Show HN: I built a(nother) house optimized for LAN parties (lanparty.house)
I wasn't quite sure if this qualified as "Show HN" given you can't really download it and try it out. However, dang said[0]:
> If it's hardware or something that's not so easy to try out over the internet, find a different way to show how it actually works—a video, for example, or a detailed post with photos.
Hopefully I did that?
Additionally, I've put code and a detailed guide for the netboot computer management setup on GitHub:
https://github.com/kentonv/lanparty
Anyway, if this shouldn't have been Show HN, I apologize!
396 comments
[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 183 ms ] threadThanks for sharing!
But I am going to try switching the game machines to Linux at some point. I can't tell you how many times I've run into what were almost showstopper problems with the whole iSCSI netboot thing with Windows, only to get really lucky with some registry hack that worked around it. I'm sure it's going to just stop working at some point. Whereas with Linux I can dig into the stack and make things work however I want.
In fact, in the old Palo Alto house, when I first completed it in 2011, the game stations were Linux for the first six months. In theory it was a better setup because the machines were able to use their local disks for the copy-on-write overlay (this was easy to set up with an initrd script and Device Mapper). With Windows, I haven't figured out how to utilize the local disk at all -- so all the copy-on-write overlays are on the server side, which of course wastes server resources.
Of course, the problem with Linux is game support. We got a long way with WINE in 2011 but there were just a few too many issues. Here in 2024, Linux is ostensibly a much more capable gaming platform, with Steam support, Proton, etc. So maybe it'll work better this time?
Anyway, just another project on the todo list...
Would completely bypass the iSCSI setup, and each machine would still get the latest image from your server before the lan party begins.
There have been a decent number of times when I actually did this during a party to fix an issue, or between parties just to keep the machines maintained for the family to play with, etc. It'd be hard to do that if I have to spend hours transferring a large image every time.
Aside from the stability issues at boot time, there isn't really a down side. I don't have any problems with load times. So I'm pretty happy with the setup.
Also, maybe having a steam cache server and using the local disks as a game store might help with installation of games?
Definitely can see the benefits of the netboot setup, though!
> The house overall was a 7-digit number. Sorry, I'm not comfortable being any more specific than that.
Yes. I could never have done any of this without that fact. When you hire an architect, especially for a high-end house, they are incentivized to make expensive design decisions in order to make the house more impressive for their portfolio, and of course the contractor is not going to stop them because they want the money. And if you're just a normal person not experienced in homebuilding, you will not be able to spot what they're doing. I'm sure I would have been taken advantage of if the architect wasn't a family member.
But where are the ceiling duct tape hammocks? http://octanecreative.com/ducttape/walltapings/images/german...
And this - the hideaway desks that fold down to become a table top gaming session, well that could make much more flexible office spaces. (Don’t get me started on offices with one or two desks and doors that shut !)
But yeah, I like it, even if my house has that many people in I would probably just hide in the kitchen all night
Also, this is a classic example of the power of leverage. $200k down on a $1m home, home goes to $2m gives you a $1m profit on ~$240k. Accidental, in this case, but nice.
They seem to work pretty well. Have been using them frequently for more than a year with no issues yet.
Definitely penny-mod them too (just remove the panels, tape washers under the edge of each metal contact point - it makes the pads way more responsive and more fun to use).
You can also buy a portable barre bar on amazon, that's what I use. Super stable and easy to stow away. A bar lets you maintain form on crossovers/jumps, and I recommend for anyone not super casual (playing 12+).
Lastly, if you are really serious, you can buy a replica DDR pad from China for about 4-5k, or a used real pad for similar. The arcade feel is much better than L-Tek, but you need a lot of space for these. [1]
1: https://www.globalsources.com/Dance-pad/DDR-metal-dance-pads...
Yeah I have never used the bar. Probably because I learned to play at home, starting on a basic foam pad, and so obviously didn't have the bar available.
What a thoughtfully designed space for your family and friends! I feel like going this custom is pretty rare, and you’re clearly getting the value out of it. I also love that you did the math on the cable runs making essentially no difference.
Thanks for sharing :)
One thing I appreciate is that there is tons of building happening. Housing prices went up during the pandemic, but there is new housing being built everywhere you look, and as a result the prices are now going down quite a bit! (Which I'm fine with, even as a homeowner, because I wasn't planning to sell anytime soon anyway and I like to see problems getting solved.) The downtown skyline keeps changing -- the tallest tower when I arrived is now hardly notable!
All that said I'm not sure I personally am very affected by where I live. When I moved from Minneapolis to the Bay Area, people asked me if it was a culture shock, but all I really noticed was less snow and more left turn lanes...
Of course, on that measure, Minneapolis blows both of them out of the water -- at least during the half of the year when biking is enjoyable.
Most people I know that are happy with the move to Texas from California are the types that never cared for going outside in the first place. It’s a good place to build a big house and fill it with toys, which is exactly what you’ve done, so nice work there!
In the modern e-bike era, the hills are more accessible, too.
A neighbor of mine recently moved (back to) Texas. Where we live is 1/4 of a mile from a massive state park, right on the ocean full of mountainous trails. Dude admitted he had only visited it once in 5+ years, but complained about taxes and the price of gas constantly. It’s no wonder he wanted to go back.
I mean, maybe I just don't hang out with that crowd. But I do go to restaurants and haven't ever seen it mentioned.
By "too much" a factor of > 10x western safe levels is meant and by "correlated with" is meant a slew of other heavy metals are generally present.
This comes from studies that look at places in China, in Africa, and elsewhere that have unusally high levels of fluoride and other elements naturally occurring in water or as a by product of other industrial processing going on.
Where the problem lies is in the "fill in the missing line" extrapolations that the anti-fluoride folk do to "conclude" that if really high levels of stuff in water makes you stupid and affects your health then it surely must follow that small amounts make you a bit stupid and a bit unhealthy.
This is despite no such evidence existing even given large western populations with meticulously kept water quality and health records in the UK, Canada, Australia, US, etc.
The G20 recommended fluoride levels are safe by all the evidence to date and work to decrease cavity rates.
It is factually correct fluoride can be dangerous and studies have shown that. It is also factually correct fluoride in water reduces cavities. The debate is the risk rewards lines and safety.
https://www.newsweek.com/epa-fluoride-drinking-water-risks-c...
> Federal officials have recommended a fluoridation level of 0.7 milligrams per liter of water as of 2015. This is a decrease from the recommended upper ranger of 1.2 milligrams from the 50 years before that. Meanwhile, the EP has a longstanding requirement that water systems cannot have over 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. For comparison, the international safe limit for fluoride in drinking water as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 1.5 milligrams
The A/B testing you reference in Canada is interesting data obviously. It’s also possible reducing cavities with fluoride comes at an IQ cost isn’t it?
There's no evidence to suggest that though.
Just evidence that high levels (much higher) of fluoride and other elements in water has an adverse effect.
How does the cat restroom exhaust work? Always on or does it have a sensor?
Do the cat doors prevent sound getting into the kids' rooms from the living room?
Beautiful home and contents, btw! It seems expensive but more than a few folks would have spent the same money on “nicer marble” or something.
Just need: - TVOC sensor like the SGP41
- ESP32 microcontroller
- Electric Relay
In this day of international men’s day, maybe I should still enquire about your internal mental health, because stress can be discreet, but still, the outer appearance you give from your allocation of time and clarity of mind seems absolutely perfect.
BTW it's not a renovation, we build the house from scratch on an empty lot. :)
My office has automatic blinds that open and close according to some climate control system. The blinds are within the double glazing, so they can't be damaged by weather (or cats). The nice version for a home would be something like [1].
I'm sure the owner could program the automation so they only change position if no-one is in the room. There's no point having sunlight streaming into an empty room.
[1] https://www.betweenglassblinds.co.uk/
Possibly never in Austin, TX: I am not too privy to the temperatures it gets down to in the winter, though heating was brought up too.
There were several companies when I searched for "shutters OR blinds inside double glazing".
But I also in my circles everyone takes their own keyboard/mouse/pad/headphones as those are the things it's hard to adjust to - admittedly my priorities could be completely different.
But I think the LAN parties don't really happen often enough to cause much wear. In 10 years at the old place no one used mouse pads and it was never an issue.
Have the same issue, but can't subscribe to mousepads. I believe that's dust getting in the crevices of the wood.
The close folding furniture is probably great for holding back dust buildup.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Precise-Repositionable-Adhesive-MP...
Maybe you did this with your other house but I would have thought guests would bring their own computer to a LAN party. All you have to do is provide the space and network capability?
I’m really surprised about this, really shows how ludicrous the housing market is in the Bay Area. How high does your income need to be to afford a bigger house?!
Then I remembered… oh yeah, everything is bigger in America (especially in Texas)!
But I do agree with you. We live in a 4 bedroom detached house approx 120 sqm and this is plenty of space for a family. In fact, it's above average space out of all the families I know...
So they don't really need more than a studio anyway. Nor would they clean/maintain it anyway.
Yeah, 1400 as "small" is very US oriented :). But having grown up in the US, I really miss the space of the houses.