It isn't often that I pass on a link I get in email, but if you haven't seen this video of Matt Taibbi, or read his Rolling Stones article about Goldman Sachs, by all means click the link.
You may have heard me admit that while I saw the housing bubble, I didn't call or even understand the oil and credit bubbles - now I do.
I'm not normally open to conspiracy theories, but this one rings true...
The Great American Bubble Machine
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
The Great American Bubble Machine
Monday, July 06, 2009
2009 Poly Shade Design
(First storm 2008 - Note the standing wave. An awning might help.)
Much of this content was first posted August 22, 2008, just before I left for the playa. 2008 turned out to be the worst week for wind storms I've experienced in my seven years at Burning Man. I learned a lot in these few days. This is the update post.
It's not obvious, but stress is the key to my design in using plastic to create shade on the playa, AND have it survive up to 80 MPH gusts - or not as the case may be.
The first element of stress is because PVC pipe only becomes somewhat rigid when bent into an arc and held in a plane. Yet it also flexes and kneels when the wind blows. Second, the canvass itself is a stressed skin structure holding the PVC ribs in their plane. These stresses compliment each other, yet yield to the wind instead of breaking.
Technically it's an ultra-light, bi-stressed poly shade structure - poly shade for short. I believe it's the cheapest, lightest method to shade almost 3000 square feet. It goes up fast and
comes down even faster.
Several people have asked how they could build one. Below are detailed construction plans.
Design History
As I discovered with the Zen Hammock, PVC is an interesting building material. It's cheap, light, strong, flexible and can be easily worked. That's why, next to duct-tape, it's the most
popular building material on the playa. I decided to use it to hold up a LARGE shade structure in 2005. I planned for 70 feet long by 38 foot arch base. The PVC worked fine. The Tyvek didn't. We only got half of it up with a length of only 35 feet.
Also that first year, I kept each rib in a plane by rigging with ropes. This was too complex and the ropes wore holes in the fabric when buffeted by the wind.
In 2006 I switched from Tyvek to poly-tarp and dropped the rib to rib ropes. Instead, I used the fabric itself attached with ball-bungees to hold the ribs in a plane. This simplification
turned it into a stressed-skin structure which worked well. I also spread the base to 40 feet which dropped the top of the ribs just enough to reach from the motor-home.
In 2006 we used five ribs and four sections of twelve foot wide tarps. This gave us a foot print of 40 feet by 50 feet (including PVC width), for over 2304 square feet of shade.
In 2007 I expanded the length one more section giving us just over 60 feet by 40 feet and 2880 square feet of shade. I also replaced the side PVC with simple rope anchors, but poly-stressed
was about to take on a whole new meaning.
2007 had the worst (until 2008) and most consistent winds with the largest gusts of any year I've been at Burning Man. Once we finally got it up (wind problems), the structure flexed and kneeled in the wind all week. Thursday and Friday brought a thunderstorm each day. By the end of the week, one t-post broke off right at the playa and another had pulled out of the ground. Many of the grommets had pulled out and tarp was flapping in the wind. The design had been out to the limits.
The biggest problem was, because of the wind, we didn't get a good initial rig and the ribs were out of plane. The structure kneeled right away pulling grommets out. Once weakened, it just
got worse. More rigid ribs would also have helped.
In 2008 I plan to increase the internal links from 4 to 20 feet on the end ribs and 4 to 10 feet on the rest of the ribs. I also plan to extend it one more section to over 72 feet giving us
3456 square feet of shade and making it finally larger than my original design.
If you've read my Burning Man blog post for 2008, you know 2008 was worse than even 2007 for wind, and it wasn't short-term thunderstorms that caused the problems. It was sustained strong winds for hours on end. Sunday's storm was moderate, but still pulled apart the first and second ribs on the windward south end.
I had used the new design with longer links so I didn't think I needed centering tape. Looks like I was wrong. Ten or even twenty foot links can shift around with enough bouncing. And then they come apart at the weak point. We lashed things down as well as we could Monday morning just as the wind picked up again.
Monday's storm was far worse. It's 30 to 40 MPH winds went on for most of the day, all night and even into the next morning. They had to close the gate for six hours because of total white-out that evening.
By Tuesday morning there was little of the Poly Shade structure left standing. We took it all down except for three ribs which were still in fair condition. On Wednesday, we moved the few good tarps onto these empty rib sections. To help some of the camps in the sun, I also added an awning to the windward end. Not only did it provide extra shade, it seem to help keep the wind out of from under the structure, so it didn't jump as much when the next big storm hit on Saturday. Was this a clue?
My plan for 2009 is to return to the three rib design but on 16' centers as tarp weight does not seem to be a limit. The 20' links seem to just add more weight than rigidity. I will use 10' links and center-tape them as in earlier designs. The biggest change will be awning on both ends, plus five end ropes instead of only three. This should hold the plane better. We'll see.
Materials 2009 Design
Each Description Cost Weight
8 5' steel t-posts 40 48
6 14" sections of 3/16" steel chain 12
6 Chain QuickLinks 12
9 20' x 2 1/2" S40 PVC for ribs 225 243
6 20' x 2" class 200 PVC for links 3 x 20' 45 36
6 4' x 1 1/2" class 200 PVC = 2 x 20' foundations 22
6 4' x 2" class 200 PVC = 2 x 20' foundations 34
16 12' x 16' Costco 10mm poly tarps 144 112
72 8" Tie-wraps 4
300 8" Ball-bungees 75
500 Feet of 1/4" poly X-ropes & side ropes 30
300 Feet of 3/8" poly end ropes 36
10 Tension straps 100
10 Safety lights 40
Total $819 439 pounds
Site Tools
100' tape
Fence post pounder
Saw
Hammer
Fence post puller
Foundation Prep
Drill a 3/8th inch hole in the top of the flange of 14 five foot steel t-posts. Use a screw link to add 14 inches of 1 1/4 inch chain to each flange. This is where the anchor ropes will attach.
Cut 6 each of 1 1/2 inch class 200 PVC four feet long. Cut the same using 2 inch class 200 PVC. One each of these sleeves will fit over each steel t-post creating two internal layers to distribute the stress and keep the rib from splitting out at the bottom. These three elements make up the "foundation".
Rib Prep
Each rib is made up of three 20 foot 2.5 inch S40 grade PVC pipes. An internal 10' "link" of 2 inch class 200 is used to distribute the stress at each joint. For the first three years, this link was four feet long. In 2009 I'm using 10 foot links. This should make the ribs more rigid in general.
Cut the six inch flange off of three 20 foot class 200 2 inch PVC sections. Cut them in half of as (just under) 10' internal links for the center ribs. Wrap six layers of duct tape at the center of each link, staggered over a five inches of pipe to form ramped peak of tape in the very center.
Black mark the center as well as 4 inches in from the non-flared end of each S40 rib section.
Load for transport - I had room to put them inside my motor-home but I had to crawl over top of them so load them last. If you load them on a roof as I did one year, note their total weight and the effect it has on handling. I could feel it. Also make sure the load is secure.
Tarp Prep
In 2009 I dropped the Tarp Prep and just used one bungee at the corners of each tarp to keep them from separating once in place. The idea was to see if letting the wind escape through the "slits" would help keep the dancing of the ribs down a bit.
Load for transport.
Playa Construction
Pick a site where the center-line of the end anchor ropes will point to Gerlach if at all possible. That is where the most common winds come from. The point is to have the wind go up and over the awning structure instead of hit the side.
Plot a line 92', 9" long with the ends as the end rope anchor points. At 30' in, plot a corner post 90 degrees and 20' from the center-line on each side. Repeat for each end. Repeat for the center rib. This should yield a rectangle 32' x 40' as a footprint for the structure. Measure corner to corner to make sure it's on the square.
Drive in all rib posts vertically 16" or until firm, keeping chain above ground.
Drive in end anchor post at 50 degrees from the ground so the rope vector will be less than 90 degrees to the post and therefor pull IN to the ground.
Place 4 foot 1 1/2" and 2" foundations sleeves on all rib posts.
Assemble all ribs with 10' links.
Mark small end of rib at joint 3" from the end. Using a wooden block, hammer ribs together until they approach the 3" mark. Duct-tape to hold them in place until they are under stress. They will get tighter once the wind starts blowing.
Duct tape outer joints if you're paranoid. I never have and have only had one come lose in three years. Oops! I DID in 2009. Put duct tape on the outside of joint.
There are lots of good knots. At times I've used a clove hitch, but most of the times just plenty of half-hitches.
Tie end ropes to end ribs at center and 10' points down the arch.
Add optional X-ropes as needed (see Storm Management below).
Setting the Ribs
Place all ribs to the outside of the foot-print next to their posts ready to move into place. Drive the motor-home into the center of the footprint.
Raise and drape the first rib across the top of the motor-home.
With one person on top of the motor-home to stabilize the rib, one guy at least six feet tall to hold high, one guy to guide the end over the post, and up to two others for muscle, place the rib over foundation post on one side, and then the other.
Setting ribs is a tricky process. Using ropes, I actually placed one of these by myself once, but it's VERY difficult alone. With the right crew, it's quick and easy work. The key is cooperation. It's like lifting a piano - not as heavy, but more awkward. The rib seems to move on it's own like a huge snake until it's seated. The key is to work together, and don't ever leave just one guy holding all the force. These ribs can kick like a mule. It's not as bad as I make it sound - it's just a different kind of physical experience.
Back up motor-home back to next rib position.
Repeat for all ribs.
Setting the Tarp
Wait for calm. This is important. Flapping tarps are difficult to bungee and pull tight. In the wind, you'll end up with a poor alignment and weaker structure. I've done it.
Alternate colored sides if you want a checker-board pattern when you're done.
Unroll and drop tarp off each side of motor-home and line up tarp center mark with rib center mark to place first bungee. Or you can offset tarp to get more shade on one side or the other. Make sure any offset is the same on both ribs.
Bungee from the center down each side pulling tarp tight as you go. If you can, work both sides of the tarp at the same time to make sure it stays square.
Repeat for all tarps.
Final Rig
Release lower end-ropes and pull to the side to drive in vehicles. Replace end-ropes.
Adjust end ropes to take any slack out of structure, but be careful that END RIBS REMAIN IN A PLANE and vertical. If the end ribs get out of plane, they will kneel in lighter winds and do
more damage to the grommets.
Rig side ropes from tarps to anchor chains making sure all slack is out of tarps.
Put PVC or water jug over end anchor posts for safety.
Add safety lights to end ropes at eye level.
Add string lights to ropes or inside structure to suit your taste.
Total playa construction should have taken about six hours.
Have a good Burn! :)
Storm Management
Depending on wind direction and strength, there are things you can do to improve safety and mitigate damage. Orienting the structure so the wind goes THROUGH the structure instead of against the side is the most helpful thing - WRONG 2008 advice. Use awnings to get the wind to go up and OVER structure so that standing waves and oscillations don't start is the approach I'll use in 2009.
Optionally, you can add X-ropes at one third points to any rib that will have vehicles to tie them too without getting in the way. Tying around the bottom of car tires works well if the angle won't rub the paint or wear against metal.
During bad storms, these ropes will form an "X" inside the structure and help keep the rib "in circle" and more rigid. I've had some luck with this. The rest of the time they can be tied off to the side, to be out of the way.
If winds go over 30 MPH, you are likely to get "kneeling" where the ribs will deform, leave plane and pull into an "S" shape in three dimensions. You'll know it when you see it.
Unless, the ribs are banging on something below, this will do little or no damage. The rib will pop back up on its own when the wind dies down.
If the wind goes over 40 MPH or you have bad gusting, you may get "galloping" where the ribs and tarps move in waves down the structure. This will tend to stress the posts, foundations, ribs, joints, grommets and tarps. I've even tied ribs down into kneeling position during bad storms to cut galloping and stress. (Let's see how awnings help this problem).
With bad galloping, I've seen the ribs jumping up their posts and off the playa more than a foot in bad storms. This is usually because the side rope grommets have pulled out or other damage has been done. Once things start breaking down, it's just gets worse.
In 2007 one post broke off at the playa and another pulled out completely from galloping. In both cases, I used X-ropes to keep the rib secure and somewhat in position.
One important safety point to note is, if a post breaks or pulls out of the playa, it will want to jump out and may hit anything in the way (car, tent or someone's head).
Keep the area around the rib posts clear for this reason. Usually the rib (and post) will only jump a couple of feet and then dig into the dirt again. The tarps and bungees tend to hold it in form. But it's better to be safe and NOT take a nap next to one of these ribs in a storm. A tent will NOT slow it's kick much.
Rib De-construction
Tear-down goes much faster than construction.
Release end ropes. After a week in the wind, the ribs will probably sag over to the sides.
Hang on ribs and pop bungees off.
Fold and strap tarps.
Place motor-home and one guy on top to stabilize ribs as before, while four others lift them off of foundations. One person should grab and hold the PVC sleeves down as the rib comes up so you don't have to lift as high to get them off. Watch your fingers.
Another VERY important safety point here is these ribs may kick like a mule once they clear the post. Make sure AT LEAST two people have a firm grip until they are laid down.
Repeat for all ribs.
De-constructing the ribs can be difficult depending on how much pounding the wind did during the week. Use the motor-home to pull them apart. Tie a rope to the back of the motor-home and to one end of a rib. Tie the other end of the rib to one of the end posts. A timber knot or several half-hitches will usually do it. Drive the motor-home ahead slowly and they will pop apart. This process will take a while but works well and is safe if you stay clear. One rib would NOT come apart after the storms of 2008. We broke two ropes and a STRAP trying. We finally sawed it in two.
Secure load for transport.
If you have any questions, please email so I can also update this post with your feedback.
And let me know how it works out if you give it a try.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Case-Shiller 100-Year Chart
(click to expand to full size)
Many of you have heard me talk about this chart at different times, so here it is. It's one of the best pieces of data on the housing bubble I've seen anywhere. It shows what happened, and more importantly, where "normal" is likely to be.
For what it's worth.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The Girl Who Doesn't Age
The future is a wonderful place to live. We get to see things happening which were limited to science fiction when I was young.
Yes. The "baby" you see above is actually 16 years old, and actually DOES age but in an inconsistent way. So far, there are more questions than answers. But can you imagine? She may end being the Rosetta Stone medical science and aging. Or she may live to be a thousand years old.
Strange days...
Details from ABC...
Details from the New Scientist...
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Stone Soup at Permabog
Cindy's art project grew nicely in the rain...
OK. PermaBog is a bit overstated, but at the very least Stone Soup was watered down. And before you say it, yes, I'm guilty of being an optimist. I didn't think the rain we'd had all week would continue, let alone get worse. As we drove up, the closer we got to PermanBurn, the harder it rained. But then it almost stopped when we arrived. Was that a good sign? Who knows.
As we pulled up to the gate, cowboys were herding about a hundred head of cattle up the gravel road. We stopped and talked. A guy named Shane (I'm serious - he looked like someone out of a Marlboro commercial). Anyway, he said, "You'll need four wheel drive to get up that road", so we parked at the gate to assess the situation. Shane said we could camp down at the gate as long as we cleaned up before we left. Tim thought that was a good idea. But I wasn't ready to give up just yet. I had most of Club Verboten and Center Camp in my RV's hall-way. I wanted to deliver it.
An, Kathy and I hiked up the road to take a look at the conditions. It started to rain again. Going up that first grade, it didn't look that bad. After a couple of miles, I went back for my RV while An and Kathy continued on up to PermaBurn - a five mile walk in total. My walk that day was a bit longer.
My plan was to take my RV up to the second cattle guard then hike back and get Tim's RV up too. Rita decided to go with me. I had my foot to the floor and going about 20 MPH all the way up the hill. Rita was laughing and shrieking, as I looked for gravel patches to give me traction. My 30 foot motor-home was bouncing from one side of the road to the other. It's a good thing I didn't slow down. We were spinning and grinding just as we topped out on the flats. It was a "barely made it" kind of arrival.
I parked in a nice flat spot at the second cattle guard to check for damage. My tail pipe bracket had broken lose, but that was about it. Well there was a LOT of mud everywhere. But mud washes off. Next, I needed to do some more scouting.
Rita and I hiked two miles up the next grade to check it out before I tried to drive it. It didn't take me long to figure out the weekend wouldn't turn out the way we had planned. There was no way I could get up this next section, let alone the convoy of two-wheeled drive vehicles I knew were coming behind me.
We were soaked to the bone by the time we got to PermaBurn. Rick in his Greyhound were there. He had come up Wednesday when it was dry. Greg (the founder of PermaBurn) had set up camp but was taking a nap. Mark and Marge had set up the Stone Soup Saloon and were wrapped up in blankets to stay warm. Blue and Bro were greeting at Camp Lazy Fucks with something called "Apple Pie", made from ever-clear and other good stuff. Even served cold, it warmed us up.
But Rick's bus with it's heater running helped a lot more. Everyone collected there for a meeting. After reviewing conditions, Rick sent out the 4 WD email alert to the Reno list (Sprint has good signal at PermaBurn). Maybe the rain would stop. If it did, the sun this time of year would dry it out in a few hours. But I knew the sun had to break before 2:00 PM at the latest, or most would have to stop back at the highway. Some were coming from Portland, LA and SF. It was best to let as many as possible know about the road conditions before they drove all the way out here. We hoped the email alert would get to them in time.
After an hour's break, we got a ride back to my RV and had lunch. I was tired. We nodded off, then awoke to the sound of talking. Marshal had come up and built us a camp fire. Others stopped to warm up at the fire as we stood in the rain. We had maybe a dozen at this mid-camp for a while. Some turned around and headed back to base camp. Other with 4 WD went on up to PermaBurn. We waited for the fire to die out, which didn't take long in the increasing rain. Then we went back down to base camp ourselves. The ride down was even more slippery than the ride up. At the bottom I noticed a rock had torn off my outside water valve and the tank was emptying on the ground. Oh well, there was no shortage of water.
By the time we got back, Tim (Club Verboten) had gone home, but many others had arrived. At one point we probably had 30 people at base camp and as many as 20 up at PermaBurn. Thomas had tried to follow me up the hill in his 40 foot motor-home but got stuck only 100 yards in. Blue helped pull him out with his 4 WD. Thomas and Adela then camped at the gate base camp too.
The rain continued. Everything dripped. My feet were freezing. It was about 40 degrees, but you could already see your breath. More people arrived. Marshal started building another big fire for base camp. After comparing notes with everyone and guessing at the odds the rain would stop, I started relaxing and realized we'd just have to wait and see. I was tired. I got my wet clothes off and had some dinner then fell asleep before 10 PM.
During the night, lots of others arrived. Troy put up a shelter which helped a lot. Unfortunately, he had to leave most of his gear on a trailer about a half a mile back where he had tuned off at the wrong turn and gotten stuck in a bog.
Also in the night, one of the other PermaBurn owners tried the hill in an excellent 4 WD rig but got stuck the same place as Thomas's RV. He had to cut lose his 10,000 pound loaded trailer in order to go on up.
At sunrise the cowboys (and cowgirls) were back to move the herd on up the dirt road. Shane said it was the most rain they had seen in a long time - maybe ever for June. It had rained all night. And the rain continued for breakfast as well. Thanks to Sharon for the bacon and eggs, and a dry place to eat them.
My cousin Dave had a 4WD but only with road tires. He was with us at base camp, but we figured it was good enough to pull Troy's stuck trailer out. When we got there a BLM Ranger had stopped to check on it, and was now chewing up the road trying to get out of the same mud hole himself. Even with knarly tires and bad-assed 4 WD it took several tries.
Dave couldn't drive back into that mess, so instead we used 200 feet of rope to pull the trailer to better ground. I hung on the back of the trailer to get the tongue off the ground while Troy tried to steer and Dave drove the truck. Troy and I were soaked in mud, and we broke the rope twice, but we finally got the trailer to drier ground.
Back at base camp, the kids were playing in the mud, and the rain continued. There was no way things would dry out before Monday or Tuesday. After lunch, I wired up my tail pipe with a clothes hanger, and we packed up the RV and headed home about noon. That was the end of Stone Soup for us.
This is the worst Burner experience I've ever had, but even so, nobody freaked out. Nobody had a bad attitude. Marshal did and amazing job with the fire and campfire cheese sandwiches for lunch. The kids of course enjoyed the mud more than we did. Burners are wonderful people. And that fact becomes more apparent as the conditions get worse.
Sorry about the weather guys. I guess that's how it is with adventure.
Just before we left, Greg and others came off the hill to say hi and suggested we do a Stone Soup Reheat at some point. PermaBurn really IS a beautiful piece of ground. And with a dry road like last year, it's an easy drive.
Maybe when my feet get warm.
The Man ready to be burned...
Dave, expressing himself...
And Paula taking a dare...
Cindy and her art...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Stone Soup 2009 Camp-out at PermaBurn
What : Stone Soup 2009 Camp-out at PermaBurn
When : June 5th, 6th & 7th (early and late camping is fine)
Where : Madeline, California - 60 miles north of Susanville
Entrance Fee : 0.00, nada, FREE!
RSVP your camp, art plans and head count to... - don't bother to RSVP now - just join us!
sudden.net@gmail.com
Soup's On!
Great news in a down year - the second UNofficial Reno Regional Burn and camp-out is now official! (We're not officially part of Burning Man, but Stone Soup 2009 is now officially in production!)
Considering our Burned out economy, some may not even make it to the playa this year. Others have asked for a spring camp-out for Burners. So we're headed back to PermaBurn! And to keep it totally FREE, we're using the Stone Soup approach.
Come on, you remember the Grimm Brother tale about three Napoleonic soldiers returning to a war-torn and starving village in hopes of a free meal. As the villagers are at first unwilling to share any of their meager food stores with these strangers, they decide to get creative. The soldiers set up a pot and begin to boil a large stone announcing a dinner of "stone soup" will be ready soon.
Then someone offers to add some salt - just to give it a little flavor. Next pepper is offered up. Soon other villagers begin bring forth their modest vegitables and other contributions to create a wonderful soup. In no time, they all eat very well in spite of first intentions. The point is, you won't need to bring much to PermaBurn, just what you need to survive and what you wish to add to the experience.
For those who didn't join us last year, PermaBurn is 640 acres of northern California being organized as permanent art installations by a Burner named Greg Glover from the east coast. In the spirit of Burning Man, Greg has gifted this volcanic caldera for the weekend with virtually no restrictions on how we wish to express ourselves.
We'll use the PermaBurn site as our soup pot. Greg's also thrown in port-a-potties as the stone for the soup. Am I pushing this metaphor too far? In any case, because of his wonderful gift, we don't need to charge an entrance fee. So come on out and join us. Express yourself! Be free! For free!
Just like on the playa, and as in the story Stone Soup, WE get to add all the rest. Here's what we have so far. The soup is gaining some excellent flavor...
Breaking News!
"Help Me" BSDM Camp will be doing late evening demonstrations.
Camp Playa Magic will be part of Stone Soup this year! Direct from Harrah's Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley Inn, the renown, "Thomas", will be performing his close up magic show at Center Camp Saturday evening after the pot-luck - now we're GUARANTEED to have a magical weekend. Camp Play Magic is also organizing a sunset drum circle. Bring your bongo!
Camp Lazy Fucks - Returning from last year, Blue and Brother as Camp Lazy Fucks will host the greeter camp at the very west end of the valley. I've heard Kathy is also returning to help them out this year. Welcome to the greeters!
Club Verboten Comes to PermaBurn!
Yep. The very same tent you saw at the 4:30 plaza last year; the club known for stopping traffic and plugging up the streets of Black Rock City will be erected in the center camp area at PermaBurn Friday afternoon, June 5th.
Omar and Action Jack
Tim Hunter himself (aka Omar Suarez) will be spinning the music as well as providing a venue for other DJs. So far we have offers from DJ Reality of Camp Ellipsis, BabebyBay(Betsy) from the bay area and D6 from Reno. You guys need to check in with Tim (thunter885@aol.com) unless you plan to set up your own venues. Whatever your taste, we'll have some excellent music coming out of this volcano, and at least one fully enclosed club in which to enjoy it.
From Omar... We look forward to setting up,for the first time ever outside BRC,at this years Stone Soup.Thanks to Comrade Sudden for the leadership in getting it together,Our club is known for retro techno based dance parties.Can't change formula here but hopefully we can incorporate all the dj talent we have coming.What we have in mind is a weekend program...."Evolution of Techno Beats".
Friday 1966-1984........ Garage/Psych to UK glam to Disco to CBGBS
Saturday-1984- 2009.......
Center Camp - If you've been to local Reno events, you know you've found the party once you spot Rick Brown's Greyhound conversion bus on the property. Yep. He's determine to arrive with the biggest piece of equipment ever driven to PermaBurn and then turn it into part of Center Camp.
We plan to arrange Rick's Greyhound conversion, along with Cutter's school bus and my motor-home into a "C" shaped wind break and then cover it with one of my large shade structures. Rose Palace Paula and Dave will be adding some Astro-truf for ground cover. There will also be tables and chairs for Saturday's Lick-your-plate pot-luck.
Stone Soup Saloon - Along side will be the new Stone Soup Saloon and Chill Dome, hosted by Marj and Mark. In some bars you get what you order. Here they'll serve up whatever shows up. It's the place to mix your left-over playa drinks with everyone else's left-over playa drinks to see what happens. Bring it on!
Beaverton Queer Ladies - Kinnari Kreme from Nevada City will be hosting a camp to represent Beaverton Queer Ladies at our event. Email her at kinnarikreme@gmail.com if you'd like to join, or just compare plans.
Randy's Ribs - Want ribs with that soup? Some of you may remember Randy Miller (Sprocket) from last year. He was camped by the big swing and his boys were riding their ATVs. After last year's camp-out he joined PermaBurn permanently and this year wants to welcome us back with BBQed ribs. So follow your nose to his PermaCamp.
Reno Poly Camp - Actually, it's the Northern Nevada Polyamory Support group, and they will hold their June meeting at Stone Soup's Center Camp as well as hosting a Saturday evening pack-it-in, pack-it-out, lick-your-plate pot-luck at 6:00 PM. This will be preceded by, "An Introduction to Polyamory", at 4:00 PM. They will also lead discussions on alternate lifestyles during the weekend. Contact Teresa Werner with any question or contribution at... terwer42@yahoo.com
Kid's Camp - Marie Gilbert will host a place for, "interactive family fun... kite's, kid's with hammers, rock stacking etc." Contact her at... amariegilbert@gmail.com if you wish to join the other three families also hosting this camp.
Fire Camp - Mac (Debbie McMullin and husband Dave) from Controlled Burn has volunteered to coordinate the fire arts in an attempt to cut down on duplication of safety equipment, supplies etc. Let her know about your fire spinning plans and how you can help at... ruby_holly@yahoo.com
Timeless Sculptures - Matt Welter of Timeless Sculptures will try to bring one of his pieces out as well as have information on the Tea Party. Check out his site if you're interested in Libertarian politics...
http://www.timelesssculptures.com/cover/cover.htm
Stone Soup Prep Meeting - We've had requests for an actual prep meeting before the event, so now that is in the plans as well. We'll do it at my place in south Reno on May 27th at 7:00 PM. This meeting is not a requirement for the camp-out. If you just plan to attend Soup Soup and participate in you own way, this meeting is not critical. But if you can help with any of the other projects or you need some face time on any of the other organizers, please join us...
Link back here for on-going updates as the details come in. More importantly, email me with YOUR plans so I can help you hook up with others and coordinate similar activities. Let me know if I can post your name, email and or phone number here along with your camp plans. Plus I'll need a head count for the potties, so...
RSVP plans and head count to...
sudden.net@gmail.com
If you're not familiar with PermaBurn, here is a link to last year's camp-out posts...
First Ashes at PermaBurn 2008
Thanks to CyberBiker for providing this Google Map link..
Stone Soup 2009 - PermaBurn Location on Google Map
If you haven't been out, there is 5 miles of gravel road, some of it has dips that would challenge anything with a flat exit angle, such as a long over-hang RV. Last year there were trailers as long as 24 feet and one fully loaded Geo Metro, so any normal car will make it if you dodge a few rocks. High clearance or trucks, no problem at all. (05-1-20-09 much of the road has been graded since last year and virtually ANY vehicle can make it out by dodging a few rocks.
(click to expand)
How to get to PermaBurn...
Take 395 60 miles north of Susanville to Madeline, California
(the 395 junction is just east of Susanville).
Go 6 miles north of Madeline on 395 to the 134.92 mile marker at 41 7'43" 120 30'0".
Watch for the orange tape from this point on. If you go to Google map you won't find any names on any of these roads, but the mile marker is past Sage Hen and before South Fork Mountain Road. On the ground, the key is the mile marker and orange tape at each junction.
You have five miles to go.
Take a left onto the shortcut to a gravel road.
Take another left to go south on this gravel road.
Go 0.1 miles till you reach the green gate. Open the gate if you have to and go through. Please remember to close it back.
Go 0.4 miles until you see a second green Gate on the right with orange tape.
Open the green gate and take a right. AND close it back.
Cross the yellow cattle guard about 30 feet beyond the gate.
Go 2.4 miles. (05-20-09 this section has been graded since last year).
You will see another yellow cattle guard and orange tape.
To the right, will be a sign for the reservoir.
You are at 41 6'45" 120 32' 6".
Go just BEYOND the cattle guard, and then take an immediate LEFT turn on the dirt road on the other side of the fence. Turn left just AFTER the cattle guard, not before!
Go 2.2 miles south on the dirt road.
At some points the road tilts pretty bad, and there are a few rocks protruding but a normal car can make it with care.
You will reach a small hill and then come down into the PermaBurn site. The last hundred yards which was so bad last year has been newly worked and is in much better condition.
The best camping is in this first valley.
Welcome to Permaburn!
Welcome to Stone Soup!
Where to Camp
There are two ponds on the hill with some trees around them. Unfortunately, this is also where some free range cattle come to drink and find shade, AND leave their droppings. There were only a few mosquitoes last year - not really a problem. But to minimize all of these factors, we will be setting up Center Camp along main street a quarter mile back in the lower valley. You can of course camp where ever you choose but we'd like the significant performance camps along main street if possible.
That's all I can think of right now. Email me your questions, camp, art plans and head count to...
sudden.net@gmail.com
Or just click on "Comments" below. Either will work. I will post the updates here from time to time.
What : Stone Soup 2009 Camp-out at PermaBurn
When : June 5th, 6th & 7th (early and late camping is fine)
Where : Madeline, California - 60 miles north of Susanville
Entrance Fee : 0.00, nada, FREE!
See ya at Stone Soup 2009.
See ya at PermaBurn!
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