New Members
New Bloominglabs Member Information
This document is to help new members get to know what resources are available to you as a member. If you have not already done so, please look over our Membership Manual.
Dues payments
All members are added to our invoicing system so you will now receive monthly dues invoices. Dues are due on the 15th of every month. If you pay via paypal, please use the paypal button/link from within the invoice, doing this automatically updates our invoicing system. If you pay by check or cash you can pay the accounts-receivable officer during public meetings or you can leave your payment in an envelope in either of the donation boxes. If you do this we request you email invoices at bloominglabs dot org and let them know you have paid your dues, receipts will be left on the bulletin board.
Who do I ask for help?
If you have a question of any kind about Bloominglabs or using the space just send mail to the members list. This is also a good list to ask for help with a project or tell the rest of us about what you have been working on.
Mailing lists, email stuff
Members are subscribed to our announce, discuss, and members email lists unless you opted out. The announcement list allows us to communicate workshops and public meetings to non-members. The discuss list is a public mailing list so community members can participate. The members list is for Bloominglabs members only and is not public. You can modify your mailing list settings from these links:
If you wish to have a mail alias such as <my_name>@bloominglabs.org just send mail to our contact address. This will forward any mail received at that address to the email address you specify. We do not supply an SMTP server for members, only mail aliases.
- www.bloominglabs.org - This wiki - we encourage members to document their projects here!
- www.bloominglabs.org/dues - Our dues invoicing system - you can check your dues balance from here
- www.bloominglabs.org/assets - Our asset tracking database - if you intend to leave any tools or projects in the space, please consider putting an asset tag on it
- badges.bloominglabs.org - Bloomington Hackerspace Badges - Based on the Mozilla Open Badges project, you can receive awards for participating with Bloominglabs! You can also receive awards for learning how to use various tools in our space, making donations, volunteering with events, etc.
- https://xively.com/feeds/53278 - Xively is a site for graphing and sharing sensor data. Bloominglabs has a few kinds of sensors logging activity data you can check out.
- http://bloominglabs.no-ip.org:7777 - Live video from inside Bloominglabs with PTZ camera - ask a member or officer for the login
- http://bloominglabs.no-ip.org:8000 - Our live radio scanner feed
More accounts and passwords
- For an account to edit the wiki send mail to contact at bloominglabs dot org and we will get you setup.
- For the dues and assets sites, an email has been sent to you which includes the logins for these sites.
Tagging items in the space
As mentioned above in the "IT resources" section, we have an asset inventory system. This lets you generate QR-code asset tags which can be printed and taped to any tools or non-consumable objects in the space. Not only does this allow us to have a proper inventory, it also indicates the owner which can help new members find out who to ask if they want to use the tool or object.
In addition to the asset tags, we use RED tags to mark objects you wish for other to leave alone or ask before using. This is a good way to mark materials like metal, wood, and acrylic which you want to save for later use. GREEN tags identify free/any use items left in the space. These tags are normally on top of the green filing cabinet next to the front door.
Additional online resources
- Bloominglabs Google Event Calendar
- Bloominglabs Flickr account
- Bloominglabs Github repository for group code projects
We also have presences on social media sites, please feel free to follow, 'like', and otherwise stay connected with Bloominglabs:
If you want to get involved with our social media outreach, please contact the officers (contact at bloominglabs dot org). They usually know the logins to these services ;-). Lastly please tell your friends and neighbors about us! You can use contact at bloominglabs dot org as a point of contact for anyone who wishes to reach us.
Having guests (non-members) in the space
Often new members ask if it is ok to have friends and family members in the space with them outside of our public meetings. This is totally ok, we encourage folks to show their friends and family around Bloominglabs. We just ask two things. First, they must sign a liability waiver File:RELEASE AND WAIVER OF LIABILITY.pdf. Second, your guests are your responsibility. If you are having kids in the space it's your responsibility to make sure they don't get hurt if they are in the workshop. If they make a mess or cause a problem (whether they are kids or adults) it is your responsibility to handle it. That's it!
Using the big tools
If you wish to use the larger tools like the laser cutter and the machine tools please see our Training category. We generally require training or we verify your experience before turning people loose on those. Otherwise please email the members list if you are unsure who to ask or where to get started.
Using the space itself
There are some things in the space which may not be immediately obvious how to use.
- Audio Network - How to jack into the speakers spread around the space
- CCTV Network - How to control the TV's spread around the space, connect to the projector in the front room, etc.
Thanks!
