SPCC A Casa Amarela

freely available, just not translated.

get it here: http://repositorio-iul.iscte.pt/handle/10071/4497

we were featured (well, the demolition party that is) on the series "Boring Europa" by the non-profit ChiliComCarne. soon they should have a free pdf for download, i'll post it here.

you can buy it straight from the CCC Shop.

actually, we're kind of made fun of, but i guess humor is always the best eulogy

one of our guests, Nicolas, filmed a short documentary about SPCC while he stayed with us. this is what he made:

send him praise! it's an amazing piece of work! thank you Nico! you are a genius!

http://aeiou.expresso.pt/edificio-de-okupas-anti-nato-demolido=f614401

O Expresso sabe que a demolição causou algum desconforto entre os investigadores que monitorizam as movimentações dos ativistas. O edifício era um ponto de encontro importante dos jovens estrangeiros e portugueses e permitia analisar com mais facilidade as suas atividades em Lisboa.

in english

The Express knows that the demolition has caused some discomfort among researchers who monitor the movements of activists. The building was an important gathering place for young foreigners and Portuguese allowed to more easily analyze their activities in Lisboa.

word to the SIS and all the incompetent people it hired that are reading this website: if you think we had anything to do with black bloc and our place was anywhere near a meeting point, you'll have to add hundreds of random people from all over the world to your black block list. this includes all ages, backgrounds, social background and class, including some of your policemen.

if you think we were about smashing windows, you never read a single sentence on this website. if you think the smiles and food we gave for free to anyone that visited, including police, were anywhere near dangerous, than i would ask you to reflect on what your job is.

are you protecting public interest by monitoring those that try to make the world a better place? or are you protecting the private interest of the few that take us to imminent self destruction? you are but a pawn like we are.

i'm happy SPCC disappeared. that way our message remains only in the minds of the ones we helped, taught and empowered. there is no one for you to chase, because we are another you. we echo in hundreds of lives and voices of anonymous people you will never be able to trace, because they are common people, indistinguishable from yourself on anything but one thing: they dared to think critically. so keep chasing the black bloc red herring.

in lak'ech ala k'in, mr. agent

check it out!

http://jungle-world.com/artikel/2010/40/41812.html

english translation:

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout...

on the paintathon-weekend we shot some of the moments of action. we had some participants from the non-profit chili com carne (www.chilicomcarne.com) painting the fuck up with us.

this video features some of the highlights of that weekend and celebration. also the music we chose is from VortexSoundTech, one of the most interesting portuguese acts in the alternative electronic scene. the track is "afflicted" from the fresh album "The Death of Us All" and is available for download under a creative commons license in their website www.vortexsoundtech.web.pt , which i recommend.

SPCC - paint the f*ck up from NebulaX on Vimeo.

<3

here's how i learned to make a solar panel, and what i've been teaching at the workshops.

as for the electrical part, here's a quick overview of the laws we're working with and some rules of thumb. google is your friend, and just google most of this.

1) since the whole setup is DC (direct current), what we need are DC Volts (Voltage) and DC Amps (Ampere). voltage is the "tilt" between your points (higher voltage flows to lower voltage [yields positive current], not the other way around), current is how much charge "flows" per unit of time

2) Power is the way to measure how much any equipment uses in terms of instant energy. a cellphone charger would be around 6W average, a netbook 40W, an LED bulb about 3W, a hairdryer 2000W (not kidding). since we're dealing with DC, we can use P=V*I (Power[W]=Voltage[V]*Current[A]). this means that, for example, if your cells are 0.5V and give 3A when in the sun, you will get 0.5*3=1.5W

3) Energy is the total energy consumed over a certain period of time (usually in hours). so let's say you used your hairdryer 1 minute. the total energy is 2000[W] * 1/60 [h] = 33.(3) Wh. also, let's say you used your LED lamp (3W) for 12h, this is 3*12 = 36Wh. your LED bulb spent MORE energy than your hairdryer. so more Power doesn't mean more Energy. it always depends on how long you use it.

4) Energy stored in batteries is usually measured in Ah (Ampere hours). Depending on the voltage of the batteries, you can calculate the total power by multiplying. let's say you have a 45Ah car battery (12V). total power is 45*12=540Wh. this means you could power our LED bulb for 180 hours, or run your hairdryer for about 15 minutes. this is the total capacity of your battery. batteries actually are a bit more complicated than this, but as a model this is good enough.

5) Power used in AC (Alternate Current), which is what we have in homes, is comparable to Power in DC. meaning, let's say you have a drill, 500W, and an adapter from 12V to 250V (this is possible, it's called an inverter) that can handle 500W. you would have: 12V * 41.(6)A = 500W = 250V * 2A . this is a gross simplification, since AC has both peak (250V) and RMS (Root Mean Square), but going deeper would require extra electrical theory. so basically, if your drill is rated 250V/500W, your battery must be able to output 500W/41.(6) amps while you use your drill. depending on the battery, this might or might not be possible. the best is to consult your battery supplier

6) an inverter has a power rating, and that's the most important think you need to know. if your inverter gives 250V 150W you can never use your 500W drill. if Power needed is bigger than Power provided, usually you will fry your inverter, or cause it to go on fault protection mode. same thing with current. if your electronics are rated 10A and you feed (or pull) anything more than 10A, either you'll break a fuse or burn something. if you don't, you just got lucky.

7) when calculating how many batteries you'll need, remember that it's good for your batteries not to be completely drained. so if you have a 160Ah battery and keep it at most 80% discharged, you only have 0.2*160 = 32Ah available. this is about 384Wh of charge. if you just use a 3W bulb, you'll have 128 hours of light.

8) when calculating how many panels you'll need, first calculate how much energy you use (in Wh a day), then double that (or even triple that) for the panel power + battery bank. remember that depending on the time of year and weather conditions, you'll only have a certain fixed value of useful sun hours. if you do the math on Wh/year, you'll have a better estimate of the average, but remember that in winter, you'll need more backup energy, and in summer you'll have surplus energy.

in a D.I.Y. system, you won't be able to use government help, nor connect it to your electricity supply company. remember that for certification and what not, your panels might not get approved, and most of your cheap equipment might be considered "hazardous". our D.I.Y. system with car batteries, cheap inverters and home made panels works, but wouldn't be seen as "safe" by the government.

to find all of this stuff, use eBay, contact the industrial suppliers for panels looking for damaged cells and panels (they still work, they just look ugly and therefore can't be sold), prefer batteries that are recyclable and companies that have battery recycling guarantee (and environmental awareness whenever possible). DON'T BUY FROM CONSUMER STORES! you can build your own system for about 300€ instead of 5000€ like in some stores! it's NOT worth it! also, prefer mono crystalline silicon to poly crystalline silicon to amorphous silicon. in practice, all the shit you hear on the news about "revolutionary solar technology X" is hype. you can't buy any of those technologies, and most companies are for business only.

CHOOSE RECYCLED, USED GOODS INSTEAD OF BUYING! the energy used to make a solar panel will never be output by the panel itself in its whole lifetime. it's ironic, but unless the factory is "green" itself, buying new stuff might cause more harm than good. look up the companies first, and ask what is their manufacturing process, and whether they are green or not. silicon production gives off a lot of pollution and industrial waste. we need better technologies, so see solar as a good way of doing things for the moment, not as the ultimate green salvation. there are many other ways of generating green energy, so look up everything and you might be surprised!

godspeed starstuff ☆★☆☆★★★☆☆☆☆☆

we're having a long weekend painting the whole building, to get it ready for the big demolition.

14:00 - workshop "Como fazer um painel solar DIY"
15:00 - Documentario "House Of Youth" + Debate "Okupação em Portugal"

17:00 - Inicio dos concertos

After hours - DJs

Massey Ferguson (www.myspace.com/masseyfergusonattack) (Terror Speedcore do Alentejo)

Carlos Cruzt (www.myspace.com/dislitcrust) (Crust n' Roll da Kylakancra)

The Skrotes (www.myspace.com/skrotespT) (Skate Punk da Margem Sul)

stevenseagal (www.myspace.com/seagalhc) (Punk/Hardcore de Lisboa)

Desobediência Geral (www.myspace.com/desobedienciageral) (Anarco Punk de Lisboa)

The Ramblers (www.myspace.com/theramblersbluesrock) (Blues & Rock n' Roll)

Jack & Dante (www.myspace.com/thejackdanteband) (Rock alternativo do subúrbio)

Viva La Revolution (Punk Covers de Lisboa)

Local Trap (Punk Rock tipo Xutos - 1º concerto)

15h - How to make a video projector (hosted by Harrie)
16h - How to make a solar panel and renewable energy basics (hosted by João)
17h - Evaporative passive cooling and DIY fermentation (hosted by Matt)

- communal dinner -

21h - Projection and discussion: Left and right ideologies and community building (hosted by Lucian)