Northeast Discus Meeting Autumn, 2008

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
Spoke with Ashay and confirmed things....WE are looking at November 8th...Its a Sat...Ashay has kindly offered to Host the get together.....

The agenda should be as Follows... Meet at Ashay's in Middletown CT around 2:00pm for socializing...Ashay will be providing some Dinner items and beverages...Anyone thats going is asked to do the same....Probably best to coordinate with Ashay whose bringing what..... Pm him thru the board.

I figure that we'll break from The meeting at Ashays after Dinner, and anyone that wants to head down Here ( 20 mins away) and check out the fishroom is welcome to come on down.

More info as we go along....but what we really could use now is
a list of whose coming so Ashay can plan things out..

Thanks Ashay for hosting this.....:)

Take care,
al

[Moon]

I'll be there this time. It's a long drive from Ontario so will need to spend night there. Al can you please send me some names of nearby hotels/motels?
Thanks
Joe

[brewmaster15]

Great Joe,
It'll be really Nice to Meet you! last meeting a few stayed here...
Holiday Inn
NORTH HAVEN

201 WASHINGTON AVE
NORTH HAVEN, CT 06473 UNITED STATES (http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/nohct/transportation)
Hotel Front Desk: 1-203-2396700 | Hotel Fax: 1-203-2341247
Book Online (http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/advancedsearch?hotelCode=nohct) or Call
1 888 HOLIDAY (888 465 4329)

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hd/nohct



Its got a decent pool and is fairly priced and convenient to the highway..... Ashay may be able to provide you a few more choices closer to him...This is probably 20 mins from him by highway and 10-15 minutes from me...

hth,
al

[dpt8]

Hi Guys !! Count me in !! Ashay, thanks so much. I will contact you to see what food to bring.. So thankful its not the 18th !! Thanks, David T

[brewmaster15]

Hi Everyone,
Seems we have a scheduling issue :( It may have to be rescheduled...Target date NOV 8 th...same agenda other than that.. I apologize everyone. I'll confirm this is the date and get back to everyone.

Embarrassed,
AL:)

[brewmaster15]

Okay...The Official date is Now...

November 8th!!!

Mark it on the Calendar and write it in stone.:)

I also officially turn over the reigns here for this meeting to Ashay now..:):):)

Sorry again all....

-al

[ashaysathe]

Hello Simply Friends,

My special thanks and apologies to Al for being flexible and very accommodative bearing the embarrassment of my inadvertent confirmation of dates without checking or making assumptions.

For benefit of everyone my home address is:

80 West Wynd Terrace,
Middletown, CT 06457.

My home is right to off I-91 Exit 21 (and off Route 9 exit for rt-372). Its about 45-50 miles south of Bardleys (BDL) airport while 100-120 miles north and south of JFK and BOS respectively. Al has already posted a hotel plus there is a decent Courtyard Mariott right off exit 21 (same exit as my home):

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bdlhc-courtyard-hartford-cromwell/

plus a Mariott @ Exit 23 in Rocky Hill

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bdlrh-hartford-marriott-rocky-hill/

For any further arrangements and other details please PM me. Its not necessary you have bring something. Your presence is important.. rest assured. Please feel free to invite your family/ significant other whatever case it may be.
Al has offered to come and take a look at his facility which is only 20 mins away from where I live. Thanks Al for the offer and I am sure there in no one living on face of earth who would deny that offer (me inclusive). We can surely make a trip there.

The start time is 2 pm. If folks travel plans gets them to reach sooner, you are most welcome.

The rough agenda is:

2pm – Meet and greet, drinks, appetizers
3.30 – A round of discussion: 1-1 w/ Al (your membership on the forum depends on this :D :D )
Followed by dinner - If weather permits we can grill.

Then visit to:
1. Mike Deegan gracefully agreed to have all of us to his facility. He is a sponsor on the forum - BlackWater Aquaria.
2. Visit to Al’s place

Request: I feel very sorry to say this, but due to religious and dietary constraints we have restrictions on red meat. So for meat I will offer chicken items as the course of food with other vegitarian entrees. I will make sure you will not be disappointed – rest assured.

NOV 8th it is Blow the Horn of Gondor - Friends are coming!!!!

[dpt8]

OK November 8th sounds great and Celeste LOVES chicken :9) Thanks again our good friend !! David T

[GrillMaster]

Well you know I will be there my friend!! :)

Glad ya stopped by today Ashaye. Had a great time catchin up with you an Al!

I will bring the tape measure, saws, nails and hammers. ;) :D :D

[Marksdiscus]

WOW!!!!!!!
Of course my friends i'll be there.
Thanks Ashay for let me in.
Mark.

What i have to take. Russian vodka it's good?

[brewmaster15]

Mark,
Thats great that you'll be Joining us at the meeting...It'll be really nice to meet you and have a chance to talk with you.:). Feel free to invite any of the other New York crowd to come on up for this...

ALL are welcome to attend...no invites needed...just let us know whose coming.:):):):)

Take care,
al

[scolley]

I'll be there! Along with my wonderful wife Maureen, and probably one of my two cool kids. ;)

Looking forward to it!

[GrillMaster]

I'll be there! Along with my wonderful wife Maureen, and probably one of my two cool kids. ;)

Looking forward to it!

Will be good to see you again my friend!! :)

[Marksdiscus]

Mark,
Thats great that you'll be Joining us at the meeting...It'll be really nice to meet you and have a chance to talk with you.:). Feel free to invite any of the other New York crowd to come on up for this...

ALL are welcome to attend...no invites needed...just let us know whose coming.:):):):)

Take care,
al

Thanks Al. Me too,will nice to meet you.
Yeah guys. Who also want to come to meeting from my area(NY) we can come together in my car.
Mark

[patrick richard]

Hey Ashay,

My wife, daughter, and myself will be there. There is no more overtime being filled at work, so I wont be dissapointed like I was for Hans's get together. Let me know what to bring. I am looking forword to seeing everyone again.

Thanks,
Patrick

[brewmaster15]

Hey all,
Check this out...

http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=66050

Mark's generously offering some Discus for donation to help cover any costs associated with this meeting! Please Contact Mark if you are interested in these fish.

Thanks again Mark!,
al

[ashaysathe]

Thanks Mark and Al.
Rashmi (my wife) and I would like to use the proceeds from the sale towards the benefit of the forum. As I said earlier having all you guys ini tself will be a great pleasure and we are really looking forward to meet you'll.

Cheers
Ashay

[richgrenfell]

Now the last time I said I'd be there, I ended up getting scheduled to work. I currently have Saturdays off, but that can change at any time. Are folks that can't say yes in advance OK?

Rich

[brewmaster15]

Yes Rich,
Maybe's are welcome!:):)

-al

[Moon]

I am a definite "maybe".
Joe

[Marksdiscus]

Thanks Mark and Al.
Rashmi (my wife) and I would like to use the proceeds from the sale towards the benefit of the forum. As I said earlier having all you guys ini tself will be a great pleasure and we are really looking forward to meet you'll.

Cheers
Ashay

Ashay. You are welcome and thanks.
Mark

[Organic Farmer]

Another maybe here,it was such a good time a few weeks ago it would be great to see everyone again.Ill try to drag Rob with me. Tom

[rlghouston]

As a new member it's great to know that there are so many discus people in CT after all, LFS say there's not much of a demand for discus so there are no specialty discus groups. I look forward to meeting everyone on behalf of danbury,ct. should be a lot of fun.

[2075turner]

Hi all,

I will try and make it down. Just trying to secure a babysitter for the boys.:)

Evelyn:)

[JeffreyRichard]

I am planning on attending. Sounds great! Thanks all.

[ashaysathe]

Excellent Jeff.. would be good to see you again

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
Just thought I would post to let you all know that I took out a Domain name for a website... NorthEastDiscus.org....

I've started work on the website and as time allows will continue to do so....Those of you that were at the last get together may remember that this was something we talked about doing and I committed to undertaking.

I'm going at this from the point of view that it will be a place to showcase past meetings and get togethers by the group, Info on upcoming ones, Discus photos and information..Possibly if interest is there...member directory and Bios... Fun stuff... For now I will work on this...down the line maybe someone else in the group can takeover a bit and so on.:)

I'm not a web designer by a long shot...so expect simplicity and functionality here not complexity and view it with a grain of salt as the labor of a complete amateur!:)

I'll post when its online...

Hopefully soon.

take care,
al

[subcooler]

Al ,
Thanks you for creating this group & all your work to organize & schedule events.
You know we were only kidding last meeting in Balt. about the website!;)
We all realize how busy Simply & your many pets must keep you!
Not to mention work & raising a family!
All your efforts are greatly appreciated!
Looking forward to seeing the NE Discus website:D

Rob

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Too bad there isnt anything like this anywhere in FL. We had the Central FL Discus Club a few years ago, but it has since gone away. You are all very fortunate to have a great club going.

-Ryan

[Finman57]

Now reading this.
I see meeting.
I see new web sites
I see fun.
Are you actually starting a Discus club. Like a fish club or are these just get togethers? Just wondering. No problem either way.
One day I would love to see some of your rooms if I am up that way.

Pat

[brewmaster15]

Hi Pat,

We've had get togethers infrequently over the years..usually at my house... Now we've taken it to the next levels..namely .. More frequent meetings and at other peoples homes...;):D Where it ultimately leads ? who knows.. right now just focusing on getting hobbyists together to meet and talk Discus...have a fun social event and build a small discus community in the Northeast..

We have no club dues, by-laws, affiliations or anything like that at this point in time... Just taking lots of baby Steps and enjoying the fishes along the way!:)

If you are ever up in CT please let me know..My doors are open and I am sure I could arrange a social gathering to welcome you!

take care,
al

ps..

Rob..Thanks!
Ryan... Sounds like its time to try and start one up...I'll help you thru the forum anyway I can if you want to give it a shot.

[brewmaster15]

Hey all,
On that website..was doing a bit of work on the website and would like to incorporate pictures from your Fishrooms and tanks where possible..

Please send me some photos of your tanks, fishroom ..etc...I'll include your name with any images used.

email to brewmaster15@netscape.com

Steve (scolley)....some pics of your planted tank would be great, Mark(bastalker)...how about the greens? anyone else...got a favorite fish you want to see posted...send me the pics...

and hey...what would a website /club/association be without a logo...send me any ideas there as well!!!:) might as well have some fun here...

Thanks!!!

-al

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Hi Pat,

We've had get togethers infrequently over the years..usually at my house... Now we've taken it to the next levels..namely .. More frequent meetings and at other peoples homes...;):D Where it ultimately leads ? who knows.. right now just focusing on getting hobbyists together to meet and talk Discus...have a fun social event and build a small discus community in the Northeast..

We have no club dues, by-laws, affiliations or anything like that at this point in time... Just taking lots of baby Steps and enjoying the fishes along the way!:)

If you are ever up in CT please let me know..My doors are open and I am sure I could arrange a social gathering to welcome you!

take care,
al

ps..

Rob..Thanks!
Ryan... Sounds like its time to try and start one up...I'll help you thru the forum anyway I can if you want to give it a shot.

Thanks Al, but as much as I wish I could, I simply dont have enough time to devote to it fully. School has been keeping me exceptionally busy this semester (why did I think 15 credit hours would be easy?). I'll have to take pictures of what I do on my time off down here...a lot of people will find it cool. I'll take pics next Thursday to show everyone. I'll give y'all a hint....it involves the UF Tropical Aquaculture Lab.

-Ryan

[brewmaster15]

Ryan,

I'll have to take pictures of what I do on my time off down here...a lot of people will find it cool. I'll take pics next Thursday to show everyone. I'll give y'all a hint....it involves the UF Tropical Aquaculture Lab. cool....can't wait to see the pics!:)

-al

[Finman57]

Cool
Thanks. We always talk about driving north but never seem to have the time.
Between club meetings, conventions and such. lol
Excuses excuses.
I may suprise you one day. lol

Pat

[Finman57]

Ryan, are there regular fish clubs in your area?
You could join one of them, find some of the other Discus people that are in there and possibly start a Discus Study group within the other club?
Just a thought. Would take no work then. The incorporation, tax, website and all that stuff would fall under the parent club.

I'll shut up now.

pk

[ashaysathe]

Hi all,

I'm going at this from the point of view that it will be a place to showcase past meetings and get togethers by the group, Info on upcoming ones, Discus photos and information..Possibly if interest is there...member directory and Bios... Fun stuff... For now I will work on this...down the line maybe someone else in the group can takeover a bit and so on.:)


take care,
al

Hi Al,

I am ready for any and all tasks associated with this website. You have to tell me what, how and when. I am not a web pro either but I think I can manage.. so as and when you see your hands are getting more full than they already are with this, give me a buzz my friend and I shall be there .. count on it..

Ashay

[GrillMaster]

My son said this weekend sometime for the photos Al...He has become quite the photographer with the tripod you gave him!! He loves it! :)

I will email em to you as soon as I can. :thumbsup:

[Sandy W]

OK I missed it. When and where?
Sandy

[brewmaster15]

Hi Sandy,


Registered Member

http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/image.php?u=16056&dateline=1205351560 (http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/member.php?u=16056)

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Middletown, CT
Posts: 119
iTrader: 1 (http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/itrader.php?u=16056) (100%)

http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/images/flags/United%20States.gif



http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/images/icons/icon1.gif Re: Northeast Discus Meeting Autumn, 2008
Hello Simply Friends,

My special thanks and apologies to Al for being flexible and very accommodative bearing the embarrassment of my inadvertent confirmation of dates without checking or making assumptions.

For benefit of everyone my home address is:

80 West Wynd Terrace,
Middletown, CT 06457.

My home is right to off I-91 Exit 21 (and off Route 9 exit for rt-372). Its about 45-50 miles south of Bardleys (BDL) airport while 100-120 miles north and south of JFK and BOS respectively. Al has already posted a hotel plus there is a decent Courtyard Mariott right off exit 21 (same exit as my home):

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...ford-cromwell/ (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bdlhc-courtyard-hartford-cromwell/)

plus a Mariott @ Exit 23 in Rocky Hill

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...tt-rocky-hill/ (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bdlrh-hartford-marriott-rocky-hill/)

For any further arrangements and other details please PM me. Its not necessary you have bring something. Your presence is important.. rest assured. Please feel free to invite your family/ significant other whatever case it may be.
Al has offered to come and take a look at his facility which is only 20 mins away from where I live. Thanks Al for the offer and I am sure there in no one living on face of earth who would deny that offer (me inclusive). We can surely make a trip there.

The start time is 2 pm. If folks travel plans gets them to reach sooner, you are most welcome.

The rough agenda is:

2pm – Meet and greet, drinks, appetizers
3.30 – A round of discussion: 1-1 w/ Al (your membership on the forum depends on this :D :D )
Followed by dinner - If weather permits we can grill.

Then visit to:
1. Mike Deegan gracefully agreed to have all of us to his facility. He is a sponsor on the forum - BlackWater Aquaria.
2. Visit to Al’s place

Request: I feel very sorry to say this, but due to religious and dietary constraints we have restrictions on red meat. So for meat I will offer chicken items as the course of food with other vegitarian entrees. I will make sure you will not be disappointed – rest assured.

NOV 8th it is Blow the Horn of Gondor - Friends are coming!!!!
__________________
Ashay Sathe

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Ryan, are there regular fish clubs in your area?
You could join one of them, find some of the other Discus people that are in there and possibly start a Discus Study group within the other club?
Just a thought. Would take no work then. The incorporation, tax, website and all that stuff would fall under the parent club.

I'll shut up now.

pk

Yup, there is quite a large club here in Tampa. Unfortunetly, there is only one other gentleman out of 50+ members who does discus. It is a good idea...one that I might have to pursue further. Its a bit different down here though. Farm visits are a regular thing since all the ornamental farms are in our back yard and easy to access through the club. I guess we're fortunate in that respect. But a discus-specific meeting would be awesome. It would be fun to do, but most likely not very easy to get any amount of people to suport. But we'll see.

-Ryan

[MarcG]

Glad I checked up on you guys!! Didn't even notice the trip down to Discusland... (hope you're feeling better, Hans!)

I'll do my best to get that day off. I'll go rub my discus for good luck. :p

[scolley]

OK, this whole thread has gone off topic IMO ;) . People don't go to fish meetings to find out what they can do for the community. They go to find out what the community can do for them. (JFK is rolling over in his grave for that statement - please forgive me!)

So, I'm going! And I'm TRULY ready to give BACK to the community for what will undoubtedly be another wonderful experience. But I have a specific need...

Is it possible that anyone has a plant (preferably floating) that does a good job of soaking up nitrates, that you could give me a cutting of?

I'm gonna come whether anyone has that or not. So if I HAVE anything that might be beneficial to YOU, please let me know before November so I can work it out for you.

So, now that I've put selfishness out in the public eye, establishing the fact that our motivations are not always altruistic, please PM requests for help, plants, etc, as both fine and expected. ;) Cheers.

[dpt8]

That's the spirit Steve !! That's why we have the club.. Share info, learn from each other,barter if possible, sell and buy from each other when possible. I can't wait to visit Mike ( Blackwater) and Al's place in addition to visit with Ahsay, his family ( thanks again Ahsay) and all. This all is just too cool. Thanks to Uncle Al and his endless amount of energy and knowledge !!

[ashaysathe]

Is it possible that anyone has a plant (preferably floating) that does a good job of soaking up nitrates, that you could give me a cutting of?



My neighbour has a nice quality water sprite that grows like weed and is also a thin leaf nicer version not the regular thick leaf version as in LFS. That plant is gr8 floater but dunno if that meets your specific needs. I get those from him all the time or used to get them from him always before I went into bare bottom extravaganza !!!!
So lemme know.. and what you can give me in turn.. lets see.. how about @ 3pm?

Cheers
Ashay

[scolley]

Is that as in my house? Today? 3PM?

Sure! Come on by dude! We're all just hanging. Love to have you! Send me a PM though to let me know if you are. Thanks!

[scolley]

OK, this thread has gotten off track, and I'm certainly partly to blame. Sooo...

I just spent 15 minutes cruising this thread (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=63753), the original North East Discus Meeting thread, and I've gotta say while I WAS looking very much forward to this meeting, I had forgotten what a FABULOUS time I had at the last one! So now all I can think is WOW! I can't WAIT for this next one!

I really look forward to seeing many of you again, that I only had a little while to get to know in the last meeting. And if I'm lucky, I'll meet even more great people from this forum. :) So, I DO look very much forward to seeing many of you again, and meeting even more of you for the first time - SOON!

Pls come if you can! ;)

[ashaysathe]

2 weeks and counting..

Below are friends who have confirmed (in no particular order ofcourse):

brewmaster15 - Al
BlackWater Aquaria - Mike Deegan
dpt8 - David
bastalker - Mark
Marksdiscus - Mark
scolley - Steve
PatrickRichard - Patrick
JefferyRichard - Jeffery
rlghouston from Danbury

and these are may be's - please try and come. its so much nice for the hobby and if not anything else spend an evening and have fun

Moon - Joe (from Canada)
2075turner - Evelyn (from Canada)
Rich
Organicfarmer - Tom

If I have missed anyone please add. If you plan at the last min to come do not cancel for not informing in advance. Please come.. advance notice is not mandatory at all.

Will c'll soon

[2075turner]

Hi Ashay,

Sorry but I won't be able to make it down to your place for the meeting.:( Hope you guys all have a blast.:) Maybe the next meeting. Thanks, Evelyn

[Blackwater Aquaria]

Hi all,
Spoke with Ashay and confirmed things....WE are looking at November 8th...Its a Sat...Ashay has kindly offered to Host the get together.....

The agenda should be as Follows... Meet at Ashay's in Middletown CT around 2:00pm for socializing...Ashay will be providing some Dinner items and beverages...Anyone thats going is asked to do the same....Probably best to coordinate with Ashay whose bringing what..... Pm him thru the board.

I figure that we'll break from The meeting at Ashays after Dinner, and anyone that wants to head down Here ( 20 mins away) and check out the fishroom is welcome to come on down.

More info as we go along....but what we really could use now is
a list of whose coming so Ashay can plan things out..

Thanks Ashay for hosting this.....:)

Take care,
alAlso everyone is invited to my house. I talked to Ashey and I am going to have afew Discus that I will auction and some used power filters and Ehiem canister filters 3 sizes a few small tanks and odds and ends. The proceeds from the sale of these will be a donation to the forum. There will be no prices on any of the items just what you feel is fair. Hope to see some of you. If you are interested please let Ashey know and get directions. Mike D. BWA:bandana:

[Blackwater Aquaria]

2 weeks and counting..

Below are friends who have confirmed (in no particular order ofcourse):

brewmaster15 - Al
BlackWater Aquaria - Mike Deegan
dpt8 - David
bastalker - Mark
Marksdiscus - Mark
scolley - Steve
PatrickRichard - Patrick
JefferyRichard - Jeffery
rlghouston from Danbury

and these are may be's - please try and come. its so much nice for the hobby and if not anything else spend an evening and have fun

Moon - Joe (from Canada)
2075turner - Evelyn (from Canada)
Rich
Organicfarmer - Tom

If I have missed anyone please add. If you plan at the last min to come do not cancel for not informing in advance. Please come.. advance notice is not mandatory at all.

Will c'll soon Also everyone is invited to my house. I will have some Discus to auction off. Also I have some power filters and Ehiem canisters a few tanks and odds and ends the proceeds from the used aquarium stuff will be donated to the forum. There will be no prices on the items pay what you think is fair. Hope to see some of you I am sure you will injoy yourselves. Mike D. BWA PS I am just a few miles from Asheys Home also:bandana:

[dpt8]

Thanks for the donations Mike. I wanted to get there to your place all Summer and never made it so I am truely looking forward to this whole meeting, and visiting yours and Al's place. I hope I don't loose my mind !!!! David

[brewmaster15]

Just saw this last reply Mike, Thats very generous of you...Thanks so much for the support here.:)...and for opening your doors to the group... I'm looking forward to seeing your place and fish again myself!:)

See you soon!

-al

[Moon]

Sorry I won't be able to make it this time. My local aquarium club is having a dinner dance that same evening. Hope to make it to the next one.
Joe

[GrillMaster]

Well how awsome is that! Mike I got dibs on whatever tanks ya got for sale!! :D

Cya on the 8th...:)

[brewmaster15]

Hey Joe,


Sorry I won't be able to make it this time. My local aquarium club is having a dinner dance that same evening. Hope to make it to the next one.
Joe

Bring them all down... Ashay won't mind holding a dinner at his home and Mikes basement is more than big enough for a dance!:)

Seriously, too bad you can't make it this time...I'll meet you one day...same goes for you Evelyn!

-al

[ashaysathe]

Thanks for the donations Mike. I wanted to get there to your place all Summer and never made it so I am truely looking forward to this whole meeting, and visiting yours and Al's place. I hope I don't loose my mind !!!! David


David, you will need a serious mind control to be able to do that.. I go to Mike's house very frequently and before I go there I take "stay sane" shots.
Seriously, you got to see it to appreciate it..
Then go to Al's place.. man.. its going to be a "super saturday"



Sorry I won't be able to make it this time. My local aquarium club is having a dinner dance that same evening. Hope to make it to the next one.
Joe

Sorry to hear that Joe. I was really looking forward for you and Evelyn to come. It would have been so much fun. But one of the days we will meet.. the way its going right now... i don't see any exit from this hobby soon... and I am glad every moment I am in it.


Well how awsome is that! Mike I got dibs on whatever tanks ya got for sale!! :D

Cya on the 8th...:)


Nah Mark - I have "all taken" signs on them already :D :D Just Kidding..
I am so excited for the event and meeting you guys..

So we have (no particular order):

brewmaster15 - Al
BlackWater Aquaria - Mike Deegan
dpt8 - David
bastalker - Mark
Mike Destefano - my neighbor and hobbyist
Marksdiscus - Mark
scolley - Steve
PatrickRichard - Patrick
JeffryRichard - Jeffry
rlghouston from Danbury

and these are may be's -
Rich
Organicfarmer - Tom
subcooler - Rob

[1Chuck9669]

Hey All,

Can't wait to hear how the day went!!! Sounds like a busy day! I am hoping to help start a Colorado Discus club sometime soon.

Have a good one :D

May Our Threads Cross Again...

[BOBT00LS]

Hello Ashay and to all that are attending. There is a possibility that I may be able to attend next week. It all depends on if out of state family will be visiting or not. Im looking forward to meeting you all and hope things pan out. I will let you know for certain sometime during the week and apologize for the short notice. I guess it would be safe to put me on the "MAYBE" list for now.

Bob

[GrillMaster]

Hope you can make it Bob... It would be great to meet ya! :)

[ashaysathe]

Hello Ashay and to all that are attending. There is a possibility that I may be able to attend next week. It all depends on if out of state family will be visiting or not. Im looking forward to meeting you all and hope things pan out. I will let you know for certain sometime during the week and apologize for the short notice. I guess it would be safe to put me on the "MAYBE" list for now.

Bob


Sure Bob.. but it would be great if you can come over. Its so much nice to add the "face to the post (on the forum)"

Its 5 more days.. I really am excited.

[brewmaster15]

Hope you can make it Bob!:)

-al

[JeffreyRichard]

Unfortunately it now looks like I can't make it due to a pending family obligation. If things change over the week I'll do my best to get there.

I wish everyone a good time.

[HairyFish]

Hi Everyone,

I am a brand new member of Simply Discus and heard about the Northeast Discus Meeting through a friend. I would like to attend if it isn't too late to join up.

Please let me know if I can attend and what I can bring foodwise to the meeting.

Thanks,

Roland

[ashaysathe]

Hi Everyone,

I am a brand new member of Simply Discus and heard about the Northeast Discus Meeting through a friend. I would like to attend if it isn't too late to join up.

Please let me know if I can attend and what I can bring foodwise to the meeting.

Thanks,

Roland

Welcome to Simply and you are welcome .. no worries.. "More the merrier" (we'll have heard this somewhere? )

[brewmaster15]

Hi Roland!

Welcome to Simplydiscus! :) and it'll be great meeting you at this get together! Where are you coming from?

-al

[GrillMaster]

Welcome to Simply Roland!! I am sure Ashay will have an extra paper plate or 2 or 3 layin around...;) :D :D :D

Cya Saturday!

[scolley]

OK, lemme see... 10 o'clock Thursday nite. That's 40 hours, and counting! I can't wait!:D

[BOBT00LS]

It is with deep regret that I have to inform those attending that I will not be making the meeting at Ashays. Im bummed out about it but know I will be making a meeting somewhere down the road. I hope you all have a great time and will look forwrd to the meeting.

Bob

[dpt8]

Bob, Sorry you casn't make the meeting Bro. I was looking forward to meeting you.. Keep those discus of yours goin'

Ashay. Are you very far from danielson Ct. ?? I may go to Logee's open house on my way there>> David T.

[brewmaster15]

Hi David,
Logees is way far from Ashays...Ashay is only about 15 Minutes from my House ( north of it)...If you stop at Logees Greenhouses, You can easily get to Ashays via I-91 south from I-84. and if you do go there.. I may have to give you a shopping list for me...LOL.. serously... we should meet up there sometime after christmas...If we time it right..... between the Ponderosa Lemons and the jasmine in flower....Its like a mini- tropical vacation:):):)

Bob,
Sorry you won't be able to make it...We should pick a weekend sometime when you can come for a visit and we'll have an informal meeting here.:)

Jeff,
Thats the first Northeast meeting you've missed in the past 6 years....I guess its excusable;)!! Too bad though...I was looking forward to seeing you again!


Everyone else thats going.. Should be a great time...I'm looking forward to it all! Early Thanks again to Ashay and his Family for Hosting this gathering..

-al

[ashaysathe]

Pleasure is all we take Al...

My son, Aditya (6 yrs old), says everybody for discus meeting is English, how can we give them Indain food?
and then he goes .. is brewmaster coming? (like he said the other day.. "brewmaster started a contest" ) Aditya opens the internet and checks out simply these days..

Can't wait. Its noon Nov 7th - that makes it 26 hrs. You guys are most welcome if plans get to my house sooner.. do not hesitate..

Go Yippeeee !!!!

[BOBT00LS]

Hi David,
Logees is way far from Ashays...Ashay is only about 15 Minutes from my House ( north of it)...If you stop at Logees Greenhouses, You can easily get to Ashays via I-91 south from I-84. and if you do go there.. I may have to give you a shopping list for me...LOL.. serously... we should meet up there sometime after christmas...If we time it right..... between the Ponderosa Lemons and the jasmine in flower....Its like a mini- tropical vacation:):):)

Bob,
Sorry you won't be able to make it...We should pick a weekend sometime when you can come for a visit and we'll have an informal meeting here.:)

Jeff,
Thats the first Northeast meeting you've missed in the past 6 years....I guess its excusable;)!! Too bad though...I was looking forward to seeing you again!


Everyone else thats going.. Should be a great time...I'm looking forward to it all! Early Thanks again to Ashay and his Family for Hosting this gathering..

-al

Sounds good to me Al. I was hoping to bring back some of your beefheart to try out and I have a new, empty, 150 gallon to stock. I will be in touch.

Bob

[BOBT00LS]

Bob, Sorry you casn't make the meeting Bro. I was looking forward to meeting you.. Keep those discus of yours goin'

Ashay. Are you very far from danielson Ct. ?? I may go to Logee's open house on my way there>> David T.

Hello David. I too was looking forward to meeting you as well as the others. Too bad I cant make it as its only a two hour ride for me. Im sure we'll meet up in the future.

Bob

[Moon]

Hope you guys have a great time. Take lots of pics. I'll see you at the next meet.

[subcooler]

Sorry I missed the meeting yesterday @ Ashay's.
I'm sure a great time was had by all!
Anxiously awaiting pics & details on next meeting.
Hope to see you all @ next meeting in '09.

Rob

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
It was great get together at Ashays...AShay and his family put together an amazing spread of food and that was supplimented by food brought by others.....we could have camped out for a week there and not gone hungry! So my first thanks go to Ashay and his beautiful family!

We had some nice socializing and appetitizers and spent a bit of time looking at ashays 125 gal show tank...

[brewmaster15]

more pics from Ashay..

[brewmaster15]

While we ate we had some round table discussions on discus topics...

Among the topics were Beefheart and feeding juvenile fish, Genetics and just what all the terms we throw around daily on the forum mean (ex...f1 cross, hybrids, throwbacks,intermediates) and we touched on the way breeding programs are developed...

Not in the main meeting but in the various discussion going on around the groups were also discussions on plant growth and fertilizers, fish rearing mindsets and cultural considerations... as well as breeding topics..


All in all a very good discussion set...

After that we went to Mike Deegans place...blackwateraquaria here on Simply...

[brewmaster15]

Mike has built himself a nice hatchery with a series of double rack 75 gal tanks and also has an amazingly lush group of tanks planted with Amazon swords...

[brewmaster15]

After Mikes,, a bunch of went to my place and had some more socializing time.... then called it a night...

I'll try to post some of my photos for that latter...or maybe just link into the website that I should have up soon..

Thanks again all for the meeting...Mark and I have already gotten some good ideas for a major get together in the summer...we'll go over all that when we next meet in the early spring.

-al

[dpt8]

Thanks to Ahsay and his family. Great food and great company. Ahsay, you new 125 looks great.. Then to Mike Degan's.. Great place with LOTS of discus.. Crazy !! Thanks Mike. Lastly to Al's.. So beautiful and soooo many tanks of more beautiful discus !! What a fantasy day.. Thanks to all... great to see everyone !! Plus great to meet Roger....David T

[GrillMaster]

It was a great get together at Ashay's without a dought! Like Al mentioned there was more than enough food an all was top notch in my book! Even your "endorphin rush hot sauce" Ashay!! :flame:

It was great finally seeing Mikes Fish room. Gave me some great ideas! :)

It was great seein everyone again! I believe we will keep adding to the NEDA membership from here on. What can be better than having so many in one place enjoying the same hobby without having to pay anything at all? :D :D :D

As the membership and enthusiasm grows, I know we can have some special meetings with alot of things going on within them. Not just limited to people from the Northeast but open to anyone who would like to get together and have a great time, Eat good food and expand our hobby! As Al mentioned earlier we have some big plans and ideas for some future get togethers that will be open to all...

Again thanks everyone...I again had a great time!! :thumbsup:

[patrick richard]

I would like to thank Ashay and his family for a great dinner. These get togethers with great friends are something that I look forward to. We had a few great discussions and as we all see, we learn some new information on these wonderful fish every day.

I also would like to thank Mike at Blackwateraquaria. Mike has a beautiful set up that makes most of us jealous.
Mike had some gorgeous planted tanks with large beautiful discus in them. I will definitly be over again when its time to fill up my tanks, after I finish my room.

Al, thanks again for showing off your beautiful fish. This gives us new discus addicts some goals to shoot for.

Last but not least I would like to say to Dave, Steve, Rodney and mark thanks for some great conversations throughout the night. Mark we will get together very soon to go over arranging these fish rooms.

Thanks, and till next time.
Patrick

[scolley]

Well, all I've got to say is that it is more than 24 hours since I started in on what was laughingly called "appetizers" (kinda like calling a cannon a peashooter!), and I'm STILL not hungry. There was SO MUCH good food! Wow! Many, many thanks to Ashay, his lovely wife Rushme (spelling... sorry), Al, Mark and anyone else that provided food and beverages. I think I've gained another 2 lbs just from our meeting! ;) Thank you.

The discussion was lively as previously described - though I've got to say it was (like with the 1st meeting) wonderfully cordial. I'd have thought so many passionate people discussing this stuff in one place would get feisty at times. But not this crowd - just a wonderful group of people. :)

Ashay's fish were wonderful. First thing I said when I walked in the door was "Hey, my fish don't look that good... " :o And I meant it. NICE fish Ashay.

Mike Degan had a great setup, and some very tempting fish. And he was kind enough to go into detail on his pluming for me - a topic near and dear to my heart. Really nice fish room setup, as befits a business. But that does not even say anything about his multiple, large heavily planted show tanks. Mike can grow an amazon sword like nobody's business!

And Mike deserves major cred for his very unselfish donation of equipment to raise money. He had some really nice (expensive!) stuff that he was selflessly willing to part with. Thanks Mike!

And finally Al... he has a spectacular show tank (really exceptional - as in one-of-a-kind!) that I'm not even sure if I'm supposed to be talking about. :jester: Ooops! Too late... Let's just say I walked in the room and let out a loud, spontaneous "WOW! Too Cool!"

It's nice. But we've come to expect that from Al, haven't we?

All in all it was a lovely time. Good conversation, educational, tasty (!), and fun. Thanks to everyone for coming. Thanks to Al and Mike for having us by. And a special thanks to Ashay and his family for having us in their lovely home. :thumbsup:

[Kenny's Discus]

I'm so envious of you all...I've got to start doing something similar in the west here lol! Everyone seemed to have a great time and you all look great! Thanks for posting the wonderful photos even though we're not there it still allows us share the joy over here in this "part" of the world!:):):):)

Ashay, Mike, Steve, David, Patrick, Mark and others; you guys should keep bugging Al to have these gatherings as frequent as possible!:D:)

All the best, thanks for sharing the photos again!
Kenny

[ashaysathe]

Thank you .. Thank You .. Thank You..
To all for coming and enjoying the time. Thanks Al for the opportunity given to host the meeting, we all enjoyed it. While Mom took care of kids - they got to play in the basement as much they wanted, Rashmi got to her free time as much possible and we had a good cordial discussion. These lively discussions truely take the hobby to next level.

Thanks guys for appreciating my small collection. I am just 5 months old in this hobby and rest have even forgotten lot more than what I know of. So these words mean a lot to me.

Thanks all for appreciation on all counts and all food preperation credit goes to Rashmi. We tried to keep as authentic Indian as possible yet not too much. Thanks Mark for the nice chicken and rice dish. We liked the idea (soon to be implemented). Thanks Al for the pasta and salsa. Salsa is so good. Thanks David for the plant from Logees, Patrick for beans and Roger to get shrimps. It was a great assortment of food items (Sorry incase I have missed anything because it was so much and sooo veryyy goood).
While we got all this good food, my fish will get to enjoy Al made BH mixture. Thanks so much. If fish could read I would put this on the menu board for them "New mixture coming soon"

I truely would look forward for the next meeting which would be Q1 of 2009 (I think, I hope, I look forward to).. The way I look at it is, a reason to meet and socialize. Life otherwise gets very monotonous and no better way to change its dyanamics than this.

Thanks Mike (BlackWater Aquaria) to allow us look at your setup, although I see it more often than anybody. It truely is great example. Then many thanks Al to invite us to your fish room (The Discus Hall). Its amazing how much sparkle the fish has at your place.. truely exceptional. Thanks for the advice as always. As I have said many time, you and Mike D. truely play a big role in my hobby. Thanks.

Talking about super Saturday with the meeting, I would extend it to be a super weekend. On Sunday I had a suprise call to watch the Patriots game. The tickets had a special entry to it to actually be on the field for 30 mins warmup and 30 mins game. It was one amazing experience. Aditya and I went for the game yesterday. Needless to say how amazing it was. I will post the photos soon.

Again, Thanks everybody - Al, Mike D, Mark, Steve, Patrick, David, Roger: Thanks for coming, thanks for appreciation and kind words and truely thanks for being friends.. It honestly means a lot to me.

For those whose plans didn't permit, we look forward to meet in near future.

Simply Amazing !!!

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
Got an email from another new Simply member that was at the meeting Rodger George... (rlghouston here) . Rodger sent me a few pics he took as well....

Great making another friend that....I'll have to watch my back when I am at these events taking pics though!!:)

-al

[ashaysathe]

Al - you have taken the best photo of my picture than I have ever taken. They are so good, it made me change my avatar - my beautiful angels.. sob sob.. I miss them a lot.

[2075turner]

Well looks like you guys had a great time. Maybe, I can get you guys to come up to Canada for a visit????Well not for a while though, WINTER is coming and I'm sure you don't want to come up here to experience that, LOL.

Take Care, Evelyn:)

[Moon]

Well looks like you guys had a great time. Maybe, I can get you guys to come up to Canada for a visit????Well not for a while though, WINTER is coming and I'm sure you don't want to come up here to experience that, LOL.

Take Care, Evelyn:)

That's a good idea Evelyn.
Maybe late spring or early summer.