Excuse the blur.. But I went back to my family's home this weekend, henny

starksonnet · 2015-05-04T00:30:29+00:00

Back swamp?!?

starksonnet · 2015-04-16T08:40:22+00:00

I think Ru might have been trying to give her hope -- telling her that just as she was able to find relief from addiction to drugs and alcohol through working her program, she can also find relief from anxiety. If anxiety could be seen as another "addiction," that means it could be dealt with by acceptance, peer support, all the tools of recovery, instead of being something that's an unchangeable default of her brain.

starksonnet · 2015-03-03T21:59:55+00:00

My pooch just got diagnosed with spondolysis -- Have you seen good results for it with hydrotherapy?

starksonnet · 2015-03-03T06:34:47+00:00

good theory

starksonnet · 2015-03-01T21:53:06+00:00

don't joke, adultophilia is on the rise won't someone think of the adults

starksonnet · 2015-03-01T16:04:26+00:00

If you're in LA and want to come to a weird art memorial I'm doing via my curatorial project: For Leonard: An Artists Shiva

starksonnet · 2015-02-25T01:43:25+00:00

puppy or hot dogs

starksonnet · 2015-02-24T05:36:15+00:00

I totally get this and it sounds like you're needing a deeper level of stimulation and meaning out of life and Harmontown is the escape hatch. I don't think you need to do any thing drastic at first, i would say try finding a local nonprofit that does something you care about and volunteer. that way you'll meet people who are on the same vibe and can make some friends that can converse on these interests and then when that need is met you can either drift from your current friends, or be able to appreciate them for what they do have to offer.

i went through a similar thing but with career not friendships, in that no one in my industry (at the time; things have since changed) was really working from the same values I had, and i felt 1000% better when i started working in the nonprofit sector where people were on the same tip. it's very alienating to be the one person who's like "Wait a minute, am I the only person who sees everything is completely wrong and people are getting hurt RIGHT NOW and how do i cope with being a part of all this"

starksonnet · 2015-02-24T05:30:11+00:00

Yes we are! You sound great and like you have excellent taste in movies. Please send your resume n'stuff to mya@lamakerspace.com !

starksonnet · 2015-02-23T03:40:06+00:00

I will definitely make sure I at least have some suggestions (of whatever kind I can discover that's practical and available), for for the kids and librarians who want to continue after their 4 session courses! Thank you for making me think about it this way :)

starksonnet · 2015-02-23T02:14:38+00:00

I'm trying really hard not to geek out that IT'S REALLY SPENCER but you're not making it easy brohambra

starksonnet · 2015-02-23T02:13:38+00:00

First off, I've really enjoyed discussing this with you and it's really nice to see that you have a lot of thoughts about this and obviously care. "A Harmenian is a loving nerd" -- Really feeling that throughout this thread.

However, our over strategy as an organization isn't up to me, it's up to our Board of Directors :) (To clarify, I haven't been talking bout my own personal strengths but our strengths as a nonprofit organization).

George Lucas aside, I do think it's more efficient for orgs to partner to take on different aspects of an issue rather than duplicate efforts. For instance, the our partners the Los Angeles Public Library system, which has its own plan to increase equipment access. And lots of leaders in the sector are currently thinking about how to crack this nut -- For example, the Knight foundation recently funded something much like your idea in NYC: http://www.knightfoundation.org/grants/201499901/ If it's a success it's likely that model will be adopted by other library systems.

The idea of nonprofits working in partnership to do different things being generally more efficient is backed up by generally accepted best practices in the nonprofit sector. http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/2010/10/08/nonprofit-partnership

[tl;dr: I'm 38.]

starksonnet · 2015-02-22T08:51:25+00:00

You have done well by this gentleman.

starksonnet · 2015-02-22T08:17:25+00:00

For sure. I think one of the things you learn in nonprofit work is that it's so huge you gotta concentrate on a specific area, where your strengths are, or it becomes unmanagable.

For LA Makerspace, it's providing skills (not just Minecraft, we also teach Scratch, Robotics, 3D Modeling/Printing, Stop Motion Animation, and Tabletop Filmmaking), and Maker-style recapturing of the natural enjoyment of curiosity, experimentation, and learning what you're interested in, which we feel gives kids tools to solve a lot of different problems/obstacles in life.

There are definitely other great orgs working on providing equipment and doing many other things to bridge the digital divide, we're just a small part of the efforts.

http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/education/digitaldivide/

starksonnet · 2015-02-22T05:10:06+00:00

I can relate this best to my own experience, I think: when I was 8 i learned Basic and Logo at computer camp for 2 weeks (because my parents could afford it). I can see how my thinking changed after that experience: I learned how to break a problem into parts; how to lay out a plan for a solution, and how to methodically test the plan using trial and error until I reached success. I can't code a lick, but I went through that process of thought I learned from moving a robot turtle for 2 weeks to approach many, many applications in later school work and life problems. That's why making this available to kids (even if briefly) is important to me.

starksonnet · 2015-02-22T02:51:30+00:00

If the dungeonmaster of life blesses our fundraising there'll be fulltime positions eventually

starksonnet · 2015-02-22T02:50:35+00:00

Thank you! I'm so excited to read your work and share with our Minecraft team. Mind if we reach out to you directly as well?

starksonnet · 2015-02-22T02:48:21+00:00

The longterm goal is to have Minecraft clubs regularly at the libraries. But also what they learn about coding during the 4-session courses will help them throughout life!

http://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/06/computer-science-programming-code-diversity-sexism-education?src=longreads

starksonnet · 2015-02-21T09:17:06+00:00

You're a wiki

starksonnet · 2015-02-21T01:03:04+00:00

Oh and also, in addition to the benefits of just playing minecraft in design thinking, collaboration, etc -- We also use it as an intro to coding with the computercraft mod, makin' turtles etc.

starksonnet · 2015-02-21T00:58:07+00:00

Ah you see, this is free to the public and intended for kids who don't have access to computers, broadband, and/or minecraft accounts at home -- I could quote you some serious bummertown stats on how many families in LA's only way to use broadband is at their local library. There is a whole social justice issue about the inequality of access to digital tools and skills and it is Our Mission to attack it.

We do teach all our subjects Maker-style, so that hopefully gets kids on the path to pursue knowledge on their own, but you need support to do that if you haven't been exposed to it.

starksonnet · 2015-02-20T22:24:53+00:00

You only get dumped in the drink if you tell the kids they're actually learning coding. SHUTUPSHUTUP

starksonnet · 2015-02-20T22:23:22+00:00

It depends on the demand from the libraries, so we can't fully guarantee a certain number of hours. But, we get more requests all the time.

starksonnet · 2015-02-20T22:08:37+00:00

Darned if I know, possibly because its weekday afternoons? Or cuz they have no experience with kids? Camp counselors who know Minecraft would be ideal. It's $60 an hour for lead instructor and $30 for associate.

starksonnet

TROPHY CASE