does anyone know what this is? I don't know why it's being sent to me or
what the password is.
-jake
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 2015 18:16:56 -0800
From: members-owner(a)lists.sudoroom.org
To: members-owner(a)lists.sudoroom.org
Subject: New subscription request to list members from radiobuzzer(a)radiofono.gr
Your authorization is required for a mailing list subscription request
approval:
For: radiobuzzer(a)radiofono.gr
List: members(a)lists.sudoroom.org
At your convenience, visit:
https://sudoroom.org/lists/admindb/members
to process the request.
Hi My 20’ box truck needs a jump start - anyone out there have a really powerful truck that can help. Located across from Ashby Bart on Ashby.
I’ve tried charging using my 6 cylinder truck and left it on for 2 hours but no go.
I live on the other side of the block so an extension cord will not work.
I need to move it to in front of my house and can charge from there - but first I have to get it started to drive it over.
Thanks for your help or advice
Alice 415-272-0596
Dear Birdhouse Art Collective,
Here's your invoice for December utilities and insurance! We appreciate your prompt payment.
Love and solidarity,
Omni Commons
------------------------ Invoice Summary --------------------------
Invoice # : 1219
Invoice Date: 12/21/2015
Due Date: 12/30/2015
Terms: Net 30
Amount Due: $414.58
The complete version has been provided as an attachment to this email.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Sudoers,
Alice rising from the graves here. I am looking for a working solar panel to set on the dashboard of my mega truck to trickle charge / maintain the truck battery. If anyone knows of one laying around not being used I would like to see if this will solve my problem. I need a 100watts so it can produce 5 amps. I am also in the market for a 20 amp controller. I can donate $ to Sudo is there is something to be had - Knowledge of a local sources with competitive prices would also be helpful. Is Urban Ore a reasonable place to look for such an item? Sharing of experience is greatly appreciated.
Happy Holidays and thanks
Alice
Anyone have a form1?
I have some high res models to print which are proving to be a little
pricey at shapeways. If you have a form1, I'll be glad to buy some
resin for it :-)
Cheers!
-Adam
-^-^-^-^-^-
Adam Munich - Builder of wild things (and organizations)
Tel: +1-650-452-0554
One must learn by doing, for though you think you know, you have no
certainty until you try. The key to mastering any skill is nothing more than
passion and persistence.
It's official:
https://blog.archive.org/2015/12/14/internet-credit-union-2011-2015-rip/
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: IAFCU Team <iafcu-team(a)archive.org>
Date: Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 3:34 PM
Subject: PLEASE READ THIS - Notice to all Internet Credit Union Members and
Supporters
To:
Dear Members/supporters:
On behalf of the board we regretfully wanted to inform you that our members
have voted to voluntarily liquidate the Internet Archive Federal Credit
Union and send the regulators (NCUA) back our charter. We understand that
this not easy for anyone, and so we are staying open 9am-6pm ET until
further notice to make the process of closing your account as un-burdensome
as we can.
The simplest way to close your account is to send us an e-mail, from the
e-mail address we have on file for you, with the following line:
*“I would like to close my account. Please send a check for the full
value of my account to the address on file.”*
We have of course waived all fees and once we receive your notification you
will be sent a tellers check as soon as possible for the full amount of
your deposits with us.
We will follow up this e-mail with a phone call where, after we properly
identify you, you can also begin the process of closing your account.
Jordan Modell
CEO – Internet Credit Union
PS If you have any questions or just want to vent please feel free to
e-mail me directly: Jordan(a)archive.org
For more information see the following two blog posts.
http://blog.archive.org/2015/11/24/difficult-times-at-our-credit-union/http://blog.archive.org/2015/12/14/internet-credit-union-2011-2015-rip/
--
Internet Archive Federal Credit Union
848-202-9292
55 Morris St.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
does anyone have a JTAG programmer that will work to read and write the
flash (and other memory) on a TI DSP part number TMS320F28035PNQ
it probably has to work with Code Composer (the TI software which is
begrudgingly free from their website) so it probably has to be a T.I.
(texas instruments) JTAG programmer
these parts have been around for a long time so it can be old and still
workable.
thank you
-jake
Hey sudoers,
I have a few brand new 1st gen Google Cardboard units lying around.
Anyone interested? I considered just bringing them and putting them
someplace, but I hear folks junk-dumping is a problem. Lemme know!
Stephen (noffle)
Anyone have time to drop by this place tomorrow at 10am sharp?
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/zip/5363426630.html
They've got a bunch "tools, dollies, storage, and packing supplies" up for
grabs. Tools and dollies we can *always* use more of.
Don't hope for any lab gear though - this is the same place I checked out a
few weeks back, so this is just their leftover pile.
I expect all the useful stuff to be gone about 5-10 minutes after they
open...
Patrik
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: IFTTT Action <action(a)ifttt.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 16, 2015 at 3:41 PM
Subject: New on Craigslist: Former Laboratory Clearout (berkeley)
To: patrikd(a)gmail.com
Tomorrow (12/17) from 10:00 am to noon, we are giving away the remainder of
our equipment and tools. Lots of useful tools, dollies, storage, and
packing supplies (see pictures). Everything must go! (No warranties,
returns, etc., everything is free) [...]
>From search: craigslist SF bay area | for sale search "laboratory
-gemological -carat"
via Craigslist http://ift.tt/1ZcXNPv
<http://email.ifttt.com/wf/click?upn=jGHDfwvrKDxaofcg5GVulk59r87-2BRGw6Yb9vc…>
[image: IFTTT]
<http://email.ifttt.com/wf/click?upn=jGHDfwvrKDxaofcg5GVuluKbPpI-2FS0lavZIKU…>
Put the internet to work for you.
Turn off or edit this Recipe
<http://email.ifttt.com/wf/click?upn=jGHDfwvrKDxaofcg5GVulqZbq5Ob51WMw-2B5VP…>
Hey all,
Sudo did a straw poll last week to get the ball moving on this, but need
quorum to come to a decision about switching banks. It doesn't seem too
controversial to me, there aren't that many options anyway.
https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Meeting_Notes_2015-12-09#Move_to_Western_Federal_…
Long and short of it is that sudo's current credit union, Internet Archive
Federal Credit Union (IAFCU) is struggling to stay open. The credit union
members took a vote that was due Dec 8th about whether or not to liquidate
the credit union. Sudo Room did not vote on behalf of its membership, but
the evidence is pretty convincing that this is a failed experiment and it's
time to reorganize and try new things:
https://blog.archive.org/2015/11/24/difficult-times-at-our-credit-union/
Western Federal Credit Union, is large, stable, now supports quickbooks,
and is where Omni Commons holds its main account currently, making payments
very efficient. It seems like a no-brainer, and I personally have not found
any more appealing options. For instance, Bank of the West is closing its
Temescal branch location, part of long-term closures, so there is no
obviously close credit union to our current location at 4799 Shattuck.
Finally, it'd simply be nice to see your faces at sudo tonight, just to say
hi and catch up, possibly before some of us go out of town for holidays,
etc.
// Matt
Heya!
I'm going to grab some pizza for folks for tonight's sudo meeting. How many
people usually attend? Any dietary restrictions I should keep in mind?
Friends,
At the Commons working group meeting we were discussing how, last year,
over the winter holidays, many of the people who usually spent time at
the Omni were not around. What resulted was people without an interest
in taking care of the Omni and our community entering the space,
engaging in conflict, and ignoring community agreements.
With that in mind, we would like to ask Omni collective members who are
in town over the next several weeks to come by the space on a regular
basis and check the building to make sure everything is secure and that
the space is being used appropriately. All the doors (Ballroom, main
entrance, and the two 48th St doors) should be locked at all times
unless there is a member of a member collective keeping a door unlocked
for a particular reason (such as loading, or an event) and someone is
keeping a eye on who is coming into the building.
Please remember that non-members can only be in the building as guests
of a member. If you let someone into the space, you are taking
responsibility for them.
From omnicommons.org/wiki/building:
Only members of member collectives are granted 24-hour access to the space.
Members are asked to not occupy the space without at least one other
member present for safety reasons.
Members are not obligated to let non-members in to the space at any time.
Members may ask non-members to leave the space at any time, for any reasons.
If your collective is hosting an event or class, one of your
responsibilities is to make sure everyone leaves after the event is over.
Please ensure members of your collective understand this information.
And please sign up for an ongoing door shift here:
https://ethercalc.com/omni-front-desk.
<https://ethercalc.com/omni-front-desk>
Thanks to everyone for your hard work and friendship over the past year.
Laura, for the Commons working group
Thank u Morgan for the training on the laser cutter, I was able to make this bag prototype. See attachment.
From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2015 23:52:15 -0800
From: Shifra de Benedictis-Kessner <shifra(a)temescaldistrict.org>
To: Jake(a)spaz.org
Subject: Meeting re how the BID can best support Omni Commons
Hi Jake!
I am the new Executive Director for the Temescal BID, and I'd like to
set up a meeting with you and/or any other decision makers at Omni
Commons to get to know your organization, and learn how I can best
support you. I've shared some of your events on Facebook, and taken a
short tour of your space (as well as attending the Bicycle Music
Festival after-party in your space!). But I'd like to know best how to
talk about all your amazing organizations, as well as your over-arching
mission.
I offer marketing and promotions support to all the organizations and
business in the district, as well as coordinating the cleaning, and
graffiti removal in all the different zones. I am eager to hear your
issues, challenges, and successes.
I'm also interested in finding out if Omni Commons rents out space for
events on a regular basis, and if I could possibly publicize. People
frequently approach me for meeting/event space available in the
district.
And on a different note, the storage unit that the Temescal BID's clean
team uses will be demolished in less than 4 weeks to make way for the
development at 51st and Telegraph. The BID is urgently looking to find
the team a new storage unit in the district, and we are willing to rent
one. We are definitely interested in both temporary
and permanent solutions given the urgent need. The team needs a space on
the ground floor, ~200-250 square feet. The team needs access 5 days a
week (M-F) starting at 8am and ending at 2:30pm. Do you happen to have
any extra space available?
Please let me know when you would be available to meet? Omni Commons is
an important stakeholder in the Temescal BID.
Best,
Shifra
--
Shifra de Benedictis-Kessner
Executive Director
Temescal Telegraph BID
4430 Telegraph Ave #49
Oakland, CA 94609
510 860-7327
shifra(a)temescaldistrict.org
www.temescaldistrict.orghttps://www.facebook.com/temescaldist
Greetings Sudo Room!
This invoice for January rent should be paid before the end of the month if possible. It's going to be tight going into 2016, but we're simultaneously in our final round of negotiations to purchase the building!
Love and solidarity,
Omni Commons Finance WG
------------------------ Invoice Summary --------------------------
Invoice # : 1207
Invoice Date: 12/14/2015
Due Date: 12/28/2015
Terms: Net 30
Amount Due: $2,000.00
The complete version has been provided as an attachment to this email.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
people have been using the embroidery machine lately. you might notice a
piece of fabric on it with practice runs on it, and a black piece with
SUDOROOM in green thread.
the machine works perfectly. if you want to learn how to use it, I can
show you anytime i'm there, including every tuesday evening starting at
7pm.
For now you need to use a stencil to get lettering. (although you can
certainly try to freehand stuff) There are a couple of sets of letters
you can set up to spell out your name or whatever.
you could also take a thin piece of wood and carve a design into it, and
use it as a stencil. You could also (easily) 3D print a stencil with the
design of your choice on it. There is probably also a way to use the
laser engraver to make a stencil, although the groove in the stencil
should be a bit wider than the laser beam. Probably the right settings
and the right wood would produce a good stencil after a single pass.
Also, the embroidery machine can be used as a sewing machine, in which you
can move the fabric in any direction (not just in a straight line).
The catch being that you have to move it yourself and it won't guide you
or help you keep a pace.
The hardest part is controlling the speed using the pedal.. It's like a
clutch on a sports car, it takes some getting used to. Let me know if you
want a lesson.
-jake
I brought in a Panasonic KX-P2180 Dot Matrix printer a while ago, and
someone found some tractor-feed paper for it.
I want to use it to print lines from IRC when someone says
12:34 < jerkey> !print 12:33 < sudobot> DOOR EVENT: RichardStallman swiped into the building
the printer will actually print that line onto the paper and advance one
line like a typewriter.
this is what a dor-matrix printer looks like in action:
(ours will be printing lines of text, not graphics)
https://youtu.be/qlEUrEVqDbo?t=28
so i got a USB to parallel converter, and i plugged it into the desktop
computer next to the 3D printer. It comes up as /dev/usb/lp0 because of
kernel module usblp, which sees the hardware and makes that device.
If i become root, i can do
echo "hello world" > /dev/usb/lp0
and it will print "hello world" to the paper, and advance to the next
line.
this works a couple of times, but then the printer stops printing, and
then the command doesn't exit, until you press a button on the printer and
then it prints SOME of what you sent it, and you have to press the button
again and again... it makes no fucking sense.
I experienced this in the past too, playing with the same kind of printer,
probably under DOS, and I never figured out what the fuck was wrong.
any ideas? the printer is still set up on the desk if you want to play
with it.
-jake
December, January and February are always a little awkward for USian
Techno-Activism Third Mondays. December is very close to the holiday
break. The third Monday in January is MLK day, and in February it's
President's day.
We're going to take a break in December, and we'll announce plans for
January and February in 2016 (hint: those plans may well have the word
"Tuesday" in them).
For now, many thanks to everybody for your talks, your questions and you
support in 2015, and see you next year.
d.
I can share their contact info with people who are interested.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Subject: [omni-helpdesk] computers, motherboards, parts from a local
non-profit org
To: info(a)omnicommons.org
Greetings, Omni Folks!
We are a nearby nonprofit organization, getting ready to move our
office to another location, and we have a large pile of computer stuff
that might be of some use to some of the people in your group.
If you're interested, might be better for me to set up a time when you
could stop by and meet with our I.T. person who could show you
everything that is up for grabs.
We're here M-F, 9am-5pm. I manage the office, and am here every day
during those times.
Let me know if you're interested!
I was asked to give a run through on using the laser cutter, if anyone else
is interested please stop by, 3pm on Friday.
--
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Inspiring course taught by my bro Adeola on Brooklyn . Reminds me of cool public school courses!
https://thebrooklyninstitute.com/bisr_course/love-is-a-weapon-gandhi-tolsto…
Love is a Weapon: Gandhi, Tolstoy, Kallenbach and nonviolence | The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research
Before Gandhi became the Mahatma, he was Mohandas. Living in South Africa for over twenty years, the young lawyer-turned-activist campaigned for the rights of migrant workers from India, fighting alongside the British in wars against the Boers and the Zulu Kingdom. It was in these harshest of racist, imperialist battles that young Gandhi began to develop the thought and practice that would become his signature in later years.
During these years in South Africa, Gandhi formed friendships with the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy and Prussian-Jewish architect, Hermann Kallenbach. Out of their unlikely friendship, Kallenbach and Gandhi founded the Tolstoy Farm, a retreat which acted as a laboratory for experimenting with techniques of nonviolence both as theory and as a practical way of living.
In this course we look closely at Gandhi’s South Africa years―a time of both racial warfare, and great love and friendship―to understand the source of the philosophies and practices that would later inspire many currents of the civil rights movement in the United States. While many analyses of Gandhi and his thought focus on ideas and influences from Braminical and Jain sources, this course will focus on the South African moment and this archive in particular.
Main texts for the course will include the collected writings of Gandhi, The South African Gandhi: Stretcher-bearer of Empire, by Desai & Vahed, Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is Within You, correspondence between Tolstoy and Gandhi, and Gandhi and Kallenbach. We will also read supplementary texts, which provided inspiration for Gandhi’s practice, such as Thoreau on civil disobedience, John Ruskin’s “Unto this Last,” and Plato’s Apology.
Redeem a gift card
Sent from my iPhone
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ken Litchfield <litchfield.ken(a)gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Dec 3, 2015 at 10:18 PM
Subject: [CCL] FungusFair ThisSun12-6-2015/10-5 9th&LincolnSFGGPark
To: cclabs <counterculturelabs(a)googlegroups.com>
Heyall,
If you aren't making ghost hearts there's this:
This Sunday from 10 to 5 at the SF Hall of Flowers County Fair Building at
9th and Lincoln in Golden Gate Park (*NOT* the Conservatory of Flowers
Glasshouse) we will have our 46th annual Fungus Fair.
Please bring yourselves and your friends and families and your mushrooms to
identify and learn their lore.
There will be many display tables of mushrooms taxonomically arranged and
labeled so you can learn their familial relationships and a woodland
wildland scene with dramatic specimens for photo opportunities. There will
be subject tables for Mushroom Intro, Mushroom Microscopy, Mushroom
Identification, Mushroom Ecology, Mushroom Toxicology, Edible Mushrooms,
Medicinal Mushrooms, Dye Mushrooms, Mushroom Cultivation, Mycoremediation,
Psychoactive Mushrooms, Mushroom Art, and mushroom vendors galore selling
oodles of trinkets, doodads, clothes, books, and more. We'll have mushroom
soups for sale, culinary sampling demos, cultivation kit making, kids
crafts, and lots of other fungal fluffernuggets.
For speakers we'll have JR Blair of SFSU speaking on "Mushrooms from Sierra
Nevada," Britt Bunyard of Fungi Magazine speaking on "Mycopsychedelia," Ken
Litchfield of MSSF Cultivation speaking on the "Gardener's Guide to Growing
and Using Healthful Mushrooms," and David Arora, author of "All That the
Rain Brings and More" and "Mushrooms Demystified," speaking on "Mushrooms
Demythified." Besides those folks we'll have more than enough mushroom
people to whet your appetite for trolls, lykenvykers, coprignomes,
muscaryogres, and logrumps.
>From "Which is that?" to "Witch's snot?!" get all your fungal questions
answered at our Fungus Fair 2015.
For ticket info and the latest updates go to mssf.org/fungus-fairs
Thanks Ken
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Counter Culture Labs" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to counterculturelabs+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com.
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Omni Member Collective proposal. Probably can't vote on this tomorrow - plz
discuss!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Buried Seeds <buriedseedsmedicinalgarden(a)gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 29, 2015 at 9:08 AM
Subject: [omni-discuss] Buried Seeds Proposal Clarification
To: discuss(a)lists.omnicommons.org
Hello! As requested at the last delegates' meeting, I've attached Buried
Seeds' proposal clarification. The updated responses are highlighted in
blue.
Peace
_______________________________________________
discuss mailing list
discuss(a)lists.omnicommons.org
https://omnicommons.org/lists/listinfo/discuss
My friend James is playing tonight at the Omni. He's a composer who uses a lot analogue electronics.-Patrick
http://jamesfei.com/
Tues Dec 8, 730pm
Omni Oakland Commons
4799 Shattuck Ave Oakland
Active Music Series presents:
-Nathan Clevenger Group
-James Fei
-Giacomo Fiore & Larry Polansky
Details here:
http://www.bayimproviser.com/EventView.aspx?e=13300
Heya
Wondering if anyone knows a cheap resource to borrow or use a jewlers spot
welder? . I know about the usual suspects like Crucible, but that shit's
expensive. Anybody know of a better option? . I just need to use one for a
little while. I can drive to it, use it, then come back, etc.
On Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 8:16 AM, joseph liesner <blue393(a)lmi.net> wrote:
> Robb said yesterday that his cardkey was not working.
> I'm sure our crakerjack team of hackers will right the
> problem ASAP so I am requesting that a time and date
> be arranged for making cardkeys for those of us w/o them.
> I was told one could make their own by swiping a card
> three times and then telling Jenny immediately. Is that close
> to an actual process?
That is pretty much the process, yes. The "official" place to send
card requests is the sysadmins list:
sysadmins(a)lists.omnicommons.org
https://omnicommons.org/lists/listinfo/sysadmins
But when talking to people in person it's often just easier to say
"tell me" because then you don't have to spell another email address
outloud. Sometimes in an attempt to make the conversation go faster
I've told people to email keys(a)omnicommons.org or
cards(a)omnicommons.org because we have an email system which catches
everythingelse(a)omnicommons.org so they all go to the same list pretty
much, and a lot of the same people read that list. But I guess that's
the kind of thing which makes things more confusing in an attempt to
be less confusing.
One of our members needs to pick up supplies for an event, but can't get
into the building - can someone let her in?
Has the front door lock been fixed yet? Yesterday my key didn't work,
because there was a broken key stuck in the lock...
If you can get there soon, please email myself and Allison Shiozaki,
andsoitgrows(a)gmail.com. Or give me a call on my cell at (925) 989 3869
Thanks!
Patrik
Hello friends,
We are still looking for housemates in the Fruitvale district. Temporary is
ok. Contact me offlist if you'd like to come by.
$740/month plus utilities.
Thanks for reading.
Lesley
Hello,
Just an FYI:
Today Rob and I terminated the incoming Phone Line (CAT6) that Charley and
I had ran a few months back.
For our records I made a diagram showing how the cables termination goes. I
didn't know how, but I took notes of how I found it. The attached diagram
only covers the end at the Server side.
Thanks,
Daniel
--
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Help open a people-powered common space in Oakland, California!
https://omnicommons.org/donate
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
darin, a new member to sudoroom, has been hosting some friends who have all
been hanging out in one of the basement rooms. aside from the obvious
evidence of smoking in the room, there have been no problems.
this morning around 5:30am i noticed the light to the room was off and the
door was locked. i continued knocking but no answer. i started taking the
door off the hinges and darins friends began notifying they were in there.
i asked them to leave. 2 out of 3 gave me a hard time and left and the
other tried to continue hiding & i almost overlooked him. when i finally
found him he gave me even more of a hard time than the others but finally
left.
around noon they were here without darin and i informed them of our members
sponsoring guests policy and that they should leave and come back with
darin.
i subsequently was told that i was racist and that i was a pussy and stupid
for volunteering my time w/o being paid.
not sure how to proceed, it this a sudoroom issue because they were
previously darin's guests (yesterday) or an omni issue because it happened
outside of sudoroom w/o any sudo members being involved?
thx
~r
*Hello all, Here is the new URL: *
*https://www.gofundme.com/nrbrhjp4 <https://www.gofundme.com/nrbrhjp4>
Please donate if you can. *
"As many of you may have heard, the Grant family recently suffered a
terrible tragedy when 2-year old Gianni and his mother Brit were in a car
accident several weeks ago. Gianni lost his life and Brit is now seriously
injured and struggling to move on after losing her child.
Brit's mother Linda, sister Makala, and other family and friends have been
stepping up to take care of Brit and to help the family through this
difficult time. Linda needs help to support her daughter until she gets
back on her feet, including money for food and medical expenses resulting
from the accident and amputation of part of Brit's arm.
If you don't know her, Linda is a comrade and Black revolutionary from
Oakland who always seems to have everyone's back. She is so strong and
reliable and for *once* she is asking for our support. Please contribute
generously to this fund to help her and her family get through this
tragedy. Let's give this family one less thing to worry about."
Daniel
On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 1:32 AM, johanna faust <female.faust(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> k
>
> On Sun, Nov 15, 2015 at 10:25 PM, danarauz(a)gmail.com <danarauz(a)gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Update: I just learned that there seems to be something wrong w the
>> gofundme I previously shared here. Please standby for an updated one.
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> D
>>
>>
>> On Sunday, November 15, 2015, johanna faust <female.faust(a)gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> thank you! thanks for checking. my heart goes out to her.
>>>
>>>
>>> may the Divine bless us all.
>>>
>>>
>>> love,
>>> ffaust
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>> - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>> Help open a people-powered common space in Oakland, California!
>> https://omnicommons.org/donate
>> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>> - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> *Be seeing you.*
>
--
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Help open a people-powered common space in Oakland, California!
https://omnicommons.org/donate
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Hi, Sudo Room.
I've been super frustrated at world events lately, what with the US government
labelling everyone a terrorist, the NSA being so pervasive, and white
protestant males excusing other white protestant males for shooting up planned
parenthoods and such.
So here's a chrome extension I threw together that helpfully translates the
web using The Unabridged Newspeak Dictionary:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/the-unabridged-newspeak-d/fiillcl…
Feedback and additions are welcome. Please share :)
Hey I'm not focused on sudomesh but I like it! Can't work on stuff for it but thought this would be fun : first time I saw someone explain mesh networks in a very easy way.
-- rip off this graphic and do a sudomesh version
-- as an outsider I'd love to see a Mesh video round table with jenny jake and a few random neighborhood folks. Like filmed at the omni table !
I'm busy focusing on my own things but admiring yalls from afar !
http://www.cnet.com/news/unbreakable-mesh-networks-are-in-your-smartphones-…
Unbreakable: Mesh networks are in your smartphone's future
It's not that we're running out of mobile bandwidth. It's just that it's poorly distributed.
If you're in your home next to a Wi-Fi router, you might have a clean signal and access to a 12-megabit connection. Meanwhile, someone outside your door could have a smartphone that's struggling to hold onto a slow connection to a cellular tower a mile away. But mesh networking might make things better for everyone.
Mesh networks let devices share their connections with other users. If one user has a clean network connection and another nearby user does not, the second user can piggyback on the first's, automatically. If there's a collection of many people, their machines can all cooperate to make connections -- to each other and to the global Internet. In advanced mesh networks, connections and data can hop among devices, creating ad hoc bucket-brigade paths for communication.
The concept of mesh networking is not new. Many military systems rely on mesh networking, since forces in the field cannot rely on communications infrastructures. Utilities also use mesh networks for collecting data from equipment, like smart meters.
On this Reporters' Roundtable, I interview two innovators in mesh networking. They're both trying to bring this liberating (they say) and bandwidth-saving (ditto) technology to the masses.
Podcast
Subscribe:
iTunes (MP3)
iTunes (640x360)
Podcast RSS (MP3)
Podcast RSS (640x360)
Micha Benoliel's company, Open Garden, makes a mesh networking utility for Android smartphones and for Windows and Mac laptops (support for iOS is coming). It's a free app that turns your device into a mobile hot spot. No matter how you're connected to the Net (Wi-Fi or cellular), it makes that connection shareable (over Bluetooth) to other Open Garden users. Likewise, if you're running the product but don't have a connection to the Net, and you're near a user who does, this service seamlessly gets you online.
Benoliel says that, for the most part, carriers and ISPs welcome technologies that improve bandwidth for customers and that also lower power requirements (connecting to a nearby hot spot over Bluetooth takes a lot less power than linking to a cell tower). "The only way to improve the wireless networks is to increase the density of microcells or hot spots. I think carriers really understand that," he says. His pitch: "We turn every device into a hot spot... and we improve the network itself."
Sri Srikrishna was the founding CTO of the mesh networking company Tropos (recently acquired by ABB), and is now working on bringing mesh technologies to populations where today's standard wireless networking technologies are insufficient, or are blocked. See his paper, "SocialMesh: Can Networks of Meshed Smartphones Ensure Public Access to Twitter During an Attack?"
Srikrisha says it's time to do two things for people who don't have reliable means to connect to the global net. First of all, we can make better, more frequency-agile radios. Second: Mesh them together.
Hooking users together through mesh networks can also democratize communications and make them, he believes, more robust in the face of repressive regimes that might want to shut down the capability to reach the outside world. With a mesh network, a very small number of users who happen to have a connection can share that with other users who don't. "If you have a large number of these devices, no government will be able to stop it," he says.
Srikrishna and Benoliel both claim that the global growth of smartphones -- all are handheld computers easily capable of supporting mesh networking stacks -- should lead to a global infrastructure shift, in which these handsets become a bigger part of the infrastructure itself, not just clients on it.
"Can you build a network that's indestructible?" asks Srikrishna. He says it's worth doing. "A lot of the problems in the world can be solved if you can have UStream everywhere in the world, without being blocked."
Watch the full, geeky discussion in the video here.
Sent from my iPhone
last night Leif and I installed a roto-zip rotary cutting tool on the end
of the robot arm.
it looks just like this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/272046207900?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82
we don't have any tool bits for it though. It needs a sideways-cutting
bit with a 1/8" diameter shaft. they make them for wood. it would be
possible to cut metals too if you're careful, but a bit for that purpose
would be called an "endmill"
please let me know if you want to use the robot with its wood-cutting
tool. if you want to cut out a shape, for example, you will need an SVG
file for starters.
thank you
-jake
Dear Sudo Room,
Here's your invoice! We appreciate your prompt payment.
Thanks for your business!
Omni Oakland
------------------------ Invoice Summary --------------------------
Invoice # : 1188
Invoice Date: 11/25/2015
Due Date: 12/05/2015
Terms: Net 10
Amount Due: $283.23
The complete version has been provided as an attachment to this email.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
This sounds amazing!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Mario Landau Holdsworth" <mariolh(a)gmail.com>
Date: Nov 25, 2015 1:33 PM
Subject: [Noisebridge-discuss] Cuba Open Technology / Maker Exchange Jan
11-21
To: "Noisebridge" <noisebridge-discuss(a)lists.noisebridge.net>
Cc: "Valerie Landau" <vlandau(a)gmail.com>
Hi everyone,
My cousin Valerie is coordinating an open technology / maker exchange in
Havana, Cuba in January. We need at least *8 more people* to make the trip
happen. The exchange is organized to connect talented makers, designers,
and engineers in Cuba with their counterparts in the US. The conference is
organized in Havana by leading professors, makers and artists. Participants
will meet and spend 4 days collaborating together on projects.
You can find more info here:
http://landautravel.com/2015/07/23/maker-exchange-in-cuba-january-11-20-201…
Feel free to email me directly with questions.
Thanks!!!
Mario
_______________________________________________
Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
Noisebridge-discuss(a)lists.noisebridge.net
https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jack Vincent <jackvinc(a)gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 11:51 AM
Subject: [sudo-info] Do you want some free computer stuff???
To: info(a)sudoroom.org
Hey Sudo Folks,
I have visited you guys a couple times, once at the Broadway space and
once at your new OmniCommons space... I have been doing some house cleaning
and would like to give away some computer and electronics stuff.... I tried
dropping by last Saturday to offer you some stuff but the door was closed
and no one answered.
Do you have any interest in these????
LOTS of "G" WiFi stuff, routers, access points. D-Link, Netgear
---SCSI EVERYTHING... cables, TAPE BACKUP, Syquest drives and media,
ZIP drives and media, Imation LS-120 drives and media
---MODEMS external and internal, up to 56K (does ANYONE still use
modems???)
---Serial cables (a box full), serial switch box, parallel cables,
inkjet printers (untested) , laser printers (untested). Gigantic
industrial dot-matrix printer with sound deadening hood
---Misc computer power supplies, cases, 386 computers, 486 computers,
Toshiba laptops that can only run DOS, floppy disks,
---misc ISA bus cards..... if no one is interested in the functionality of
the cards, do you collect them for the GOLD reclamation value $$$$$$?$?$?$
-video cards, EIDE cards, modem cards, multi-I/O cards, sound cards,
and so on.
---inkjet printers (untested) -I'm pretty sure you DON'T want these,
but who knows... again, maybe the circuit boards have value.
I am offering these for free to anyone. Hope to hear from you SOON.
And please let me know how to call you if you want this stuff.
PS Almost forgot to mention, TONS of old 3.5" HARD DRIVES.... most
working, many tested or marked.
Thanks.
--
Jack V
_______________________________________________
Info mailing list
Info(a)lists.sudoroom.org
https://sudoroom.org/lists/listinfo/info
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Caitlin Cruz <caitlin.cruz(a)cvcorps.org>
Date: Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 1:29 PM
Subject: [sudo-info] possible partnerships opportunity
To: "info(a)sudoroom.org" <info(a)sudoroom.org>
Hello,
I am a teacher at Civicorps schools, a charter school in West Oakland
for youth who have not yet received their high school diplomas. I am
currently teaching a robotics class in an attempt to interest students
in programming and the maker culture. I am interested in taking them
on a field trip to community maker space or hacker space in Oakland
and I was wondering if I could speak to someone about what you do and
if this might be a good fit. I am interested in exposing my students
to community robotics and citizen science. I am specifically
interested in Omni labs because I know that you are run through
community members and encourage creativity.
Our students are 18-26 and the school offers both a degree and on the
job training. My robotics class is a 3 hour class that runs for 5
Fridays in a row and begins with an introduction to programming and
continues with a comprehensive robotics projects that runs from the
Arduino platform. If you are interested in knowing more about us
and/or feel that you could host us for a field trip, please let me
know.
Thank you
Caitlin Cruz
Science Teacher
On Mon, Nov 23, 2015 at 9:47 AM, johanna faust <female.faust(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> sounds like a good fit. & issues re: minors are moot, correct?
We've fixed the biggest outstanding fire code violations, and our
insurance covers stuff like this. I think it's fine to go ahead and do
it.
It's not the parts that make the board expensive, it's the salaries you
must pay the engineers who write the software for it. Heck, you'd be
surprised how little the parts cost of something reflects the price one
must ask for to keep a company afloat.
On 23 Nov 2015 1:03 am, "Zach R" <organicunity(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Adam,
> Thanks so much for the reply. Goddamn that board is expensive - I'm not
> surprised it does more given all the ICs on it. Nuts, looks like we need
> to cough up $400 for that board then or get a new laser cutter :/ What a
> scam, I doubt that PCB costs >$25 to produce.
> I second your thoughts on education. I've looked at your site as well as
> the manual and have been trying to learn more about the beast so that it
> gets taken care of properly.
>
> -Zach
>
> ________________________________________
> From: noisebridge-discuss-bounces(a)lists.noisebridge.net <
> noisebridge-discuss-bounces(a)lists.noisebridge.net> on behalf of Adam
> <adam(a)aperture.systems>
> Sent: Monday, November 23, 2015 12:16 AM
> To: Noisebridge
> Subject: Re: [Noisebridge-discuss] Moar Laser Cutter Infos
>
> I have this model laser. It's on loan at sudo right now.
>
> The board isn't just a USB-Parallel converter. On my laser (R.3) the
> board was a mixture of motor drivers, a few buffers and a CPLD doing
> something somewhat intelligent. When it failed, I was able to have
> full spectrum replace it with r.4 of their board for $400, which is
> pretty identical, though they've done away with the DB25 port in favor
> of direct to CPLD - USB.
>
> I have a guide on the use of these lasers here.
> http://hack.rit.edu/tools/fsl/
>
> I would not recommend hacked solutions over the FSL board, unless the
> solution is well documented, on a dedicated computer, backed up, and
> taught to a few NB chiefs. My time running RIT's hackerspace has
> taught that lack of education is the #1 reason people don't use tools
> like these, and when there's no one to teach, nothing will get done,
> and that sometimes it really is better to just pay extra for
> something that just works.
>
> -A
> -^-^-^-^-^-
> Adam Munich - Builder of wild things (and organizations)
> Tel: +1-650-452-0554
>
> The key to mastering any skill is nothing more than passion and
> persistence.
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 22, 2015 at 2:30 AM, Mitch Altman <maltman23(a)hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> > FYI: My friend Aqua (who's Chinese) called the company who actually
> makes the laser cutter (jnmydy.com is only a distributor), and they told
> her that they cannot sell us just the power Parallel to USB controller and
> main power motherboard PCBs separately, but they sell the "whole set" and
> some raw components. She will call be on Monday and find out how much the
> "whole set" costs.
> >
> >
> > And, yeah, I'd still really like to get reimbursed for the laser tube I
> bought for Noisebridge for $237.37 last year.
> >
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Mitch.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> >> From: organicunity(a)hotmail.com
> >> To: noisebridge-discuss(a)lists.noisebridge.net
> >> Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2015 02:29:14 +0000
> >> Subject: Re: [Noisebridge-discuss] Moar Laser Cutter Infos
> >>
> >>
> >> So looking through the NB discuss list history (and talking to myself
> >> more here) there are actually a few more things the Laser Cutter
> >> needs. From what I understand there is:
> >>
> >>
> >> 1) Parallel> USB controller board needed (waiting for word from the
> >> people at Full Spectrum Laser and the shop in China for a price quote -
> >> anyone received a reply?) Also, Henner says he might be able to hack
> >> this with Arduino
> >>
> >> 2) Water pump and one hose missing (according to Adam's email from the
> >> Hackathon in July)
> >>
> >> 3) Air Pump maybe (haven't checked to see if we have this)
> >>
> >> 4) Calibration of mirrors and stuff (can someone volunteer to do this?
> >> we have manuals for it, it's just tedious)
> >>
> >> 5) Minor wiring and screws install work (I volunteer to do this)
> >>
> >> 6) a Windows machine to run the software (I can donate one if needed)
> >>
> >> 7) Install software and key (I guess Jerrod has this info?)
> >>
> >>
> >> Just trying to document the steps needed in one place here for
> >> everyone. Finally, we need to pay Mitch back for the $237 he spent on
> >> the new tube. Below is an old email with details from the thread here
> >> "Laser cutter repair bounty"
> >>
> >>
> >> Adam: "I tried fixing it at the stupid shit hackathon but I could not
> >> find the water pump and the other rubber hose. There is otherwise
> >> everything you need to get the laser cutter running."
> >>
> >>
> >> Mitch: "Zach -- please see the email from Henner, copied below, for a
> >> list of things that needs to be done. And please see the Doodle sent by
> >> Rubin, copied below, to pick a time to meet to fix the lasercutter.
> >> Everyone -- I paid for the laser tube when I was in China. I would very
> >> much love to be paid back for it. It cost me: Laser tube: $120.37
> >> shipping from Shenzhen to SF: $117.00 Total: $237.37 Would people be
> >> kind enough to pitch in, and help collect for this? Thanks, Mitch."
> >>
> >> -------------------------------------- From: organicunity(a)hotmail.com
> >> To: noisebridge-discuss(a)lists.noisebridge.net Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2015
> >> 08:39:50 +0000 Subject: Re: [Noisebridge-discuss] Laser cutter repair
> >> bounty .ExternalClass P { } I already offered to help with this....I
> >> thought Adam (and someone else) got it fixed recently. If someone will
> >> give me the low down on what needs to be done I'm happy to work on it.
> >> and hey, throwing money (and burritos) at poor techs like me definitely
> >> can get shit done! -Zach From:
> >> noisebridge-discuss-bounces(a)lists.noisebridge.net on behalf of Rubin
> >> Abdi Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2015 3:54 PM To: Henner Zeller Cc: James
> >> Sundquist; NB Discuss Subject: Re: [Noisebridge-discuss] Laser cutter
> >> repair bounty Do you want to make the laser go? Fill out the fucking
> >> Doodle... https://doodle.com/3rnzd5fy74kfwd9b On 11 July 2015 at 14:41,
> >> Henner Zeller wrote: I'd rather you guys organize some time where
> >> everyone who wants to help has time (get creative, there are some
> >> online find-free-time-slots-for-a-couple of people online. @rubin was
> >> using one of these recently). Money won't get things done, chip in an
> >> hour of your work. _That_ would help more getting this done. I am happy
> >> to help, but being alone working on that will take weeks of time here
> >> and there. What needs to be done, and with a few people, that would be
> >> doable in an afternoon. - check if we have the water pump and air pump
> >> in working condition. If not, get new ones. - Get a bucket of 5 Gallons
> >> of distilled water. - Connect the laser tube to the high voltage power
> >> supply (as far as I know, the new tube is already in the cutter)000 -
> >> calibrate things, mirrors and stuff. - make a free space in the corner
> >> of Noisebridge next to the windows, now full of DJ gear. - Find a table
> >> to put it on permanently. - Prepare an outlet in the window where we
> >> can connect the blower pipe. - Get the software installed somewhere (I
> >> think Jarrod has a license key somewhere and we need a windows
> >> machine). -h On 11 July 2015 at 14:31, jarrod hicks wrote: I too will
> >> match that. On Jul 11, 2015 12:32 PM, "James Sundquist" wrote: I will
> >> give $20 to anyone who has the laser cutter restored and calibrated at
> >> nb. --- Sent from Boxer | http://getboxer.com
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ________________________________
> >> From: noisebridge-discuss-bounces(a)lists.noisebridge.net
> >> <noisebridge-discuss-bounces(a)lists.noisebridge.net> on behalf of Zach R
> >> <organicunity(a)hotmail.com>
> >> Sent: Friday, November 20, 2015 5:54 PM
> >> To: NB Discuss; Eric Michaud
> >> Subject: Re: [Noisebridge-discuss] Moar Laser Cutter Infos
> >>
> >>
> >> OK so I took the laser cutter Main PCB home last night and did some
> >> work on it. I believe I got it all fixed up now, with the proper +5v
> >> and +24v LEDs lighting up now - it should be working 100% ! :D
> >>
> >> proof:
> >>
> >>
> http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/Segasonicfan/NB%20Hardware%20Class/2…
> >>
> >>
> http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/Segasonicfan/NB%20Hardware%20Class/2…
> >> <
> http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/Segasonicfan/NB%20Hardware%20Class/2…
> >
> >>
> >>
> >> Now the only thing left (aside from me fixing some crappy wiring jobs,
> >> installing the tube, and replacing screws and fuses) is the CONTROLLER
> >> BOARD that handles Parallel> USB. Here is a link to it again:
> >>
> >>
> https://moderndevice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/fse-controller-768x1024…
> >>
> >>
> >> Has anyone received a response from the manufacturer about this? Eric,
> >> could you ask Full Spectrum Laser for the price cost for just this
> >> board (I know they quoted $700 for both, but I have the larger one
> >> working now). LMK.
> >>
> >> ________________________________
> >> From: noisebridge-discuss-bounces(a)lists.noisebridge.net
> >> <noisebridge-discuss-bounces(a)lists.noisebridge.net> on behalf of Zach R
> >> <organicunity(a)hotmail.com>
> >> Sent: Tuesday, November 3, 2015 11:39 PM
> >> To: NB Discuss
> >> Subject: [Noisebridge-discuss] Moar Laser Cutter Infos
> >>
> >>
> >> So I brought this up at the meeting tonight and then I did more
> >> research. Found some more useful info.
> >>
> >>
> >> model #: MLR-40
> >>
> >> 40w Full Spectrum Laser
> >>
> >> Manufacturer website: http://en.jnmydy.com/
> >>
> >>
> >> And here are the pictures I took:
> >>
> >>
> http://s18.photobucket.com/user/Segasonicfan/library/NB%20Hardware%20Class?…
> >>
> >> Here is the controller board we are missing:
> >>
> >>
> https://moderndevice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/fse-controller-768x1024…
> >>
> >> http://www.laserresale.com/?fa=app.view&it=5966<
> https://us-mg4.mail.yahoo.com/compose?to=gwen246%40gmail.com>
> >>
> https://moderndevice.com/news/full-spectrum-engineering-40w-hobby-laser/
> >> http://wiki.lvl1.org/Full_Spectrum_Laser
> >> http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=140518
> >>
> >> https://fslaser.com/Manuals/FSL_40w_Hobby_Laser_Manual.pdf (manual)
> >>
> >>
> >> There is a second hand one for $1500 we could raise money for. That
> >> way we have this one for parts. That's one option.
> >>
> >> Im going to try emailing the manufacture to see what replacement costs
> >> would be.
> >>
> >>
> >> -Zach
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________ Noisebridge-discuss
> >> mailing list Noisebridge-discuss(a)lists.noisebridge.net
> >> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
> > _______________________________________________
> > Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> > Noisebridge-discuss(a)lists.noisebridge.net
> > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
> _______________________________________________
> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> Noisebridge-discuss(a)lists.noisebridge.net
> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>
Hi. Im looking for a pair of red glassed that i might have left at omni. .
Had anyone seen anything fitting that description lying around sudo or
omni?
This isn't something I'm interested in but thought it'd be interesting to the cool Sudoroom folks
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/column-the-case-for-employee-owned…
Column: The case for employee-owned companies
Making Sen$e’s segment on the 100 percent worker-owned New Belgium Brewing stirred some interest in the concept of employee stock ownership. David Ellerman explains the theory behind employee-owned companies. Photo by Flickr user +Russ.
Editor’s Note: Our story on Colorado’s 100 percent worker-owned company New Belgium Brewing has stirred some interest in the concept of employee stock ownership. We didn’t have time, however, to explore a particularly provocative and arguably profound voice on the issue, David Ellerman, based at the University of California, Riverside.
Ellerman has for years made an argument as startling as it is hard to refute: “the labor theory of property.” It’s that employees should own the firms they work for because of very simple logic: If they’re responsible for the consequences of their actions while on the job ― committing a crime, say ― how can it be that they’re not responsible for the positive things they do, such as making money?
Ellerman’s writing on “the labor theory of property” has mostly been for a technical audience. I asked him if he wouldn’t mind trying to make his argument in a more popular way for the Making Sen$e page. Here’s what he sent us.
― Paul Solman, Economics Correspondent
You are called in for jury duty. You protest to the judge that you are not a lawyer. How can you be expected to make a legal decision? But the judge points out that the jury is not there to interpret the law but to make a decision about the facts. Is the defendant in fact responsible for committing the crime as charged ― or not? Guilty or not guilty?
The legal system then assigns the legal responsibility according to the jury’s decision about the factual responsibility.
That is the basic principle of justice: assign the legal responsibility to the people who are in fact responsible for the deeds in question.
With that principle of justice, injustice falls into two categories:
assigning legal responsibility to a defendant who was not in fact responsible for the crime ― that is, convicting an innocent person, or
not assigning legal responsibility to a defendant who was in fact responsible ― that is, not convicting a guilty person.
There is something else to notice about the basic norm of justice. Criminals have their “tools of the trade,” which can be quite important in committing crimes. But tools cannot be factually responsible for committing a crime, only people. For example, guns can’t be responsible for killing people, but people find it much easier to kill someone, deliberately or accidentally, if guns are available. Thus, regardless of the tools, instruments or other things being used in committing a crime, only the people committing the crime are in fact responsible for it.
This basic principle of justice ― assign legal responsibility according to factual responsibility ― is used by the courts of law, but there’s no reason this principle should be applied only to negative results like crimes or misdeeds. When people deliberately produce something positive, shouldn’t they also get the legal “credit” or “ownership” of that result? The justice principle can thus be seen as applying to both positive and negative results of all responsible human actions.
But there is a problem ― our current economic system does not follow the justice principle. In the previous system ― prior to the arrival of modern democracy ― masters could own other people involuntarily (the slaves). Thankfully, that system was abolished. But voluntariness was not the key issue since the contract to voluntarily sell oneself into slavery was also abolished along with involuntary slavery.
In the current economic system, people rent themselves out to an “employer.” As the late Paul Samuelson of MIT, the first American Nobel Prize winner in economics, put it in his widely-used textbook:
Since slavery was abolished, …[a] man is not even free to sell himself: he must rent himself at a wage.
This use of the word “rent” may be jarring, but it is accurate. Americans refer to “rental cars” and the British refer to “hire cars,” but both are talking about the same thing where the renter is not buying the car, but only buying some of its services. Renting something is buying its services.
Our current employment system of renting, hiring or employing people conflicts with the justice principle. In a factory operating under the employment relation, the people working in the factory jointly produce whatever is the product. Consider a company that produces widgets, for example. Those widgets are the positive results of their responsible actions. But to produce the widgets, they must jointly use up raw materials, intermediate goods, machinery and other resources. Those used-up resources are the negative results of their responsible actions.
But the people working in the enterprise do not jointly have legal ownership of the widgets they produce, and they do not jointly bear the expenses for the resources (raw materials, intermediate goods, etc.) they use to produce the widgets. Instead, it is the employer who owns the widgets and pays off the non-labor costs for the used resources. The rented people, the employees, are seen simply as the providers of just another resource ― known in this case, as labor services. The employer pays off the liability for using that resource by paying the labor costs ― the wages and salaries.
Hence, the employment system seems to involve a mismatch between legal responsibility and factual responsibility. While the positive and negative legal responsibility goes to the (working or absentee) employer, the positive and negative factual responsibility is with both the working employer and the employees. The renting of people certainly seems to violate the standard justice principle of assigning legal responsibility in accordance to factual responsibility.
But the employees are said to voluntarily give up their responsibility for the results of their “labor services.” How can one “give up” factual responsibility?
Consider the case of an employee who commits a crime at the instruction of the employer. Certainly then the employee really does want to voluntarily give up and transfer away any factual responsibility for the results of his labor services. But there is no such escape. The legal system then recognizes that the “employment” of one’s own actions cannot be voluntarily transferred to another person. One could transfer the use of one’s car or shovel to another person, but not the “employment” of one’s self. As a British law book on the employer-employee relation puts it (using the old-speak of “master and servant”):
All who participate in a crime with a guilty intent are liable to punishment. A master and servant who so participate in a crime are liable criminally, not because they are master and servant, but because they jointly carried out a criminal venture and are both criminous.
But what factually changes when the venture being jointly carried out is not criminal? Do the employees suddenly turn into non-responsible robots employed by their employer? Presumably employees are just as much factually responsible for their deliberate actions when they produce widgets as when they commit crimes.
It is the response of the legal system that changes ― when no crime is committed, the legal system sees no reason to intervene to explicitly apply the justice principle it has so clearly established in ordinary trials. The system then accepts “obeying the employer” as fulfilling the employment contract. There seems to be no breach of the contract ― even though “obeying the employer” didn’t get the criminal employee off the hook. But with no breach or crimes involved, the legal system is silent. It does not intervene to apply the justice principle as it does in a criminal or civil trial.
The end result is that the employer ends up paying off all the costs of the used-up resources, including the wage payments for the employees’ labor services, and thus owning all the widgets produced. But the employer is not in fact solely responsible for using up those resources or for producing that product ― so this adds up to a violation of the justice principle. The justice principle says that all the expenses for the used-up resources and all the revenues from owning and selling the widgets should go to the factually responsible party, which would be all the people working in the enterprise.
This violation is built into the whole system of renting people ― even if voluntarily. Should that be surprising? We are accustomed to condemn slavery for being involuntary, but would owning other people be okay if it were voluntary? Perhaps the basic problem with owning other people was not whether it was involuntary or voluntary, but that it treated people as things. And that is still a problem with the renting of people in our economy. It treats the rented people like non-responsible things whose use or employment can be voluntarily transferred from one person to another like a car or shovel.
How can the problem be fixed? Today, the renting, hiring or employing of people seems as “natural” as owning people did before the 19th century. In either case, most people in such a society take it for granted. But what if the abolitionists’ achievement of abolishing the owning of other people was followed up with the “neo-abolitionist” goal of abolishing the renting of other people? It would mean that all the people working together in a given enterprise would be the owners or members of that enterprise. They would jointly own what they jointly produce, and they would jointly pay off the costs for all the resources that they jointly used. In short, they would jointly own both the positive and negative “fruits of their labor” so private property would be re-founded on the justice principle.
The conservative British thinker, Lord Eustace Percy, put the matter very well back in 1944.
Here is the most urgent challenge to political invention ever offered to the jurist and the statesman. The human association which in fact produces and distributes wealth, the association of workmen, managers, technicians and directors, is not an association recognised by the law. The association which the law does recognize ― the association of shareholders, creditors and directors ― is incapable of production and is not expected by the law to perform these functions. We have to give law to the real association, and to withdraw meaningless privilege from the imaginary one.
It was previously noted that the factually responsible party is the community of all the people working in the enterprise, which Lord Percy called the “human association which in fact produces and distributes wealth.” That community is not even recognized as a legal party in the current system. “The association which the law does recognise” is (typically) the corporation-as-employer in the employer-employer relationship.
The closest legal form we have today where the factually responsible party is also the legally responsible party would be worker cooperatives (like the Mondragon cooperatives in the Basque country in Spain) or the “employee-owned” companies like the 7,000 or so Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) across the United States (at least where 100 percent of the stock is in the ESOP trust for the employees). With those legal forms, the “association which the law does recognise” is also the “human association which in fact produces and distributes wealth.” That arrangement satisfies the justice principle.
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