SPCC A Casa Amarela

well, it's not really a tiki bar, but almost. i have been doing some (much needed) maintenance on the few trees that SPCC had around the security shack (grape vines and some other unknown fruit trees, probably peach or apple). we cleaned up the security shack and we'll build a small bar there, since i suspect that during hot summer days that will be the preferred spot (it has great shade). we're also quitting the high stage on the bottom floor and going for a much lower one. our initial design required concrete pillars, this one won't.

we got a lot of stuff done this week. chill out area, new kitchen with plumbing, bathtub with watering bucket shower, barbecue outside, part of the new stage, cleaned up some trees (grapes are coming), cleanup of the future dog park, i could go on. overall, a very productive week. we hope to continue some of this by getting internet to work there and a sound system.

Long time since i posted here some news/feedback. No internet at SPCC for now, but next month we will have a connection. Hopefully, the other residents will be following and participating in this blog as well.

Overall it's going fine. I'm now working on level 2, working on the chill out/library area. My idea is to recycle as much as possible, so i can design and create the furniture and decor.

For now i have:

yellow room is up, the blood splatter really adds something to it. (something ugly).

the new metal door is great. light and strong, and the place is much more secure since pedro and joao boarded up the front windows with some more sheet metal.

the water issues are sorted, hopefully this is the end of rio freeshopio.

freeshop is overflowing (with clothes now, not water) and ready to go. lots of nice grandma stuff now thanks to pedro and maura's awesome find.

the meeting space on level four could be prettied up a bit, but it's functional.

we've been having a lot of visitors lately, some unintended. so the kids from nearby are regulars now, dropping by very often to hang out.

S caught some guy stealing paint from downstairs. they jumped through the window, so last night we took extra time to reinforce most of the outside. it still needs a lot of work, but for now it's much better. we think that they were there only to steal paint to do graffiti.

some pictures should be visible on the top of this website. for now they are straight from a picasa album, but we hope to make it that album collaborative, so that everyone that wants can upload their pics.

godspeed starstuff ☆★☆☆★★★☆☆☆☆☆

17.04.2010
a faulty extension cord caused a small fire. i fixed it by making a special socket only for the fridge. having so much power in so many different sockets led to what i think was just a current surge and a spark between phase and ground pins, leading to the extension burning down. obviously, i'm glad no one used water on it, and some people were planning on doing that.

work (or lack thereof) has been an issue lately, so we summoned a house meeting. clearly the divide is showing now, a group of people are working hard to make an art house, and another group of people just wants to live in a punk squat. clear in this was the use of spray paint that we purchased to pretty up the door to ruin some of the awesome stencils we had and write mindless street punk stuff on the walls. i think people forget that not everyone there is a street punk. personally, i don't even like punk that much.

a lot of things have been going on. a lot of smashing and breaking. so it pushed the ectropy crew (me, T, A, L) to work extra hard these past few days. the free shop looks great, the doors are repaired (we made a metal door, lighter and stronger) and it has a mailbox now. we got the fabric and the hooks for two other rooms, since S and the new residents need their own. besides that, the road has a new concrete block to avoid big trucks to go in, and i think they are adding a new chain (someone cut it previously). anyway, there is sidewalk to drive in. we might do that instead.

we now have water upstairs. still needs some work as there is a lot of leaking. i employed a technique using a blowtorch to melt the PVC pipes, but i guess they didn't melt all the way.

also, major door issues both downstairs and upstairs. we need a lighter door, so i'm conjuring up a metal design. might imply buying some metal, but it sure beats this wood door that nobody can use properly.

also, unrelated, escotilha8 is done, painted, clean, and now it's up to me to write the eulogy.

godspeed starstuff ☆★☆☆★★★☆☆☆☆☆