SPCC A Casa Amarela

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 ☆★☆☆★★★☆☆☆☆☆

party was great, unfortunately on a work day i couldn't be bothered to jump in. still spent 1h30 driving people around. the party itself was like having bairro alto over at your place, bar fights included. loud music, loud punks, fist fights for nothing, the usual.

total budget (aproximate):
50€ on booze (26€ was my gift to S)
15€ on food (no food left for me and T though, we had to go out and buy some)
50€ a broken car rear view mirror (might fix it some other way, but worried about legal car inspection)
10€ a smashed white paint bucket (during P and O fist fight)

i cleaned it up and made it yellow, for obvious reasons.

took about 60 minutes to get to work on my bike. i expect i can take about 15 mins off that number. about the same time i take on my car on an average day out. total savings are about 100€ a month (CO2 savings not computed). all small things count right now.

we got the orange room up. also the pigeons are mostly gone now, since the babies now know how to fly. we now have a decent lounge and eating space, but the water continues to be an issue. no big reports on the human side of things, since everyone seems to be used to everybody else now. we're starting to have our bonding moments which will save us from bigger issues.
Ma did a wonderful job with the showers and toilets, they are perfectly usable now, and i'd say all we need is to set up the plumbing.

godspeed starstuff ☆★☆☆★★★☆☆☆☆☆

the hydrant is now all covered up and it's hard to notice that there's a hose coming out. the hose is now connected through the back of the building to the shower area.
a lot of birds in the morning, almost too many! also, the door now keeps the dogs in the wood room.
besides this, i tried to get electricity from one of the posts, but got nothing. i think the post is disconnected.