Yearly Archives: 2008

Thursday afternoon – The Playa


There’s no internet or cellphone for about 50 miles.. so I’ll have to post this later. Maybe I can find internet somewhere in center camps. It’s going to be just impossible to describe  the scene here at burning man . It’s the most amazing, chaotic, wonderful and nasty thing I’ve ever done. I’m typing this in nearly 100 degree weather, caked with alkali dust that;s so think that I look like a ghost.. We all stink mightily for lack of showers.. and I gotta say.. I FEEL GREAT. We got here last night around 7.. I’ll post the pictures when I get on. )  We waited in line for about 45 minutes to get in.. it was really cool seeing all the other burners in line.. lots of interesting style statements… for some reason cross dressing is a big thing this year.. and then… there are always a few  naked pis minions had already set up everything for us. All we needed to do was to pitch people walking around.. I feel like a republican in my khaki shorts and tie die lab coat… We got to camp to find that Duane and his minions had set everything up for us… all we had to do was pitch our tent..  We settled in .. then headed out to check out the scene.. we went out in multiple groups… into the crowd.. there’s somewhere between 40 and 50 thousand folks here.. so it was pretty easy to lose track of folks.. I ended up by myself wandering around until about 3 AM. I saw some amazing stuff.. wild art cars sprouting fire, soap bubbles filled with hydrogen that you could pop with a flame thrower , huge burning sculptures.. giant arcs of light up balloons, and fire… everywhere. Everybody walking or riding a bike covered with the most amazing range of blinking and light up gadget. My wildest blinky thing wouldn’t even get a second look here.. ..

   I think the night is best captured in pictures.. so I’ll fill that in when I post…

   I went home around 3… and went to sleep.. Max must have come in sometime after that.. because he was there when I woke up around 8.   We’ve been sitting around camp ever scince decorating the RV, our bikes and our selves.. We had a great juevos rancheros breakfast a couple of hours back. Imax is off looking for some friends he made on the plane.. I’m going to find my friends Jeff and Michelle from Las Vegas.. I r

   Tonight We’ll probably all cruise around together.. I’m sure it will be fiuun, amazing and exhausting…

 

 

 I’ll let you know.. So.. happy burning folks.. u2 Sam.

-me

 

ps. Just found some internet… but forgot my camera cable.. sorrrrry !

pss.. Hi Diane and Gabe.. I love you guys !…

psss. We’re at Fairlane and 2:10 if anyone is looking for us !

Tuesday morning – on my way

I’m sitting in the Albany Airport waiting for my 7:30 AM flight to Reno by way of Chicago.The flight from Albany was the only one I could find that was affordable and got me out in time to meet up with my posse in Reno for the drive to Burning Man. I drove down last night and slept in my car… It sounded like a better idea than leaving home at 2AM this morning.. It worked out well.

I took advantage of the drive down to stop in and visit Homer . He’d rigged up the other arm on our Project-X.. and he wanted me to see it. I was so glad I stopped. It is truly scary and amazing.. even without it’s clothes on… 12 feet tall without it’s head.. and able to reach out and menace people.. What a great project !

We had a crowd of would be victims there too.. Including our buddy Lee S.

I got here at around 1 AM.. parked in the airport long term parking spot V.. (Remind me if I ask)

I made myself comfy then went to sleep

I’m s’possed to be boarding now.. so .. talk to you alter.. not sure when my next post will be…

Love you all.. love you Sam !
-me

Monday night – Simple post, complex day

 

Friends.. I apologize.. It’s late (1 AMish) and I really have to get some sleep. I’m heading off to burning man tomorrow evening after dinner.. and … as jerry garcia always said… “i like to get some sleep before I travel….”

My day was long and exhausting.. I have some many things going on right now.. I’m trying to get a bunch of stuff done before taking off the rest of the week. I feel kinda guilty for taking these days off.. but the fact that Max is goign with me makes it feel allright..

I spent last night reading all about the dos and donts of goign to the burn.. It’s got more rules than you can imagine.. check out this burning man survival guide to see what I mean

I am so psyched to be going…

I did most of my packing tonight.. 2 sleeping bags, sleeping pads and a tent to share.. and abotu 100 pounds of SamStones to give out. There’s a culture of ‘gifting’ there where you give stuff to others.. no trading or selling.. just give.. I think SamStones are perfect for that.. now if the airline will just let me ship them !

OK.. it’s really late.. I have a cricket at my feet telling me to go to sleep. And who am I to ignore a cricket ?

Noght folks.. Night Sam.. be with me at the Burn
-me

Saturday afternoon – iron miracle

Hi friends,
It’s 5ish on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I’m blogging now because Diane and I are heading to the Fair to see Prairie Home Companion . I wanted to blog now while the following story was fresh in my mind

I’ve had a pretty low key day which is just what I needed.. Diane went walking with Kathy so I took the dogs on a run up Honey Hollow. When I got back I was thinking of all the things I to do .. and feeling kind of weighted down by that.. So I asked myself what I wanted to do. I felt like doing something Sam related.. so I wandered into my lab. There on my work surface was the tree of iron SamStones that I’d cast at the iron pour back in July. When you cast something there are lots of extra bits of iron that represent the channels where the hot metal poured in and flowed through.. (Think about the plastic models you may have built as a kid..) these chases need to be cut apart and ground down to make a finished piece.. ..

I figured that would be good project to fit my mood.. so.. I started to cut the thing apart. Easier said than done.. I tried a hack saw.. that would have taken a day !.. I tried a cut off wheel.. even that was slow going..

so I broke out my Uzi.. ie. my diomnd bladed cut off tool.. That did it.. it went through the hard metal like butter. In a few minutes I’d cut all the cast iron SamStones apart.

The next step was to grind off the remains of the chaces and sprue..
and remove the ‘flashing’ that sometimes sticks out where the two
halves of the mold come together. I was about to move my stuff up to the grinder when the follwoing small miracle occured. I gatherd up all the rough iron ‘stones’ into my right gloved hands.. they were still hot from the cutting.. then I decided that I needed a picture of this step.. (everthing in my life is blog fodder).. I dropped the pile of stones where I was as I stood up..I didn’t even look at them . went to my work table.. picked up my camera and put in the battery that was charging. I turned on the camer and walked the 3 feed back to where I’d been cutting the stones apart. As iframed the shot.. I notices it looked funny.. This is what I saw through the viewfinder

I swear… it happened exactly like that.. I was stunned for a second.. then said the only thing I could think of.. “Hi Sam”… Then I ran and got Dianea and Gabe.. We took a few more pictures…

Then I picked the stones up and did the final cutting and grinding. As I worked I was thinking of Sam.. and how little we really know about how the unverse is put together..

That boy has a powerful spirit..

THat’s all for now.. We love you Sam.
-me