Cyberspace Communications finances for December 2004

Jan 3 23:04 UTC 2005

Here is the treasurer's report on Cyberspace Communications, Inc. finances 
through December 31st, 2004.

Beginning Balance     $3,235.52

Credits                 $420.00         Member contributions
                          $1.59         Interest on our savings account
                   ------------
                        $421.59

Debits                   $84.43         Pumpkin Rent for January
                         $61.02         Electricity for December
                         $90.71         Phone Bill
                        $135.00         DSL December 15 through January 15
                          $5.85         Paypal fees (income = $122)
                         $38.31         Winter personal property taxes
                         $14.95         Renewal of grex.org
                   ------------
                        $430.27

Ending Balance        $3,226.84

Our current balance breaks down as follows:

$2,970.30               General Fund
  $173.99               Silly Hat Fund
   $60.00               Spare Parts Fund
   $22.55               Infrastructure Fund

The money is distributed like this:

  $338.57   Checking account
$2,888.27   Savings account earning 0.55% interest annually

We had two new members in December (blaise and nharmon).  We are currently 
at 70 members, 65 of whom are paid through at least January 15th.  (The 
others expired recently and are in a grace period.)

Notes:

- Grex pays personal property taxes on all the stuff it owns.  About 2/3 of 
the taxes are paid in the summer, and 1/3 in the winter.

- It's been my honor to be your treasurer for the last 4 years, and for 8 of 
the last 9 years.  This is my last report - I'll be handing over all the 
data and the duties to whomever the board elects later this month.

My parting thoughts: Grex survives solely on good will.  Grex can only exist 
if people care enough about it, and feel positively enough toward it, to 
contribute their time and their money.  Since its inception, I think, there 
has been a danger that Grex will descend into a whirlpool of self-loathing 
and ennui.

It's survived largely because there has been a core group of people who 
cared enough to try to make it something else.  That means contributing 
money and time, and it also means entering items and responses to counter 
those that eat away at our community.  And sometimes it means fighting the 
good fight, when people have sought to destroy us.

There are more of us here who want Grex to survive than there are people who 
want it destroyed.  Sometimes it doesn't seem that way, if we measure the 
balance of constructive versus destructive posts.  But if you count people,
the positives win hands down.

My parting wish is that if you care about Grex, if you want it to survive, 
you'll act, at least once in while, to help it be a healthy community.  If 
everyone who cares does a little bit (becomes a member, contributes ideas in 
garage, becomes a staff member, or ignores a twit, for example), Grex should 
have no problem staying alive and vibrant.

But, don't get me wrong, there is a real danger that the bastards will wear 
us down.  Our membership has eroded during the last 3 years, and we have 
lost a lot of money over that time.  That's *not* healthy.  The board is 
working to cut expenses, but don't count on that to be the end of the 
matter.  If our solution to shrinking income is to shrink what we do, then 
that is the path toward decline.  If everyone starts to feel like it's 
someone else's job to keep Grex alive, then Grex will die.

I've done my time, and will take a break now, and try to write my thesis 
this year.  If it goes well, and I have a Ph.D. in a year, then maybe I'll 
run for the board again.  Who knows.  I've put a lot of myself into this job 
over the last 9 years, and it's time for someone else to have a turn.

So, let me say it again: if Grex is important to you, even a little, 
consider doing something more to help it be healthy.  Even (or especially) 
if it's not exactly what you think it should be.  Become a member, 
contribute ideas, contribute time, contribute joy.  All of these are needed 
to make a community.

Thanks to everyone who contributed in December:

arabella, blaise, charcat, dpc, glenda, kd3hw, nharmon, robh, steve, 
witling, wlevak, and one person who asked to remain anonymous.

If you or your institution would like to become a member of Grex, it 
only costs $6/month or $60/year.  Send money to:

Cyberspace Communications
P. O. Box 4432
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-4432

If you pay by cash or money order, please include a photocopy of some 
form of ID.  I can't add you to the rolls without ID.  (If you pay 
with a personal check that has your name pre-printed on it, we 
consider that a good enough ID.)  Type !support or see 
http://www.cyberspace.org/member.html for more info.

response 2 of 56:

Jan 4 00:36 UTC 2005

Hear, hear. Although I'm sure many people would say that not all of my posts
are positive (including myself), I'm one of the people who wants Grex to
endure.

response 4 of 56:

Jan 4 03:06 UTC 2005

Thanks for all your hard work Mark, you will be hard to replace I'm sure.

response 6 of 56:

Jan 4 14:24 UTC 2005

Thanks, Mark.  You have done a marvelous job.  Big shoes to fill.

response 8 of 56:

Jan 5 04:48 UTC 2005

There can't be too many thanks given to aruba.  And that goes for the rest
of the baff, including janc, mary, gelinas, and many others.  Thanks for all
you have done, and continue to do to keep grex running.  Whether or not it
remains a place worth supporting is TBD and largely in the eye of the
beholder.  I think that most would still say YES!  :-)

response 10 of 56:

Jan 9 10:32 UTC 2005

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----------
I know I'm new here (just a few hours), but when I saw how little 
was earned on the savings, I had to speak up.

Shutting up now...

response 12 of 56:

Jan 9 17:50 UTC 2005

Grex also decided against a 5% CD - because it was not insured?  

response 14 of 56:

Jan 9 21:00 UTC 2005

Right, but with a CD your money is locked up for a period of time, 
years worth of time usually.  

Grex's money needs to be safe and readily available.

response 16 of 56:

Jan 9 21:15 UTC 2005

I wouldn't the little money Grex has tied up at all.  Not even for 
one month.  That money should be available to keep Grex up and 
running.  

But I love how this discussion comes up from time to time.  It's a 
little like thinking about what you'll do with all those lottery 
winnings you'll have, someday.

response 18 of 56:

Jan 9 21:36 UTC 2005

That's you, Mary.  Personally, I'd like to see grex make a little money
by putting $1000 or so into a CD.

response 20 of 56:

Jan 10 00:47 UTC 2005

I guess I just don't see the problem.  Have we really needed to get at
our money *that quickly* in the past?  What could happen that could possibly
cost use $1000?  We could buy a whole new Grex machine for what we'd have
left in savings.  Let's seriously evaluate the risk here: it's just not
that great.

Am I seriously advocating an account that earns more interest than the
savings account we have now?  No, not really.  It would be nice, but our
financial situation isn't so dire that I feel it necessary.  But, on the
other hand, I'm not willing to dismiss ideas out of hand.

response 24 of 56:

Jan 10 04:50 UTC 2005

Couldn't the treasurer be reimbursed say $20 an hour for time and travel
expenses to do the job. ;-)