[CREATE] LGM 2012

[Gregory Pittman]

This may seem a disoriented subject, but what I would like to bring up 
is that, especially in view of what we see going on currently as the LGM 
2011 site is being vetted, I think that LGM has matured enough that 
future meetings need to become something more than an ad hoc process.

I routinely find it bothersome and annoying whenever I have some meeting 
in which some major decision needs to be made, yet am given no 
preliminary information about the decision, perhaps some preliminary 
ideas that someone might have, and so on. One frequently has the 
suspicion that there have been secret meetings or discussions, in which 
decisions have more or less already been made, and then the meeting 
becomes an effort to try to get some rubberstamp approval without much 
discussion.

Worse is when there really is no sense of what decision is to be made, 
yet there is pressure to come to some decision rapidly.

It's clear to me that the idea the we can come together at one LGM with 
a more or less blank slate for where the next LGM will be and believe 
that some good ideas will come about, and that some consensus or 
agreement might come about at the LGM meeting is at best wishful thinking.

I would propose that while we are grinding away at the discussion for 
2011 that either now or very soon discussion begin about the LGM 2012 
location. Many things can happen in 2 years, of course, but 
realistically, many things can happen in a year or less, so if nothing 
else, the proposed site for 2 years from now can stand as a backup for 
one year from now should some initial planning fall through. The other 
advantage is that when LGM 2011 rolls around, the discussion at the end 
becomes a more practical, detail-oriented discussion about 2012, and the 
nebulous proposals begin about 2013. Finally, I can imagine that having 
an extra year of planning for some locations might also be a good idea.

Greg