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Today, we’ll check in on our intrepid heroes as they count down to the 7pm ‘soft open[1]’ of Charnival!

Here’s what Mirror Blaze looked like Sunday morning:

Mirror Blaze, Sunday morning (day 4 of construction).

And a quick peek at FaIRE Hockey, and our common fuel depot:

FaIRE Hockey, and our common fuel depot, Sunday (build day 4) morning!

Note in the pictures above, you can see the snow fencing used as a safety perimeter around Mirror Blaze and the fuel depot (those are 100lb propane tanks, for scale). We aimed for a 10′ minimum safety perimeter around the fuel depot, but this was never an issue, as we had lots of space.

So, next, we had to add all of the bunting around Mirror Blaze! This went kind of like this:

S: “Could you pass me the drill?” (the bunting was cloth S had cut into pieces slightly larger than 4’x8′ (the size of the mirrors), and then attached gromets around the edge, which would then be drill-screwed into the wooden frame.)
Me: “Here you go.”
Wind: “Wheeeeeee!”
Cloth: “Wheeeeeee! You can’t see me!”
S: “Augh!”

Thankfully, we had help other than the wind:

(l-r Fate, S) Due to an incident with red chromakey, Fate's hair and most of Sarah were removed in post. — (l-r Fate, S) Due to an incident with red chromakey, Fate’s hair and most of Sarah were removed in post.

While all this was happening, we were going through the process of being flame effect certified. After trenching and covering, and covering the flame effect wiring with aluminum foil so that the backdraft ‘FOOMF’ wouldn’t melt the wire insulation, we were ready to install the tube:

The tube was the single point of failure for the project. We had spare mirrors, could wrangle spare posts, spare screws, bolts, wind bracing, propane hose, propane tanks, bunting, gromets, screwdrivers, etc, etc, etc, but if the tube broke, all was lost. It didn’t help that we really didn’t know exactly how strong it was. It was (and still is) a 7′ long 1′ wide quartz tube, so chosen because it’s basically impervious to propane flame (which is why it’s used for fireplace windows/lamps/etc… It was obtained at great expense from China, including some quite involved negotiations[2] by S.

The intrepid build crew who helped mount the tube (Francisco came up with the nifty design for the ‘metal tape’ to hold the tube. It really takes a village.):

Build and tube raising crew day 4 (l-r S, Jack, Francisco, Kosta, Fate (shown in previous slide))

S took a moment to bask in her satisfaction (and the intense midday sun):

S's smug satisfied construction face. — S’s smug satisfied construction face.

We also took a moment to bask in the fact that our local Cheshire Cat NekoBus had received approval from the DMV[3]!:

Splat ecstatic about his Cheshire Nekobus DMV approval! (l-r Splat, Carl, Sara, Greg, Seth)

While Sara was explaining something:

We were immediately caught off guard by a full strength ‘Last Flamethrower’ test:

‘Flamethrower[4] Shooting Gallery’ had been coming to the Burn for a number of years (we convinced them to join us at the Charcade in 2013), but the logistics were getting to them, so they decided to go for one last burn, but wanted to do something a little different. Instead of four flamethrowers, they decided to go for one HUUUGE flamethrower. Honestly, this pic does not do it justice.

Next time, we finish the Mirror Blaze bunting, and we’ll see if we also get approved!

[1]My understanding of the agreement with Burning Man for the honorarium project was that Charnival had to run for a number of days, a number of hours each. My understanding was that this played out as six days at four hours per day. (The six days being Monday-Saturday, with a late start on Saturday because of the Man Burn.) We opened an extra day on the opening Sunday, partly as a ‘shakedown cruise’, partly because we wanted to be open on opening evening, partly because we wanted to open and show off our cool projects.

[2]This included a frantic message in the middle of the night (Toronto time, probably daytime in China) probably in Mandarin that we didn’t understand, but the tube arrived, so I guess it was all okay?

[3]Department of Mutant Vehicles.

[4]In flame effect circles, there is a distinction between ‘flame effects’ and ‘flame throwers’. ‘Flame effects’ are made using gaseous[5] fuel like propane (safe(r) and legal), and ‘flame throwers’ are made using liquid fuel like gasoline (very unsafe and illegal). The Flamethrower Shooting Gallery got special dispensation to use actual flamethrowers by being the most meticulously safety conscious group of people I have ever seen (think a meticulous checklist combined with a range safety officer plus perimeter plus one safety officer per flamethrower plus I’m sure many other things).

[5]Yes, I know it’s a liquid in the tank, but it’s a gas at normal temperatures, so is safe(r) to use for flame effects.

Burning Man in Pictures 2015 XV: A New Day Dawns and Portapotty Commentary

June 10, 2016Uncategorizedadmin

Note: Mild possibly nsfw cartoon nudity in this post.

To finish closing off day 3 (Saturday), we check in on Fire Tetris:

Fire Tetris is up! Check out all the pilot lights! (Note that this is a back view.)

And Fire Tetris is up! Note that each of the pixels are individually addressable flame effects. You can see the pilot lights from the back in this pic.

Also, we check in on the front of house, looking sharp:

Front of house and a peek at Riskee Ball, night 3.

Then, a new day dawns.

I check on my boots. Proper footwear is key for Burning Man. If you go barefoot or wear sandals, which you may be tempted to do because of the heat, if you’re not careful, you’ll end up with ‘playa foot‘. I have plastic plates put on the heels of my boots[1] because apparently I walk really heavily and wear down my heels. The plates help my heels last to prevent knee pain. You can also see in the picture the pernicious playa dust:

Heading to the portapotties, we see some of the most recent expressions of ethos:

The Anarchy Love Equation. For some reason, it seems to fit well on a portapotty door latch.

Also on the same trip, we see a very nice, but pretty standard inspiring saying:

Followed by a zoomed-out picture showing a slightly different expression of the idea:

An inspiring message...at Burning Man. — An inspiring message…at Burning Man.

Last, but not least is a message about baby wipes. Baby wipes are one of the most important currencies at Burning Man, used for your daily cleanup, as most people don’t use showers. However, if they get into the portapotties, they will clog the equipment used to empty them, causing a very bad problem:

A commentary about baby wipes in a portapotty context. Also, I'm about 90% sure that 'Gonzo Frothwood' is a pseudonym. — A commentary about baby wipes in a portapotty context. Also, I’m about 90% sure that ‘Gonzo Frothwood’ is a pseudonym.

If you’re counting, we’re now in day 4 (Sunday), which also happens to be opening night for Burning Man. Thankfully, during day 3, we had completed the structure for Mirror Blaze, so all that remained was the cosmetic ‘big top’ bunting. Before we get to that, let’s check in on how the rest of Charnival was doing.

Here’s Riskee Ball looking mighty fine from the front:

Riskee Ball looking might fine from the front... — Riskee Ball looking might fine from the front…

With all of the intense construction activity happening in the back, tightening all the joins, attaching all the piping:

Riskee Ball intense construction activity behind the scenes... — Riskee Ball intense construction activity behind the scenes…

Fate was continuing Hellblazer[2] trenching (to attach propane lines to the fuel depot, I assume), with one of my most favourite hats ever:

Hellblazer trenching, accompanied by Fire Tetris and Francis the Fantastic.

Next time, we’ll check in on Mirror Blaze, and see how things are progressing!

[1]Nick’s Shoe Repair on Dupont. They are excellent and timely. Why not give them a call?

[2]Hellblazer was (and still is!) a highstriker.

Burning Man in Pictures 2015 XIV: Sneaky Robots and A Maze Structure-Complete!

June 9, 2016Things We've Built, Traveladmin

Last time, we had just finished dealing with a windstorm, and had taken a break for dinner. Later that night, it was time to get back to work.

On the way, we passed a variable forklift helping to construct a geodesic dome, as you do.

On our way to the installation, we passed a variable forklift helping to construct a geodesic dome, as you do.

We also ran into this sneaky guy:

While I distracted him, S snuck around behind…:

…and they became close friends (there were no survivors):

Last stop on our trek before the installation was the phenomenal ‘Medusa’ being constructed at centre camp. This picture does not do justice to the immense scale (there were dance parties all week underneath it):

Medusa at centre camp under construction. This picture does not truly capture the scale of the piece.

Finally reaching the installation, we took a second to check on our fuel depot, but our tank was happy, as it had found a friend:

But what was that in the distance? A red swingline stapler art car?:

We got back to work putting up mirrors with our fearless build crew. Here you can see three of them hard at work (I think l-r Evan, Kosta, Greg) (Also note the ever-present camelbak. Essential for hydration, even at night:

Intense Mirror Blaze work. (I think l-r Evan, Kosta, Greg) (Also note the ever-present camelbak. Essential for hydration, even at night.

Finally, after many hours, we were structure complete! All posts up, all mirrors up! All ready for fire certification tomorrow! All we need is bunting and wiring!

A blurry end to night 3 construction! (l-r Evan, Greg, Kosta, S)

At the same time, Marc was hard at work on FaIRE Hockey, doing his impression of a human fire Zamboni:

Marc, hard at work on FaIRE Hockey, doing his best impression of a human fire Zamboni.

Next: More of the evenings activities, and build day 4 (the last build day!) and opening night!

“It felt like flying.”

June 8, 2016Fiction, Nostalgiaadmin

Walking, walking, walking. It felt like that was all he ever did. He didn’t mind, though, it was actually kind of fun. Most of the time, there would be new things to see, or at least new people. In a city of five million, you would rarely see the same person twice, unless you were specifically going somewhere to meet someone.

But today was different. He was biking instead. He had avoided it for years, after an accident in his youth, where his back carrier had become detached, lodged in the spokes of his back wheel, throwing him over his handlebars.

He had wondered if riding a bike was really ‘like riding a bike’, that you never actually forgot. He wondered how all of the muscle memory (if that was what it really was) worked, to help him keep his balance. He wondered if he’d ever be as balanced as those who biked without hands.

And so he went out and bought a bike. It was nicely coloured, and had front and rear shocks. Not too expensive. It spoke to him somehow. Strongly enough that he didn’t notice that pun until many years later.

Slowly at first, he tried the bike. It rode well, and it turned out that riding a bike was in fact ‘like riding a bike’.

He rode that bike for years, his trusty steed, even getting it repaired for more than it cost to purchase, after an unfortunate overnight stay in a bad neighbourhood. But it was too important, and he was too attached to it to let it go. They continued, and had many adventures together, braved travails and stress, pain and joy.

Some time later, he and the bike moved on to a new place. They continued their adventures, but they were increasingly discovering that riding was causing him pain in the knees. It was time to move on, but he wanted to make sure the bike would continue adventuring, especially because of all they had been through together.

So he put out the call. He put a price on it, not because the money was important, but because he wanted whomever the new person was to take it seriously.

He met the new person, he was a good person. He went away with the bike, sending back a picture as a momento. But the bike had given him an even better parting gift.

Looking back many years later, the bike’s new person had become a good friend. One last time, the bike brought him together.

But perhaps some of that spirit had transferred to his new trusty steed. Biking down the street near what would be their home, his new bike brought him towards a person who would end up being very special indeed.

New Job, New Flows, New Structures

June 7, 2016Agile, Idle Speculation, Organizing Systems, Software Developmentadmin

So you’re moving to a new organization. You know that what you will be doing will be different, you may even have read up on it.

But there are going to be all kinds of unexpected differences, and they’re likely going to come from the most unexpected directions.

Each organization has its own flows (I’m going to talk about software, as those are the flows I know best).

When an organization is writing software, there is generally some sort of version control-coding-testing-release pipeline. However, there are many different pieces of helper software for each of these steps.

There’s the flow of information as clients are using software. Information supplied by the clients, information supplied by your organization, and these all have to work together smoothly to solve whatever the client’s problem is.

The way that feedback from clients is turned into actionable items can be vastly different between organizations.

On the transition line between flow and structure, the way that teams are divided often reflect historical decisions made in antiquity, often the division of labour of the first few people writing the code for the first iteration of the product.

Information will be flowing through this system while the software is running, effectively handing off from team to team.

There will be structured and unstructured information flows in the organization. Many people are at their most effective when they receive all of their new information before it arrives through official channels.

Even the structured flow of information can be very different, for example in a very flat organization such as Valve.

So, be mindful, and watch for the different flows. You may be surprised at how different each organization is (or how similar).

New Beginnings, A Glorious Dawn

June 6, 2016Music, Noises, Nostalgia, Science!, Space!admin

Since I’m starting a new job tomorrow, I leave you with one of my favourite songs ever, a song that makes my cry every time I listen to it:

Burning Man in Pictures 2015 XII: Build (Windstorm) Day Three (Part Two)!

June 4, 2016Things We've Built, Traveladmin

Yesterday, we showed the first pictures of what a 70km/h windstorm can do to an installation at Burning Man. Here are some more pics!

First, we went over to check more closely on Mirror Blaze. We found that the emergency door had blown in, but that’s fine, as the structure was sound, and the emergency exit is supposed to open easily, anyway:

The Mirror Blaze emergency exit, blown in after a windstorm.

Also, dunes!:

With Mirror Blaze under control, we continued on our quest to bring back information about the other installations. Next up was the wall that had fallen on one of the sets of propane storage tanks (my bike for scale). This was the worst of it (and really not bad at all). It just needed a couple of people to lift the wall up (it had gotten impaled on one of the fence posts). The propane tanks were in no real danger. The wood that had fallen was pretty light (looks like normal <1" plywood to me), but we were still very glad that propane tanks are designed well: [caption id="attachment_1866" align="alignnone" width="604"] This is why we build so many safety features into propane tanks and fire art installations.[/caption]

Zooming in, you can see why propane tanks have those metal guards on the top, along with the huge (guarded) regulator apparatus for the four 100-lb tanks you see:

A close up of why we have layers of safety.

Continuing on to Riskee Ball, we found a ‘deadman switch‘[1] which was attempting to live up to its name:

"It's dead (man switch), Jim." — “It’s dead (man switch), Jim.”

I checked the back side of Riskee Ball, and it looked fine (as far as I could tell) with the aluminum lane backing failing safe and blowing out to allow the wind to pass through:

The backside of Riskee Ball, showing the (fail-safe) blow-through aluminum lane backing panels.

Our survey complete, we decided to head back to camp to report our findings. We were guided on our path by the dirigible fleet:

The dirigible fleet guides us back to camp.

Along the way, we found some booty blowing in the wind, which was appropriately claimed by the Totenkitten Empire:

Windstorm booty claimed by the Totenkitten Empire.

Stopping in camp to rest and let some of the wind blow over, we received this useful notification:

We also ran into this hardcore niceguy:

Also, Magill and Carl were outside contemplating the wind and dust:

Next time, we’ll look at some things you can use to help you deal with dust storms!

[1]’Dead Man’s Switch’es are standard on fire installations. A human operator must be pressing on the switch at all times during operation, or fire will not happen. This is generally done through a mechanical switch or optical isolator to prevent an electrical short from circumventing the switch.

Burning Man in Pictures 2015 XIII: Windstorm Equipment and Accessories

June 4, 2016Uncategorizedadmin

Most recently, we covered a windstorm.

I spent most of the day looking like this:

This is how I spent most of my day. Does my hair always look like this?

And when I went out on expedition:

Me on expedition. (t-b Tilley hat, motorcycle goggles as seen on Downton Abbey, the same Stanley respirator my dad always used for woodworking).

For those interested in the individual items:

Tilley hat, the hat that can be eaten by an elephant, multiple times, washed, and is good as new. Also UPF 50+, critical if you’re going to be in the sun all day.

Motorcycle Goggles, I liked these ones because they had really good visibility, and they weren’t curved glass, so I felt I could see better[1].

Respirator, an old standard. The same or similar model that my dad uses for wood working.

[1]They’ve also appeared on Downton Abbey!

Burning Man in Pictures 2015 XI: Build (Windstorm) Day Three!

June 3, 2016Things We've Built, Traveladmin

In our last picture post, we talked about the incipient windstorm. It turns out that winds had reached 70km/h overnight.

Waking up, we saw this sequence of bike-ominoes:

Bikeominoes! (An ominous way to start the day after an overnight windstorm...) — Bikeominoes! (An ominous way to start the day after an overnight windstorm…)

However, through luck or skill, our S’s trusty steed:

S's trusty steed, unscathed (but still scathing) from the 70km/h windstorm! — S’s trusty steed, unscathed (but still scathing) from the 70km/h windstorm!

And mine:

My trusty steed, still steeding up after the windstorm!

were still standing, which we chose to take as a fortuitous portent.

(Also, the fact that you can see the Quonset[1] still standing in the background is also a good sign. In 2013, it was taken out by a windstorm a couple days into Early Arrival. Interesting Times.)

Taking a quick portapotty break, we saw this inspiring message:

An inspiring message in the portapotty: "Naked until you make it". — An inspiring message in the portapotty: “Naked until you make it”.

Evan, Dug, and I set out to assess the damage to the Charnival installation:

Evan & Dug setting out to survey after the windstorm.

On the way, we passed a chair that was clearly off its rocker:

The Playa can seem simultaneously desolate and beautiful. For me, in this light, the desolation seems predominant (though still beautiful):

Late last night, we had decided to test our luck with the windstorm by piling every dense object we could find (fence posts, socket sets, toolboxes full of screws, fire extinguishers) on top of our two yellow/black bins of tools/fabric/etc…

And it worked! It was all still there after the 70km/h windstorm! (Although, if you’d been hefting those fence posts all day, you would probably understand why.):

I can't believe that worked! (l-r bikerack with mini-dunes, extraneous fencepost, fenceposts & tools & toolboxes of screws piled on top of a container, fence posts & fire extinguishers piled on a container, extra snow fencing). — I can’t believe that worked! (l-r bikerack with mini-dunes, extraneous fencepost, fenceposts & tools & toolboxes of screws piled on top of a container, fence posts & fire extinguishers piled on a container, extra snow fencing).

And then the moment of truth. Had Mirror Blaze itself survived, or would have extra days of back-breaking work to repair things? Luckily (or perhaps skilfully), it was still proudly standing, flying the flag[2]:

Mirror Blaze still flying the flag after the windstorm!

Riskee Ball was also okay, but the dirigible fleet seemed to have knocked over one of the Charnival walls:

More exciting wind effects (and non-effects) in our next installment!

[1]For those who care, the Quonset was a skeleton of 2″(I think) grey PVC piping bent into an approximate half-cylinder, with a skin of tarp. The skeleton pipes were held in place by rebar pounded into the ground (I think candycane, 3′). There were also multiple long ropes helping to hold things together. This is a somewhat similar design.

[2]It’s not actually flying the flag there. It’s a trompe l’oeil.

Burning Man in Pictures 2015 X(a): Some Videos from Build Night Two

June 2, 2016Things We've Built, Traveladmin

During build night two, we captured a few videos.

As part of our building, Kosta tested the emergency exit:

Then S & I toured the (mostly structure-complete) maze, also testing the emergency exit:

After these successful tests, Evan & S decided to practice their unicorn riding skills:

Somehow, one or more of the unicorns escaped their mooring and turned into art cars. They then decided that the Magic Carpet had offended it in some way, and an altercation ensued. Unicorn was triumphant, and retained possession of the field:

Sometimes Egregious, Always Gregarious

Sometimes a letter can make a word of difference