The Event
	Bug Register
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	Bug Ball Photo Gallery
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	Mellennium Bug Ball Invitation

Note that these pages are not yet complete. Specifically the following will be expanded to include information about the judging. Do come back again!

	The Plan

The whole event started with an idea that we should celebrate our combination of birthdays. As two of us work in IT, and it was a large part of the degree course of another, adapting surname Mellor to form the Mellennium Bug Ball was simply too tempting an idea. So the idea was born, invitations went out to around 200 family and friends for the event to be held on Friday 26th March 1999, and we began to plan the event as the RSVPs trickled in.

The theory was:

• people who brought bugs would register them on arrival and have photos taken for an eventual WWW site.
• registration details would be recorded on a computer (seemed appropriate) so we could sort bugs into categories for testing.
• we would assign each bug category to an individual table for testing, with bigger groups of people judging more popular categories to spread the workload.
• we would provide generic scoresheets and rudimentary measurement tools (eg tape measure) but otherwise allow the tables to agree how they would test their assigned bugs.
• while this went on we would circulate....
• winners would be assigned prizes, and we would create appropriate titles on plinths as required.
• everyone would be issued with Testing Certificates, written during the evening.

Alongside this there would be food, background music, a little dancing, and (though most were unaware of this part of the plan) a slightly embarassing slideshow ticking away in the corner.

So much for the plan!

	The Result

Some 120 people came to the Bug Ball, with at least 70 pre-constructed bugs, plus 1 still on the drawing board, and 6 of the invisible variety making 77 in total. Registration was a nightmare, taking longer than expected such that we had to start judging while people were still queuing at the registration desk. There were very few common categories, with much imaginitive use of the "Other" category. Judging was a nightmare, and was not completed on the night. Very few awards were therefore distributed.

However, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The food was good. Even the slides were largely entertaining! But the main thing, wherever you looked there was such a diversity of bugs.... it was amazing!

	The Bugs

• bugs made of paper, plastic, bedpans, wood, wool,....
• bugs powered by air, battery, rubber, clockwork, string,....
• bugs controlled by radio, laser, sound,....
• large ones, small ones, round ones, square ones,....
• red ones, blue ones, yellow ones, green ones,....

	The Thanks

So:

• thanks to everyone for coming along to the Bug Ball and making it such a memorable event for us.
• to those who made bugs, thanks for the time and effort taken. The extent of your imagination was astounding!
• if you never quite got around to registering your bug, let us know and we may reach that elusive 80.
• to those who brought presents, thanks.... you shouldn't have!
• thanks to Ian, Jennifer and Peter for their help with Registration, and to Bill for the loan of his camera.
• Thanks to Chris, Cindy and John for the bugpipes (which sounded almost like bagpipes)
• if anyone had a camera and took photos during the evening then we would be really pleased if you could let us have copies as we have only photos of the bugs. It would be nice to recall the odd humans present as well!
• we hope that you, your family, and your Bugs enjoy the rest of 1999 and that the Millennium is at least as enjoyable as the Mellennium Bug Ball.

	A Message from our Sponsor

Mell-ennium Bug Extermination Ltd

Only another 280 days and these mellennium bugs could be roaming free, wreaking havoc. Let MEL give you peace of mind. We are experts in rooting out all their little roosting places whether software, hardware, betaware or tupperware, no place is safe from MEL. Once found we can zap em, splat em or just spray them with our little nozzly sprayey thing. Let your millennium be bug free. If you would like my services please just buy me a drink. For more information see Bugbuster MEL.

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