I just read this whole thread and all I can say is Wow lol. In the end, no matter how hard you try, you can't please everyone and someone is going to get their feelings hurt - so all you can do is please the vast majority and run with it.
I'm going to refrain from voting because I don't know how sure I am that I'll be able to attend the meetup (though I'm going to try). I'll wait and see where it's decided that it's going to be, then I'll probably be able to figure it out.

I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to go, but if not, then I'll just wait until '10 and I'll almost (you never know what can happen) positively go to the one on the EC.