A Burning Man Blog by Mike

This past weekend Bill and I went to SoulStance. It’s a warmup for Burning Man. I met some great Burners that answered all of my millions of questions. No one gave a thumbs down to our idea of making a foamboard Yurt. Below are the notes that I took. I remembered using the cooling vests and bandana’s from hot weather motorcycle riding for cooling folks off. I think that it would work great at BM. There are sites that have DIY pages so you can make your own. Here is a link for some nice commercial versions.

Geraldo +
Springbar Vagabond 4, ~$400
Army surplus tent stakes (Red, tempered)
Wrap around pants/long sleeves Thaicraftwarehouse.com
Fur covered straps back pack straps (Camelback)
Blinkey leds on Camelback.
Dust goggles – clear @ night, dark @ day
Dust masks
Head lamp w/lithium batts
Camelback with pockets for masks
Reflective clothes and bands
Water holding bandana (motorcycle)
Don’t accept food and drinks from strangers
Baby wipes
Vinegar spray bottle for alkaline dust
Towels evaporate water fast
Catch pan for dripping vehicles fluids
Single ply toilet paper
FRS not working in camps. Ok on Playa
Hats with strings – 2 hats!
2 pairs of shades -> Snow blind!
Tribe.net thaicraftwarehouse.com Thai clothing
M-Th easier to view artwork. Less crowded
Leaving Monday morning easier
Say in Reno afterwards & shower
El lighting
Gray water evaporation AEZ 12-3 Sun
Bicycle jerseys (long sleeve) Bill

El wire Adhesive E-6000 from TAP and Michael’s
EL Panel
Keep out of sund – Harms EL wire
Coolight.com Florida Coolneon.com Oakland
Use copperwire for moving joints
Use multiple inverteres – one for each strand
Inverters rated to power ‘X’ feet of EL wire
Use heatshrink with adhesive inside for weather proofing
Coppertape for soldering power leads to different EL Wire diamters
High bright or low bright EL wire
Playa = 4k feet altitude
Human Carcass wash -> Poly Paradise Camp 3-5pm daily
Yurt Cooling? Evaporative? Wind Powered?
Swamp coolers -> sustainabiliville camp
Ember from AEZ builds Evapotron
Ask AEZ mayor for camping space & about 120v power access

It look like Bill is on board with going to Burning Man. He wants to camp with the Roller Disco guys. I’m bringing my skates as well. I’m still searching for a camp to join. I am really impressed with the idea of a Yurt made from foam insulation boards. It’s suppose to help keep the interior temperature down. We will ask folks about that at the Soulstance gathering this coming weekend. We are rookies after all. We also talked about renting a large truck for bringing all of our stuff.

Here is an url that has a fellow’s experience with building a Yurt at BM the way Bill and I want to.

Here is an 8 foot high HexaYurt being set up on the playa.

I’m reading and searching madly for info on tents and sleeping gear specifically for Burning Man this year. The other thing I did today was to convert to this WordPress format of blogging.  Here are some great links.

Tents, a major camping site, desert structures, and the Burning Man forum.

Here is a fantastic 360 degree photograph at Burning Man.

Here is a great short movie made of Burning Man 2008.