2014 AfterBurn Report

[trilobyte]

The 2014 AfterBurn report is now live - check it out!

[Bless]

Will the BRCCP be taking credit for Jimmy T's resignation?

[Elderberry]

I don't care who takes credit for it. I'm thrilled that it happened. Long over-due. I couldn't be happier.

[TT120]

Jimmy resigned! Wonder what made him do that? Maybe he just couldn't make enough money running Popsicle camps.

[digital]

Buh-bye!

(What's with the micro-AfterBurn?! Boo.)

[Jackass]

Jimmy T apparently couldn't take the heat. Unfortunately he probably resigned in order to run his on-playa business more efficiently without having his hands tied by the BORG or besmudging their business model, further tarnishing their reputation... They're still homies, but time will tell. Still great news nonetheless!

[Elderberry]

I'm just going to take it at face value. It was a long time in coming.

[maladroit]

He has regained some honor for his family and his memory by taking a knee on the tatami.

[Jackass]

You know the motto, Face Value or Fuck Off!

[Jackass]

He has regained some honor for his family and his memory by taking a knee on the tatami.

Taking a knee?? He could have gone out Samurai style. Mad points are available for falling unto your sword in time of defeat or capture.

[MyDearFriend]

The removal of That Guy from the Board did not really surprise me, but this did, from Placement, regarding turn-key camps:

Given what we learned this year, going forward all such placed camps will need to meet theme camp criteria for placement.

Full statement here

[tamarakay]

That kinda makes me nervous. My little camp can't compete financially with one of those guys.

[MyDearFriend]

But TK my dear you have a great MOOP history.

[FIGJAM]

That kinda makes me nervous. My little camp can't compete financially with one of those guys.

I think you misunderstood.

It means that you don't have to live up to their standards, they have to live up to YOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Eric]

That kinda makes me nervous. My little camp can't compete financially with one of those guys.

I think you misunderstood.

It means that you don't have to live up to their standards, they have to live up to YOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agreed. You offer interactivity, and your focus is on the greater community, not just your camp. A "theme camp" doesn't have to be a billion dollar playground, a bar, or a soundcamp - it just needs to meet the criteria, which you already have a history of: visually stimulating, interactive, neighborly, MOOP management.

Personally, I think the smaller theme camps are what make us somewhere you want to live for the week. If we only had the bright lights on the Esplanade, I would have gotten bored years ago.

[trilobyte]

That's not new per se, MDF, it was in one of the blog posts made in the wake of the brouhaha last fall. I'm all for that. To me it makes sense that they would give staff/department camps, art installation support, and mutant vehicle support camps a break on meeting theme camp criteria for placement, since those types of camps are already bringing it to the table in a meaningful way. But everybody outside of that, if you want to be placed, you've got to go through the same process and meet the same criteria that other placed theme camps do.

[maladroit]

I think that none of us really REALLY blamed the Org for douchebag behavior this year. As with any other placed or non-placed camp, you only really find out about douchebaggery after it's already happened. I think we all understand it's next to impossible to physically police the camps and enforce ground rules on site. Instead, they must offer deterrents...next year you will be under close scrutiny, lose theme camp status, lose early entry, lose access to certain services, etc. That's the way it has to work. You can screw up one year, but you aren't going to get the same chance next year.

It was starting to look like these camps were going to get a free (well, anything but free) pass for the next year, with all the PR fluffing and story revision that was taking place.

Right now...it looks like the Org has decided that the rules apply to everyone. Which was the only right move.

So I'm not overjoyed by this...it's what they were supposed to do anyway. But I'm not upset anymore.

[maladroit]

Personally, I think the smaller theme camps are what make us somewhere you want to live for the week. If we only had the bright lights on the Esplanade, I would have gotten bored years ago.

Agreed. However, the Esplanade is freaking amazing your first year. You know...when you don't know there's going to be a roller disco and such. The only way to get some of that back is to bring a newbie and walk the Esplanade with them, and see it again through their eyes.

[Elliot]

I'm joining the chorus. I remember reading months ago that "they will now have to live up to YOUR standards", as FIGJAM put it. Now it is official.

As for herr christmastree and the other "spectacular failures".... Accidents happen. Time now to move on.

[some seeing eye]

I liked the old format, but I think this is out earlier. The fiscal year ends March 31 I believe, but the books aren't closed until June 1. Hope the budget detail will be in the ORG public financial report.

Note they gave the fly-in numbers, but not this year's Burner Express. They gave numbers on the container program.

The biggest thing, which should give the ticket complainers something to think about, is that about 5000 tickets were not used.

[danibel]

Note they gave the fly-in numbers, but not this year's Burner Express. They gave numbers on the container program.

The biggest thing, which should give the ticket complainers something to think about, is that about 5000 tickets were not used.

I would have liked more detail on the Burner Express, not that I ever plan on using it, I am just curious about it's success/non-success.

Also - interesting about the 5000 tickets not being used. I missed that part. I know lots of VS were not used, but I didn't realize that many tickets went untorn.

[maladroit]

That is odd. 2014 didn't appear to have the surplus panic of previous years, with tickets going for $200 to $0 starting weeks before the event. I wonder if screwups in the mailing of tickets would have accounted for this, a lot of burners opting to find a different ticket rather than wait until a week before leaving to get their ticket.

[trilobyte]

The number of unused vehicle passes was published at the end of last year, along with the info for this year's ticketing. 2012 was the last year in which event tickets sold for below face value in the after-market, largely because hoarders and would-be scalpers did not realize the impact of the late summer ticket sale (that, and the BLM allowed Burning Man to sell a few additional tickets in that sale). I doubt that one will repeat anytime soon.

Burner Express has proven to be extremely successful. It is run by an outside company, so I would not imagine that many details would be published by Burning Man.

[pink]

Where are the numbers? I don't see any concrete figures on anything.

[trilobyte]

I believe it was explained in the foreword.

[Lonesomebri]

Will the BRCCP be taking credit for Jimmy T's resignation?

Ha, the BRCCP had nothing to do with it, but your implications in asking are very very very flattering comrade.

[Simon of the Playa]

Will the BRCCP be taking credit for Jimmy T's resignation?

Ha, the BRCCP had nothing to do with it, but your implications in asking are very very very flattering comrade.

it was G*d.

timing is all important when it involves "come to jesus" moments.

well played Almighty One, well played.

[Roundabout]

I would have liked more detail on the Burner Express, not that I ever plan on using it, I am just curious about it's success/non-success.

The Census Report says that 1.9% of the population of 65,000 used the Burner Express. This would calculate to be 1,235 people using the BE. I don't think the is reliable, however, because the Census also shows that only .8% entered via the airport. That would calculate to be 520 people, whereas the airport counted 1,600 people entering via the airport.

[danibel]

I would have liked more detail on the Burner Express, not that I ever plan on using it, I am just curious about it's success/non-success.

The Census Report says that 1.9% of the population of 65,000 used the Burner Express. This would calculate to be 1,235 people using the BE. I don't think the is reliable, however, because the Census also shows that only .8% entered via the airport. That would calculate to be 520 people, whereas the airport counted 1,600 people entering via the airport.

Yeah. It kind of makes sense that the numbers are not going to available due to a private company operating the BE. I am just curious how many people used it. How many cars it really took out of the line and off the highway. I guess different people will have different ideas about what is "successful." If it was 1235 - that is maybe 600 cars off the road (assuming each car would have 2ish occupants).

[some seeing eye]

In 2013 the BE transported 2459 participants (http://blog.burningman.com/2014/01/news ... ic-issues/). So estimate between 4-5K now. The airport has I think about 125 private planes at say 2.5 passengers each. The Reno Gazette reports about 17,000 burners traveling through the airport in 2014 from 30 countries (http://www.rgj.com/story/life/2015/04/0 ... /70863940/). Maybe someone could go through the aerial photos and derive the RV/population ratio by year.

I would guess the census is a non-random sample, and even with a random sample, sampling theory for what you are measuring is non-trivial.

The ORG financial reports aren't due for another 3 months. They are not required to break down department budgets and statistics like the old afterburn reports. But let's hope they do.

On the interwebs, we are quick to criticize, "I don't like it, so change it NOW, if not yesterday!" My observation is that the BMORG works slowly, and they have all the detailed data from each department, all the ticketing credit card and ship to geography, some virgin/not data - burner profile data, all the traffic metering, the pulsing statistics, probably by hour, gate ins by hour, much more. They respond to things that come up with risk management policy in the next year. They also know the costs of each change they make. We, the armchair board, do not. But it would be to their advantage to explain what they are doing lest the conspiracy theories run even wilder than they are.