One item for BMan 2014 a day

[Sunbeam56]

Found solar string lights at IKEA on clearance

[melodiousdirge]

Like I said, one thing a day aint gonna do it from here on in, so here's a few things I got done this weekend:

Finished gelcoating the new fiberglass swamp cooler, and bolted it to the side of my burning domicile (aka box trailer):



Painted the Dome feet for visibility:



Put together a prototype battery pack. This is a 14.4v lithium pack with about 2000-2500mAh made from recycled laptop batteries. My plan is to make another dozen or so of these and use them as my sort of universal portable battery power:



I also got this belt, that exactly fits one of the above battery packs in each of the 10 pockets. I'll probably put 8 battery packs in this (16Ah) and use the last two pockets for the overcurrent protection and voltage readout:

[trilobyte]

@melodiousdirge - I wouldn't want to turn off the flow of ideas, that's part of what makes it so fun. And sometimes that thing you came up with in mid-July just needs to happen, possibly at the expense of other things. Just with those reality check moments, rank things by priority. I've got a campmate who's big on whiteboards, she'll bump stuff up and down the list based on the same criteria you've described. And thank goodness for that, as it turned out flamethrower s'mores was truly epic. I love how those dome feet turned out, by the way.

For my girlfriend and I, it translates into us usually having a few different projects simmering on the back burner. And it's a wide range of stuff, from art installations to mutant vehicles to bikes to clothing and playawear. She might get to her bike project this year, but I know I'm not moving that project forward for a while yet.

@kittyrodriguez - congrats on the shift and the camp! The projects sound like a lot of fun, too.

@Meat Hunter - doesn't the sammich get soggy? Hooray for prepping and pre-cooking, though. That reminds me, I need to pre-cook some food for a campout I'm going on tomorrow.

@fernley - woohoo for building bars!

@Milayna - sounds like great playadipity!

I picked up a couple spark plugs for our camp's generator, and in a little bit I'll do the annual maintenance (clean the filters, change the oil, replace the spark plug). That'll have it running like new for both the playa, and for the trip I'm going on this weekend. I also picked up a cheap pair of water shoes. That's not so much for the playa (though I could wear them in the shower if I brought them) as much as the upcoming trip.

More importantly, I stocked up on my supply of vicious chemicals (aka red bull) for the playa. My local apocalyptic class warehouse store joint was having a pretty significant sale on the case price, but had a limit of 1 - so as I've been running errands and in the neighborhood over the last few days I've been dropping in and picking up one here and there.

Alright, now I've got to get working on that generator, then go through gear and get things loaded up for the weekend ahead.

[melodiousdirge]

And thank goodness for that, as it turned out flamethrower s'mores was truly epic.

Well obviously!

[BoyScoutGirl]

... My local apocalyptic class warehouse store joint ...

This... is exactly what they are. Not even "big box," but apocalyptic-level suppliers.

I picked up a cheap bike lock and made a rideshare request post.

Also, I bought a full sleeve tattoo for a dollar. It's a polyester, flesh-colored sleeve with a tattoo-looking koi pattern printed on it. From a distance it does kind of look like a tattoo. It was too whimsical to pass up.

[Roundabout]

I finished making a set of hanging vanity shelves for my Costco Carport. Yea - one more project checked off!

[lucky420]

Ordered a sweet pair of Doc Martens. Hope they're comfortable, the reviews were good but...yeah

Hope I won't have to return them. I really need to get my footwear gathered and straightened out

[theCryptofishist]

And broken in.


Feet are a lot of hard work...

[Monkeystyle]

dug my passport out of storage to make sure it still good, got one year left on it, so good to go. picked up some dollar store pots and pans to use on playa and not have to worry about any of my professional set. 1/2 done packing clothes, and all costume stuff is packed.

[melodiousdirge]

And broken in.

This. I've had quite a few pairs of docs over the years. They are awesome shoes but in my experience they take about a month of everyday wear before they are comfortable. After that they might as well be part of your foot.

[lucky420]

And broken in.

This. I've had quite a few pairs of docs over the years. They are awesome shoes but in my experience they take about a month of everyday wear before they are comfortable. After that they might as well be part of your foot.

That's good to hear. My coworkers in the office might give me some shit but they know how I am...

[melodiousdirge]

And broken in.

This. I've had quite a few pairs of docs over the years. They are awesome shoes but in my experience they take about a month of everyday wear before they are comfortable. After that they might as well be part of your foot.

That's good to hear. My coworkers in the office might give me some shit but they know how I am...

It could be your experience will be different than mine. I have oddly shaped feet, but I have heard other people say the same thing about breaking them in. Good luck!

[tamarakay]

Bought vitalyte and string lights. It's fun to watch amazons suggested purchases with some of my combinations.

[theCryptofishist]

After that they might as well be part of your foot.

Yeah, well...

[Savannah]

[EmilyD]

Sorry I've been absent, just got back from a festival in Seattle. Now I can finally start focusing on getting ready for the Playa. Today's tasks:

Ordered an attachable 2" hitch post for our trailer's rear bumper
Ordered a bike rack to slide into that hitch
Ordered 80% shadecloth, (plus gripper grommets & ball bunjis) to sew a cover for our popup awning (this stuff works great! I've used it before)

Still working on:
Trying to find a small piece of Duracool blue evap pad material. No local stores have it and shipping the damn stuff costs more than the actual pad!?!
Gathering camp mates info, putting it into spreadsheet and waiting,waiting,waiting for our placement size. Here's hoping we get what we asked for so we can fit everyone who wants to camp with us for our big 20th year!

Whew, I'm worn out just reading this.

Hey Lucky420 I tried to send you a message about some boots I have that work great on Playa but the system says you don't exist!?! If you want to know about them (they zip instead of lace up) PM me and I'll give you the info.

[FIGJAM]

Check your PM.

[unitivity]

Every day i wonder should i sell my tickets and vehilce passes and get my money back and then a friend says he will go, doctor so if i get hurt he can fix it. THat is a good vibe to go. he buys the gas and food on the way and back i buy all the shit to get the rv running and working, This is about 3 grand easy. So fuck it i think i am going then i think this is a lot of shit to go through just to get dusty and see a bunch of sex fiends and crazy people have fun and then i think i fit right in here why am i wondering this is a no brianer, then i think but all the money for nothing but driving and dust and designing to go to the moon, then i think this is the edge of evolution of all mankind on planet earth and this is the start of the new hippie modern world taking over the earth and becoming heaven on earth and then i think i just bought new tires for $150 each and the motor may blow on the way and the garage screw me to the wall to get it fixed and i lose my rv to storage fees, then i think you only live once, and i wonder maybe not this could have all happened before i wonder what i did last time, i think i will go and see what happened last time.

[Sic Pup]

Replaced:

fuel filter
air filter
cabin air filter
replaced diesel oil with synthetic diesel as per Service Advisory

Had a glazier cut a driver's side mirror ($30 compared to the $400 to replace the assembly)

This weekend I plan on:

vacuum interior
Armor all "
replace air freshener
wash/wax exterior

finish crates for container and get final cu ft for purchase on Wednesday

pull bins from storage and assess needs (I may replace PVC for MH as I've already gotten 3 burns out of it)

[Maizie]

Installed a hitch on the vehicle, and picked up a bike rack, so we're good to go on the bike situation now! Things are slowly starting to come together.

[AzJames]

Just finished my first FIGJAM bucket cooler! That should make catching a nap during the day possible. I started on the second one and will finish that one tomorrow. Yes, I know TWO? I have a 14 ft dome and want to make sure I can keep it cool enough (I want to be able to entertain at high noon). My dome should be finished in the next five days (work keeps getting in the way ).

[Savannah]

I finally washed out the plastic 3-drawer set that I use to keep toiletries and wipes and kleenex from going all over the damned tent.

[TT120]

Picked up some supplies today.

[Elorrum]

Making some new speakers for my trike audio. These are cheap and cheerful, and the eyes light up to the beat when it's loud.

[Savannah]

Making some new speakers for my trike audio. These are cheap and cheerful, and the eyes light up to the beat when it's loud.

Why YES, I am jealous.

[EmilyD]

TT120, I'm very jealous that you have playa dedicated storage space in your house!!

[unjonharley]

Cleaned the work bench and put the hand tool in there proper places.. Now to start on the sound system..

[EmilyD]

Organized camp spreadsheet, starting to call everyone to check their data. I figure the personal touch will be appreciated.

[melodiousdirge]

Making some new speakers for my trike audio. These are cheap and cheerful, and the eyes light up to the beat when it's loud.

Those look sweet! I wish I had your sensible restraint... I wound up building a trailer for my trike to house the damn speakers.

[unjonharley]

Chained up the camel trike.. One may be to tight.. Need a new tire for the front..