Is anyone out there?

[Pete Marchetto]

Have we completely stalled? Who would be interested in getting together for a meet-and-greet dinner somewhere?

-Pete

_________________________

Pete Marchetto 

Engineer, Bioacoustics Research Program

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

1.607.254.6281

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

[Aaron Silber]

It would be really disappointing to have this effort end up falling apart. Who's still with us?

--
Pffffft.

[Cameron]

I'm still in!  And seconding Pete's suggestion that we get together for dinner or something.

- Cameron

[travis...@gmail.com]

I'm a latecomer, but definitely interested!

[Travis Fredericks]

I'm also interested, but I'm away at college for the time being. I'm available weekends though.

[Christopher Westling]

Hi, guys,

I'm still here, but I'm technically an NPC for the time being.  I have a brand new son and have only recently been re-hired at Cornell, so I'm short on time, funds (and sleep!).

I'll be glad to participate as soon as I have some time and funds on my side, but I can't really consider myself a member until then.  That hasn't stopped me from thinking about some of the problems the group is facing, though.  I have a couple of questions for anyone/everyone:

Has anyone looked into the question of insurance?  I know we just want a space where we bring our own tools and projects and have a casual landlord-tenant relationship where we stash our stuff there, and come and play when we want to.  If we are renting, I'm curious to know what the insurance might cost to protect the group (and the property owners) against severed fingers, corneal damage and chemical burns (safety goggles and gloves, anyone?) in addition to fire, structural damage or massive electrical overload (gotta watch those Van de Graff generators and Tesla coils).

Has anyone considered teaming with like-minded groups?  I used to get a lot of geek-work done in my local community theatre when I lived elsewhere for a while.  They usually have a shop, power tools, and many of the things on the space list.  Plus, your average stagehand/theatre geek looks a lot like the kind of hacker we are looking for-- maybe we should drop Ithacka membership flyers in all local theatres?  I was idly wondering this weekend how much time we'd have to trade in terms of set-building, painting and hanging lights to get some space on demand and a small locked room to call our own.  Who knows?  Might even be able to bring some advanced technical knowledge to bear and help bring our acting brothers into the 21st century in a couple of ways.  If anyone decides to look closer at this idea, send me an email-- I've got some specific ideas.

I also have a recurring dream about a DIY automotive repair space that doubles as a hackerspace.  I think there might be a way to "pay the rent" by finding a place where we can market a warm, dry car repair experience, and create a dual-use environment that meets our needs too.  I'm working on a not-for-profit business plan in my "free time" and would be glad to have input from the group.  If anyone is interested, drop a line at cmwes...@gmail.com and I'll send you my rough notes.

Sorry I can't be more active in the group right now, but I'll do my best to keep up with emails and the blog.

Thanks!
Chris Westling
cmwes...@gmail.com

[Travis Fredericks]

If I can make a suggestion, nothing says stalled like a web site that hasn't been updated in 2 months. Even if it's just a moderator fielding suggestions, I think it would be good if somebody would post something once or twice a week just to keep up the momentum.

[Pete Marchetto]

Can any of you e-mail me with any projects you're currently working on, and I'll post a little blurb about them to the site?

-Pete

[Sam Fladung]

I added a couple of projects that I've been working on to the forum thread. Surely I'm not the only one who is currently working on or has recently finished projects.

--Sam

[Cameron]

I've posted about stuff I'm working on to the forum too.  Unfortunately, no pictures-- just descriptions.

- Cameron

[Lea LSF]

Hi,
I was initially really into working on this project, but then realized
that I have way too much on my plate already.

Here's the project I'm working on currently. www.dachaproject.com and
our blog www.greennettledacha.wordpress.com.

I love the idea of the hacker space and hope it stays alive!

Godspeed!
Lea LSF