Sudden Disruption

Martin Jet Pack

2012-01-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

Yet another way to move through the air:

CES: Motorized unicycle, anyone?

2012-01-16T15:15:00.000-08:00

I do love a minimalist solution, and these guys I met at CES have definitely created one.

They say it's easier to ride than it looks, which is good because it looks like it might be difficult; but they did make it LOOK easy. Still, I wonder how comfortable it is after an hour of standing in such a rigid fashion?

It looks like something right out of the Jetsons, and at only $1795!

Cool videos:

SoloWheel

Economic Predictions

2012-01-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start a post here which I will update from time to time to make my economic predictions a matter of public record. Some of these are summarized from the past. The rest are current, predicting the future.

01-01-12 - The US Treasury still believes US banks have $9.9 trillion in home loans. That's down only 7% ($10.6 trillion) from it's high in 2006. Such denial! A quarter will have to be written down sooner or later. Another quarter will be paid by underwater home owners who simply don't want to move or accept the real value of their house. So between the banks and home owners, there's still plenty of denial to go around. I've said house prices won't bottom for another year, but this real estate toilet won't completely flush for another five to ten years (lost decade?). With new construction minimal for at least another three years, US growth will continue it's long slow pull off the bottom with real growth rates staying under 4% and averaging only 2% for the next five years. Still, real estate will remain the best long-term investment for anyone who has cash.

01-01-12 - The Euro will survive since Germany has already involuntarily funded the weak sisters through the central Buba bank claims of half a trillion Euros. Now they only need formally loan that much so the weak sisters can own up to their claims in their central bank and hand the money back to them. In for a penny, in for a pound.

01-01-12 - China is building 36 million new apartments to distract investors from the 64 million condos already completed, but still standing empty. That's exactly 100 million new units total, which makes our 7 million empty houses look like a minor disturbance.

The real question is, where will these 230 million people work when they come in from the farm? And how much will they be paid? The growth honeymoon is over in China. Now they'll have to do it the hard way. Ironically, organized labor will be their next major political force on the street. Stand by for volatile times in China.

01-31-11 - Collectibles will be the next financial bubble, will have a long expansion and selective contractions over years before final collapse.

The U.S. will gently return to a slow growth "new normal" as we complete our transformation to the information age, and continue to lead in tech design. 06-22-10

China will become the world's manufacture, but have the greatest volatility as they grow too quickly in political fits and starts. Russia will provide grain and energy, but struggle to achieve true democracy. India will evolve more slowly around customer service. Brazil will be the emerging star of the next decade. Still not much hope for Africa. 06-22-10

Because of last year's $150 per barrel oil, in less than five years we will be awash in energy from multiple sources such that energy will be available at the equivalent of $1.99 a gallon in today's dollars - 01-01-10.

We will have modest deflation for at least the next three years. 04-17-10

China's construction and real estate bubble will exceed the scale and impact of our own and will pop within 24 months, with dramatic effect. 04-17-10

Creating Passwords Using Seed Mapping

2011-12-30T17:01:00.000-08:00

Passwords are a pain.

Security requirements are becoming more complex just as we need more passwords for new apps, challenging our ability to remember them all.

Here are the requirements for a reasonably secure password:

1. Contain at least 8 characters.

2. Contain upper case letters.

3. Contain lower case letters.

4. Contain numbers.

5. Contain special characters.

6. Appear to be random.

7. Be different for each application.

And...

8. Be easy to remember.

Unfortunately the first seven requirements make the last almost impossible. Many just give up and use personal information or typical words which are easily cracked. Yes, there are software tools to help out, but they mostly add cost, complexity and management.

Fortunately there's a simple trick I've been using for years, and it's good enough to stop the average hacker. Plus, it costs nothing at all to use. The trick is, don't REMEMBER your passwords - DERIVE them. Here's a simple example using a two phase algorithm - seed selection, and keyboard mapping. It will pseudo-randomize any password.

Start with a seed that's in front of you as you log on to the site, for instance Microsoft. A simple seed would be the first four letters "micr". There. You're halfway done.

Now simply expand this seed onto the keyboard in a visually consistent way. Let's use the two keys above the seed key for this example. "m" becomes "Ju", "i" becomes "8*", "c" becomes "de" and "r" becomes "4$" yielding the password - "Ju8*de4$". No, don't try to memorize this mess, just watch your fingers as they move.

See the pattern? The visual pattern is the trick. This password meets the all the standard criteria, yet you don't have to memorize it - just look at the name, then map it visually with your personal method.

Notice I capitalized the first character and had to shift to get the "*" and "$" because I ran out of room moving up the keyboard. That's one way of including special characters and caps. If you don't want special characters, wrap to the bottom of the keyboard instead.

The beauty is, memory was not a factor. It's simply visual. It's best to not even think about what keys you're hitting - just hit the two above your seed character. I honestly have no idea what my passwords are, I just know the pattern that produces them.

It's easy once you define a method. For the above approach:

Gmail would produce "T5juq18*"

Yahoo would produce "6^q1y69("

FaceBook would produce "R4q1de3#"

Again, no memorizing. OK, go ahead and use my example method if you like. It's better than using your dog's name. And you won't need to read any further. But remember you'll have the same passwords as every other person who happens to read this blog and goes to the same sites you do.

Or... You can quickly customize.

Just invent your own method (algorithm). There are literally millions of ways of doing it. Here are a few aspects to keep in mind while you think about it:

First, the seed - it should be at least four characters which will produce nearly a half a million unique passwords. Two characters will only create 676 unique passwords - not enough. A three character seed is on the border. And I don't suggest using more than a seven character seed because you'll either be creating very long passwords, or have poor distribution in the mapping phase as described below.

Since the objective here is to leave the mob behind, it might be best if you mix up your seed a bit. How about a backward flip - "iamg" for Gmail. Or better yet, replace the "g" with your dog's middle initial. Or yours. It doesn't matter much as long as it's an easy method to remember. Personalizing with an initial or two will also make your passwords different from most others who visit your sites. After all, Microsoft or Hotmail will be a common starting point for many.

How about taking every other letter then step back? Gmail could become "gami". Or ignore the first letter and get "mial". You get the idea, there are a lot of ways of doing this - make yours unique. I've only discussed a couple of aspects of seed generation as examples. It's best to come up with something I haven't even talked about. Just be consistent so your method is easy to use.

Now as to the keyboard mapping phase. Our first example was OK, but did you notice how "q1" occurred three times in the last three examples? That's because each seed contained the letter "a", which is a common letter. Also these simple examples only have a fair distribution over the key-map. To produce a good pseudo-random number you need a good distribution across the random field. The keyboard itself makes for a decent random field, as long as you span it well. For instance, "mmiiccrr" for Microsoft stays close to (and IS) your seed. That's poor distribution.

In contrast, an expansion of three or four going up will always capture a number, and often a special character. Or if you go down instead, then wrap back up, it's almost as good (but no special characters). Three up will get a number two thirds of the time, and a special character one third of the time. See how you can control how many and what types of characters are likely to end up in your password?

There are obviously lots of ways of getting similarly distributed results. Go up for the first seed character, down for the second, capitalize the third and shift the forth to possibly add a special character. Or expand the first seed character once, the second twice, the third three times, etc. You choose - that's the beauty. No one but you knows your method.

Or ignore the first character, right one and three up. Or one up, two left. Or skip a couple. The objective of distribution is to break up patterns of common letters (a, i, e) by applying different directions to different seed letters. This key map phase is where you can really express your unique nature. Try diagonals. Or leaps. There is no right or wrong method, just some are better than others. Scramble your seed. Scramble your map. But in a way that's visual to you.

One challenge you'll face are sites that require you to change passwords every few months. An easy (if less secure) solution is simply to add a number starting with 1 to the end (or beginning). Increment the number each time you have to change passwords. In a few tries you'll get it, and have plenty of time before you have to use 1 again. Or add the last digit of the year to your seed and shift it after June 30th. Do what works for you.

It's a good idea to have a backup method for when you encounter other conflicts (such as some sites not allowing special characters). If your password doesn't work, try your simpler method B.

Also, don't use your method for any password you have to share with anyone else, or they might guess your trick and put all your other passwords at risk. This is another good reason for a more simple method B or C for shared passwords.

Finally, don't make your method TOO complex. There's a point of diminishing return. Other capture or social cracking will make a "perfect" method irrelevant anyway. Video cameras are common and getting smaller, so even a perfect password can be stolen. If you're still concerned, add Iris Scan and go multi-factor. But for most, pseudo-random is good enough. And FAR better than your dog's name.

By the way, Seed Mapping is just one approach that happens to give a fairly good result. There are many other methods. Be creative.

Now go change all your passwords so you can burn that cheat-sheet in your desk drawer.

And let me know how Seed Mapping works for you.

Rod Coleman

General Manager

Sierra Computer Group

Understanding Human Behavior

2011-12-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

Sex and violence linked in the brain

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do For Your Health

2011-12-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

This is an excellent presentation on the benefits of walking:

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do For Your Health

Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers

2011-12-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

The brain, like the rest of the body appears to structurally change in response to demands placed upon it. Calcium migrates in bones, muscles tone, and the brain adapts according to stress in our environment. In short, we dynamically evolve to meet the requirements of our environment.

This means the brain is as plastics as the rest of the body. Dogs CAN learn new tricks.

The next question now is, what part does epigenetics play in this evolution?

Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers

STREET ART UTOPIA

2011-12-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

WOW! Truely amazing work. And delivered where it counts instead of inside some stone building.

STREET ART UTOPIA

Purging Cells in Mice Is Found to Combat Aging Ills

2011-11-07T14:08:00.000-08:00

Years ago I read a Sci-Fi plot where a guy got in a booth where all of his aging cells were filtered out so he could stay young. He lived thousands of years. Does anyone remember the title or author?

Anyway, this technology seems to be very similar to this concept. It's worth a read and may be a whole new approach to reverse aging.

Purging Cells in Mice Is Found to Combat Aging Ills

The Divided Brain

2011-10-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

This is an AMAZING update on left and right brain function. It's not what you thought you knew. And the method of presentation is also excellent.

Iain McGilchrist: The divided brain

The People of Burning Man

2011-08-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

This will be my 10th year on the playa, and I have a LOT of Burner books - most of them I think. Yes, this book is only about the people of Burning Man. There's no sweeping mega-art here. Fortunately, people are at least half of what makes Burning Man burn. And this photographer (who I'd never heard of before) obviously "gets it".

Here's what I mean. Most of the Burner books follow the lead of the ORG, in that they clean up their act (and those in their images) so as not challenge the sensibilities of the average American. This editing for public consumption means they produce a watered-down version of what happens on the playa. Hell, some of them don't even include nudity, and believe me, nudity IS part of the Burner experience. But that's minor. There is so much more that often gets excluded. This is absurd (and not in a good way) when radical INclusion is what Burning Man is all about.

Burning Man is a physical expression of all those weird websites you find on the internet. You can think of it as the internet coming to life in all it's various forms. It's ABOUT people pushing not only personal limits, but literally the limits in each art form. THIS is exactly what Julian Cash "gets".

It's as if he carefully studied each subject to understand what they were bringing to the event, and only THEN picked the lens, angle and lighting to capture it. Yes, there's some Photoshopping here, and he takes liberties in all kinds of ways, but it always seems to be in the interest of the subject, NOT the photographer. And it's rare to find a photographer who will let his own ego drop away in the interest of his subject's. I can only think this aspect is Julian's gift to the playa.

Thank you Julian. I hope to thank you in person one day.

If you wish to own only one Burner book, this is it.

JumpStart Your Trading

2011-06-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

There are two major approaches to buying and selling stock - technical and fundamental. As an investor I have a bias for fundamentals, but when you realize the other half of the world is trading technically, it's important to understand that side no matter what your approach.

This is the most concise summary of technical trading I have ever seen. It will get you from zero to sixty faster than any thing else out there. Even if you just want to understand how the other half lives.

JumpStart Your Trading

Making Ideas Happen

2011-05-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

I've been told I'm fairly critical, which I suppose is one reason I don't recommend many books. "Making Ideas Happen" is an exception. If you do any creative or project development, it WILL be of value.

Each year I walk the floor at CES just to keep tabs on all the new gadgets. This year I encountered something different. Scott Belsky was giving a lecture out in the open booth area. I'd never heard of him but stopped a minute to listen, expecting to quickly dismiss the speaker and presentation - just another sip from the fire hose.

But Scott captured my attention immediately. And it got better from there. What he was saying not only made sense, some were things I'd been doing for years. And the rest were worth considering. I stayed for the whole presentation then ordered his book.

"Making Ideas Happen" is not a collection of original ideas. Many you've heard about in the management press from others such as stand at meetings, prioritize your task list and own your actions. Scott didn't invent this stuff - he gathered it. His objective was to collect the best ideas from those who have succeeded at translating ideas into reality. The book's value is in how Scott has collected and arranged these ideas into a system for their application in a terse, meaty way.

While you may not agree with everything (I didn't), most of it is valuable to at least think about. For instance, group-think, killing ideas or leaving things undefined as long as possible, will challenge some, but it may also help them keep an opened mind.

"Making Ideas Happen" is a VERY practical book, not new-aged fluff. It's a quick read and well organized. It's also easy to pull the main points into a few quotes, so you can keep them in front of your face until adopted. Or discarded.

I was going to post a list of my favorite points here, but realize your list may vary, and there's no advantage in giving you a bias, unless it's to action. Speaking last in meetings is also on the list - so I'll honor the concept, and let YOU have the last word. Check out the book and let me know what you think.

Stone Soup 2011 - June 10th, 11th & 12th

2011-05-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

Stone Soup 2011 - June 10th, 11th & 12th - Canceled to to PermaBog on June 5th.

With the Temple under construction, and all the other Burner projects in development, it's going to be a busy summer in Reno. So before things get TOO crazy, come out to Stone Soup at PermaBurn, do a brain-flush and get your head clear.

http://suddendisruption.blogspot.com/search/label/Stone%20Soup

For those who haven't been to PermaBurn, It's literally a square mile of grass and sage not far off highway 395 in northern California. It's owned by it's members - PermaBurn Collective LLC. Once a year we host an unofficial Burner camp-out to provide a space to express yourself.

http://permaburn.org/

Stone Soup is an excellent opportunity to get out of your context and do some strategic planning for that big Burner project you have in mind. Better yet, come out and stage your prototype in a tolerant environment instead of disturbing your neighbors. Or just come out and enjoy the music and weekend with Burners.

This year we have a head start. The two new domes set up last September are complete and in place just waiting for you to express yourself with covers and content. One will house the music venue, the other food prep and chill space. Come out an help us give them some character.

It's time to go camping!

What: Stone Soup Burner Camp-out
When: June 10th, 11th and 12th, 2011
Where: PermaBurn - 60 miles north of Susanville just off highway 395
Cost: $0 - just RSVP so we can plan accordingly

Directions to PermaBurn:

http://suddendisruption.blogspot.com/search/label/PermaBurn%20Directions

Stone Soup, the Reno / Tahoe unauthorized Burner camp-out is being organized. What morsel will you be in this yummy stew?

Email:

sudden.net at gmail.com

...or post your plans to the FaceBook page so we can coordinate resources:

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_182167450567

Rod Coleman
--
aka Yum!
aka Bonobo
aka Zen Heretic
aka Sudden Disruption
and Burning Man Regional Contact
Explore the Sudden-Centric Cyberverse...
http://www.sudden.net

"Explore and Express"

"Fear the Boom and Bust" a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem

2011-05-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

You may have heard that if you take all the economists in the world and place them end to end, they still wouldn't reach a conclusion. Well, in this case they DO. And they do it musically. Here's an excellent example of turning a difficult topic into fun.

"Fear the Boom and Bust" a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem

And version two is even better:

Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two

First Burning Man 2002 - A Virgin on the Playa

2011-04-20T16:17:00.001-07:00

First Burning Man 2002 - A Virgin on the Playa

by Zen Heretic - zenheretic@yahoo.com

Some of my friends asked me to write about my first experience at Burning Man. So I have. Anyone who has heard of Burning Man knows the stories. Many are different. Here's mine.

Preconceptions

OK, I have to admit... I too had preconceptions. I read much of the web site and talked to people who had been. One of my friends was scheduled to meet me there and show me around. But I already had some idea what it was like. Or so I thought.

I'd also read the media reports which present Burning Man as sex, drugs, rock and roll. And they're right. It is. But it's much more. At least it was for me.

Driving across the desert from Reno I decided I needed some limits. I would forgo sex and drugs. I knew if I "hooked up" with some cutie, I'd just spend most of my time in the sleeping bag. And if I tried some drug, I would get a distorted view. Drugs have never been a big thing for me so it was easy to "Just say no". But sex is always a temptation. My plan was to tease myself (and others) by approaching but abstaining from both.

OK, yes, I DID have a few drinks and as you discover, just a bit of sexual interaction. But I passed the bong along and most of the time just had grapefruit juice. So what you're about to read is fairly objective. Well, as objective as I can make such subjective reality.

As it turned out, abstaining was not a big problem. Just the environment kept me so buzzed, I rarely had time to focus on one event or one person for long. I was so drawn to the next thing, I just kept moving.

It was recommended that I take a bike, but I like walking so much I decided not to bother. This whole venue was only a mile and a half across and less than five miles all the way around. I could handle that. Again, so I thought.

I took a pedometer to keep track of the miles. What I didn't realize is how you get drawn in one direction and then another. I would head for some art event a mile away and end up covering twice that distance as I zig-zagged in my exploration. At times I would totally forget my objective. And that was WITHOUT drugs. So you can just imagine the typical stoned experience.

In four days I traveled 97 miles or almost a marathon every day. The adrenalin from that alone was enough to keep anyone distracted from the more obvious pleasures. But it also adds to the burnout factor - take a bike.

Rules

Also before I get started, I want to review the premise of Burning Man. And yes, there ARE some rules. But not many.

If you read the Burning Man site:

http://www.burningman.com/

You will realize it's a festival of radical self expression and desert survival. It's all about the limits of art and staying alive. There are a few other tenets.

Much of the art is burned near the end of the week. I take this to show the ephemeral nature of experience and to keep the artist from getting too serious about their creations (the Temple of Joy proved me wrong on that point).

Burning is what Burning Man is all about. One year a guy drove around with a flame thrower and set fire to one piece of art after another. This happened well before the end of the week so now there's a rule against such burning. You can only set fire to what you own. Such is the nature of controlled chaos. That's how rules come into existence - need.

One rule is "Leave No Trace". The idea is to leave the playa (LARGE dry lake bed) in EXACTLY the condition it was in before the party. If you've ever been to any other large event, you'll be amazed how well this works at Burning Man. It really IS an eco-friendly event. Campers lay out black plastic to evaporate excess gray water rather than stain the playa. Another guy broke a string of beads and was trying to recover EVERY bead in the playa dust. Impressive devotion. Impressive people.

Another rule is "No commercial transactions or corporate logos". The idea is to not distort the artistic experience with commercialism. The only exceptions are the "Arctic Ice Hut" and coffee at the large central cafe' where the proceeds go to charity. Everything else you need, you bring with you. But don't worry. If you forgot something and make it known, someone will probably give it to you.

This lack of vendors has created a "gift economy" which actually works quite well. It also has the side effect of quickly breaking down social isolation and dramatically increasing human interaction. This is the secret of Burning Man. It fosters engagement and produces a unique feel.

This "feel" starts at the front gate as they take your ticket and say "Welcome Home". I explained it was my first time, but the guy just smiled. Soon enough I'd learn why.

As I walked the streets of the city people would call out and welcomed me into their camp. The first thing they would ask is if I needed anything. This happened over and over all week long. It was like THEY wanted to be the first to fill my needs. It really does produce a great vibe.

There were very few boundaries around any of the camps. Only in one camp did I see signs on some tents that said "private". This single exception made the unwritten rule so obvious. Where else would you even think to put a private sign on a tent?

If people were in the tent and it was open, you were welcome. If they had what you needed, you probably got it. Thousands of people become your extended family all at once. Everyone was looking for ways to give you things. It really is like coming home.

Another side effect of the giving is the lack of theft. It was rare to find anything missing from a camp even though people are wandering about constantly and little security is maintained. The exception is bikes. I had some reports that people just ride the closest one, so be careful which one you take.

This gift economy is the basis of much of the "performance art" at Burning Man. In the smaller camps - feet washing, hair washing, body washing, feeding you, offering drink of all kinds, spraying you with water to cool you off - were all forms of giving. It's a VERY giving affair. And it DOES work. At least for one week out of the year on a remote dry lake bed.

Next rule - sound is limited to less than 300 watts. Well, except in the big sound camps out at the ends of the city. THAT music can be heard for miles. I had someone near my camp with 24 hour music at a reasonable level. I never had to turn on the radio all week. It was nice.

Also you can't drive your car around during the week (except for a few hundred art cars). A couple of years ago, someone was run over in their tent in the dark. Plus unneeded driving kicks up the playa dust. One way to become unpopular is to drive more than five miles per hour at ANY time ANY where in ANY vehicle.

There are a few other rules which respond directly to various problems, but mostly Burning Man is very much a place that doesn't rely on rules. In general, if you can think of it, you can do it.

Of course you can't murder anyone. Nevada and Federal laws still apply but most enforcement is by the "Rangers" who are Burning Man volunteers. Rangers arbitrate limits of "artistic expression". Mostly they talk to the parties involved. If it gets out of hand, they call in the real cops but that's rare. Black Rock City has less crime than any other city of similar sized in the U.S. - not bad for a week of partying.

There were very few real cops, unlike in prior years. At least not in uniform. Rumor has it plain clothes narcs are in the crowd to stop drug "transactions" but I saw NO restriction on obvious drug USE. "Selling" drugs is commercial and against the spirit of Burning Man anyway. Using is not.

In general, the old mantra of "Do anything you like as long as you don't hurt anyone" was very much in effect.

Demographics

I read the Burning Man web survey before going out and learned several things. Most "Burners" are between 20 and 50 years old with few teenagers or retired people. Kids are rare but get LOTS of attention as you might imagine. The few I saw seemed to be having a great time.

Almost two thirds of burners are male but this is skewed by a large gay contingent from San Francisco (yes, there were lots of openly gay females too).

From watching the crowd, I would say most people came as couples or at least most females had a guy friend along. And finally there was a large group of singles guys, many of them young and in college. These are called the "frats" and they tend to hand out at Thunder Dome or the rave camps. Trying to classify such a diverse group might at first seem impossible but once I started asking some questions, patterns emerged.

Burning Man is NOT a cross section of America. As a matter of fact, I saw it as very narrowly defined for its size. It's not just because of the 20 to 50 years old, largely male, higher than average income. It's something else.

I discovered a MUCH higher level of intelligence than typical, plus a LOT of lateral thinking. I also found a VERY empathetic set of social values and everyone seemed to have an utterly open mind. That's NOT typical of most of America no matter what the web site says.

I kept being reminded of Jefferson and Voltaire's age of enlightenment. These people THINK instead of follow. They give instead of take. There's lots of slack.

Are these the kind of people that would lead us in this next millennium? They are definitely NOT the same group you find at the 7-11 or your local mall. It's a VERY posiive and supportive group. I felt safer here than any other city I've ever been in.

Is THIS why the gift economy works? Or is it because most of these Burners are so well off? That DOES make it easier to give. I'll let you decide when you come and experience it for yourself.

Other patterns also emerged. Most of these people were very attractive - much more than average. And it's not just the younger ones. It was all ages, and was true for both men and women.

I don't want to seem snarky, but there was an obvious bias to exercise. I guess that's the kind of people who feel good about getting naked in public.

I also noticed a grouping in behavior. After talking to literally hundreds of people, I broke the groups down as Artists, Hippies, Ravers and Road Warriors.

There were also a few of what Burners call Yahoos. These are people who come out to watch but don't get involved or contribute. No costume on Saturday night is a sure sign. But Yahoos don't matter. They're a minor factor. They get ignored. You can't be weird at Burning Man, but you CAN be a Yahoo. Well, if you work at it.

Artists

The Artists are by far the biggest and most dedicated group at Burning Man. They spend a lot of money on their art which is the greatest contribution to the overall experience.

Some are very serious, but most are in the spirit of the event and burn their work at the end of the week. Art takes many forms, and Burning Man brings out the most aberrant.

Artist are also the least likely to party or use drugs. Most are working on their art much of the time. Most of the art cars require constant attention just to keep them functional.

Many of these artists are actually engineers so their art takes on more of a technical expression. There are lots of geeks in this group. Larry Harvey's orignial interest was large scale lawn art which sets the tone for the event. Artists are the real founders of the event. Art is definitely the "soul" of Burning Man.

Hippies

The Hippies tend to be older and more into performance art or "alternative" human activity. They do much of the giving and nurturing in the gift economy. They are all about social or eco-interaction. You can tell them from a distance because they always had the biggest smiles.

Since I'm on the subject of smiles, they were everywhere. You just can't help it. It starts when you get to the gate and continues even after you leave. These smiles are caused by the things you see and how people treat you. Everyone smiled a lot, but the Hippies were the hard core smilers. Hippies are the "spirit" of Burning Man.

Ravers

The Ravers just want to party. If you get close, they will hug you and try to "relate" until its time to party again. It has something to do with the Ecstasy I think. But dance is what Ravers REALLY like to do - literally 24 hours a day all week long or whatever part they can stay awake for.

Many had strapped on water bottles with drinking tubes to stay hydrated. This was by far the best dressed group but still lots of nudity and paint. The music was loud and never stopped. There were hundreds dancing at any given club at any one time. Most of the rave clubs were out at the end music zones.

This is also where most of the drugs were used. Speed, Ecstasy, LSD and mushrooms. I saw more dilated pupils in one place than I've ever seen in my entire life. And don't forget, they danced. And danced. And danced.

When their blood finally ran out of sugar to fuel movement, they would fall asleep where ever was handy. You'd find them everywhere. They'd sleep where they fell - in the art, in the public areas or in the dust. Most DID avoid the street to keep from getting run over by the art cars.

Many simply walk out onto the playa with a coat or a blanket. They did try to sleep near the art because of the bicycles crossing the playa in the dark.

In a couple of hours they would wake up, eat, drink and dance some more. The Ravers are the "escape" of Burning Man.

Road Warriors

The last group are the Road Warriors or "frats". They were smaller in number but had a large profile because of their engaging nature which is itself, a special kind of art. They also drank a lot of alcohol.

Road Warriors tended to be into the "radical" part of self-expression. They will do anything they can think of that's politically IN-correct. Much of Burning Man is like that. Meant to shock but not offend. Well, not too much. Even this offence often produces smiles as we laugh at ourselves and the lines we draw.

I put the pyros in this group since they raise a lot of hell and tend to come through the back camps with their groups of mobile flame throwers and music cars.

Many were college students looking to interact in a more challenging way. They tended to engage you directly but were never really mean. The Road Warriors are the "drama" of Burning Man.

OK. Those are the rules. Those are the players. Here's what happened. Some of the notes were taken real time and I drop into present tense. I haven't changed it. Sorry if that's confusing.

Arrival

It took about two hours to drive from Reno, the closest big city to Burning Man. I got there about 9:00 PM. The first thing I saw from several miles away was a blue tower in a sea of lights. This thing was HUGE! A mile and a half across is bigger than you think it will be.

Next I'm sitting here in line waiting to get in. There's no wind but a light dust in the air from all the cars. It's an almost white dust like talc (I see MUCH more of it later on!).

While I'm waiting here, I set the radio to scan on FM. There are only a couple of stations, but with lots of VERY strange programming. From listening to the lyrics, much of the music seems to be written for the event. there are no limits on the words they use OR the sounds in the music. Some chick is queefing out tunes and talking about different types of cunts in a parody of Vagina Monologues.

Much of it's so weird I have nothing to associate it with and so can't even remember. This was to be common all through the event. Stuff so weird you can't remember what it was. Or maybe that was just from sensory overload. I'm not sure.

It took me about 20 minutes in a slow moving line to get to the gate but it will be MUCH worse on Thursday and Friday I'm told.

I've already noticed a different mood, or is it just expectation? There seems to be's a very mellow attitude here. Even the guys directing traffic are smiling. At first it makes you want to look around to see what they are smiling about but soon you get it. They KNOW what you are ABOUT to discover.

I pulled slowly into an open place fairly close to the center of things. No, I didn't unpack or set up camp. I wanted to SEE what was going on. But I had no costume on, and no paint. It only took a few hundred yards of walking to realize I was out of place. I looked like a Yahoo.

First Impression

In only a quarter of a mile I saw more strange forms of dress than at all the Halloween parties I've ever attended in my entire life. From a mostly naked fire dancer with beautiful breasts to a guy in drag pulling a Barbie doll along on a string. And like I said, stuff I can't even remember.

Out of respect, I opened my shirt and wore it on one shoulder as I loosened the strap on my head lamp. I pulled the lamp down over my body to act as a belt holding the shirt in place.

This left the light at about my crotch so I set it to fast blink. What would this mean? I didn't care. For me it was simply working with what I had. I was too enchanted to go back to the car find something more involved.

As I neared the center of the city, the lights got much brighter. You could see without a light on the main street. It was an amazing sight - lights and structures wrapped away in arcs in both directions for about two miles. This is a HUGE place.

Dead ahead in the center was a big blue neon tower which I could clearly now see was the man that was to burn. He was 40 or fifty feet tall standing on a three story lighthouse. He had lasers beaming out in four directions. He could be seen from almost everywhere. I'd already seen so many strange things, my head was buzzing. I needed a break. I head in the direction of the man to introduce myself. Compared to the city, it was wide open and mostly empty out on the playa.

This blue giant was only a half a mile away, but it took a while to get there. Along the way were isolate pieces of art, much of it with movement, lights and sound. One stopped me in my tracks. It too was amazing to ignore.

Worth the Price of Admission

Someone had created a merry-go-round with many copies of a bust of someone "swimming" out of the surface. It was spinning quite fast.

The impressive part was that it was lit with strobe lights synchronized to the speed of the platform so that the "swimmer" turned into a collection of moving sculptures, each with its own spot on the rim. You couldn't see the wheel move unless you looked closely. All you could see were these people swimming out from the desert in perfect form.

I walked around it trying to get past the illusion but there was not enough normal light. This thing worked REALLY well in the dark. On one side was a bicycle pedal. This was interactive art. I cranked it. The wheel went faster. The swimmers swam faster, but stayed perfectly in sync. A guy behind me said, "This alone is worth the price of admission".

I agreed.

All of a sudden I was startled by a HUGE ball of flame. A sea dragon which must have been 150 feet long and 30 feet high had stopped behind me and was snorting fire.

I marveled at it's size as I walked along trying to get an idea how big it really was. It quietly rolled away. By this time the swimmers were somewhere in the distance. I would try to find them again over the next few evenings but I never succeeded. Something always distracted me. That's how it went the whole time. Except for Burning the Man and the Temple of Joy, the experience was chaos. Finding something was mostly luck.

Sublime Chaos

I would head for events and end up somewhere else. It was hard to stay focused. It's a singularly indeterminant kind of experience, totally unpredictable and constantly changing. This chaos makes each person's experience unique and unrepeatable.

Hundreds of pieces of art are mobile and constantly being driven around. You only see them by luck. Even "fixed" events change from hour to hour and day to day. Some presentations are one time affairs, others come and go or happen on no fixed schedule.

I tried to experience these electronic lily pads which were supposed to track you by sound. Several people told me about them and I DID manage to find them twice, but not when they were working.

Once was in a dust storm which seem to suppress their response. Another try was in early morning and I think their photocell batteries had already died and were waiting for a sunrise to recharge. Oh well. No one can see it all, and even if you could, it would be different an hour later. Finally, I dropped all plans and mostly did "walk abouts" aborigine style. Other than that, I let it find me. But back to my first walk.

I finally made it to the Man and climbed up. There were a few hundred people sitting around. Some were playing music. One was quoting poetry. He was quite good but I didn't recognize the poem.

This reminded me of the poems I had brought along in my Palm phone. I had planned to quote different parts of the Rubaiyat depending on random cues from different people. No, I can't quote the entire 101 verses, but the Palm phone allowed me to look them up quickly. Once I get a cue I'm usually good for a couple of verses.

So I headed off to the west end of the city for no particular reason. It was totally dark for a half mile and very peaceful on the playa. It was a relief to be alone and relax after so much distraction. The blackness was soothing.

Alone

I took out the Palm and began to read the Rubaiyat out loud for practice. It was fun. I was reading to the desert and the stars. It was a break from sensory over-load.

All of a sudden people started clapping and yelling. I turned my light on. There were six people sitting in a circle in total darkness. I said thank you and continued my path and my reading as they dropped into the distance behind me. This place really WAS like the ocean. It was like these six people were bobbing in a boat. Next I did some of the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". This seemed especially appropriate.

As I got close to the west end, the music got louder. This was one of the unlimited sound areas and it was VERY loud and VERY techno. This end of Black Rock City was dominated by a large rave club but other clubs were around too.

One one was set up like the red light district in Amsterdam. Not much clothing here, and a lot of kissing going on. I stopped in another smaller club and was offered a drink. I'm a light-weight and was soon feeling very mellow.

Illusion

I wandered into this tunnel of optical and aural illusions - lots of noise and light. I was trying to figure out where this sound was coming from when I discovere it was from a noise maker right next to my ear. It was held by a young woman who was watching me search for it's source. I'd been had.

She laughed at me as I noticed her, then handed me the device and moved on. This was my first gift and I thanked her as she was leaving. I took it out into the night air to figure out how it worked. It was a small version of the African "pebbles in a hollow stick" musical device. Soon I got the hang of it and moved on to a big fire and party.

As I approached I noticed a large lady with huge breasts mostly exposed. Her gown was cut just above the nipples and she had an 8-ball held between her tits.

"Nice trick", I said, "and you're always ready for a game". She laughed and thanked me very formally. Another guy was standing there and said, "But I wonder what they feel like?".

To that she offered, "I can be bribed", so I handed her my noise maker. It's all I had but she smiled so I kissed her. She kissed back and soon I was kissing my way down her neck. The social barriers were so relaxed. This seemed like a natural exchange.

Just then I realize the other guy was sucking on her right breast and she was holding the eight ball in her other hand. I smiled at her, gave her a final kiss and drifted away. My gift had moved on and so had I.It was a maneuver I would get good at over the next few days. My idea was to tease but not get involved. Besides, she wasn't my type but DID appear to be his.

Schrooms

Next I saw a group of about ten people on bicycles all in a circle around this one guy who was handing something out from a zip-lock. He was addressing each person in turn.

I walked up to one of them, a blond girl, and asked what they were doing. She said they were making mushroom tea in their mouths. "Ahh, psilocybin", I said.

"Yes", she responded quickly. The guy offered me some mushrooms. I declined. "It's OK", she said, "He's not one of us". "The Burning Man force is not strong in this one", I thought. She was Raver, not a Hippie.

From here I continued to head back to the center of the city and my car. By then it was one o'clock and I'd been out nearly four hours. It seemed like less. But I was tired so I just got in the driver seat of my car and slept without unloading anything.

Temple of Joy

I awoke to fire works in the distance. I checked the clock. It was three in the morning but it seemed like I was missing the party. I drank some water and headed out again.

This time I went to the right and found more chaos of music, lights and people. Only the people had slowed down a bit. One place had a whole bunch of hammocks between polls. They were all full of sleeping bodies.

Another had a large merry-go-round with a pole in the center. People were laying with their heads near the center and their feet near the edge. A guy was running in a circle getting it up to speed. I hopped on, laid down and took a ride. It was fun. This I would come back to later. I met and talked to lots of people here. I liked this place. It as SO simple. I was a kid again.

Next I headed out into the playa once more. It was just getting light and I could see different pieces of art in the distance. This time I headed for this large building twice as far out as the Man. This was the Temple of Joy. As I approached it appeared to be made of some sort of fine wood.

I later learned it was formed from of the jig-saw cut-outs left over from manufacturing plywood dinosaurs. These cutouts were stappled to two-by-four trianbles which were then stacked on a structural frame. but that doesn't describe it at all.

It was about 60 feet tall and looked like it was made of fragile lace. It was beautiful in the pre-dawn light. As I got closer I saw a few people inside and also outside writing on the walls. Some were openly crying. Others were just quiet and staring.

I stopped to reading the writing. Many had said good-bye to loved ones. Others wrote their hopes and dreams. Inside were pictures of loved ones, mementos and final notes. There were big bins of wooden blocks you could write on and toss back in the bin.

Many of you who read this know I'm finishing up a a very successful marriage - just not successful enough. No, I won't get into all the emotional baggage here. I did that two years ago, but a very good friend suggested I take some special memento to Burning Man and set fire to it.

When my wife and I married, we had match boxes engraved with our name and the date. We had lots left over from the wedding and we stored them away. A few years ago, I found my wife using them to light the BBQ. That was the first hint I had that my marriage would end.

As I stood there, I realized this temple was built EXACTLY for the purpose my friend had suggested. She had foreseen the need, and this artist had built it for me. I would bring the box of matches here. This was the perfect place to see them burn. Wedding matches now divorce matches. It fit.

Lost Penguin

I continued across the open playa. By the time I reached the west arm of the city, I was feeling very peaceful but also very alone. I just happened to come out in front of the "Lost Penguin". It was an open shade structure.

There were several people sitting just inside on couches watching the sun come up. They welcomed me in. I asked a young woman who Lost the Penguin?

Her name was Lucy and she said the camp was built to capture lost souls from the playa and give them comfort and chocolate. The Burning Man spirit was strong in this one. I could tell by her smile. Lucy had been a lost soul from Toronto last year. She had wandered in here. This year she helped out.

The chocolate was made in a factory in the bay area staffed by autistic people. The chocolate was good. So were the people. I visited Lucy and the others several times in the next few days because of this wonderful welcome. She never guessed why. I was just another lost penguin. I like serendipity. It needs no reason.

Again, I was tired. So was everyone else. Sleeping bodies were everywhere. I returned to my car and unloaded enough stuff so I could lay down. I slept several hours this time.

Nudity

I awoke to the sound of laughter. I looked out the window of the car and saw a beautiful young woman totally naked and rubbing soap on her body. She was talking to someone and laughing.

She was under a make-shift shower just across the street. A water bag was suspended from three poles above her. She was standing on a wooden pallet. Water was dripping from her nipples. Her pubic hair was dark.

She was so natural and relaxed. This shower was to become a source of excellent distraction. Others would shower here. I'd picked the perfect camp for being a voyeur.

OK. I might as well talk about public nudity at Burning Man. Other than shower time, it was rare to see people TOTALLY nude. But LOTS were "almost" nude. Some wore paint. Some wore sun glasses. One had only a garter - not even the stockings.

Another look I really enjoyed was the scarf tied around the waist. It didn't really cover much, but I thought it was a cute gesture. Many were like this. Others were just topless or had a g-string. Still others wore nets of different types of material. And it changed during the day.

Ten o'clock in the morning was the best time for nudity. Just as everyone woke up, the sun was getting hot. The warmer it got, the less they wore.

I remember laughing as I walked to the bathrooms one morning. On that short walk, I'd seen more naked women than I'd seen in my entire life.

Many would just throw a shirt over their shoulders to go to the porta-potties. Others didn't bother. And three that morning were out jogging together. There were LOTS of naked joggers in the mornings, male and female.

No, it's not a nudist colony. Most of the time only a few percent are naked and even then, more male than female. But it was just common enough to catch you unaware. I notice one naked woman sitting in camp nursing a baby. It was such a natural and beautiful sight. There were many other great examples of casual nudity.

Water Truck

This was the morning I first saw the water truck. It would come along a couple of times a day spraying the road with water to keep the dust down.

The truck would honk his horn as it went along. People would run from their camp throwing their cloths off to catch the truck for a free shower. As the truck went by, 20 or 30 people would be splashing in it's spray, some just catching up, some retiring totally soaked. I too took some of my showers this way. I learn from example.

As the temperature fell at night, the clothes went back on. It was rare to see naked people late at night, but it did occur. Now back to camp.

Making Camp

I laid down some tarps, drove over them and wrapped them around my car. Then I formed a tent with two poles inside. The sun would be hot soon. I needed shade. Plus the afternoon would bring southwest winds - a little or a lot. I wanted to keep as much dust out of my car as possible.

In an hour my camp was in good shape and I had lunch. I kept a cold camp and mostly ate sandwiches with guacamole and chips. I also had lots of fruit and veggies in the cooler. My camp was simple but efficient. I had moved in. I took another nap but never did catch up on my sleep. On the average I slept only 5 hours a day while on the playa.

Polyamory

Next was a meeting of the Polyamorous Group. It was one of my interests and started on time. There were about 25 people and a very lively discussion.

Some of these people had been living the lifestyle for years, others just trying it out. I won't go into the details, but it was interesting enough that I came back a couple of times to learn more.

About then I got a call on my walky talky. It was given to me by a friend so we could link up when he got in. After quick directions, I headed for his camp. Him and his girlfriend were going to help me with my costume.

The Jellyfish

The theme of this year's Burning Man was "Floating World" so I made a 40 inch diameter jellyfish out of PVC pipe and covered with a white translucent fabric. The PVC formed a dome which I attached to a plastic helmet. To this I attached my blinking light which caused the fabric to light up nicely. Finally I then cut "fringe" out of mylar and hung it from the rim of the dome.

Next I cut a hole in another piece of white fabric to put my head through forming a simple robe. This is where my friend came in. He had this blue "light wire" which I wanted to taped inside the robe.

The over-all effect turned out better than I thought, especially at night. Darkness hides a lot of rough edges.

Other people thought so too, even before I added the light wire. Right after I left my camp I was in total darkness except for my flashing light.

I heard someone say, WOW!. I turned. It was a guy laying on a couch. He said, "You're going make a lot of people happy tonight". I thanked him and took it as a good omen.

Every few hundred feet or so someone would stop me to take my picture. I started trading my poses for hugs as I danced around making the mylar move. Remember, you CAN'T be strange at Burning Man. I must have hugged 20 people just getting over to hook up the light wire. It was fun being a ham.

We got the wiring done and I stayed for dinner. Then we all headed out to party. My friend had a clear female plastic torso with light wire in circles around the tits and different colors at the "V". He strapped this to his back and in the dark was VERY confusing Because other women were doing the same thing with light wire on their actual bodies. In the dark, he looked like a woman walking backwards. Remember, you CAN'T be strange at Burning Man. His girlfriend was a jellyfish like me, but a simpler one. We were set.

Early evening is when the party starts. It gets hard-core at midnight. Everyone is dressed up and there is lots of dancing, drink and general craziness.

In time we got separated which is VERY common and to be expected. Even with a special pattern of light wire it's difficult to keep track. And without it, hopeless. With me being inside this jellyfish, it was hard to see out. I lost track quickly.

Once alone, I began to entertain. I would watch the crowd to find someone who was fascinated by my costume then begin to circle them (yes, I DID favor the single females). This would often start them laughing and allow me to pop the rim over their head and surprise them.

This brought them "inside" and we could start this little dance as I informed them they had been "captured". Some would laugh and run away. Others didn't. Soon I ended up dancing with one and talking to her for a long time. Then we started kissing.

She was from Denmark and was having trouble understanding me but our movements were communicating perfectly. She had on a fur coat and thin skirt. I had only a thin piece of fabric. It became an erotic dance. Soon she realize how erotic.

She started laughing and saying "Oh, no... Oh, no". I gave her a final kiss, leaned back my jellyfish and let her out. As I blinked into the night I looked back to see her smile in the flashes of light. The guy on the couch had been right. I had made someone happy. No regrets.

I had other gimmicks too. I carried a backpack with lots of different stuff. One thing I had was a zip-lock full of soft gummy-worms.

Sometimes as I danced around a target, I would take their hand and pull it into my bag of gummy worms. At first some would squeal as they touched them, then recognize the feel pulling out a "tentacle" to eat. That was my cue to dance away and leave them smiling. It was one way I "gave".

Other times I would pull into a camp, take off my jellyfish and relax. I got to talk to a lot of people that way. No introductions were needed. Everyone was SO open. It was a fun time.

This second night I lasted till two o'clock then went back to my camp and slept till sunrise.

Second Sunrise

I almost always wake up at sunrise and did Friday morning too. I put on my desert gear and headed out for some serious art viewing on the playa. I took the camera because I hadn't been getting many pictures yet. This time I would focus on an objective - take pictures.

Ooops... Already distracted. I really wanted to climb up in the Kaleidoshpere. It was this set of three huge spheres one within another and rotating at different rates. It created a strange moving frame of reference.

At other events, the machinery of something like this would be roped off. Not here. A narrow tunnel led to a ladder which I climbed. At the top I found myself in the inter-most sphere. There were also six other people here sleeping, talking or just waking up.

One blond girl's eyes got REAL wide once she woke up. Her world was moving in circles. Or at least I'm sure it felt that way to her. It was only another illusion, but it startle her. She must have climbed up in the dark and fell asleep without seeing the effect. It probably still seemed like a dream. Just more illusion.

More Art

Next I went to the far end of the playa past the Temple of Joy. On the way I saw lots of interesting "stuff". In one big area were thousands of pairs of shoes circled by American flags. It took a minute to realize there was a pair of shoes for each life lost in New York almost one year ago on 9-11.

Another work was of fish swimming up out of the playa. They looked so real, almost like they were in water. The playa makes a great canvas.

Farther out was a HUGE yellow rubber duck. It must have been thirty feet tall and could be seen from the Temple of Joy. Much of the art work on the playa "disappeared" as you walked away because of the distance. The duck didn't. It was a BIG duck.

Finally near the fence I found a bunch of people about to start some mud bath event. Everyone got totally naked and started rubbing mud on each other which was provided by the "officials".

There was also a hundred foot long "slip-n-slide" I suspected would become part of the process. But I had told my friend I'd be there for lunch so I headed back. I didn't get to see what happened. Again, you can't do everything. So you do what you can. I DID get some pictures of them covering each other with mud.

The Storm

After lunch I went back to the Poly place and met a mostly new group of sexual/emotional artists. The word "compersion" was defined and contrasted. One very attractive oriental lady was next to me. As she talked, I realized she was ready to have an affair but was trying to do it in some honest fashion - poly.

The wind came up. A storm was blowing in. Almost everyone left, but this lady and I started talking. The discussion became quite involved. The winds increased. The air became white with playa dust. Her coal black hair began to turn gray.

Someone handed out face masks. I pulled out my goggles. She put on her glasses and mask. We kept talking. Soon we were alone. Again, I was due back at my friend's camp but I got her email address before I left. I wonder if she'll answer (BTW, she did and we've become email friends).

By the time I got to my friend's place, it was total white out. I took a picture of a bike in front of me because I could barely see it.

At his camp, we just watched the storm. There wasn't much else to do. Soon the dust died down and I took off my goggles. Much of the "white out" was simply dust on the lenses. Even nature was providing illusion. Strange what we believe.

Next the lightning started. Then the rain. It was just enough to settle the dust but not enough for mud. In an hour the storm broke and a rainbow came out. Another sign of a perfect week? It really WAS good weather. 85 degrees in the day, 50 at night.

I borrowed my fiend's bike and did a ride-about. It had a different feel. I liked walking better but the bike was good for going to a particular place.

After getting some pictures, I brought the bike back then went to get into my jellyfish. This night I had a different story and a new trick to try.

I duct-taped a tube of KY jelly to my helmet inside the jellyfish. This way I could "palm" a squirt of KY then shake hands with a target. It made them squeal as I handed them a paper towel and asked what they would expect from a jellyfish? The point was surprise. It worked.

Thunder-Dome

I came to Thunder Dome several times while I was at Burning Man never got to see a "fight". Either it was too crowded to get close or no fight was going on. This place was a lot like the movie of the same name and of course VERY popular with the Road Warriors.

Finally I decided to take off the jellyfish and at least climb up the dome. It was about 40 feet high and 80 feet wide. When I got near the top, I met a couple and started talking. It was nothing major, but seemed so funny to be having a conversation in such a strange place in such strange clothes. I climbed down and continued on.

Getting my Tentacle Eaten

At one point these two gay guys came up to my jellyfish doing the oooow... ahhhhh... thing and one of them said, "You are beautiful!"

I thanked him as the other one said, "Can I feel" as he played with the mylar. I pulled his hand into my backpack. This surprised him.

I said, "I'll even let you eat it". He found a gummy worm, pulled it out and started laughing. I may not be gay, but I DO know how to tease. Again, I left them wanting more.

This night I stopped at several parties. I had a few drinks and maybe a contact high from this one crowded tent. I was feeling good and watched a number of couples around me getting seriously sexual. Later walking back, I watched a girl giving her boyfriend a blow-job but I only watched for a couple of seconds. I didn't want to break the mood.

That was the only REAL public sex I witnessed but I did hear a bit more in tents at different times. To be honest, I think most people were so tired, a lot of sex didn't happen. But who knows?

Barter Bars

Apparently, a few years ago people started sitting up tents and others would bring in ice, soda and alcohol. The guy who owned the tent would mix the drinks. These came to be called barter bars because you were supposed to bring something in trade.

Since it violates the spirit of the gift economy, the bartering aspect is no longer cool and is less common. Usually they just pass out free drinks.

There was one exception. I walked into this one bar which turned out to be a BDSM place. The guy would give me a drink but only after I pulled down my pants so he could spank me. I had my costume on and didn't want to tangle the light wire so I declined and moved on. But others were taking it on the ass for a drink.

Back Streets

To bed by three. Up at dawn. No dreaming but I felt refreshed. It was like that each night, play hard, sleep hard, no dreaming. I think I tended to get woken up before I got into the light dreaming state. And when awake, I wanted to see something. Anything!

This morning I took the back streets and found lots of minor art. Even many of the camp names were entertaining. One was "Victims of Masturbation". There was also, "Camp FUCK" with an eight foot tall sign. Others I liked were "Bureau of Artistic Licensing" and "Blow-jobs for the Needy".

Smacking Her Ass

One camp I walked by had a girl screaming in orgasm. Or was it pain? I stepped in to check it out. Several others were watching too.

Two women and a man were doing all kinds of things to this female subject who was lying on a table face down. The women were rubbing her all over and the guy was smacking her ass with a paddle. It seemed pretty real. Not like those faky movies. She wasn't shy about expressing herself either. The moans were authentic. Did I say there wasn't much public sex? Well, this WAS in a tent - sort of private but definitely sexual.

Answers and Paint

At another site you could write a question and the next day there would be an answer. Some were serious. Some were funny. It was interesting to see what people wanted to know about their lives. I spent a lot of time there reading.

There was also lots of places that did full body painting, tit painting, genital painting, sun screen application and bush trimming.

Always near by were places you could get your feet washed, your hair washed or a full "carcass" wash. Yes, painted naked people would step up and people would rub all the paint off. Lots of skin to skin contact from strangers. But like I said, this place felt like home. It was cool.

There were also free massages almost everywhere you looked. And foot rubs. And head rubs. And finger rubs. And pelvic rubs. Lots of rubs.

Probably the strangest thing I saw that Saturday morning was a guy with a three inch nail all the way through his penis just behind the head. He seemed proud of it. I wonder if it ever got him laid? It certainly got him some attention.

Anyway, you get the idea. These were the little camps. I've only mentioned the more aberrant ones. There were also hundreds of more normal ones like Chocolate Gypsies, Bicycle Repair and Roller Disco plus lots of trampolines. One guy was cutting Pepsi cans into strips then weaving them into fabric.

After the walk about, I headed to the Poly camp again to see if the oriental lady would be back - no luck, but it was interesting so I stayed a while.

The afternoon was getting hot. I went back for a nap. Tonight would be the big night. Normally everyone was scattered through the city at different gatherings. At sunset it would become like "Dawn of the Dead". Everyone would turned toward the Man and walked like zombies. That's when I would realized how many people there were.

Burn the Man - Save the Man

I awoke as the sun was setting. After a quick dinner I got the jellyfish on and joined the march to the Man.

They had set up a perimeter of about a third of a mile out. I found a place up wind and took off my jellyfish so others could see over my head. We were about 20 deep and a mile around. I was just behind those seated. I had a good view.

From the Temple side of the circle came a parade of fire breathing machines and art cars. Lots of Road Warrior stuff. It took them a half hour to get all the way around.

Next came the fire dancers. And not just a few. There were easily a thousand of them. You could barely see the ones on the other side but they too kept moving.

It's important to note, this is not a well rehearsed parade like you would see at Disneyland. Some were very good at it. Especially the fire eaters. Others weren't. I saw one drop and roll as he caught his shirt on fire.

I also heard one fire eater had encountered a change in wind and caught a face full of fuel earlier in the day. They flew him to Reno with burns on his face, but in fair condition.

Anyway, what these guys lacked in practice, they made up for with enthusiasm. It was a great show.

Finally, the field was cleared and the big blue man raised his arms - the sign he was about to burn. Then one arm's lights went out. Like I say, shit happens. But the crowd cheered just the same, "Burn the Man" or "Save the Man". Or both.

The fireworks started. Lots of them all at once. Then flames at the base. It took a few minutes for the blaze to climb the structure. Soon ALL the man's lights went out.

Then something strange started happening. The breeze was just right. A funnel of smoke and flame formed at the downwind edge of the fire. It was taller than the man himself and began to move away independently toward the crowd. It was like a large dust devil or very small tornado. People screamed and cheered. It was fun to watch.

Then the man fell and sparks reached for the sky. Just then they let the fence down and much of the crowd ran forward to the flame.

Mr. Right

I stayed holding my jellyfish. It was too crazy in there with this costume. There was another lady standing beside me. We started talking. Everyone does. You got to know a lot of people this way. She was here because she had just turned 40 and her baby clock was ticking frantically.

She was looking for Mr. Right so she could get pregnant and make babies before it was too late. She figured this was a good place to find someone open-minded and understanding. She was SO straight forward. She asked me for a ride back to Reno monday morning. We made arrangements but she never showed up. Oh well. That's how it works. I'm sure she found a ride. I'm not Mr.
Right anyway. Been there. Done that.

I once again headed for the music to the west. And this is a good time to talk about the music. There was all kinds... live, recorded, techno, metal, country and rock. Everything EXCEPT rap. Interesting... Too negative? Demographics? Who knows.

Jellyfish Dance

Anyway I started my dance of the jellyfish again looking for people to entertain. I had a new approach. I told them the mylar tentacles had a special neuro-toxin. It lowers inhibition. I would swoop around barely touching them with the mylar strips.

The first women I explained this to said, "But I have no inhibitions", as she came inside the jellyfish and started rubbing her body against me. I laughed. She'd caught me off balance. My bluff had been called. I gave her a gummy tentacle to eat and danced away.

The next one went better. She was an older lady and kept saying I was beautiful. She might have been on E. I'm not sure. Or maybe I am. :)

Anyway, I captured her and we began to dance. Her guy looked on. She was good with her movement and getting VERY sexy as she rubbed against my leg. We started talking. She was down from Alaska with her husband. She said she loved to flirt and "play". He liked to watch. How far would she go I wondered?

When things started getting too hot, I pulled away and said hi to her husband. She asked how I liked her costume? I looked at her as my light flashed on and off. She was in leather chaps with strings behind and a naked ass. She looked good. My light turned off.

Just then her husband turned her back around and said, "look at this". As my light turned on, he held her legs apart to reveal a purple frosted bush with just a hint of labia showing. This was definintely an invitation. My light turned off.

My hand moved in the dark. The light came on. Her eyes were open wide and she had a big smile on her face. Then she began laughing. The husband looked confused. I drifted away. Had I gone too far? Probably.

Anywhere else I'd be accused of sexual assult (or is that battery?). Here, it was just another form of interactive art, producing a smile. And I suspect, a memory.

Toasted E

Speaking of E, I walked into another bar and an attractive young girl came up to me as I was taking off my jellyfish. She hugged me and introduced me to everyone. Someone fixed me a drink. She kept literally hanging on me and talking about everything. She didn't seem to want to let go. We got into a long discussion.

She was of course totally toasted on E and was waiting to mellow out to a nice "roll". I played with her perceptions challenging her with different words and logic just to explore.

It's interesting to watch people try to think when all they can do is feel. After a while her boyfriend came back and they went to the playa to "do" the art. I'm still not sure what that meant.

After this drink it was back to the street for me. An hour later in front of one of the biggest clubs I was doing the jellyfish thing again. There was a "mermaid" with a guy next to her.

She called out, "Oh jellyfish. We're both sea creatures". And she was too. A beautiful sea creature - totally naked except for blue paint from the waist down. I think she was completely shaved but it was too dark to tell for sure.

I did my dance and "captured" her. Then she started her own dance and I focused on the small of her back just above her ass as I held her tight. It felt really good. She began to moan. It was getting even better. I felt her nipples through the fabric I was wearing. I felt the light wire between us as she pushed against me. I looked at her guy. He seemed OK with this.

But in a second she pulled back saying, "I need to breathe". I did too. I took her hand and pulled it into my pack. She pulled out a gummy worm and smiled. I danced away just in time.

She was WAY too tempting and I wanted to leave her wanting more. "DAMN!", I thought. It's amazing what you can do with a silly costume and the right attitude. Well, at least at Burning Man.

A hundred yards into the darkness, I turned around and headed back for more. But I only went a few steps. No, it was just too complicated. Better this way. I continued on with a nice memory and a smile.

Another Mermaid

I slept well that night in spite of the noise. I slept hard - no dreams. I was tired I think. I woke up with the sun and headed out on the playa for some more photos of the Temple of Joy. I saw other things along the way. You just can't help it. The trick is to reach your destination without getting too distracted.

One was this guy in camp working on his mobile art. It was a minibike with mermaid laying face-up along it's length so that he sat across her thighs. Her arms were the handle bars, the top of her head was the headlight. This put her breasts at about the gas tank which is where his attention was focused. He was rubbing her breasts. It looked kind of kinky and I ask him what he was
doing. "The left one popped last night and I had to patch her up", he said. I reached out and felt her tit. It felt pretty real. I ask what was in it.

"Water", he answered. "It feels pretty good", I said. Just then another guy walked by and heard us. He started laughing and said, "You guys are SICK!". I laughed myself thinking how it must look. See how easy it is to get distracted?

Here's another one. On the way I saw this guy on top of a boat which was on top of a car. He was about 20 feet in the air painting a huge picture of the Man burning from last night. It was nearly complete. Had he been there all night?

I stopped and took a picture and then realize I was creating art (photo) of a guy creating art (painting) of more art (Burning) of a piece of art (Man) on top of another piece of art (boat) bolted to yet a final piece of art (car). I stopped and explained this to him. He laughed and said you can't escape it out here. But I did. I got my focus back and pushed on.

Temple of Joy, Take 2

Anyway, into the playa. I got some good early light pictures of the Temple as I approached. When I entered, I noticed this young blond guy crying his eyes out. He was literally sobbing. His shoulders were shaking. He couldn't have been more than nineteen years old. He was very distressed to say the least. I wanted to hug him, and I don't hug many guys. Well, except at Burning Man.

Anyway, I wondered at his pain and how this structure brought it out. I looked around. There were so many others. And it was so early in the morning, normally the quietest time on the playa.

I realized thousands had made a pilgrimage here to write their pain, joy and hopes in the last few days. Strange how one mans creation could bring such focus to so much emotion. This was indeed art.

It effected people with its beauty and it's proposition. I reached in my pocket, found the matches. I threw them high into the structure. I heard the small box bounce to a stop on some piece of wood.

I thought about my wedding. I thought about my wife. Then I thought no more about either. I moved on to find more art.

As I went back to my camp, people everywhere were packing up to leave. About a third would be gone before the day was over. Their party was about celibrating fire and art. That ended as the Man's ashes cooled. Burning the Temple of Joy was more about sorrow and hope.

As I walked through the camps I realize it was more of the Road Warriors and Ravers leaving. More of the Artists and Hippies were staying. Work related? Distance? Devotion?

Mylar Sailing

At camp I decided to do something different for this final day. I had a big sheet of mylar left over and made some plastic handles out of packaging at hand. I created this big mylar sail that I could fly in the wind by holding my arms out. It was like when I was a kid playing with the sheets when my grandmother was hanging out laundary.

By working with the wind direction just right I could also create a lot of shade. That became my gift. It had become a hot morning - no clouds. I began shading people as I walked down the street.

Soon I met this black Jamaican guy from New York. He took one handle, I the other and started doing escort service. We met lots of people, got cold drinks, hugs and kisses. It was fun.

But the party was ending. People were leaving. My Jamaican friend said good-bye and moved off. My arms were tired. I went back to camp and slept.

Attack of the Road Warriors

I was awakened by someone with a bull-horn shouting, "We want vagina. We want penis", over and over.

I walked outside. Three Road Warrior cars had pulled up to the next camp over. Five guys and two girls were standing on top of their car in leather and spikes yelling the chant. Finally a guy in the camp stepped out of a rental truck and dropped his pants. They cheered and clapped.

The Road Warriors next switched to only the "We want vagina" chant. Behind the guy a girl with long dark hair walked out, pulled up her skirt and bent over at the waist. They got vagina. More cheers! Next they drove a little ways down the street and started chanting again.

This was the kind of random stuff that went on all the time, and I have to admit, the Road Warriors DO create an entertaining show. I fell back asleep with a smile on my face. Burning Man is the only place you wake up TO dream, then fall asleep to NOT dream.

Burning the Temple

At sunset I got up and had dinner. It was time to burn the Temple. I didn't wear my jellyfish. I didn't take the sun-sail. It was getting dark. I wore my desert clothes with my blinking light for safety.

There was a smaller perimeter around the Temple than there was around the Man. We were fewer. We were closer. Again I was careful to stay upwind. As I waited, I talked to everyone. I'm nosey. Each had a story. Each had a reason for being there.

A few feet away was a guy in a long white robe reading from the bible. Now, I'm sure a lot of people did NOT want to hear what he was reading, but they let him read - a testament to the tolerance of Burning Man. He had a captive audience - for a while.

Soon another guy came along the inside of the line shaking hands with people. It was David Best, the artist who designed and lead the building of the Temple. He was thanking people for bringing their pain, hopes and dreams to his temple. I said, "We should be thanking you".

"No", he responded with a smile, "This is MY turn". He moved on. I was impressed. The Burning Man force was strong in this one too. He was about to perform mass psychotherapy with his art.

The crowd was smaller than the night before but still many thousands of people. There was yelling and cheering just like the night before. Then it all changed.

You could barely hear it at first, but they had started playing some Buddhist music. Everyone got quiet. It was amazing. The crowd became perfectly silent in only seconds. It never works this well when they sing the national anthem at ball games. Here was the biggest group of non-conformist I have ever seen, perfectly conforming to a social cue. I was amazed.

It was so quiet you could hear the wind which had died down. And then you could hear the flame. The fire had started inside the Temple. The music changed. Someone began singing "Amazing Grace" over the PA system. Still there was quiet. People just watched in silenced.

With all it's wodden lace, this structure had more air than the man. It burned faster and hotter. The flames also went higher than the night before even though it was a shorter structure. It was indeed a beautiful fire.

Then the fire/smoke funnels started again just like the night before. Not just one this time, but many. They would form in the flame and move slowly down wind becoming smoke. There were two or three moving around at any given time. Some made it all the way to the line of people. It was if giant ghosts were dancing on the playa saying good by.

As the music stopped, someone release a bunch of doves which then flew circles around the fire. The structure collapsed into itself. Only then did the crowd cheer and move forward like the night before.

Again, I stayed put. It was a nice sharp line in time. My matches were gone. So was my marriage. It worked for me. This was the most beautiful experience of the entire week. THIS was worth the price of admission.

As I stood there watching it burn, a guy next to me said, "When we get back, people are going to ask us to explain what it was like out here. There's just no way to do it". He's right. Words do it no justice. But these are the best I can fine.

I walked back along the main street. I stopped at the Lost Penguin and talked for a while. I could hear the Rave camps in the distance still throbbing, but most other places had already closed down.

It was a more quiet night. I went to bed early - well, just after midnight. The fireworks continued but I slept well and left just before sunrise.

Conclusion

Burning Man isn't a party for everyone. If you hate dirty, dusty camping, it's not for you. If you hate lots of noise and music, it's not for you. If you don't like people being REAL friendly REAL fast, it's not for you.

On the other hand, if you like to watch the range of creative human expression, this is an amazing place to be. If you get involved, it's even better.

Here's a good test. If you liked the movie "Harold and Maude", you'll like Burning Man. Especially the part where Harold gives Maude his special coin and she quickly throws it into the San Francisco bay.

Harold looks at her in astonishment and ask why she did that. Her answer was simple and direct, "because I'll always know where it is".

That's how it was with the Temple of Joy. You take your grief, pain and joy, put it in a beautiful place then watch it burn. You'll always know where it is.

Later in the film when Maude's dying, Harold says, "You can't die. I love you".

She answers, "Go and love some more".

That's how it is at Burning Man. You go find some new friends.

One last warning. Your experience will differ from mine. Your mileage WILL vary. But don't let that bother you. Take it as it comes.

Yes, I will go back next year. It's a little sad for me. I'll be a virgin no more. But I still expect the unexpected.

Will YOU be there?

Zen Heretic

Wave-Disk Engine Advances Efficiency?

2011-04-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

All very nice, but we need more details!

Wave-Disk Engine

Wiki Wave-disk Entry

One Tiny Computer

2011-02-24T15:52:00.001-08:00

Yes, I know all about Moor's Law, but it's still amazing to see a complete computer in a one millimeter cube powered by light.

One Tiny Computer

Nature versus Nurture - Why Rich Parents Don't Matter

2011-01-28T15:28:00.000-08:00

I've been following the nature versus nurture arguments most of my adult life and have mostly felt nature produces 90% of the result. But like most things, the real answer appears not be as simple as, one or the other.

The separated at birth twin studies from the 70s first got my attention on this topic and showed amazing correlation, regardless of environment. Few studies over the years have successfully challenged this conclusion. But it looks like these conclusions may have been over-simplified. This article seems to show environment can be VERY important if it isn't positive or doesn't allow for exposure to knowledge, words and ideas.

It's worth a read in SPITE of it's misleading title:

Why Rich Parents Don't Matter

Why Credit Deflation is More Likely than Mass Inflation

2011-01-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

First a warning.

This is difficult to read, but it's VERY enlightening, so give it a try.

It's difficult to read because it's economics, and it's long and well referenced, but surprisingly, Vijay Boyapati's ideas are clear and well expressed, especially for economics.

And while I don't agree with all of the reasons, and degrees of causation, there ARE some very enlightening ideas here. More importantly, I think the conclusion is dead on. So if nothing else, read the very last paragraph of the very last page.

Then let me know what you think in a comment below.

Why Credit Deflation is More Likely than Mass Inflation

Mapping America's Census

2010-12-22T14:56:00.000-08:00

The internet is wonderful. Here it is only 24 hours after release and anyone can drill down to the block level of every city in America. What a country!

Mapping America: Every City, Every Block

200 Years of Economics in 4 Minutes

2010-12-14T16:28:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most impressive demonstrations of the effects of industrialization I have ever seen :

200 Years of Economics in 4 Minutes

One VERY Impressive Piece of Malware - Stuxnet

2010-12-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe its development will stay secret forever, so someone will eventually take credit and maybe even write a book. Whatever the case, and whom ever created and managed it, Stuxnet was one amazing malware campaign with it's zero-day exploits, subtle damage approach and peer to peer upgrade channel. Don't worry if you're a technophobe, the article below reads like a Hollywood script and brings to mind how Churchill subtlety used Ultra (or didn't use it) to further his objectives. The story even has a climax, with discovery day cleanup already prepared - very impressive. Here's a link :

Mystery Surrounds Cyber Missile That Crippled Iran's Nuclear Weapons Ambitions

And the more technical Wiki version :

Wiki on Stuxnet

It makes one wonder what unknown code may be running on other computers...

Be prepared.

Rod Coleman, General Manager - Sierra Computer Group

BioTime Delivers on the Promise of Telomere Technology

2010-11-29T08:31:00.000-08:00

I first read bout telomere medicine back in the 70s and have followed developments since then. Science can obviously take time, but this finally appears to be a major step toward immortality...

11-29-10 - Another major breakthrough using telomeres

11-29-10 - Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice û now for humans

03-22-10 - BioTime Press Release and article

Saline Valley Springs Review

2010-11-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

I've been asked about Saline Valley from so many friends, it's time to post a general review of the area for it's hot-tubs, hiking and generally great spot to get away.

As some of you may know, Saline Hot Springs used to be on BLM land "just off the map" on the west side of Death Valley when it was made a park. In many respects, Saline Valley is Death Valley in miniature - low valley, tall mountains and great hiking. In the 1960s,Hippies built some soaking tubs and planted some palm trees at the hot-springs.

A few years back the Feds made Saline part of the official Death Valley Park and won't allow any more development. But they won't allow any destruction either. Nudity is still the norm. When people try to change things, the park rangers put it back. Strange how the liberal government types wish to conserve. And small government conservatives like to build liberally.

Anyway, there are several porta-potties and many "camp spots" lined in rock. Winter weekends are a great time to enjoy the warm weather (1100 feet elevation at the salt flat, 1300 feet at the springs), and dramatic hiking (6 to 10 thousand foot mountains).

Mostly it's quiet, but several times a year crowds gather. There's a baseball game on Presidents day. Christmas through New years is always busy, though it sometimes freezes at night. Easter is the last big weekend before it
gets really hot. Summer is the the slow season.

The biggest party of the year is for the Thanksgiving potluck. I've been maybe five times. It's a fun group from all over the west and even some from Europe. Last year about 400 showed up. Bring a blank tee-shirt for the silk screening, get your toe-nails painted and enjoy the music. Last year there were even movies in the evening. Dinner starts about 2:00 PM on Thursday and the soup potluck on Friday is almost as good.

If you've had trouble finding directions to Saline Hot Springs, it's because no one wants to be blamed for putting you on that road. Or getting you lost. Believe me, it's not a road you'll want to drive just for the fun of
it. And in the summer, people die out there.

No matter how you do it, it's 60 miles of bad road - each way. My rule of thumb is to stay at LEAST four days. It takes that long to forget the drive in. Having said that, you CAN make it with most any vehicle. I've even seen a little Honda sedan there. Just be careful you don't break any bits off. But I wouldn't try with any long motor-home or trailer than has entry and exit angle problems. Soft roaders with 7 inches of clearance will do just fine - if you dodge the rocks. Lower than that, be extra careful.

There's another reason you won't find much driving advice on the net - conditions change all the time. The north, south and east passes close for various reasons. I always check this site before I go out. Search for the word Saline. There's almost always a report from the last few weeks :

Death Valley Talk
Saline Valley road runs north and south between highways 168 and 190. The springs are 7 miles east of this road and turns off near the north end of the valley. When you come off pavement on 168 at the north end (there's a sign), you'll be at 7600 feet, so snow can be a factor even in November. The sign may say the road's closed. It rarely is. The park service does this to discourage traffic. It works. The meek at the springs are rare.

The north pass starts with a reasonably graded gravel road, but soon you find LOTS of sharp rocks and more than a few bigger ones to dodge. It's a good idea to air-down your tires to about 20 lbs to decrease tire damage. It also improves traction. One ford pickup brought two spares but needed three. Fortunately, they were close enough to hike in to the springs and Lee had a spare that fit. Did I mention to check your spare before you leave home? I've popped one each on two different trips in the last six years, but none since I started airing-down. It's a small sample, but be ready.

Anyway, off into Marble Canyon from the north - you'll know it by the switch-backs and old mining buildings. From there it's through the trees and out to a panoramic view of Saline Valley. This is the top of Ten Mile grade which takes you to the bottom of Saline Valley.

When you get near the bottom, there's a road to the right that goes off to Turtle Jim's. Ignore him. Continue straight until the road gets level and flat on the bottom of the valley. There you'll find an ungraded road which turns off to the left. There is no sign and the park service will take it down if you make one. If you get to the sand dunes, you went too far. Turn around.

Coming in from the south off highway 190 (well marked turn-off), the first few miles of road is busted pavement. Once you hit gravel and go through the Joshua forest you'll climb to South Pass. At the top is a beautiful view off into Panamint Valley and a road to the right. Don't take it unless you're headed for the Race Track. Bare left and down into Saline Valley. Here are some north faced switch-backs. There's not as much snow at 6100 feet, but there IS a nasty shaded spot if you're trying to get out. If you DO get a storm while you're at camp, start early to drive out before this spot gets ice-packed.

Once you get to the flats you still have a good 20 miles of sandy wash-board road. Airing down is not as critical from the south as there's not as much sharp rock. But then it only takes one. :)

Go west around the lake and past the dunes on your right. About another mile on is that ungraded road to the east. If you start up out of the valley again, you went too far. Turn around. This road to the east is the
final section and the worst road. You probably went too fast on all that wash-board, but stay slow on this section and watch for wash-outs. If you get over 20 MPH, you'll slam your springs.

A few miles in is a cool sign for the bat road, which is a story in itself - but stay on the road east. At night you'll see lights up ahead. The camp lights were the only way I found my way in on my first trip here totally in the dark.

The first springs are where Lizard Lee keeps the lawn. Another 3/4 of a mile up is another set of tubs. and lots of camping space.

See you in the hot-tubs.

Green Float concept: a carbon negative city on the ocean

2010-11-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

When it's time to railroad, there will be sailboats...

Some of you may remember my discussion from the mid-1990s about how to create artificial islands. My idea was to use air-entrained concrete with Kevlar reenforcement to form large (50 x 50 foot) keyed hex-pads. These pads would drop into place working from the center out, relying on gravity to keep them locked. They would flex a bit yet support buildings, a runway and even lagoons. The effect over a mile or so would be like scum floating on the water. It would give a bit but dampen any waves.

My idea was to stack more layers under the larger buildings to support more weight. As building increased, more hex-pads would be lower into position under the keyed structure. The top would reflect what was under the water.

My approach was also to place the island in the doldrums, but to have a backup plan which was to create a "keel" underneath and a "fin" building above using these hex building blocks. The theory was to create the dynamic which would allow for VERY slow sailing when needed, maybe even the ability to sail slightly upwind.

These guys have a more grand and green design and say little about the structure. My idea was to make it large enough to land a 737 and grow some veggies for a military base or vacation resort for hire - politically independent, of course.

Green Float Design

X-Prize Winner : Gas Powered Edison2

2010-11-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

Interesting how the car that won the X-Prize was named the Edison2, yet is gas powered. They tried electric, but discovered all the had to do was get the weight down to 830 lbs and success was theirs. So do we really need electric / hybrid complexity? Or will just doing more with less be the ultimate energy transportation solution?

The Most Dangerous Drug

2010-11-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

Many of you have heard my arguments about how we do a dis-service to our children by defining all "drugs" as equally bad, yet then neglect to even include alcohol, tobacco and prescriptions on the list. Once they start experimenting (and they will), they quickly discover we have no credibility at all. Even worse, the legal drugs fly right under their RADAR and into their lives.

Below is at least an attempt to be rational on the topic :

And the article is very much worth a read, no matter what our government says.

The Most Dangerous Drug

Minimal Transportation - Self Balancing Unicycle

2010-10-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Yike Bike has been trumped! Not as powerful or fast, but quite impressive in it's minimalism.

Video Link

Instead of Burning Man...

2010-08-22T05:28:00.000-07:00

(These just get better and better...)

Pay an escort of your preference to not bathe for five days, cover themselves in glitter, dust, and sunscreen, wear a skanky neon wig,dance naked, then say they have a lover back home at the end of the night.

Tear down your house. Put it in a truck. Drive 10 hours in any direction. Put the house back together. Invite everyone you meet to come over and party. When they leave, followthem back to their homes, drink all their booze, and break things. Stack all your fans in one corner of the living room. Put on your most fabulous outfit. Turn the fans on full blast. Dump a vacuum cleaner bag in front of them.

Buy a new set of expensive camping gear. Break it.

Lean back in a chair until that point where you're just about to fall over, but you catch yourself at the last moment. Hold that position for 9 hours.

Only use the toilet in a house that is at least 3 blocks away.

Drain all the water from the toilet. Only flush it every 3 days. Hide all the toilet paper. Set your house thermostat so it's 100 degrees for the first hour of sleep and 50 degrees the rest of the night.

Before eating any food, drop it in a sandbox and lick a battery.

Spend thousands of dollars and several months of your life building a deeply personal art work. Hide it in a funhouse on the edge of the city. Hire people to come by and alternate saying "I love it" and "dude, this sucks". Then burn it.

Set up a DJ system downwind of a three alarm fire. Play a short loop of drum'n'bass until the embers are cold.

Make a list of all the things you'll do different next year. Never look at it.

Have a 3 a.m. soul baring conversation with a drag nun in platforms, a crocodile and Bugs Bunny. Be unable to tell if you're hallucinating. Lust after Bugs Bunny.

Cut, burn, electrocute, bruise, and sunburn various parts of your body.Forget how you did it. Don't go to a doctor.

"Downsize" last year's camp by adding two geodesic domes, a new sound system, art car, and 20 newbies.

Don't sleep for 5 days. Take a wide variety of hallucinogenic/emotionaltering drugs. Pick a fight with your boyfriend/girlfriend, or both.

Spend a whole year rummaging through thrift stores for the perfect, most outrageous costume. Forget to pack it.

Shop at Wal-mart, Cost-Co, and Home Depot until your car is completely packed with stuff. Tell everyone that you're going to a "Leave-No-Trace"event. Empty your car into a dumpster.

Listen to music you hate for 168 hours straight, or until you think youare going to scream. Scream. Realize you'll love the music for the rest of your life.

Spend 5 months planning a "theme camp" like it's the invasion of Normandy. Spend Monday-Wednesday building the camp. Spend Thurs-Sunday nowhere near camp because you're sick of it or can't find it.

Walk around your neighborhood and knock on doors until someone offers you cocktails and dinner.

Bust your ass for a "community." See all the attention get focused onthe drama queen crybaby.

Get so drunk you can't recognize your own house. Walk slowly around the block for 5 hours.

Tell your boss you aren't coming to work this week but he should "gift"you a paycheck anyway. When he refuses accuse him of not loving the"community".

Search alleys until you find a couch so unbelievably tacky and nasty filthy that a state college frat house wouldn't want it. Take a nap on the couch and sleep like you are king of the world.

Ask your most annoying neighbor to interrupt your fun several times a day with third hand gossip about every horrible thing that's happened in the last 24 hours. Have them wear khaki.

Go to a museum. Find one of Salvador Dali's more disturbing, but beautiful paintings. Climb inside it.

Or just go to Burning Man!

See you in the dust!

King Tut and Colin Chapman

2010-08-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

This picture made me realize how minimal transportation can be. In Tut's time, horses were too small for a man to ride. It took TWO of them just to get pulled around. Which makes this chariot maybe the best example of Colin Chapman's, "Simplify and add lightness".

King Tut's Ride

Now, if we can just get a modern low-cost car under 2000 lbs.

PermaBurn Directions

2010-07-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

If you're not familiar with PermaBurn, here is a link to posts from the first two year's camp-outs...

AfterBurn, Reheat, Stone Soup and First Ashes

Thanks to CyberBiker for providing this Google Map link..

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. But there have been trailers as long as 24 feet, a full-sized Greyhound bus 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.

(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 or pink or mylar 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 tape at each junction.

You have five miles of gravel road 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 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.

Turn right through the green gate, opening if you need to. Leave the green gate open or closed as you found it.

Cross the yellow cattle guard about 30 feet beyond the gate.

Go 2.4 miles up some hills and across a flat.

You will see a sign for the reservoir to the right - stay to the left.

You will also see another yellow cattle guard and orange tape.

You are at 41 6'45" 120 32' 6".

Go just BEYOND the cattle guard, and 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!

Climb 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 with a couple of trees 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.

See ya at PermaBurn!

Stone Soup 2010 Set for the 18th, 19th and 20th of June!

2010-06-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

FINALLY! Summer is here and the weather looks great for Stone Soup. Here's the latest :

NNPS is providing a center camp shelter, Greg Glover a music venue where Darkemeth will be playing house and psytrance. Help Me BDSM camp will be giving demos. The Poly camp will have an intro presentation and pot-luck on Saturday after noon. Diva Den will provide chill space. Hib will be presenting Liquid Chess as well as a balloon with a mile of line. After Saturday will be Cari's birthday party!

There will be an update and PermaBurn meeting Sunday morning at 10:00 AM at center camp. Be there if you're a PermaBurner or interested.

The RSVP list is growing. Add your name with camp plans and head count by emailing :

sudden.net@gmail.com

What : Stone Soup Encore - 2010 - Burner Camp-out at PermaBurn

When : June 18th, 19th & 20th (early and late camping is fine)

Where : Madeline, California - 60 miles north of Susanville

Entrance Fee : $0.00, nada, FREE!

If you've never been to Stone Soup, here's a little background. The Reno area has Burner events all year long. Most are to raise money for theme camps or other causes. Often they are limited by cost, small venues or city constraints.

Stone Soup is different. It's not about raising money. It's not held on public lands. It's not limited in size. There are few restrictions. You can bring your dogs. You can bring your kids. You can bring your dirt bikes or ATVs.

Stone Soup is about whatever you wish to express, in the purest way possible. It's the closest thing you'll find to an old-school Burner camp-out; or the early days on the playa.

So why's it called Stone Soup?

You may have heard of 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 supplies, these soldiers decide to get creative. They set up a pot full of water and begin to boil a large stone, announcing a dinner of "stone soup" will be available for all, just as soon as it's cooked.

Then one of the villagers offers to add some salt - just to give it a little flavor. Next, pepper is offered up by another. Soon other villagers begin bring forth their modest vegetables and other contributions to create a wonderful soup.

In no time, they all eat 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 (or didn't make it up the hill), PermaBurn is 640 acres of northern California now officially organized as The PermaBurn Collective. In the spirit of Burning Man, PermaBurn has gifted this volcanic terrain for the weekend, with virtually no restrictions on how you wish to express yourself.

We'll use the PermaBurn site as our soup pot. Greg Glover (founder) has thrown in port-a-potties as the stone for the soup. (Am I pushing this metaphor too far?) In any case, because of this 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. What would you like to add to the soup?

Link back to this site for on-going updates. 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 your camp plans and head count to...

sudden.net@gmail.com

NNPS Hosting Center Camp - The center camp shade structure will be hosted this year by the Northern Nevada Polyamory Support group, who will also be presenting, "Introduction to Polyamory", on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 followed by a pot-luck for everyone at 6:00 PM followed by a birthday party for Cari.

Tunes - Greg Glover will be providing a music venue where Darkemeth will be playing house and psytrance.

Liquid Chess - BadAss (Hib) will be presenting his full-scale chess art project.

Helium - Hib will also be deploying a balloon with a mile of line.

Camp Quadzilla will provide transportation options.

Camp Help Me - A BSDM camp with be set up by Camp Help Me. Stop by for a whack.

Diva Den Chill Space presented by Cari.

PermaBurn - There will be an update and PermaBurn meeting Sunday morning at 10:00 at center camp. If you're a PermaBurner, or are interested, please join us.

What will YOU add to the flavor?

What : Stone Soup 2010 - Burner Camp-out at PermaBurn

When : June 18th, 19th & 20th (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...

sudden.net@gmail.com

If you're not familiar with PermaBurn, here is a link to posts from the first two year's camp-outs...

AfterBurn, Reheat, Stone Soup and First Ashes

Thanks to CyberBiker for providing this Google Map link..

Stone Soup - 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. But there have been trailers as long as 24 feet, a full-sized Greyhound bus 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.

(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 or pink or mylar 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 tape at each junction.

You have five miles of gravel road 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 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 up some hills and across a flat.

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!

Climb 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 2010 Burner Camp-out at PermaBurn
When : June 18th, 19th & 20th (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 2010.

See ya at PermaBurn!

Favorite Droid Apps

2010-06-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

RealCalc

Here's my favorite Droid app so far. It's an RPN calculator from Brain Overspill. Though not an HP emulation, they've taken the best of calculator UI / PDA design and combined it with an RPN option.

Though I'm not a fan of long press, in this case it's faster than using shift. For instance in conversion, enter a number (or result of calculation) then hold down the EXP key (not show in outdated photo). A dialog pops up. Select units and it displays all the other forms - very quick and easy.

As noted above, the picture is outdated and also in Algebraic mode - they also have %, Rotate and Swap XY. When they get around to financial and stat functions, it'll be perfect. Nice work guys.

Ron Paul Reduces 2400 Page Health Care Bill to One Page

2010-05-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

This has got to be the greatest example of an alternative reduction to essential need in the history of our country. Even when written up a a law, it will be far smaller, and more importantly, FAR more effective.

Ron Paul is to be congratulated.

Here's the link...

And here's the text...

Statement of Congressman Ron Paul

United States House of Representatives

Statement Introducing the Private Option Health Care Act

May 27, 2010

Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Private Option Health Care Act. This bill places individuals back in control of health care by replacing the recently passed tax-spend-and-regulate health care law with reforms designed to restore a free market health care system.

The major problems with American health care are rooted in government policies that encourage excessive reliance on third-party payers. The excessive reliance on third-party payers removes incentives for individual patients to concern themselves with health care costs. Laws and policies promoting Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) resulted from a desperate attempt to control spiraling costs. However, instead of promoting an efficient health care system, HMOs further took control over health care away from patients and physicians. Furthermore, the third-party payer system creates a two-tier health care system where people whose employers can afford to offer "Cadillac" plans have access to top quality health care, while people unable to obtain health insurance from their employers face obstacles in obtaining quality health care.

The Private Option Health Care Act gives control of health care back into the hands of individuals through tax credits and tax deductions, improving Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Savings Accounts. Specifically, the bill:

A. Provides all Americans with a tax credit for 100% of health care expenses. The tax credit is fully refundable against both income and payroll taxes;

B. Allows individuals to roll over unused amounts in cafeteria plans and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA);

C. Provides a tax credit for premiums for high-deductible insurance policies connected with a Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and allows seniors to use funds in HSAs to pay for medigap policies;

D. Repeals the 7.5% threshold for the deduction of medical expenses, thus making all medical expenses tax deductible.

This bill also creates a competitive market in heath insurance. It achieves this goal by exercising Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause to allow individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines. The near-monopoly position many health insurers have in many states and the high prices and inefficiencies that result, is a direct result of state laws limiting people's ability to buy health insurance that meets their needs, instead of a health insurance plan that meets what state legislators, special interests, and health insurance lobbyists think they should have. Ending this ban will create a truly competitive marketplace in health insurance and give insurance companies more incentive to offer quality insurance at affordable prices.

The Private Option Health Care Act also provides an effective means of ensuring that people harmed during medical treatment receive fair compensation while reducing the burden of costly malpractice litigation on the health care system. The bill achieves this goal by providing a tax credit for negative outcomes insurance purchased before medical treatment. The insurance will provide compensation for any negative outcomes of the medical treatment. Patients can receive this insurance without having to go through lengthy litigation and without having to give away a large portion of their awards to trial lawyers.

Finally, the Private Option Health Care Act also lowers the prices of prescription drugs by reducing barriers to the importation of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmaceuticals. Under my bill, anyone wishing to import a drug simply submits an application to the FDA, which then must approve the drug unless the FDA finds the drug is either not approved for use in the United States or is adulterated or misbranded. This process will make safe and available imported medicines affordable to millions of Americans. Letting the free market work is the best means of lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

Madam Speaker, the Private Option Health Care Act allows Congress to correct the mistake it made last month by replacing the new health care law with health care measures that give control to health care to individuals, instead of the federal government and politically-influential corporations. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

What Ever Happened with H2S Induced Hibernation?

2010-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

09-30-10 Considering the theme of my original post, here is yet another example of the media missing the story and working the "politically incorrect" angle.

In this case, documents were revealed from a Naval Surgeon in 1805. The headline is about "Bizarre naval experiments" and the focus is tobacco smoke and deliberate transmission of venereal disease, when the real story is quite probably the first documented case of suspended animation.

When will they ever "get it"?

Bizarre naval experiments revealed

04-21-10 Significant advancement and recognition for the concept of induced hibernation!

I revisit this topic each year. It appears there's been significant progress. Look through my list of uses below to understand why, and how important this discovery is. Or start with Mark Roth's latest TED video at the end of the post.

I originally wrote this post on April 22, 2006

One year ago today [April 22, 2005]...

Mark Roth at Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle announced the astounding ability to induced hibernation in mice by having them breathe 80 parts per million (ppm) hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). Yes, that's the gas that smells like rotten eggs.

Not only did these critters fall asleep for six hours, their heart rate and respiration dropped by 92% - apparently replicating the effects of true hibernation. And their temperature dropped to 2 degrees C above ambient temperature. They in effect became cold-blooded.

It should also be noted, when the gas was removed, the mice awoke with no apparent ill effects. The critters could still run their maze in a normal fashion.

There are hints that H2S Induced Hibernation might be a natural defense mechanism or at least a normal biological process. It appears this H2S gas is produced by the body under certain conditions and may be the key to normal hibernation. This may also be the cause of "Cold Water Shock Reflex" in which those who have "drowned" in cold water come back to life.

At 80 ppm, H2S can not simply be replacing O2 in the blood which exist at 210,000 PPM in typical air. It seems that H2S acts more like a hormone causing ALL cells in the body to slow down at the same time. Is H2S the body's way of adjusting the thermostat?

Hold on! I'm way out of my element here. I'm not qualified to do biology. I'm not even qualified to write about it.

But I DO considered this ASTOUNDING news! And indeed the world reported it. Well at least in a tepid way (sorry about the pun). From the BBC to the Washington Post they did at least rehash Mark's original work. Even Wikipedia added three paragraphs to the Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) page. I was impressed with that.

But THAT was it...

I'm serious.

Nothing more.

No follow-up questions.

No follow-up answers.

No in-depth reporting.

No detailed analysis.

No flying out to Seattle.

No camping on the lawn.

No helicopter shots.

No checking tax returns.

Hell, Tom Cruise jumps up and down on a couch and the media follows him around for weeks! Where is the coverage for the stuff that REALLY counts? Oh well. I would wait. There was sure to be more news on the topic in a short time. So I set my Google news reader and waited...

And waited...

And waited...

And I'm still waiting.

It's been one year. Other than some comments from an aging blog and one think tank, there has been nothing at all. Nothing! Am I way off base or is this NOT a Nobel class discovery?

Where's the follow-up from Mark Roth?

Where's the H2S Induced Hibernation blog?

Where are the frat boy posts about their flatulent experiments?

Where's the Flatliner crew?

Where's Kiefer Sutherland when we need him?

Where are all the science fiction plots?

When I read the news release last year, I thought follow-up would be like the coverage for Cold Fusion a few years ago - lots of people trying to reproduce the results. Maybe we would even get some quick test with humans.

But no...

Nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

What's a geek to do? There's only one thing. Ask the questions that SHOULD have been asked a year ago. So here goes.

Does this Roth effect work longer than six hours?

Does it work for days?

Does it work for weeks?

Does it work for months?

Does it work on other larger mammals?

Does it work on humans?

Any obvious side effects?

Any long term side effects?

How long can someone stay under without ill effects?

Does this low-level metabolism consume fat like it does in bears?

Does muscle tone also atrophy?

Does this low-level metabolism extend life?

Is 80 PPM a threshold or is there a proportional effect at 40 PPM? 20 PPM?

What happens at 160 ppm? Is the sleep deeper? (yes, I know H2S is deadly at higher concentration, but so is table salt).

Is this truly a natural feature of mammals? If H2S is produced internally, can the effect be induced by meditation? If so, how does one exit the state?

I could go on and on but you get the idea. To get the answers to these and other questions, first they have to be asked. And then asked by the right people. That's what this blog post is all about. We need the right people asking these questions - not me.

There's a saying in the world of finance, "Capital finds it's highest and best use". This seems to take a little longer with science. It also takes imagination, speculation and a whole lot of promoting.

Promotion is important. America was not named for Columbus. America was named for a navigator and blogger of the fifteenth century - Amerigo Vespucci. His letters were published widely on his return from the new world. He didn't discover anything, but promoted what he found. The name stuck.

That's why H2S Induced Hibernation now needs to be all about blogs, Digg and Wikipedia. It's up to us. It's time for some speculation. Maybe even some speculative fiction. We need serious talent applied to finding the answers to the above and other questions. More discussion may help.

Here are some ideas as to how H2S could be used. Maybe this will help move things along.

Time in trauma care - This one is obvious. With such low concentrations of H2S needed, a simple regulator mask in first aid kits might extend that "Critical Hour" to a "Critical Day" giving time to do a better job with transport, evaluation, and treatment. It's easier to stop bleeding when the heart is only pumping eight times per minute. It's easier to keep cells alive when their demand for resources has dropped by 92%.

Mine Disasters - During the recent mine disaster in West Virginia, the miners only had air for one hour. Could this have been extended to 12 hours by adding a little H2S to those respirators? Coal mine accidents are an even bigger problem in China with over 6,000 dead per year. Think of the lives that could be saved even if a small percentage had this advantage.

Fire Escape - Since most fire deaths are caused by smoke inhalation, many extra minutes could be gained with one of those new and improved masks from the coal mine? Check the first-aid kit. Is it there yet? Again, the lives saved would be in the thousands world-wide.

Underwater Rescue - Another good application for limited oxygen? And maybe a re-make of the movie Abyss? Lots of possibilities here.

ALL incurable disease - This is a no brainer. Got a problem? Take a break for a while. Wake up to review the literature. Take another break. Repeat until cured.

Medical scheduling - Waiting for an organ? Make sure you have enough time. It's better than death.

Military Use - Lot's of possibilities here, from trauma to transport. Here's where Kiefer Suterland comes in with a new release of 24 Hours lived in 24 years. How's THAT for a challenge to his premise?

Sleep Efficiency - How about all that time we waste sleeping? Might we extend our life by taking it deeper? Or maybe the opposite, and find out how to shorten sleep? Keep an open mind.

Weight Loss - this could be a biggie, both in terms of dollars and quality of life. Let's say you're not a fan of winter anyway. Why not do like the bears do? You could wake up ready for your new spring swim suit.

Capital Punishment - This is a bit radical, but at least it's not a death sentence. And they aren't causing any problems in the mean time. In time we might even find a "cure" for murder.

Pregnant Mothers - This might at first seem radical too, but Mark Roth's page refers to "embryonic diapause, a pause in embryonic development found in about 70 species of mammals". It might be useful one way or the other. Don't count it out.

Punishment - What the hell. Let's put them ALL on ice as a cost reduction measure! We could count it as good time. Would it still be punishment? Fun to think about. (note - after I wrote this I found one blog post at World Think Tank that talked about using H2S for prison riot control. Could we extent this to riot control in general?)

Athletes - Since I'm getting radical, how about extending the performance window of our very best athletes? We could give them the option of waking up every four years in time to train for the Olympics. The other option would simply be to let them "rest" off season.

Space Travel - Yep. Classic application. Maybe we could finally do some. There are at the very least, some fresh movie plots here, or the chance to make them more realistic.

Time Travel - This is of course relative and one direction. But how about sleeping a few weeks at a time and find yourself subjectively rushing forward into the future? It might be fun.

Tivo for life - This is an extension of the time travel idea - sort of fast forward when you want, live life when YOU want. Let's say you're a basketball fan but hate the rest of the year - beep, beep, beep. Treat the boring parts of life like one big commercial. Live life on YOUR terms!

Tivo for the heart - Will H2S sleep dampen a heartache? I think Heinlein used this in "Door Into Summer". Would it help? Who knows. If you've ever been there, anything's worth a try.

Tivo for the soul - Could this be the ultimate form of meditation? Stay awake for only short slices of life and jump WAY into the future. Would it give you a different perspective? Would you dream? Would it matter?

Anyway, you get the idea. The point is, there are LOTS of possibilities not being effectively promoted. Feel free to ad yours below. These examples are why it's so important to know...

H2S Induced Hibernation useful?

It's been a YEAR!

Clue us in.

Or is everyone, "No Longer Sleepless in Seattle" ?

BTW, amazing work Mark. Congratulations.

CNN Update - 10-15-09...

Another major update 02-18-10 - Wired Interview

Mark Roth on Mice and Men and Suspended Animation

Mark Roth Home Page

Mark Roth: Suspended animation is within our grasp 02-2010

Mark Roth's company - Ikaria Holdings

Potential Applications of Hydrogen Sulfide-Induced Suspended Animation

Sudden Disruption

Sudden View...

the radical option for editing text

The Great American Bubble Machine

2010-04-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

First posted on 07-08-09...

04-16-10 Update - Goldman Sachs charged with fraud by SEC - The first domino?

05-13-11 Update - More Taibbi after Goldman

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

OK. I just got a copy of the actual article which goes into a lot more depth and detail. Who says hard-copy publishing is dead? If you saw the video, you might think potty-mouthed bluster. And if you read the Rolling Stone web summary, you may begin to wonder. But if you read the detail, you'll wonder why congressional hearing haven't started yet.

Matt Taibbi delivers on his bluster.

It's worth buying an actual copy of Rolling Stone.

So if you have ANY interest in our current economic situation...

This is a MUST read.

Pull to the side, Segway. YikeBike Coming Through

2010-04-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Remember all the hype just before Segway was introduced? It was suppose to change forever the way people traveled. Except for a few mall cops and airport security, the future hasn't turned out quite the way they planned.

While not very good for standing around, the YikeBike may actually live up to Segway's hope of useful personal transportation...

YikeBike in Action 09-22-09

YikeBike Review 04-08-10

Engadget YikeBike Review 01-19-11

Xetum

2010-04-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

Xetum is a new collection of California designed, Swiss made timepieces. Each piece walks the line between functionality and style. Check them out here http://www.xetum.com/

The Rocky Mountain Plan - Water Enough for All

2010-03-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

OK. I admit it. I have a weakness for grand solutions to grand problems. I first heard about this back in the 80s and out of curiosity thought I'd Google to see how progress was coming along.

Considering the state of environmental politics not to mention international boundaries, I'm sad but not surprised to report, not much has happened since I first read about it. Here's the only reference I could find...

The Rocky Mountain Plan

So what IS the Rocky Mountain Plan? It's nothing less than diverting water all the way from the Arctic Circle, and spreading it across the mid-western United States and even into California, Texas and Mexico. Here's a summary. I'm posting it here because grand ideas shouldn't die just because they are grand (note the 2200 foot drop for energy production).

"The Rocky Mountain Plan, conceived by William G. Dunn, Consulting Engineer, is a potential massive, international water and power development project that would distribute water and power throughout the West from Canada to the Mexican border.

Principal sources of water are the Peace, Athabasca, and Smoky rivers in northern Alberta (Canada), and upper tributaries of the Mackenzie River in northern British Columbia, which flows into the Arctic Ocean. Additional sources of water are the Kootenai and Flathead rivers and Clark Fork in western Montana, which are upper tributaries of the Columbia River. Water would be diverted for use within the Yellowstone, Missouri, and the Snake rivers in the northwestern United States, and upper tributaries of the North and South Saskatchewan rivers in Alberta.

The water distribution system would include several large reservoirs with a total storage capacity of nearly 100 million acre-feet. Project yield would range from 12 to 25 million acrefeet per year, depending on aqueduct and reservoir sizing. This water would be distributed through more than 5,850 miles of aqueduct for use in southern Alberta, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, all of the western states on both sides of the Rocky Mountains including west Texas and California, and northern New Mexico in the Colorado River and Rio Grande valleys.

New energy developed under the Rocky Mountain Plan would come from a huge hydroelectric project called the Whitehorse-Skagway Division, collecting water from the upper tributaries of the Yukon River and releasing it through a 2,200-foot power drop into an interior inlet of the Pacific Ocean near Skagway, Alaska. The 33 billion kilowatt hours of power produced by this system would be conveyed in a 2,000-mile transmission line to Alberta, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest for general use in the power market, and for project purposes. Three large storage reservoirs with a total storage potential of 60 million acre-feet are proposed within the Columbia River Basin. These reservoirs would include large pumped storage facilities that would reregulate the power developed in the Columbia River plants and in the project power plants, and that also would produce some new power.

The entire Rocky Mountain Plan, including power facilities, was estimated to cost between $40 and $50 billion in 1977 dollars. One of the significant advantages of the Rocky Mountain Plan is that it could be staged to provide significant water and power benefits during early development."

Keep Your Laws Off My Body by John Stossel

2010-03-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

I've always been impressed with John Stossel. When he was on ABC, you could see working around the edges of issues now and then. Looks like Fox is giving him the opportunity to open up both barrels!

Sex, drugs or kidneys, he's get my vote!

Keep Your Laws Off My Body

VW Redefines "Car" With A 170-MPG Diesel Hybrid

2010-02-18T08:53:00.000-08:00

Finally!

170-MPG Diesel Hybrid

01-25-11 XL1 Update

Burning Man Panomatics

2010-02-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

Burning Man is a target-rich environment for photographers. And you see them everywhere you go. They are using everything from camera-phones, to Nikons, even full video. But here's one camera I didn't noticed while it was happening.

These images appear to be from some kind of spherical 360 degree camera of some sort, with some very careful reconstruction. However it's done, the result is amazing. If you aren't careful, you'll make yourself sick dragging the mouse around. Almost like waking up Sunday morning after the Burn. But what a powerful viewing tool!

Plus, this one tour covers a LOT of Burning Man 2009. Imagine how many photos you'd have to click through to gain this perspective. And the night scenes are great - almost like being there!

So if YOU want to control the camera at Burning Man, click through...

Burning Man Panomatics

Don't forget to use your scoll-wheel for zooming.

Comment from Dave Cline - - Welllll... This is what I THINK made the pictures:

0-360.com

World's Smallest Political Quiz

2010-01-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

“The best government is that which governs least” John L. O’Sullivan 1837

Many of you have heard my political positions - government is about twice the size it needs to be and should be limited to no more than 25% of our production. Further, government shouldn't do anything we can do better as individuals. Finally, there should be no crime without a victim other than the perpetrator.

Zoe first sent me this test a couple of years ago. I just rediscovered it. These ten questions will reveal a lot about who you are politically. And personally. Though obviously biased, it's impressive in how it simplifies such a complexity. But after all, how much government do we really need?

FYI, I got a perfect 10 out of 10.

Please post YOUR results in the comments below. I'd like to know how my friends think.

World's Smallest Political Quiz

How to live to be 100+

2010-01-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

TED once again delivers. This time it's on lifestyle and h0w to extend it. Dan Buettner presents a nice summary of lessons learned from "Blue Zones", suggesting the following advice...

1. Move naturally and consistently, but moderately - walk and garden

2. Find regular downtime - meditation or prayer

3. Have a word for purpose and use it - Eekyguy

4. Drink a little every day - wine is best

5. More plant-based diet - less meat

6. Only eat to 80% of fullness - Hada hatchi moodi - Confucius

7. Keep loved ones close - build groups

8. Be part of a group - trust and trust worthy

9. Right tribe - find friends who live these ideas

Give it a click.

How to live to be 100+

Movie Mashup - Netflix Rental by Zip

2010-01-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a tool where you can use the internet to look into the soul of a zip code.

It takes a few minutes to realize what is being measured here, but when you do, you'll discover an amazingly powerful tool. It provides information not only about what kind of people live where (which we've had for a long time). More importantly, it provides information about how they THINK about any given topic - by ZIP code. Or at least topics which can be associated with movies. Next it may gain a dynamic dimension as new films are released. Wait until Avatar is release and we see where it is NOT rented!

Netflix Rental by Zip

Click on a city and then scroll the most rented bar from left to right - fascinating! Don't get caught up in relative popularity of movies. The less popular films provide more specific data. Then watch how they vary by zip code. It says so much about how people pick their homes and end up living near the like-minded.

Sure, there's no drill down into each skull, but politician work district by district anyway. And yes, politicians have been tailoring content for years. But can you imagine the next election cycle where local speeches will be given with different subtle movie references by zip code? Good thing they will be captured on video and brought together on the internet to keep them somewhat "honest".

Giving THIS sword has AT LEAST two edges.

Just imagine what the next mash-up will be. Porn rentals anyone?

Beauty is as Ugly Does

2010-01-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

It may not be pretty, but what it does is beautiful.

Tata strikes again with it's new Magic Iris 5 seat picovan. Its 11 hp, 611cc water-cooled diesel pushes it to 34 mph (need more specs here). At $2000, how can you go wrong?

Seriously, this may be the most efficient way to move people down a road while keeping the rain off. So far I'm amazed. When we get all the specs in, I expect to still be impressed.

Is This the Droid for Which I'm Looking?

2009-12-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

Originally posted on 11-12-09

At first I was impressed with the screen, the quick interface and the impressive package. But when you get just below the surface, Motorola's (and by association, Google's) new Droid is guilty of chasing the Apple inspired fashion of sizzle over substance, of image over content. For me, it's not as much about how it LOOKS. It's more about how it WORKS.

I've always held the position that one shouldn't "upgrade" just because there's a new release of anything. I generally wait until there is significant improvement. Because of this, I'm often "pushed" into upgrading just to remain compatible with critical applications. Such was the question last year when Palm introduced their new Web OS, and turned their back on the classic Palm OS. I can hold off for a while, but it's just a matter of time until I will have to move to something new.

I've been using the Palm OS since 1996, when I bought a Palm Pilot three days after introduction. The Palm WAS a significant improvement over my Sharp Zarus. The most impressive thing was it's ability to sync my content with my desktop computer. I can't remember how many times over the last 14 years either my computer OR my phone crashed and had to be reformatted - but NEVER at the same time. Yes, I still have files from 1996 on my current Palm Centro.

I spent about an hour with the Pre and was also dazzled by it's UI. But Web OS didn't support memos - nor their syncing. Plus the screen and keyboard were small compared with the state of the art. Also, Palm, like Apple had made the development less open. When I heard that you were REQUIRED to upgrade Web OS within one week of any new release or your phone was disabled, that was the deal-breaker. My hope was the Droid would offer a significant advancement using a more open approach, and finally take me away from my old Palm.

You may have guessed where I'm going with this. Even though Google's Android (and the Droid phone) do a great job of syncing the Calendar and Contacts, they too forgot all about Memos. Not only did they forget to sync them, they didn't even INCLUDE an application to edit text. That's right, there is no memopad, notepad or wordpad included with the Droid. Sure, you can compose an email to yourself in Google's cloud, but then things get mixed up with thousands of other emails and it's clunky to get into those drafts because mobile drafts don't show up on the desktop.

Has America quit writing? It seems so. And Apple's partly to blame. The first iPhone didn't even have Copy, Cut and Paste. I guess we're now supposed to express ourselves in 140 characters or less. I obviously haven't yet learned how to do that. So far, memos are the missing sync of the Droid.

But what about all the sizzle of Flick, drag and pinch? Yes, the Droid (and Palm Web OS) deliver in this area. Well, except for pinch to zoom like the iPhone does, which I'm sure Droid will add shortly.

And the Droid does indeed dazzle. The music, the movies and all the media deliver. Sky Map is fun. And everyone's talking about the nav features, which ARE impressive. But where are the topos for hiking? With such a beautiful screen, GPS can finally deliver on it's promise in the wild. Why not some topos?

Like the iPhone, web surfing on the Droid is indeed a significant improvement, even though still slower than a PC. Still, it's fast enough to be useful and way ahead of the Centro. The camera and the keyboard are not as bad as all the reviews suggest, but can be improved.

That's what I have so far. I'll continue to update this post as I discover new features.

And failures.

12-09-09 Update

Yep. I kept the Droid past 30 days so I'm now committed. The sizzle continues to dazzle, and memos are still the missing sync, but I am now using 3Banana's social post tool as a memo solution. It a bit clunky on the Droid, but better on the desktop browser. Still not bad considering how I'm bending it to my purpose.

In almost every other area, the Droid continues to amaze with it's app base. WeFi helps with the battery and WiFi typically improves web performance. Advanced Task Killer is helpful in managing resources. I've gone for more than a week without rebooting - not bad considering all the apps I've tried.

Aldiko is a nice book reader; Listen is great for grabbing podcasts; Pandora works great; RPN Calculator works great but needs bigger buttons. So far, I haven't found a bad app, but I've been careful to cream the list. There are also lots of great games from what I've had time to try. The good news is, the Droid hardware is solid, and new apps are coming fast, so I'm hopeful all my needs will soon be met. I already wouldn't go back to my Centro. Palm, RIP.

The Droid hardware is a solid 8 on the 10 scale, software is 6 and climbing.

Let me know what YOUR experience is.

OPOC Engine

2009-11-30T14:48:00.000-08:00

I have to agree, this IS a radically new type of engine. Click through to watch it run. It will be fun to see how it develops. Set your Google to alert.

A radically new type of engine - OPOC

Rice Paddy Art

2009-11-12T16:23:00.000-08:00

Stunning crop art has sprung up across rice fields in Japan.

But this is no alien creation - the designs have been cleverly planted.

Farmers creating the huge displays use no ink or dye. Instead, different colours of rice plants have been precisely and strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields.

As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.

A Sengoku warrior on horseback has been created from hundreds of thousands of rice plants, the colours created by using different varieties, in Inakadate in Japan.

The largest and finest work is grown in the Aomori village of Inakadate, 600 miles north of Toyko, where the tradition began in 1993.

The village has now earned a reputation for its agricultural artistry and this year the enormous pictures of Napoleon and a Sengoku-period warrior, both on horseback, are visible in a pair of fields adjacent to the town hall.

More than 150,000 vistors come to Inakadate, where just 8,700 people live, every summer to see the extraordinary murals.

Each year hundreds of volunteers and villagers plant four different varieties of rice in late May across huge swathes of paddy fields.

Napoleon on horseback can be seen from the skies, created by precision planting and months of planning between villagers and farmers in Inkadate

Fictional warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife Osen appear in fields in the town of Yonezawa, Japan

And over the past few years, other villages have joined in with the plant designs.

Another famous rice paddy art venue is in the town of Yonezawa in the Yamagata prefecture.

This year's design shows the fictional 16th-century samurai warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife, Osen, whose lives feature in television series Tenchijin.

Various artwork has popped up in other rice-farming areas of Japan this year, including designs of deer dancers.

Smaller works of crop art can be seen in other rice-farming areas of Japan such as this image of Doraemon and deer dancers

The farmers create the murals by planting little purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed tsugaru roman variety to create the coloured patterns between planting and harvesting in September.

The murals in Inakadate cover 15,000 square metres of paddy fields.

From ground level, the designs are invisible, and viewers have to climb the mock castle tower of the village office to get a glimpse of the work.

Rice-paddy art was started there in 1993 as a local revitalization project, an idea that grew out of meetings of the village committee.

Closer to the image, the careful placement of thousands of rice plants in the paddy fields can be seen

The different varieties of rice plant grow alongside each other to create the masterpieces

In the first nine years, the village office workers and local farmers grew a simple design of Mount Iwaki every year.

But their ideas grew more complicated and attracted more attention.

In 2005 agreements between landowners allowed the creation of enormous rice paddy art.

A year later, organisers used computers to precisely plot planting of the four differently colored rice varieties that bring the images to life.

A Balanced Diet

2009-11-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

This has been a topic I've wondered about for years - what is the optimum balance between fat, protein and carbs. I'll have more to say later, but for now here's an interesting link on the protein part...

Moderate amounts of protein per meal found best for building muscle

Whole Foods Health Care

2009-10-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

As an employer, health care is an issue I've had to deal with for years, with increasing frustration.

The single biggest problem with health care is the de-coupling of payment from the patient in medical purchases. This started with government price and wage controls during World War II. In order to attract and keep talent without increasing pay, employers began providing health insurance. This created a layer of insulation between the need for health care and it's purchase decision. HMOs, co-ops and other government programs have all added more layers which just made things worse.

Many of you have heard me say, "Only insure risk you CAN'T afford to take". The natural exception would be if you are a worse than average risk, but we all at least TRY to live a healthy life, right?

The positive inverse of this rule is, "SELF-insure as much risk as you can". This allows YOU to keep the profit of the insurance company. It makes no sense to "insure" minor medical care such as eye or dental visits, unless you are a group of blind people with bad teeth - but then the insurance company would reject you anyway. The point is, stay connected with your purchase of health care as much as possible. Shop your doctors. YOU are the most likely person to control health costs.

John Mackey has reached the same conclusion at Whole Foods. And he's found an effective solution. He has not solved ALL of health care's problems. There is still litigation, end of life triage and defensive medicine to deal with. But he's made a start. THIS is the model we should be studying. Health care is NOT something with which the government should be involved.

Whole Foods Puts Its Mouth Where the Money Is - 02-01-10

Reason.tv on John Mackey's Health Care Solution

Wall Street Article

Let me know what YOU think!

Your body wasn’t built to last: a lesson from human mortality rates

2009-10-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting post on the topic on Gompertz Law of human mortality, dealing with predicted aging and the mathematics of telomeres.

It also links to a cute death calculator based on if you were born today, but it's missing the function most people would be interested in. The question to answer is, if you've ALREADY lived to a certain age, what are the odds you'll HOW much longer? The data's all there. We just need someone to code it up. Let me know if you find it somewhere in cyberspace.

GapMinder Data Visualization

Gompertz Law of human mortality

Thanks to Roamer, here's the link I was looking for...

Predicting Death

Plus the parent site is an excellent source for risk analysis of stories in the media...

Understand Uncertainty

The Life Lessons of Burning Man

2009-08-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

It's been said, words can not do justice to the experience that is Burning Man. And it's true. I've tried, over and over. But here's a a guy who has at the very least framed it nicely - and I suspect hit it square on the head - at least for himself, Mark Morford. Not only is he an excellent word-smith, he GETS it! But your mileage may vary.

Now I'll get out of the way so you can read HIS take on Burning Man - EXCELLENT stuff...

The Life Lessons of Burning Man

Another good column on the topic - Thanks Mark.

The Truth About Burning Man

AfterBurn at PermaBurn

2009-08-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

Can't make it to Burning Man?

Or don't want it to end after you do?

Go to the AfterBurn!

Yep. I just had it confirmed - PermaBurn is hosting a FREE week of camping after Burning Man. All Burners invited, whether you made it to the playa or not!

PermaBurn is only 85 miles west of the playa as the crow flies, but 135 miles through Alturus and Likely, or 150 miles directly from Reno.

There will be water for showers, porta-potties and all the space you need to decompress slowly.

Plus... Wednesday evening, September 9th will be the left-over playa pot-luck.

And... starting Friday night, September 12th, Fixation Station will have their Dragonfly art car and dance venue operational for a weekend of music.

So if you're a Burning Man orphan, you've been adopted! You can at least sneak in a weekend with other Burners and get some playa dust on you.

Or if you're not ready to quit dancing just because BLM says so, here's the place to continue.

What : AfterBurn at PermaBurn
When : September 7th thru September 13th (early and late camping is fine)
Where : Madeline, California - 60 miles north of Susanville
Entrance Fee : 0.00, nada, FREE!

Thanks to CyberBiker for providing this Google Map link..

PermaBurn Location on Google Map

If you haven't been out, there is 5 miles of gravel road, so you may have to dodge some rocks.

(click to expand)

How to get to PermaBurn...

How to get to the PermaBurn turnoff from Reno...

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".

How to get to the PermaBurn turnoff from Gerlach...

Take highway 447 north which becomes highway 81 when you cross into California. Continue through Eagleville then turn left in Cedarville onto highway 299. Go west on highway 299 until it joins highway 395 just north of Alturas. Go south on highway 395 to Alturas (which is the biggest post-playa town and gas stop). Continue south on highway 395 through the town of Likely. About 5 miles south of Likely find the turnoff at the 134.92 mile marker at 41 7' 43" 120 30' 0''.

From either Reno or Gerlach, turn west off highway 395.

Watch for the orange or mylar tape from this point on. If you go to Google map you won't find any names on any of these roads.

This is where the five miles of dirt road starts...

Take a 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, please. Thar BE cattle.

Cross the yellow cattle guard about 30 feet beyond the gate.

Go 2.4 miles.

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 and up the hill on this smaller 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 the top of the hill with three trees on the left, and then come down into the PermaBurn site.

Welcome to AfterBurn!

Half Dome the Hard Way - A Review

2009-08-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

I do lots of hiking, but once a year I try to really challenge myself (and whomever will come with me), to a hike in the marathon class (20 plus miles on difficult ground).

For this year's hike, we picked Half Dome in Yosemite Park. But I didn't want to just do the standard up and back along with the crowd from the valley below. So we decided to start at Tenaya Lake up on Tioga pass. This would give a chance to see some of the back country as well as make a stop at Clouds Rest which was actually a thousand feet ABOVE Half Dome and a challenging climb all on it's own.

We were 45 minutes behind plan getting started because of the drive, and our schedule slipped all day from there. The delays were caused by trail-bed, grade and lack of enough training. Most of the trail-bed we saw was rocky. Some of it is down right horrible.

Cloud's Rest was a hard climb of just under 2000 feet from Tenaya Lake. It was about six miles with a fairly rocky path. It made for slow going. An and I had not done enough training hikes this summer. Travis apparently did more. He lead all the climbing all day.

01 Clark Mt

As we approached, the top, views started popping up. Clark Mountain in the distance was especially impressive. We also got a good view of Tenaya Lake behind us.

02 Fall Line Off the Edge of Cloud's Rest

03 The World of Granite and Tenaya Lake Behind Us (click to enlarge, then look closely)

We got to Cloud's Rest just before lunch and were rewarded with a spectacular view all around. The scale is well beyond our normal perception. Looking into those granite valleys will almost pull you in. Photos do not do it justice. You just have to go and see it for yourself.

04 Trav on Cloud's Rest

05 An on Cloud's Rest

After lunch we began a steep decline losing far more than we'd gained all morning. But the trail was pretty good and we completed four miles in just over an hour - the fastest section all day.

06 Half Dome from the Back

Then it was time to climb much of it back, which is a bit demoralizing. It was about 1700 feet in the very short distance of only two miles. This is the steepest climb I think I've ever done for that distance, and is topped off with the famous cable assent.

08 Closer

09 Steps

The first third is simply trail, but steep enough to force breaks to catch your breath, even at 8000 feet. The next third seemed like a thousand steps cut into the granite. Maybe it was only 800. I think it was the worst part of the whole day, at least until it began to yield more amazing views. Next was the final phase - even steeper than steps.

Other than visually challenging (read scary as hell), the cable climb was mostly waiting for the line to move, even though we didn't have a line to get started this late in the day (3:00 by then). It took 45 minutes to go that last 400 feet - almost straight up. I got a Charley-horse near the end, but I think it was caused by the earlier never-ending steps. A few minutes relaxing on top and it resolved.

The view off Half Dome is probably not what you'd expect. Other than a small section over by the cliffs, you can't see into the valley below. This is because, if you walk far enough over the "dome" to get a good look, the footing becomes steep and dangerous without a rope. So most people were hanging out by the cliffs which split the dome in half and are truly dramatic.

14 The Cliffs

By this time, it was 4:00 PM, which was exactly when I told Rita (our ride back to the car), we'd be back at the village in the valley. By the time we got off the dome it was even later. Even though I didn't think she would leave without us, I was a bit concerned because we couldn't make phone connection. Or maybe it was just an excuse to go for a run.

You see, I like running down hill. And with rocks, it becomes kind of a dance. Once we got off the steps, I left Trav and An behind and began my run. The first few miles went quickly, with only a few rocks to dodge. But on the flats before the falls, was DG (Decomposed Granite) as deep as beach sand. That took me down to a walk for about a mile.

Next came the mist trail below Nevada Falls, which is some of the nastiest rock path I have ever seen, especially the first mile. This was more of a tap-dance than a run. Finally I hit paved path and sprinted to the finish (except for the small up hill parts).

The day had been a great work-out, especially the last few miles. I found Rita about an hour before the other guys made it out, making a ten hour day for me. We headed back to Rita's house and her hot-tub.

So if you're looking for two of the most visually vivid summits in the United States, either of these will do. But be ready for a challenge.

Even if you only do one.

11-13-09 three more photos from Trav

On Cloud's Rest

Second Objective

The Stair-climber

Finally... Enjoying the Soup

2009-08-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

A Welcoming Double-Rainbow

It was noted, the weather called for 30% chance of rain, so some of you stayed home. Others were busy with Burning Man prep and couldn't make the trip. But for a few dedicated Burners, it was a very entertaining weekend.

Yes. It DID rain. Actually, the worst rain was driving out near Honey Lake. There it POURED. At PermaBurn the ground was dry and the little rain we DID get was light and short. Plus, it produced a nice double rainbow.

Fire over the ridge

The bigger problem was the wind and lightning. The wind blew down a couple of tents. And the lightning started a fire behind the ridge. Fortunately, it was about ten miles away. In spite of the weather, we got the camp settled, a fire going and had a great first evening.

Soon to be center camp

Saturday morning more people arrived and we got the center camp shade set up and then had some breakfast.

Kim making breakfast

Rita

Paula

Bike for 3

Greg and Kim

Some of the group

That afternoon, the Poly camp got a great discussion group going contrasting Poly to "normal" relationships with surprisingly candid conversation.

Later on, "Help Me" BSDM camp whipped up a storm (literally and figuratively) - red backs and thunderstorms (did anyone get pics?).

This time the storms were friendly and mostly stayed at a distance. It was more of a lightning show all night with a warm wind, and a sprinkles here and there - a truly magical evening.

On Sunday morning an owner's meeting was held. It was agreed to host an "AfterBurn" as a gift for those leaving the playa after Burning Man. Water will be brought in for showers and there's plenty of room to shake out the tarps. It should be a great way to continue the party, then decompress more slowly for those that have more time to get home. Stand by for details...

Stone Soup Reheated at PermaBurn!

2009-07-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

I've been surprised by the number of requests to Reheat Stone Soup. I guess there IS need to express oneself in the solitude and privacy of a square mile the high desert sage!

Or else you guys just like to party!

Whatever the case, Stone Soup, the Reheat is ON!

By a clear majority, the camp-out is now set for Friday, July 31st, Saturday, August 1st and Sunday, August 2nd at PermaBurn, 60 miles north of Susanville. No need to RSVP. All you have to do is show up! We don't have time to get all the resources we had in June, so just bring what you have, and we'll do what we can. So far I've heard from the following camps. Stay tuned for updates...

Center Camp - Rose Palace Paula & Dave will be setting up a shade structure. Anyone have a table or two?

Camp Lazy Fucks - Returning from our mud bath, 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 again. Welcome to the greeters!

Reno Poly Camp - Actually, it's the Northern Nevada Polyamory Support group, and they will hold their August 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

Help Me - "Help Me" BSDM camp will be back to give late night demonstrations. Prepare to be punished.

Finally, if you were at the event in June, you'll remember Marshall. He was the master of the fire, and kept it going in SPITE of the rain. Well, Sunday, August 2nd is his BIRTHDAY! If we convince him to return, we'll get a chance to thank him for all his effort by starting his birthday party at midnight on Saturday! So come and join the camp-out. It will be an excellent excuse to celebrate an excellent Burner! And get your vibe in tune for the playa!

What : Stone Soup Reheat 2009 Camp-out at PermaBurn
When : July 31st, Aug 1st & 2nd (early and late camping is fine)
Where : Madeline, California - 60 miles north of Susanville
Entrance Fee : 0.00, nada, FREE!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, click the "Stone Soup" label for this blog to read all the details and history.

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.

This is where the five miles of dirt road starts...

Take an immediate left at mile marker 134.92, 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, please. Thar BE cattle.

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 and up the hill on this smaller 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 the top of the hill with three trees on the left, 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 Reheated!

2009 Poly Shade Design

2009-07-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

(First storm 2008 - Note the standing wave. An awning might have helped.)

Much of this content was first posted August 22, 2008, just before I left for the playa (see earlier blog post). 2008 turned out to be the worst week for wind storms I've experienced in my seven years at Burning Man. It was even worse than 2007. I learned a lot in these few days. This is the updated 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 forms 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 PVC and Tyvek 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 Tyvek 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 and most consistent winds with the largest gusts of any year I've been at Burning Man (until 2008!). 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 to Burning Man for six hours because of total white-out that evening.

(2008 Sunday / Monday Storm Damage)

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 awnings on both ends, plus four end ropes instead of three. This should hold the plane better. We'll see. Instead of joining the tarp sections with tie-wraps this year, I'll only join the corners. Then when on the playa, I'll thread a50' x 1/4" poly reef rope along each seam and tie it to the tarp corner at the anchor end. The other end will go over the center rib and allow for reefing of the awnings and to some degree the center sections as well.

I also plan to install the safety x-ropes from the top of EACH rib to the tire on a motor-home or other vehicle. This should cut down on the "galloping" as well as insure the whole thing doesn't blow down playa.

Another line of defense against strong predicted winds is to add the ability to "reef" much of the canvas. My idea is to thread poly rope along the seams of the tarps in an "accordion" fashion so I can release the base of the awning tarps and pull and bunch them to the center rib.

My plan is to reef the trailing edge first, then the leading edge. This should reduce canvas by 50%. If it's going to be a bad blow, I could also release the end ropes and pull the ribs into the center rib using the reefing ropes. This should cut tarp area by a total of 75%. I'll let you know how all this works out.

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    10' 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



6   1/4" poly X-ropes (6 x 25' = 150')                20

6   1/4" poly side-ropes (6 x 10' = 60')              10

6   1/4" poly reef-ropes (6 x 50' = 300')             40

8   3/8" poly end ropes (8 x 50' = 200')              16

8   Tension straps                                    80

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 6 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 side-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 but still light-weight.

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

Drag out the tarps and grade for similar size along the 16 foot sides. Try different combinations until the corner grommets line up, as size is inconsistent with these cheap tarps. Alternate colored sides if you want a checker-board pattern when you're done.

Fold up tarps and strap with tension straps.

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 hitting the side.

Plot a line 92', 9" long with the ends as the end rope anchor points. At 30' in, swing a 20' arc about 90 degrees to the long line. Next sweep a 36' arc from the closest anchor point. Set a corner post where the two arcs cross. Repeat for each corner.

The center rib post should be midway between these corner posts at 16' 1.5" on each side. This should yield a rectangle just over 32' x 40' as a footprint for the structure. Measuring corner to corner at 51.22' 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 it IN to the ground.

Place 4 foot 1 1/2" and 2" foundations sleeves on all rib posts.

Assemble all ribs with 10' links.

First wrap the center of each link with 5 wraps of duct-tape beveled off along the sides of the wraps.

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 the outside of the rib joint to hold them in place until they are under stress. They will get tighter once the wind starts blowing.

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 15' and 25' from each end of the rib.

Add two X-ropes at one third points along the ribs (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 to next rib position.

Repeat for all ribs.

Add a tension strap to each end rope and attach it to the anchor post, but leave it slack until tarps are in place.

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 a weaker structure. I've done it.

Layout a tarp section for one of the center positions. Thread a 50' x 1/4" poly reef rope through each of the three seams. Pull the motor-home forward and drag the tarp section on top.

Line up tarp center seam with rib center mark to place first bungee. Or you can offset tarp to get more shade (or wind load) on one side or the other. Make sure any offset is the same on both ribs to keep things square.

Bungee from the center down each side pulling tarp tight as you go. If you can, work both ribs of the tarp at the same time to make sure it stays square. When a center section is done, secure the center end of the reef rope and thread the anchor end through the cooresponding seams of the awning tarp section which should be on the top of the end ropes. Secure the reef rope at the anchor end of the awning. Pull awning up on the motor-home and bungee to the end rib keeping it tight as before.

Repeat for both ends.

Add string lights to ribs inside structure to suit your taste.

Final Rig

Release lower end-ropes and pull to the side to drive in and park vehicles. I drive over an old tarp to use as a floor. Replace end-ropes.

Secure the two x-ropes of each rib to the tires of vehicles. Tying around the bottom of car tires works well if the rope angle won't rub the paint or wear against metal.

Adjust tension straps on 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 post anchor chains making sure all slack is out of tarps.

Put PVC over end anchor posts for safety.

Add safety lights to end ropes at eye level and anchor posts.

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. Instead, use awnings to get the wind to go UP and OVER structure so that standing waves and oscillations don't start. This was learned in 2008 and is the approach I'll use in 2009).

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 just gets worse.

In 2007 one post broke off at the playa and another pulled out completely from galloping. In both cases, I added 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 one guy on top of motor-home to stabilize ribs as before, while up to four others lift them off of foundations. One person should grab and hold the PVC foundation sleeves down as the rib comes up so you don't have to lift as high to get them off. Watch your fingers as it pops off.

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 generally pop apart. This process will take a while but works well and is safe if you stand well clear of the joint as it pops apart. 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.

2010 Version

In 2010 I made smaller ribs by only using two 20' PVC sections with only on 10' link. this yielded only 25' wide base but also created a lower and more rigid structure which seem to stand up to the wind better. The tarp awnings on each end also helped keep the wind from doing so much damage. Well, once we got it in place.

As is common on the playa, the wind came up before we got all the tarps on. We had to stop work. And then it got worse. By the next morning we had rain and a fair amount of tarp damage. As soon as things dried out, we took the damaged tarps down and started over. This time we got it stable before the next storm blew in. Yep, it blew hard and rained again, but this time everything held up with no problems for the rest of the week.

This year (2011) I plan to use the same design except add on more rib for another 400 square feet of shade. I'll let you know how it goes.

Materials for the 2011 Design

Each  Description                                      Cost    Weight



8     5' steel t-posts                                  40      48

6    14" sections of 3/16" steel chain                  126    Chain QuickLinks                                   12
2     5' steel t-posts (no chain) for end anchors       16      12


8    20' x 2 1/2" S40 PVC for ribs                     200      216
6    10' x 2" class 200 PVC for links 3 x 20'           30       36
8     4' x 1 1/2" class 200 PVC = 2 x 20' foundations   29
8     4' x 2" class 200 PVC = 2 x 20' foundations       45

10    12' x 16' Costco 10mm poly tarps                  100      70
48    8" Tie-wraps                                        5
96    8" Ball-bungees                                    30

6   1/4" poly X-ropes (6 x 25' = 150')                   20
6   1/4" poly side-ropes (6 x 10' = 60')                 14
6   1/2" poly end ropes (6 x 25' = 150')                 18
6   Tension straps                                       60
10   Safety lights                                       40

Total                                                  $671    382 pounds

2011 Layout

Plot a line 88', 7.5" long with the ends as the end rope anchor points. At 20' in, swing a 12' 6" arc about 90 degrees to the long line. Next sweep a 23' 7" arc from the closest anchor point. Set a corner post where the two arcs cross. Repeat for each corner.

Repeat this process for four ribs at 16' 2.5" on each side and 12.5' from the center line. This should yield a rectangle of 48' 7.5" x 25' as a footprint for the structure. Measuring corner to corner at 54' 8" to make sure it's on the square.

Case-Shiller 100-Year Chart

2009-07-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

(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.

The Girl Who Doesn't Age

2009-06-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

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...

Stone Soup at Permabog

2009-06-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

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...

This Is Not Another Great Depression

2009-05-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

Many of you have heard me make this same statement many times in our economics summits and otherwise during the last few months. That's because I'd heard some of this from my grandparents, and also read about the causes and depth of the economic contraction in the 1930s.

This guy does a far better job than my casual rhetoric and occasional statistic. It's very much worth a read considering our current situation...

This Is Not Another Great Depression Part 1