The vending machine now provides some more feedback after money is put in.
Source code associated with my contribution is here. I haven't documented
the other components of the vending machine.
https://thomaslevine.com/scm/sudo-vending
Based on the implementation details, it appears to me that
the bill acceptor is in fact plugged into one board (Arduino Leonardo)
that is connected by serial to another board (Raspberry Pi). Why is
the former board used at all? That is, why is the bill acceptor not
plugged directly into the latter board?
Greetings Sudo et al, I'm so sorry but I have to bring to your attention a
recent, very unfortunate, inappropriate, and violent encounter a friend of
mine, Deon Saunders, had with a guy named "Rob", who I don't think I know
personally, although I'm sure he's well known around Omni in general. I
don't believe he's a sudo member specifically, but I believe this incident
sort of came into Sudo territory when Marc became involved; I also really
respect and love what Sudo room provides to the community, and I know that
Sudo is a powerful force within the Omni; as such, I'm writing to you all
now because I believe this issue definitely needs to be dealt with, and not
ignored or brushed aside.
Basically, Deon is friends with Phat Beets and Food First, and has been
frequenting the Omni in order to do work and access the community resources
that are available. To my understanding, he often works in the Sudo room
space. Although this should not need to be said, I can personally vouch for
Deon as an upstanding and generous member of the Oakland community.
Deon was having trouble accessing the space the other day and rung the Omni
doorbell several times, at which point guy named Rob opened the door and
started cursing at him and being very aggressive. After Deon was able to
enter Omni, Rob then started following him around and harassing him, acting
like a cop. Although this is egregious in and of itself, and a terrible
counter-representation of the Omni's values, this all came to a head when
Rob accused Deon of not being "an actual, normal, human being". Whether or
not this was intentional, it evoked longstanding racist attitudes that
black folks have been subjected to, suggesting that Deon was less-than, or
sub-human. Deon was so offended that he promptly left the Omni and has not
been back since.
Besides this very loaded and hateful comment, this general kind of
treatment and attitude, overall, is the EXACT opposite of the way black
folks should be treated when interfacing with the Omni. Rob's actions are
not okay, at all, and I strongly feel that a serious accountability process
should be implemented for this incident. This is not a small matter. I've
spoken with Deon, and he has agreed to participate.
I've also heard that this type of incident has happened before at the Omni,
specifically involving Rob. Correct me if I'm wrong, but apparently, the
attitude that was expressed to Deon was that Rob is one of the main people
that operates (i.e. helps to reproduce and sustain,) the Omni, and as such,
people basically go along with what he says and does. If this is in fact
the case, then an accountability process is even more imperative. In no way
should labor, and by proxy, "power" derived from labor, enable a person to
act with racism against members of the Oakland community. I think it's in
the best interest of the Omni to address this issue immediately, for Deon,
for the Omni, and for the Omni's relationship with the greater community of
Oakland.
I believe Marc was present for part of this incident as well, and although
I know, Marc is so busy doing vital work for Sudo and Omni, it might
behoove him to also participate in this process, as a witness.
I am writing this email not because I am trying to "cancel" or ruin anyone,
but because I care about Deon, The Omni, Sudo, and the Oakland community at
large. This issue seems indicative of larger problems, and if addressed
with love and respect and accountability, could seriously benefit all
parties listed above, and improve the Omni and it's relationship with
Oakland.
I'm not sure where to take it from here, as I am personally extremely busy
with other community-based activities in Oakland right now, but a
mediator/facilitator should be sought out, ideally a black person, but at
the very least, a non-black poc, and probably someone that isn't personally
involved in the day-to-day operations at Omni, sudo etc. If i am able, I
could possibly be this mediator, but I hope other options are sought out
first, because a.) I'm a non-black, mixed race poc, and b.) I have very
little capacity at the moment.
But please keep me in the loop regarding an accountability process for Rob,
and I'll do whatever I can to help move this along and reach a fair and
just conclusion.
Sorry to bring such difficult news to you all, but I could not stay silent.
With love and Solidarity,
Scott
I said "your 'community' space," but honestly, I still want this to be my
space, too. I hardly ever make a fuss about any of this stuff because it's
all so futile, you know? but in this case, I really want to make my point
clear: I think we should rescind our action against Rannette. I think
she's been treated unfairly. Even if she is "aggressive" towards you or
your compatriots, I don't think we need white dudes policing our space of
black women's bodies. Matt, you claim to have acted in another's interest
and you offer an injured third party -- let them speak for themselves,
because I don't think it's your place right now. If there was a violent
incident that threatened our space, let's hear it from a witness or an
involved party. "Something Happened" is not good enough. Otherwise "but
above all the Omni
Commons must maintain a safe, welcoming environment" seems to fly directly
in the face of the lived experience of too many black people.
Hey all,
I wanted to reach out for some feedback. Seeking folks who would want to
facilitate or participate in a men's group.
I've previously participated in small groups like this and found them
beneficial for various reasons. I would like to see if folks have had
similar or different experiences.
The way I'm thinking about this would culminate in something like a regular
meeting for men in the sudo room community to discuss relevant issues
including those of identity, oppression, privilege, patriarchy, gender,
sexuality, stereotypes, safe space, and mutual support.
This may not be the best or even a viable path to approach these topics,
but I wanted to throw it out there to see if there is any interest.
Thanks,
Matt
I have a potentially prize winning idea, but I need your help...
As you might know, I've been teaching Agar Art workshops at CCL - painting
with colored bacteria! Next session is this coming Monday
<https://www.meetup.com/Counter-Culture-Labs/events/264878488/>. The
American Society for Microbiology is holding a yearly Agar Art Contest
<https://www.asm.org/Events/2019-ASM-Agar-Art-Contest/Home> that we can
submit some of our best work to.
My idea is to embed a little LED circuit *in the agar* in a Petri plate,
light up a UV LED, and then trace the circuit on top of the agar in
fluorescent E. coli!
Here's the part I need your help with... we'll need to experiment a bit
with different circuit implementations to figure out what works best. I can
easily solder a little "throwie" circuit myself, but I don't think I'll
have time to go through half a dozen designs to see what works best (or at
all). So ideally I'd love to partner up with somebody why can crank out a
couple circuit versions while I focus on the wetlab side. You'll get full
share of the credit and any prize money of course.
A couple complications:
- I would love to be able to autoclave the circuit before embedding it
in agar, to eliminate any possible contamination. This involves heating to
121C/250F for 20 minutes under steam. Not sure which materials will stand
up to that (batteries? plastic LED?)
- The normal E. coli growth medium is quite conductive. We should be
able to use a medium without salt, but it will likely still have some
conductivity. We could try coat the entire circuit in clear epoxy to
insulate it though.
- The circuit will still need to give off enough light after been
embedded in agar for several days. Coin cell throwies do last a couple
days, but UV LEDs are a bit more power hungry, so perhaps we could try a
AAA?
- Having the UV LED on continuously may not be healthy for the bacteria
growing on top, so we may need to include a Reed switch or some other
mechanism to turn the LED on remotely.
- More complicated circuits = extra awesomesauce! Can we build a circuit
that measures the pH in the agar under an acid producing bacteria? Create a
grid of electrodes that affects the growth of bacteria growing on top of it?
- Ideally, the whole circuit would fit inside a 10cm Petri dish - let's
call it 9.5cm diameter, and no more than about 1cm in height. If necessary,
we do have access to larger and deeper Petri dishes though.
Patrik
Dear Sudo Room,
Here's your invoice! We appreciate your prompt payment.
Thank you for stewarding the commons.
Love and solidarity,
Omni Commons
------------------------ Pledge Summary --------------------------
Invoice # : 1903
Invoice Date: 10/01/2019
Due Date: 10/25/2019
Terms: Net 25
Amount Due: $4,000.00
The complete version has been provided as an attachment to this email.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Who's going and to which of the protests?
Looks like there's one at Laney but it's more of a group gathering
there and going together to the Youth vs. Apocalypse protest happening
in SF.
https://globalclimatestrike.net/
--
marc/juul
I've been talking about epoxying the Sudoroom floor all year, which
needs to happen during the dry season because humidity makes
everything take way longer. It just rained today and winter is coming
fast. Meanwhile I've had a couple big surprises in my personal life
that need attention.
So I'm admitting defeat. I can't do it this year. If nobody else wants
to lead the Great Sudo Rebase, I will try again in summer 2020.
