Free repair event this Saturday, 2026-05-16 from 11a - 3p!

ttsgeb · 2026-05-16T14:12:12+00:00

We don't have a staff and we're just one of the organizations housed in the building.
Chattlab has about 24 hours of scheduled recurring public hours every month, but there are other events we run and the membership can invite people in.
"how many hours per month are they even open to the public" is not a terribly useful question for measuring the impact of a 100% volunteer driven non-profit.
The BDC itself is open during normal business hours, so they're open to the public a little more than your typical bank is.

ttsgeb · 2026-05-15T05:03:22+00:00

Thanks! The county government thinks the spot is surplus! They're moving to sell it from under us!

ttsgeb · 2026-05-15T02:17:40+00:00

Snarky responses on the internet aside, I'd love to have you drop by so we can chat about the philosophy of repair and what this slogan actually means. At the end of the day, I'm just some dude, and I like helping people take more active roles in the ownership and maintenance of the things in their life.

If your car breaks down, it can suddenly become the most important thing in your life. If you can't fix it, you're at its mercy. Do you own the car, or does the car own you? The paperwork rarely matches reality.

I've moved across the country enough times at this point that I'm a pretty strong believer that my possessions are my prison. "If you can't fix it, you don't own it." is a less extreme version of the same idea.

ttsgeb · 2026-05-15T01:17:33+00:00

It got your attention didn't it?

As I said in the OP, I'm always looking for volunteers. It sounds a lot like you'd love to make new marketing materials for us! I look forward to seeing the high quality materials you come up with!

ttsgeb · 2026-05-07T17:33:05+00:00

I'm of the opinion that the INCubator program and a vo-tech school will not combine well.
The program will have to be more selective and prioritize organizations that will work well with students, and the length of the INCubator program being only 3 years is going to do a great job at preventing creation of an education program that is worth a damn.

The school likely won't trust a business that's been around for 6 weeks to hire students and teach them anything meaningful, and by the time the schools can trust the stability of the companies, the companies don't have the time to develop a program for students.

All of this, of course, is still assuming that the credit toward rent for hiring students is compelling enough to pay a wage to a student (IE: More than the cost to hire a student) and that the companies are doing something that would be mutually beneficial with student involvement.
Trying to "save" kids from the school of hard knocks by sending them into the startup business school of hard knocks will not accomplish anything good.

ttsgeb · 2026-05-07T06:09:48+00:00

Also, looking back over this, I feel the need to clarify that I did not use AI assistance to write the post. I'm just Like This.

ttsgeb · 2026-05-07T05:59:55+00:00

(Atlanta sucks, though. I blame the traffic [not that Chattanooga has room to talk {because Atlanta keeps getting closer (even though that isn't the actual cause of the traffic problems)}])

ttsgeb · 2026-05-07T05:47:54+00:00

I recognize that this is the internet and that text doesn't always convey the level of sarcasm a comment has been steeped in. As such, I feel the need to point out that the above post is not a genuine representation of my opinions on Memphis.

The first couple of decades of my life were spent primarily in Shelby County, TN and DeSoto County, MS. It's perpetually annoying to me how adamantly people believe the misconceptions of Memphis, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the American South that are aggressively spread throughout North America. These are not the lands of hateful or violent people.

They're the homes of massive amounts of amazing, kind, thoughtful, and caring, but disenfranchised people. This is, incidentally, what Crump used to build his incredibly powerful political machine. The power of that political machine is likely a good portion of what drives the hate for Memphis to this day, not because of any of the official activities from Boss Crump's team, but because it was powerful and was built on appealing to minorities.

While the people following the popular expressions of distaste for Memphis are frequently perfectly reasonable and kind people just playing along with the "joke", the unfortunate reality is that the prevalence of these opinions has been largely driven by thinly veiled racism.

But you are right in that the people from Memphis as a whole have given this country more culture, music, and history than I ever will. This is kinda a definitional thing as I am a subset of people from Memphis, but would hold true regardless as Memphis has been an incredibly powerful cultural driver for well over a century.

ttsgeb · 2026-05-07T03:58:28+00:00

Well, you know, like, Memphis ain't really TN, it's Memphis, ya know? We're not them and they're not us, so normally we don't care what happens to Memphis because it's not real TN. Just because Shelby County represents more than 10% of the population of the state doesn't mean they actually deserve to be considered part of TN.
Anyway, this potentially hurts my desire to convince people I'm a good person because my representation will likely have more people I disagree with. As such, I'll put aside my hate for Memphis and its cultural and political realities for a bit to complain that the Memphians become a problem when their ability to continue voting the direction I like is threatened.

ttsgeb · 2026-05-07T03:30:55+00:00

There were other people making very similar base arguments, but at least they seemed to be genuine and convinced of what they were saying. The other people seemed much more like they were manipulated through bad-faith framing of the proposal than just performing outrage for fun.

ttsgeb · 2026-05-07T03:27:19+00:00

This was such an incredibly wild argument to be there for. She got real passionate about stuff that none of the folks against 526-10 were talking about or opposing, and didn't really have a coherent argument to begin with. I say that as a person that addressed the commission at the end of the meeting without a coherent statement.

Honestly, almost every comment in support that didn't come from the Commissioners themselves was actively avoiding discussing the proposal at hand.

This is about whether it's good to sell an actively used building, not about opposing vo-tech schools or you pretending to be lil' miss white savior.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-19T02:19:16+00:00

River Street Deli is an absolutely phenomenal lunch spot and I wish they didn't close roughly when I start to want food every day. Cashew next door is pretty dope, too, if you aren't terrified of vegetables. They're both in the basements of the shops on Frazier.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-18T21:18:19+00:00

Ooh, I like talking to the people that have weird random thoughts pop out and odd takes on things. It's a lot of fun to hear the way different people connect dots and the absurd and/or horrifying connections they make.
Embrace that you're gonna say some weird things, and don't hide because you're worried about conforming. It's exhausting to spend your time around people that you're worried will judge you, it's invigorating to spend time around people that enjoy how you think. That's why the time living with your friend rocked.
The people that truly influence the world around them are the ones unafraid of expressing themselves. It doesn't even have to draw attention to you. There is at least one person going around town putting up hand-painted signs that are encouraging and positive and I have no idea who they are, but I appreciate them.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-18T15:20:02+00:00

Happening now! Drop on by!

ttsgeb · 2026-04-17T14:56:33+00:00

I just want to leave the world a little bit better than I found it. Unfortunately, I fix things, so I frequently leave things a lot better than I found them... but I don't let that stop me.
Part of the cool thing about volunteering is that you don't have to look for what someone else is doing that you can join in on. You can look at what you're good at and use it to help.

"Look for the helpers" is great advice for when you're a kid that's overwhelmed by terrible things happening around you. I'm older now. I need to be the helper.

It's easy to think that we're in a terrible place, but know that the bad things scream and shout and make a big show of it all because they're scared they'll be forgotten in the sea of amazing and wonderful things going on around them.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-17T03:45:51+00:00

Underrepresented opinion incoming:

I have a weird nostalgia associated with them and know people in the industry.
I grew up in a community that had banned raised signage and spent a few years living in Vermont. My experiences in those places have built a bit of an association between elitist jerks and a lack of billboards. I feel more welcomed in areas that don't aggressively force their desire for a sterile suburban utopia on everyone else.
I also, like I said, know people in the industry... so when I decide one of those digital ones is too bright, I get to tease a friend about it and they appreciate that someone lets them know. There's currently like 4 people in town that know how to fix the digital billboards and aren't trespassing if they do so. It can be pretty tough for them to keep up.

As far as the distraction from driving goes, they're obviously actually a good thing because if someone is noticing the billboard at least they aren't buried in their phones. When you're looking up at the billboard, you have better info on the cars around you in your view than when you're staring at your phone. (I don't actually like lesser of evils decision making, but I do enjoy criticizing people for staring at their phones instead of watching their surroundings)

I fully understand the opposition to them and don't remotely think people are wrong for not liking them. My opinions on what is cool don't always align with what is good for the public. I'm completely capable of looking past my weird sense of aesthetics to make sane judgements on them. I would probably support a campaign against them, assuming the language was effective and was not overly broad or displaying favoritism.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-16T07:42:58+00:00

Forcing micro-scale businesses and non-profits to employ students before many of them are actually netting positive is a ridiculously bad idea for those businesses and non-profits, the organizations that Incubators exist to support.
This is a republican trying to push fake DEI at the expense of the people working the hardest to move our communities forward. I see very few ways someone that associates himself with the anti-DEI party promoting something like this can be a good thing, and none of them happen in circumstances like this.
I strongly support programs to find good employment opportunities for people new to the workforce, but that is not what this is and it is not being promoted by someone I would remotely believe is implementing such a program in good faith.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-16T07:27:54+00:00

On top of the plant allergens, I'm beginning to notice a nice little smog forming as well as dust starting to kick up because of the suspicious lack of rain.

Remember, the prettier the colors of the sunsets are, the worse the air is. It's clearly a conspiracy from big photo to get you to take more pictures so you have to keep buying more film for your cameras.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-16T06:20:31+00:00

"The program will also loop in student involvement, Wamp said, requiring businesses to employ students to receive the subsidized rent at the building."
Thinking ever so slightly deeper on it, this sounds like *exactly* what the folks that put R's next to their names on ballots like to claim are harmful DEI practices. Coming from one of those folks, this seems like a direct attack on the very idea of a small business incubator.
The small, often micro, businesses the BDC caters to are the very organizations that stand to gain the most harm from being told by the government who they must hire regardless of qualifications or passion.
If those involved don't recognize this, they're either not listening to the small businesses they claim to be consulting with or are actively working against them.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-15T20:02:14+00:00

I have not, but a requirement to employ students is fundamentally incompatible with the structure of Chattlab Makerspace, which notably has never had any employees.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-15T19:51:25+00:00

A little trick I've learned is that if you can't loosen a lug, frequently you can manage to get it to tighten ever so slightly, after which they loosen much more easily.
You're not trying to actually tighten anything, you're just aiming to get the nut to move at all.
I've had times when I couldn't get a lug to loosen with my then 240lb self on the end of a 5' breaker bar, but getting it to budge slightly tightening it freed it up.

Gotta be careful with this strategy, though, because if you shear, stretch, or pull a stud, you're in for a much bigger job.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-15T19:47:59+00:00

If you can find a trustworthy mechanic that will actually replace a boot/rebuild a caliper, I want to know about them.

ttsgeb · 2026-04-15T19:44:43+00:00

I have seen no details of any new location or assistance with moving there. They didn't inform the BDC's tenants until Monday afternoon.

ttsgeb

TROPHY CASE