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.
Hi everyone,
After I asked our insurance agent why our property insurance will be
going up $800 this year, she sent the following reply from the company:
/On a side note, it appears the condition of this building has
drastically deteriorated over the years. The current condition of the
building is below average and is unacceptable. We will remain on this
account for one more year but please be advised that we will be setting
this account up for nonrenewal. If the insured is able to provide proof
of building updates and proper maintenance, we may be able to review
this account again for eligibility. In additional, updates would allow
us to approach other carriers for alternate quotes./
*If we lose our property insurance and are unable to find another
company (unlikely and, if we can, the rate will be high), we will
probably not be able to refinance and we will lose the building. *
**
Our agent thinks they are basing their evaluation of the building
condition only upon seeing the exterior, possibly on google street view.
That is why they have asked to do the inspection that I have already
told you about. I think that will happen on Thursday 2/13
We need all hands on deck over the next 2 weeks to make the building
look as good as possible, inside and out. That means:
- fire safety equipment all in working order, NO clutter, no fire hazards
- condition of any wiring as good as possible
- exterior condition as good as possible, no graffiti, clean, EH windows
fixed and window sills repaired and painted, new awning up
- any roof trouble spots fixed
- general interior condition should look as good and safe as possible,
general painting where needed, everything clean and in working order
- fixing anything that could be seen as a safety hazard.
I propose an emergency meeting tomorrow evening at 7pm to get organized
to tackle these things.
Laura
Hello,
I just wanted to find if the software Thursday night events were going on
currently or any other frequent opportunities to get involved beyond the
Tuesday Hardware nights?
Thanks,
Zac
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Yardena Cohen <yardenack(a)gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 3:45 PM
Subject: Re: [sudo-info] Getting started
To: Zac R <zrobin16(a)gmail.com>
Hi Zac, right now the best time to meet others at Sudo is Tuesday
night hardware hack night. It seems to be the only regularly occurring
event right now. If you want to find people to talk about software,
you might try the sudo-discuss mailing list.
there's a payphone mounted on the front of Omni, by the front door.
When we installed it, it was working and when you would lift the receiver, it
would connect to the asterisk server in the rack, and say "Press 1 to connect
to Sudoroom, press 2 to connect to Counter Culture Labs..."
and there were VOIP phones in CCL and sudoroom that would ring when it was
used.... I wanted to set it up so the phones could beep the door open while
someone was on the line.
Presently the receiver on the payphone is broken, but we have a replacement. I
am willing to repair the phone and get the system back up and running, if
someone with software skills is interested in helping tune up the asterisk
server and configure the phones indoors.
We also need to clean the graffiti off of the phone. This needs to happen ASAP
as there will be a building inspection by the insurance company and we need the
outdoors to look good.
The alternative is to remove the payphone and maybe "someday" put it back but
that would be a step back.
Is anyone interested in collaborating on this? Obviously the priority is to
clean the appearance of the phone and replace the handset, so that it doesn't
detract from the appearance of the building.
-jake
FYI - it would be great to have a new sudo room delegate! Anyone interested?
An overview of what's entailed: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Omni_Delegate
In the past, sudo room has stepped up when the larger Omni collective has
lost its path, so to speak, toward stewarding an actual commons - wherein
decisions are made collectively, and delegates are actually delegate
representatives in a spokescouncil.
Omni is slipping, and at the risk of a community group that is intimately
tied with our very foundations. Please step up - we need all sorts of help
right now:
- Noise complaints and issues with the building manager across the way on
48th
- Property insurance may pull out of insuring us given dilapidated state of
building
- Dilapidated state of building, general
- Desperate need for funding / support for refinance before our mortage
balloon payment in Jan 2022
- Upcoming fire inspection (Feb/March), property insurance inspection
(2/13), and property tax exemption (county) inspection (Feb)
- Upcoming property tax exemption app annual filing (massive amounts of
work)
- Stalled kitchen renovation (not enough funds)
Reply here to this thread, talk with people, join an upcoming meeting or
work party, or reach out privately if you'd like to help!
Love and solidarity,
Jenny
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jenny Ryan <jenny(a)jennyryan.net>
Date: Wed, Jan 29, 2020 at 11:00 PM
Subject: Re: [omni-discuss] Late night basement events
To: Laura Turiano <scylla(a)riseup.net>
Cc: commons <commons(a)lists.omnicommons.org>, discuss <
discuss(a)lists.omnicommons.org>, <consensus(a)lists.omnicommons.org>
There are significant problems with this "decision," and since it did not
acquire consensus in actuality (I blocked as remote sudo room delegate on
the pad), I must speak up to revert this statement.
Apologies, Laura, as I know very well how much effort you've put into this
issue and attempting to resolve it.
A) This proposal was never submitted to the Delegate's List a week prior to
its decision-making process, as is protocol, but rather brought up suddenly
at a Delegate's Meeting amidst a haze of elicited fear, uncertainty, and
distrust by less-than-informed community members.
B) All proposals must be submitted to consensus at least a week prior to
being consensed upon, so that delegates have time to confer with their
collectives. Just a friendly reminder: we are a collective of collectives
experimenting with radical participatory democracy - not a standard
nonprofit board in which representatives make uninformed decisions on
behalf of uninformed groups.
C) Not one of the basement events actually run by SPAZ has elicited any
noise complaints - specifically, the events that have elicited noise
complaints were SKAST (third-party, midsummer), Putivuelta (third-party,
December) and FYE (December, and somehow exempt from this decision?).
I am not trying to come at anyone - just merely clarifying the actual facts
of the matter.
Given that none of our actual processes for decision-making and
self-governance were employed, this decision is, imho, moot. Nevertheless,
SPAZ decided to hold off on any upcoming events (to the detriment of their
own expenses for storage and equipment maintenance, despite events still
being approved such as FYE's late-night event that will utilize SPAZ
soundsystem on Friday), I call a hard block and look forward to having
actual discussions with our respective collectives and seeing you all at
the next delegate's meeting on Thursday to clear up the very many
miscommunications clearly at play here. It is also likely that SPAZ will be
ready to submit their membership application at this meeting - I will
submit it on their behalf in advance of the meeting. Because that is, in
fact, how we operate.
Love and solidarity,
On Fri, Jan 17, 2020 at 5:28 PM Laura Turiano <scylla(a)riseup.net> wrote:
> I want to let everyone know who wasn’t at the delegates meeting last night
> about a decision that was made.
>
> Due to neighbor complaints and ongoing conflicts about use of the basement
> for late night events, the delegates unanimously decided to not allow late
> night events by anyone other than member collectives. Once a protocol for
> such events is approved and other conflicts are resolved they will consider
> allowing outside group events again.
>
> Member collectives having late night events need to coordinate w the
> commons wg to ensure there are no further complaints.
>
>
> Laura
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
> _______________________________________________
> discuss mailing list
> discuss(a)lists.omnicommons.org
> https://omnicommons.org/lists/listinfo/discuss
>
Hey all,
First off I wanted to apologize to Rayc, Sierk, Louis, and Jenny for acting
out too much of my frustration in sudo earlier tonight. I was being
sensitive about the state of the space and should have been more thoughtful
in responding instead of reacting!
Wanted to clarify that Ian gave me a call back and we are going to work
together tomorrow night at the hardware hack night to sort out the pile of
PC equipment that is in the entrance of the space. The plan is to dismantle
the pile and redistribute the pieces appropriately as soon as possible,
with an ultimate deadline of next Monday.
I'll be helping to do a run to Tech Exchange both for donations and for
e-waste recycling.
Take care all,
Matt
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 # : 2006
Invoice Date: 02/01/2020
Due Date: 02/25/2020
Terms: Net 25
Amount Due: $4,000.00
The complete version has been provided as an attachment to this email.
---------------------------------------------------------------------