ePlaya

Obviously...
Elliot’s Naked Bicycle Service, Healing & Mystic Arts Center, Body Painting Free-For-All, & Piano Bar
is of course returning in 2017!

Last year we “officially” repaired 629 bicycles – plus those we failed to write down.
And the Do-It-Yourself shop was also a hit, once again.

We added massage, tarot card reading, and other services for the owners of the bicycles (and anyone else).
And after years of wanting-to-do, we finally got a start on body painting.

Hopefully, we will be back in the 4:30 Plaza, but that won't be know until July or so.

Wherever we set up, it will be even better in 2017.
And it is all thanks to you... who chose to visit us. We salute you!

Woohoo! Already looking forward to it, as always, Elliot! Here's to hoping I'll have a kinetic sculpture of my own building to bring by your way...

And if it breaks down, we can probably fix it!

That is a whole lot of happy burners with repaired bikes! Awesome job and it's great to hear that you will be back next year. I can't wait!

Thanks!

And don't forget... we are doing massage and body-painting and other fun stuff.

Now....
Once in a while, year 'round, somebody asks about joining our camp.
We are not really looking to expand. We have a fabulously well-matched and tight-knit crew, and we want to keep it that way. At the same time, we wouldn't want to miss out on anybody so wonderful as our most recent additions. So... it would be a matter of getting to know any new "applicant" long before the event, so a sound decision can be made.

I'm still unpacking! Sorted thru a lot of shade tarps yesterday, continuing today. Labeling everything. We will be better organized in 2017, I hope.

There will absolutely be far fewer Loaner Bicycles! We cut back a little last year, but we must cut back a lot.

There will be much more space (shaded, of course) for the Healing Arts and body painting and such.

Quarterly check-in -- or some such.

An hour ago, yet another unexpected e-mail arrived. It begins:

"Hey guys, I want to thank you again for saving me this year at BM. You fixed my bike big time."

No, thank you!... for allowing us to have such a miraculously fine time meeting you, as well as fixing your bike.
.

We are going to want/need a number of Guest Technicians in the bicycle shop. And now... is not too early to speak up!

For sure, if and as I will walk the dust I will lend you some hands

not in foreseeable future, sorry

If the ticket gods are nice I could give a hand

We have two ways Guest Technicians can join the fun:

You can sign up for a shift on our big dry-erase shift board. There are a couple lines just for Guest Techs. The shifts are three hours long -- Noon to 3, and 3 to 6.
You would start by introducing yourself to whoever seems to be important at the moment -- a Service Writer, or Shop Foreman Rick, or the guy with his name on the door, or.... And we would introduce you to the shift board.

Or.... You can simply drop in anytime Noon to 6 and talk to one of the above.

And in addition to the Main Shop, we have a Do-It-Yourself shop, where we try to have at least one Tech on duty to coach and counsel -- and keep all pliers locked up tight. So that may be an option for you. (Why "keep pliers locked up"?)

The job comes with all the Cold Beverages Of Your Choice you care to enjoy.

And if you prefer to work in the buff, so much the better. But not at all required.

Finally, if you are around at Quittin' Time.... I'm told our kitchen will be larger than the bicycle shop this year.

See... we are easy to get along with!

Just signed up for the Theme Camp Symposium in San Francisco March 12. We're gonna know all the stuff now.

Don't let them sway you!

You're doing GREAT!!!

But I want to learn Newspeak and serve the Party!

Elliot wrote:But I want to learn Newspeak and serve the Party!

Is that the new alternate truth language?

No, it is the old alternative truth language, from 1984, to be exact.

Sorry....I guess I was experiencing one of those "old timers moments!" I should have remembered that

No "sorry" about it. We cannot walk around remembering everything we ever read all the time.

Planning is proceeding wonderfully.
Since we have bicycle repair pretty much figured out, we are currently concentrating on the other features. (Although, we will improve on the bicycle parts department.)

So far, other features include reiki, massage, tarot card reading, foot wash-n-lotion, and more.... That's in the Healing Arts wing of the mansion.

Then there will be an Arts and Festivities wing, with body painting for starters.
And it looks like there will be a "fashion show" of some sort. Participants and judges are invited. The Fashion Show will include a division for outfits that are painted onto the models, rather than draped and tied and wrapped onto them.

After all, we are the Naked Bicycle Service & Piano Bar.
And on that note, we have several new campers who fully share my sense of comfort in the perfect BRC climate.

A camper has suggested a Happy Hour around the piano at 5 or 6 p.m. And maybe with two pianos? Dueling pianos? Any interest? We certainly can bring the pianos, since we just bought a second bus.

Please, can we continue the Singing For ScaredyCats series?

I would also be down for some Happy Hour piano time ...

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
Absolutely YES!

And the piano will be in the Scaredycats area this time -- or a piano will be. Hopefully also better tuned.

Couple months ago, I picked up a 1979 Kimball Console which is absolutely like new inside. Not even dusty.
The whole piano is almost half a note flat, but we can fix that.

As long as the piano is tuned to itself, it doesn't really matter much (out there) if it's at A440.

You mean... I just wasted $5.95 on a tuning fork?

Old American car horns usually honked in "F", if you've got nuthin' else to go on.

(*runs out in the barn and unearths his stash of vintage two-tone 'Murican horn-pairs*)

Honestly, there is great amount of discussion whirling about the music world on this very topic.

A440 became standardized under Hitler (?!).
Prior to that, everyone just tuned higgledy-piggledy.

Science now posits that A440 is not ideal; we're ratcheting pitch up too high, causing disturbance in the musical 'force'.
Makes sense, that the little man would set a standard that causes unrest in the soul.

"In 1925, musicians decided that the international pitch standard, or tuning standard, would be A440."

Piano Servicing, Tuning & Rebuilding, Second Edition, Arthur A. Reblitz, The Vestal Press 1993; page 210.

Being the custodian of six or seven pianos, I thought I'd try to figure out what makes them tick.

But of course, now I will spend a pleasant hour googling this stuff also.

We keep growing!
The latest addition to the camp is a group of six young students/artists from Czech Republic.

They contacted me months ago, for information on feed and care of a piano on Playa.
Long story short... they are building an Honorarium art project called Heardt, which involves a piano. And they will camp with us.



You probably guessed it... we are providing the piano. A bit awkward to bring a full size Grand on the plane. They will use the 1923 Baldwin which has been mentioned elsewhere hereabouts.

And the very latest: Gaminwench will hold her fabulous Singing For ScaridyCats lesson at our camp again. Wednesday at 11 a.m. She will have a decent piano in the Music Room. The lesson generally takes around 90 minutes, but she will have the run of the place until the last pupil has had enough.

Oh.... And we will repair bicycles. Need to remember that.

Almost comically.... It has occurred to me... I've been missing out -- missing out on perhaps the best job in the camp; Service Writer! Surely, our Service Writers and Greeters and Beverage Servers meet the highest possible numbers of Glorious Burners who come thru the camp's front "door".

I will still fix bikes also, but we have more well-qualified mechanics every year, so by golly, I'm going to work some 3 to 6 shifts at the front desk.

Now the wisecracks will pour in like hail -- "Thanks for the warning!"
And that's what ePlaya is for -- among other stuff.

Apparently I'm in an unusually good mood today.
Oh... I remember why!
We just launched our public Facebutt page!
Not sure if it matters, but it is apparently almost mandatory to have one these days. Two of our ladies are administrating the thing -- I'm learning to delegate.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1915798995355306/

Of course, our very own website is much better, and is freshly updated. Link as always in my sig.

Remember the near-disaster of the overloaded trailer in 2015? Both Millicent (the bus) and the trailer have been severely overloaded the last couple years. And now there is much more Stuff to haul. So....



Please welcome our new camp member, Albatross. She is 28 inches shorter than Millicent, but she will grow to full length in a couple years.

"Earl, I do believe we got us a c-o-n-v-o-y."

4:30 Plaza at 4:29, Man Side.
Diagonally opposite corner of the Plaza from last year.


(last year's MOOP Map)

Elliot wrote:4:30 Plaza at 4:29, Man Side.

I thought that was a great location for you guys last year, especially considering how much interactive frontage your setup has (plus potentially more space at the piano?). Hope you feel the same!