The Bar 2014 Edition

[Savannah]

Hi everybody. Long time no see. I've had a very very weird, difficult year. I didn't mean to be away for so long. My computer broke back in September/October and I didn't get it replaced until March, so that was part of it, but major life bullshit was most of it. Anyway, I've missed it around here.

Glad to see you back, Littlebird!

Elliot, I'm so glad to see your docs found something they can treat. The second you said "a hormone", I thought "Awwwww, shit, I'll bet it's testosterone!" even before I saw you confirm! I'd done just enough reading to know that low testosterone levels can really hurt a man's mood and overall well-being, which was a surprise the first time I saw it. Testosterone isn't just about libido . . .

Yggy, I'm glad you're taking care of yourself, and hope your hardy stomach and esophagus cells are flipping some pathologist the bird under a microscope as we speak.

[Elliot]

Yes, I'm learning that testosterone is complicated stuff. A person might take one look at me and figure that with the thick growth of hair on my face and chest, I must be brimming with testosterone. But it is not that simple.

[MyDearFriend]

Hahahahahahaha, (((Elliot))) put your patches where you can see them! A certain friend of mine, a truly lovely and beloved woman, remembered to put her hormone patches on, while in BRC, but forgot to take the old ones off, hahahahahaha, and wondered why she was so "emotional" that week.

I suggest the inside of your upper arm as being relatively hairless, easy to reach and easy to see.

Or, your hip, which might be easier to paint.

[kowtow]

Elliot congrats on the diagnosis. I say you put a patch on the seat of every loner bike you hand out!!!

[goathead]

wanders in looking for coffee helper, hmmmm

this might work

[Captain Goddammit]

Hey Elliot! Glad things are going well... maybe we will really kick ass in the Kinetic Sculpture Race with your renewed virility and manliness and general life-force!!

A friend of mine was one of those guys who peels the labels off his beer bottles while he drinks them. Well he got pretty lit and started to stick them everywhere... driving home he got pulled over and forgot he'd stuck one on his forehead.
Of course the cop asked if he'd been drinking and how much; being the quick thinker, he said "Oh no, none at all, I'm on the Patch!!"

[Patsh]

Hey Elliot! Glad things are going well... maybe we will really kick ass in the Kinetic Sculpture Race with your renewed virility and manliness and general life-force!!

A friend of mine was one of those guys who peels the labels off his beer bottles while he drinks them. Well he got pretty lit and started to stick them everywhere... driving home he got pulled over and forgot he'd stuck one on his forehead.
Of course the cop asked if he'd been drinking and how much; being the quick thinker, he said "Oh no, none at all, I'm on the Patch!!"

*snort*
Dang, Cap'n! It's too early to be spewing coffee all over the keyboard!

[ygmir]

*rides up, hops off War Rabbit™ so he can hunt, saunters in to bar*

Hhaha, Cap'n.............thanks for the chuckle. haha, love a quick, funny response.

Hi Patsh!

I'm going to try to rig a small electric water pump to Frankencamper, that could run the monitor, or fill barrels, without starting the truck and running that huge pump and leaking water on the playa.
Though clean water, I almost got in trouble last year for it dripping underneath the truck after filling some barrels.
It seems in the pump and distribution system (like a pile of sphagetti of pipes and valves), there are a couple of drip leaks, and the earth guardian lady said that's not ok........so, gotta keep the "tank to pump" valve closed if possible, except in dire fire emergency out there. Now, to find formulas for pressure/orofice=GPM=h.p. needed.

*strokes tV, heads for IBBOD*

[media]

[unjonharley]

Could you adapt a hand cranked barrel pump for small fills.. "You crank" would be burner green..

[MyDearFriend]

Good morning good morning

Thanks for the cartoon, Yggy.

That's all the talk I can manage this am

please

[Elliot]

Hey Elliot! Glad things are going well... maybe we will really kick ass in the Kinetic Sculpture Race with your renewed virility and manliness and general life-force!!

A friend of mine was one of those guys who peels the labels off his beer bottles while he drinks them. Well he got pretty lit and started to stick them everywhere... driving home he got pulled over and forgot he'd stuck one on his forehead.
Of course the cop asked if he'd been drinking and how much; being the quick thinker, he said "Oh no, none at all, I'm on the Patch!!"

Life-force is a good term for the opposite of depression. Having the patch on overnight seems to give me more interest in getting out of bed in the morning. Slight problem: the patches have lousy glue -- it fell off yesterday afternoon from just a couple hours of moving banquet tables and chairs outdoors. I'm buying some skin-prep stuff that MDF recommended.

Another slight "problem".... The deeper we get into various treatments, the more "they" tell me to drink no alcohol. Does that mean that I will lose my membership in this Bar?
Of course, these docs and therapists deal with addicts all day long. So... I consider myself extremely fortunate that my worst addiction is to ice cream.
That said, my alcohol consumption from now on will be very minimal indeed. It just makes sense.

[Elorrum]

little rumblings of an LCN and Karine sighting possible this year. Yay!!!
Elliot, no requirements to drink here that I know of.

[magicmarty]

Hi MDF, Elliot, YG, Captain, Patsh, UJ and Elorrum. Good to see GH stopped by last night.

Got the biggest part of my schwag "do over" project done yesterday. Looks like it will come out just fine. Lazy day today checking out my tent and bike and lanterns. Out of 3 lanterns that I took up to the Hof, 3 did not work. Batting 100% Likely battery problems.

Cool and overcast typical summer weather here in the Bay Area

Cheers

(((LF)))

[Aurelia]

Good Morning All !

really love the discussion this morning as I ponder what to have ready for the fam "in case" they come for the soccer game
they are so pure that they don't do TV..how on earth could my offspring be like that !

and we will fight about the game and they will eat a lot
and it is my daughter in laws B'day >>no not the Dude who came to the Hof


my only addiction is burning man,

xoA.

[Elliot]

...
Elliot, no requirements to drink here that I know of.

Yes, of course, quite a few folks do not drink alcohol. And after being around so many addicts at the hospital, I can certainly see the point. Then there is the fact that I am not really used to drinking at all... (as evidenced by two notorious over-indulgences witnessed by people on this board). Yeah, at this point in my life I am definitely sticking to my traditional very-moderate alcohol-consumption.

Well, I have stuff to get done before I go back to Santa Rosa for one more week of meditation and such.

[AntiM]

Home from E-11. Holy shit. Great burn until it was not.

[^Rhino!]

Home from E-11. Holy shit. Great burn until it was not.

The word on what happened at the burn already has hit the east coast. I talked to Ranger Sandblaster from NJ this afternoon. Please send me a PM.

[magicmarty]

So, what happened???

[AntiM]

http://fox13now.com/2014/07/13/element- ... fire-dies/

[Aurelia]

so sad

xoA.

[1durphul]

http://fox13now.com/2014/07/13/element- ... fire-dies/

Well, that local fox station handled that with about 1 trillion times more class than the national Fox News did when Comfort & Joy had a suicide...

http://laughingsquid.com/fox-news-makes ... n-suicide/

[^Rhino!]

Having participated as perimeter security for no less than ten burns myself, you never know what can happen when the fire starts, and well-laid plans begin to fall apart. We had a movable perimeter at the second Gateway burn, and due to the heat we had to double the perimeter size. "Holes" appear in your perimeter, and if trouble comes, it comes through those holes. Participants are ONLY allowed to enter after the lead arsonist gives the go-ahead (effigy has dropped, heat has subsided, fireworks are spent- only this year we had no more fireworks inside the effigy at Interfuse). Rangers need to be present on the ground at all times until the fire is out, even AFTER the go-ahead has been given.

The amount of safety planning that goes into this is immense, and the intensity of the Ranger participants is at a knife's edge. Their eyes and ears are open at all times.

Did Element 11 have sandmen?

[Captain Goddammit]

Am I the only one who sees a huge difference between someone accidentally getting killed and some freak intentionally killing himself?

[^Rhino!]

Am I the only one who sees a huge difference between someone accidentally getting killed and some freak intentionally killing himself?

Accidental deaths are a tragedy, but so are suicides. Unfortunately, in our society it's sometimes hard to tell when someone really needs help to avoid the overwhelming fear and hopelessness that ends up being the cause of consuming them.

[Aurelia]

this is a concern I have worked in..the saving
only to discover that is not really the best always

Yes, from what I hear Capt., the man wanted to die..condolences to all who shared his choice

of course perimeter works to prevent tragic accidents

xoA.

[Mojojita]

So sorry AntiM. Sorry most for the people who had to watch him do his thing - life changing for the participants. Bless those Rangers.

[Jovankat]

Am I the only one who sees a huge difference between someone accidentally getting killed and some freak intentionally killing himself?

It's people using words like "freak" that gives metal health issues their stigma, that stigma then makes it harder for people to deal with their issues and get the help they need that could prevent this kind of thing. Please have some compassion and don't make this situation worse.

[ygmir]

*wanders in, makes tea*

pretty dang tough to judge the person, or the security. Shit happens.
To me, the only clear path is sympathy for all effected.
You know some lost a person they loved, you know someone has been scarred for life by witnessing this, we know the event will be scrutinized because of it, and we know "arm chair quarterbacks" will second guess and criticize, to no end.

*lights a candle on Pagan alter, heads for IBBOD*

[Simon of the Playa]

[media]

[^Rhino!]

When I accompany new Interrangers on their first shifts in the Midwest, I mazke sure they know what 'boundaries' are. That's a hard thing to do (which makes it all the more worthwhile to attempt it).I tell all of the alphas (first shift - accompanied) that our job as the safety 'overseers' is not as cops, and not as someone's mom. We're there to facilitate.....to help things work smoothly. One thing that bothered me about the story from the Fox news affiliate was that they referred to ranger types as 'police'. Not true.