My name is Forest, I'm currently in southern Wisconsin, in my last semester of college.

I'm an accomplished programmer, and I've worked in the "industry" since I was 15. If you are interested in my professional background, see my linkedin page: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/forest-johnson/56/563/34a. 

TL;DR I have diverse experience ranging from educational games to tools & web development, and from professional office jobs to Open Source pajama programming.

I've been following OSE since the first TED talk, and I'm really interested in what OSE offers because when I think about what society expects of me, to get a professional office job and buy a house and a car, I feel sick to my stomach. I never liked working in offices that much, and I find the popular culture of coercion and consumption very uncomfortable. So I'm looking for an alternative.

I've been living in dorms and co-operative houses for about 4 years, and I don't want to stop after college. I'm trying to make plans for my future, and I think starting a co-op might be the best solution. I'm interested in green building designs, passive solar, CEB construction, and community oriented design.

I've been studying architecture, of the Earthship design, Mike Oehler's underground houses, and computerized HVAC in contemporary buildings, and I've come up with a few sketches. So far, I've got a semi-buried multi-unit south facing "row house" design. Bargain version of the Earthship, designed around OSE tools and communal living.

After I graduate, I want to become active in the OSE online community and work on 3D visualizations / CAD files for this project. A lot of my friends are interested in similar things (co-op living, owning land, agriculture, DIY, etc) and I'm hoping that if we pool our resources, we might be able to get the tools we need to build our own co-op, both to suit our needs and also to generate useful knowledge: how to build beautiful, functional, and sustainable homes on a tight budget.

I realize that this is a massive project, requiring a lot of work in many areas, but I really want to try it and see what happens. I'm inspired by the success OSE has had with the CEB press so far. In my ideal dream, I could travel to Factor e Farm and develop a prototype house to prove that it works before I ask my friends to invest their $$ and lives in my crazy project. However I realize that probably not everyone with a CAD file and a dream is welcome on the premises.

Anyway, that's my introduction, I'm still busy with school, but I'll be getting involved as soon as I have time!