Peace Poi Camp

As you probably know by now, we're camping with the Alternate Energy Zone this year. They just got their location assignment:

Just got this link to the BRC Theme Camp List from the Black Rock Ranger email board. AEZ is in a familiar locale:

Alternative Energy Zone village 5:00 and Catharsis 500 x 500

http://www.burningman.com/themecamps/FinalCampList_05.htm

Here is a link to the Black Rock City Plan map:

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/maps/05_maps/index.html

And here are some nearby camps locations:

Chillonia Catharsis and 4:30 50 x 150 Satan Cakes
Furtopia 4:30 and Catharsis 150 x 150 Satan Cakes
Anonymous Camp Catharsis and 5:30 100 x 100 Josephine
Blyss Abyss: Psychoasis Catharsis and 5:30 100 x 100 Josephine
Cafe Village Catharsis and 5:30 200 x 400 Josephine
Conscious Craving Catharsis and 5:30 100 x 100 Josephine
Kidsville 5:30 and Ego 400 x 300 Josephine
Hushville 5:30 x Ego 400 x 350 Satan Cakes
Art Car Camp Catharsis and 6:00 150 x 200 Josephine
HeeBeeGeeBee Healers 7:30 and Ego 200 x 350 Scout

The 2005 city map is out! You can read more about it at:

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/maps/05_maps/

A detailed PDF of the map itself is at:

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/maps/05_maps/05_map.pdf

Woohoo! We just got our 2005 Burning Man Survival Guide in the mail yesterday. If you haven't gotten yours, please read the online version:

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/index.html

I happily stumbled upon Box Dog Bikes on 14th earlier today and ordered a bike. Super nice folks and they're building my bike custom with a small deposit. It will be with these type of ape hanger bars, but a cruiser frame & seat. Sweet.

No matter what we call it, it has to get done. Here are the stuff that needs to be done. Please sign up for one or more:

• MOOP Patrol - see Burningman's top 10 MOOP avoidance tips. This requires everyone's participation.
• Loading Muscle - the early arrivers will be bringing the shade structure, power system, furniture, and a million other things for the rest of the camp to enjoy. They'll need help loading the vehicles. We need lots of people for this.
  
• Music Spinner - provide all genres of music for our entertainment. You can bring it via an iPod-like device, audio or MP3 CDs.
• Recycling Satyr/Nymph - organize the recycling and trash. Set up and label bins and instruct campers. Aluminum beer cans are accepted by the Recycling Camp and the proceeds are donated to local schools. Other types of recyclables have to be packed out and recycled at home. Wet trash has to be packed out and dumped at home. Dry burnable trash (paper, dried banana peels, dried carrot tops, etc) can be burned.
  [2005/08/14: Hoshi has taken on this job.]
  
• Coffee Genie - keep the coffee thermos filled in the morning for all the bleery eyed campers. We'll provide the French Press and the exquisite, organic, Free Trade coffee from Rainbow Co-Op.
  [2005/08/07: Susan wants to be the Quoffee Queen.]
  
• Liquid God/dess - keep the gatorade container filled for everyone. Remind everyone to rehydrate.
  
• Kitchen God/dess - keep the kitchen organized so that camp members can use it effectively. Responsibilities include: keep the strainer clean, make sure the stoves are off (see picture of what happens otherwise), change stove propane canisters as necessary, clean up food and other loose things so they do not become MOOP, keep dishpans covered
  
• Camp Queen/King - keep the camp organized so it's a joy for the participants, tie down or put away loose things so they don't become MOOP.
  
• Pond Scum Skimmer - make sure that the evaporation pond is working properly; help people dispose of their water in the pond
  
• MOOP Sargeant - last thing before we leave, organize everyone to walk a grid of the camp and remove every single piece of MOOP.
  [Jenny just volunteered for this commanding role (Jul 15).]
  
• Pond Scum Taker Backer - if the evaporation pond still has water in it at the end of the event, haul it back home. We'll provide a restaurant bucket or two.
  
• Unloading & Unpacking Muscle - all the infrastructure stuff that comes back from the event has to be unloaded from the vehicles, unpacked, and put into their rightful places. We need lots of people for this.

"MOOP" stands for Matter Out Of Place - that's anything that doesn't already belong in the desert. Anything we bring in and drop on the playa is MOOP.

For 2005, here's a list of projects:

• Lightweight, low-hassle shading for tents so that people can sleep in longer; some options are: floppy parachute and PVC quonset.
• Organized kitchen with sink, storage, and cooking areas. This fancy GSI Gourmet Camp Kitchen looks nice, and though it's $150 at REI, it's cheaper elsewhere.
• Wind turbine to supplement our solar system. Last year, our sound system and el-wire lights were on the verge of draining the battery. We can either get a bigger battery (means more weight and bulk), or supplement it at night with a simple turbine. As you know, there's no lack of wind on the playa. [Bill is working on this one.]
  
• Night detector circuit for triggering the nights. I already got the kit from Jameco - just have to solder it up. [2005/08/07: Done - using last night's Saag Chicken take-out container.]
  
• Brighter lights than the el-wire from last year. The el-wires were beautiful and funky, but they weren't bright enough to cook by at night. I bought some "cold cathode" tubes (blue, green UV, white) and will be testing them out. On the other hand, perhaps we can just cook by headlights?
  
• Make the power controller box a little safer. There are way too many exposed wires on the charge controller/battery box. I need to convert the open terminals into a bunch of molex connectors so that they are ready for plugging. Probably should change all the automobile cigarette lighter sockets to molex, too.
• Build bunch of extension cords with molex connectors to wire up the shade structure. 10 and 20 footers will probably be the most usable. 14 gauge color coded wires will be great.
• Build inline flasher LEDs to plug our warning lights in. The lights will keep us from running into guide lines and stubbing our toes on tent pegs. The flashers will save power and make the lights more obvious.
  

Our first kickoff BBQ for 2005 will be on Saturday, July 16th, at Jenny's Lower Haight studio. Afterwards, we can go to the San Francisco debut of IGNITE!

It looks like Bosco, Susan, Hoshi, Bill, Joe, and Jenny will be the definites for 2005. Marisa, Kathleen, and Darcey expressed interest, but they don't have tickets yet.

EDIT 2005/07/08: The kickoff BBQ will be at Jenny's place in Mountain View. Remember to RSVP.