Constructing A Geek House 354
Tilde~ writes: "Ever since the first time i read about a geek house, i've always wanted to live in one... very badly... to share an internal network with several like minded individuals just seemed like a perfect...
What i could never do... was find one. So, for those people out there who are living in the know, how does one go about founding a geek house? And are there any individuals in the atlanta area with the same dream?"
Re:Do the wiring yourself... (Score:1)
OR you can go for the 2 cat5e, 2 rg6 for about $.70/foot. The distribution panel will run you about a grand. SO... for a typical 3BR house, you should be able to get all the parts for about 3-5k.
The cable I am talking about can be found here [smarthome.com]
So, before you can the idea of a whole house distribution system and network, do lots of research. It's cheaper than you think.
Are all the moderators on crack tonight? (Score:1)
Re:Are all the moderators on crack tonight? (Score:1)
Re:chicks (Score:1)
Insightful? (was Re:chicks) (Score:1)
"Sentence."
Re:Geek Greeks (Score:2)
How to get your dream geek house. (Score:2)
Easy.
- Copyrights all your codes.
- Sell your codes to propierty software companies.
- Put on your suit. Get a real job.
- Sue everybody who tries to liberate your codes.
- Protect, defend your intellectual property rights
- Hope you can make tons of money out from it.
- Say goodbye to RMS and GPL.
- Find VC, and go IPO.
- Buy land.
- Hire an architect, and, custom build your dream house.
- blowfish
(c)Copyrighted by blowfish. 2000. AllRights Reserved.
Fun for a while (Score:3)
We were all single when we moved in together. Actually the reason we moved in together was because some of us had just become single and wanted to realize some of our dreams of starting a company.
After a while some of us got new girlfriends. Some were more serious about it than others. My girlfriend even lived with us for a short while, but it was clear that living together with your colleagues, friends and girlfriends was not an arragement that would work wery well. People would always work in the living room, day and night. The place was always messy and the kitchen was a disaster. To those who didn't have girlfriends it may also have been a tad traumatic to hear loud noises of people having sex at all hours of the day.
So eventually people started moving out and the geek house dissolved. It was fun to live in one for a while, but you have to remember that things change. People grow up, they meet other people, fall in love, job situations change etc. Today I live with my GF and work with the same people I used to live with. We managed to break up the geek house successfully, so those people are still my best friends.
So do remember that eventually you will want to move out. Make sure that you've thought about what happens if you want out. Make sure that everyone is aware that priorities can change. Make sure that you stay friends.
Splitting up bills (Score:1)
One option I've pondered is having a sole person assume the task of paying for the residence, and the other people do their part by covering costs of net access, cable, utilities, yadda. Naturally this would only work if the costs managed to balance themselves out. Even so, there are probably issues with this approach.
For example, is one person 'owning' the house a good idea? How do you handle people breaking off from the group? What if the 'owning' person wants to jump ship, does he kick everyone else out? That could get seriously messy.
Re:Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:1)
Hard Drive Magnets! Everyone has a few old 100meggers sitting around that aren't being used in the mp3 server, take them apart and use the (very strong) magnets in them for the fridge. You can hold lots with one, like... an ORA book.
Disclaimer: I've never done this myself, but have one, so I can't say if it's from an old HD, or a new one, or what. But heck, I have my bat book up on the fridge with this....
Whiteboard (Score:2)
Where do you _get_ a 4x8 sheet of whiteboard? I've been wondering about that...
Work? (Score:1)
If you have a techie job you shouldn't have to look to far past your co-workers to find someone looking to split rent. Once you put more than one geek in a habitat the whole geek house thing just kind of happens...
Just make sure it's someone you can get along with and have similar tastes in entertainment with. There are two geeks in my house and about 9 computers and a cable modem and DSL, but only 1 kitchen and 1 TV.
Why do you expect to grow up? (Score:2)
I'm serious here. And yes, I'm also just below thirty.
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Re:Geek Greeks (Score:1)
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pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [ncsu.edu].
Re:Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:2)
Also Perl Poetry magnets [perltoys.com].
I smell money. (Score:1)
Hm. I think I'll start scouting around for some places that can be fixed up right.
--
rickf@transpect.SPAM-B-GONE.net (remove the SPAM-B-GONE bit)
Most geek houses are geek wannabe houses (Score:4)
There's plenty of opportunity to be a hacker in a home or make use of products designed by hackers. At the same time you can make a positive impact on the environment, or at least less negative one than your neighbours. Consider the homes at Entertia [enertia.com], they're designed to make it possible to live off the grid, they do their heating and cooling via non-photovoltaic solar energy. The designer of the concept behind these homes is somebody I'd be proud to see use the term 'hacker' to describe themselves. Much more proud than seeing the Kevin Mitnick's of the world describe themselves as such.
There are other alternative energy or renewable resource methods too, this just happens to be one I'm seriously considering for my own housing needs. A home is a system, there's got to be better systems than just a simple thermostat, or even standard electronic thermostats. Put your coding skills to good use and design a heating and cooling system with mechanically inclined friends.
Re:IMHO... (Score:1)
Brag time, huh?
The near perfect geek recipe (found in my house):
What I'm most proud of? Not a single one of these machines is faster than 350 MHz! :-)
Re:/. want ads? (Score:1)
Re:hey - Upstate NY - 716 (Score:1)
Re:IMHO... (Score:1)
Most Geek Houses are assembled one piece at a time. If you continue to live with net-savvy people, you'll get there. Look back on this conversation in 5 years -- I bet your house by then is fully wireless, remote-controllable, and only gets hacked into once or twice a week. ("God dammit, who made coffee at 3AM AGAIN?")
<<RON>>
Re:IMHO... (Score:4)
I think the Real Deal has at least one (preferably about four) cat5 drops in every room and at least a small networking closet. A well-funded Geek House would have a switch as a network backbone, a good-quality firewall that does NAT/PAT, local WINS, DHCP, and DNS servers (can all be on the same box of course) and some sort of high speed connection to the outside world. It would also have a server with installation programs for all the house network games.
Target functionality: any geek can walk in, wire his computer in using DHCP, and be off and running. No CDs or other admin attention required. This allows you to throw impromptu LAN parties, a staple in any modern geek house.
If you have a house full of college-age geeks, you may also want to have a fridge with plentiful alchoholic beverages. But geeks of all ages will appreciate a good stock of liquid caffeine-infusion mechanisms. Coffee is relatively inexpensive but usually doesn't go over with the under-18 crowd. Colas work for almost any guest. If you have an extremely well-heeled geek house, you can even provide munchies, but this will impact the pocketbook nearly as much as a bad computer-games habit.
It is generally a good idea to have maid service, too.
What now, Personals? =) (Score:3)
Seriously, though, is there a real place for geek classifieds and roommate ads?
David E. Weekly [weekly.org]
Re:Atlanta Area Geeks (Score:1)
--
Dave Brooks (db@amorphous.org)
http://www.amorphous.org
I'm in atlanta (Score:1)
--
Dave Brooks (db@amorphous.org)
http://www.amorphous.org
Re:Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:1)
The Android from the Simpsons. The big fat guy who is aka "The Collector" in the Lucy Lawless episode. The guy who runs the comic shop. The guy who gets the medium size star trek utility belt.
oops
Re:His name isn't "The Android" (Score:1)
Check this out for all your the Comic Book Guy [geocities.com] references.
Point taken. CBG would be proud of you.
Pictures of a geek house (Score:1)
Our lounge room [greebo.net] with two of the laptops and essential entertainment equipment. Notice no steenking cat 5 for us!
Re:What about the games?? (Score:1)
Re:Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:1)
IR has dropout problems. I have problems all the time with my various remotes. I need more IR shiny surfaces to encourage the set top box to change channels more easily.
Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:5)
* a big fat pipe that everyone pays for (DSL or cable is fine). And I'm not talking about a bucket bong here.
* an agreed administrator for the firewall and internal infrastructure (dhcp, mail relay, etc). This person then gets to choose the One True Operating System(tm) for the firewall and the rest of you can get stuffed. Rotate on a three month basis to reduce friction
* bins a fair way away from the kitchen or dining room (the pizza boxes get gross when people "forget" to take the rubbish out)
* a large fridge to take the booze (this is not optional for Australian-infested geek houses)
* lots of fridge magnets for the pizza menus
* A WaveLAN gateway for resident and itinerant geeks, and lots of long cat5 cables for those who are WaveLAN challenged. Spare WaveLAN cards
* rules on significant others staying more than about three nights a week. Even when everyone in the house is earning more than six figures.
* rules on who buys the next bottle of single malt scotch, cognac, brandy, even *shhudder* bourbon (there's nothing worse than using a marker on a Glenlivet or Glenmorangie)
* Sound padding for the walls when people spank the monkey. Got to have privacy, man.
* A damn fine hifi with a large CD and DVD collection. Most geeks will supply this one without too many problems
* Big ass TV. None of this 34 cm crap. Most geeks disdain TV publically, but are closet watchers. Example, ask who the Android is and why they identify with him. You'll get an answer from 99.99% of all True Geeks(tm).
* Cable or satellite TV with as many channels as the house can afford
* UPS for the machine room. Get an extractor if gets warm like ours does.
Tips for living with a geek
Get a cleaner at least once every two weeks. This works fine for me.
Get a gardener if you have a garden. Geeks do not garden on a regular enough basis. Things will die and overgrow and look messy and you can get evicted.
Work on the chores. Geeks are naturally lazy and refuse to do the dishes if they do the rubbish or vice versa. Don't mention the bathroom
Kick the mess back into the responsible person's bedroom. The shared areas shouldn't be cluttered with people's crap unless it's really geeky and can be used or admired by all.
Re:Clear Lake, Houston Geeks? (Score:2)
Try here: (Score:1)
Another great resource is Homepower [homepower.com].
Using nature and technology to liberate.
Re:Look in college towns (Score:1)
The important thing to remember is, people gotta get along before you introduce things like dedicated, high speed internet.
Re:Is the girl... (Score:1)
Philadelphia area... (Score:2)
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Ultimate House is in Atlanta (Score:1)
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fce/ahri/
It's not actually supposed to be a "Geek House" but I bet they've got geeks lining up for blocks to be the "researchers" who get to live in it.
-Ben
This is an ask slashdot? (Score:1)
1/ Find some friends
2/ Go rent house
3/ Get hi-speed net axs
4/ Connect computers to network
Come on, really it isn't that hard! Which part are
you actually having trouble with? (I'm guessing
it is part 1).
Re:the key is communication (Score:2)
It's:
Beeee aggressive.
B-E aggressive.
B. E.
A-G-G.
R-E-S-S-I-V-E.
(HTH)
How to get a million dollars and not pay taxes (Score:2)
First, get a house...
Sorry, but here in San Francisco, houses are not something you can put on your mastercard... 8^)
Re:Wiring is important... (Score:2)
Nah, just run cabling outside through underground conduit, with weatherproof jacks by the hot tub. After all, you'll want power there too...
Re:What now, Personals? =) (Score:2)
Well, I'm in the City, but we're pretty full up -- We've got 5 Linux boxen, 2 Win95 boxes, 2 Win98, 1 Win3.11, 3 Macs, 1 MS-DOS box, plus miscellaneous others. We've got ethernet running through the walls to half the house, and 6 phone lines (7 soon, if I can get approval from the CFO (the wife)).
We're pretty lucky, though -- we have a pretty small mortgage. Figure on at least $2k/mo just for rent if you want an actual house, and $1k or more per month for a simple studio. And if you drive, gas is about the most expensive in the whole country (over $2/gal for reg. unleaded). Of course, we've also got BART [bart.gov], MUNI, and lots of other public transit. And, there aren't many other places I would ever want to live.
*THE* geek house of Atlanta (Score:2)
The Aware Home project is basically of very big geek house. Not only is most everything in the house connected, but the level of technology is also beyond what is currently on the market. just imagine it: a huge house that is heavily-funded and contains nothing but cool uber-toys.
Unfortunatly, you can't live there since it is a research project of Georgia Tech. But there are numerous students that [will] live there to do "research". Forget the dorm, give my me cyber-house!
--weenie NT4 user: bite me!
Re:They're on the way.... (Score:2)
I actually just sent in an application for a job at this [onqtech.com] company, and looked at their website. there is a real video promotional thingie, that is kinda cheesey, but shows off all that the gadgetry can do...hold on a bit while I find the link...ah here [onqtech.com] it is.. Real video format. enjoy.
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still deciding on cable (Score:2)
Yet I work with (and define) state-of-the-art scientific computing at my job.
Re: (Score:2)
Simple (Score:2)
Perhaps the moderator thinks... (Score:2)
Target (Score:3)
While it sounds like a good idea, after a short time it _also_ sounds like a perfect target for theft. Padlock them doors, kiddies. Then deadbolt 'em, and do everything short of setting spring guns.
It's not that hard (Score:2)
The next step is the linksys cable/dsl router thingy that lets u do away w/ the 2nd ip address. Also We were thinking of getting a cobalt qube as a more efficient file server (no reason for us both to have the same 3 gigs of mp3s, you know). Fortunately she has a drop ceiling so running the cable was a snap. well, mostly.
__________________________________________________ ___
Re:Planet Geek (Score:2)
I just so happen to have plots of land available at prime prices for not just the Moon, but also Venus and Mars! Be the envy of geek households everywhere.
Prices are superb! Mail me and we'll work out a price - payment is simple, you can snail mail cash in any currency to my handy P.O. Box address in sunny Switzerland.
"Give the anarchist a cigarette"
Non-geek geek house (Score:3)
I ran some CAT5 cable, picked up a hub and got a cable modem. It all works great and you get to be the alpha geek for sure.
Plus, you get to live with people that you actually like. Strong advice: live with people you like because you have to live with these people.
Greg
Re:Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:2)
Not to show my ignorence, but who is the Andriod? Marvin from HHGTTG?
Re:Do the wiring yourself... (Score:2)
Building a geekhouse from scratch... (Score:2)
My wife agreed (and has participated in designing) a very cool little house.
We purchased a standard issue suburban type semi-detached house (going up in an older neighborhood) and have worked with the builder to ensure that it meets our needs. It has the following elements:
- conduit from machine room to each room
- 19" 42U rack cabinet in the media room
- prewired for alarm
- prewired with dual cat5 and dual coax to a minimum of two locations per room in addition to the conduit
- prewired with coax+power to camera locations throughout
- media room set up with 2" conduit to projector location (full 1024 x 768 projector that does i1080)
- wireless (3mb/s FHSS) to my network operations building
- wireless (11mb/s DSSS) internal umbrella
- prewired with dual RG6 coax for DTH satellite service
I didn't have any issues with the builder (he asked if I would be able to meet the window for wiring that his project manager would supply, I showed him my company's ad in the yellow pages under Cabling Consultant). We've lived in several half done implementations of the geekhouse and I'm looking forward to having it done right. While you're building, you might as well throw everything in the walls.
One of these days, I'll stick up the webpage for it at http://www.100percentgeek.net/geekhouse.html
M
Clear Lake, Houston Geeks? (Score:2)
The major demographic in around here seems to be 30somethings with big trucks and small clues. I've heard rumors that the west side of Houston is nicer, but that would be an insane commute for me.
SWMG (single white make geek) seeks likeminded people. Interestests: Bikes, Unix, BeOS, aerospace.
Dislikes: suburban decay, bureaucracy, traffic.
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Re:Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:3)
At least I think computer generated human-shaped holograms don't count as androids. Aw crap, now I don't know... thanks alot.
Better yet, live in a LABORATORY! (Score:2)
But very soon I will instead live in a laboratory. I am renovating an industrial warehouse into a shared living space. It contains double high ceilings, loading bays, and numerous power outlets. I am outfitting it with a mechanical and electronics workshop, a video and sound editing studio, and of course it will be wired with ethernet. I am even installing solar and wind generators on the roof. Geek haven to the max!
Thad
Re:Geek Greeks (Score:2)
Also, they were not accepted because everyone got stoned, but because they stood up for themselves, plotted, and executed revenge against the bullies on campus.
-Restil
For everything else... (Score:2)
Line charge - $250
One Cisco 2501 to act as CSU/DSU - $500
The ability for 4 geeks living together to all play CounterStrike on the same server - Priceless
For people who must be LPB's, there should be a sick amount of bandwidth.
--
Gonzo Granzeau
What we did... (Score:2)
* I manage the Linux router, hooked up to an ISDN line. We are working on getting a T1, which should be installed this week. Read the Mastercard reference [slashdot.org] to see what you need for a T1...
* We ran around 250 feet of cat5. We have a switch in each closet. Currently, we do not have any wireless solutions, just because of the lack of laptops in the house. Also, we have approx 4 computers per person in the house, so everyone can get a real desktop/monitor.
* 36 ports of fast switched ethernet, almost everytype of unix machine, a bunch of pc's, a cobalt box, every latest video card, and tons and tons of games.
* My roommate manages the Home Theatre setup. We have a Toshiba 36" tv, Dolby digital, DTS 5.1, a 6 disk DVD changer, a huge ass subwolfer, a projector with a pulldown screen for when you need 8 foot boobs, and Stadium setting (leather couches). An amazing setup.
* A regular fridge, a liquer cabinet, a beer/soda fridge, and a freezer in the basement.
* An Adams Family pinball game.
* Every console system known to man. Seriously. Approx. 60 games for the Dreamcast, two dance pads, the maracas, and 12 controllers of all different types.
* A deck with a hottub that fits 6.
* Babes. well... off and on. `8r)
This is a true bachelor pad. a good half-way home between college and the real world. Eventually, I'll put up a page describing the house...
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Gonzo Granzeau
Geek house has problems (Score:2)
1. People working in the "Internet industry" (as if there is such a thing) tend to have a problem with allocating enough time to keep up a house.
2. It's amazing how people who work with computers during the day can so easily become Ludites in their private lives.
3. The ability to run a network does not speak to one's ability to figure out such things as landscaping, home repairs, etc.
Of course, this is from the point of view of a bunch of people BUYING a house, which may not be what you had in mind, but if you want a truely geekified home, that's really the way to go. Then you can do things like rip the wiring out and replace it with 110/220/2 pair RJ11/4 pair CAT5 RJ45 every 6 feet in every room with a patch-panel in the computer room.
Yes indeed, that's the way to go.
IMHO... (Score:5)
or as we refer to it, a house o' l33t,
just sort of happens...
Two of us moved into an apartment, networked 2 computers.
Some friends moved in, brought more equipment...
with each addition, it grew, in an organic fashion.
Now cat 5 runs throughout the entire apartment, to every corner.
The moral is, don't set _out_ to make a geek house, it will come to you eventually,
just build it up peice by peice, and one day you'll notice: damn this place is sweet.
I'm going to die from EM radiation, and I _like it_.
-Slackergod
Re:That's easy (Score:2)
That's easy (Score:3)
Home Park is full of houses of Ga Tech people very eager to have/share a high speed connection. Also it's damn close to the GT campus itself which is one of the most wired places in the country thanks to the 1996 Olympics (fiber, fiber everywhere), so I am sure DSL will be easy to find.
I am not a wreck anymore (pun intended) but I do live about 2 miles north of Tech and my ADSL happily clocks at 1.5Mbps down
What we did. (Score:2)
Between the three of us, we bought a 1700 square foot townhouse, wired it up with 1100' of Cat-5 laid through the walls, to spec. and then put 15 computers ranging from an '030 NeXT Cube to a IBM Thinkpad A20P with 750 Mhz PIII.
As for decorating, make it post modern with lots of halogen and exposed wood.
Finally, install a photographic darkroom in the basement, complete with colour enlarger capable of printing 4"x5" negatives.
Re:What we did. (Score:2)
The House was actually purchased by my roomate who's in comp-sci. He can finance it because, well, he does Oracle development and just finished a contract for the JPL.
Finally, we wired the whole house ourselves. Due to the way our house is constructed, we did not need to go horizontally through studs, though we did make several holes in the drywall. Also, we rebuilt the basement (to bulid the darkroom) and renovated the kitchen and bathrooms ourselves. You save alot of money doing it this way, and it lets you work out your agressions (you don't know how satisfying it is to put your fist through drywall after having banged your head against a bug).
The house is in the Geek (Score:2)
You don't need to have a house pre-wired, or even put wires in the walls yourselves - it's the people who make a house geeky. My previous house, before leaving for college, was quite 'geeky'. My brother and I lived in the basement of my parents' house, which was connected to the upstairs by a stairwell that joined near the garage door - so naturally, that was our means of entrance. We had a fridge where we kept our Dew and other assorted perishables, and a bathroom that was 'ours.' (Two guys, mind you. This room could get raw, but there's always bleach.)
My computer was approximately 40 feet, as the wolf runs, to my brother's box. I know this, since the 50' strand I had barely reached to the ceiling, to his room, and down from the ceiling. (I'd like to take this opportunity to say that 'false ceilings' - the things they have in offices - are every geeks dream. You can easily stash things up there, and wires are quite easily hidden.)
My bedroom was 11'x22' feet, with a small alcove off in the corner where my computer was, which was about 10x5. Outside my room, to one side was the steps, to the other the 'living room' - call it whatever you want, it's what we used for our geekfests. :) This room was approximately 2.5-3x the size of my bedroom. My brother's room could be entered from the opposite side of the 'living room'.
Quite frequently, especially over this past summer, we would have 1, 2, 3 - as many as 6 geeks, besides ourselves, in our geekcave. Having no patience to wire walls, we would string the RJ45 across the rooms to the computers, and back to my hub. We came one port short of filling an 8-port once - the hub's name is Mailman. :)
We had tables and chairs set about for us to sit at and play. A couch provided a place for weakling geeks to sleep, if needed, and possible sit.
The Geek collective and I would walk about in that basement with only the black light and the glow of our monitors, talking about who fragged whom between levels, and asking who had seen the chips last. We had many a fun morning/night clicking away at each other with our mice.
All in all, I think my nostalgic representation shows that your geek abode doesn't make the geek house. :) A square room with desks back to back, and alcoves that stem off into sleeping quarters would have been highly preferable - especially when we had multi-nighters. Ideally, I think that a large central room, with minimal kitchen, bedrooms, and a bathroom would be ideal. Possibly another room, where chairs could easily be placed as well. Windows, lights, and fresh air would be remotely optional.
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CAIMLAS
Advantages / Disadvantages (Score:2)
First, look at the personalities in the house. Sure, it's nice to have people who share similar interests, but well, most of those people are freaks.
You also have to agree on the game of choice. Ours was Age of Empires / Age of Kings, but to make sure that we didn't stress out on it. [ie, I'm a sore loser], we'd play co-op if it was just the two of us from our apartment. If any of you have majorly agressive personalities, gaming may not be a good thing to do.
It's nice to have some public space, and some private space. Our setup wasn't actually a house, but 3 apartments really close together. One was connected via WaveLan, the other via 10bT run through some exhaust pipes in the complex.
This gave us a fair amout of privacy, when needed, and we still had the computer room set up for when we all got together [1 mac, 1 xterm, 1 wintel box, and a few assorted vaxes, sparcs & bsd boxes] and the hanging out/TV watching apartment with nice couches and the big TV [the married people in the network...go figure.]
For those of you who have had roommates, you know that there are good, and those that you wish to god you never knew. It's not so bad when you both relatively clean up after yourself. [note -- a dishwasher is VERY important], but if you keep coming back to half empty diet pepsi cans scattered all over the place [okay, so, he was legally blind, and nutrasweet kills your short term memory, so he probably just put 'em down, forgot he was drinking them, and then didn't see them there] it gets old really quickly.
Even really good friends can quickly get on each others nerves. One little personality quirk, and you'll start to hate each other.
Before you lay down the cash for hardware and cabling, you should really get to know the people you're going to be rooming with. If there isn't one main person who's in charge (ie, who owns the place), you'll have to decide what to do when there's a problem [just image -- the geek version of the Real World]
No matter how much how much technology you put in a house, you still can't overcome the roomie's obnoxious girlfriend, the roomie who can't aim when peeing standing up [speaking of which -- it's good to have one bathroom per person in the place.. 4bd/4ba apartments exist in some areas.], the roommate who constantly raids the fridge and never buys food, etc.
Apartment complexes give a nice advantage as they're modular-- so long as the 'anchor' [whomever has the outbound connection] in your setup stays, you can add/drop people as they move in/move out, etc. The only disadvantage is the lack of true 'public' space, if you're all of the computer-lab type mindset. It's also nice that when one person gets sick, they can quarentine them selves off, and not get the rest of you diseased. [even more important when we were 4 of the 6 people at an ISP, and the other two were the acountant, and the lawyer]
Re:Look in college towns (Score:2)
It was just like a geek house: our girlfriends thought we were boring, we had no more friends, the electric meter threatened to explode, Linux outnumbered Windows 4-1 (6-1 if you count my broken laptops), my
I forget, is a geek house supposed to be a Good Thing?
Devil Ducky
Re:Look in college towns (Score:2)
Devil Ducky
Re:What we did. (Score:3)
1. Cable TV that only tunes in to Cartoon Network
2. Dartboard, everybody needs a sport and the arm muscles required for darts are already in top shape anyway
3. A Coffee Maker in every room (maybe a refrigerator for M.Dew-etc?)
4. and if you want me to visit: a life-size Devil Ducky doll.
The one thing you won't ever need: a stereo, just build a MP3 server
Devil Ducky
Physical Home Networking: HOWTO (Score:3)
http://arstechnica.com/guide/networking/install
/. want ads? (Score:2)
swg (single/ white/ geek) seeks aag (any/ any/ geek) 4 small apt. will split rent/util/caffiene/dsl
that looks like a joke, but i'm kinda serious.
anybody in the Louisville area interested?
Re:Wiring is important... (Score:2)
Re:Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:4)
I live in a geek house (Score:2)
the key is communication (Score:3)
I got to live in a geek house this summer and it ruled (mad props to The Geek Empire). i simply got to know everyone else in the house over the course of my college career, and got invited.
however keep in mind that you will have a house of geeks. got personal quirks you might not like? well multiply those by the number in the house. however, if everyone communicates there personal needs and wants, things can work out fine.
also search on the web! be agressive, B-E agressive B-E-A-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E!
The time has passed... (Score:2)
Why?
Geek houses started because it was a good idea to actually buy a house in California, but they were immensely expensive for 20-somethings to afford. So several geeks got together and bought a big house. That won't happen in Atlanta, for example, where any geek barely out of school can afford a decent place to live.
Second, Geek Houses existed to provide network access (at all) and later high speed (T1) access before cable-modem and DSL become popular. Today, to be a "True" Geek House, you'd need to be talking about a DS-3/T-3 into your house. People with a real need for speed. But I haven't heard anyone who really thinks they need 25% of a T3 on a regular basis. And since anyone can get DSL or Cable Modem, and set up a $150 firewall box, it is not very geeky to have a house connected to the Internet these days.
I suspect that the Geek House phenomenon was limited to places like California where real estate was absurdly expensive, and to a time when network access was difficult and expensive. Atlanta is not the place, now is not that time.
An Atlanta Resident, with a suburban house wired with 3 cat-5 and RG-6 to every room.
I live in one (Score:3)
Once upon a time, my best friend from high school (like-minded geek) offered for me to live with him and bring my computers...
Now we are both professional programmers, both married, and I've lost count of the computers and monitors. It's sweet, all right.
We've been told countless times that this would not work; that we both needed to grow up and realize that having our wives together in the same (admittedly HUGE) house was a bad idea.
Oh, there are issues:
Benefits are there, too: N64 AND PlayStation; LOTS of CD's in the collective; beefy MP3 server (of course), DVD, pool table, toys, toys, toys.
It's not for everyone; and I know it won't last forever. I'm hitting 30 this year, and I'm still waiting to grow up. My life is little different from the average college student, save the college and the occasional international business trip.
You know you're in geekdom when the whole house heads out at 1am for "burritos as big as your head" and/or Pizza.
So it isn't a myth. Geek houses exist. But they grow by themselves. I don't think it would have worked if we tried to make one. It's just what naturally fit for us.
-Ouija-
Re:Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:2)
Re:What we did. (Score:2)
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All generalizations are false.
Re:I LOVE the Commodores! (Score:2)
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All generalizations are false.
Re:chicks (Score:5)
First these geeks lure in young attactive women with 56K analog connections, frozen pizza and anime re-runs on the Sci-fi channel. They give these women the first slice and download for free. After that, the overwelming urge to "be a geek" sets in.
Soon these women are trying the "hard stuff", Full blown unsat T1, "extra toppings" pizza and warezed unreleased anime from japan.
They know having a full dedicated T1 to their selves and doing nothing but using it for playing Q3. They know this is wrong, they know they should setup mirror of free software, but the hold is to strong on them, they want 100% of the fiber optic for fragging.
Then reality sets in, they must move out for some reason or another. Sure they can get 56K analog at their new place, but it isn't the same. Sure cable is avaiable, but the shared laggy connection doesn't give them the same rush a full T used to give them. They start shaking and waking up in cold sweets, they need bandwidth.
They then start trying to find their "fix" outside their current location, but going to sleezy locations like "cyber cafes" and "libraries" even "schools" and "college" to get their bandwidth fix, but it isn't the same.
It isn't the same rush, it isn't the same bandwidth, they get depressed and angry. They look for thigns to fill the void that was the bandwidth, but nothing is the same...
This is the reality of "geek houses"
Even cooler could be... (Score:2)
Re:What now, Personals? =) -- Bay Area Livin... (Score:3)
come by overall.
I spent almost two months surfing couches of very good friends until I made a combination of decisions. I knew that I could not afford my own
place (nor had the proper rental history to do so - not that mine is bad, but just compromised of mostly shared living situations that never show up
on your credit history...). I looked into roommate referral services and followed craigslist religiously (www.craigslist.org).
I had good credit (thought sparse), a great demeanor, a real job and (after the first couple weeks of looking) the willingness to break my rent
ceiling of under 600 bucks.
Finally after what seemed like forever I got a place. Not my own, but a room in a flat. I pay 650, plus utils, cable and everything else. I also
paid a security deposit and first and last moths rent. Just to get a room was almost 2000 bucks.
My suggestion?
1) Have really close friends that know and love you already living in the City.
2) Be ready to get your own place (and pay at least 1000 for a studio in the heart of the ghetto aka; the beeyootiful Tenderloin).
3)check these places out
http://www.metrorent.com/
http://www.renttech.com/
http://www.RoommateLink.com/
http://www.therentalsource.com/
http://www.craigslist.org/
the last being where i got my place.
Sorry if this letter is so cynical, you might have a lot better luck than me.
I hope so.
Virgil
Re:IMHO... (Score:2)
Sorry.
kwsNI
Re:IMHO... (Score:2)
Sorry all, couldn't help it.
kwsNI
Re:Wiring is important... (Score:2)
By the way... for the time being, I'd stay away from wireless networks. We tried that at the beginning and it was just a mess of problems... interference, poor response time, dropped packets...
You might just want to give wireless a look. You can get low end stuff (webgear cards, 1Mb, no macs) for about $160 for a two-pack. for about $160 per, you can get the lucent gold wavelan cards (11Mb, 128 bit encryption). if you've got a laptop but no wireless, you're really missing out - especially if you have a garden.
Wiring is important... (Score:4)
love,
br4dh4x0r
By the way... for the time being, I'd stay away from wireless networks. We tried that at the beginning and it was just a mess of problems... interference, poor response time, dropped packets...
Geek Greeks (Score:2)
There would be some tradeoffs, as universities usually have some authority over frats, but just think of the puns!
Just don't call yourselves "lambda lambda lambda".
My mom is not a Karma whore!
Look in college towns (Score:2)
Re:chicks (Score:2)
I LOVE the Commodores! (Score:3)
True Geekhouse recipe (Score:2)
1 HOUSE + SOME GEEKS = geek house
I would say that 1 industrial roll of network cable and a bunch of junk from x10.com will give you a good start...And the most important factor would be a T1 (or a fat business DSL) -- you can't have a "true" geek house if your connection to the other geeks of the world is through POTS at 28.8 or whatever BPS the cave men and grandmas of the world are running at these days...
Re:K/W Geek Apt? (Score:2)
If you're interested, look for the red brick house on the west side of the street, just s few houses north of Bridgeport. It's got a nameplate above the front door.
Other than that, I'm sure you could find a few systems design or computer or electrical engineering geeks who would LOVE to take over a house and wire it to the nines... just put a post up in the UW campus center.
Re:They're on the way.... (Score:2)
- pre-wire the house with phone cable, electricity (of course), cat 5, and coax, and maybe something else.
- Everwhere there is an electrical outlet, place an outlet for the phone & cat-5 cables. Or at least have wiring there, 'cause it's easy to punch a hole and add the outlet, if the wires are already there.
- Pre-install stereo speakers in all rooms, using suitable wiring.
- install IR receivers/transmitters (or leave cabling for them) for house-wide universal remote control uses (stereo, tv, surveilance camera, etc.)
- integrated switchboard/hub in garage/utility closet for all cables.
Essentially, with all cable pre-installed, and outlets available in all rooms, with more added later easily, and a central 'switchboard' big enough for growth, you can then plug-and-play as you add stuff (stereo, video cameras, computers, printers) to the house.
-----
D. Fischer
Re:Essential bits for a well oiled geek house (Score:2)
Geek house? Um, we call it a dorm here. (Score:2)
I have found a like minded individual or two here at Carnegie Mellon, and we're sharing an internal network. We even got a pretty sweet connection to the rest of the internet too! Hey, they even like to home brew, just like me!
Re:What we did. (Score:2)
> And what are the issues you've found regarding joint non-spousal ownership of a residence?
The idea that I had -- which is, mind you, possibly and even probably completely illegal under U.S. tax code -- was to form a limited liability corporation that actually owns the property, and have people purchase shares in that company in exchange for shares in the property. Let me illustrate:
Let's say we have Alice and Ben, who want to start their Geek House. Together, they scrape up $10,000 for the down payment, and take out a mortgage for the other $90,000. (I like even numbers.) Alice and Ben would then issue 10,000 shares of GeekHouse, Inc., worth $100 each. Alice would have 500 shares; Ben would have 500 shares, and the additional 9000 shares would be owned by the company.
Each month, Alice and Ben would split the cost of the mortgage by purchasing a number of shares equal to the mortgage payment that month. If Casey came along and wanted to live in the Geek House, and Alice and Ben were cool with that, the mortgage would be split 3 ways, with Casey buying shares from Alice and Ben first until the issued shares were pooled mutually, and then joining in the same setup.
If, say, 10 years down the line Alice decides to move to Borneo to study basketweaving, the other members of the collective buy her shares back from her, as quickly as they can manage to do so. In the meantime, Alice continues to have a say in the decisions of the collective, the same as any shareholder would have in a company.
Tweak this idea mildly for things like monthly utilities, cost of living, etc, etc