When we last saw our intrepid heroes, they had just finished off day 5 with a Disco Fish sighting!
Today, we follow them as they begin to explore day 6!
Are you my Gummy Bear?:
Burning Man 2015 in Pictures LV: Day 6 Begins with Shaved Ice?
Category Archives: Photos
Burning Man 2015 in Pictures LIV: Day 5 Ends with a Disco Fish Sighting and FaIRE Hockey!
Luckily, they made it through, and were able to enjoy the rest of the day. Here is that story:
First, they saw the DiscoFish in the distance! They decided the next night, they would seek it out, hook, or by crook!:
Part of running the Mirror Blaze was persuading people to enter via the exit gate. This was the sign next to that gate, giving an important take on consent and gates[1]:
In the meantime, Fire Tetris was aflame and tetrising:
The Faerie Dragon was eating fire, or whatever it did:
and FaIRE Hockey continued to be fun:
On the way back to camp, after a successful night, our heroes saw that the anagrammists had struck again:
Stay tuned next time, for exciting adventures of the Third last day of Burning Man (Friday)!
[1]Not necessarily related.
Burning Man 2015 in Pictures LIII: (non-)Fiery Disaster Strikes!
(non-)Fiery Disaster Strikes!
When we last saw our heroes, they were overseeing the Mirror Blaze and watching Marc demonstrate FaIRE Hockey to unsuspecting passers-by.
Little did they know that a (non-)Fiery disaster was about to strike!
It was a normal evening in the Charnival, passers-by were being drawn into the Mirror Blaze:
And being correctly awed and surprised by the *FOOM*:
A nice quiet night of *FOOM* ski ball:
Then, an innocuous moving of the battery box[1] caused a disaster!:
Mirror Blaze was no longer blazing! Even worse, it was, but only very intermittently! With the line mounting, our intrepid hero delved into the box of wire to debug the problem:
Luckily, he had a (very easy to see) multimeter to debug with:
After much gnashing of teeth[2] and many false starts, all connections were tested, the wires were reattached, and *FOOM* order was restored!:
[1]This is a classic example of making an early temporary design decision, then forgetting about it all the way through the rest of the build process. The solenoids that we procured were 12V solenoids, so we obtained a large red light-up button to act as the dead man switch, and two 6V batteries (hooked up in series with 120V-rated wire). This was then all wired together with spit and baling wire[3]. No wonder when moved it became intermittent!
[2]I think this was probably my most stressful (and fun in retrospect!) debugging. On the top of a lifeguard stand, about 10 feet in the air, low light, with fire erupting around you, with a crowd getting more antsy by the minute. And intermittent connections are the worst!
[3]And alligator clips!
Burning Man 2015 in Pictures LII: Charnival Thursday Night!
When we last saw our heroes, they were visiting the Serpent Mother by night, to see the egg hatch that she had been protecting all this time.
Today, we follow them as they return to the Charnival for night five!
First, a very proud (and possibly sleepy) Marc, holding up his flame effect certification for FaIRE Hockey!:
M & S oversee the wonders of Mirror Blaze:
A mighty *FOOM* is had. There is much rejoicing.
The ‘Boring’ car arrived, and judged us with a little tune.
On a trip back to camp, Another delightful anagram from our neighbours to the South:
On the way back, some new visitors to the Charnival! A pirate ship:
We return to the Charnival to see Marc inducting two new volunteers into his hall of flame:
Next time, we return to Mirror Blaze, and (non-)fiery disaster strikes! Stay tuned!
Burning Man 2015 in Pictures LI: Serpent Mother by Night!
But first, they went to investigate a new friend, who had told them there would be a show that night:
She kindly let them peek inside her closely guarded egg:
They peered at her feeding depot, lit for safety in the darkness:
And saw with their own eyes the valves which would be opened to feed her the fire:
The valves were thrown, one of her keepers came to light her breath:
The flames raced down her spine:
She let out a mighty roar!:
Then, it was time for the show to start, the keeper returned, bearing fire extinguisher and Prox Suit[1]:
The show! Serpent Mother finally shares with us what she’s been incubating in that egg so long:
Burning Man 2015 in Pictures L: City Plan, K-9, and Washroom Tiki Bar?
When we last saw our heroes, they had just conquered the Thunderdome, and had gone to visit Serpent Mother as she rested. Our heroes decided to return to camp to regroup and rest for a while, before re-emerging to clean mirrors for the evening’s activities.
Our journey today starts with an interview, specifically the view from inside the interview[1]:
This seemed like a good moment to peruse the map that they had been given during the drive in. Note that the city is organized in concentric circles. The circles are the ‘cross streets’, labeled alphabetically from ‘Arcade’ to ‘Laffing Sal’ (with the innermost being ‘Esplanade’). The ‘spokes’ are numbered as if on a clock, from ‘2:00′ to ’10:00’, with the Man at the center of the clock, and the Temple at 12:00:
A recent addition is plazas interspersed amongst the rings, to make it easier to have groups of destination camps away from the Esplanade:
Some important things to know on playa:
The Hive! That’s us!:
Totenkitten. Right between 'ToneAge' and 'Toxic Disco Clam':
A mobile tiki bar by the portapotties, of course!
K-9!:
An expression of Coyote:
I’m not sure if S was commenting on clowns, clown moop, or the fact that the clown nose was blue. Irregardless[1], she was unamused:
Daily mirror cleanings make Mirror Blaze a bright(er) installation!:
Your challenge of the day! Scrute some of the inscrutable things people draw on fiery, dusty mirrors:
[1]’Irregardless’ will likely also unamuse her.
Burning Man 2015 in Pictures XLIX: Thunderdome and Serpent Mother by Day!
When we last saw our heroes, they had just glimpsed the Thunderdome in the distance:
M & S contemplate the Thunderdome:
Looking to the right, our intrepid heroes saw the Death Guild HQ. Luckily, by day, they are at rest[1]. By night, they are one of the most insane groups on playa. (The Thunderdome is not for the unprepared[2].)
Climbing things is fun!:
S conquers the THUNDERDOME!:
Looking further up, they saw the warning sign of NOPE. Not knowing whether it was because of downward falling danger, or equipment, they NOPED out of there.
Is it a beacon? Metaphorical trees growing together? Something even weirder?:
Serpent Mother (Flaming Lotus Girls) is at rest, waiting for nightfall, when she will come alive with fire…:
Serpent Mother is so long, she doesn't fit in one photo…:
Serpent Mother's egg. What is she hiding/protecting in there?:
The fuel depot for Serpent Mother (Flaming Lotus Girls), with a no-nonsense sign:
Intersecting tetrahedral wind chimes!:
[1]For most of the people at Burning Man, the day is a time for sleeping, quiet exploring, or frantically building.
[2]Nor for the unprepare #snekboop.
Burning Man in Pictures 2015 XLVIII: ‘Edal Bump’
When we last saw our heroes, they were flying towards their fiery demise and keeping Curiosity company.
Today, we follow them on their random-walk journey through an eclectic assortment of things that Burning Man has to offer.
First, the (slightly creepy) dancing bears! They seemed just a little *too* happy…:
Found! A public service for all of those lost items. Remember, only MOOP[1] is truly lost (and all lost items are MOOP):
As you may guess, Mad Max is a common decorative theme:
This structure seemed to serve as a warning. Our heroes shied away, after being burned by objects like this in the past[2]:
Needing a breather, they stopped at the Steampunk Saloon:
On their way again, they biked along the Esplanade, marveling in the experience:
Along the way, they passed a strangely-named structure, ‘Edal Bump’:
Going slightly further, it made much more sense[3]:
“Bad Advice”, or “Really Bad Advice”? Which would you choose? Which one would you be more likely to follow? Which would be worse?
And then, in the distance, our heroes spot the destination they didn’t even know they were heading towards, The THUNDERDOME!:
Next time, THE THUNDERDOME! Also, up close and personal with Serpent Mother! Stay tuned!
[1]’Matter Out Of Place’, the reduction of which is central to the ethos of ‘Leave No Trace’, a fundamental ethos of Burning Man. Painstaking inch-by-inch MOOP search and removal is a part of every camp’s responsibility. (Another important part of the ethos is avoiding MOOP, and picking it up anywhere you see it during the festival.)
[2]It does bear an uncanny resemblance to the ‘nuclear waste spike field‘, a hypothetical structure to deal with the very real problem of warning future generations about the problems of nuclear waste.
[3]Not to mention why there were so many bicycles in the area (although there could be many reasons for that at the Burn).
Burning Man in Pictures XLVII: Flying Towards Fiery Demise Through Planetary Golf
In our last post, our intrepid heroes had just visited the fearsome Medusa, and received a whispered quest, which led them to a phage display. This, however, was just the beginning…
The sign promised ‘FIERY DEMISE’. THERE ARE NO JOKES AT BURNING MAN. READ THE BACK OF YOUR TICKET[1]:
Some important signage about safety considerations, and why it is best to be magnanimous (and possibly fleeing) in victory:
M surveys the NFPA symbol and ensures that all is in order[2]:
It not yet being time for a FIERY DEMISE, our intrepid heroes then proceeded to a miniature golfiture course, where they met two interesting capsule friends. It was unclear what they were trying to communicate, but it seemed to have something to do with the binomial theorem:
The heroes surveyed the course, seeing all of their planetary friends, and OH NO SPACE AMOEBA!:
It was time to golf. S stepped up, and carefully aimed the catapult…:
…And carefully observed the progress:
The ball solved the binomial theorem, as only a non-Zeno-ite could…”
…traveling through the rotating planet of music…:
…and coming to a stop at Mars, to keep Curiosity company:
Stay tuned for next time, when we follow our intrepid heroes towards the Death Guild, and the THUNDERDOME!
[1]Read the back of your ticket. Includes such gems as (in bold all-caps) “You voluntarily assume the risk of serious injury or death by attending this event…”
[2]I love NFPA symbols. By their nature, they cannot convey all information, but they convey very important information (and I would argue the most important information) at a glance, on a 0-4 scale. Health (blue), Fire (red), Instability/reactivity (yellow), and ‘Other things you should know’ (white). Note that this is 0-4-0, telling you that this is gaseous hydrogen.
Burning Man in Pictures XLVI: The Fearsome Medusa!
In our last installment, our intrepid heroes had met a number of new metallic friends, and gone on myriad adventures with Claude, the dragon.
Today, we follow their adventures confronting the FEARSOME MEDUSA!
Our heroes approach…:
…and are almost transfixed:
But then S notices that one of the snakes is made out of stone:
And receives a whispered quest[1]. “Follow the bird car to the birds’ nest[2]. There you shall find what I seek.”:
As part of the quest, our intrepid heroes consulted with law enforcement:
And received directions from the BLM:
To meet the Skull Truck, but that’s another story[3]:
Eventually, after fulfilling their quest for the Medusa, they received directions to their next destination, an important Phage Display:
Next time, we see what the phage may be displaying. Stay tuned!
[1]Comment if you want to hear this story!
[2]Off in the distance, you can see a multi-headed beast that even medusae fear…Comment if you want to hear the story!
[3]See [1] and [2].