This forum is in permanent archive mode. Our new active community can be found here.

The Official Geekhaus Plans

edited October 2008 in Everything Else
So, this is somewhat of a spill-over from the other thread, but I'd like to have a thread specifically stating everyone's plans (without a detailed discussion on excrement, please). To this end, I'll post my plan, which should come to fruition by the end of next year. I also extend an open invitation to all members of the FRC Forums to come and stay, once we have set up space for guests. This geekhaus is located on Barton St. in Rochester, NY, and its designation shall be Geekhaus 001.

Intro:

Right now I live in a shitty house. I pay barely any rent, and everything is cheap. The cost of living is low, and I’m getting a better job soon, so things should slowly improve financially for me. Right now, though, the house is terrible, and the people living with me are awful.

In a year, things will have changed.

Jordan (a Han Solo-like associate of mine), Haewon (my new girlfriend), and I are going to get people (Jordan, Haewon, and others) to move into this house starting in the spring. We are in the process of transforming this shitty house into a Steampunk Geekhaus.

To that end, I have started a corporation, Geekhaus Systems, Inc., to handle our financial operations. We’re working with Time Warner (the local ISP) to get business-class fiberoptic cable routed to the house, and we are planning to buy this house outright if the current landowner wishes to sell (which he does).

Plans:

We can do this because things in Rochester are cheap, from houses to the cost of living itself. We will use the money we (GHS) make as a technical consulting firm, as well as our regular salaries (less food and such expenses), to improve the Geekhaus, including renovating the basement and attic. Here is the new floorplan, floor by floor:

Floor 0: Basement. Storage, Laundry, and Workshop.

Floor 1: Living floor. This contains the Kitchen, the Office, and the Executive Lounge.

-Kitchen - Complete renovation, including new stove and washing machine. We’re also getting a table, possibly new counters, and a small networked computer to look up recipes. Both Jordan and I are increasingly good cooks, so expect excellent cuisine.

-Office - This is where it all happens. We will have desks on the walls and a table in the center (For boardgames and P&P RPG's). We’ll also have a server rack and our desktops down here. The plan is, we should begin to have weekly LAN parties starting in the fall. This room is large enough to support about 20 computers, and we will have a 35 megabit connection, both up- and downstream. There will be gigabit ethernet throughout the house, as well as Wireless-N.

-Executive Lounge - We will have a 720p or greater projector, which will be hooked up to the main (currently unnamed) media server. On this server will be terabytes and terabytes of movies, music, anime, and such that is shared throughout the house. We will also have very comfortable couches and chairs, where we shall regularly serve tea, coffee, and cake/pie. Yes, motherfucking CAKE. Oh, and we’ll have a standup piano, and a record player, so we can enjoy some analog media as well.

Floor 2: Sleeping Floor. This floor has four bedrooms and one bathroom. We will run brass pipes up the stairwell, with ethernet cables inside them, so all of the rooms will be wired. The rooms also take advantage of our wireless network, for those who require it. Our bedrooms are also, in the case of Haewon and the MYSTERY GUEST, workspaces, as they are artists. Oh, yeah:

MYSTERY GUEST: We have a free room, and haven’t found anyone awesome enough to fill it yet. When we do, the Geekhaus will be complete. Anyways...

The bathroom will have a MOTHERFUCKING CLAWFOOT TUB. It will be fantastic.

Floor 3: The Attick. This attic is one of those old, Victorian attics with slanted roofs and large windows. In other words, beautiful. In the attic, we shall have The Library. Basically, we’re pooling all of our books together into a library that will soon have most awesome books known to man, from Plato’s Republic to Dan Simmons’ Hyperion. We will use a sophisticated computer system to keep track of all books, so we can note which books are whose.
«1

Comments

  • I suggest using Libra for the library computer system. It can scan the bar codes and pull the data off of amazon including cover art.

    In terms of mystery guests, is that an open invitation to geeks from the forum who might be traveling through the area?
  • If this works, it will be a beautiful thing that I would love to see in person before I died. If it works. Best of luck.
  • I may need a place to live next year for my last year of grad school at RIT.
  • Steampunk Geekhaus
    You had mentioned the pipes that would carry Ethernet cables to the second floor, but what else would be steampunked in the house?
  • what else would be steampunked in the house?
    The bathroom will have a MOTHERFUCKING CLAWFOOT TUB. It will be fantastic.
    AWWW YEAH!!
  • The bathroom will have a MOTHERFUCKING CLAWFOOT TUB. It will be fantastic.
    I never got the appeal of these things. We have owned one, it was ugly. If only such clawfoots were beautiful, intricate tall pieces of art, that aren't just tacked on, but make up the entire corner of the bath. Or another idea, just the standard block, only with a powerful dark tile, and pipes leading from beneath the bath to the top, carrying the water in, all around the edge. Of course these pipes would have smaller pipes within it that carry the actual water with insulation surrounding them. That would keep the aesthetic, but keep you from burning your legs upon touching the exposed piping.

    Also, what about zombie preparations? Any plans on having a room with a steel door that can be locked (with steel bars) from the inside and has a ladder or similar to the roof and provisions? This room could be called Alpha Romero. The second Geekhaus can then have Beta Romero, and these rooms would have their own fail proof way of communicating with each other.

    As for the media server, perhaps give it the name of a god(dess) related to the arts, or a famous person related to art.
  • I'm excited for you. I hope everything works out.
  • These plans are amazing, but what would really get me would be a detailed floor plan. I assume that is in your future but remember, contractors like to cut corners. I suggest doing some if not most of the work yourself as you can then assure quality.

    I would really like to see this come to fruition, and when it does I'll have to do something to commemorate the event.
  • I suggest doing some if not most of the work yourself as you can then assure quality.
    This, unless you are a skilled carpenter, is bullshit. You cannot wish to get the same results as a proper contractor, it also takes a lot longer, take this from me, I've moved 13 times in my life, and seen many renovations, one being an entire hotel. A good contractor can do the job in less than half the time you'll waste making an attempt. Just don't hire assholes.
  • I suggest doing some if not most of the work yourself as you can then assure quality.
    This, unless you are a skilled carpenter, is bullshit. You cannot wish to get the same results as a proper contractor, it also takes a lot longer, take this from me, I've moved 13 times in my life, and seen many renovations, one being an entire hotel. A good contractor can do the job in less than half the time you'll waste making an attempt. Just don't hire assholes.
    That's all fine and good but I would still rather do my own work, or get one of my friends or family on it. My grandfather was a carpenter for a number of years, My friends dad is a electrician; I have contacts and I can get people I know and trust to get the work done. After one of my friends got screwed, I can't bring myself to let just anyone work on my house.
  • That's all fine and good but I would still rather do my own work, or get one of my friends or family on it.
    You'll probably need the plans to be certified by your local government, including an application for a building or renovation permit. Failure to do so can have dire consequences.
  • Also, what about zombie preparations? Any plans on having a room with a steel door that can be locked (with steel bars) from the inside and has a ladder or similar to the roof and provisions? This room could be called Alpha Romero. The second Geekhaus can then have Beta Romero, and these rooms would have their own fail proof way of communicating with each other.
    I suggest either HAM, Shortwave, longwave, or CB radio for the emergency comm link. They are tried and true technologies.
  • I want this place myself.
  • Man, people who prepare for the zombie apocalypse are like those who built bomb shelters during the cold war.
  • Man, people who prepare for the zombie apocalypse are like those who built bomb shelters during the cold war.
    That's just what the zombie overlords want you to think.
  • Man, people who prepare for the zombie apocalypse are like those who built bomb shelters during the cold war.
    Oh, I don't know. I think we all know the that the possibility of zombies is insanely low, but its a fun mental exercise.
  • edited October 2008
    I'm in the process of working on a GeekFlat plan for college with a group of my friends. The plans are fairly rough, but we might name our media server "Meatfucker" after GCU Grey Area from the Culture series by Iain Banks. The linked set-top boxes and other devices/computers will be named after other Minds, if I have my way, which, considering that I've pretty much designed the entire system from scratch as well as will like be building and wiring it, I will get.
    Post edited by WindUpBird on
  • Man, people who prepare for the zombie apocalypse are like those who built bomb shelters during the cold war.
    Oh, I don't know. I think we all know the that the possibility of zombies is insanely low, but its a fun mental exercise.
    Well, a bomb shelter would make a good place to hide from zombies if we get the radioactive zombie apocalypse scenario.
  • I'm home from work (and prancing around South Wedge), so it's answers time!
    In terms of mystery guests, is that an open invitation to geeks from the forum who might be traveling through the area?
    Actually, no. The MYSTERY GUEST is a fourth (or fourth and fifth) person that will come stay with us. We have some candidates, but we need to find someone who we will be able to live with, and who will contribute a lot of awesomeness to the Geekhaus. That being said, all FRC Forumgoers are cordially invited to stay over, when we've gotten the place all ship-shape.
    I may need a place to live next year for my last year of grad school at RIT.
    We're really looking for someone who will stay for two or more years, but feel free to "crash" here whenever you want!
    You had mentioned the pipes that would carry Ethernet cables to the second floor, but what else would be steampunked in the house?
    Well, we're looking into getting an iron stove, a lot of old media (victrola, records), and an upright piano (of the player variety). All of the doors are being redone. I found a great little antique shop today that sells a bunch of old art-deco door handles. The kitchen and bathroom will be completely redone, and should be somewhat steampunky (we need ideas for this. Some kind of clockwork inventions we can use to save time and labour?). We will most likely also have one or more analog projecters, as at least one of the people living here is a film/animation major.

    My grandfather is a watchmaker, so I've learnt a bit about machinery from him, and Jordan can weld, plumb, electrize, and such, so we have some toolworking skills. I can carpentize passably, but there shouldn't be many major projects that really need "renovating" (The kitchen and bathroom do, though. Desperately.) We also have some contacts who are willing to help with certain specific things, from donating networking equipment to properly fitting the door locks.
    I never got the appeal of these things.
    Don't worry. Everything in the Geekhaus will be somewhat ornate and beautiful. I won't get a shoddy tub, and we might add on some stuffs to it. It is steampunk, after all.
    As for the media server, perhaps give it the name of a god(dess) related to the arts,
    That is a fantastic idea.
    These plans are amazing, but what would really get me would be a detailed floor plan.
    Haewon has some sketches, but I need to take measurements so I can draw up the blueprints. I should be finished with that by mid-November at the latest. I'll upload the sketches whenever she sends them to me.
    You'll probably need the plans to be certified by your local government
    Because we're not actually touching the structure of the house (knocking down walls, etc) I'm not sure how much permitage is needed (if any). I will look into this, though, just to be safe.
    zombie apocalypse
    The basement, besides being used for storage and utilities, can also double as a zombie shelter, if when that need arises.

    Any other suggestions for steampunkery?
  • Three Rings did a cool steampunk redesign of their office.
    check it out
  • I suggest using Libra for the library computer system. It can scan the bar codes and pull the data off of amazon including cover art.
    I just started using this at your suggestion to catalog my games and graphic novels. Goddamn, what a powerful piece of software.
  • Yeah, its badass. Though, if you have a Mac, there's the for-pay software which libra copies. Its a much better software than libra with a better bar code scanner. Can't remember the name though. Ask Google.
  • Oh, Delicious Library? We're probably going to use that. I haven't checked Libra out yet.
  • edited October 2008
    Yeah, its badass. Though, if you have a Mac, there's the for-pay software which libra copies. Its a much better software than libra with a better bar code scanner. Can't remember the name though. Ask Google.
    I'd be more interested in a Linux build of it. I'll probably host the database on the main server, and have Libra running on our Windows laptops and on the box whichever room has the most books.

    Another addition I wish it had was the ability to associate album tracks and info with saved audio files and then play them through Foobar. That would probably make Libra the most useful piece of software ever, since I have never managed to find a program that can competently acquire Album Art for my huge music collection and play it with a small footprint, and possibly in lossless formats.

    EDIT: OH GOD. I can configure it to launch VLC on command to play movies and episodes of TV shows!? This is amazing. I wish I could integrate RSS feeds so that both BitTorrent and Libra would automatically download and update my library with each new episode, respectively. That'd be killer.
    Post edited by WindUpBird on
  • RSS feeds are pretty simple.
    Also, how about not VLC?
  • I can configure it to launch VLC
    . . . Why would you use something horrendous as VLC when you can just use any other player that actually works properly. Also, Boxee can do most of your things.
  • Man, people who prepare for the zombie apocalypse are like those who built bomb shelters during the cold war.
    I really don't know why, unless this was supposed to be a joke. Large civilian populations had been bombed mercilessly within recent memory. Many survived only because they had shelters or they sought shelters in subways and the like. People who built bomb shelters during the cold war were acting rationally based on the information available to them at the time.
  • Man, people who prepare for the zombie apocalypse are like those who built bomb shelters during the cold war.
    NOOOOOOOO! Gomily is a zombie sympathizer? :( But as Sonic said, it's a fun thought experiment. Now it's also 'relevant' to talk about design decisions concerning a zombie apocalypse.
  • I might be in the Zombie Beauty pageant on Saturday. Hooray!
  • *drops to his knees and screams at the sky* No!!! Not her! Not one of us! Take the guy in my strength training class, but not her!!!
    Poor Emily...Now there's a bunny with the taste of brains. *Pumps shotgun* Not for long.
Sign In or Register to comment.