All About Participating in the Pottie Project

[thesoundd]

How's this?:

In days of old, when knights were bold
And toilets weren't invented,
You dropped your load
Right in the road
And then went on, contented.

[robbidobbs]

I found this piece of crap while searching "gonzo frothwood" per Gonzo's request:

"It was around that same time that I noticed all these notes on just about each and every stall. Now I didn’t look at every stall, but I noticed that not one note repeated itself, and every note was signed Gonzo Frothwood. One note read:

“Don’t be so bold, nor so brash,
to assume this potti is meant for trash,
you know we all win, with no trash in, the honey truck won’t crash”.

I assumed that Gonzo Frothwood must have been Vaughn’s alter-ego playing out his revenge and aggression on each and every stall. Serving as a reminder to all who entered the stalls that perhaps they were being watched and to instill a sense of paranoia into those coherent enough to actually read what was right before their eyes.

I was wrong, as I was later informed. Gonzo was not Vaughn. No sir…Gonzo was someone else entirely. Gonzo Frothwood was a chick; a chick into scat… HELLO!!! Lemme elaborate. As was told to me, Gonzo Frothwood was a chick who was not only into scat, because lets face it, in this day and age bringing human waste into the bedroom was tame- Two Girls and One Cup have taught us that- not only was Gonzo Frothwood into scat, but she also took it upon herself to go thru the public Porta Potties with a stick (a long one I hope) and stir things up if you will in a search for trash and anything else that didn’t belong. Word also was that not only did she use to be a cook for DPW, but she would also do so topless.

Shit aint fucking right people. I mean I look at myself as a loose dude and all, but a scat munching, porta-pottie scavenging, topless chef is a big wrong muthafuckin turn in my book. But that’s just me. Maybe I’m being close minded on this one."


This is my response:

Hi, my name is RobbiDobbs. This post is not only wholly incorrect it is damn rude. I run an advertising program to educate the population of BRC about treating the potties with respect so that USS/JotS will continue to sign the contract. We are required to make a serious effort to reduce the amount of garbage in the porta-potties. I am that serious effort.

Gonzo Frothwood is my boyfriend and full time volunteer. He is an excellent poet, and a musician. He is also an excellent chef. We are fully clothed and I wear several layers of white and off white - thankyouverymuch. We work 12 hour days the entire event. I work under DPW. I have been doing this job for 11 years. I am the only one doing my job, but there is a multitude of fellow travelers who assist me with their own art projects or helping me while on my daily rounds.

I am not into scat, I am into the continuation of the Burningman Project. Period. I am a language artist. Most of what I do is talk...a lot...often with a bullhorn or PA.
I do not rummage in the potties, and I regularly caution people from doing this as it is hazmat. I am constantly picking up the stray bit of moop around the pottie banks, on the roads, etc, as any good Burner would do. Gonzo and I also make sure tp is distributed at night by soliciting the help of those camps in line of sight of the banks, and gift them whole packages of tp. This is very well received.

Your posting is not funny. It is poorly researched, incendiary, bavarian mule dung.

RobbiDobbs
DPW Volunteer Coordinator, Special Projects (Porta-potties)

[robbidobbs]

oh, and this is the ass-munch who wrote this:

ONLY IN THIS COUNTRY
URL: http://thmjklmstrymn.wordpress.com

[lucky420]

deargodinhell, i can't believe i read the whole thing

[robbidobbs]

did you read his blog or are you lamenting that you found your way onto my post?

What blew my hat in the creek is that his only response to my correction was being shocked that anyone would waste their time reading his auto-fellating blog in the first place.

[Dr. Pyro]

Pointers perhaps?

[lucky420]

robbidobbs, oh no that "deargodinhell" was a reply to his auto=fellating blog...what a poon he is

[robbidobbs]

GOOD AFTERNOON BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE OF BLACK ROCK CITY!
It was an extraordinary year for shit. Through the entire event all the way to Tuesday when I left, we received compliments from USS. I also continuously got compliments from Participants all week.
GIVE YOURSELF A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, YOU DID A TERRIFIC JOB KEEPING OUR SHIT TOGETHER!
This year was better than last year, and last year was better than the year before.
THIS IS FUCKING WORKING!
I'm not in any condition to write my Final Wipe-up yet, as I caught a cold as of yesterday, and will be spending the next two days loaded on Benadryl and/or face-down.

More tomorrow.
Thank you so much for your support. Many people are grateful.

[FIGJAM]

PEE jugs rule!!!

[mars]

It was great to meet you Robbidobbs and my campmates love their T-shirts! So glad you stopped by! I really could tell that this year was the best...so I wasn't surprised by your quick sum up. I do think your efforts are working! Hope your cold is over quickly!

[Savannah]

Such a treat meeting you & Gonzo this year, Robbidobbs! And it was unexpectedly fun to nip off and help with the labeling of the 8:30 and D potty bank.

This was an excellent year for the potties.

[The CO]

(((Robbi & Gonzo)))

You guys rock!!!!!

You can always count on volunteers @ M*A*S*H 4207th. Pooping Man Rules!

[trueform]

Great news. Especially in a year that saw tickets sell out. Thanks you for all you hard work.

[Bexx]

Thank you both~ My camp was @ 7:50 and G. We ended up passing a bunch of booze, food and bedding off to ya for DPW.

[robrob]

THIS IS FUCKING WORKING!

indeed it is.

Last year, i used wipes. I used the flushable ones, and tried to tell myself "just one isn't a big deal" but thanks to the crystal clear (and constant) signage, i realized that i wasn't special and to get my shit together. I started carrying extra baggies to carry the used ones out my first day on playa this year, and by the second just left the wipes out of the picture all together.

so thanks. and to make up for past crimes, i'll work to educate campmates more in the future.

[Savannah]

Testify, robrob!

And if you sense your campmates are shy fastidious types, make particularly sure to tell them to take an opaque plastic or cloth bag to the potties. Not everyone can be talked out of using wipes, but everyone can get used to having at least a tan plastic biffy bag (or more sophisticated item) with 1-ply travel t.p., small flashlight, and baggies. No one really wants to inconvenience the JOTS guys, but embarrassment about how to hide wipes makes outlaws out of otherwise well-meaning people.

[ygmir]

I went through a whole pint of Lysol, cleaning the seats for the next person after me..........

[gyre]

A salute to everyone who got out there and helped make the potties work.


STILL, the single most important part of keeping the burn going.

[Too Early]

Robbidobs...YOU ROCK. I really appreciated and enjoyed being part of the virgin toilet crew with you and Gonzo. Am in awe of your passion for the job and commitment to excremental education. Clearly it's paying off...cleanest shit ever...got to be good.

I'm sure they'd be keen to headhunt you for Glastonbury...

Thanks heaps for sharing your energy.

[robbidobbs]

It was lovely to have you with us Too Early.

and now...the posting you've been waiting a week to read:

Good morning and welcome to the 2011 Final Wipe-up. It was an extraordinary year for shit Campers. All week I received compliments from Participants and USS. That’s right kids, Steve, the USS Field Manager was very pleased with our performance this year. Jose and his crew at the Separator were in good spirits all week, although they were up to their knees in shitty baby-wipes,. Apparently the baby-wipe campaign is paying off, as the debris post-separator was a lower amount this year than last year according to the owner of the Lovelock alfalfa farm where our sludge goes to fertilize his crops. I have several people to thank for the quality of the shit - one of which is YOU and the ePlayan community.

Pre-event, Motsky and Plowman stepped up to help with getting the interior and exterior signs up. These men got early entry to do this, and were indefatigable all weekend. They were both experienced and signage went super smoothly. They are wonderful to work with, and I hope to have their help next year. We got finished on Tuesday morning, and simply ran out of duct tape near enough to the end of the project to warrant a Fuck it. For the first time, the Service road potties got signed - albet only half of them. Still, this was a first, and can only get better next year. Another innovation this year was Duck brand purple duct tape. It was well worth the extra money, as they were not only striking on the units, the tape came off clean! I also decided to make the interior signs a standardized size - ¼ sheet. This worked out fabulously, and will be replicated next year.

Gonzo several times has complimented me on my polished litany this year. I could tell I was doing it right by the regular applause at the end of my rant. This year I just stuck to the basics: greeting, introduction, baby-wipe review etc and then lead into Excrementally Correct Hovering diatribe. There is a way to correctly hover for those that are obsessed with non-existent germies: flip the seat and the lid, then I don’t give a SHIT what you do. This was well received by the Sparkle Ponies. There was a significant reduction in hovering evidence this year (one ewe experience by Gonzo notwithstanding) that I could tell. Let’s keep this moving out Poopers! The whole city needs to know that there is an Excrementally Correct way to hover. The other innovation in my message was that if I saw someone with a baby-wipe package, I gifted them a paper lunch bag and instructed them to burn it. This is a positive alternative to just saying DON’T DO IT. The volunteers would tp the bank and then moop the area while I went on with my song and dance. This is an excellent way to demonstrate that the potties are being paid attention to, and that one should follow our lead. According to Gonzo, many did assist during the performance. We still need to get the word out about the tissue paper tp covers, as they continue to blow away to Winnemucca.

Because the Pottie-Project is an advertising campaign, I concentrated on getting the message all over the city. I made about 15 shirts pre-event that were not 100% cotton, so couldn’t be used by my volunteers. They had “STOP THE HORROR” on them. When I presented before the DPW Saturday morning meeting, they were pounced upon. I saw several DPW people wearing them. This is how Nike does it, it’s how Coke does it. I also brought my stencils along on Poop-Patrol. When I saw a “blank canvas” like a shirt or other surface that could be improved by my slogan, I asked. Every time it was enthusiastically received, and the ads were sprayed all over the Ghetto, a yurt, many t-shirts, a sarong, Igor’s truck and Haggis’ coat. The other ad tagging I did was to bring a stack of Ass-tray stickers to affix to altoid cans (with permission). People were thrilled.

In the not so distant past I had to BEG people to volunteer for Poop-Patrol. This year I had volunteers SHOVELED at me from several camps. Poop-Patrol is an excellent opportunity for virgins to see the city, learn about the infrastructure and see camps they may not have been able to get to. Because of my admittedly vast knowledge of BRC, I was able to answer questions or find someone who knew the answer. For this reason, I was able to be selective in who went out - virgins had priority. They came back educated, hydrated and fed.

A big BOOYAH goes out to MASH 4207, CO and Oregon Red for their help. These virgins were absolutely fabulous - well trained, excellent attitudes and fully supplied. I deeply appreciate the management skills that go into this camp. At the end of the event CO told me that next year he will make it a recruit requirement to work for me. Stag Camp on North Side was as well energetic, and provided outstanding volunteers. Puppy of Playa Waste Raiders recruited aggressively, and found a few. Bay Bridge Sue did us an honor to come out for a brief spell, and provided week long emotional support for yours truly. For anyone who knows me, Robbi Maintenance is a crucial job and I am profoundly grateful for her help in keeping me tethered to the planet surface.

The Pottie Friend program went extraordinarily well this year. This is where I go to camps that have line of sight of a given pottie-bank. I solicit their help in hosting a package of tp, where it sits visible to the pottie doors so that Participants may help themselves. They also commit to distributing tp at night when the potties are not serviced, yet are HAMMERED by nighttime use. This year every city bank was hosted by a Pottie Friend, some had a couple camps (when I couldn’t find the original host later in the week). I would love it if camps did as excellent a job of watching the banks as MuppetKiller, Dragon and of course the Potty Pigs. Bill and Kenny of the Potty Pigs have been providing concierge service at the 4:00D pottie-bank for many years. They started doing this possibly before I started in 2001, because they saw this as a way to meet pretty girls. They are charming and welcoming gentlemen, and it was obvious that the pretty girls appreciated their company. This was the first year they registered as a theme camp. No doubt, it will only get larger in the future. Potty Pigs is a huge success, and I’m always delighted to stop by for a break on my rounds. Another pottie-friendly camp that was one of my regular stopovers is Barbie Death Village. Thank you so much Doc Pyro for your continued support of the Pottie Project and in hosting the Meet & Greet. This camp continues to be a comfortable chill space for us with a ready beer and a hug. I finally got to the M&G before it closed, and was able to meet many ePlayans for the first time. I am still swooning about the overflowing gratitude from everyone I saw there.

At the end of the event, HazMatt, Playground and I were talking about the end banks. I had solicited camps help at all 4 banks on 2:00 and 10:00 sides. Unfortunately the packages were nearly full, so obviously their commitment was distracted. Playground had a wonderful idea for how to address the horror of the next morning at these banks - put a 3rd bank in place. I like it!

Finally, I want to thank Steve of USS for his pleasant management skills and his willingness to work with us in getting the potties under control. I only got to meet with Mike the Operations Manager once, but it was a wholly empowering experience, and I always enjoy talking shit with him. Overall, I have no doubt that no other event of our size has the quality of cleanliness than BRC enjoys. This is part due to the efficiency of their employees, their involvement in our culture and the continued assistance with me to get the right words out to the poopulation. Chatting with Steve at the end of the event, and I could tell that all our work has paid off. Thank you.

So give yourself a pat on the back. You did an excellent job, and next year we can all have faith that our excretory experience will be a positive one each and every time.

Sincerely,
RobbiDobbs
Chief Poopervisor of the Pottie-Project
DPW Volunteer Coordinator, Special Projects (Porta potties)

[Sham]

I have to compliment you on an incredible job in the porta-potties. I always found them to be clean and orderly. There were times when the paper was out, but that spare roll in my backpack came in handy.
The potties were so clean in fact, that at one point I found myself in one at lunch time and contemplated eating my lunch while sitting in the nice quiet and shady toilet.

(note: I didn't actually eat in there. I'm not insane you know!)

[mars]

All Hail the Chief!

[gyre]

Woohoo!

[ibdave]

Thanks Robb's and USS, got the RV done mid week after being in early and all, great service and NO HASSLE'S...
I was surprised to find out that the crews can no longer drink while on duty..
I understand, but thought that was a nice perk for dealing with our shit all day...

[Elderberry]

Congratulations on a job well done!

BTW Enjoyed finally getting to say hello in person at the M&G.

[troubledenergy]

oh RobbiDobs, I saw your name like every other time I used a porta potty.

Now that I'm aware of the project, I totally want to be involved next year

[tahiti_treat]

Another shout out here. Stellar job!

One question - a number of times while I was in there the rolls had just been replaced, and still had the protective paper covering on them. Does that paper break down in the potties too? When I encountered it I took it off and took it back to my camp to dispose of, because I wasn't sure.

[theCryptofishist]

Yes, it is designed to break down in the blue goo.

[robbidobbs]

oh RobbiDobs, I saw your name like every other time I used a porta potty.
Now that I'm aware of the project, I totally want to be involved next year

Thanks for your enthusiasm trouble, just find me in Terminal City next year. I have 2-3 shifts per day, very flexible.

tahiti, I truly appreciate your question and efforts. the tissue is designed to break down. Feel free to dispose of them in the toilets if you ever see them. That way they don't end up at the trash fence later. and thanks Fishy for answering the tissue paper question -

[tahiti_treat]

Ah, thanks! Next year I'll chuck 'em in.