we can heat
it up with the excess BTUs that only a happily humming VAX can provide!
thats right, it's getting time for the fifth annual VAX party!
as usual, we'll have to figure out when is the best time. I'm
currently thinking to do it on either the 7th or 8th of november
or the 14th or 15th if 7 or 8 dont work out. 7 and 14 are fridays. 
So, if anyone really cant make it some of those days, lemme know and
ill work out the optimal date for it and send that out too.
As before, the VAX party is at my humble abode in Pittsburgh, PA.

so, some may ask, what is a VAX party? quite simple! It's a lot of
VAXen, people, people geeking on the VAXen (and other stuff too), alcohol,
and playing hunt til 4 in the morning! In years past we'd try to boot the
11/750 and then back upstairs to get stabbed, detonated, slimed, 
shot and at-bombed by ralston.. The 11/750's are gone now, having
found new homes over the summer, but there is plenty of other VAX goodness
to go around. for example, we have the _smallest_ VAX ever made this time! 
Also, for those interested, there will be a few VAX bits (random qbus stuff, maybe
a vaxstation or 2 and a decstation or 2, other random pieces of computing gadgetry)
that folks will be free to take home with them. The typical format is some hardcore
vax geeking in the couple hours before people start showing up to get everything
setup and working (anyone who wants to do more vax things and less other 
things, show up early) and people start coming around 8 or so. food & drink are
whatever i think of, but there will be real food as well as snack-things, and
a varied selection of beverages, fizzing, foaming, flammable, caffienated,
infused, and boiled.  I _might_ make an attempt at executing Ralston's lasagna
recipe..
In any case, it has been good fun the past 4 years so if you havent made
it to previous VAX parties, this is your chance (well, you could always
wait til next year..)
anyone who wants to come but has scheduling conflicts or preferences
about the 4 potential dates, please let me know so i can sort them all out. 

happy hacking,
isildur