And here's another vote for garden sprayer. It is also a "solar shower" if you leave it in the sun. The great benefit of the garden sprayer is its efficiency. Much less water to bring in, and no gray water to bring out. We use two old towels on a tarp, and the towels dry out inside of 30 m...

Yes, dear.

It's definitely a compromise, but I'm using the Sigma 18-250 mm lens on my Canon 7D. The pictures are not as sharp as an L lens, to be sure, but the ability to do modest wide-angle through 10X zoom with a single lens is worth it (at least, for me).

I'm also one of the BED members, and I'm usually one of the workshop presenters. Feel free to contact me for more discussion.

Also, the workshop notes are online. The 2012 notes are at

http://www.dr-placebo.net/BED/BMsexed2012.pdf

As a BED member I think that this is a cool idea. I like having multiple paths explored to reduce sexual assault and harassment.

We saw a few small birds after one dust storm, and toward the end about a half dozen ravens.

The major problems will be intense sun, very alkaline dust, and intense dryness. If you have access to a lot of water you can try to stay clean, but my guess is that within minutes after washing a dust storm will come up and defeat your best efforts. My guess is that the best protection is to minimi...

Temps can get over 100 F in the day, down to freezing at night (usually over 40 F, but freezing has been observed more than once). Temperature can vary by 40 F in the space of a few hours. The sun, wind and dust are challenging. Having something that gives protection is a plus. A bikini (or less) in...

The 2011 population stipulation, taken from http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/nv/field_offices/winnemucca_field_office/nepa/recreation/0.Par.49008.File.dat/2011%20SRP%20Stips.pdf , is Black Rock City, LLC (BRC) is required to manage its advance ticket sales and on-site ticket sales in such ...

I'm definitely cool at temperatures below 60 F. Above 80 F I get quite warm.

I am not a sex expert, but IMHO the playa is more sexualized than all but a few public places in the U.S. And that is emphatically not a complaint. Explicit public sex has been discouraged for a number of years, but there are camps with private areas that encourage it, especially on the somewhat kin...

There is good advice above, and I hope that this is a good addition. While it is critically important that you stay healthy and hydrated out there (the desert does want to kill you), I've found structured and unstructured ways to participate, and that participation is essential to the experience. Be...

Ok, I'm not one to mince words, I've been told I'm rather blunt. But I've always wondered what men really prefer... I've been exclusively partnered for quite a while (neither of us depilates body hair), but back when there was more variety in my partners I valued attitude over attributes. I actuall...

I have to agree here. If you really want to go, don't give up. There will be tickets showing up via STEP and other routes as the summer progresses. Try to avoid scammers and scalpers, though, it's not worth the risk. Based on what I've seen from the org and generally reliable posters, burners from t...

"Principal #1: No prerequisites exist for participation in our community." Participation in the community is not identical to having a ticket for the main event on the playa this year. A general spirit of inclusion does not guarantee individual access to a limited resource. Being on the p...

Ensimismada, you seem to have a great attitude. I'd expect that you'll do just fine. I've taken the liberty of doing a Q and A based on your message. Q: Is there any advice for how I can balance excitement over fantastic YouTube videos, photoblogs and conversations with all you awesome ePlayans with...

OK, I'll keep this short. The problem you are running in to has very little to do with the playa. You two need to talk. You need to talk honestly about your desires and boundaries, and you need to listen to her desires and boundaries. Once those are on the table you both get to negotiate. Repeat oft...

I have to side with those who say that there is not enough public data to prove a lot of scalping at this time. We also have little data about scammers (the current listings may be entirely scammers, for all we know). Last year when the event sold out there was a spike in the listed price or tickets...

The scanner and DB system already exists and is used for early entry. It could be scaled up without a lot of changes. I don't know how often it's down, but it appeared to be pretty solid the few times I've been through. And at least for early entry the scanning is one of the fastest stages in the wh...

One of the things I've appreciated about being on the playa is how little age matters. I've been 50 or more 12 times out there, and usually have been with groups that span generations, often within the same family. I've had campmates who were under 1 year old, and over 65 years old. The generational...

The good news is that it can be done, there are more than a few burners from Oz. So, welcome home! Here are a few things that are worth noting, although if you've spent time in the outback you will not find them all that daunting. 1. Temps range from a high of 40 C (104 F) down to 0 C (32 F). The ex...

If you enjoy being a carnivore, and you enjoy explosions, then you should be especially happy about the prospect of tenderizing meat with explosions.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jun98/hydr0698.htm

So I checked out the Plasmatron, because it has some good hits on Google Scholar. Kinda cool stuff, but what they claim are relatively modest improvements in efficiency. The big win is the large potential for reduction in NOx and soot, which makes diesel engines more acceptable in transportation (di...

If you are so addicited to opposing hydrogen and its combustability try to lobby for more fracking. If you dont understand electrolysis and how hydrogen is produced with a lil baking soda and electricity and water than please stop calling yourself a Doctor. Hydrogen is a fuel, and water is not. Pro...

OK, I did look up Oglemobile, and I got the usual flood of contradictory gunk typical of urban legends. That does not prove it's wrong, of course, but it makes it hard to find anything useful. And the inventor died in 1981, so it is not easy to get more information from the source. I did a similar s...