And today's topic is vaugly about...

It lives!

Gabriel — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:51:46 GMT

Well, mostly. So, let's recap on the work so far; a) Air filter cleaned b) Flow plate cleaned c) Injector cleaner added to gas d) New spark plugs e) Repaired a couple vacuum hoses So on Wednesday I FINALLY got my owner's manual and as I hoped, it had a list of fuses! Yay! So I depressurised the system and began to try and take off the fuel filter. I hit a problem right away. It seems, the last person that replaed the filter broke or lost the bracket that's meant to hold it in place while you try to pry off the tight nuts. So what they did was put a strip of metal around the filter that looks like the bracket at a glance and secured it with a zip-tie. Well, after some struggling and swearing I managed to flawlessly tear off the fuel line going from the filter to the fuel distributor. And I didn't so much as loosen the nuts. Fuck. So I looked into getting that replaced. Turns out that VW never tooled that part but molded it to fit the filter. So I had to tow it to a mechanic so he could get the part directly from VW and put it on for me. That's gonna be $100 dollers. But the good news is, that the filter was in fact bad, and now the car runs (not well, but it runs). I'm gonna go pick it up on Monday so I can get a better feel for it. The guy also said that there's a problem with the idle (duh), and he would like to run a diagnostic for me to figure it out AND he noticed that the front axel boots need to be replaced (big suprise) and he can do it for about $180 a pop. For now, though, I'm just gonna bring it home and continue my work from here. I'll just have to try not to break anything else. -Gabriel

Car Progress Update

Gabriel — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:11:23 GMT

Well, shit. Still can't get it running, but it isn't the alternator. I cleaned the air filter a little bit and wiped down the flow plate with some white gas. Man, I tell ya, I think I'm going to Quick Lube from now on for an oil change; getting to that filter is a bitch and a half. Also found out that some of the body damage is more serious than I thought (frame). I guess I'll look out for some odd tire wear to see if the alignment is fucked. Mayhap the brain is dead. Or at least retarded. If I need to install a new brain I'll make sure that GIR isn't near the taco beam. ...good thing I've got something to get me out of the house. -Gabriel

New Car!

Gabriel — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:39:33 GMT

I just bought a new car for $100! It's a gray 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit Convetible (it's as old as I am!) Except that it's far from new and I have a pretty good feeling I'm going to be putting another $1000 into it before I can make it something worth showing off (it is not the rabbit in the picture, that's just a similar one). But hey, I drove it home to Fremont from Ben Lomond, so it does technically run! So yeah, it's got a lot of problems and some body damage/interior damage, but for $100 I couldn't resist. I was given another bumper and driver's side fender to put on my self (though it looks like fender it going to be a pain in the ass). There's also some rust I'm going to have to sand off and so on and so forth... The big first and foremost problem is that the car drives kind of jerkey most of the time. It's especially bad in first and second gear, but you can still feel it on the highway. It feels like it's a bad fuel filter, but the the voltmeter jumps around when the gas starts to cut out and go back on. Also the various lights and gauges work pretty intermittently. They guy I bought it from wasn't only clueless about automechanics, but also kind of an idiot (but to his credit, he was very nice), but he told me a friend of his took a look at it and said it might be the alternator or the fuel injectors. The Rabbit comes with a Bosch CIS-E fuel injection system that basically sprays the air/fuel mixture into the cylinder. It's my understanding that there's a an air intake on the bottom of the car and if it's dirty or damaged it may cause problems. If that's the case then that might answer the jerking problem but then leaves the electrical system more of a mystery. I need to get the engine running smoothly before I can get it smogged and I need to get that done asap. So I need some insights, should I spend the money on a new alternator and just go ahead and install it? Or should I take it in to have the fuel injection system looked at? Or is it none of these problems? I'm in a big hurry to get all this stuff fixed so I can actually benefit from the fantastic gas mileage and start making this something that really shines. -Gabriel

It's time to get started!

Gabriel — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:35:52 GMT

Work is has been so slow that I've just started reading Crime and Punishment on the down time. Anyway... Well, Tank have finally started getting ready for Burning Man and only 8 month later than I intended! We did the budget and figured out what we know we need (for now, anyway) and will start sorting and finding things to ba packed later on. So far I started with a bike. Yesterday, I went to Target to buy a mountain bike for like $100. It was a little more than I would of liked to spend, but every year I've been to Burning Man, I've always had a pretty crappy bike, so I figured it was time for a brand-new, un-used bike. I also planed to start riding a bike to and from work everyday ('cause I've been kinda lazy recently and need to get back into shape), so the decision was easy. And that brings me to my next dilemma. I still need to figure out how to transport mine and Tank's bikes to Burning Man this year. I know several people who will take the bikes for me, but I'd rather be a little more self-reliant than that. I do have a bike rack that I bought for like $150 back when I had my big Dodge B-150 Van. It fits into a 2" receiver hitch and folds down to let the back door or trunk open. But now that we have the Pizza Box, the hitch on the Pathfinder is used. Now, I could go and get a hitch installed on the trailer for like $300 but that is a sad, sad waste of money for just a bike rack. So I thought I'd go and find a peice of metal the same size that the bike rack could fit into and weld it to the bumper of the Pizza Box. But since the bumper sits so low, I don't think that I would have enough road clearance to put it on the bottom; so what if I weld it to the top of the bumper? Thoughts? Well, I've got to go to work now (btw, I'm not getting the promotion, but I do get the time off). -Gabriel

Aaaawwwww Shit.....

Gabriel — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:53:03 GMT

Well, here's some bittersweet news: My co-worker is leaving the company in a few months. That means that I get the promontion to full time and salary with benefits when he leaves. That also makes me the primary driver. ...and the only driver. Oh yeah, and his last day is about three weeks before my time off request for Burning Man. Shit. I know I said I'd quit this job if need be to go to the most importent year of Burning Man since my first year, but, fuck me; Full time? Salary? Full benefits? And there's also the fact that I will be the ONLY driver (or at least the only fully trained one). More later when I've had more time to think about this. -Gabriel

I have a job!

Gabriel — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 04:04:40 GMT

And I've had one for about a week! I work for a Chinese company called Boldata. What I do is deliver computer hardware to various other Chinese and Indian (and one Russian) companies. I'm the only white guy. No wonder they chose me to drive! -Gabriel

Pictures and a haiku!

Gabriel — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 03:20:50 GMT

Unemployment sucks Five doller sucky sucky? I will keep trying Well, I tried to post some pictures of Tank's Birthday (and some others), but I can't figure out how to make the space they take up smaller. ...I hate computers. If someone can help, could you please send me instructions. Thanks. -Gabriel

Quote of the day!

Gabriel — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:34:57 GMT

"You have become a congenital postage stamp for sucktastic nonfuckage" Thank you sexylosers. (http://sexylosers.com/) Fore warning, this site can be.... intense. In a nutshell, it's low-grade (humor, not artwork), but funny-as-hell, henti(ish) comic strips. That is all. -Gabriel

My new love.

Gabriel — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:45:38 GMT

Kingdom of Loathing (KoL) has come into my life and is quickly earning its place in my heart as my favorite internet-based game (one of the best online games of all platforms, too). Tank introduced me to this game a little more than a week ago and I already can't wait until I can play again! It's a fantasy swords and sorcery type game with a Monty Pythonish twist. If you ever played the card game, 'Munchkin' then I can tell you it's similar to that sense of humor. It's a fairly simple game based on the game style idea of Gary Gygax and his band of nerds (Dungeons & Dragons); where you have stats like strength, intelligence, charisma, and others put into diferent character concepts like: 'fighter', 'wizard', and 'theif' (for those of you more familar with the works of Gary Gygax and his fellows, forgive me for dumbing it down; the common masses won't know what I'm talking about otherwise). However, KoL uses stats like Muscle, Mysticality, and Moxie and gives you six classes loosly based on character classes from the origional D&D game (two per 'class-type'). My character is a 'turtle tamer', which is supposed to be some sort of ranger. But there are others like the mighty seal clubber, the powerful sauceror, the mystic pastamancer, the smooth disco bandits, and crafty acordian theives. If this is already sounding a little weird then hold on, it only gets worse from here on in. Moving through adventures ranging from Mt.Mchugelarge of the Big Mountains (look out for the rabbits of the Dire Warrens!), and The Copse of the Deep Fat Friars (watch out for for G imps, L imps, and P imps!) you collect the currency of the kingdom; it's not gold or silver or dollers, no; it's meat. That's right, m-e-a-t, meat. Like the cut muscle mass from an animal. I think you get me now. You use this meat as you would any other money; you can buy equipment for your next adventure, you can trade with other players, buy skills or training to improve you character, or mash it up to make meat paste in order to glue things together (well, I guess you can't do that last one with Mr. Washington or gold coins). As you adventure, you gain a sort of sub-stat for each attribute ("You've won! You gain 15 chutzpa and 10 beefiness!" - this means you've gotten more points toward your next Moxie point and next Muscle point.) Gain enough of the attribute required for your class, you go up a level. But you have only a limited amount of turns you can take everyday (probably for the good of us all). You start out with a base of forty but that can increase depending on what items you own what what clan you're in. But you can eat and booze it up to get more. It's impossible to go into all the details of the game here. There are clans for banding like-minded people together to trade 'goodies', a whole slew of items to find, combine into other items, and trade. There are countless monsters to fight that are both punny and fearsome (sorta). There is a "player vs player" mode where you can pit your character against other players in the game (but only if you want to!). The list goes on and on. If you have one hour of your day to kill while checking e-mail, waiting for that roast to be done, or just sitting around until your significent other gets out of the goddamn bathroom, give KoL a shot. I assure you, it's more than it seems. The website is: kingdomofloathing.com -Gabriel

Behind the Redwood Curtain

Gabriel — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:16:35 GMT

Tank and I are in Eureka until Sunday sometime. So far the trip has been quite enjoyable if cold. At this moment, it is 2:48 am and I am listening to The Internet is for Porn on the Avenue Q soundtrack. I just recently got back from a solitary walk down the boardwalk while smoking a cigar-I haven't done that in ages! But like I've always said: it's a nice place, but I hate living here. It is in the low thirties right now and it's a cold that I'm no longer used to; the Bay Area has spoiled me... One this I've really missed is the food here. It's been nice to go to a local place here called "Stantons." They serve the best bacon I've ever had from a restaurant. I'm thinking tomorrow I will risk seeing people I know and go to Tony's for a malt and onion rings. A couple nights ago I went on a date with a friend of mine to an Italian joint called Mazzotti's. It was a typical candle-lit dinner with a glass of sauvignon blanc and an alfredo dish. Tank and I bought ourselves a Christmas present for the two of us (like we did last year) and decided to get a bottle of Lucid absinthe. It cost us $70, but hey... it's really good. So thank you Chaos, for showing us Lucid. Also, speaking of BoyChaos, he leant us his fuel-efficient car for the trip and we haven't even spent half of what we would have in gas yet. That helps us so much in these hard times and makes him pretty much one of the coolest people in the world. But hard times or not, they will get better. I mean, it's only money and no matter what I end up doing next, it's just another stepping stone to greater things. I am lucky that people love me. Especially Tank, she's great for motivational purposes and she helps me get to the next day with a smile on my face, no matter what happens. Well, I shall retire for the evening/early fucking morning. I hope you holidays have been full of joy and all that crap. Oh, and don't forget Tank's 21st birthday party on the 5th of January. Remember to wear a mustache *grumble* and bring a sample of your favorite booze for Tank to try. Let's make sure she gets her drinking habit off to a good start! -Gabriel

Kamikaze Kelly says....

Gabriel — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:19:52 GMT

"Some people are like Slinkies; they're not really good for anything. But it they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs." I havn't laughed so hard in weeks.... -Gabriel

Car

Gabriel — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:31:42 GMT

Our Pathfinder keeps dying. It won't start. Again. We though the problem was fixed a little while ago. I have a week to figure this out and fix it or Tank and I will not be able to see our families for Christmas and it was be that more difficult fo rme to get a new job. -Gabriel

Uh-oh...

Gabriel — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:49:11 GMT

There is too much suger in my tea!!! That is all. -Gabriel

More Work

Gabriel — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 01:32:26 GMT

*god-damn tribe, not letting post funny pictures...* So I went to my first day of real work only to find that the vacuum job sucked. *waits for chuckles to end* Ok, done laughing now? Good. To make a long story short, the company lied flat out to me. They said I would never have to knock on a single door and all I had to do was do a demo of the Kirby. Well, that didn't happen. First thing I did at my job was knock on a door. Fuckers. So I quit and am once again in the job market. I took BART down to SFO today and applied for some jobs. I'm hoping to get a job as a aircraft refueler (then the management posistion shortly after), it's full time with benefits that pays pretty well. However, the process is long. So in short, once again, I would consider any leads a boon. I can hold a steady job, I have lots of experience with personal care/consumer services (consumer being a term used by the personal care business to describe gimps). I've done some landscaping, lots of merchindising, a little management experience in that field, I've worked for a powder coating business, and in every job I have learned everything quite well and still retain much of the knowledge. It will be just as easy for me to learn another job and learn it well enough to take over the world. ...or at least get promoted. Well, that's all, really. Oh, and don't work for Kirby. -Gabriel

The Wonderful World of Suction

Gabriel — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:22:22 GMT

Well, I don't know about wonderful, but it pays. So I have a new job. Can you guess what it is yet? That's right, I'm a vacuum salesman. But wait! That's not what the company wants to call me; I am a "customer service repersentitive" for Kirby vacuums and I am forbiddin from calling myself a salesperson, because dispite what I do in my job, it is not sales. Basically what I do is I get a list of three or four appointments made by our "sales staff" every day. These are pre-arranged so there's no forcing my foot in the door. And all I have to do is go and talk about the product. While I don't have to sell anything to get paid, I am encouraged to so I can get bonus commission money. So if you want to spend nearly $2000 on a vacuum cleaner, don't come to me. I can't help you. You'll have to make an appointment with the company. Most of the appointments are with people who already own a Kirby (or expensive vacuum cleaner) and what happens is they usually trade-in their old vacuum for credit towards a new one and I made a commission on the difference. I donno, I still think this is some sort of scam. But they promised to pay me a set salery if sell Kirbys or not. If this doesn't work out, I'm hoping I can work as a lab rat and be the subject of all sorts of tests. ...horrible tests! -Gabriel

Happy Christmas! You're laid off!

Gabriel — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 02:56:45 GMT

Tank and I are being laid off. ...sorta. ICR/Nicole are cutting so many of our hours that it would no longer be economical to come to work! The director of the company wants to save money by getting rid of "pesky" payroll expenses and therefore cutting our hours. He will hire Nicole to work at the office and pay her much less than what we make. We can consolidate the remaining hours so that one of us works part-time (about 20 hours per week), but we cannot live off that! So we are BOTH in the market for new jobs that will give us at least 30 hours a week (preferably more). So if anyone can give us some leads for work, that would be great! We are both entry-level people with no educational qualifications (except high school). We are both skilled care givers, but I don't think we are willing to risk this situation again. We both have some customer service ability and don't mind physical labor but with only one car between us, at least one of these jobs will need to be near a BART station. *sigh* Wish us luck! -Gabriel

I Like Monkeys

Gabriel — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:15:38 GMT

I did NOT write this. I found this about five years ago and had a good laugh. I re-found it and wish to share it with you all. I like monkeys. The pet store was selling them for five cents a piece. I thought that odd since they were normally a couple thousand each. I decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I bought 200. I like monkeys. I took my 200 monkeys home. I have a big car. I let one drive. His name was Sigmund. He was retarded. In fact, none of them were really bright. They kept punching themselves in their genitals. I laughed. Then they punched my genitals. I stopped laughing. I herded them into my room. They didn't adapt very well to their new environment. They would screech, hurl themselves off of the couch at high speeds and slam into the wall. Although humorous at first, the spectacle lost its novelty halfway into its third hour. Two hours later I found out why all the monkeys were so inexpensive: they all died. No apparent reason. They all just sorta' dropped dead. Kinda' like when you buy a goldfish and it dies five hours later. Damn cheap monkeys. I didn't know what to do. There were 200 dead monkeys lying all over my room, on the bed, in the dresser, hanging from my bookcase. It looked like I had 200 throw rugs. I tried to flush one down the toilet. It didn't work. It got stuck. Then I had one dead, wet monkey and 199 dead, dry monkeys. I tried pretending that they were just stuffed animals. That worked for a while, that is until they began to decompose. It started to smell real bad. I had to pee but there was a dead monkey in the toilet and I didn't want to call the plumber. I was embarrassed. I tried to slow down the decomposition by freezing them. Unfortunately there was only enough room for two monkeys at a time so I had to change them every 30 seconds. I also had to eat all the food in the freezer so it didn't all go bad. I tried burning them. Little did I know my bed was flammable. I had to extinguish the fire. Then I had one dead, wet monkey in my toilet, two dead, frozen monkeys in my freezer, and 197 dead, charred monkeys in a pile on my bed. The odor wasn't improving. I became agitated at my inability to dispose of my monkeys and to use the bathroom. I severely beat one of my monkeys. I felt better. I tried throwing them way but the garbage man said that the city wasn't allowed to dispose of charred primates. I told him that I had a wet one. He couldn't take that one either. I didn't bother asking about the frozen ones. I finally arrived at a solution. I gave them out as Christmas gifts. My friends didn't know quite what to say. They pretended that they like them but I could tell they were lying. Ingrates. So I punched them in the genitals. I like monkeys

Berkeley

Gabriel — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:36:36 GMT

I've haven’t done an angry rant in a while so here's a small one for you: I hate driving in Berkeley. I hate Berkeley in general, but I won't get into that now (will admit that there are a couple good things). I work in downtown Berkeley five days a week and sometimes I drive my car instead of taking BART like I should (BART is another rant). So every time I drive through the town, I usually have to avoid at least one fatal collision with some dumb ass, bicycle-riding, crack head. Now, I'm not saying that all people who ride bikes are dumb-ass crack heads. On the contrary, I have a lot of really intelligent friends who ride their bikes everywhere. It seems that I come across one retard on a bike everyday. Which is unfair to retards, because THEY at least follow the traffic laws. Oh, and is too much to ask that people riding at night put a light on their bike? Or at least wear something reflective? But nine of ten of people on a bike that I see in Berkeley run red lights and stop signs, speed through school zones and parking lots, don't signal, and don't ride in designated "bicycle avenues" or even bike lanes! I swear to God, some night I'll be cruising through an intersection on a green light and some douche on a bike with no light or helmet is going to blare through, going 30 miles an hour, running their red light, hit the side of my car, and break their neck. Then I'll get blamed for it. Don't get me wrong; I think it's wonderful that people are riding their bikes instead of driving cars. But they should obey traffic laws so those of us that do drive don't end up killing them. I also hate (to a lesser extant) driving in Berkeley due to the pedestrians. They might as well not have crosswalk lights at the intersections because people will cross anyway. Hell, there may as not be cross walks because people will run across Shattuck in heavy traffic. Fucking daft bastards. I don't care if you cross without a light or outside a crosswalk, but at least look to see if a car is coming. Man, people in Berkeley are lucky they're not in New York. I have childhood memories of my grandfather going 40 miles an hour in his red and white Cadillac on Broadway coming within a few feet of j-walking pedestrians and yelling mean things in Italian at them. Yes, pedestrians have the right of way in New York, but no way is anyone, including law enforcement, going to do anything about it. And the third and final thing I hate about driving in Berkeley is all the Goddamned blockades in the residential streets. It is one of the stupidest fucking things I have ever seen. I understand the point of them is to keep traffic out of the neighborhoods and on the main streets, to allow for a safe path for bicycles, and easy access for emergency vehicles. Well, I see so many people go through the blockades anyway, as well as people trying to navigate the maze (because even with the maze, it's still quicker than going down the main streets in heavy traffic). And I’ve NEVER seen people on bikes taking advantage of the relatively much lower traffic and safe conditions. They INSIST on taking the main roads with no bike lanes. So obviously the blockades aren't doing their job and should just be removed. Ok, that's the end of my rant. I'm a pretty good driver; I stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk, I give bikes the right of way, and tend to go close to the speed limit. It's not like I going 50 miles an hour down Telegraph yelling mean things in Italian at people trying to cross the street. All I'm really trying to say is that I wish people riding their bikes or walking around would just try to be a bit more intelligent and little more observant to make things safer for everybody. -Gabriel

Yay!

Gabriel — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:02:34 GMT

It are Tank and I first anniversary! Yay! Here's to another year! -Gabriel

Norman Who?

Gabriel — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 05:19:36 GMT

Norman Borlaug. Argued to be THE greatest person ever. I do not think I have enough life experience and/or knowledge to make and accurate arguement. But when I know enough to make such a decision, I bet he will be one of the canidates. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIvNopv9Pa8&mode=related&search= -Gabriel

Kitty

Gabriel — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 07:05:01 GMT

I miss him. -Gabriel

...

Gabriel — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 05:39:36 GMT

SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH..............fuck. -Gabriel

Talk Like a Pirate Day?

Gabriel — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:41:06 GMT

Bah! On this day, September 19th, I remain with my true colors (well ok, black isn't technically a color) and remember my ninja pride. But now I can hear all you saying, "You're right, Gabriel. I too wish to demostrate my ninja pride. But I would like a day of our own." Well, seek no further young grasshopper! Mark you calendars because Decemember 5th is the international Day of the Ninja! It a day where everyone can be a ninja. (dayoftheninja.com) Also known as "Dress Like a Ninja Day" or "Sneak Like a Ninja Day" or whatever, it doesn't matter what you call it, so long as we're all doing the same thing! So start collecting your ninja gear because the international Day of the Ninja is only a short 77 days away! As we get closer to the international Day of the Ninja, I will give instructions on how to make a ninj-tastic ninja mask using only a black t-shirt, you hands, and ninja magic! -Gabriel

It is now time for a rant...

Gabriel — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:33:30 GMT

(photo taken from burningman.com) The American Dream? You have got to be fucking kidding me. I've only been to Burning Man for three years, so my opinion may not be as "valid" as other's may be, but c'mon! My first year was Psyche; that was pretty awesome. Then was Hope and Fear: The Future, it was kinda lame but it was open enough for some pretty cool interpretations. This year was Green Man and that turned out be a big fucking joke, but the IDEA was at least nice. But the American Dream? When I first heard about it, I honest-to-God, thought it was a bad joke. I remember thinking, "That is one of the more uncreative jokes about a theme I've heard." But to my utter amazement, it was serious! Some people think BMORG made this theme because of the Paul Addis bullshit, but I think they had it planned already. But they did probably announce it so early because of Mr. Addis and they want to get a little leverage in the American judicial system. I realize that you can interpret a theme as loosely as you desire, but I don't think the American public (99% of the attendants) is creative enough to get a lot of diversity with theme-related projects. As for our foreign participants, I think most would find the theme alienating. If I were coming from country like Russia or The People’s Republic of China, I would feel that calling patriotism for my country an “American Dream” apalling. I mean, how many versions of a blindfolded Statue of Liberty do you think will be out there? Someone could count them all and do a project for 2009 that shows what a joke 2008 was. Maybe I’ll do it, but I’m not a very creative person and therefore will not be able to communicate my ideas as well I’d like. Every other art project will be something making fun of George "Dubbya." While I have had a lot of very liberal opinions about the state of our country and the ideas of the American Dream for some years now, I think that the whole thing is like flogging a dead horse. I realize that not ALL burners are Democrats, Libertarians, Green Party, or whatever. But the Burning Man event definitely gives off a liberal/anti-mainstream-American culture/fuck “the man” feel. I realize that you can interpret a theme as loosely as you desire, but I don't think the American public (99% of the attendants) is creative enough to get a lot of diversity with theme-related projects. As for our foreign participants, I think most would find the theme alienating. If I were coming from country like Russia or The People’s Republic of China, I would feel that calling patriotism for my country an “American Dream” apalling. The Burning Man web site states, “…a patriotism that is based upon a love of country and culture. Leave ideology at home; forget the blue states and the red; let parties, factions and the so-called issues that divide us fall away… …What has America achieved that you admire or feel proud of? What has it done or failed to do that makes you feel dismayed?…” Bullshit. Hardly anyone is going say, “I love what my country has done and I am optimistic about where it is going. Here is my art…” or whatever. Most (but statistically not all) of the people are going to say with their theme-related art or camp, “Hey America, fuck you!” “Put blame aside…” they say. It is every American’s God-given right to complain about their country and most are not about to put that aside for such an opportunity to tell everyone how their thoughts about how to run the country is the end all be all of soultions to fix our problems as a country. Another problem is the NAME of the theme. Calling the theme, “The American Dream” is, I think, misleading from the crappy idea of it. What they should have done is titled the theme, “National Patriotism.” Don’t get me wrong, the theme would still suck, but at least the name of the theme would be closer the the IDEA of the theme. But you know what? I might be totally fucking wrong about everything I just said. I hope I am. PROVE me wrong people! Let’s see some great work and ideas out there about the theme this year. Make me say, “Well, I was shot down.” Am I going to try and contribute art or ideas for the theme this year? Probably not. Like I said, I’m not creative enough to communicate my ideas effictively. It’s a good thing that Burning Man is much more than the theme suggests because I will have nothing to do with it other than exerciseing my God-given right as an American citizen to bitch and moan about stuff I don’t like. There, that’s all I have for you. I’m going to crawl back into my cave and keep my opinions to myself once again. -Gabriel

Hey, remember that one time we went out to the desert and watched that thing burn for four hours?

Gabriel — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:39:30 GMT

(Photo by Twitch) (sings) "And the White House burned, burned, burned And we're the ones that did it! It burned, burned, burned While the President ran and cried." (Taken from "The War of 1812" http://www.canadaka.net/article-111.html) Ok, so replace "White House" with "The Man", "we're" with "Paul Addis", and "the President" with "Flux". I know it doesn't sound as funny, but you get the idea. So anyway, I am back from my third year at Burning Man and despite all the stuff that was shitty, I think this year was pretty good. Not as good as my first year (but what year is?), but worlds better than last year. I really don't need to recap on the huge events since everyone who reads this has either been to Burning Man or heard all about it already. But as far as my personal experiences go... well that maybe a little different. But first things first. Every year I have heard or read some quote that really hits me and I end up taking to heart. This year I both heard this one from BoyChaos and read on a sticker in the Handbasket. "My life does not suck." Everyone take a moment to take this one in. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and say it. Do it! I'm not fucking around here! Close those playa-encrusted eyes, fill your lungs with dust-free air, and say the Goddamned words! There, don't you feel better? So unfortunately, the most major, life-changing experience I cannot tell anyone because I promised not to. But let me say that it really improved my state of being and I feel just better with the world because of it. But there are other things of importance. Or at least worth mention; my now yearlong relationship with Tank not only survived the desert but also came out even stronger. Now we just have to get through the emotions of unpacking and cleaning everything with is an adventure in of its self, but I'm sure we can work through this one. After last year, I had promised myself not to work so much at Spike's but instead of working less, I think I worked double. Which I was mostly ok with (I kinda went brain-dead one day and couldn't do anything more and missed a shift). I LOVE Spike's and it would not be Burning Man if I didn't help set up and tear down and everything in between. But me and a few of my camp mates had a bit a problem with drunken micro-managing that had gotten the four of us real emotional about camping with Spike's. Because of all this work I missed out on a lot of stuff this year, but I have only myself to blame and I need only remind myself that there are other much harder-core people in our camp who almost didn't even leave camp once. You guys are amazing. One of the most rewarding experiences I had at Burning Man actually started even before I left. After much work and dedication we managed to find Sniffy a ticket and a ride out there and having him there with me/us was one of those things that make my experience what it needs to be. Lots of people gave my praise on my djing ability. I have never djed before in my life (except for a brief time last year to save the Dive Bar). Spike gave the "Best DJ of the year reward." I feel cool. Rodent even said I was good and gave me a few tips to improve my skills (that was pretty much the best recognition I could of possibly gotten). Which reminds me, I should write them down before I forget. It's nice to discover that I still have hidden talents. After some thought though, I regret that next year I will not be camping with Spike's. It's not that I have any problem with them, it's just that I feel the need to resurrect my camp from 2005; "Ninja Burger". I want to help produce my own (small) theme camp next year. I think I know enough about theme camp operation on the playa to do my own thing. However, this does NOT mean I will be abandoning Spike's completely. I will still be helping with whatever needs to be done throughout the year including set-up/tear-down in 2008. Since my own theme camp will likely be a small operation only open officially a short period every day (also only during day-light hours) I will have the time to help out my extended vampire family with the not-so-much-fun work. This all still an idea, however, and who knows what can happen in a year. Rest assured, if Ninja Burger doesn't come to be, I will be with Spike's (but I don't think I will be camping at Center Camp next year). Like I said, I love Spike's and whatever direction I go in for Burning Man, the bar will always have my help and presence for whatever they may need. I have written quite a bit and will let this set and digest for a while. I will give more info about Ninja Burger as we develop it. Once again, thank you Spike's for all that you are. -Gabriel Disclaimer: I have changed the picture from a corporate Man to something more fitting. But it's ok... No hard feelings, right?