What worked? What didn't?

clandyone · Post by **clandyone** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 8:51 pm

Your answers...

clandyone · Post by **clandyone** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 9:00 pm

What worked for me:

The misting line in our dome. It was remarkable... completely hedonistic and lovely. What we did (rawther, what my brilliant hubby did) was clip five cheap oscillating fans to the frame of the dome, above each couch. To each we affixed a mister nozzle, and ran the hose between. This arrangement kept the temp in the dome at least 10 degrees cooler than outside. It did go through water pretty quickly, but we had a lot of people and a lot of cooler runoff. The whole arrangement cost about $300, and drew minimal power. It did need a 20-micron filter to keep from clogging.

Wearing lots of layers. Those Bedouin are so right. I was the most comfortable in a long-sleeved kimono top, pants, a sarong over the pants and a headwrap, all 100% cotton of course, and loose. Beat the bejesus out of shorts and a tank top.

Taking a room at the Atlantis in Reno on the Monday night postburn.

What didn't:

Drugs. Gah. No more for me; I can't handle it anymore. Totally sapped my energy.

Too many projects

I think that's it

Ivy · Post by **Ivy** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 8:25 am

>Taking a room at the Atlantis in Reno on the Monday night postburn.

You should've looked me up, I was there, too. Apparently so was about half of BRC.

Next year, that's where the party's at...

Maxx · Post by **Maxx** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 6:40 pm

Taking a room at the Atlantis in Reno on the Monday night postburn.

Eek. Careful of the Atlantis in the future, everyone. My gf and I stayed there for one night on the way to BRC and they lured us in with a Free Breakfast then once we were there said that we could not have it, they messed up our room reservations and put us in a situation where we had to pay for a room upgrade or leave, and the really very awful bit: my girl got a very bad case of food poisoning from something she ate there and had to spend all but one night of Burning Man in Bruno's Motel in Gerlach recovering! I hate to post negative shit like this, but I thought folks ought to beware.

PetsUntilEaten · Post by **PetsUntilEaten** » Sun Sep 07, 2003 6:22 pm

worked (aphlabetical):
• adding pockets to old costumes
• allowing myself a full range of emotions
• baby wipes
• camping with 4 people instead of 40, 80, 100 . . .
• gifts of small pouches with books & pens
• gifts of izone polaroids
• jacuzzi room at the peppermill monday night - with room service
• men's fedora/hat rigged with luxeon star led & dimmer for night.
• my mate paul
• one virgin burner who was excited & took lots of photos
• spare bike with bike trailer for ice runs
• staying still when the time called for it
• talking to my annoying 12 year old raver neighbors as if they weren't negligent assholes no real intention to torment us with their genie & 2-sided cardboard "baffle" 10 feet away from our tents. speaking with patience & confidence that they did not intend to piss us off. . . and finding the off switch for the damn thing. resisting using sugar for something other than coffee. it actually worked out ok.
• trash descator (sp?) made from old water jugs

didn't work:
• not too much

ScottV · Post by **ScottV** » Sun Sep 07, 2003 8:11 pm

worked
Giving up on the camera (no longer an "observer")
LED lighting for everything (way fewer batteries this year)
Minimal alcohol consumption (colors are more vibrant?)
no camp shower (no grey water lagoon, no extra water hauled in - water truck showers are fun)
Sexy costume (much much better

)
The padded playa escape pod (previously known as "Aerostar van")

didn't
Giving up on the camera (have no images to explain - great fun last year)
untested shade structure (will work better next year)
not enough gifts (*4* cartons of good dusk masks next year)

peg · Post by **peg** » Mon Sep 08, 2003 3:41 pm

scottv - loved your xscape pod.
it was the first art car i saw on the playa this year and it made me smile everytime thereafter.
thanks for that.

what worked for my camp was the evaporation pond. soooo nice not to have to lug home dirty water this year.

what didn't work?
we wanted an open shade structure this year and there was absolutely no respite form the dust. NONE. after the 10 days i spent out there, i would've loved one moment of a dust-free existence. normally i am immune to it, this year for some reason it was insidious.

ScottV · Post by **ScottV** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 2:15 pm

The xscape pod wasn't mine, wish it was

Was refering to the minimal dust hideout formed by covering the entire floor of the aerostar van with foam then covering that with a movers blanket.
When it just got too cold or windy or dusty we would dive in.
*An* escape pod.

A necessary counterpart to my open shade structures (DodecaShades) which got dustier and dustier over the ten days.

ScottV,
I got used to being called "DodecaShrine" by the Artery people,
it was easier to identify the artists by their installations instead of "this is _name_ who_is_doing _installation_".

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Sep 12, 2003 11:25 pm

What worked:
Privvy throne
Prayer Flags
Solar lanterns
Badger Sleep Balm
Handwash station
Water closet built with a 9' market umbrella, positioned to northeast
White tarp canopy for the kitchen
Teak stepping stones
Laptop
OM pendant giftables
Balinese temple flag on bike
Nasal saline
Coppertone Waterbabies 48spf sunblock
Witch Vera gel on feet and face

What didn't:
Grass mat walls for the water closet hut
Aerobed (got a hole in it)
Camelbak Sto-Away (drinktube kept popping loose)
Coleman headlamp (broke)
Badger Healing Balm
Bottle pump from Harbor Freight Tools

Middle Ground:
Oven fishtailed all the way there and got a big crack in the side (failure) but still produced great baked goods and survived the trip home

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Sat Sep 13, 2003 2:32 am

Damn Diane, so much wished to have gottn to meet you face 2 face

antron · Post by **antron** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 8:38 pm

patio umbrella with a concrete base
keg o' beer
baby wipes
led headlamp
futon in the tent
longbed pickup truck with a cap

Kinetic · Post by **Kinetic** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 8:57 pm

Worked:
Petzl's Tikka LED Headlamp
I will never go on any trip, camping or otherwise without it being with me.
Camelbaks (Why did I wait so long to buy one?)
Mansour Designs Leather Masks

Failed Miserably
Carpet instead of black foam interlocking mats
Coleman Powermate 1850 Generator
Bell Combo bicycle lock
Bell Bicycle headlamp
PCS Wireless Web Card for the trip out, Denver, SLC, Reno, SF.
Compaq iPAQ PDA
There is no such thing as good but super cheap glowsticks.
And the biggest pain in the ass this year was my 2 deep cell batteries that loved to die at 6 am when I wanted to sleep but couldn't run the generator. A visit to the AEZ gave me ideas on how to fix that problem next year.
Gatorade

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 9:47 pm

antrony wrote:patio umbrella with a concrete base

Making one of those. It'll be tile mosaic to go with the shower platform

Booker wrote:Damn Diane, so much wished to have gottn to meet you face 2 face

Probably because I didn't get out much!

Baking, Kecaking it up and oven-herding during the day, performing at the Omphalos by night, wiped out after the performance due to low-protein diet

Coming down to SF for Decompression — yourself?

BTW, Kiamax — congratulations on passing your Rite of Passage

Borris · Post by **Borris** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 11:40 pm

Worked:
Buying that Van in Phoenix (It was a long shot buyin a car on Ebay and not even inspecting it, drove all the way to BRC without a hitch)
Sleeping in the Van
Camping with BRIBH

Didn't work:
My camle back's water bag vaulve kepl leaking (the one on the drinking side of the tube)
American bloter Acid (4 hits in 4 hours, didn't feel a thing).

Angry Butterfly · Post by **Angry Butterfly** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 1:57 pm

What worked

Rasperrry wipes, everybody was so sick of smelling like babies that I wish I had brought out twice as many.

Camping with a big theme camp with people I know and grew to love from San Fran

Participating, all the help I put in on our camp came back to me tenfold

Taking it easy, not having a plan. Faith in the universal plan.

Drinking what was offered to me, even though I dont usualy drink alcohol, it really works out on the playa,

Goggles + Disposeable contacts! WOOO HOOO!

Getting a different ride home.

Gift economy!

What didn't

Riding out with my best friend and his boyfriend, I never realized how differently we look at the world and how different our prioritys are, I wish I hadn't ever realized it.

Cheap ass sleeping bag, I froze my ass off.

Trader Joes discontinuing tofu jerkey.

Bartering.

Tater Chip Girl · Post by **Tater Chip Girl** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 3:45 am

What worked

Big solar panel that kept truck battery charged to run camp lights at night.

Ramen - lotsa ramen.

Spicy tomato soup recipe for hangovers.

Malto Meal.

Sun Tea.

Huge container of zip ties loaned to neighbors having shelter setup problems.

Giving away my costumes after wearing them once.

Gel markers for writing on myself (or having others write on me).

Wag Bags.

Bringing costumes that didn't fit me and giving them to people who could wear them.

Huge box of extra-thick contractor's garbage bags.

Braids.

What didn't work:

Air mattresses - we slept with our butts on the ground because they kept leaking. (The mattresses, not the butts.)

Small tent stakes. Duh.

Raising tarp wall around camp for privacy. Ha. What were we thinking ...

Picture-taking. Waaaay too much dust and wind. More fun to participate anyway, and not have to mess with cam equipment.

Castile soap as shampoo. Just plain stupid, unless you have a crewcut.

Crappy Camelbak knockoffs from Wal-Mart. Unlike the butts, those DID leak. Next time, we bring the real thing.

Gadg · Post by **Gadg** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 6:07 pm

What worked:

Volunteering - Met lots of great new friends.
Bringing a big mirror
Camel Back costumes (since you're always carying them)
Riding bikes early in the week, Walking Thurs-Sunday
Spending time exploring alone (certain opportunities present themselves)
Starting your car once a week, just to keep it happy.
Taping alluminum foil to your car windows.
Spending the extra time, effort, and money on quality gifts that everyone wants.
Trading 2 cans of hot Guiness for one Ice Cold Guiness
Reconnecting with friends at the man at Sunset (instead of some other place at some particular time)
Helping people clean up their messes instead of getting angry at them for creating them.
Dried Hummus
Knowing your knotts - useful in more ways than one.
Decorating your bicycle - best defense against theft
Bringing a cordless drill

What didn't work:

2 pairs of sunglasses - Lost them both
Mondo deluxe stake puller - broke concrete stakes in half - vice grips work better.
BigAss Mister - wasn't hot enough and too dusty
Leaving the door to the dome open (dust storms)
Asking the bike repair guys at center camp to help fix your brakes
Moldy Cucumbers

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 7:14 pm

...but I'm going to attempt it out there this year.

Park the car with nose to windward. Keep car windows and moon roof slightly open but tape strips of reasonably thick cotton fabric to cover the gaps. Close windows as needed (for example, during whiteouts and while sleeping — don't want <i>too</i> much airflow then, as I've found that's a good way to dehydrate).

Moisten fabric periodically with a squirt bottle.

The damp fabric will block dust and humidify the space but allow airflow for cooling. A very low-tech, membrane-type swamp cooler, essentially.

I'll let you know how it works.

pops · Post by **pops** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 12:45 am

WORKED:

We used a paint filter to screen our grey water, added some bacteriostat, then ran it through a swamp cooler and into our living quarters which housed nearly 20. The moist pads of the swamp cooler grabbed/held an enormous amount of the dust in the air. It added moisture to the air, and of course cooled it down to a pretty comfortable temp, even midday!!

We slept on a real matress instead of a pad or blow-up thing.

DIDN'T WORK:

Modified exhaust pipe for the generator. Note: It'll work *next* time!!!

Juju · Post by **Juju** » Thu Sep 25, 2003 3:33 am

worked:
taking our time getting up there
frozen gazpacho
fresh grapes
that pineapple that was brought on thursday
our hookah stayed up the ENTIRE WEEK
the meal plan - everyone ate well, some leftovers as snacks, everyone was happy

didn't work:
stupid pvc dome - I'll use a thicker guage if I do it again
people not bringing what they said they would, so we didn't have a shower til thursday
extra air mattress had a hole
nearly ran out of propane

Tiahaar · Post by **Tiahaar** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 10:59 pm

Worked for us:
Two 42 watt solar panels charging three deep cycle batteries...kept us in lights and music and water pumping for the shower all week, no genset!
Bacon and eggs and hashbrown patties. OK, apologies to vegies but there's just a wonderful aroma to this old time breakfast and the stuff keeps well on ice till cooked. Great way to start the day.
Solar Malibu garden lights, on special from HD 8 for $38 worked all week and lit up the tarp guy lines nicely.

Things to do differently:
Trade cameras for a moment with more people (take their picture with their camera & have them take my picture with my camera), great way to meet plus have "see I really was there/did that" proof.
Those power bars/nutrition bar things...do many like them? I eat lots at home and brought a bunch to give out but then they just seemed so mainstream in an otherworldly place I just left some in the House of Cards gift boxes and shied away from handing them out directly. My food gifts will be 'real' next time.

Alpha · Post by **Alpha** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 6:52 am

Tiahaar wrote:Two 42 watt solar panels charging three deep cycle batteries...

You didn't have problems with dust accumulating over the panels?

42-watt panels must have been pricey, eh? I think I saw 15-watt for about $200!

Tiahaar · Post by **Tiahaar** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:39 pm

Alpha wrote: You didn't have problems with dust accumulating over the panels?

42-watt panels must have been pricey, eh? I think I saw 15-watt for about $200!

Hi Alpha, the panels did OK all week, they were mounted flat on top of the bus and since the charge meter kept reading good voltage with the sun up I never did go see how much dust was on them. Now I'm curious and wish I'd looked! The drive home blew the top pretty clean.

They were ebay finds, second-hand "Unisolar" panels from some university research project that only had them a short while, bought for @ $140 each! Good deal and quality panels. But...I'm at the mercy of the sun and there's sure no shortage of wind out there, so next year I want a wind generator too. These things people build out of an old car alternator with blades attached look interesting, maybe that will be a good winter project.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 6:24 pm

Worked GREAT:
Honda EU2000 generator. Expensive but QUIET and small and light and powerful enough for airconditioner or microwave. DON'T get a cheap loud set; no one would hate generators so much if they got one of these!

Margaritas! Everyone loves an icy margarita on the playa.

Simply carrying grey water out in the same big cans I carried it in with!

C.B. radios rather than FRS radios. We had 'em in our art cars, at camp, and a portable or two, and could contact all over the playa reliably.

Flux · Post by **Flux** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 6:31 pm

the Captain wrote:Honda EU2000 generator. Expensive but QUIET and small and light and powerful enough for airconditioner or microwave. DON'T get a cheap loud set; no one would hate generators so much if they got one of these!

I'll second that! I bought a similar Yamaha and ran it all night, every night to keep my wife's breathing apparatus working so she could sleep. It was about five feet from our tent, and didn't bother us (or anyone else) a bit. They're much more expensive, but well worth it.

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Sat Nov 08, 2003 7:15 am

worked:

- salvia. went well with the dark playa.
- 25 foot tower. t'was at least 10 degress cooler off the playa floor. and the
view!
- air raid siren to call campmates and friends from all around for margs.
- the trike with ice basket. could haul 50+ pounds of ice in one trip.
- silent honda generators.
- or 8 foot tall rebar tiki lights for our nightime firepit hang outs.
- firepit : was on top of 3 foot tiki sculpture. nice for night and friends.

didn't work:

- the 25' tower took more energy to build than we'd ever want to do again.
-(fully framed)
- the weather this year
- no tarp over our tent. the blistering morning hours in a hot tent....joy....
- one dork at our camp eating riddelin.........

dj_john69 · Post by **dj_john69** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 2:53 am

in 8 years at BM...

What worked:
~margarita machines (frozen = good times !!)
~zip lock bags (variety of sizes)
~lotion and clean socks everyday
~frozen otter pops (YUMMY)
~cup o noodles
~smiling

~GOOD glow sticks (great presents at night)
~scaffolding tower (we did a 70' one in 2002...damn crazy views !!)
~compressed air cans (for electronics)
~disposible cameras with flash
~bringing EXTRA gas (10 gallons)
~good ear plugs
~dry ice

What didn't work:
~PVC domes...stupid !! (use metal poles)
~air beds (always pop or leak)
~free drugs...haha

~John - Reno

naga brain · Post by **naga brain** » Thu Jan 22, 2004 11:17 am

The huge ice chest

the 5 gallon poney keg with Sebastian's wonderful homebrewed Hefeweisen.

Pre-cooked chickens

What didn't

too many pre-cooked chickens.

No lemons for the Hefeweisen...

Silver · Post by **Silver** » Wed Jan 28, 2004 1:25 pm

What worked
Staying at the Sands for less than $30 and they gave me a $10 gambling card and a free (very so-so) drink. This also put me about 3 blocks from one of the ice places, 4-5 blocks from a water place and about two miles from the surplus place. Putting the gambling card into a 25 cent roulette machine and hitting spin until it was all gone. Ending up with $19 in quarters and then leaving the casino.

Buying a clunker bike in Sacramento, adjusting it, riding it for a week and then giving it to Desert Ratt on the way out.

Bringing bike tools.

MRE's for gulp and go meals

Sarongs

A large one burner cooker that doubled as a heater.

300 handmade medallions for gifting

Decorating the bike

Having an extra ice chest with block ice and dry ice (tape the seams and cover with Mylar) I had ice for a good-by drink on Monday and I never bought any.

Pee bottle to avoid dawn hikes to the potty

Having extra room in the truck for a kid from the Black Rock Hostel

As I was flying back to the East coast; finding a young couple who did not have much and giving them the stuff I had bought specifically for the week. Ice chests, booze, sleeping bag, and god knows what all.

Staying Monday night in Reno on the way out.

What did not work
Too many MRE's and not enough fresh food

Not bringing my own bike saddle

Dollar store battery powered xmas lights for the bike

Too much booze

Hamm?s beer (don?t laugh, I had never seen it before)

Spending too much time trying to see everything and not enough time meeting and hanging out with random folks.

Being shy around many younger people because of my age (49).

Forgetting how god-damned cold it gets in the desert

Note for Southerners and people from warm climes: My guess is that most of the folks who go on about how hot it is at BRC are either from the West Coast (esp. SF and points North) or who live in air-conditioning. I tend to spend as much time outside in the summer as possible so I never considered it all that hot. It does however fall into the mid-forties at night and that is just plain cold.

Post by **AntiM** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 9:29 am

Since we have entered early planning phase: bump!