After one the longest threads in Chicago Python history, it looks like the idea for TECHcoffee is getting some traction and we’ll have several attendees for the first meetup on Monday, June 19.

(Recap: TECHcoffee is an idea for open source coders to get together for ‘mini-sprints’ – 2 hours each week. It’s starting out in Chicago, because well, that’s where I live… but I encourage you to start your own weekly TECHcoffee in your city or town.)

Since the announcement, I registered techcoffee.com and have it redirecting to a simple site at techcoffee.infogami.com. (By the way, infogami.com is super clean and easy to use. Thank you, Aaron. Is it a stretch to say it’s “pythonic”? :-)

I went on a scouting mission on Monday to check out potential meet-up spots, and posted the scouting report here. Important criteria were:

• central location, easy to get to with public transit
• semi-public space – easy for people to walk in or out as they please
• low-cost wireless network access
• good coffee, of course

There are many, many coffee shops at the corner of Lake & La Salle — Chicago’s “Coffee Corridor” if you will. I was impressed by Caribou Coffee’s “cozy” setting and cheap wifi options… So, I’ve decided that the first TECHcoffee will be there on Monday, June 19th, 6-8 a.m.

The instantly controversial part of this is the “6-8 a.m.” part… Yes, it’s early. But really, what else are you doing at 6 in the morning? And Monday? Well what better way to start your week than working on your own projects for a few hours? Benjamin Franklin once commented on how most people waste good daylight by sleeping in too late… with Daylight Savings Time and summer in full bloom in Chicago… sunrise is around 5:00 a.m. I’m using TECHcoffee as my weekly motivation to get up and get going early for several personal projects (mostly related to Django and Selenium) that have been lagging. And at 6 a.m., there are fewer excuses not to do it, than if I scheduled it at 6 p.m.

So, if you’re in Chicago on Monday, I hope to see you at Caribou Coffee bright and early at 6 a.m. Bring your laptop and get your code on! It would be cool if we could do a mini-reprise of Snake and Rubies and get David Hansson (of Rails fame) and Adrian Holovaty (of Django fame) to make an appearance, as they’re both Chicagoans, now.