cross-polination outreach for the next meeting in Ballard

[ryan....@gmail.com]

Hi, all!   I'm Ryan, longtime lurker here.   I went to Rik's meeting about the proposed SICM space in Ballard, and am trying to be more social.   I just sent this to Rik, then realized that i should (in the pursuit of being social) actually share it with the whole list:

re: the october 24th swap meet and Sicm.io - hosted SRCS monthly meeting:

i announced this last night on the PSRG.org monday-night radio checkin, immediately gave out the wrong URL (sicm.org) , and was **corrected** by someone who gave the correct url (sicm.io) .... so that's a good sign.

Another person asked and confirmed the date, so ..... people heard it at least.

I think i'm going to pull a bunch of old stuff out of my barn and sell/give it away with a table at the swap meet.  I can likely find someone willing to mind the store/table while I mill about, in exchange for maybe a free walkie-talkie and the bones of a 3d printer corpse.

Seattle 3d-printer nerds might also be a good target for cross-interest posting.

---

[Dylan Rush]

What's the difference between SICM ( https://sicm.io ) and SRCS ( https://sea-rcs.org/more-about-srcs/ )

Are these the same? Or does it have a big overlap?

Both SICM and SRCS mention a meeting on the 24th? 

I am definitely planning on attending. I would love to bring some of my collection, maybe give away or sell some laptops

I would also love to contribute to the collection and I would be willing to contribute more than $100/month if it gets the ball rolling 

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[J.P. McGlinn]

SICM is a developing museum. They have some folks involved that were part of the defunct Living Computers Museum + Labs. SICM is hosting an upcoming event as an open house for a possible space they would like to get a physical start in, and invite pledges to begin this phase of development. 

SRCS is a long standing community of enthusiasts experimenting, exploring, restoring, sharing, and preserving computer history. 

For the last several years an individual has hosted a swap meet for retro-computing and closely adjacent items.

The swap meet and the October SRCS meetings are being hosted by the SICM folks in the building they are previewing thanks to the generosity of the building owner. 

On Oct 6, 2026, at 16:18, Dylan Rush <dylan...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Rik Lambey]

Hi Dylan,

Great question! It’s 3 events at the same location on the same day. 

Seattle Interactive Computer Museum (SICM) will  be:

1) Offering a tour of the space they are considering leasing for SICM beta.

2) Hosting the annual SRCS community Retro Computer Swap Meet

3) Hosting the SRCS monthly meeting in the space

While all this is taking place, there will be burgers, hotdog and veggie burgers for all. 

Check out the details at SICM.io/swapmeet

Hope to see you there!

-Rik

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 6, 2026, at 4:18 PM, Dylan Rush <dylan...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Paul Swan]

Is it's ok if I forward this invite to the Seattle metro arcade collectors group? The website says the swap meet is open to arcade folks as well.

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[Rik Lambey]

Hello Paul!

Absolutely, we would love it if you would forward this info to the arcade community. 

It would be good to highlight the need to complete the survey linked on the web page (swap meet survey) so we can know space needs for the gear. 

I’m so looking forward to seeing everyone on the 24th. 

We’re also still looking for people to help with the museum tours and other logistics, so also fill out the SICM beta survey if you haven’t, or just comment on the swap meet survey at the bottom if you don’t want to fill in 2 surveys. 🤣

Best,

Rik

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 6, 2026, at 11:57 PM, Paul Swan <prs...@gmail.com> wrote:



[David Iglesias]

Have you posted this in the GSARG fb group yet? (Greater Seattle Area Retro Gamers) I can drop a link there (I’m sure there’s a big overlap of people with this group though)

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[Michael Brutman]

In the interest of preventing other confusion I'm going to point out that the ICM (The Interim Computer Museum) in Tukwila is completely different from SICM.  SICM actually does a good job in their FAQ page to highlight the differences.

Very briefly:

• ICM was founded by Stephen Jones, who was one of the key staff members at Living Computers during its history and I believe was also the last person out of the door when it closed.
• A lot of the "bigger iron" at Living Computers was rescued by Stephen and is at the ICM site in Tukwila.  ICM already has exhibition space, and has recently expanded it.
• ICM is also the sponsor for VCF Pacific Northwest.  (I worked with Stephen back when the event was held at Living Computers.)
• ICM is also very much community supported.  There are no tech billionaires helping out.  Stephen has "put his money where is mouth is" while also seeking to build a larger base of support.  The need to build a wide base of support is probably a lesson learned directly from Living Computers.

Regards,

-Mike

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[Andrew Beyer]

Thanks for that clarification, I was wondering if there was any affiliation/relationship given the perhaps confusingly similar names and hadn't seen the info in the FAQ.

It's unfortunate the new date for the open house conflicts with SeaGL, I'll likely miss it due to that.

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[Dylan Rush]

So while SICM and SRCS are different, they are sharing the same meetup on October 24th?

[ryan....@gmail.com]

I would say "yes, please do mention it", rather than ask permission here, or whether we (I) have posted it somewhere.

[Kent Sullivan]

Yes. SRCS occasionally meets in different places – for example, 1-2 times/year in a lab at UW Bothell. This is another form of that.

 

--Kent

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[Paul Jusak]

Um, what about parking availability?  I didn't see this mentioned in the flyer other than loading/unloading in the rain.  I definitely want to be mentally prepared for any impending parking CF if this becomes very well attended (which would be awesome for a widespread vintage electronics event).  I'm thinking about how big the university parking lots are that accommodate events like this, such as PSARA, and what to expect that can't be deciphered from Google maps for a non-local.

-Paul J

[gsteemso]

I’d forgotten about it until Paul brought it up, but I was quite concerned about parking as well.  The bird’s-eye Google Maps view seems to show the building only has a half-dozen spaces on the property itself, and what street parking there is seems to be very busy.  Can anyone who’s actually been there comment on this?

On Oct 9, 2026, at 8:57 AM, Paul Jusak <paul...@gmail.com> wrote:

Um, what about parking availability?  I didn't see this mentioned in the flyer other than loading/unloading in the rain.  I definitely want to be mentally prepared for any impending parking CF if this becomes very well attended (which would be awesome for a widespread vintage electronics event).  I'm thinking about how big the university parking lots are that accommodate events like this, such as PSARA, and what to expect that can't be deciphered from Google maps for a non-local.

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[ryan....@gmail.com]

I've been there, and I'd say you're probably right that parking is fairly limited, and you should not assume that the spots in the front will be available other then for load-in/out.

If your next question is "what should we do?", you'd need to contact the organizers.

[Rik Lambey]

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for asking Paul!

We plan to be available by 10:15 to allow people to arrive ahead of the 11:00 'doors open' time so they can load in and get set up.  I'm attaching a markup of the satellite view map to illustrate.  The areas in purple in front of the building will be available for temporary parking (read as 'load zone') to allow you to park close to the event.  In the event of rain we can open the garage door on the building and let people take turns unloading inside.

Street parking is available on 46th st, and more is just around the corner on 14th Ave NW.  Around the block you may find spots on NW Ballard Way.  I do recommend you allow 5 mins or so to find parking, but expect you will find something nearby.  Some of these locations are highlighted in orange on the map attached.

Please be sure to read/observe the signage in the area regarding parking including the accessability marked spot outside the building (it's the spot that's not highlighted between the two purple areas)

I'll update the website over this weekend to include the parking information.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the 24th.

Rik

sicm.io/swapmeet

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