Whose brilliant idea was it to put a cellphone tower@BM

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 4:46 pm

I was able to call in my unemployment claim because of the cell servive available.

I was also able to call my friend and have him pick up my water triggetr for my squirtgun that I had forgotten...and some extra green spotlights.

I shouldn't have called my Grandma though...she left me 11 messages because she didn't understand me when I told her I didn't have my charger with me.

Did anyone try to order a pizza ???????

motskyroonmatick · Post by **motskyroonmatick** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 4:59 pm

All this bitching is hilarious and so sad.
All forms of technology will make it to the playa for wide spread use. Digging in your heels and yelling about it will not help.
Take a deep breath and try to find a way to be positive or just let it slide off your back.
Ask you self this. "Why do people have to burn your way for your burn to be good or for the event to not be destroyed?"

And the cancer stuff....Just bad. I hope you will see that some day.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:04 pm

Good point

if it bugs you that bad, feel free to buy a bunch of cell phone "blocking" transmitters, and place them where you think necessary.

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:14 pm

motskyroonmatick wrote:Ask you self this. "Why do people have to burn your way for your burn to be good or for the event to not be destroyed?"

putting aside the phone issue - that is the second most abused justification people use to do whatever they like, without regards to much else. im starting to think euphemisms, catchphrases, and marketing slogans have become the perceptive depth of attendees.

Oldguy · Post by **Oldguy** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:15 pm

People are afraid of change, it affects thier identity. ex. Catholic leaders against Galileo, buggy whip makers against automobiles, analog phone companys against digital, etc...When we get matter transfer devices, ice camps will be pissed. Adapt or die!

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:46 pm

whoa... if you honestly think the issue is simply reduced to a fearful group reaction to change... wow, i guess most people really have lost touch.

goathead · Post by **goathead** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:44 am

But then if I was afraid of change, would I have ever gone to the BRC?

hmmmmm....

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:54 am

It's just another camping trip to the desert.........

..............plus some dumbasses with flamethrowers.

Who doesn't go camping with firewood and bacon in the default world ??

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:02 am

Edit...looks like Commnet actually lost money on providing cell phone support out there and they won't be back next year...

If that's the case then this horse will be dead and we can put the floggers up.

Oldguy · Post by **Oldguy** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:59 am

Is it we versus them, or is it me versus you? I personally don't care if you use a phone or not. It doesn't bother me. I don't go to the desert to escape, but rather to join in community. I live in a rural area not a urban jungle so my perceptions of a city in the desert may be different than yours. Do you expect everyone to be like you? Or like you?

There are bigger problems where persons harm others: theft, violence, abuse, leaving waste for others to clean up. Defacing art, sound violations, speeding, darkwads, allowing children to suffer in the heat, etc...

I agree that phones should be set on vibrate and calls returned in private like personal functions like sex or elimination. But that's common courtesy.

"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." "Can you hear me now?" " Inset mass communication platitude here."

AKAparttime · Post by **AKAparttime** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:04 am

oneeyeddick wrote:I was able to call in my unemployment claim because of the cell servive available.

I was also able to call my friend and have him pick up my water triggetr for my squirtgun that I had forgotten...and some extra green spotlights.

I shouldn't have called my Grandma though...she left me 11 messages because she didn't understand me when I told her I didn't have my charger with me.

Did anyone try to order a pizza ???????

No pizza, it was all about Haagen Daze

PavementBlues · Post by **PavementBlues** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:39 am

motskyroonmatick wrote:All this bitching is hilarious and so sad.
All forms of technology will make it to the playa for wide spread use. Digging in your heels and yelling about it will not help.
Take a deep breath and try to find a way to be positive or just let it slide off your back.
Ask you self this. "Why do people have to burn your way for your burn to be good or for the event to not be destroyed?"

And the cancer stuff....Just bad. I hope you will see that some day.

Burning Man is not some anarchist party where anything goes. It is a community with real values that participants should be expected to take seriously. For the same reason that people are discouraged from leaving the event to make a shopping trip to Gerlach, people should be discouraged from using cell phones on the playa, especially to make calls outside of the event, an act that removes the person from any form of participation just as much as actually leaving.

Of course, when I see someone making a call on the playa (which happened to me once this year), I treat it just like I would any other similar violation of our community values: I shrug, sigh, and continue having a good time...maybe I try to educate the person if I am feeling particularly masochistic, but either way I'm not going to let it detract from my experience, as my first action upon hitting the playa was to remove the battery from my phone and chuck it into the back of the Suburban. However, when someone is jabbering on the phone next to me while I am trying to have a genuine experience, it feels like a tiny little hole has been punctured in the energy of the event and the rest of the world has been allowed to seep through. It is in no way positive and represents an attitude of entitlement that disturbs me.

That's my take on the whole thing. Opinions differ. Meh.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 12:59 pm

If we were still on Baker Beach, this would not be an issue.

And this isn't an est seminar either.

Boijoy · Post by **Boijoy** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:10 pm

the only call I made out was from Phone Camp & not my cel. I found out my dog was ill & I left BM a day early to spend the weekend with her & put her down on tuesday. so, my call was a good thing.

However, I WAS annoyed at my dumbass camp mate who described the dust storm we were sitting in in great detail to his wife in CA for 30 fucking minutes!! Asshole. I didn't need the freaking comentary of the storm I was experiencing!!

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:32 pm

PavementBlues wrote:... It is a community with real values that participants should be expected to take seriously..

but unfortunately its only a community of convenience where most people only respect what they agree with and want. not much tolerance when it keeps from having thier party, "quit harshin my experience brah."

Post by **Elderberry** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:15 pm

LOL Well BM came and went. Cell Phones and all...the world goes on, as does BM. No harm done. In fact, most of the use of cell phones I witnessed was one camp-mate being able to call help to get her RV fixed, our camp being able to call late arriving camp members to bring extra ice cream and root beer, as once word got out that we were serving root beer floats, the demand was way greater than we had anticipated.

There were a few 'unnecessary' calls (IMHO), but who cares.

And to the person that said BM tries to discourage trips to town, I ask--Why then does the event had a Bus Depot and sell rides to town daily??

I think that everyone should just enjoy their own burn their own way, and stop trying to tell others how to do their burn. Life is too short trying to make people conform to someone elses pre-conceived notions of what Burning Man is; keep doing this and you'll find you've gone through life without really living.

Just my 2 cents.

(and now a 45 second pause while I wait for my post to post.)

I think I'll make this my signature until they upgrade this discussion board.

JK

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:47 am

jkisha wrote:I think that everyone should just enjoy their own burn their own way, and stop trying to tell others how to do their burn. Life is too short trying to make people conform to someone elses pre-conceived notions of what Burning Man is; keep doing this and you'll find you've gone through life without really living.

oh christ.

look, its not about telling people what they can and cant do, its about thinking about what you do keeping in mind its consequences. i completely understand the ideal of no limitations in being given the opportunity to express something about yourself that, in everyday life, has never been given the opportunity and support to do so. its the root of radical expression. and when we first started slumming it out there, were motivated to invite various sub-culture groups that were quite diverse, and most of those were socially shunned.

but it all breaks down when people drag in the rest of the world with things that cause the same squelching effects that make bman somewhat unique, and an attraction to such a creatively expressionist group. would you willingly replace a large fragment of attendees with ivy league fraternity and sorority people turning bman into thier version of spring break? would you really replace another large segment with white trash nascar transplants, turning bman into some monster truck show shouting for tits and guns, screaming 'death to rag head terrorists' and such?

because thats essentially what you are doing, and justifying it by saying 'quit trying to tell others what they can do' given free reign to accept everything.

really, its not about some cultural authoritarian belief imposed against others will, i really wish people would stop trying to reduce things down to that. just look and be mindful of the things you want to drag into the event, because many things have had very real and dire consequences, despite the best of intentions.

Captain · Post by **Captain** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 8:49 am

As far as a cellphone goes, in the default world my blackberry doesn't leave my side, I take it to the bathroom with me and even sleep with it next to me. As soon as I got to Gerlach (this was my first BM event) I turned it off and didn't turn it on again until reaching Gerlach on the way home. It was so liberating to not be tied to my cell phone for a week, and now that I'm back in the default world I'm no longer a slave to it. Actually as I'm typing this message I don't even know where I left it.

However my boss would have never have let me take a long vacation without anyway to contact me, so he rented me a sat phone. I biked out to the fence once per day after waking up, sat down and turned the phone on to check for messages so as to not ruin the phone free environment for anyone else. I feel 100% at home at Burning Man, and I took so much from the experience, but I can't escape 100% from my default world responsibilities. I think how I handled it was acceptable though, and didn't harm anyone else's experience.

There are some very strong and negative things being said in this thread, and although I think steps should be taken to keep Burning Man the raw and pure escape that it is, the negativity and anger is as unburning man as cell phones are.

Only 50 weeks left until I get to go back!

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 9:58 am

spectabillis wrote:
jkisha wrote:I think that everyone should just enjoy their own burn their own way, and stop trying to tell others how to do their burn. Life is too short trying to make people conform to someone elses pre-conceived notions of what Burning Man is; keep doing this and you'll find you've gone through life without really living.
oh christ.

look, its not about telling people what they can and cant do, its about thinking about what you do keeping in mind its consequences. i completely understand the ideal of no limitations in being given the opportunity to express something about yourself that, in everyday life, has never been given the opportunity and support to do so. its the root of radical expression. and when we first started slumming it out there, were motivated to invite various sub-culture groups that were quite diverse, and most of those were socially shunned.

but it all breaks down when people drag in the rest of the world with things that cause the same squelching effects that make bman somewhat unique, and an attraction to such a creatively expressionist group. would you willingly replace a large fragment of attendees with ivy league fraternity and sorority people turning bman into thier version of spring break? would you really replace another large segment with white trash nascar transplants, turning bman into some monster truck show shouting for tits and guns, screaming 'death to rag head terrorists' and such?

because thats essentially what you are doing, and justifying it by saying 'quit trying to tell others what they can do' given free reign to accept everything.

really, its not about some cultural authoritarian belief imposed against others will, i really wish people would stop trying to reduce things down to that. just look and be mindful of the things you want to drag into the event, because many things have had very real and dire consequences, despite the best of intentions.

blah blah blah blah blah...too many words. Face it, cell phones are there to stay. Like it or not. Oh, and the Frat boys are already there in force after thrusday. duh...

JK

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:51 pm

The OpenBTS Chronicles, a blog by the people that brought cell phone service to BRC this year is up and IMHO is a good read.

http://openbts.blogspot.com/

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:25 am

Phone service in Lhasa

A grounding issue surely...

Rabbi Dali Rick · Post by **Rabbi Dali Rick** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 4:00 pm

just my opinion....

the rebbi

nugget2022 · Post by **nugget2022** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:37 am

Fortunately I did not get a signal that I did attempt to, on many late evenings, to send a text and or possibly check my home answering machine....so I did get to experience the full week of the eleventh burn in a row.
This made me stronger in essence, to be able to deal with the unfortunate news when I was able to receive it, in Reno, Labor Day night, that on September the 2nd, my bi-polar brother, who always wanted to be a burner, jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge.
I did think about him when driving back to Reno that Monday night, and his life will be celebrated next year at the Temple.
MZ

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:22 am

Oh, nugget. How horrible.
It's a nasty disease and causes so much suffering not only to hte afflicted but also to his/her nearby loved ones.
(((((nugget)))))

marcgorcey · Post by **marcgorcey** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:29 am

really, its not about some cultural authoritarian belief imposed against others will, i really wish people would stop trying to reduce things down to that. just look and be mindful of the things you want to drag into the event, because many things have had very real and dire consequences, despite the best of intentions.

I think that ridiculing people who talk on cell phones is an example of self-expression. And as long as you invite the target to respond to you then you're being inclusive as well.

I would do the same thing if I saw somebody on the Playa working on a spreadsheet or something, or passing out fliers for their Bay Area graphics business...

Post by **Elderberry** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 11:27 am

marcgorcey wrote:
I would do the same thing if I saw somebody on the Playa working on a spreadsheet or something, or passing out fliers for their Bay Area graphics business...

Hmmmm.....what would be wrong with a person that puts the stimulation and creativity that the playa affords should that person decide to apply said inspiration to use on a spreadsheet or other endeavors related to the default world? Isn't that part of the benefit of the event?

JK

ArtistP · Post by **ArtistP** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 6:18 pm

I got a bunch of texts from who ever the server was. Of course they were all found after leaving and charging the phone for road hazards. Yeah that was us just outside of Sac Sunday night on the way there on I80. All I did was Delete, Delete, Delete, Delete, Delete, Delete. Oh yeah, Delete and Delete again. Who the fuck looks at the phone there?

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:06 pm

jkisha wrote:
marcgorcey wrote:
I would do the same thing if I saw somebody on the Playa working on a spreadsheet or something, or passing out fliers for their Bay Area graphics business...
Hmmmm.....what would be wrong with a person that puts the stimulation and creativity that the playa affords should that person decide to apply said inspiration to use on a spreadsheet or other endeavors related to the default world? Isn't that part of the benefit of the event?

If you have a conversation with someone and discover that you have mutual interesting and complimentary skill sets, then no harm in exchanging numbers or cards or email addies. And it can be done privately, discretely, in a shade structure or even on the esplande with full consent of both parties and anyone else who's been part of the conversation. "...(P)assing out fliers..." is not even making a connection between the two parties. There's no consent. and it's intrusive to those of us who don't want to think of such things during our vacation. And it spreads moop.
Karine met Sergei Brin (co-founder of Google) at the event last year, and her impression of him is someone who has to keep up the barriers on playa, because there are so many people who try and grab his attention for their own aggrandizement. I think that Sergei Brin and Purple Koosh and Larry Harvey and the newest virgin still set on "overwhelm" and Kernel Killbuck and Opera Pepe and the lowliest shirt cocker should all be equally unencumbered by outside world expectations. And that's only one layer of what "no commerce" means to me.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:06 pm

jkisha wrote:
marcgorcey wrote:
I would do the same thing if I saw somebody on the Playa working on a spreadsheet or something, or passing out fliers for their Bay Area graphics business...
Hmmmm.....what would be wrong with a person that puts the stimulation and creativity that the playa affords should that person decide to apply said inspiration to use on a spreadsheet or other endeavors related to the default world? Isn't that part of the benefit of the event?

If you have a conversation with someone and discover that you have mutual interests and complimentary skill sets, then no harm in exchanging numbers or cards or email addies. And it can be done privately, discretely, in a shade structure or even on the esplande with full consent of both parties and anyone else who's been part of the conversation. "...(P)assing out fliers..." is not even making a connection between the two parties. There's no consent. and it's intrusive to those of us who don't want to think of such things during our vacation. And it spreads moop.
Karine met Sergei Brin (co-founder of Google) at the event last year, and her impression of him is someone who has to keep up the barriers on playa, because there are so many people who try and grab his attention for their own aggrandizement. I think that Sergei Brin and Purple Koosh and Larry Harvey and the newest virgin still set on "overwhelm" and Kernel Killbuck and Opera Pepe and the lowliest shirt cocker should all be equally unencumbered by outside world expectations. And that's only one layer of what "no commerce" means to me.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 12:39 am

nugget2022 wrote:Fortunately I did not get a signal that I did attempt to, on many late evenings, to send a text and or possibly check my home answering machine....so I did get to experience the full week of the eleventh burn in a row.
This made me stronger in essence, to be able to deal with the unfortunate news when I was able to receive it, in Reno, Labor Day night, that on September the 2nd, my bi-polar brother, who always wanted to be a burner, jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge.
I did think about him when driving back to Reno that Monday night, and his life will be celebrated next year at the Temple.
MZ

Never a good time to hear such news.

What did Brautigan say?
That no one calls with good news at four in the morning.

So sorry he didn't make it out.

Whose brilliant idea was it to put a cellphone tower@BM

No, I Don't Know Who You Are.....

if I had gotten a signal....

DELETE

Re: if I had gotten a signal....