Being at a bit of a loss where to go next with my Home Lab I am looking around for inspiration. It struck me that maybe I need other people with which to exchange ideas and skills so that I can up my game and move on to the next level.
Having just read a brief article about the popularity of hacker spaces, maker spaces and men’s sheds I though it sounded a promising avenue. However, upon investigation, I was a little disappointed.
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I can find no hackers paces near enough to me that I could attend regularly enough to make the cost worthwhile. I hate driving, especially at night so where I go needs to reasonably close enough to walk or use public transport.
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The maker spaces often appear to be one and the same as hacker spaces, sharing the same management and workspaces - only the name changes. Again they are not near enough to tempt me regularly. The maker spaces seem to be more geared towards hardware, automation and robotics, in which I am not particularly interested.
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Men’s Sheds are a bit different and sound interesting but the local ones are more based on traditional handicrafts such as making and refurbishing things made with wood and metal. I like that sort of thing but it’s not what I’m after at the moment. They tend to appeal to retired or unemployed so the meeting hours are during the day. There are two quite local; one is walkable, one is a short drive.
The nearest maker/hacker space is about 25 minute drive and membership is not obligatory so I could attend on an ad-hoc basis to try it out - we’ll see.
So I’m back to square one, but a recent post on Fosstodon has given me and idea which I might pursue and write about in future.