oo-tee-dee!

About bloody time

So on this new forum you can still create an account, or do you have to email first and be granted access?

This should come to Burning Man as a piece of art However I fear lots of drunken Burners climbing all over it at night, so maybe best displayed in the Center Camp where there is supervision!!!

Hi guys I was contacted by a soon-to-be Sandy who said he emailed to try and get access months ago to these forums but has had no joy - can someone drop him a line? Ta! ecci1976@hotmail.com

Some of the art was burned but not all. It'd be FAB to have a Sandtrooper photoshoot there, the landscape is perfect. The Jawa Sandcrawler art car is a must too but it wasn't there this year

You have to bring all your own food and water but Black Rock City (BRC) runs on a gifting/barter economy - there are no burger vans or places selling food, so if you run out of anything then you have to go see your neighbour and ask them for it, offer a barter or a gift in exchange but mostly they'll give you what you need and not ask for anything in return. It was the toughest week I've gone thru physically, for sure. We camped this year and and I'd not do it agan though, I'm definitely hiring an RV next time. The Black Rock Desert dust is like talcum powder and is very alkaline and gets EVERYWHERE - it dries out your skin and hair and gets into every crack! The peak temperatures are about 40oC in the day and high teens/twenties at night. I hid out in the shande from 1pm to about 4pm as the heat was just too intense for me. Early mornings were sublime though, the sun was cool, the playa was empty, and you go biking round the art sculptures and it's so peaceful. You can't drive in BRC, the only modes of transport are bikes or an art car (which have to be approved and licensed). Get an old bike from the dumpster and do it up - this isn't an event for your posh mountain bike! The sand coats every moving part but most bikes survive the week. The dust storms are tiring but AWESOME - you have to have a dust mask and goggles with you at all times cos they can hit from nowhere and white out within minutes. We went walking in one and it was like a nuclear winter.......you can't see a thing, shapes of people and art cars loom out of the dust then disappear again, and if you're out in the desert among the art then don't even TRY to get back to camp until the storm passes or you could be wandering for hours *Everyone* should do this event at least once in their lives....why not get an MEPT crew together, hire a couple of RVs and get down there? I'll prob n not be going again until 2010 so if you're organising something then I'll be up for joining you. Camp MEPD anyone??? You can do a theme camp on any and every subject - see here for listings for 2008: http://www.burningman.com/themecamps/08_camp_vill_h.html Survival guide here: http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/ See the Man go up in flames here (watch for the mushroom cloud, it shook the ground!): http://current.com/items/89250588_burning_the_man_2008 Thunderdome footage here: http://current.com/items/89250807_welcome_to_thunderdome If you decide to do this event you have to be SURE you can handle the extreme heat, the lack of sleep, and the constant dust. Unless you have an RV it's hard to escape the heat, even in the shade it's boiling. You're out in the desert for a week and there's no escape

Here I am in Vegas with the Neon City Garrison XO Scott Linting (left) and TB128 Phil Cline. Smashing guys, gave me a right good tour of Vegas and finished up with the best baby back ribs in town, mmmmmmmmmmmm....... So I'm back now and my new bathroom is only half installed so I have to shower at work....only half unpacked, got major jet lag, not slept for 48 hours and still don't feel tired. Feck! Let's do it all again!!

Yes you can laugh and insert a caption - here are the two mad hippies I camped with all week, Jim and Drix :D:D:D This was a real Thunderdome where bungee'd up guys (and girls) beat the crap out of eachother with rubber things, would go great at WGW cos it was Cyberpunk central - but Health and Safety in the UK would NEVER allow it - we could climb right up the metal dome to watch and they didn't bat an eyelid here!! These gorgeous propane-burning creations were done by a bunch of San Francisco girls - chicks who weld - YEAH!!!!

I have over 600 photos plus vid clips to sort thru into slide shows, but here is a taster. What an AWESOME week 8) 8) 8) Had a ten hour dust storm on the Monday we got there, and again on the Thurs and Sunday. Total hours sleep for the week, about 12 - total blisters, 4. Mentalist week factor 5,000!!!!!!!!!!!! Sat night when the Man burned was simply the most awesome and electric party atmosphere I've ever witnessed, my camera just couldn't capture and hold that moment. Will definitely be going again. Met lots of cool people including a guy who works for Google in California and he said that the two Google founders are regular burners....cool 8) 8)

The Underground still is great, in the sense that some of the lines and carriages appear very rickety and there are horror stories of the maintenance men re-using old pieces of rail to fix problems on other sections of rail....there is nearly always some line closure and extra replacement buses due to the constant maintenance, but again, considering just how used it is and how many millions of people it transports I'm surprised there's not been a good few nasty accidents to date!

Excellent public transport? Where did you hear that from our rail network is a joke, the London Underground is a marvel considering it is so ancient and underfunded, yet carries millions of people thru London daily, it's cheaper to drive somewhere than it is to get a train, and each time I wait for a bus I'm standing around for at least 45 minutes while the drivers are parked in some layby having a nice break elsewhere! And there is a growing number of Brits who are buying Planet-Killer 4x4s and SUVs, mostly mums who simply use them to drop little Johnny off at school then go fetch the shopping. Like they NEED a 4x4.....they are status symbols here, and parents have it in their heads that their kids are "safer" in a 4x4 cos they are "higher up" - yet that in itself is a danger if they get into a skid or a wobble while driving fast - the higher centre of gravity means they will flip over much easier.

$3.15 a gallon! You guys don't know how lucky you are!!!! We pay £1.60 per litre, so that's over $8 per gallon!!!!! How would you cope with that? Did you know that some face creams cost more per ounce than gold...... And while I'm in a ranting mood, check this out - disgusting: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

Where was the BFG from, what's it made out of? Rather sweet-looking.... PS your Wet Wipes blue tubs look a bit "long"? Glad cistern arrived

What he said

NOOOOOO you cleaned it off??? You used car spray paints? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO! It looked ace before, just the right level of sand and crustiness!!! Do it again!!!!

So what's the timescale of these actually going into proper production?

These too: http://www.epicmilitaria.com/product.php?xProd=744e If they don't post to the states or ripoff charge you for international post, let me know and I can act as an "in-between courier"

Oooh I went to Gettysburg too, forgot about that! I just did a two week tour with my ex, we started in Dayton for the 95th Bomb Group USAAF reunion then just picked spots on the map and drove. Amish country was GORGEOUS! I still want to come back to the States and see the South and all the gorgeous Civil War houses that still exist, also want to do New England too, oh and BURNINGMAN festival

I was in the States in 2005, did Arlington, Washington, Lancaster County, Niagara, Punxsutawney, and Dayton....shame I didn't know any of you guys back then, could have dropped in! BTW GREAT WEATHERING me likey

it seems we Brits have the best loo cisterns for Sandy packs! I'm still shipping the Screwfix ones over to US Sandies

Dare I ask how much that cost..........

I'm thinking about coming over for this next year but can't bring my Sandy, too bulky and they'd never let a T21 into the country! Will be bringing my TB if I come Would love to meet you all!!

I hope you are rehearsing the Sandtrooper Numa Numa, we *will* be doing it!!!!

What's the midsection made out of? Post pics when you've added all the extras....looks good but IMO the end of the barrel needs to be thicker, it's a little narrow....but I'm just a picky Moo

I love the crusty effect and texture you created but erm, it's a bit gingery IMO? Mebbe tone it down with some Fullers, or add a second colour?