Successful or unsuccessful projects

[TestesInSac]

Successes:
Dome, cover and 20'x30' silver tarp fly, which kept my sleeping quarters darker and cooler throughout the day.

The small evap cooler I brought along to filter dust from the air and cool the interior of my dome. I got several comments about the lack of dust on the inside.

A cooler I made from 2" silver faced styrofoam. Kept ice from Sat 23 Aug to Sun 31 Aug. I used 10lbs of dry ice wrapped and placed in the bottom of the cooler, and it kept my chicken good 'til eaten on burn night.

Knock-down bar and stools for the <b>7 Sins Lounge</b>. Big success here, as it held up well to spills and tumbles and slamming shot glasses to the surface after stiff drinks.

Failures:
A flying shade structure that took flight, slicing the playa through with a 24" rebar stake.

[peg]

successes:
or wonderful 10x16 evaporation pond (thanks payo!!) which hooked up to our shower and sink. what a relief not to lug home gallons and gallons of dirty water this year.

sound system hooked up to ipods. so easy! (thanks dave)

registering our camp and not having to do a land rush. makes setting up camp so much more relaxing.

stopping by the dump near fernley on the way home. such a relief to not have all that garbage to deal with. (and the dump is kinda cool)

solar lights. so cheap and work incredibly well guiding us home at night (thanks monica!)

volunteering for the newspaper staff. met the coolest people and felt like i was part of the infrastructure. i'm volunteering at more venues next year!

inviting newbies. you get to experience the burn fresh through their eyes again. a must for veteren burners, it helps you keep the naivete intact.

linen shirts. so cool and comfy all day long.


failures:
i would have preferred a dome again this year as the winds were quite unrelenting this time. we opted for an open shade structure and it took flight twice and wasn't much of a refuge in the storms.

forgot my covered coffee mug and bike basket. never again.[b][/b]

[RebA!]

Successes:
Doing the Eplayan greeter shift. Holy fuck was that the most fun ever. Total success.

Oops forgot this one success. The Dr. pyro method of dry ice cooler systeming. We STILL have ice! We bought 40 pounds of dry ice and 17 blocks of ice. We gave away a block of ice as we were packing up for the trip home cause we had no more room for it. Dry ice lasted til thursday? We brought home some decent sized blocks. Maybe we will be bringing those same blocks next year.

Staggering napping and alarm clocks: Was able to keep up with my sleep (is a must have for me there is no way for me to physically function without it) so I staggerd my naps so I was able to get up randomly at different times during the event so I could see night stuff, sunrises and day time stuff.

Hushville: Loved it last year, loved it this year. WIll be there again next year.

Finally getting up the nerve to go into first camp. I delivered a 6 pack of homebrewed beer as the Beer fairy. It was fun and I am glad I did.

Undecided:
10 cases of beer - this is a toss up. I am glad we brought that much, but we still brought home 2 cases, it would of been three had we not given a case to R-pod/Tiara. Will we bring 10 cases next year? Probably. I was also hoping more people would try to find us. But that was not the case..no pun intended

Failures:
Volunteering to do can pick up for recycle camp. Never again. I have always wanted to do that and I did, but I wish I hadnt.

[PJ]

Complete Success: The Great Semi-Authentic Finnish Wife Carrying Contest. A shit load of people showed up! (I figured there was a good chance nobody would.) Couldn't count them all reliably. 50? 100? Playa Air provided beer transportation and a race announcer's platform. That was soooo cool of them.

Ordinary Success: My packing and camping routine. I think the prudence forced upon one by travelling in a small plane is a big plus. Only the really important stuff is even considered for bringing. Most people in town seem to me to have an awful lot of stuff to deal with. But then my shade structure is buit into the transportation vehicle.

Nice Success: Getting to finally meet in real life the E-Playa people who's writing I enjoy so much. Made the trip worth it.

Failure: Oops, I seem to have run out of space.

[stuart]

total success, the RP screen. Many thanks go to Bob for the batton idea. It worked like a charm. Our backup screen was never needed.
the structure was also rock solid, although we did do some retrofitting after fridays (before opening) weather whoopass display.
partial success was the souvenir stand. While the individual items were a big hit, the execution of it as a whole was lame. My bad.

my heartfelt thanks to those of you who gave me love and ego for the video.

[Lydia Love]

Success: Have to agree with Reba on the greeter shift - that kicked some butt

Success: getting to go to a friends wedding at dawn on Sunday

Success: My my fabulous polar fleece coat - it never got so cold I couldn't have gone stark naked under it- that puppy is going back next year.

I think almost everything else falls into the category of partial success - I enjoyed the hell out of the name badges but I'm afraid a fair number of them became moop - I could have put more thought into that.

I have no idea on the art project - my husband reports that the area all around our masks had been walked into dust - if anyone has pictures of four solar lit masks out in the wholly other I'd appreciate seeing 'em.

I enjoyed the hell out of my own costumes (a big part of my own personal art) but neglected to have any pictures of me taken in them. Neglected to take many pictures of *anything* but having some sort of pictoral proof of my own sexiness might have helped me keep the feeling alive this year.

[PJ]

...I enjoyed the hell out of the name badges but I'm afraid a fair number of them became moop...

Not mine. It's safely residing in my folder of "keeper" stuff and will stay there forever. (Unless I need to be known as Your Father, Luke again some day.)

[Lydia Love]

Unless I need to be known as Your Father, Luke again some day

You never know!

Actually *my* first badge became moop - but i had enough badges to draw again

and became Tse Tse: the Flygirl for the rest of the week. Suited me just fine.

[Ivy]

I'm holding onto mine, too. "Hello, I'm a mess" was totally appropriate.

[Jane Eric]

For the second year we were unable to fully experience the hydraulic scissor lift. We had it working early in the week and had several people tell us later in the week that they must have been messed up because they thought they saw the plane fly. It did, then it did under the radar. It seems the lift was so well made that it bent the frame of the truck. Ooops.

I'm pretty sure that the next time the plane flies we will have our welder and equipment on the playa to attach the wings and do repairs. Too much time was spent under that thing, searching out bar stock and c channel, etc, etc, etc. We missed a handful of charters because of the constant babying that thing required. Version 1.0 has been named 'Fireball', v 2.0 will be 'The Heidi'. Just a bit of corporate restructuring is required, that's all.

Again, the postitive has been the reaction the airline itself. It's totally worth it to haul that ten thousand pound elephant over the mountain. What we wanted out of it was interaction with participants. We got it.

[Zane5100]

My camp worked out far better than I had hoped.

Hell, my shade structure actually resembled my drawings.

[blyslv]

The Bar was a complete success, we had several people tell us it was their favorite place to visit, lots of repeat visitors. Eli Eli Eli and pals showed up in TOTAL drag and we got many fabulous pictures of them dancing to Shocrow's crooning. People also said that it was more interactive then most bars. Only one person walked away when we insisted they do something with gender. Booker's sign rocked. Our costumes were a helluva lot of fun. (It's fun to wear a dress, but I'm glad I piss standing up...) The voting for Big Wall Bondage Barbie was well received.

Camping with some strangers was a partial success. There was a little energy vampirism from some newbies. My personal shade structure worked, but it could provide more shade and look better in the future.

My own emotions sometimes got the better of me but I never said anyting I wish I hadn't.

[naga brain]

Successes for me included the Lovemonkey (Solo Collective) inspired Quansit Hut. That was just about perfect. And it became the central gathering place for all of us in the Highlab out there on Theory and Received (4:15). It went well with the LED light strings... our neighbors rocked. Shout out to the Canadians who were not all Canadian and the folks from Massachusetts, the couple in the RV from Klaimath Falls and the Biodiesel circus folks across the street. I know now how a community is supposed to function.

Partial successes was the whole kitchen set up. Didn't like how it got crowded. I think more of a big square or dome would be better. And we had a lot of food left over...

Failures-- And speaking of the dome. I made a conduit dome, a 2v version and it went together just fine in the backyard as did its dome covering from silver tarp (I am glad to hear I was not the only one who did this.) But when we got to the Playa, the playaelves made off with one of the struts and replaced it with an incorrect size!!!! I believe in appeazing the elves now! We put that thing up and took it down so many times that the folks next door renamed us the Perpetual Dome Builder Camp! So at least we got some humor out of it. So the hut's coming back, and I am not so sure about the dome...

Overall I'll be watching this board to make something new next year!

B

[PurpleKoosh]

I have no idea on the art project - my husband reports that the area all around our masks had been walked into dust - if anyone has pictures of four solar lit masks out in the wholly other I'd appreciate seeing 'em.

Those were yours? My sweetie and I were driving around on Tuesday (the joys of a staff permit!) and happened across them by chance. Would you be willing to explain a little more about what they were supposed to represent? I loved them, but wished I understood them more....

[Halo Joe]

I enjoyed the hell out of the name badges but I'm afraid a fair number of them became moop.

Not mine! I'm STILL the proud parent of a student at Gerlach Middle School...

[playasnake]

failed project: getting the opera singer from the temple burn broadcast out to all the art car sound systems there....

next year.

[Lydia Love]

I loved them, but wished I understood them more....

Huh... yeah, I kind of wish I did too. They were largely more about the act of creating them than anything else...(for me - my husband probably has a more thoughtful answer).

Each mask had a separate thematic throughline decided on the general appearance and my husband and I both wrote stream of conciousness style and then handed our words over to the other person to dissassemble and then reassemble onto the masks.

The one I most connected with was the skull-like one. I can tell you very definately that one had to do with my feelings on death and change.

[robbidobbs]

Successes: The Pottie Project once again was successful because of the increasing community awareness from Citizens like you.
My Poop Patrol uniform was an off-white prairie outfit that would have gone into deep storage hiding if I hadn't the epiphany just prior and brought it. Hey! In the land of blinky lights, Prairie Girl stood out like a neon sign. Worked in hot and cold weather, and I had fun in the long skirt.
Taking time off every 2 days, cause I was often working double shifts and needed the down time BAD. I'll do the same schedule next year.

Failures: Note to self: bring a case of cigarettes to the Playa. Bumming 'em gets old fast.

[Flux]

I'd just like to interject here:

robbidobbs, you ROCK!

Thanks for all your hard work for portapottical correctness. I realize you have helpers and comrades-in-johns and all that, but you seem to be the tireless catalyst for the positive changes that have occurred in the potty world over the past few years. Thank you, from the bottom of my, well, bottom!

[clandyone]

I already posted this, but it's all the way down in Potpourri and who reads that shit anyway? So, here it is again.

Big success: 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.

[Flux]

Clandyone, that sounds great! I was thinking of doing something similar (though on a much less ambitious scale), but was stymied by the question of how to pressurize the water for the misters. How did you accomplish that?

[clandyone]

Clandyone, that sounds great! I was thinking of doing something similar (though on a much less ambitious scale), but was stymied by the question of how to pressurize the water for the misters. How did you accomplish that?

I'm handing this over to my husband; it was really his project. Here he is:

"Hello...
The rig i put together starts with a six gallon reservoir, replenished regularly with cooler runoff - a full tank lasts about 2 hrs. Next in the chain is an electric diaphragm pump that can safely run dry (very important - lets you set it and forget it). Low flow, wide angle nozzles work best for conserving water. The vendor i bought this stuff from is called ecologic technologies (www.cloudtops.com) - nice people."

Ecologic Tech will hook you up with the whole shebang. The short answer to your question -- you need that electric pump. It was the most expensive part of the rig, but it doesn't draw much power and is pretty hardy. It also self-cools and has no intake, so dust can't get in. Good deal.

[Flux]

Thanks, clandyone and husband!