cluster

[Jared]

David Nicol wrote:
> There's this very old and neearly dead daydream of having
> a public internet-login at the Infinite Sun space, 1732 Oak,
> downtown.  That might be a good place to set up the cluster.
> Especially if they succeed in putting a windmill on the roof
> for the electricity.  Anyone feel like putting together
> a general power supply that can switch 24VDC into everything
> you need to make AT* motherboards happy?

It is indeed very old, but it is _not_ nearly dead. A month ago
I spoke with Adam, who manages the building at 1732 Oak, and am
presently expecting to open up a Free Software consulting
business at 1730 Oak in mid-October. I am drawing up the
contract presently, and have already committed to three
years of fractional T1 in the building, as mentioned earlier
on this list. (The 150 feet of CAT5 Tony provided me is
to be used in this building).

I think it would be nice to couple a "cluster" site with
a public access internet-login, as well as experiment with
some wireless access to the location. I do not have the T3
connection that Attaway mentioned, nor the bombshelter
with backups mentioned by Dustin, so in the end their sites
might be more appealing to the group's needs.

However, there is plenty of easily-accessed room on the
first floor of 1730 Oak, which is only a small portion
of the three-storey warehouse. It is six blocks south
of the current meetingplace for KCLUG (which is at
the downtown KC Library (12th and Oak)). It is also an
excellent location to advertise the obscure meme of free
software, because the large front windows of 1730 Oak
can be seen by a few thousand people each day as they
drive to/from work. I intend the words "free software" to
be displayed rather prominently for that reason, and will
have signage up within a couple of weeks.

Adam's ongoing stipulation is as always that if it helps
people do things for free, or get involved with recycling,
or cleaning up the environment, or experimenting with
gardening, or alternative energy, etcs, he is interested in
making the warehouse space available at a reduced rate.
Yet I will not propose to speak for Adam, for he is a
fluid-dynamo-a-la-Buckminster-Fuller of ideas who must be
met in person to be understood in any degree.

Having been involved in several experiments with the space
at 1732/1730 Oak, I will say that any idear like this needs
to be carefully and sensibly laid out in advance. For example,
as the building presently stands, security is an issue because
many people have keys to the front door of 1730. So I am
gathering materials to build walls for a secure office space
immediately inside that front door. Such concerns as this
need to be practically considered.

The whole point of this endeavor, which is full-time for
me, is to prove that free software principles can work from
the ground up. Even for a slacker like me.

-Jared