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What Would You Want In A "Geek Bar"?
NiceGeek asks: "Is there any interest in a 'Geek' bar? After reading a comment in a recent story on Slashdot, I started thinking about a 'geek hangout' type bar. Basically, beer, music, classic arcade and console games and maybe classic network games like Doom and Quake. One advantage to the 'classic' theme would be reduced overhead. I already possess a lot of classic consoles/games and older stand-up systems are pretty cheap also. I would also consider adding a 'cyber-cafe' for broadband access. I have several other ideas but would like to see if there is any interest." It's an interesting idea, but are there any other things that you think such an endeavor would need? NTN Trivia consoles would be a nice addition (it would fit in well with the other things listed). I have fond memories of playing NTN with friends when it was available at a local hangout.
Most of the things I would want in such a place would get it shut down by the forces of Moral rectaltude.
Good quality alcohol. (Absinthe (not that Absente crap), Cognac (at least VSOP, if not XO), Single Malts no younger than 16 years, Canadian hard cide or tap, and good micro-brews of various sorts.)
Sections that are quiet. (Sound-proofed if possible.) Half the time I go out I can barely hear myself think, let alone the person across from me.)
Good live bands. (Groups like "Land of the Blind" that thrive on low crowd noise and lack of tobacco.)
Networked deathmatch games.
TVs that do not show sports. (Marx bros movies, Sci Fi, Ray Harryhousen movies, cartoons, Hong Kong action or fantasy films, or anything else I would feel like showing.)
Good looking females with an IQ.
Of course, any sort of unsupervised fun is deemed wrong and immoral by the constabulary and must be stomped out without mercy.
"So shall it be, this is the land of the free..."
"Trademarks are the heraldry of the new feudalism."
One of these would be nice!
Previously, the space seemed to have been a used bookstore, so the walls were lined with shelves and lots of books (classic literature, philosophy, art, etc that you'd expect in a college town -- I didn't see any O'Reilly books... :), which you were free to peruse & buy. At the back was a little deli where you could get sandwiches, soft drinks, coffee, tea, and beer. Scattered all over the place were chairs, recliners, sofas, etc that could be moved around freely. Up front -- this was the best part -- was an area that would every now and then be cleared out so that rock bands could play, and none of that whiny Don McLean acoustic cover shit either.
That place had a great mix. Too many rock clubs are just flat out dingy, depressing places. Too many of the places you can go late at night will give you a choice between either a cup of coffee or a glass of beer -- you typically can one or the other, but not both from one establishment. This mix isn't really something "geek specific" -- maybe "me specific" more like :) -- but I thought this was an awesome place, and it sucks that it's well over 1000 miles from here (Boston). I would put it as a near ideal setup for a "geek bar"...
DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL
Up at Purdue we had a split level ranch with the bar/den in the lower level. We could move the couches out from infront of the TV giving us a 50x30 room, that opened up to the back yard with a lake, waterfall, and privacy fence (can we say party). At any rate, black lights were the only source of lighting at the bar, aside from a 486/66 PC driving X11 Amp over VNC to a slackware box in the back room. We cabled the out to the surround system which provided plenty of music for the parties. What else does a true geek need? Highlighters! Yes, you don't have to be too techy to be a geek. Chicks let you draw on their faces and then they come back every couple minutes to show their friends their preety glow-in-the-dark faces. Don't forget the webcam, digital camera, palm pilot to hand girls to enter their phone numbers, and Mic's strown all about the bar to record girls comments about the tall dark dj, beer server. Three sound cards and a lot of disk space can make this fun. Festival running on your linux box can make the computer talk to people at the part, but only do this after 2:00 (when everyone is warm and fuzzy). Next, you might want to setup an IOpener at one edge of the bar (for sex apeal), to take requests. For some reason the flat screen jutebox request machine impresses chicks. Lie and tell them you can put it in your car and use it to play every song. If you have unlocked rooms in your home, consider putting hidden webcams in each room, routing them to your VNC server for entertainment (or security) purposes.
Moderate me.
Second thing I'd want in a geek bar: quiet space. Most places are too loud to have a conversation. Acoustic engineering isn't quite rocket science, you could have booths or entire rooms which are lined to absorb sound from people and things more than a short distance away.
Third thing: Connectivity and power, with table space. I'd love to be able to haul in my laptop and plug it into a 10baseT and a 12-volt supply (why not 110 volts? because the cable that plugs into a car is a lot lighter and smaller than the transformer for line power).
Fourth thing: security. Cable locks for computers, lockers for books and bags. Build them into the tables and booth-backs, charge a quarter to release the key like airport lockers. Maybe plant a security tag in the key so that anyone trying to take one out of the building gets "beeped".
Fifth thing: I want to be able to select my own entertainment. If I can't play what I want by streaming it from my laptop (or even if I can, because laptop speakers are so tinny) I'd like to be able to pick what's coming over the speakers in my booth. Let the speakers cancel what's coming from the booths on either side (active noise cancellation). Or put the building inside a Faraday cage and broadcast different music, news and TV sound channels over little 100 mW FM transmitters. Bring a headset radio and tune in whichever thing you want for background, put the volume up or down at your pleasure.
Sixth, food. Geeks get enough grease and too little exercise at work. I want to be able to get good coffee, fresh salads and tasty low-fat food. If the kitchen doesn't even have a grill or a deep-fat fryer, GREAT. Put it next door to a sushi bar for real fun, man I'd never leave (what's that smell?).
I second the vote for "no sports". SciFi, Cartoon Channel, financial news, but no sports.
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Alcohol behind lockable cabinets or a separate closable bar so that you can serve coffee and websites after the bar closing time and be open all night.
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Dont forget a free email account with your first pitcher.
And no pisswatery beer.
I also recommend tabletop / board games. You could even have tournaments. Beats frickin' karaoke. Hell, at a place like that I could have some interesting MTG games.
I had the same idea about a year ago, but personally I dont have the funds nor associates who think its a good idea, nor do I relish the idea of having to fight Boston's repressive tendencies. I'd open it in a tight place like Flann's, call it something corny like "The Root Sheller," and wait for Cambridgiophiles to deign to visit it. (Maybe it's not such a great idea.)
BTW, have you seen jwz's notes on the DNA Lounge that he is building in SF? Dunno if he has 'geek bar' in mind, but his experience is still helpful:
http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/latest.htm
Kdt
Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
In fact, turn off the damned ESPN entirely. Give me the Sci-Fi Channel, 24/7.