Friends,

I haven't been by NB in a while. It's a shame the SEM cannot be maintained by the community. The way I see it, it is sort of a pinnacle of the organization (one of several). It depends on the whole organization working in concert. It's very hard to take on ambitious goals at Noisebridge without reliable people, working and organized tools, and the required infrastructure Mike Kan likes to emphasize. These things have to come first no matter where the SEM lives. It takes a team to make the organization work and you are all great people. But we are busy people and the NB org is under siege by C or D players or worse.

Tangent: I speculate that the best hacker space arrangement might be an old shopping mall. Each retail storefront is an autonomous hacker space with independent hours and specialties and rules.  A food court in the middle for cross pollination of ideas and so people can meet or lounge on wifi. Some storefronts in the mall would specialize in optics, others lasers, others radio, others woodwork, and so on. Some store fronts may be full blown commercial hardware and electronics stores. Hackers could navigate said mall with shopping carts to move projects around from space to space and perhaps lend tools from one space to another like a library book. Security and parking are integrated into the mall complex. Pickup trucks are available for rent to make dump runs, recycling, retrieving machinery from the outside world, etc. 

I bring this idea to the foreground because its the scenario that I think will support high science within a mix of public use areas. The high science seems to require full blown lockdown of a space for cleanliness and security if nothing else. The beauty of Noisebridge is the melange of people coming together in a place like the Mos Eisley spaceport cantina and sharing ideas to the point of complete hallucinogenic distraction. I propose this mall concept as a Request For Comment. It's a fantasy that would support the high science but not lock out the chaos of public idea cross pollination. Perhaps it is supported by money. But it could also be supported by the donation of the best ideas to a central patent office. Perhaps what I am describing is reminiscent of the MIT Media Lab and their system of taking  X percent of a student's patent income. But the comparison ends there because MIT is an exclusive university and the Media Lab is closed to the public. I've always felt that the openness of Noisebridge was more important than the tools inside. If only we could preserve those tools (SEM) in the face of the C player siege!

Chris

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 17, 2013, at 15:16, miloh <froggytoad@gmail.com> wrote:

LOL no. No need to get sensational. (you're just placing yourself in good company with instigators like WR Hearst).  Just because they don't know how or won't learn how to use the SEM, Noisebridge is not a hackerspace?

Anyways, since there are only 2 or 3 self founded hackerspaces on Earth that I've heard of even having access to a SEM of their own, I'll just take a step back to say it will take longer for the use of these kind of tools to take hold and find use in the hackerspace movement. There are probably a ton of miniSEMS out there waiting in garages until cadres can take on the responsibility of their care and use. Until then, I won't stand by if I can prevent these tools  from getting damaged.

I already identified the majority of the SEM parts and help is appreciated, but please don't make a big thing of it. The mini-SEM is intact in the front of Noisebridge by the welcome desk (!), and there are boxes of equipment in the East end of the space on the floor by the stairs leading up to the overseer's closet.

Dr X is ahead of his time, who knew?

Back to your regularly scheduled activities.


On Tue, Sep 17, 2013 at 3:05 PM, Jake <jake@spaz.org> wrote:
perhaps you heard

noisebridge is no longer a hackerspace and is emptying out the science room (where the SEM was) to make room for a radio studio or dj booth or something.  ball pit.

miloh will be moving the SEM to a safe location but if you want to help make sure no pieces get lost maybe you can help.  there are tiny boxes with filaments in them and an ultrasonic cleaner, probably scattered around the trash pile thats forming at nb now.  they are doing a dump run thursday.  the SEM got moved out of its safe place without a single email about it to anyone that i know of.

so help miloh find all the SEM pieces before its too late!

-jake

On Tue, 11 Jun 2013, Chris Murphy wrote:

Hi guys,

 Instead of taking the Noisebridge SEM, I have a great idea...

Let's get another SEM! 

One of the problems with the Noisebridge SEM is that the community of SEM experts is too small. So let's enlarge that community
by getting another. 

If you do get the Noisebridge SEM, NB will be out of a significant resource and its repair and operation are likely to fall on
the same exact shoulders. You will also encounter ALL of the same problems that NB has encountered and will need to go to extreme
effort to build infrastructure around the microscope (which we haven't completed). 

I have a lead on another SEM that would be free. They aren't as rare as you might think. 

In my previous e-mail, which may not have been posted to the sudo room list yet (I'm not a list member), I didn't understand that
there was a plan afoot to take the NB SEM (which technically does not belong to NB anyway, it's on loan). I thought that someone
named Dr. X was going to donate another SEM to sudo room. I generally disapprove of dismantling Noisebridge resources. 

Chris

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 11, 2013, at 15:25, Ryan Bethencourt <ryan.bethencourt@gmail.com> wrote:

      Great thanks Jake, we're working on the space thing for CCL and hoping to have one in the nearish term... it's kind
      of like the early days of Sudo Room when we talked on and on about getting a space... until we finally got one :)


On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 3:16 PM, Jake <jake@spaz.org> wrote:
      it is currently in a relatively safe place, especially considering that moving it is the most dangerous thing
      to it.  So it should stay where it is until a new place is chosen for it.

      Since Sudoroom doesn't have enough room for it and CCL has NO room yet, moving it will have to wait.

      However, i know of a pickup truck that can be used to move it if and when the time comes.

      -jake

      On Tue, 11 Jun 2013, Ryan Bethencourt wrote:

            Thanks Jake, It looks like we may have to rent a uhaul truck to move it as it looks large?
            Sounds like Ben has a place for us to store it and we have another Counter Culture labs
            co-founder/member (Shanee) who knows how to use it and said she could teach us :)


            On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 3:10 PM, Benjamin Lack <benlack@gmail.com> wrote:
                  It looks like it would be fine sitting in a garage for a few months, if so, I have space.
            Ben


            On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 2:46 PM, Patrik D'haeseleer <patrikd@gmail.com> wrote:
                  That would be excellent!

            Here's the user manual with all the specs:

            https://www.noisebridge.net/images/c/c7/ISI_Mini-TV_SEM_Manual-Troubleshooting-Reference_Guide.pdf

            It's a desktop machine, so doesn't necessarily take up any more space than some bio equipment.
            Wonder how easy it would be to DIY a gold sputterer...

            Patrik

            On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 1:15 PM, Jake <jake@spaz.org> wrote:
                  I'm sure that Dr. X would be very pleased if it went to Counter Culture Labs.  He just wants
            it to be understood and appreciated, rather than sitting
                  neglected.  CCL should hurry up and buy the church building before the price goes up on it,
            and I can help transport it.

                  It is basically an equipment rack and a cart of accessories, so it doesn't take up a ton of
            room.  But it's good to be able to set the microscope and
                  vacuum pump on different structures so that the vibration of the pump doesn't shake the
            scope.  Also, to take higher resolution pictures it will be
                  necessary to construct an analog data importer but that will likely just be a computer with a
            slightly modified sound card and some software.

                  keep in mind that to view organic (nonmetallic) things you will need a gold sputterer.

                  -jake

                  On Tue, 11 Jun 2013, Ryan Bethencourt wrote:

                        Hi Jake,
                        I'd be very happy to help transport the scanning electron microscope and if
                        it can't fit into Sudo Room, I'd also love to float the idea of potentially
                        housing it at Counter Culture Labs (the Sudo room DIY Bio offshoot) when we
                        eventually open up. Any thoughts?

                        How big is the SEM (I know some of them can be huge which might prohibit
                        location)?

                        All the best,
                        Ryan

                        Best,
                        Ryan


                        On Sun, Jun 9, 2013 at 6:33 PM, Jake <jake@spaz.org> wrote:
                              sudoroom is being offered a scanning electron microscope (by Dr.
                              X).

                              it comes with all the stuff and actually works, but it requires
                              a bit of knowledge to operate it.  unfortunately Mr. X is not
                              available to train us how to operate it, however Chris Murphy
                              may be available and knows how it works.

                              It would take up about 30 square feet of space including the
                              place where the operators sit or stand.  It is not computerized
                              like the one at Pumping Station One, it is an analog machine.
                               Pictures can be taken at high resolution by long-exposure photo
                              of the CRT on the front of the machine, or we can build an
                              analog data importer to reconstruct images at much higher
                              resolution if we desire.

                              The cash price of this SEM is $10 in gas and tolls, I will
                              provide the vehicle and movement.  The rest of the price of the
                              machine in blood and sacrifice is in the time and energy to
                              learn its intricicies and idiosynchracies while learning about
                              vacuum pumps and vacuum oil, and how not to let vacuum oil
                              contaminate your vacuum and get all over your filament.

                              https://noisebridge.net/wiki/SEM

                              ironically, one of the reasons it doesn't work as well at
                              noisebridge is because the whole place shakes when the city
                              buses ride by.  and sudoroom is apparently directly over the
                              bart tunnel so i wonder how different it will be.

                              -jake
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Tel: (415) 825 2705
ryan.bethencourt@gmail.com

www.bamh1.com
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www.logos-press.com/books/biotechnology_business_development.php