Northeast Discus Meeting..Fall 2009

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,

Its time again for another quarterly meeting of our Northeast Discus group. As many of you know, we have a great group of people that get together 4 times a year to talk discus and socialize... all are welcome to attend and there is no fee or "membership".

We've set the date for the next North East Discus meeting...This one is being hosted by Steve and Maureen Colley in Westport CT at their home....

Steve Colley
1 Peaceful Lane
Westport CT, 06880

The Date is Nov 21 st. The event starts at 3:00 pm.

Meet and greet 3-5:00pm
Dinner.. 5pm
Discussions 6-7:30
cocktails and snacks.. to whenever.

This will be a pot luck dinner event so all participants should get together with Steve to let him know what you can bring.....pm him here at

Scolley

For those of you that know Steve here, he is a real Guru of planted tanks and has built an amazing high tech planted tank set up in his home and experimented with the concept of Discus and the planted tank... Steve will be doing a presentation on his experiences and some rather amazing conclusions he has drawn. Anyone even remotely considering a Planted tank with discus or that enjoys talking discus should attend...

We'll have the usual meet and greet, food and drink, social networking that we have have at all these meetings....

I'll turn this baby over to Steve now... Thanks for hosting this event Steve and Maureen!!

See you all there!!

-al

ps... anyone have access to a LCD projector...please let me know.

[scolley]

Thanks Al. I'm humbled. Over in some other forums you can achieve "guru" status with post count alone. So I'm sure that's what Al's are referring to, because I have achieved that. Beyond that I've got a good bit of observation, leading to some somewhat contrarian opinions on how to keep aquatic plants. And discus. Together.

I look forward to sharing some of those next month.

Quite a few of you have been talking about coming to my place to see the Kahuna for quite a while. I'm excited that it's finally going to happen! You know who you are... But the best part is having everyone else over for the meeting. Too cool!

So please post if you think you can make it. Getting a head count - as much as possible - for food. So please let me know. And PLEASE think about coming. Will be a true pleasure to have everyone over!

Logistics...
While the address is "1" Peaceful Lane, once you turn onto Peaceful, I'm the 2nd driveway on the right. Technically you would expect it to be the 1st driveway on the left. But it's not. Long story. Can explain when you get here. Google has a decent map, though it only gets you as far as Peaceful Lane. You do actually have to turn onto Peaceful to get to my house (2nd on right).

For those of you not familiar with the area, Westport is about midway between Bridgeport and Stamford. About ten minutes on the highway from either one. Westport is at a spot where I-95 and the Merritt Parkway run parallel. My house is right in between those two highways. So take which ever highway is best for you, though it is a bit easier to get to my house from the Merritt.

If you take the Merritt, get off on exit 42. I'm about two minutes ride once you get off the Merritt.

If you are traveling I-95 where you get off depends on your direction of travel. If you are coming from the west (technically on I-95 North), get off on exist 17. If you are traveling east (on I-95 South) take exit 18. Depending on which exit you take, it's another 5 to 10 minutes to my house due to traffic lights and such.


Safe travels! And see you soon!

[ashaysathe]

Excellent. This is wonderful.

Steve and Maureen - thanks for hosting the event. It will be awesome as always to meet you and also witness the "Mecca of Planted Tanks"

Hey Al - I am not sure what they agenda or topics for discussion are but this time I would find it very beneficial if you can present:

"Overview on Discus Genetics".

I know its not something that can be accomplished quickly and its a ocean of a topic on its own. If you can cover some:

1. Basic concepts.
2. Basic defintions.
3. Terms like allele, phenotype, homo/hetro zygous, Mendel's matrix, dominant/recessive, inline, out of the line breeding.. sky is literally a limit here.
4. Water parameters : Although this related to breeding conditions than actual genetics but needs a mention - TDS, pH and its importance and need. Any alterations needed and methods.

Something that can give "novice breeders" like me some idea and be educationally informed to be part of an intelligent conversation.

An informative presentation like the one around diseases would go a long way.

By no means I mean to kibosh the agenda Steve and you are planning for the day. If this is something we can cover will be of immense support.

Clearly its not something that I can be a master of by "next Wednesday" so to speak. I can surely read and learn but in my own experience having it explained in a manner like such goes a long way.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Ashay,
I think we can certainly have informal discussions about that topic, the main/formal talk will be done by Steve on his experiences and insights regarding the Planted Discus Tank.... I've talked with Steve many times about this topic and the wealth of information and experience he has here is humbling and amazing....I am sure everyone will leave that night with much food for thought.

Hth,
Al

[ashaysathe]

Indeed.

I was not aware of a predefined agenda. Both of you by far possess knowledge to be solely proud of and experiences shared for sure are wealth of information to keep.

Looking forward for the event.

[scolley]

Ashay... it's not firm yet. But with examples right there for all to see/dicuss it seems an ideal opportunity to focus on both plants in discus tanks and high-tech tanks.

The slideshow is in the making now. Hopefully will be interesting.

[Moon]

I was joping to make the fall meeting. But the date clashes with the Ohio Chiclid Convention. I've already booked the hotel for the OCA. Oh well hope to make it to the next one.
Joe

[scolley]

Sorry about that timing Joe. Too bad for us.

But does raise a significant question... accommodations.

If there is anyone that is planning on staying overnight, please send me a PM, and I'll work up a list of recommendations. Also, please let me know which direction you will be traveling when you leave. There are no reasonably priced hotels in Westport, so it makes sense to point you to a place that is in the direction you are traveling.

There ARE accommodations in Westport if you want to part with a big pile of long green. But once you drive 5-10 miles out of Westport, it's much more reasonable.

[brewmaster15]

HI all,
If anyone wants me to bring my BH mix to the meeting for them let me know in advance please.

Thanks!
-al


ps... Hey Joe, One of these times we'll meet up! I look forward to that day!

[GrillMaster]

Steve... I will be bringing a few dishes myself. If Maureen or yourself need anything at all, please dont hesitate to shoot me a PM!!

Cya soon my friend!

[pcsb23]

These really are meetings people should try and get to. I was priviliged enough to attend the last one and it was a fantastic event! I wish I could make all of them!

Have fun guys 'n gals

[mightymax860]

hey al me and carrie are going will contact to find out what to bring hope to meet you guys there

[scolley]

All - have good news on two fronts...

One... to my utter amazement, reasonable lodging has been located right here in the town right next to Westport. It's about 10-12 minutes from my house. The Norwalk Inn has rooms for $89 on 11/14. It ain't the Ritz, but FWIW, I've put my dad up in this same place on multiple occasions. Reasonable accommodations at an amazingly reasonable price (for this area). I'm shocked at the price frankly. Must be the economy. But hey... it's good for us!

Two... Al was wonderful to mention this as a pot luck dinner. Have already gotten great word of some wonderful pot luck coming our way. Thank you!
But please don't think of food as the cost of entry! We'll happily take what we can, but Moe (the wife in charge) and I will make sure everyone is very well fed, regardless of what people can - or cannot - bring to help. So if you can contribute... Great! But you're just as welcome if all you can bring is your smiling face. We'll see if we can find some good food to fit in it.

[subcooler]

All - have good news on two fronts...

One... to my utter amazement, reasonable lodging has been located right here in the town right next to Westport. It's about 10-12 minutes from my house. The Norwalk Inn has rooms for $89 on 11/14.

Two... Al was wonderful to mention this as a pot luck dinner. Have already gotten great word of some wonderful pot luck coming our way. Thank you!
But please don't think of food as the cost of entry! We'll happily take what we can, but Moe (the wife in charge) and I will make sure everyone is very well fed, regardless of what people can - or cannot - bring to help. So if you can contribute... Great! But you're just as welcome if all you can bring is your smiling face. We'll see if we can find some good food to fit in it.

Steve,
I'm sure the meeting will be one to remember!
It was a pleasure chatting with Maureen & You @ Al's in the past.
As always it's nice to see Simply members graciously opening thier homes for our meetings!
I'm sure there will be lot's of great food & smiling faces
I'm unsure if I'll be able to attend the meeting, but definately trying to jam it into a busy fall concert schedule!

Peace,
Rob

[runner]

Hi Scolley
I will be attending the meeting. Looking forward to meeting everyone.
Jay Walsh
North Granby