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Re: [sudo-discuss] Fwd: [sudo-info] Monkeybrains now has service in Oakland

by eenblam＠peoplesopen.net

I just wrote back to Rudy @ Monkeybrains. Thanks Yar! Sent via Migadu.com, world's easiest email hosting

2 years, 1 month

Why so many different remote controls?

by Peter Mui

This email just came in as general inquiry on repair.org: ====== Hello, I'm a writer working on a story for the Washington Post and am getting in touch to see if The Repair Association might have someone who would be able to speak to the story I'm working on. The story is this: We're looking into how we wound up with so many remotes in our homes. The story is a bit on the history and the "why" of why our entertainment centers of the home have come to have a pile of remotes and why they don't all work together, how it came to be this way. I'm looking for experts who work on TVs and entertainment products that have an understanding of why we're here and why there haven't been solutions that keep the consumer in mind. Thanks for any assistance you're able to provide. ======= Does anyone here know how we arrived this cambrian explosion of IR remote codes? -Peter

2 years, 1 month

No Coon for Sudo Room

by Muirén Ní Sídach

I find it sad how often I find provisional acceptance within safe white spaces because my speech and deportment are perceived as an affectation, an engagement in “pick-me” social dynamics. It's doubly tragic, when it becomes clear I am not the safe, non-challenging Black face — and white fragility and passive aggression give rise to a façade of emotional calm and passive-aggressive rhetorical sophistry. If you are Black, and think I’m cooning and deluding myself about it, my DM is always open, use the email for this account. For non-Black people who don’t know, “Cooning” is not so much a slur, but a critique of Black people who engage in anti-Blackness, throwing Black people under the bus for personal gain. It is not saying that person is not Black because only Black people can be a “coon” or engage in “cooning”. Other disenfranchised communities have their equivalent. There can be intersectionality, such as a transgender person who carries water for, defends anti-Trans individuals or communities, patriarchy, as well as anti-Blackness. They often fall back on some point of the Mantan Manifesto, like claiming they can’t be anti-Black because they are Black (can’t be anti-Trans because they are trans), and the conservative apologetic “we are not one cultural monolith”. Note: Mantan Manifesto summary explanation, and video clip https://reddit.com/user/AnMuiren/comments/19210pi/spike_lees_bamboozled_the… The physical violence of white supremacy could not exist without the cover of polite white supremacy, and denial by a majority of white Americans across the political spectrum is a major barrier to change. Throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, the leadership of every white led progressive leaning institution I’ve spoken too has told me they cannot organize inclusive outreach programs because that would be political action and endanger their 501(c)(3) status. Kicking Jake to the curb for allegedly putting his foot in it doesn’t magically prove the rest of you are not white supremacist just because you are better at self-regulation. And as Jake and others have inferred, a vaguely defined anti-Racist goal without a plan is only a wish. Nearly every Sudo Room member I’ve spoken to, has defended an assumed right to be self-serving, individualistic, extractive members. To me, it appears members want a McDonald’s drive-thru brand of progressive politics and a space white space, free of uncomfortable, messy human complexity. Refusing to be vulnerable and socially invest means whites and minorities with proximity to whiteness cannot be trusted to accept the unavoidable discomfort and risks that come with subverting and dismantling the system of racialized class hierarchy promoted by law, commerce, and custom. This selfishness rationalized as virtuous freedom, the mythology of rugged individualists who have objectively earned their place in the world, is a willful self-deception. The reality of American Exceptionalism, is a projected image of being responsible, while avoiding the fact, Tom Sawyer’s Whitewashing the Fence scheme, writ large across a dystopian, colonial landscape. The difference is that Tom Sawyer faced those hard truths about himself and grew up. Note: Tom Sawyer Whitewashing the Fence summary explanation https://storyboardthat.com/lesson-plans/the-adventures-of-tom-sawyer-by-mar…

2 years, 1 month

Proposal: Jamal as interim executive director

by Sarah Lockhart

I just wanted to provide some clarifications and professional suggestions on this proposal. For those who don't know me, I am Omni's soon-to-be former bookkeeper / finance person. I am not opposed to this proposal at a "high level" but there are things that should be considered. Silver also shared this with me last month: 2021 delegates meeting with > summary "agreed to hire Operations Coordinator (eventually) ": > https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Event:2021/03/11_Delegates. More discussion > was done the week before > https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Event:2021/03/04_Delegates. Operations > Coordinator shakes out to be the same thing as Executive Director. As someone who was part of the discussions around the Operations Coordinator role (which was conceived partly in the context of Omni's initial efforts to refinance), *saying that it is the "same thing" as Executive Director is actually inaccurate.* There was a lot of discussion at the time about whether it would be the same as an Executive Director, and the consensus was that it would very much NOT BE an Executive Director role, with the ability to make unilateral "executive" decisions. That was why "Coordinator" was included in the title, Having an "Executive Director" is actually new territory for Omni. The closest thing was when Emily was hired in December 2022 as "Finance Manager" after delegates decided that giving her an "Executive Director" role was too much power, among other reasons. > - Jamal has a lot of organizational and professional experience, and > connections to city officials and orgs who may help. His primary immediate > strategy is to try and get our lender to give us another extension. It is a bit awkward to read this, as we have received multiple communications from the lender through our lawyer that there would not be another extension. However, if someone new wants to give it a go, maybe the results will be different? But I am skeptical. However, I have been told that my natural skepticism is a personality flaw. At the very least, I would hope that Jamal has been forwarded / filled in on all the communications to date on this topic. > - *How can we pay for it?* Jamal has offered to fund the position himself > for the most part (current proposal, some small monthly fee ~$250, with the > rest of the money coming from a percentage of what he raises). This is a > big deal for Omni, which has almost no funds right now! Here's the professional guidance, as someone who has worked in the "nonprofit industrial complex" for the past two decades ... being paid a percentage of fundraised income is really counter to "best practices" and is generally frowned upon by most "aligned" non-profit fundraising professionals. There are numerous reasons to avoid a contract where a staff person is "paid a percentage of what they raise." Some of them are legal regulations about "private inurement" -- which I believe Jesse can explain to you. In general, having a staff person responsible for "raising their own salary" is something that is frowned on, because it creates a lot of stress for the staff person, and it is tied into equity issues. However, considering Jamal being hired for this role is an effort to create/improve equity (in the DEI sense, not in the financial sense), it does make things more complicated and worthy of discussion. > Sincerely, Sarah L

2 years, 1 month

Hardware and softWEAR* Hacking Tuesday is tonight

by Jake

Hi everyone, You're getting this email either because 1) you're on the sudoroom discuss email list, or 2) because I BCC'd you directly. URGENT: Sudoroom/The Omni needs help! Contact me directly to learn more. We'll be having a Sudoroom meeting tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 7PM. Tonight I'll be hosting Sudoroom for those who want to come hack on whatever, in person, or through telepresence (see the last link in this email) in the past few weeks, we've had about 5-15 people over the course of the evening, not including remote participants who logged in through telepresence Here it is on the sudoroom page: https://sudoroom.org/events/categories/sudo-room-events/ I am usually there by 8PM but people do show up before me! if you get to the door (at the corner of 48th and shattuck) and you can't get in, call me or someone else who's there to let you in! Email me if you don't have my phone number. Actually a great way to get our attention is to join the video chat link at the end of this email! We don't always hear the doorbell and I don't answer it anyway! You should get on this sudoroom discuss mailinglist! click here: https://sudoroom.org/lists/postorius/lists/sudo-discuss.sudoroom.org/ and you should donate monthly to sudoroom, monthly, by signing up here: https://sudoroom.org/humans and if you want to make a one-time donation, you can go here: https://sudoroom.org/donate if you can't make it in person: join the jitsi videochat with the room, and chat with each other as well as a giant TV screen/speakerphone on the wall: https://meet.waag.org/turtlesturtlesturtles see you soon! -jake

2 years, 1 month

Proposal: Jamal as interim executive director

by Paige P

Hi, I want to make a new thread to talk about this. I was first introduced to the idea of the role of ED at Omni along with a discussion about formalizing the Omni President/Treasurer/Secretary roles in September. This has been something discussed a lot by the fundraising working group, who has struggled in the past to talk to funders due to Omni's lack of point people and structure. Silver also shared this with me last month: 2021 delegates meeting with summary "agreed to hire Operations Coordinator (eventually) ": https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Event:2021/03/11_Delegates. More discussion was done the week before https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Event:2021/03/04_Delegates. Operations Coordinator shakes out to be the same thing as Executive Director. I am in strong support of Jamal as interim ED along with other delegates, Patrik from CCL, Natalie from Sketchboard, John from Liberated Lens, and partial support (at least in contract writing) from Toan from FNB. However Jamal has not been officially approved yet. To answer some questions - *Who is Jamal? *Jamal was originally hired on to facilitate conversation between People's Programs and Omni. After that meeting, there was informal consensus that he would be a good fit for hiring to facilitate our internal Omni accountability retreat. All of these funds are coming from the $4000 approved from the Hellman grant for DEI in November. Jamal has a lot of organizational and professional experience, and connections to city officials and orgs who may help. His primary immediate strategy is to try and get our lender to give us another extension. They have not yet filed for foreclosure. Jamal is hopeful with a clear, credible roadmap to better organization, along with tidying up the space/getting rid of clutter, and press involvement, that we will have a good chance at securing this extension. In parallel, we are working on all other proposals on the table. I have had uneasiness with the thought of professionalizing, having been part of an organized nonprofit before, and all the fakeness that marketing and fundraising requires, but have had to reflect on how our past ways of organizing have led to burnout, exclusion, and disempowerment and feel like this is a good answer (though I welcome discussion). Past meeting notes give some indication of how Jamal leads, but I encourage you all to come in person or remotely to meet him first and foremost. - *What is the timeline?* goal is to have paperwork written by Jesse, our lawyer, outlining job description and payment ready by Thursday, to be voted on by delegates. Given the formal paperwork might not be ready before Wednesday, SR should decide what they are okay with seeing or how much they are willing to trust the delegate with the decision. - *Isn't this not-horizontal?* Please read meeting notes above which have very thoughtful discussion of this. Also please understand we are facing foreclosure and have had extreme issues with unity and organizing ourselves. We need someone responsible for coordinating all the many threads of work going on right now. - *Is this a permanent decision? *No - Jamal has offered to work as ED for 2-3 months, given that is when he is available/in-state - *How can we pay for it?* Jamal has offered to fund the position himself for the most part (current proposal, some small monthly fee ~$250, with the rest of the money coming from a percentage of what he raises). This is a big deal for Omni, which has almost no funds right now! - *How do we build trust?* Jamal agreed to come to our Wednesday Sudo Room meeting remotely. He has been very insistent about leaving the room when decisions were made about him (he left the room when delegates decided to pursue writing a contract), so we can expect he will give time for Sudo Room to discuss privately. He has done a lot of difficult labor for us, and the job he's been tasked with is extremely difficult, something we have failed at. The main points of distrust I've heard are that (1) he favors People's Programs and (2) is working with Silver to unjustly remove Jake. The first claim I think can be assuaged by meeting Jamal, and reading the meeting notes from the accountability meeting. The "Current proposals, next steps" https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Event:2024/01/05_06_Delegates section was actually a couple hours of work, in which point people were assigned to every proposal, with Jamal stressing that priority go to pursuing extension from our current lender. As for (2), Silver and Jake have been in many conflicts, and while Jamal was informed of these, he did not bring up these conflicts to the delegates, nor encourage Jake's removal. Responsibility goes to the delegates, including me. I can speak to that in a different thread. - *How do we not build trust?* We don't build trust by discrediting people who have strong feelings about anti-racism (i.e. Pallavi last meeting). Even if you have disagreement or discomfort, as a predominately white space in Oakland that is critically underutilized, these discussions of equity, racism, and rules of engagement need to be on the table and must be given space, respect, and reflection. Paige

2 years, 1 month

Re: Temporary Ban of Jake from Omni Commons (fwd)

by E

I have deep reservations about the actions taken at yesterday's “retreat.” I informed my co-delegate that I would be delayed by one hour and ultimately arrived at the meeting at approximately 3:30pm. Jamal, Angela, Jemma, Anwar, Silver, Patrik, Yar, Paige, Toan, and John were there in person. Our newly hired facilitator, Jamal, was dictating the above letter to Paige. Jake was not present. I was told that before I arrived, Jamal had called a vote on what accountability measure would be suitable to address “the Jake problem.” During this vote, delegates John (LL), Patrik (CCL), Paige (SR), and Natalie (SB) voted in favor of inflicting this punishment and Toan (FNB) blocked the measure. Toan’s block was overruled and the issue was then passed by consensus-minus one. Paige did not consult with or inform me that this vote was taking place. Jamal asked me to keep this information secret from Jake. I found this request objectionable as this was allegedly meant to be an open meeting. The meeting notes on the wiki say barely anything about how and why this decision was reached. Jake was tried, convicted, and harshly sentenced - in absence - without a chance to hear any charges, defend himself or plead his case. Abandoning due process is not restorative in any way - it’s shameful - it makes the meeting seem less about accountability and more about silencing dissent. When I consulted with my co-delegate after the meeting, I asked if they believed that they had voted in line with the wishes of our collective - they acknowledged that they had not done so and would understand if they were asked to step down from the position. I understand that Paige was under a lot of pressure and clearly cares deeply about our community. I have great esteem for Paige and appreciation for much of the work they’ve done in our space, however, it looks like the meeting may have escalated more quickly than anyone could have expected. When I asked if it was possible to appeal this judgment I was directed to consult with Jamal. I call upon all people of sudoroom who share my fondness for due process and distaste for secret trials to object by responding to this thread and making your views clear. Last night, judgment was passed against one of our members without that person even being present, and fundamental structural changes were made to our organization without consultation of the general membership. -Eric Sudoroom Co-delegate

2 years, 1 month

Chromebooks

by tom r lopes

Last week I flashed the last of the chromebooks. (At least all the ones in the cabinet -- Maybe Peter has another stack.) Now they all have an unlocked bios firmware and ready to take an OS. Most of the chromebooks are Google "Candy" (have the plastic bezel around the screen) with a few of Google "Wolf" (all glass screen) Both are 4GB ram and 16GB storage soldered in place with no upgrade. 16GB makes Windows impossible. And even for Linux it is hard to get a modern experience. Linux: (on Candy, I haven't checked Wolf) You can get some of the media keys working if you change keyboard layout to "chromebook" (Volume works but I don't think screen backlight control works) Sound: Works in full featured distros but then you run out of space in the 16GB emmc. Minimal distros miss some things that are needed for sound: Need the sound chip firmware. On Debian it is sof-firmware so "sudo apt install sof-firmware" Even after installing the firmware many times the speakers are muted Run alsamixer from terminal ("sudo apt install alsa-utils" if alsamixer is not available) By default the Intel digital audio is selected. F6 to change soundcard but on the chromebook the F keys are shared with the media keys. Depends on the layout but either search (key with mag glass icon) or right ALT key is the Fn key. Hold Fn key (search or R ALT) and press "lower backlight" (small sun icon or count 6 from ESC) When the right sound card is selected press arrow keys until "Left speaker left dac" and press "m" to unmute then "Right speaker right dac" Should work now. Unless you have a minimal Linux distro without an audio server installed. Then "sudo apt install pulseaudio pavucontrol" Some distros need pulseaudio-alsa (Arch) Some desktop environments may need plugins for the GUI (XFCE need xfce4-pulseaudio-plugin) Disk space: This is a tough one because we have only 16GB. There are many very small Linux distros but they are not easy for the noob or non-expert Linux user. And if you start small and try to add you end up chasing the stuff that doesn't work. (like Try to install wifi gui but wpa-supplicant is not automatically installed?) You can start with something a little too big like Lubuntu then "sudo apt purge" to free space (purging Libreoffice gets Lubuntu to around 8GB) I will try some more distros and have some recommendations soon. Thomas

2 years, 1 month

Why don’t we dance with each other more?? Oakland Ecstatic Dance - Sunday Morning • Ecstatic Dance

by Romy Ilano

A lot of us are already goth club regulars but I had fun dancing with Noisebridge and SudoRoom folks at my birthday Friday We were able to talk about stuff briefly outside of a depressing meeting with everyone sitting and yelling There’s a cool dance session at sweets ballroom for ecstatic dance - anyone interested in coming??? They also have dances Wednesday I’ll send invites every so often movement is a great way to loosen people up instead of just alcohol ! Part of me hopes we can somehow have similar dance events on a more regular basis at the Omni ballroom There are so many yoga studios all over Oakland ! Why don’t more apply to be hosted at our space? We’re certainly cheaper and have a more interesting venue https://ecstaticdance.org/dance/oakland-ecstatic-dance-sunday-morning/ Sent from my iPhone

2 years, 1 month

Temporary Ban of Jake from Omni Commons (fwd)

by Jake

did sudoroom vote for this? what are the accusations? why was i not notified i was on trial? ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2024 21:04:41 +0000 From: maydayjt(a)riseup.net To: jake(a)spaz.org Cc: Paige P <pgeplan(a)gmail.com>, Jamal Taylor <lemmeeducateyou(a)gmail.com>, Yardenack <yardenack(a)gmail.com> Subject: Temporary Ban from Omni Commons Jake, Yesterday's Omni Commons delegates accountability meeting voted to temporarily ban you from all communications and access to Omni Commons for a 3 month period (effective until March 7, 2024). This decision was made given a history of harm, including conflict-escalating behavior, disrespect, racist comments, and a lack of accountability. Your behavior has been unacceptable, and mediation sessions with you have been ineffective. If you choose to participate in an accountability process until resolution, we will welcome you back to the space after the 3 month time period. We will follow up with you on this process. In the meantime, we offer you space to sit with yourself, and self-reflect on harm done. We hope you come back with a commitment to listen deeply and learn from complaints made rather than acting defensively. We appreciate all the work you have done here and hope you do the work required to be a part of this community. To schedule a time to collect belongings, or if you have further questions you may contact Jamal. John Torok Liberated Lens Film Collective delegate On Behalf of the Omni Commons Delegates Assembly

2 years, 1 month

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