Geek Scrapheap Challenge, or Dead Computer Resurrection Party

[ewt]

When: Saturday, 16th December, 12pm-8pm
Where: The Pembury Tavern, Hackney (not as difficult to get to as you think, as it's close to Hackney Central on Silverlink and Hackney Downs on used-to-be-WAGN). Food is excellent, beer is (I'm told) excellent. There is free wifi and ethernet (if we bring cables), no annoying music, and lots of good worksurfaces.

Here's the plan:
Bring computers - alive, dead, or just obsolete. Maybe you pulled it out of a skip. Maybe you haven't used it since you bought your newer, shinier laptop. Bring it. Bring tools. Bring cables. Bring your brain and your ideas, or just willingness help us figure out fiddly things.

You bring stuff, and together we try to make it into something useful. This might be a sparkly new machine for a charity (anyone have any good ones in mind?), it might be a terminal for someone's kitchen, it might be an external hard drive, it might be wall-art with stuff that's too dead to use. We don't know yet, because we don't know what's going to turn up on the day.

Rules:
1) Anything you bring you must be willing to cart away again. Where an item is made of parts contributed by more than one person, those people will be responsible for deciding who keeps it - otherwise it will have to be taken apart again.

2) Don't do anything that will get us in trouble with the landlord. This is my favourite pub and I want to be able to keep going back!

Stuff we'll need:
-spare, known-to-work network cards and cables if applicable
-spare, known-to-work keyboard or two
-ditto monitor (yes, I know they're heavy as all hell, but I don't have room for my very old one along with all the other crap I'm going to be carting around...)
-all sorts of testing and repair equipment
-a few extension leads
-possibly an anglepoise lamp or two


Please respond to this post if you are planning to attend.

Comments

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

I'm responding to say that The Pembury is 'The Perfect Pub' to my mind (given no teleport device to bring my friends there from around the world). I shall even be in E2 that day ... but doing Yule stuff with D's birth family.

Have a blast!

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Sorry you won't be able to make it. Maybe we can catch up at some other point during your visit?

Socks still not done, my elbow complains if I crochet much. Bah, et cetera.

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

Gosh, no pressure on the socks! I'd assumed they were in your 'to do when my elbow is much less hurty' stack. No pressure, please?

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

No, no pressure. There is a bit of me that would have liked to finish them for Christmas, but the bit of me that worked on them for 10 minutes and then started to hurt has other ideas.

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes - I'm probably down for Fri-Sun, although possibly Thu-Mon.

Can slipper-making be less elbow-intensive?

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Slippers probably are easier, yes. Need to clear space on the table so I can sew, but other than that shouldn't be too bad - and I need to clear the space anyway as there is sewing in some of the wing commissions.

[yady.livejournal.com]

I'd love to come and I would likely have stuff to contribute too. Unfortunately, there is this bit of water in the way, as well as an attempt to graduate (so I can't just fly over for a weekend or so).

I'll see if I have any stuff that'd be relatively easy to get there that I want to get rid of; give me an address to send a box of stuff to if you want anything but don't want to lug it around...

[timeplease.livejournal.com]

spare, known-to-work network cards and cables if applicable

I should point out I will have network-cable-making and network-cable-mending tools available. (And I know how to use them!) Unfortunately my network-cable-testing tool is broken at the moment.

monitor

I will have one spare analog LCD monitor available. Also some Ubuntu 6.06 CDs to give away, and I can burn Ubuntu 6.10 CDs as well.

4-way adapters and extension leads might also be useful.

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

I shall try to be there, subject to the usual provisos. Will bring some materials for helping to make Art out of dead things, and any suitable bits and pieces - there won't be anything major, but I'll look through the pile.

I will also try to bring one oldish computer, nearly complete and probably working, though as I recall the HD is very dodgy.

[doseybat.livejournal.com]

Make me a maybe. Would it be very anitisocial of me if I brought beads along and sat there making my christmas presents?

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Yes, they have many power points. I'll bring some extension leads just to be sure.

It is a wonderful pub for this sort of thing. The till runs linux. Come along and see!

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

I will do some serious junk-rummaging... Any particular components (man-portable on public transport) remaining on the day can probably be found in my computer graveyard...

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

sounds very cool - although I think I'm busy that evening. Might try and pop over for the afternoon though if time permits.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

It would be good to see you there.

[mjg59.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting.

Re: I'll be there...

[pfy.livejournal.com]

Hey, I didn't know you were on LJ.

I'll be there too, with an armful of hardware (I have to leave the other arm free for beer-drinking purposes, of course).

[pplfichi.livejournal.com]

I think I'll turn up. Haven't decided what to bring though...