[Noisebridge-discuss] Ask The Food Hackers

[Johny Radio]

On 7/26/2013 6:41 PM, Dan Cote wrote:
> I was one of the organizers of tastebridge for six months. I also like 
> to cook. I also got sick from cleaning parts of Noisebridge, wood that 
> has been soaked in piss and shit. The kitchen had wooden cabinets that 
> were marinated in mouse piss and shit and dead roach juice.

Dan, I share your disgust-- i avoid the kitchen, it so foul and toxic. 
You have my agreement there.

I also think the next kitchen runs the same risk, if we do not remove 
and PREVENT this on-going mouse, cockroach, and fruit-fly infestation. I 
feel Nb operates too much in crisis-mode in many things-- messes, 
infestations, inappropriate users of the space, equipment, money. Not 
enough planning for success, not enough prevention of undesirable 
results, too much reacting to crises. Another example is Hacker Alley, 
which ALWAYS descends into such utter chaos that you cannot even WALK in 
there. Then a bunch of fine people spend a day cleaning it up, which is 
awesome, and thanks. But then it descends into chaos again. And then again.

> I cleaned some of Tony's mess inside the elevator shaft.

for those who don't know, you're referring to human excrement. Thank 
you, Dan.

> Some hackers resent the kitchen because people use it for sustenance 
> cooking

Yes, i /almost /agree with that: i resent that /use /of the kitchen, not 
the kitchen itself. I feel that's not an appropriate use of the kitchen, 
because that's /not food hacking-- /they are not food hackers. If this 
is who you meant, when you said "people have been complaining about food 
hackers", then Dan i suggest it would be more accurate to say "people 
have been complaining about NON-food-hackers".

> and leave a mess.

It's hard to tell, sometimes, who's leaving the mess. How do we know 
some of the mess isn't being left by certain full-paying NB members?

> hackers think if we get rid of all our nice things, (kitchen, public 
> computer terminals, phone, etc) that the oogles will go away. Wrong.

I agree with you on that too, Dan. I feel that, effectively addressing 
what people are doing in the space will require getting some clarity on 
what "hacking" is and isn't, as difficult as that may seem. My list of 
"what food-hacking is and isn't" is a modest effort in that direction.

> I want to help build the next kitchen.

awesome, thank you, Dan.

> Please don't say this was done without consulting the community.

i believe i never said that, Dan. I only meant to suggest that food 
hackers be consulted about what kinds of kitchen facilities would be 
useful for food hacking.

However, i maintain the Rebase meeting time is unreasonable (same day as 
general NB meeting), and inconvenient (too early in the evening). I feel 
a decision-making body that will affect the whole NB community in 
potentially very significant ways, has an obligation to go to extra 
lengths to make the meetings as accessible as possible, to as many 
people as possible. This continued refusal to change the meeting time, 
and that my requests have yet to receive even a considerate response 
from Jarrod and other Rebase organizers, strikes me as at-best stubborn 
and unexcellent, at-worst a conscious effort to reduce accessibility of 
the meeting.

It's not like that meeting time was agreed to by the general NB 
community. i was present when it was decided to have the Rebase meetings 
at 6pm on Tuesdays. I may be mistaken, but i do not recall any 
discussion, involving the extended NB community, about Rebase meeting time.

At the time, i thought having rebase on the same day as general meeting 
would be convenient. Then i discovered:

a) this can result, sometimes, in 6 hours of straight meetings. That's 
exhausting and ridiculous. Some of us do have lives outside of noisebridge.

b) 6pm conflicts with my daytime commitments, and i bet i'm not the only 
one.

> The sci-fi kitchen is an olive branch to the hackers who say that 
> "Food hacking is not real hacking."

I think a sci-fi kitchen would be cool and interesting, but i don't see 
how it proves anything about food hacking.

> The indoor solar stove is a burner joke. It will burn down at burning 
> man every year and be considered unsafe for the rest of society.

As organizer of the SF Earth Day DIY & Permaculture Village, I brought 
in a solar oven exhibitor (earthdaysf.org/diy.html). I can imagine an 
indoor version that would be safe. Just takes a little ingenuity, Dan!

Thanks again, Dan, for your dedication.

No response from Dan needed. But Dan, when you say you're "tired of 
discussing it", i hope you are not trying to suppress others' discussion 
of anything they feel needs to be discussed.


Johny Radio

Stick It In Your Ear!

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