Thought this might interest the group, this is a very cool project that
Matthew and a few other of the other biohackers have funded to biohack
the eye to see in the infrared!
> *From:* peyton rowlands <peyton.rowlands(a)scienceforthemasses.org>
> *Date:* April 1, 2014 at 9:03 PM
> *To:* Ryan Bethencourt <ryan.bethencourt(a)gmail.com>
> *Subject:* Link Correction
> Haha, I apologize. It would appear I accidentally sent you a link to a
> picture of a hog I had on my clipboard rather than our ERG protocol.
> Here's the correct link:
> http://scienceforthemasses.org/2013/10/26/electroretinogram-setup-and-proce…
>
> On 4/1/2014 9:09 PM, Ryan Bethencourt wrote:
>>
>> I am one of a group of biohackers involved in a project to test the limits of human visual perception by increasing retinal sensitivity to NIR light. Our project, which we crowdfunded last Autumn with the Experiment (nee Microryza) scientific crowdfunding platform, is a pilot study using ourselves as the test subjects/data points of a brute force metabolic hack which we hypothesize will permit us to visually perceive radiant energy in the NIR range of wavelengths.
>>
>> Essentially, we intend to purge our bodies of a significant percentage of stored retinoids (vitamin A) via reduction of body fat and the adoption of a vitamin A deficient (VAD) diet supplied to us by Rob Rhinehart of Soylent fame, and supplement with the compound 3,4-dehydroretinol (vitamin A2) and retinoic acid. Based on research by Dr. George Wald, the man who discovered the role of vitamin A in phototransduction, and multiple murine studies performed on mammalian subjects, we hypothesize that this will result in the metabolic pathway normally used by the human body to produce photopsin and rhodopsin in the rods and cones of the human eye instead being coopted to produce porphyropsin, a phototransductive pigment described by Dr. Wald in his whitepaper "The Porphyropsin Visual System" that is sensitive to wavelengths of light far in excess of those humans are normally sensitive to on the NIR portion of the spectrum.
>>
>> The primary tool we will use to measure a shift in visible wavelengths quantitatively will be an open source electroretinography (ERG) device in combination with a homemade stimulator device that utilizes several LEDs of a known wavelength in the NIR.
>>
On Sat, Apr 12, 2014 at 12:54 PM, Hol Gaskill <hol(a)gaskill.com> wrote:
> can you break down the costs for us? i followed the link to the wiki but didn't
> see it. I remember $2k/month as one number being thrown around for sudo
> room's share. Right now we are right around $1.5k/mo on gittip which does
> not cover our current operating expenses. that said i'm sure membership
> would skyrocket at the omni. can you summarize the numbers for us here?
Sudo has pledged $2k/month. Keep in mind that unlike our current
lease, this amount covers all expenses from rent to utilities to
general maintenance, etc, which the Omni Collective will be
responsible for. Our total monthly expenses are already close to that:
$1,704.25 December
$1,721.58 January
$1,756.53 February
$1,710.50 March
$1,888.90 April
I think the extra expense will be a no-brainer, will pay for itself,
and will actually be a far better deal than what we're getting now for
our money. :)
Hello Omni Collective representatives, member collectives, and interested
parties,
Please share this message with your collectives as a gesture of good faith
and solidarity.
For everyone who has or has not read the Hackerspace Design Patterns
document, please consider doing so now (for the first time, or with today's
eyes):
http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Design_Patterns
This document articulates some slices of the history, culture, theory, and
praxis of hackerspaces, globally. The original patterns were derived from a
survey in Europe, and interpreted by the eyes of Chaos Computer Club (CCC)
community members eager to share with interested, curious individuals of
the US. I share this with you now eager to construct shared language and
receive invaluable feedback both from your interpretations and your own
experiences, resources, and histories.
I have some concerns about the current status of potentially entering a
lease agreement through The Omni Collective. We are discussing the idea
right now in the sudo room community. We will resolve or pass these
concerns up through our representative, of course.
Though I must share something auspicious. I understand The Omni Collective
has about 10 member collectives:
"*Aim for ten people* for a start." - *The Critical Mass Pattern*
http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/The_Critical_Mass_Pattern
I thought it was an important and poignant time to send this document and
message to all of you. Sudo Room, like all hackerspaces, deviates from the
patterns at times in its own right, so we try to document as much as we can
about our patterns on our wiki https://sudoroom.org/wiki/
Further information about starting hackerspaces is available on the
Documentation page: http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Documentation
"Build! Unite! Multiply!"
// Matt
p.s. +1, the naive integer increment, as you may use it yourself, is a
symbol of positive addition, a recognition of effort worthy of discrete
exchange. Maybe a loose metaphor of a rising score, but not necessarily the
score of a zero-sum game.
p.p.s. There are a few stray edits of the patterns that deviate from the
originals.
Hey gang,
I was contacted by the folks who put together a film on the 2011 uprising
in Wisconsin, to see if Sudo/BAPS might host a screening on 5/2.
I know this is a First Friday where Sudo normally has a bit of an open
house.. I don't want to stop that, but maybe a film might add to the
general melee of fun?
If it's not appropriate, I can see if we can host it later on the weekend
too.
What do you all think? Of screening the film, and if so if it could be on
5/2 or should the film be screened on another day?
Best,
David
---
Wisconsin Rising
Do you remember before Occupy, when there was an uprising in
Wisconsin<http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/whats-happening-wisconsin-explained>?
We do. That's why we're helping Sam Mayfield tour with her new film, *Wisconsin
Rising.*
Sam's film tells the story of the 2011 occupation of the Wisconsin State
Capitol building and the movement opposing Governor Scott Walker’s repeal
of collective bargaining rights for workers.*Wisconsin Rising *details the
continuing assault on democracy and workers rights across the United
States, and how everyday people are fighting back. It is a 55-minute
feature documentary with footage from the protests, news clips, and
interviews with teachers, union leaders, elected officials, and others
involved. This film provides an in depth look into what collective action
has, and could, look like in the United States today.
Robert McChesney calls *Wisconsin Rising* “the definitive film” on the
events in Wisconsin and says “It captures the spirit and intensity of the
dramatic events as they unfolded, and reminds us that we cannot predict the
future, and we should not forget our past, even our recent past."
This year, Sam Mayfield will be visiting campuses and community groups
around the US. Each event will include an introduction by the director
along with a screening of the film. The director will facilitate a
discussion and Q&A following.
If you would like Sam to come to your campus or community organization,
please email Mike <mike(a)aidandabet.org>.
* * *
*More About The Film*
Film website and trailer: http://wisconsinrising.com/
*Wisconsin Rising *tells the story of the largest sustained workers
resistance in American history. In 2011, Wisconsin was the canary in the
coal mine for America as newly-elected Republican Governor Scott Walker
suddenly stripped collective bargaining rights from the state's public
employees, undoing eight decades of basic workers' rights. *Wisconsin
Rising* catapults the viewer in to the days, weeks, and months when
Wisconsinites fought back against power, authority, and injustice.
Following conservative Governor Scott Walker’s announcement of his
controversial ‘Budget Repair Bill,’ the people of Wisconsin rose up,
occupied their state capitol and took to the streets as rarely before seen
in American History. Their collective actions are the largest sustained
gathering of any workers resistance in US history.
Many say Walker’s bill is an assault on working people, unions and the
poorest, most vulnerable people in the state. At a time when millions of
American families feel the crush of debt and joblessness, while large
corporations are seeing record profits, Badger State residents demonstrated
the strength that comes from a shared sense of community and acting
collectively.
Happening on the heels of the revolutionary Arab Spring and months before
the Occupy movement, Wisconsinites spontaneously occupied their state
Capitol for weeks as never before seen in American History. *Wisconsin
Rising* tells the story of how one state became an economic testing ground
for the nation in a political environment where corporations have growing
clout and ordinary citizens are losing their ability to obtain redress.
While *Wisconsin Rising* highlights one state’s rejection of a conservative
takeover, it is a microcosm of what is at stake in America today, at a time
of fiscal crisis, ideologically-driven budgets and social reforms.
*About Sam Mayfield*
Sam Mayfield is a video journalist and documentarian from Burlington, VT.
Since 2004*,* Mayfield has documented stories that remain untold in the
dominant corporate media paradigm. Her video reports have been filed with
outlets such as Democracy Now! and Free Speech TV. Her work has taken her
to Mexico, India, West Africa, and Palestine.
In 2011*,* Mayfield traveled to Wisconsin to cover the popular uprising
against legislation gutting basic workers rights. She stayed for seven
months, covering the story as it unfolded, ultimately producing from her
footage the 55-minute feature documentary film *Wisconsin Rising*.
Wisconsin Rising is Mayfield’s second documentary. In 2010*,* she made the
26-minute film, *Silenced Voices, *that tells the story of a young migrant
farmworker who was killed while working on a Vermont dairy farm. Mayfield
and two other Vermonters traveled to Mexico to return the boy’s body to his
family. There they interviewed family and community members about the
impacts of migration. *Silenced Voices* has been a useful tool in educating
lawmakers and citizens in Vermont .
Hello Sudoers, I wanted to introduce myself to the group.
I'm Joseph, a Linux guy and community organizer from Concord. As many
of you probably know, there isn't really much of an active geek scene
out here and I'm trying to do what I can to change that. We recently
launched Concord Wiki at http://www.concordwiki.org and a group of us
are working on starting up a hackerspace over here. The blog for the
project is http://www.eastbayhackers.com
I've been over to Sudo Room maybe four or five times now and I've
always been made to feel very welcome. I really enjoy the personality
of the group and conversations that take place there. I'll be around
Sudo Room usually on a Sun - Tues, and if any of you feel like coming
to check out what we're working on over here, feel free to drop by or
if you're curious send me an email.
The "Darkplaces" gaming engine I ported to the Raspberry PI that was
released last month has been quite a success with thousands of downloads
and positive reviews. I am about ready to release the next version of the
engine along with a batch of open source games that will run in the engine.
I was thinking that it might be a good opportunity at this point to ask for
a donation. I would like to ask people to make a donation to Sudoroom
(instead of me) to support ongoing community outreach efforts and in
particular, to make a donation in support of the activities relating to
"Sudo Kids." Also, the Raspberry PI Foundation announced last week that
well over $1,000,000 in grant money is available to non-profits that
support educational activities relating to teaching kids how to write
software and work with technology.
If this sounds like a feasible idea for raising funds then I would need a
little help in preparing a pitch to submit with the donation request that
describes what Sudo Kids is about and how Sudoroom works with the
community. There is also a grant proposal that could be submitted to the
Raspberry PI foundation.
Here's the thread on the Raspberry PI forum:
http://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=72301
Peace,
Autonomous
My friend Mike and I stopped by Sudoroom for the first time tonight. I
hope to be spending more time there in the future, so I wanted to
introduce myself (and him by proxy).
We both have several years of medium-to-large scale IT experience: he
tends toward the hardware side, I tend toward the software side.
Sometimes it's nice to actually produce something physical and cool,
though, and we're doing amateur-level fiddling with electronic bits
and pieces. We're newbies, but enthusiastic ones, and hope to learn
from and be inspired by what other folks are creating and hacking on.
I'll stop speaking for him now: personally, I'm really excited about
3D printing and wearables and hardware hacking, and making those
things more accessible to people. I'm also very interested in the
Oakland open mesh work that's happening, and I hope to make it to one
of the meetings soon.
As I said, we stopped by tonight (I forget who came down to let us in,
but thank you!). We mostly stayed out of the work space because we
didn't want to interrupt anyone. Instead we perused the library then
sat on the couches to talk hypersonic sound projectors and DIY solar
panels. I was happy how conducive the environment felt to such
discussions.
Hi!
-- eric
On Sat, Apr 12, 2014 at 2:50 PM, Phil Wolff <pwolff(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Would the Sudo Room be jointly and severally liable for operating expenses?
> For unbudgeted expenses?
My understanding is the Omni Collective will be liable and responsible
for all the typical costs of being tenants and of day to day
operations. In the short term (probably several years), the building
will still belong to its current owners and most liability and risk
for major disasters will be on their shoulders (such as earthquakes,
the roof collapsing, etc). After that, if the collective is successful
in buying the building, I believe those risks will still be for the
Omni Collective and not for Sudoroom. That terrifying glorious day is
still far away.
Of course, we still carry the intangible risk that if the whole thing
falls apart we'd need to find a new space, but that is seeming less
and less likely every day.
Is someone closer to the legal aspect of things reading this? :)
