"You're entering a world of pain." 
-Walter (The Big Lebowski, 1998)

Things I needed to do in order to install NumPy/SciPy with compiled
ATLAS/LAPACK to ~/local for a 64-bit machine where I did not have
administrator.

1) 
   -download lapack.tgz

2) 
   -get ATLAS src
   -mkdir build; cd build
   -set environment variable CFLAGS=-fPIC
   -../configure -Fa alg -fPIC 
                 --with-netlib-lapack-tarfile=../../lapack.tgz
                 --prefix=~/local
                 -b 64
   -add -fPIC to F77NOOPT and F77FLAGS in Make.inc (if not there already)
   -make
   -make install

3) 
   -get NumPy
   -edit site.cfg for atlas/lapack
   
   [DEFAULT]
   library_dirs = ~/local/lib
   include_dirs = ~/local/include

   [blas_opt]
   search_static_first = true
   libraries = f77blas, cblas, atlas

   [lapack_opt]
   search_static_first = true
   libraries = lapack, f77blas, cblas, atlas

   [atlas]
   search_static_first = true
   libraries = lapack, f77blas, cblas, atlas

   -setup.py build --fcompiler=gnu95 
   (use gfortran vs g77, assuming ATLAS Make.inc did as well) 
   -setup.py install --prefix=~/local

4) -get Scipy
   -set evironment variable CFLAGS=-lgfortran
   -set evironment variable CXXFLAGS=-lgfortran 
   (I have no idea why it Scipy fails to link properly on its own?)
   -setup.py build --fcompiler=gnu95  (will use site.cfg from NumPy)
   -setup.py install --prefix=~/local

5)
   -verify with numpy.__config__.show() 
   -verify with scipy.__config__.show()