BT just got me drunk!

[David Hosobuchi]

I’m here in Boston, where BT all started. I was here almost 15 years ago exactly, to do everything I am here to do now, only more this time. I am going to just say
So I just got off the phone with one of BT’s original founders, Dr Daniel Hoch. I can’t convey my feeling of excitement for the future of BT after that call. I feel that I was able to impress upon him facts about BT that he never realized. Things that actually made it medically therapeutic for certain neurological issues. His eyes were opened!!! I immediately went out to celebrate.

I walked into a bar up the street from my hotel, called the Tip Tap Room...
They had a list of drafts longer than I could even contemplate.
I described my taste of hops and malt to the sever, and he recommended an excellent brew.
I described my experiences with the restaurant in my hotel down the street, describing their clam chowder in detail. I received a proud description of the chowder that they served, and as a former chef, I immediately ordered it, as well as their steak tips w/ bordelaise sauce.
The service continued to be excellent, and I explained that I was once also a chef, that I was extremely satisfied with my meal, to please give my respects to the chef.
As I was finishing my steak, the chef came by my table to talk to me. He asked me my background as a chef, I of course gave it. We talked food for a while. He then had a waitress bring me a desert, and us an aperitif, and asked me what I was doing here in Boston. So I told him about BT.

I went back to the hotel and changed clothes for the cold. Brr.. This is not what I am used to in California!

Even then, it’s a Friday night, I have got Dr Dan Hoch more energized for BT than I have personally witnessed in 15 years.
I went back to the Tip Tap Room and ordered another brew.
All of a sudden there’s a loud voice behind me saying,”Hey,there’s another one!”
I instinctively turn around to see someone looking directly at me.
The guy next to him says,”Yes, definitely.”
I take a nice pull from my beer....
They asked me if I was asian...(These guys were all of Asian decent)
I said that I was.
After them buying me a shot of Japanese Whiskey,
Then they asked me what I was doing in Boston...
Of course I told them the whole story about BT, and what I am doing here in Boston now.
It turns out that one had a TBI, resulting in seizures......
Then came the next round of drinks.
I just want to say that I feel already the energy that is building up behind me everywhere I go, every time I talk about BT.

Getting up at 9am today on Saturday was definitely not easy. I am lucky I don’t have a headache. I am now searching for a good strong cup of coffee before I go start my day with Dan, doing BT stuff.

[stillstANNding]

That’s a great story! Welcome to Boston!

ANN

[Virginia]

What a wonderful time you must be having. I didn't count, but I think quite a few drinks in there. Hope you have a good trip back East, where it all began for you.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((David)))))) ~

Thank you so much for sharing your journey through time back to Boston, where it all started. Great story, and how wonderful that you've met such interesting and lovely folks along the way.

I hope that you will continue to update us about what you and Dr. Hoch are discussing regarding changes to BT. Please remember that quite a few of us here are Seniors, and technology changes can be a problem for us sometimes.

Having said that, I do recall my elderly Aunt telling her church's board, "If we want to keep the church going, we have to attract the young people! We're all old, getting sick, dying. We need to bring in some young folks."

So, while you are thinking about attracting new members, think about the senior members, who are fine with the way things are at BT and might have difficulty adapting to a drastic change here.

I know that is a delicate balance.

Love & Light,



Rose

[stillstANNding]

Rose, I consider my 94 y/o mother and mother-in-law senior. That makes us middle-aged I hope!

ANN

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((ANN)))))) ~

Most of my elders didn't make it to 80, so maybe that's why I think of myself as a Senior. Doesn't AARP call us Seniors after we turn 50? Seniors seems like a gentler label than elderly. And as Seniors, we get discounts!

A couple of members have mentioned that they like the way BT is currently and that they are not technologically savvy. I'm raising my hand, but I'll be here, as long as I can figure out how to use the newfangled stuff on BT.

My brain is on TILT already, so perhaps I'm projecting. I seem to be the only one, who hasn't mastered the iPad yet. And, my computer has a notification that I haven't backed it up for 74 days. I've seen that notice for 64 days. But, I can't remember how to back up the computer, and I'm too tired to do it.

Yes, I'm projecting. Never mind. Carry on all you Middle Agers!

Love & Light,



Rose

[David Hosobuchi]

I want to thank all of you for your show of support.

I understand myself the challenges of learning and memorizing new things. 40+ years of bennies for epilepsy has taken its toll on my braincells as well.
Perspective is important too.

We are choosing the new software so it will be therapeutic, and stimulate the member of BT's neurons into learning new things. :)

In this way we will be able to offer new possibilities in the way of connection to other neurological organizations that have evolved on the internet doing research and whatnot.

We will also be able to use our old vB license for when we are ready to post our archives from the beginnings of BT-2006, on the condition they survive data forensics.

[agate]

Whatever you people at the helm decide to do about BT will probably be just fine with everyone here. I believe we're all just glad that this place is still here for us.

[Virginia]

Agate, said that very well. Whatever you guys decide we will do our best to follow.

[Mike Weins]

Change is coming, we've been on a "legacy server" for quite some time now and our host has been extremely gracious in letting us run an extremely outdated and not as secure forum. For simplicity's sake we've opted to stick with vBulletin and upgrade to their latest version, as well as have them host us on their cloud system. It's the most cost effective route and is super to easy to expand when we need to.

There are some steps Dan, David, and I still have to do before we start the change. The good news (well for me at least since I have like zero free time) is that vB should handle everything from the upgrade to the moving into a new server. Since they will be doing all of the back end fun, that frees me up to help folks with the transition and the changes to the forum :)

All in all we (David and I in particular) are now able to bring BT back to it's glory (hopefully). The constraints of not having the control/access needed are gone now :) It won't happen overnight but at the very least we will no longer be stuck in time so to speak.

[stillstANNding]

I’m wondering what that means, Mike.

Thank you for your time.
ANN

[agate]

I’m wondering what that means, Mike.

Thank you for your time.
ANN

I'd like to echo that.

It sounds as if an upgrade is in the offing. Do you have any idea when that will happen?

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

Thank You, Mike, David, and Dan

((((((Mike, David, & Dan)))))) ~

I re-read David's #7 post above, and I think I may have the gist of it now.

Using the vB format, which is familiar to all BT members, especially those, who post regularly, will make the transition to the updated site easier to understand. But the upgrade will also be appealing to newcomers, who expect a bit of a glossier, more social network style of communication.

Okay ... is that the correct interpretation?

After all of these years, I have faith in you that you will do whatever is best for BT. I continue to give prayers of thanks and send you healing, positive energy for your dedication to BT for so many years.

With your help, we'll all figure it out. We're not going anywhere, are we friends? No. We'll persevere and help each other learn anything new. As we have always done for each other for 2 decades.

Our BT community may not have tens of thousands, but we are strong and resilient. And, we've been keeping the light on for a long time. We've been through many changes. We will get through this one.

Love & Light,



Rose

[David Hosobuchi]

Yes, that’s Rose, that’s a good explanation of the reasoning behind the choice for the software.

The reasons for doing it are basically because we couldn’t continue with obsolete technology.
Security, and other issues, were becoming a serious problem.
Since we were faced with a situation where we were forced to upgrade to continue to support our community, we wanted to improve our community experience in doing so, while at least keeping it as familiar as possible.
We also wish to improve upon how we do this.

These upgrades, once we order them, should be seamless. We will order the upgrade, vB will do the work on their servers, configure our new community imported from our current database. When it is ready, our domain name will be instantly switched to point to the new site, making it active. The old version will then be offline.

We will then have almost exactly the resources we had in the beginning with BrainTalk/BrainChat.
We also now have the very important ability to run the organization ourselves.
What we don’t currently have, we can work together to restore.

The upgrades will add new features to the community like we have not seen for over a decade.
A live message system that will function not only to give our community a return of BrainChat, also the ability to have 1 on 1 private conversations.

Mike and I are currently busy setting up financial accounts to make BTC, Inc. Making it able to process donations and allow for our members to help support the organization that directly supports, and operates this community. 100% of funds collected will go to BTC, Inc. a Massachusetts nonprofit organization.
We are currently in good standing, there are a few procedures that still need to be done at the bank, and other financial institution levels.
We’ll be ready to accept donations soon, for those who wish to help.

We’ll look to find other ways to fund our community in the future as well.
Though we will continue to keep our community space with minimal advertising.