Arthur, there's a wiki page on the laser cutter, and usually someone is
around on hardware hack night who knows how to use it. Maybe you can
organize and lead a get to know how to use the laser cutter workshop and
even expand on the wiki:
https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Big_red_laser_cutter
> Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2022 08:43:57 -0700
> From: Arthur Ulfeldt <arthur(a)ulfeldt.com>
> Subject: [sudo-discuss] learning to use the laser cutter
> To: sudo-discuss <sudo-discuss(a)sudoroom.org>
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAPVZ-4Ten21Aiq7oJYuuD89SSQkt35xzAXqqRgihv5RBYiq8Ew(a)mail.gmail.com>
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>
> is there some patient human (or equivalent) here that can teach me how to
> use the laser cutter? I know almost nothing about such machines beyond a
> solid theoretical understanding of how it works. I'm looking for a class or
> elmer to teach me how one really uses such machines.
>
Hi,
In light of new members / groups having arrived 10 months on into intensive
building improvements and infrastructure maintenance that myself, Sarah,
and Safer DIY began last summer - and in the spirit of ‘step up, step back’
that I generally think is a healthy collective practice to horizontalize
labor and responsibility - I thought this would be an opportune time to
consciously transition these responsibilities to a new member(s).
For those with interests in continuing any building improvements /
effecting property maintenance - which was originally begun to pass omni’s
fire inspection, then in a valiant effort to aid in Omni’s narrowing refi
prospects - I would like to pass on the following contact information for
Omni’s most recent carpenter, electrician, plumber, HVAC, Roofer, etc:
Matt Costa, carpenter:
+1 (718) 290-5758
Clif Walker, electrician:
+1 (510) 435-0796
Tony Fazule, plumber:
+1 (510) 534-5480
AAPH, HVAC:
+1 (415) 254-782
DTC Lighting & Grip:
+1 (510) 595-0770
Mike Tenuto, Roofer:
+1 (510) 575-2800
* TL;DR: As some are aware, Mike currently owes omni a ~$8.9K refund and
has also guaranteed the roof for 7y; and (because I have been asked more
than once) fwiw he is not my referral, he was a referral from within omni
and not someone I previously worked with. His payment on the refund to omni
is pretty late; a claim with the surety company may need to be filed and
I’m sure there are deadlines.. for more detail, please reach out to others
on this list.
Also - based on my experience working on omni with the help of other
building professionals since 2014, I thought it might be helpful to
reiterate what I have found to be the following best practices for omninoms
in order to maintain healthy, positive working relationships with such
outside entities:
- Arrange in advance for a consistent, single point of contact at omni,
with at most one backup contact. Whenever possible, avoid changing this up;
ideally there should be at least a 4mo commitment from some omninom to
being a designated point of contact.
- Avoid adding these folks to any text groups or email lists (can quickly
equate to overwhelm for non-omninoms).
- While compensation terms can differ obviously, in general be prepared to
pay the full balance on the last day / completion of work (don’t assume
net-15/30 type terms), and it is best to clarify with each contractor
before work starts as to whether whether a deposit is required for a given
scope of work (for materials? Etc), and whether cash vs check vs
PayPal/venmo etc is expected as the medium.
- Particularly on-site, professional boundaries should be consciously
maintained in that it may not be obvious to others using the building that
these folks are not fellow volunteers. Contractors may not have an
awareness of various activities or groups using the building at a given
time as they focus on their work, nor be completely read into the full
details of omnis politics / mission / structure etc etc so this should not
be assumed. Seeking to strike up an extended convo or offering to help etc
may distract more than aid, in spite of good intentions. Yelling at a
contractor because you’re trying to work on your own stuff and it’s loud
etc, or critiquing their work as they are doing it, is to be avoided.
Unless there is an imminent hazard, omninoms should be instructed to have
an inconvenienced human yell at the point of contact for the contractor,
and not the contractor.
- If it changes, be sure to inform contractors of the lockbox code / key /
card so they can freely access the building. In general, a contractor
waiting or working = same cost to omni. Most use the lockbox I installed
- If things seem to go south with a contractor for whatever reason,
remember that locating a talented, affordable, dependable, nice etc
tradesperson for Omni’s not-insignificant task list of ‘small’ jobs for is
not always easily achieved. It is worth keeping in mind for example, that
the present electrician will have a relatively deep knowledge of Omni’s
electrical to start with and therefore, be more likely to fix a problem in
less time (cheaper) than a different electrician. Same with plumber, etc
etc. So, imo it is best to over-budget any time needed to locate and
establish a relationship with a suitable replacement should that ever be
required. Finally, while I don’t expect this will realistically last within
Omni’s institutional memory very long I would like to remind folks that I
generally continue rely on those contractors I brought in to omni, in order
to preserve affordable housing and myriad community spaces elsewhere.. so
if things ever go south with any contractor I would really appreciate being
notified as a courtesy.
Best,
David
I just renewed my membership to the SF Moma museum - some photographs
https://www.flickr.com/photos/miromi/albums/72177720298294735
I was really into the Neri Oxman projects. She weaves a lot of science,
biology and etch into these really neat architectural pieces.
https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/nature-x-humanity-oxman-architects/
We also were toying around with the new projector - and it was fun putting
some kara walker into the spce during harware hack night. it was nice being
in the sudoroom instead of in the ballroom, although the ballroom overall
looks way cool
https://flickr.com/photos/miromi/52015867232/in/dateposted/
So for the next hardware hack night I think I wanna focus on making some
kind of art installation while people are hacking. and we can weave math
lessons and math art into that somehow in a cycle. 😎
=============================
Romy Ilano
romy(a)snowyla.com
I spent some time cataloging devices and tools in sudoroom here:
https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Work_Stations
Mostly I was just curious what everything is for, so that I know what I could use sudoroom for.
Could I have some help adding a description for each of these?
Ideally we’d record at least 1) whether it works, and 2) a description that includes a concrete example of something you could do with it.
For example, “the TAZ3 printer is used for fused filament fabrication. You could use this to create a plastic Spider-Man figurine from a computer 3D model”.
The wiki formatting for a table looks like this:
|-
| Item name
| YYYY-mm-dad
| Item description
Thank you!
Eric
I’ve made contact with hackerspaces in Barcelona and Paris - the premise is that outside two other places in the USA the auto and oil industry is so powerful there is simply no way to innovate on transportation
The rest of the world is leaving us behind and we’re stuck with larger and larger SUVs and more and more sprawl - for most Americans the idea of walking transit and biking instead of car 🚘 use has become unimaginable even though the car environment is entirely government subsidized
Sent from my iPhone
this is a proposal to the delegates of Omni Commons, to pursue recovery of our
$9000 that we spent on skylights that turned out to be no good (and we had to
remove at our own expense)
specifically this proposal will require those with knowledge of the situation
to cooperate to get our money back through any legal means available, including
going after the contractor's bond money with the city/state. We should also
figure out what the exact amount is, including costs to remove the Defective
"skylights" that were installed for no good reason in the first place.
-Jake
*Should we establish working groups?*
Currently, there appear to be no formal roles responsible for managing
Sudoroom. I think this can lead to all critical functions falling onto a
small number of people. At the same time, we've recently seen an increase
in new members looking to contribute. If we were to define what functions
need done and invite individuals to assume responsibility for these, we
could share burdens more broadly by making it easier for willing volunteers
to organize themselves and lend their support to the collective.
I think a good starting set of working group would be for membership,
operations, and finances, although I think establishing or disbanding a
working group should be at the whim of any member, rather than something
formal.
I would propose that a working group consists of anyone (and everyone) who
asks to participate in one. The groups would have no special formal power,
they'd just be a way of identifying people who are offering to help manage
a set of functions. If access to anything has to be limited to less than
the entire working group (for instance banking access), the responsibility
will be decided by consensus within the working group.
Thoughts? What working groups would you suggest? Are there any functions
for which you'd like to volunteer?
*Andrew R Gross, (he/him)*
412.657.5332 - shrad.org <http://www.shrad.org>
