Marcus Zuech
Contents
Team Culturing Information
WHO are you?
- Name - Marcus Zuech
- Location (city, country) - Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Contact Information (email, skype, phone) - amzuech (at) gmail (dot) com
- Picture
- Introductory Video
- Resume/CV
WHY are you motivated to support/develop this work?
- Do you endorse open source culture?
Yes. Knowledge and human creativity are the only non-finite resources in the world. Where the former is made artificially scarce, the latter can never reach its fullest bloom.
- Why are you interested in collaborating with us?
Emphatically yes. I have elementary skills and basic knowledge in a wide variety of disciplines. I am actively looking for ways to contribute with less than professional expertise any of the skill areas that this project seems to need.
- How do you think that the GVCS can address pressing world issues?
GVCS can make self-sufficiency or near self-sufficiency achievable for small communities of people. Having the necessities of life originate in the local community without diminishing technological sophistication can make human civilization more robust, adaptable, and possibly more just.
I am also enamored of the way that the GVCS proposes to make fundamental tools and techniques acquirable with minimal capital and bureaucracy. I hope that GVCS and other open-source projects will mean that in the future a person like me will have the opportunity to realize their creative potential by their own means.
- What should happen so that you become more involved with the project?
If there are tasks within existing OSE projects which could benefit from my skills and talent, I would be glad to volunteer my time.
- What is missing in the project?
Non-computerized information technologies.
- What are your suggestions for improvement of the project?
This is off the top of my head, just a few minutes thought, so please get your grain of salt ready:
I think that the GVCS should include surveying tools and training materials which do not rely on sophisticated electronics, modern GIS or GPS.
Specifically, a GVCS-based community should be able to perform detailed terrain mapping without having a sophisticated IT infrastructure in place or including formally educated surveyors. It should include accessible-tech methods of soil sampling and weather monitoring.
Modeling the contour of a piece of land, it's exposure to sun, wind, and rain, soil composition, etc. is critical to sustainable agriculture and of course any kind of construction. A self-sufficient community would need to monitor changes in the terrain around them with repeated surveys.
For a GVCS-based community to "bootstrap" itself it must be able to plan buildings, plantings, erosion controls and such long before it is producing its own sophisticated electronics. If the village is in a non-industrialized part of the world, its citizens may not come with a deep pool of computer skills during the initial stages of GVCS-based development.
WHAT are your skills?
- List all of your skills in these areas: Communications - Organizational - Computer Support - Finances - Design - Natural Building - Electronics - Automation - Metallurgy - Engineering - Fabrication - Agriculture - Energy - Architecture - Video/Graphics/Art - PR/Marketing - Education - Construction - Industry - CNC - Chemistry - Product Design - Other
Communication- Excellent written and verbal communications Some technical writing (training materials, federal IT contracting) 1+ years dispatching/operations (airline ground servicing) 3+ years corporate training (airlines, motor freight) 2 years other training (Boy Scouts)
Organizational- Not much, I have led teams of up to six people in an industrial setting.
Computer Support- Nothing formal, but I am usually the guy that co-workers go to with computer problems.
Computers Generally- A few classes; some Java, SQL, a bit more CAD
Design/Automation/Engineering/Fabrication/CNC/Product Design/Art- I earned about 90 credits towards an Industrial Design degree before transferring. In my current job, I have been responsible for testing prototype industrial equipment in a production setting for safety, ergonomics, and productivity.
Construction- 1+ year light construction
Industry- 5 years (approximate) between airline ground support, motor freight, light construction, snow removal, and warehouse operations.
Education- See "Communications" above.
Chemistry- Undergrad general chemistry
Architecture- 6 months part-time volunteer CAD work.
Natural Building/Metallurgy/Agriculture/Energy- A substantial amount of self-directed study, no practical experience
Finances/Video/Graphics/PR- Essentially no experience
Other- 6+ years manual labor - I think that this is important; working with one's body is a skill. I am accustomed to doing strenuous physical work productively over long stretches of time. Class A CDL 3 winters cold-climate industrial work (snow removal, aircraft de-icing). 2 semesters as undergraduate research assistant (neuroscience/physiological psychology) 6 months industrial research (equipment testing/modification/procedure writing) 3+ years cooking (fine dining/short-order/catering)
- How have you already contributed to the project?
Not at all yet.
HOW can you help?
- How are you interested in contributing to the work of GVCS development?
I am still working this out.
I would like to make myself available as of now for such contributory tasks as I can accomplish remotely. Anyone who reads the above "skills" section and thinks I could assist them on a volunteer basis, please feel free to contact me.
I would potentially like to be involved in the prototyping and testing activities at Factor e Farm on a full-time, in-person basis.
- Can you volunteer to work with us, and if so, how many hours per week?
15 hours remotely on a single project or 10 hours remotely on multiple projects (figuring for the burden of getting up to speed on each project, collaborating with a larger number of people, and frequently switching tasks).
Full time in person if I can make it financially feasible and would be fully utilized.
- Are you interested in working with us for pay? If so, what services can you offer, and what is your hourly or per-project rate?
Potentially, this depends on the nature of the work and the time committment involved.
- Are you interested in a Dedicated Project Visit?
Yes, eventually. I do not believe that I yet have sufficient skills in any one area to take the lead on such a project.
- Are you interested in purchasing equipment from us to help bootstrap development?
Yes, should the occasion arise.
- Are you interested in bidding for consulting/design/prototyping work?
Maybe
- Are you a True Fan? If not, why not?
No, insufficient funds right now.
- Would you like to see yourself working with us on a full-time basis?
Yes.
- Are you interested in being part of the world's first, open source, resilient community? The GVCS is the preparatory step for the OSE Village Experiment – a 2 year, immersion experiment (2013-2014) for testing whether a real, thriving, modern-day prototype community of 200 people can be built on 200 acres using local resources and open access to information? We are looking for approximately 200 people to fill a diverse array of roles, according to the Social Contract that is being developed. This may be the boldest social experiment on earth - a pioneering community whose goal is to extend the index of possibilities regarding harmonious existence of humans, ecology, and technology.
I would very much enjoy the experience of setting up the OSE Village Experiment, but if the community persists beyond two years, I would likely wish to move on to a new challenge.
