Public Hours happening every Thursday from 7pm – (at least) 9pm in the space.
Repair Cafe 3rd Saturday of the Month from 11am-3pm. Volunteers and broken things welcome!
Monthly Member Meeting 2nd Saturday of the Month at 7pm, sometimes a potluck starting at 6pm. Drop a line about attending if you are interested in learning about joining the Lab.
Our most frequently active public online space is our Discord Server.
Possible Additional Activities for the Spring
Revival of the bike glow-up and ride (late April)
Some folks are talking about a monthly textile night
At the Lab monthly meeting tonight, we decided on the policies that we’ll be keeping in playe until the Vermont “Stay-At-Home” order is lifted, and also some ideas for virtual events we’ll be putting on in the meantime.
Policies:
No public in-person events until the State of Emergency from City and State is lifted.
Only one member may be in the space at a time. Members are expected to sanitize door knobs and any surfaces they use when they leave.
Members will log their use of the space, and post to Slack if they are headed in so other members will know the space is in use.
Virtual Events:
Thursdays, 7-9pm – Minecraft hang-out: Instead of our usual in-person public hours, we’ll have weekly Thursday night hang-outs on a Minecraft server a member created, with audio chat facilitated by the Lab Mumble server. We’re not posting the login credentials publicly to avoid griefers, but friends of the Lab are welcome, so feel free to reach out to a current member for details.
Saturdays, 7:30-10pm – FOSS Virtual LAN Party: Each week we’ll pick a different FOSS game to play together, with voice chat on the Lab Mumble server. Check the Lab Facebook page for specifics, but we’ll be starting the series off with RTS 0AD
As we settle into our new space on North Street, one project Lab B members have been working on is an updated membership agreement and code of conduct. Members are the core of Lab B: they govern our organization democratically, expenses are funded primarily by their dues, and, as an all-volunteer non-profit, their work is what makes things happen.
Thus, to clearly communicate what is expected of Laboratory B members, the following was passed by a vote of the membership this month:
As a member of Laboratory B, I, _______________________, agree to the following, as well as to terms in any future version of this agreement as amended by the organization’s membership:
Financial Accountability
The Lab maintains our autonomy and flexibility through the core of our funding coming from member dues. Therefore I will…
…make every effort to pay dues on time.
…make a good faith effort to pay the appropriate dues on the sliding scale relative to my income and wealth, and will reassess my dues level relative to my means regularly.
…remain in open and responsive communication with the Treasurer to make arrangements if dues become outstanding.
…contribute to supporting the terms of our lease.
Operational Accountability
The Lab is an all-volunteer organization that requires active member participation to function. Therefore I will…
…make good-faith effort to attend the monthly member meetings, to participate in asynchronous decision-making on Loomio, and to keep up on operational conversations on Slack.
…make every effort to maintain the cleanliness of the Lab and common spaces.
…be responsible about the use of shared space and leaving project spaces clear when I leave the space.
…be responsible for the actions of any invited guests.
…be willing to share efforts in running Lab activities, such as hosting regular public hours, offering skill-shares, volunteering at community outreach events, etc.
…shut off lights, lock doors, turn off power strips, and follow shutdown procedures when leaving the building.
Social Accountability
To maintain a healthy community, Lab members take accountability for their behavior towards both their fellow members and the community at large. Therefore I will…
…advance and exemplify our mission and vision.
…maintain the active sponsorship of a Lab member for issues of mediation and dispute resolution.
…contribute to a goal of restorative justice. I will participate in good faith in a restorative justice process if asked to by the Lab community.
…maintain confidentiality about information and conversations if asked to by a fellow Lab member, and about topics designated confidential by the membership as a whole.
…abide by the Lab Code of Conduct with the following elements, and as may be amended in the future by the Lab membership:
Generally: Be excellent to each other!
Curiosity: Cultivate a culture of curiosity and exploration. Don’t discourage enthusiasm and exploration of a topic by others because it does not interest you.
Respect: Treat fellow Lab members & visiting community members with respect.
Disagreement: The Lab encourages the free exchange of ideas, while respecting others’ experiences and perspectives. We agree to work together to cultivate an environment that creates space for approachability and for resolving disagreements safely and productively.
Boundaries: Respect the boundaries of others, and be clear and explicit in the communication of your boundaries if you feel uncomfortable. If you have trouble communicating your boundaries, seek assistance from your sponsor or another trusted Lab member. An ounce of awkward conversation is worth a pound of festering resentment.
Reputation: Do not sully the good name of the Lab. Operate with respect and conscientiousness in the community in public-facing contexts, and be cognizant of the Lab’s social clout and the ramifications of that identity out in the wider world. Agree to report ASAP any personal or observed actions that might reflect poorly on the Lab community to the Lab President (or another Board member).
Humility: As a member, I agree to admit that there will be times that I am wrong. The Lab is full of sharp folks, but intelligence is not an excuse for arrogance.
After a heroic move-out effort by Lab members and volunteers, and a month of being a “virtual Lab” operating out of a storage locker, Loomio group, and pop-up event spaces (thanks, Bytes.co!) we’re pleased to announce that Laboratory B once again has a space!
After considering several possibilities, our membership voted to move into a room on the second floor of 12-22 North Street in the Old North End. In addition to our new HQ space, where we’ll be holding public hours, meetings, co-working sessions and small workshops, the lease also gives us access to a number of shared spaces we can use after business hours, including a dedicated electronics lab, a sizeable class/event space on the first floor, and basement storage.
Many things about the Lab will stay the same, but a sampling some of the changes the move offers that our members are excited about include:
Handicapped Accessibility for Many Events: In the Soda Plant, all of our space was up a set of steep stairs, limiting accessibility of workshops and other events for folks with mobility challenges. While the Lab’s dedicated room is similarly only stair-accessible, our ability to reserve the large downstairs space means that many of our public-facing workshops and events, such as mobile security night and LAN parties, will take place in accessible spaces.
Direct Access to Our Space In Off Hours: In the Soda Plant, the outside door was usually locked after 5pm, so public event attendees needed to ring a doorbell and be guided through a labyrinth to access the space. So, we’re every excited that our new space has a door opening directly to the outside.
Some members in the new Lab B (after hauling up the first load of chairs and a table)
Environmental Impact: In the Soda Plant (and the Hood Plant before it), we were occupying the decaying remains of industrial infrastructure, and it definitely showed in the winter time with heat loss through single-pane windows, etc. By contrast, 12-22 North Street is an optimized energy-efficiency machine: it was built by a worker co-op in the 1980s with a passive solar design, has significant installed solar electric capability (including wiring for DC lighting), and is run by a landlord who works on IoT sustainability and environmental impact monitoring. The fact that we have a monthly kWh cap in our lease has sparked our thinking on how to sip rather than chug energy (no more using out-of-date servers and crypto miners as de facto space heaters in the winter). Whether this transition means our aesthetic center-of-gravity will shift from cyberpunk to solarpunk remains to be seen…
Space that is more fully “ours”: At the soda plant, we were subletting from Brandthropology, who were incredibly accommodating partners, but pretty much all of our space was at least somewhat shared, in they needed to walk through our main room to get to the shared Couch Room and kitchen. We now fully control our core space, while also having access to additional shared spaces and resources in the building.
We’ll be spending the next few weeks moving in and setting up, and are planning to host a “Lab Warming Party” for our initial Thursday public hours on February 21 from 7-9pm. For more details, check the Facebook event, and, as always, keep an eye on our calendar for upcoming Lab B happenings!
After several years in residence on the top floor of the Soda Plant on Pine Street, Laboratory B has officially left the building as of 1/1/2019. Many thanks to the members who put in lots of hours, leg, and back-work over the past month to prep to space for our move, and also great appreciation to the friends of the Lab who showed up on the 30th to help with the big move day!
Half-way into filling the storage locker…
The move has been a great opportunity to assess and discard a good deal of superfluous stuff, while our core materials are safely ensconced in a Champlain Housing Trust storage locker, ready to be deployed at our next space….
We’re already in talks with a few possible new sites for the Lab, but are being deliberate about the process so we can land on the best spot for our community’s needs. We’re in search of a space with a maximum all-inclusive cost of $700/month; it can have shared spaces, be a sublet arrangement, etc., but needs at least one room that Lab members will have exclusive access to. So, if you have a lead for the next venue for Burlington’s member-run and -governed hackerspace, please get in touch by shooting an email to [email protected]!
In the meantime, Lab-sponsored events will be popping up in various locations around town, and we’ll be using the spare capacity derived from not having weekly public hours to do some internal work to position us for success in our 5th (!) location since the Lab was founded in 2009. If you want to keep in the loop, follow our shared calendar and Facebook page, where events and announcements will be posted, and we’ll post to this blog when your new space is finalized.
Happy New Year, and we look forward to sharing the next iteration of Laboratory B with the Burlington community in the coming months!
Ever wondered exactly what those black helicopters are up to? Thanks to a federal law called the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), you can find out!
At the FOIA party, we’ll get together, brainstorm ideas, teach the basics, and discuss techniques for getting the information you’re after. Bring your most burning government questions (local, state, or federal), and we’ll make sure everyone leaves with at least one request under their belt.
The “Intro to FOIA” presentation by Brian Waters will start at 7:15 and run approximately 30 minutes, including Q&A.
Following the presentation, there will be a workshop session in which attendees will file their first FOIA requests, so, if you are interested in doing so, bring along a laptop!
We’re excited to add a new event to the Lab’s roster: the BTV Hacker Book Club! The group will be meeting monthly to discuss a book drawn from a list built by Lab members, with members voting on which book from the list to read each month. While Lab members pick the books, all who have read the book are welcome to the discussions, and attendees are welcome to bring munchies and beverages to share.
Our first pick is A Hacker Manifesto by media theorist McKenzie Wark, and we’ll be gathering for the discussion on Thursday, 8/17 at 6pm in the Couch Room. For more details and updates, RSVP to the Facebook event.
We’ll be discussing setting a recurring monthly date at the August meeting, and Lab members are presently voting on the September book pick. Cyberpunk classic Neuromancer by William Gibson currently holds a narrow lead, but there are a few more days for members to weigh in…
On Saturday, February 1st, Senator Sanders will be facilitating a public forum in Montpelier entitled “NSA: Out of Control.” It will feature Professor David Cole from Georgetown Law School , and Heidi Boghosian, the Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild, and, as of the time writing, almost 100 people have RSVPed to the Facebook event.
The event certainly seems like it will be a good opportunity to learn more about the NSA privacy abuses that have flooded the media in the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations, but, beyond that, it offers an ideal opportunity to widely distribute user-friendly privacy tools that allow people to opt-out of the NSA drag-net immediately while Congress figures out how to appropriately respond to the revelations of abuse. The best suite I’ve found which is easily usable by folks with limited computer literacy is TAILS Linux, a live OS based on Debian that, among numerous other features, is preconfigured to route all internet connections through TOR.
As such, in the next week I will be assembling a few hundred burned DVD copies of the latest TAILS release to hand out to the attendees of Saturday’s event. If anyone would like to help defray the cost of DVDs and jewel cases, Bitcoin donations can be sent here: 13qaGsVRjoGHmYnV4RZcugnfxpTXxRkAsL
Additionally, I’ll be working on burning and assembling copies at the Lab during public hours on Thursday from 7-9pm; if you want to help with production or with distribution at the event itself, stop in!
To follow up on the great gathering of crypto-currency enthusiasts at the Lab that was recently featured in Seven Days, the Lab will host a “Satoshi Square” this coming Tuesday, January 28th from 7-9pm. The goal is to bring together the community of Bitcoin/ Litecoin/ Dogecoin/ Coinye devotees to get to know each other, truck and barter, and discuss the latest news and opportunities that the emergence of crypto-currencies present for Burlington.
Feel free to bring a beverage and/or snack to share, share the Facebook event with any friends who might be interested, and vintage 2011 Bitcoin t-shirts will be for sale with all proceeds benefiting the Lab!
Finally, the Lab now accepts Bitcoin donations! 1E8Pr5CY5Me74UeYhsfXfoTrwYm4Qnqz7Y
