From shawn at freegeek.org Thu Sep 6 18:33:22 2007 From: shawn at freegeek.org (shawnerama) Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2007 18:33:22 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Re: [freegeek-volunteer] Vancouver volunteer In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <46E0AA62.3090607@freegeek.org> Hi, Nelson! A brand spankin' new Free Geek started up in your fair city about a year ago. I'm CC:ing them so they can respond. In the meantime, check out http://freegeekvancouver.org for more info. Happy volunteering! Shawn Free Geek Portland Nelson Chow wrote: > Hi, > > I saw an article about your organization in 24, a Vancouver Canada > publication that mentioned that you were opening up a local office here. I > was just wondering how I can volunteer and who would be the right person to > contact. > > Any help would be graciously appreciated. > > > Warmest Regards, > Nelson > Vancouver, Canada > > ____________________________________________________________ > Volunteer information requests mailing list > http://lists.freegeek.org/listinfo/volunteer From david.repa at freegeekvancouver.org Thu Sep 6 23:12:32 2007 From: david.repa at freegeekvancouver.org (David Repa) Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:12:32 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Free Geek needs a Truck Message-ID: <1189145552.16956.16.camel@tiburon.internal> Hello Everyone, Unfortunately the truck we used once a week to recycle 700lbs of sheet steel was vandalized beyond repair. We are hoping to find someone who has an older (1970 - 1990) full size pick-up truck that they would be willing to a)donate to us b)trade for a nice computer c)sell for a small amount of money The truck can be a total beater as it does not need to go far. It just needs to haul our scrap sheet steel, which takes up a lot of room in our shop if it doesn't get cleared out every week. Thank you for your time, -- David Repa Coordinator http://freegeekvancouver.org O - 604-879-4335 C - 604-690-7372 From freegeek at mrashley.com Tue Sep 11 22:43:37 2007 From: freegeek at mrashley.com (Ashley) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 22:43:37 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Free Geek General Meeting - September 11, 2007 Message-ID: <79bd33b30709112243q60ac025wfbacec2aea84c38a@mail.gmail.com> Agenda ====== 1. Introductions 2. Old business In attendance ====== Jeff Ashley Sim Sean H Bernie Joe Ed Mike G Jitin Ifny Rusty Joe Cameron Simon David James Old Business ============ - UBC FG-like org - SFU FG affiliate - Under the Volcano festival - Encorp bottle depot accepting computer hardware - Bridge building with other orgs - Min of Env - RCBC - Teck Cominco - Financial report - Fundraising/marketing - Barcamp - Help needed with communications New Business ============ - The "box" - Encorp - Sustainability/Recycling - Workgroup - $$$ The "Box" --------- - A package was delivered from Dustin Harriman for Free Geek - An Intellivision II with many games! Encorp ------ - Meeting today at ESABC (Electronic Stewardship Association of BC) - Industry organisation - Stewardship program has no reuse component - everything destroyed (smelter) - "Landmark meeting" - invite only to talk about reuse issues - RCBC - Industry leaders - Free Geek - reBoot - Computers for Schools (CFS) - BAN - Mostly presentations, little time for discussion or solutions - Free Geek has been foremost in dialogue regarding reuse - Reuse, reselling, and refurbishment are the bigger picture - big industry already present in refurb/resell - May not come to much with ESABC - Free Geek's path may present more of an economic opportunity to work with other orgs because we're dismantling donations to valuable scrap - ESABC program hasn't been advertising much - Free Geek is getting more donations since the ESABC program started - ICI - Industrial/Commercial recycling - What is FG doing to get these donations? - Will this conflict with our partnership with CFS? - Concerns over whether FG can survive as a recycling operation - Meeting objectives - FG previously asked to give input into reuse specs - Brought this input to the meet - September 5th meet - Invited reBoot, CFS, Salvation Army, others - Discussion over whether reuse orgs can cherry pick from recycling inputs - Info to be found on the wiki at http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Free_Geek_Vancouver Sustainability/Recycling ------------------------ - "No viable recycler" - 36Zero Waste is not open and we do not know when they will be - 36Zero suggested we send our materials to the ESABC program - 36Zero has begun to hold back some of their downstream vendors - What options do we have without 36Zero waste? - options - provincial program - Tech Cominco - currently auditing - FG's auditing means - visiting facilities - talking with trusted people/orgs - looking at environmental record - BAN mediating discussion with Tech Cominco - We may need to choose the lesser of evils and send to the smelter - If we work with the prov program, we may be able to sway the process - Concern we may become "victims of our own success" - Let's stick to what we do best - Some desire to shift our focus a bit from e-waste to Open Source software/systems, education - Skim the cream off of the waste destined for Encorp and produce open systems - Business plan built around recycling revenue - We may be forced to give our waste to the provincial program where we get no revenue - How will we make money? - Repair shop (like Our Community Bikes) - Linux OEM (original equipment manufacturer) - Training (software classes) - Do we need to scale back? - Thrift store could be leveraged - What to do with monitor recycling fees collected? - Human resource requirements - Too many responsibilities laid on too few people - What is our mandate given what we know now? - Encorp wasn't started when FGV was born - Encorp has taken some of the the e-waste export motivation out - Smuggling e-waste still a lucrative industry - Too big a battle to fight the Encorp smelting program - Has our recycling ethic been undercut by the provincial program? - All media opportunities have been used to push Linux, Open Source software, etc., education - According to BAN - reuse is the highest form of recycling - just getting some reuse going is a good thing - What to do with the current skids clogging up the shop? - big ethical problem with the monitors - proposed - store monitors until 36Zero Waste opens - what if they don't open? - ship somewhere acceptable as a one-off - public trust built around ethical recycling of monitors - fees collected under this premise - Use Total Reclaim? - can't due to export restrictions - We need to keep working on a Plan B to avoid problems moving our output Workgroups ========== - 14 groups all with mailing lists - Need more activity on workgroups - Some very solid support so far, but more required - Regular meetings for certain workgroups - Imminent - Operations - Education - Communications - Hardware grants - Cull non-active mailing list subscribers? - General should be the only place for general support or listeners - It's a problem when a meeting is suggested and there is no response - Lists allow people to keep in touch with what is happening in a group - List is a method for group communication, not a synonym - We have a lot of lists which dilutes the pool - Portland has a workgroup structure where workgroups become available as involvement of an volunteer grows - Talk about new technology for workgroup communications at next meeting - Workgroups to be found through the mailing lists at freegeekvancouver.org $$$ === - $4000 grant received from MEC - July - $1500 monitor fees - $1200 thrift store - August - $785 monitor fees - $1500 thrift store - September (current to date of meeting) - $150 monitor fees - $600 thrift store Action =========== - Cut monitor fees - Consensus - Monitor expenditure - 10 skids to be shipped to 36Zero Waste in Calgary - $7 per monitor = $2100 - Consensus - Move business plan to a contingency meeting - Sunday Sept 16 - 14:00 - Location TBA - Consensus -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bowserj at uselessdegree.net Tue Sep 11 23:27:57 2007 From: bowserj at uselessdegree.net (Joe Bowser) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 23:27:57 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Vancouver Mesh Meeting In-Reply-To: <1189145552.16956.16.camel@tiburon.internal> References: <1189145552.16956.16.camel@tiburon.internal> Message-ID: <1189578477.12600.48.camel@bowserj-desktop> Hey This isn't directly FreeGeek Related, but since it can help the needy get nerdy, I figure I'd announce it here. Event: Vancouver Wireless Cadre Kick Off "Free the Wifi and make it mesh" Host: Boris at Bryght When: Thursday, September 13th, at 5:30 PM Where: Bryght Offices. Suite 400, 1 Alexander Street, Vancouver, BC Synopsis: Many have tried, and failed to bring Affordable, Sustainable Wireless Internet Access to Vancouver. In attempting to kill the evil Dial Up Internet Connection by providing something better, we have learned the following: 1. Change must come from the Grassroots 2. Mesh allows for users to own their own infrastructure 3. Wifi is fun So, check out the Meraki Mesh stuff at Bryght, where we'll show off DogOnRails, MIT Roofnet, OLSR and Meraki technologies and talk about how to connect the needy so they can be more nerdy! Hope to see some FreeGeek peeps there! Joe B From humble at resist.ca Wed Sep 12 22:16:16 2007 From: humble at resist.ca (agent humble) Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:16:16 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Ubuntu now bigger than Jesus In-Reply-To: <1189578477.12600.48.camel@bowserj-desktop> References: <1189145552.16956.16.camel@tiburon.internal> <1189578477.12600.48.camel@bowserj-desktop> Message-ID: <200709122216.16182.humble@resist.ca> Check out the side-by-side comparison... http://www.venturecake.com/ubuntu-now-bigger-than-jesus/ From ifny at freegeekvancouver.org Thu Sep 13 00:01:52 2007 From: ifny at freegeekvancouver.org (Ifny) Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:01:52 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] FG Contingency Meeting: Sunday Sept 16, 2pm Message-ID: <46E8E060.70606@freegeekvancouver.org> Hello folks, As per last night's meeting, we'll be having a special contingency meeting this coming Sunday. This meeting will focus on our business plan, in particular adapting it to recent changes within the industry due to the new provincial recycling program, as well as recent developments at Free Geek. All are welcome. Sunday Sept. 16 2pm Location TBA ~Ifny From david.repa at freegeekvancouver.org Fri Sep 14 17:23:15 2007 From: david.repa at freegeekvancouver.org (David Repa) Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:23:15 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] FG Contingency Meeting: Sunday Sept 16, 2pm In-Reply-To: <46E8E060.70606@freegeekvancouver.org> References: <46E8E060.70606@freegeekvancouver.org> Message-ID: <1189815795.12729.8.camel@freegeek1> Hey Everyone, > Sunday Sept. 16 > 2pm > Location TBA > The meeting will be held at Free Geek, the light house idea didn't work out. -- David From paul.teehan at gmail.com Fri Sep 14 18:12:57 2007 From: paul.teehan at gmail.com (Paul Teehan) Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:12:57 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] FG Contingency Meeting: Sunday Sept 16, 2pm In-Reply-To: <1189815795.12729.8.camel@freegeek1> References: <46E8E060.70606@freegeekvancouver.org> <1189815795.12729.8.camel@freegeek1> Message-ID: Hi guys It is a bad time for me right now, it doesn't look like I can make it. I really would like to be there but I have too much other stuff to do. I will inject my opinion here as my way of contributing. :-) i know the search for a recycler was protracted and contentious - but perhaps it is worth reopening the debate? if we need cash flow outside the thrift store, we need to sell our scrap to someone. in particular I was looking at genesis recycling's page and if they do everything they say they do, I can't really imagine anyone better. given that 36zero was going to give us some money for our scrap, presumably they would too? also here is something to chew on. I've been reading a book called 'High Tech Trash' by Elizabeth Grossman. there's a link on BAN's website. it's a fantastic book for anyone interested in the environmental impact of high tech. early on she talks about the raw materials used in computers. we know that gold is used extensively (mostly coating connectors and pins). gold is also fully recyclable, although most of the gold in electronics (~70%) is 'new'. you probably have an idea that mining is not particularly environmentally friendly. what you might be surprised to hear is that one ton of discarded PCs contains about as much gold as 17 tons of gold ore. if you want to mine gold, it is more efficient to dig through old PCs than to dig in the ground. this made me think of the provincial program and everything ending up in the smelter and all those materials being lost instead of recycled. certainly it is a good argument against landfill. now a bunch of websites have sprung up, such as at encorp, and it seems like the smelter is not necessarily part of the plan (at least from what I can find): "Following collection, designated end-of-life equipment will be moved to consolidation sites in selected areas of the province where transport-efficient loads of sorted material types will be assembled. Full loads of collected designated end-of-life material are then transported to approved processing and recycling contractors. All recyclers will be under contract with ESABC and required to meet Electronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) Recycling Vendor Qualification Standards to ensure materials are processed in an environmentally sound manner with appropriate health, safety and export provisions." As long as the stuff is recycled properly and safely, the environmental angle is taken care of (setting aside the reuse problems for the moment). But if we have the option, we should ensure we're getting well compensated for our scrap. good luck at the meeting - Paul On 9/14/07, David Repa wrote: > Hey Everyone, > > > Sunday Sept. 16 > > 2pm > > Location TBA > > > > The meeting will be held at Free Geek, the light house idea didn't work > out. > > -- > David > > > _______________________________________________ > http://freegeekvancouver.org > 'Helping the needy get nerdy since the beginning of the 3rd millennium' > https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/freegeek-van > From simon at sheff2van.ca Sat Sep 15 06:58:56 2007 From: simon at sheff2van.ca (Simon Pavitt) Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:58:56 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Local Recycle & Reuse Hits A Bureaucratic Roadblock Message-ID: <46EBE520.7030503@sheff2van.ca> Hi geekers Although this is from the US, following the last meeting this story rang some bells: "Let's imagine that you set up a non-profit to recycle electronics and divert computers from going directly into landfills or otherwise being destroyed by a grinder. You look for ways to refurbish these components and possibly recombine them into functional computers that go out to areas and institutions that have difficulty obtaining computers. You might even collect some of the vintage electronics that comes through the door and hang on to this stuff because you think it's cool and somebody may want it someday. Yes, your place looks a bit like a junkyard but it's one that employs people to do something with the junk you collect. And while you have organized these efforts as a charity, you have figured out how to break even from providing these recycling services and you don't need donations or government support. You do all this and then a government inspector drops in one day....." "James [Burgett] told me that he was disappointed that the state seemed to be "actively discouraging the highest and best environment reuse." He said the state pays a firm to destroy the electronics; it doesn't pay him to refurbish and reuse these components, which is much harder. It doesn't pay to do this, he admits, but James and the ACCRC have found a way to make it work. I hope James and ACCRC can work their way around this particular roadblock. " O'Reilly Radar [radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/09/local_recycle_r.html] Alameda County Computer Resource Center [www.accrc.org] Aftermath Technologies [aftermath-technologies.blogspot.com] -- Thanks Simon ======================================== simon pavitt www.headware.co.uk it's not hardware, it's not software, it's headware ======================================== From paul.teehan at gmail.com Sat Sep 15 23:16:36 2007 From: paul.teehan at gmail.com (Paul Teehan) Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2007 23:16:36 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] FG Contingency Meeting: Sunday Sept 16, 2pm In-Reply-To: References: <46E8E060.70606@freegeekvancouver.org> <1189815795.12729.8.camel@freegeek1> Message-ID: What I said about the smelter - I assumed teck is not equipped to handle gold recycling in e-waste, but that may have been premature. according to their website http://www.tcer.ca/ they are currently "removing" circuit boards from the flow (don't know if they store them or if they get rid of them some other way) but future process enhancements they're working on will allow them to recover gold and other metals. see step 5 at http://www.tcer.ca/theprocess.html. high tech trash describes mining companies acquiring e-waste to use as ore for precious metals. teck is a mining company, after all. I would be very interested to know more about their process and how far away they are from these improvements. On 9/14/07, Paul Teehan wrote: > Hi guys > > It is a bad time for me right now, it doesn't look like I can make it. > I really would like to be there but I have too much other stuff to > do. I will inject my opinion here as my way of contributing. :-) > > i know the search for a recycler was protracted and contentious - but > perhaps it is worth reopening the debate? if we need cash flow > outside the thrift store, we need to sell our scrap to someone. in > particular I was looking at genesis recycling's page and if they do > everything they say they do, I can't really imagine anyone better. > given that 36zero was going to give us some money for our scrap, > presumably they would too? > > also here is something to chew on. I've been reading a book called > 'High Tech Trash' by Elizabeth Grossman. there's a link on BAN's > website. it's a fantastic book for anyone interested in the > environmental impact of high tech. > > early on she talks about the raw materials used in computers. we know > that gold is used extensively (mostly coating connectors and pins). > gold is also fully recyclable, although most of the gold in > electronics (~70%) is 'new'. you probably have an idea that mining is > not particularly environmentally friendly. what you might be > surprised to hear is that one ton of discarded PCs contains about as > much gold as 17 tons of gold ore. if you want to mine gold, it is > more efficient to dig through old PCs than to dig in the ground. > > this made me think of the provincial program and everything ending up > in the smelter and all those materials being lost instead of recycled. > certainly it is a good argument against landfill. now a bunch of > websites have sprung up, such as at encorp, and it seems like the > smelter is not necessarily part of the plan (at least from what I can > find): > > "Following collection, designated end-of-life equipment will be moved > to consolidation sites in selected areas of the province where > transport-efficient loads of sorted material types will be assembled. > Full loads of collected designated end-of-life material are then > transported to approved processing and recycling contractors. All > recyclers will be under contract with ESABC and required to meet > Electronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) Recycling Vendor > Qualification Standards to ensure materials are processed in an > environmentally sound manner with appropriate health, safety and > export provisions." > > As long as the stuff is recycled properly and safely, the > environmental angle is taken care of (setting aside the reuse problems > for the moment). But if we have the option, we should ensure we're > getting well compensated for our scrap. > > good luck at the meeting > - Paul > > > > On 9/14/07, David Repa wrote: > > Hey Everyone, > > > > > Sunday Sept. 16 > > > 2pm > > > Location TBA > > > > > > > The meeting will be held at Free Geek, the light house idea didn't work > > out. > > > > -- > > David > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > http://freegeekvancouver.org > > 'Helping the needy get nerdy since the beginning of the 3rd millennium' > > https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/freegeek-van > > > From bowserj at uselessdegree.net Sun Sep 16 19:39:41 2007 From: bowserj at uselessdegree.net (Joe Bowser) Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:39:41 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Free The Net Message-ID: <1189996781.18479.21.camel@bowserj-desktop> Hey Check out http://www.freethenet.ca Also check out the Google Group at http://groups.google.com/group/freethenet-ca This is for the crazy Vancouver mesh project that we're currently working on. Currently we're looking both for people who are looking to share their bandwidth and others who don't have bandwidth to participate. Feel free to check it out and ask questions. Joe From tlowe at shaw.ca Mon Sep 17 22:14:25 2007 From: tlowe at shaw.ca (Terry Lowe) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:14:25 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Linux Geek needed for part-time contractor work Message-ID: <0JOJ0081RT82JXN0@l-daemon> Hello all, I'd sooner post this here than on Craig's list, because I have a better feel for the people it's addressed to. (If this is against the rules, just yell at me, and I'll go away.) My business partner and I have a need for a contractor who can work on an as-needed basis, helping out to maintain a Linux-based web server. To start with, we need to automate the backup of a MySQL database (including copying the completed backup to a different machine for safekeeping). This needs to be done on a daily basis. There will also be small garbage collection jobs, and other little tasks that will arise from time to time. Must also be willing to write basic documentation for anything developed for administration, and be able to explain how it works. Nothing too complicated. Why don't we do it ourselves? We don't know how; we're programmers, not sys admins. The server's OS is Red Hat Enterprise, and the machine is locked away in a very secure cage down at Pacific Centre (hosted by Canada Web Hosting). You will probably never see this machine, so all tasks must be done remotely, and you will need a static IP address to be allowed access to it. Confidentiality is assumed, and expected. The pay is negotiable (the client does not mind paying professional rates), and references are required. Please address any responses to me: terryl at shaw.ca Thanks, Terry From rcyeske at gmail.com Tue Sep 18 03:11:56 2007 From: rcyeske at gmail.com (Ryan Yeske) Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 03:11:56 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] software workgroup meeting Message-ID: <87wsuob7v7.fsf@tarn.lan> There will be a software workgroup meeting this Thursday, Sept 20 to discuss some issues surrounding the free geek database and other outstanding issues. 630pm at the Freegeek shop. From ifny at freegeekvancouver.org Wed Sep 19 01:29:57 2007 From: ifny at freegeekvancouver.org (Ifny) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:29:57 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] General Meeting Minutes - September 2007 Message-ID: <46F0DE05.9020407@freegeekvancouver.org> Free Geek Contingency Meeting Minutes - Sept 16, 2007 Dates for upcoming meetings: Communications Workgroup - Tues Sept 25 6:30pm Content Workgroup - Sat Sept 29 6:30pm General Meeting - Tues Oct 09 6:30pm Operations Workgroup - Tues Oct 16 6:30pm Communications Workgroup - Tues Oct 25 6:30pm The monthly General Meeting will continue to be held on the second Tuesday of the month. Hereafter, unless otherwise stated, the Operations meeting will be on the third Tuesday of the month, & the Communcations meeting will be on the fourth Tuesday of the month. Addtionally, all other workgroups are requested to have monthly meetings, & for open workgroups, the date and time should be announced on the General listserve. It is suggested that the *first* agenda at such a meeting should be to set the date and time of the next meeting. Present for the contigency meeting: Ifny, Sim, David, Ryan, Ashley, Rusty, Joe B., Mike M., Simon, Mike (the other Mike), Scott, Terry, Jeff, Keith. Facilitator - Sim Regulator - Ifny Scribe - Terry Minute checkers - Ashley & Ifny Pastry Chef - Ashley The Agenda shifted throughout, but basically came down to: - Money, and the lack of revenue from recyclables (particularly CRT monitors), - The amount of space those items are taking up - The need to focus on alternative ways of making money. - A lack of people in the shop on a day-to-day basis meaning David's time is spent doing things that other people could do, such as answering the phone. David's time could be better spent doing things like dealing with customers. - Free Geek Vancouver's mandate Lack of revenue from recyclables: The Electronic Stewardship Association of BC (ESABC) recycling program - where people can drop off old computers at Salvation Army or Encorp bottle/can depots for free has made FG's $10 CRT-monitor processing fee unsustainable. Additionally, 36ZeroWaste has not yet opened their local facility, and has said that they won't be open until October. They have also suggested that the identity of some of their vendors may be proprietary. The new disposal fee collected from people buying new computers disappears into a closed loop, and is currently only available to 3 Canadian recyclers (2 smelters and a grinder). None of it is available to FG. FG's business plan needs to be readjusted; it is not currently feasible to pay for our monitors to be processed. As such, the monitor fee is no longer being charged by FG. What to do with the skids of CRT monitors piled up on skids in the shop? Due to the trust the public has put in us, we will not be using the ESABC program for these skids. FG is pursuing 2 options at the moment. We may ship to 36ZeroWaste's counterpart in Alberta, or we may send them to Total Reclaim in Seattle, who have taken the BAN pledge, and are ethically and environmentally acceptable. We may get a possible discount if FG also sends along stuff they can make money from. Environment Canada says it is okay to do this, and Canada/US customs agencies will be contacted for their input. ;Business Plan FGV recently expanded & articulated its business plan. It can be read at http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/The_Plan The business plan will remain largely the same, but with no more recycling revenue, and no more monitor fee. This revenue represented approximately $500 - $600 per month. Joe B. expressed concern that FGV is straying too far from FOSS promotion, & focusing too much on recycling. It was declared that free & open source software is integral to our raison d'etre, besides being awesome, and that in relation to revenue, it can be a good long term provider. It was also suggested that we evaluate immediate revenue streams. Sources of immediate revenue are: the thrift store, data-retrieval/on-site erasing and pick-ups. Grants are bonus. Are there alternative ways to make money? Longer-term goals include expanding pick-ups, services and hardware sources; Ifny suggested cultivating ICI (Industrial/Commercial/Institutional) hardware sources. David gave us a breakdown of FG costs: about $2,500 per month, plus interest on a $4,000 debt. The thrift store revenue is down this month, primarily because no one is available to spruce it up and attend to it, and because there is no one available to deal with telephone calls, drop-offs, etc. The feeling is that the thrift store could make a lot more money (as could sales of items plucked from the general stream) if there was more personnel around each day. Since the store is already up & running, we can optimize what we've got at hand. Thrift store optimization: The thrift store needs renovation and improvements to make it inviting. It also needs signage and pricing displayed, & demo systems up and running for people to look at and try. Demo systems could run on the store counter, or near the bottom of the stairs. Even though the computer lab takes up a lot of space, it was noted that it still generates revenue (for example, during workshops & Windowsless Weds, people often buy things). Ifny proposed "A month of Sundays" to get shop improvements done (see below under Commits). At this point, we asked David what he needed to free up his time to do more productive things. He replied at some length: - three people in the shop every day it's open (could include him) to help volunteers, run the thrift shop & answer phones. - space reallocated (ie make the store bigger, get rid of the 300+ CRTs) - someone to do accounting (or even just bookkeeping) - laptops given priority to fix and sell (laptops are good sellers) - signage and pricing in the store - set costs to do things like data recovery - eventually a cash register and POS system - voicemail or bodies to deal with those phone calls from people who simply need to know where FG is located. Our suggestions on how to do this: - Wikify a schedule so people can see which blocks of time need filling, and so people can fill those blocks in on their own. - People need to know how to sell things, and how to register such sales. The FGDB is not reliable, and is no longer desireable. Until the Software group can provide alternatives, we decided that a paper-based system (receipt books) will do; it has the added advantage of being easy to teach to people. All the transaction information currently in the database will be migrated to spreadsheets. We will continue to use the FGDB for volunteer hours/contacts. - Store optimization (signage price sheets etc) - We need more people helping at the Geek regularly! ;Free Geek Vancouver Mandate: Our mandate/goals discussion yielded the following talking points. These are presented here the order they arose. We went once around the group and asked, "What does Free Geek mean to you?" Linux / FOSS / Community Education / Hardware Reuse / assisting non-profit groups Creating and empowering community, self-determination Recording history of FOSS & computers in general Innovation in software & hardware The ability to influence or guide the political process * Commits Software group to rescue accounting data from FGDB, and store it in another database. Volunteer list and schedule to be wikified: Jeff will do that, Ifny will help Sunday construction: Sim, Keith, and Mike. Contribute to building computers: Scott, Jeff. Contribute to being one of three bodies in the shop: Sim, Mike, Jeff, Scott, Ryan, David, Ifny Sim closed the meeting by announcing, "We're awesome!" From ben at computerdolt.com Thu Sep 20 10:52:33 2007 From: ben at computerdolt.com (Ben Holt) Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:52:33 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] FG / VanLUG newbie training In-Reply-To: <46F0DE05.9020407@freegeekvancouver.org> References: <46F0DE05.9020407@freegeekvancouver.org> Message-ID: <46F2B361.6030102@computerdolt.com> Ifny said the following on 09/19/2007 01:29 AM: > Linux / FOSS / Community > Education / Hardware Reuse / assisting non-profit groups > Creating and empowering community, self-determination > Recording history of FOSS & computers in general > Innovation in software & hardware > The ability to influence or guide the political process Hi Ifny, I was going through the minutes of your last meeting and was reminded of something I've been meaning to bring up. VanLUG hasn't done much newbie related stewardship in the last few years and that is something we are hoping to change in the months to come. With FG churning out linux boxes and newbies there should be an opportunity for our two organisations to compliment each others efforts. Our first planned "Newbie Night" will be our regular monthly meeting on November 19th. We will hopefully have a second one in the early Spring or thereabouts. At this point we haven't set the topics that we would like to cover and so this would be a good time to discuss what topics FG covers with newbies so that we can avoid or at least reduce overlap and build on each others efforts. - Ben From bowserj at uselessdegree.net Thu Sep 27 17:18:06 2007 From: bowserj at uselessdegree.net (Joe Bowser) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:18:06 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Vancouver FreeTheNet.ca Meeting Message-ID: <1190938686.19186.17.camel@bowserj-desktop> Hey I know that this is not directly FreeGeek Vancouver Related, but here it is: http://public.meraki.com/network/freethenetca http://www.freethenet.ca We're currently building a Mesh Network in our own backyard. You may have heard of the article in Tooth and Dagger, or me talking about it on the CBC, (or passing around a white mesh box at recent FreeGeek meetings) but we're slowly doing what the City of Vancouver can't seem to do, and what the big telcos are unwilling to do. We're building networks to bring broadband internet access to the people who can't afford it. We're building bridges over the digital divide, one block at a time! But, we need your help! We need people who want to help build mesh networks. We can take anyone, from someone who knows nothing about computers, to someone who is a Wireless/Mesh hacker guru, and everyone in between. To find out how you can get involved, go to the 2nd Ever FreeTheNet.ca meeeting (formerly known as Vancouver Wireless Cadre). Date: October 2, 2007 Time: 6:30 PM Location: Bryght Offices, Suite 400, 1 Alexander Street Vancouver, BC (Go to the west side of Chill Winston to enter) If you missed FreeGeek's first meetings, and wish you could have been there, then you'll definitely want to go to this meeting! We're going to take "Helping the needy get nerdy to the next level" and we need your help. If you can't make it to the meeting, feel free to talk about it on the Google Group. http://groups.google.com/group/freethenet-ca?hl=en I apologize once again for the spam, but I'm starting to see the same faces at both meetings and I want that to be the trend! -- Joe Bowser From david.repa at freegeekvancouver.org Sat Sep 29 10:18:45 2007 From: david.repa at freegeekvancouver.org (David Repa) Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 10:18:45 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Car for Monday Message-ID: <1191086325.18992.66.camel@freegeek1> Hello Everyone! I was curious if anyone has a car I could borrow or if someone would be willing to drive out to Abottsford on Monday(Oct 1) morning. I need to take a look at a sizable amount of equipment that someone wants us to recycle. From dfdumaresq at gmail.com Sat Sep 29 12:10:43 2007 From: dfdumaresq at gmail.com (Dave Dumaresq) Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 12:10:43 -0700 Subject: [FreeGeek] Re: FreeGeek-Van Digest, Vol 12, Issue 11 In-Reply-To: <46fea118.03098c0a.0ef3.ffff990aSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> References: <46fea118.03098c0a.0ef3.ffff990aSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: I have a car you can borrow, but you must have held a drivers license for at least 10 years. You can contact me at dfdumaresq at gmail dot com -Dave On 9/29/07, freegeek-van-request at lists.resist.ca < freegeek-van-request at lists.resist.ca> wrote: > > Send FreeGeek-Van mailing list submissions to > freegeek-van at lists.resist.ca > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/freegeek-van > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > freegeek-van-request at lists.resist.ca > > You can reach the person managing the list at > freegeek-van-owner at lists.resist.ca > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of FreeGeek-Van digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Car for Monday (David Repa) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 10:18:45 -0700 > From: David Repa > Subject: [FreeGeek] Car for Monday > To: FG-General > Message-ID: <1191086325.18992.66.camel at freegeek1> > Content-Type: text/plain > > Hello Everyone! > > I was curious if anyone has a car I could borrow or if someone would be > willing to drive out to Abottsford on Monday(Oct 1) morning. I need to > take a look at a sizable amount of equipment that someone wants us to > recycle. > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > http://freegeekvancouver.org > 'Helping the needy get nerdy since the beginning of the 3rd millennium' > https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/freegeek-van > > > End of FreeGeek-Van Digest, Vol 12, Issue 11 > ******************************************** > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: