The gypsy as an unreliable narrator.

GEAR REPORT Zodi Extreme Shower

Dok_Atomik — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 18:07:47 GMT

Before I say anything else about my new shower, let me affirm one thing about camping after the Labor Day holiday. For the casual camper, the camping season has ended. Many popular spots of just a couple of weeks ago are already dipping into the temps just above freezing. Really. Somewhere. And I was there to post my reactions to a new (to me) product, and a new (for this year) reminder that the colder weather is here for many campers. A new purchase (delivered by the UPS brownshirts just before my departure for Burning Man) is the Zodi Extreme Shower. I took it along to Burning Man, but was not sure if it would be of any use because of grey water management issues. I decided on the purchase at the last moment, and was traveling with the shower stuff but without any planning for grey water management. My responsibility for grey water was an important consideration, and was provided for by a neighboring camp (who were kind enough to have built their own shower ─ and adequate grey water collection ─ right behind my tent). With a period of waiting to provide for adequate imbibing of alcohol and a night’s rest to allow consideration of my request, I was granted permission to use their shower pond with my own Zodi Extreme. Bless those folks for providing grey water management for me at Burning Man, and bless those Zodi folk. The Zodi Extreme Shower was the one I wanted ─ it appeared to be something I would create myself given adequate fabrication capability. Picture one of those old water fire extinguishers, crafted in stainless steel, with a nice new pump (also stainless) and a four-foot-or-so hose with shower head. Oh, and a heater. The Zodi also includes a 10,000 BTU stove that provides for heating your shower to 100 degrees F in about five minutes, and can double as a cook stove. A simple contact thermometer strip makes heating to your desired temperature very easy. Mmm. Warm showers at Burning Man. Or anywhere. Without having to camp in my Airstream. Priceless. If your camping comfort is not increased significantly by the ability to provide a warm shower whenever you want, then you are ignoring one of life’s simple pleasures (or may be too dependent on an RV or campground showers). RVs have their own special issues for camping, and campground showers (almost everywhere I have been over 35 or so years experience camping over North America) are often sadly lacking (and ─ almost as often ─ COLD). The Zodi Extreme Shower may be the best choice for taking showers while minimizing grey water generation. I was easily able to take a whole-body shower with much less than two gallons of water, and may ─ with practice ─ be able to get by with just one gallon of water. Zodi also has models with 6- or 12-volt battery packs, four-gallon reservoirs (or ─ with attachment to a water hose ─ unlimited capacity), and higher-capacity systems that can handle as many as three showers at once. So ─ with a Zodi shower system, a grey water management system appropriate to your use, and an (optional) privacy cabana/shower enclosure ─ hot showers can be yours. http://www.zodi.com/web-content/index.html

Burning Man -- they "give great city!"

Dok_Atomik — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:55:16 GMT

Hello campers! Burning Man has — once again — come and gone. For some of us, it brought (choose one or more): an epiphany a conspiracy (or several) dust (okay, most of us would include this among our selections!) an “extra” burn for our ticket purchase price a temporary reprieve from cell phones, video games, the office, and/or [insert name here], the boss-, coworker-, subordinate-, neighbor-, acquaintance- or whatever-from-hell an opportunity to model another year’s playa fashions sharing love and community (or something else) among new/old campmates good/bad/indifferent music opportunities a really cool/f*cked up/indifferent experience a suicide a buncha chores followed by another exodus a break from the silly chatter among “burners” (for those of you who didn’t go) Such as it may have been, the Burn brought us one more thing — the opportunity to interact with what may well have been our ideal mix of campfire folk. Among 40,000-plus ravers/hippies/freaks/straights/gays/Christians/Muslims/Pagans/Pastafarians/Rotarians/whatever, we got together in the desert. For a weekend, week, or more — as folks have been doing for a lot more time than there has been a Baker Beach — we left much-more-hospitable environs to gather in a hot/sweaty/dusty/potentially-far-worse place. (It could have rained. Really rained. Think mud. Think of having to strike camp in that mud. Think of an exodus through that mud.) And we got along — well — in the desert, both in terms of coping with the challenges provided by the environment and in dealing with the 40,000-plus folks who chose to do it with us. If you find yourself interacting with someone you don’t particularly like at a Burn, gift them with a smile. And walk away. 93% of the time, you’ll be happier with the next person you’ll meet. Really. Statistics are bullsh*t. 93% of the statistics about Burning Man are especially bullsh*t. As a population to examine for those statistics in terms of its demographics or epidemiology, well, 40,000-or-so of us just isn’t enough to produce meaningful results. (Sorry. Applying population values that can be fractional — often much less than ten per 10exp6 population — to 40k-plus burners amounts to epidemiological gobbledygook.) Is one (or even several) act(s) of arson, death, or violent crime STATISTICALLY significant? Nope. However important the specific acts may have been to you (by their proximity to you, by their effect on you, or your sensitivity to acts like them), are these effects able to be analyzed as an important factor in your demography or epidemiology? Nope. Are these acts great fodder for the rumor mill while you are at Black Rock City? Yep. Are they also grist for the mill that is Tribe and other message boards? You betcha. How should you feel about acts of arson, death or violent crime that occur at BRC while you were there? Again, this may be affected by your proximity or sensitivity; but ─ when placed in the same perspective as you might have when examined within the news of any other city of 40k-plus people — we may feel lucky (and pleased) that there are not MORE events of that sort. And we need to remember that it may not all be luck. Whatever else you may say or feel, you must respect the Burning Man organization for its continued growth as a leader among the community of world-class arts festival promoters. They give great city. Forget the art (if you can, for a moment). Think only of the portion of the promoter’s responsibilities that is to provide a temporary infrastructure to support the health, safety, and social welfare of a buncha folks they’ve sold tickets to for some week-long outdoor event. Throw in some difficulty multipliers for the remote location, if you like. Now, let’s build the city. Making this easy (still forgetting any art), let’s provide for basic services for our buncha ticketholders. Let’s provide some toilets, ice, and a little electricity. Err, and some dust control. Let’s throw in some paid staff (only a few of these), some contractors (there are always some contractors), and a bunch of volunteers (His Noodliness LOVES volunteers almost as much as pirates). Let’s provide for the selection and (sometimes, as necessary) training of the staff members, contractors, and volunteers. Let’s also provide for appropriate relations with outside agencies ─ the ones we really can’t do without. Federal, State, and local agencies important to the use of the land on which the event will be located. Law enforcement agencies. Fire, rescue, and ambulance services. Let’s also develop those relationships as necessary to provide for every reasonably-anticipatable need of these agencies and services by our ticket holders. Let’s ensure that every other reasonable need our ticket holders may have is met (as it might be by any other city of similar size), and add a bit for administrative overhead. Where we can, we will provide services with volunteers. When we must (or common sense and practical considerations dictate), we will contract services or help existing agencies cope with increases in their operating budgets to assist in providing services to our ticket holders. Necessary services. Because our “art event” needs ‘em. Really. Whether driven by a corporate desire to “do the right thing,” or compliance with Federal, State or local code of law ─ we need to provide them. I could go into greater detail, but I have already touched on a little of the “hidden” planning and work involved to provide an event like Burning Man. More, I suspect, than some of you “armchair promoters” might provide for while planning your “ultimate art event.” Hint: If your first (and best) efforts are in planning art projects, DJs, and sound systems ─ I don’t wanna go to your event. Not unless you are also providing for my health, safety and non-art-related well being. Hint #2: Use Burning Man as your model for infrastructure. Because, y’see, I KNOW that Burning Man’s success is not due to luck. I may not always agree with some of its execution of minutiae by some minor agents, but I remain a fan of Burning Man ─ the event and the organization. We didn’t go because of the desert. Black Rock City is sited in a spot that can be truly nasty. (Sorry.) We went to Burning Man. Many of us will go back. Now, please go back to remembering the art. How about those folks from the derrick thingy? [Sorry I’ve been gone so long. Family stuff. Life’s little administrative details. Y’know. Blessed be the Flying Spaghetti Monster.]

Okay, I've really been bad.

Dok_Atomik — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:23:49 GMT

But there's just enough time to burn inna day, and sitting at a laptop hasn't had that much appeal. The weather is truly wonderful now, the dust has been down, and I set up my new hot shower goodie this morning. Ahhh. It appeared for a while that the Man was going to be covered in grass. Then the shadows shifted, and He was revealed in His Noodliness. The desert is wonderful. Life is good.

Dr. Seuss had it right!

Dok_Atomik — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 01:11:53 GMT

I am trying to get in a couple of lines at a public access terminal in the chow hall. Still too busy to take many pics. Gotta go do the FP. I will try to btter tomorrow.

Burning Man arrival (or how I learned to love the original "ground zero")

Dok_Atomik — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:58:08 GMT

Hiya campers! I'm here. Nyah, nyah. I rolled past the three mile gate at exactly 8:00 pm on Saturday. It was snowing. Okay, it wasn't really snow, but I was sure reminded of the stories of polar bears hiding their noses to conceal themselves in snow environs. If it had been snow, I'm sure that a lurking polar bear would be nearby. It was a very dramatic "welcome back" in the form of a Black Rock City dust storm. I could not have planned a finer entrance. I made it no farther than the BRC Dept of Public Works for a little while, and then proceeded into the site of the 2007 Burning Man event. I hope I am able to convey the current near-emptiness and BRC's rapid growth to a fair city in one week, Sadly, I have few pictures to show as of Monday early AM. The dust and winds remained through early last evening. Hey guys, they really do keep right on working! One especial part of Saturday's pre-event events was the "DPW Burn," a symbolic turover of BRC from the DPW Dept. to the "event staff." It doesn't really have anything at all to do with a turnover, but it does very well as a reminder of where the event has been I could easily imagine a group of revelers at Baker Beach, and of the burning of a much smaller "Man." On Saturday night, our man was abot fifteen feet high, and sported animated features that included "drinking" a beer, and "puffing" on a really big one! It was followed by a dinosaur and some other structures (including a mini-temple). There were, maybe, 200 of us. Laughing. Happy. Missing you. Maybe. grin

Where did I go?

Dok_Atomik — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 02:18:09 GMT

Here. http://people.tribe.net/rotwang

The Green Man is STILL not for sale.

Dok_Atomik — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:16:05 GMT

Discussion of this topic has been moved to: http://tribes.tribe.net/campfirecafe Sorry for any inconvenience. Details inside.

The Green Man is NOT for sale!

Dok_Atomik — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:54:55 GMT

For the few of you who already know, please be patient. For the rest. I have volunteered as a newbie Ranger at this year's Burning Man. I have completed my classroom training, and will include Ranger mentoring (and possible acceptance as a new Ranger) as part of my burn experience in 2007. I won't varhish the truth here — the odds-makers and doomsayers are not giving me any hope at all of successfully completing my mentoring, regardless of any display of my "Rangering skills" on-playa. Well, I will do what I can — and we will see what we will see. In the meantime, I certainly do not wish to represent myself in any manner to which I am not entitled. I can only represent myself and my opinions. I do not (and can not) act as a member of the Black Rock City Rangers, or in any other way as a representative of the Burning Man organization Regardless, I will do what I can to further the basic principles of Burning Man. The art theme of this year's burn is The Green Man, and addresses the human relationship with nature. Part of the Ranger mission is to encourage and facilitate information transfer among the community of Black Rock City, and it is in keeping with this part of the Ranger mission that I received an email this morning. This email informed me (and via me, you) of some official information that may address concerns you (or others) may have. Edited portions of the text of this email follows: "Rangers I know most of you have been thinking about the theme for this year and how it will play out. You are also aware that the Project went out to corporations and invited them to join in the Green Man theme by displaying there innovations in alternative solutions to the energy problem. This invitation to corporations has caused resentment towards the Project and feelings that the LLC was stepping away from the basic concepts of Burning Man that we have fought so hard to protect. I can very much understand these feelings based on the information that was on the street, and my not knowing the real story. Last night at the PSC (Playa Safety Council) meeting ****** (my boss) told us the real story. The LLC did in fact put invitations out to dozens of corporations that are leading edge in the field of alternative energy. They also included some very stringent guidelines about displaying their products, no advertising of any kind, no selling of the product, no pitching the company only the product or idea could be displayed. Well it seems that after hearing that there were only four companies that stepped up, one of them being the folks that make the worlds fasted solar race car it will be on display at the Man base. After all the hoop la about corporate sell out by the Project there will be a total of four (10%) of the displays in the Man base that are commercial ventures, with no advertising no selling no pitching of the companies in any way. The others (90%) will be burner designed, invented and funded projects or displays which have to meet the same guidelines." [A paragraph of text and the signature were removed.] Quote ends. So — regardless of any other information you may have received or extracted from other postings on Tribe — The Green Man does not represent a sell-out by the Burning Man organization, nor are any commercial entities being allowed to conduct themselves in any manner inappropriate for the guiding principles of Burning Man. Those guiding principles include the Burning Man Mission Statement and our Ten Principles. One of those principles is Decommodification, explained as: "In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience." I hope this helps. Please post any questions. Johnny (Ranger wannabee "Nuke")

Help stop the increase in poisoning of our wildlife.

Dok_Atomik — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 17:45:34 GMT

This is a link to provide you the opportunity to sign a petition circulated by the Defenders of Wildlife. This is the third effort in a very short period to increase the use of poisons to kill the prairie dog — without either allowing other features of current legislation to work. or to protect other affected wildlife such as the black-footed ferrett (which the Defenders of Wildlife describes as the "most endangered mammal in North America.") Poisoning is already permitted under current legislation, but the law also allows for other means to provide for the management of our prairies without also further endangering such species as the burrowing owl, hawks, swift fox, and the endangered black-footed ferrett. We need to allow our science-based efforts to work, rather than simply allow the further spreading of poisons to our environment. Please take the time to add your "signature" to this petition. Public comment is required by 7/23/2007. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/144532872 Thanks, Johnny

Hey, It's better than a sharp stick in the eye!

Dok_Atomik — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 06:40:27 GMT

Among the many and varied mysteries of life, two remain as especial challenges that — regardless of my efforts to forget them, or make them go away — continue to require an inordinate amount of my attention. The first mystery is the zipper. It began as a young engineering student in the early ‘70s. I was learning to dissemble and understand the very building blocks of the universe. Not by reading “Tao Of Physics” (I, err, predate the publication of that book), but rather by learning theory and experiment in some of our country’s better universities. Among some of the very brightest minds of my generation. I was, at the very same time, learning about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. I was (and remain) very good at keeping one group of studies separate from the other. Only once did I allow the two contradistinct lifestyles (weekdays in a high-energy-physics laboratory/weekends at the commune) to mingle to any significant and lasting degree. I let the dope-smoking, casual-sex-loving, rockers with almost-as-casual arts degrees (God, I love ‘em still) convince me to allow myself one mystery in life — the zipper. I bragged about this ignorance, and truly never did examine how zippers work. Button flys, drawstring pants, and avoiding the early punk girls helped a lot to maintain the mystery. There is one problem with not knowing about zippers. [You knew there would be a problem.] Every once in a while, you are forced to deal with the zipper. Even if it is just to demonstrate that you have some depth tp your wardrobe. After many, many years of avoiding the doggone things, I put on a pair of trousers that included the subject of my ignorance. [Wait for it. *grin*] Y’know, I am not a complete wuss — I have had to deal with scratched corneas, post-brain-injury complications with my regularity, several fairly dramatic motorcycle accidents, and several more surgeries. I’ve been shot, knifed, and kicked senseless. I watched the love of my life die. But today, at a little after noon, I saw the light. Not THAT light, but rather the light you see when you have THAT kind of pain. I had a “little zipper oopsie.” Worse, I could not solve the problem myself. I tried. I was highly motivated. The problem had my complete attention. The tears started somewhere in the first minute or so, and after five minutes more (after gentle efforts failed, and a dozen-or-so very sharp tugs had only brought the bright light back) I had resolved myself to do whatever it took. I “went for the gold.” I awakened on the floor of the mens’ room. Someone was gently rezipping the foul device. By the time I became a little more aware of things, a 50+ year old Latina was helping me to my feet. She smiled, gestured to the sink (either reminding me, or to “say” that she was going to the ladies’ room to do the same), and was gone. For that period of time, the rest of the world might easily have ended. Any other good or bad thing you could imagine might have been going on in the next room. For perhaps a half-hour, all other things were insignificant. The throbbing — after ten hours — is still significant-enough to require especial attention to the effort to write this post. I don’t have a scab (yet). Right now, it looks more like a little rug burn. The mystery of the zipper. When I am again facing this or that of life’s little problems, I will try to remember the zipper. More (the second mystery) another time.

This bomb's for you!

Dok_Atomik — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 07:50:46 GMT

*grin* Take that, Cute Furry Bunny!

Cute Furry Bunny overshoot claims the life of Dok Atomik

Dok_Atomik — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:28:47 GMT

Recovered (and edited) from a non-Tribe posting, now a couple days old: CNN HEADLINE NEWS STILL PHOTO INSERT Aerial photo, Burning Man 2007 zooming to The entrance to What A Shock village. cut to A plastic-lined pit constructed over an 8- or 10-foot square, raised stage. Gaily clad onlookers ring the stage. Focus is blurred when panning to several gaily unclad onlookers. Oh, and there are beans. Lotsa beans. Mostly in the pit, but evidence of overspray is everywhere, and on everyone. No person is in the pit. Only beans. Chuck Roberts narrates: "In a surprise news item from Black Rock City, Nevada, a friendly clash between two members of the What A Shock village turns deadly when outside influences intervene. More on this when we return from this message from the makers of the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker." ADVERISEMENT INSERT ADVERTISEMENT ENDS Linda Stouffer, from the CNN Headline News desk, narrates: "We just got this video in, and wanted to share it with you. WARNING: the images include disturbing images." VIDEO INSERT FIRST VIDEO IMAGE: A large stage in What A Shock camp at Burning Man. A burner enters the stage, the very image of a 98-pound weakling, affecting the "Rocky in the boxing ring" pose. Clasping his hands over his head. Big, brave smile. Narration begins: "At noon, today, in video captured by a spectator (which seems to be a bad word around here, there aren't supposed to be spectators at Burning Man festival), good clean fun becomes deadly. The incident began with a staged performance that included hazing of a new campmate, identified as Dok Atomik. The initiation included beans — lots of beans." VIDEO SHIFTS TO: Several participants holding open, #10 cans of baked beans. The bean brigade are striking threatening (but humorous, and definitely their best non-confrontational confrontation) poses. Narration continues: "A bell is rung, and the first wave of bean-pelters pour their cans of baked beans over Dok Atomik. Dok slips in the beans, falling to the stage. As he begins to roll about in the beans, we see some inattention on the part of our amateur videographer." VIDEO SHIFTS TO: A pair of scantily clad young women, giggling as the beans fly. An apparently nude (we have to guess, because the studio video processors do that out-of-focus thingy in key areas of the image) third female appears, doing jumping jacks. As we are watching the young ladies, a shadow covers them. A crash is heard. A very loud crash. After perhaps fifteen seconds of erratic images of the startled crowd, the video returns to the image of the stage. Beans. Lotsa beans, and as the video shifts we see that beans have now sprayed over all of the onlookers. But no Dok Atomik. Narration continues: "We now know that the shadow was an incoming "round" from a Cute Furry Bunny Howitzer. The shot was the first test of this new weapon, and was intended to fire into a cordoned-off area of the playa." VIDEO SHIFTS TO CNN AFFILIATE COVERAGE: We are looking at a close-up of a female participant, obviously upset. The banner at the bottom of the screen identifies her as a What A Shock campmate, "Bean Lady." Video feed audio begins: "It was my idea, my fault. Who could know? [sob] The Cute Furry Bunny blasted Dok right off the stage. [sob] We found him in the desert, dead. [sob] We were just getting to know him, and now he's gone. [sob] Who could know? [sob] It's my fault. [sob] VIDEO CONTINUES ON THE STUDIO SCREEN AT THE CNN NEWS CENTER, AUDIO MUTED. Linda Stouffer, from the CNN Headline News desk, narrates: That's an interview from the "Bean Lady," assuming responsibility for this apparent "death by misadventure." VIDEO SHIFTS TO A STILL IMAGE Showing Dok Atomik's lifeless body, penetrated mid-chest by a Cute Furry Bunny (right in the middle of the battleship tatoo). The wound appears to be huge, with only the Cute Furry Bunny's head and ears visible outside the wound. The Cute Furry Bunny looks surprised (and dead). Dok Atomik looks dead. NEWS SEGMENT ENDS The news item becomes CNN's number 1 news story, beating out "George W. declares war on Canada," and even "Paris Hilton arrested for her fifth DUI." CNN News penetrates the TV market with a previously unheard of 39 share, and the "Bean Lady interview" continues on to become the #1 download from You Tube. Note: The original, and the edited work remain my own. No Cute Furry Bunnies (or battleship tatoos) were harmed during the writing of this work. No actual personages are represented by this flight of fancy. FTITCTAJ.

Help Save Our Wolves — Last day to sign the petition

Dok_Atomik — Wed, 09 May 2007 18:06:21 GMT

www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/770149370 Wyoming and Idaho are poised to start the biggest wolf massacre in decades. Together, we can stop them. Speak up for our wolves! Submit your comments today to federal officials. Tell them to keep critical protections in place for wolves in the Northern Rockies. Your personalized public comments will have greater impact in the fight to protect our wolves. You can use these points in your official comment: Federal protections under the Endangered Species Act must be kept intact for wolves in the Northern Rockies until adequate state plans are in place that would protect and conserve wolves. Idaho is not ready or willing to manage wolves to ensure their existence into the future. Idaho’s official position on wolves, passed by their legislature, is that wolves should be removed "by whatever means necessary." The state’s Governor supports a plan to kill 80% of Idaho's wolves. Wyoming's proposed state wolf laws are designed to kill as many wolves as possible - kill more than half of its wolves (16 of 23 packs) immediately upon delisting and to maintain extremely low wolf numbers thereafter through any means including poisoning, pulling pups from their dens and aerial gunning. Submit your official public comment and tell officials why it's important to you that Northern Rockies wolves are protected. UPDATE: The public comment period ends Wednesday, May 9th - please sign to submit your comment today! www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/770149370 Thanks for taking the minute to join the petition drive. Want to join us in the Campfire Cafe? http://tribes.tribe.net/campfirecafe

"They were walking on my eardrums."

Dok_Atomik — Wed, 09 May 2007 10:19:25 GMT

ALBANY, Ore. - These guys weren't exactly Snap, Crackle and Pop. What began as a faint popping in a 9-year-old boy's ear — "like Rice Krispies" — ended up as an earache, and the doctor's diagnosis was that a pair of spiders made a home in the ear. "They were walking on my eardrums," Jesse Courtney said. One of the spiders was still alive after the doctor flushed the fourth-grader's left ear canal. His mother, Diane Courtney, said her son insisted he kept hearing a faint popping in his ear — "like Rice Krispies." Dr. David Irvine said it looked like the boy had something in his ear when he examined him. When he irrigated the ear, the first spider came out, dead. The other spider took a second dousing before it emerged, still alive. Both were about the size of a pencil eraser. Jesse was given the spiders — now both dead — as a souvenir. He has taken them to school and his mother has taken them to work. "It was real interesting, 'cause, two spiders in my ear — what next?" Jesse said. From a Yahoo news item. So, what do you think? For some folks, it's stories like this that tops the "creep me out" list during/after an outdoors/camping experience. Do you know someone who checks out their shoes for spiders or other critters before putting them on? What is the story that creeps YOU out? *grin* Actually, I've never been surprised by this sorta story — cuz I've had to remove several creepy-crawlies over the years (and was lucky to have an ear syringe available before I had to deal with the first). I still cringe a little over this particular bug-in-the-ear story, cuz another reporter cited other, similar stories that involved earwigs. Which got me thinking about the myth/legend of the earwig and an old Rod Serling's Night Gallery episode ("Caterpiller," air date 3/1/72, and an even-earlier iteration aired on Serling's sixties nugget, The Twilight Zone). Which then got me thinking about that earwig, and the torturous path it might travel during its ear-to-ear odyssey. And that earwig being female. And pregnant. Busily larvae-positing over that torturous path. Err, and the same earwig pausing to pass out cigars from the terminal earlobe. *shudder* The stuff of spooky legends shared 'round the campfire. http://tribes.tribe.net/campfirecafe

Not too sure about the cooking stuff? Some Pennsic War stuff, too!

Dok_Atomik — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 06:44:24 GMT

Welcome to the Campfire Café! Drag up a rock at our fire circle. Relax. Enjoy! Have some hot cocoa and a s’more. You say that you love camping and eating, but don’t enjoy cooking at all. You want to hear about recipes that are very simple and quick. I understand completely! Everyone's needs/wants/likes are different. I know lotsa folks interested only/primarily in the camping/social stuff. For some of you — maybe lots of you in this target population — we’re talking simple-and-fast-and-easy-and-only-'cuz-I-hafta-kinda-cooking. If it's a posting from me here in the forum, I promise to constantly apply the KISS system — keeping stuff really simple. Wanna camp at Burning Man “commando style” — eating nuts and berries (and Snickers bars) for the whole week? Check out the trail mix and similar info. Some backpacking recipes may apply. With a burn (or ten if you are a slow learner) under your belt, you decide to add fire (to cook with, not just something to watch burn). We’ll help with info about every kind of camp stove. We’ll talk about cooking with an open fire. About cooking with pots. Grilling on planks, rotisseries or a fireplace grill. We may choose to bring along a backyard grill (charcoal or gas). We’ll talk about it. Some other things we can drag around can include Dutch ovens and smokers. These are as high tech as we tend to get. *grin* We talk about them, too. Many techniques are simple and fast. Many others are simple and a bit slower. A few others are difficult. Some of what we discuss applies more to solo or small groups, and others may be better suited to larger groups of campers. This is not all we talk about, but it does cover almost all of the cooking. And sometimes — just for the fun of it — we burn stuff. __________________________________________ About the photo: Hey, not all of us were Boy Scouts. Or smart. __________________________________________ Seeya ‘round the campfire, Johnny

EQUIPMENT REPORT: the Springbar Tent

Dok_Atomik — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:57:46 GMT

EQUIPMENT REPORT: the Springbar Tent There's a piece of equipment I need to mention. There are lotsa tents made around the world, and many of them are wonderful for their intended use. Backpacker/mountaineering tents. Yurts. RenFair-inspired historical contraptions. Truly, grotesquely wretched canvas tents with external frames of mystery and difficult erection. Wal-Mart specials. And others. Many of their tents have uses, even if some of them — especially some of the discount specials — appear to be fair-weather tents designed primarily as a privacy cabana. Some of them — particularly those "external frame" canvas relics from the sixties — remain in use principally to provide entertainment to other, wiser campers. It was 1998. I was back in California, having just returned from our most-recent period of Hawaiian residence. We had not yet purchased another RV, had no immediate plans to settle in CA, and were just enjoying weekends traveling around the state. We had purchased a "really cool," kinda-expensive, and fairly-esoteric outfitter tent. In a bit less than a year, we had already camped in a dozen-or-so regional parks, Lassen Volcanic Park, and Yosemite. With no hurry (and plenty of time for a Pete's Wicked) and with two of us doing the duty, we were able to erect our tent in about an hour — fully an hour faster than some of the canvas relics (but much longer than some little backpackers, of course). We were camping in Point Arena to do some "beach" diving the next day. We had just set up camp when a new camper arrived at an adjacent site. She was a petite woman, and she was alone. The tent she had dragged out of her van was obviously one of those canvas behemoths, and my wife and I nudged each other knowingly. Sixty or eighty pounds of canvas. This woman (and for that matter, any unassisted man) was going to have difficulty erecting this monster. I stood proud and tall in my masculinity, and offered to assist our new neighbor. My wife (equally prideful, if a bit less tall and not-at-all masculine) offered to assist. Our neighbor stopped — briefly — to say "Hi neighbors, no thanks." My wife and I immediately started our snooping, arranging our camp chairs to keep an eye on our neighbor's activities "without being too obvious." C'mon, you know what I mean! Snooping? Well, I mean... Before I had time to finish a fresh Pete's Wicked, our neighbor was finished. Our neighbor had stretched out the bottom of the tent, and driven a dozen or so tent stakes into the ground around the tent perimeter (ten minutes, or half of my beer). I was a little puzzled by the apparent "misunderstanding" of what I thought should be the order of events, and remained confident we would have to assist. She then assembled four springy-thingies-like-auto-antennas onto a thicker tubular bar while threading the springy-thingies into loops on what will become the roof of the tent. A serious-sounding "snap" turns the lumpy canvas into a trampoline-taut roof, still lying on the ground (five minutes, or several more good pulls on my beer). Now mystified, I waited to see more. Our new camping neighbor assembled tubular pieces into four tent poles. One of them was used to partially erect the tent — raising half of the roof. A second pole raised the rest of the tent with impressive, near-straight walls. The remaining two poles were used, along with the first guy-lines I had seen, to raise the fly over the entrance. (Another five minutes, bringing me up to the last swallow of my beer). Wow! I was impressed. Our neighbor still had a buncha guy-lines to make it stable (still confident in my engineer's eye and near-godlike camper wisdom) under wind conditions, but this thing already LOOKED like a tent — and a really cool tent, at that. At least as impressive was the fact that our neighbor was a very petite woman, yet her erection of this heavy tent was effortless. I downed the spit-swallow (beerese for the last bit of my beer), and already considering another when I noticed new activity at the neighbor's site. She had thrown a couple of sleeping bags into the tent, spoke briefly about this or that errand, and driven off in her van. — Leaving me to share with my wife my worry that we would now have to install the guys after darkness and, perhaps, even deal with a bit of wind. Well, as many of you might guess from any local knowledge of Point Arena or the Mendocino coast, this late-summer evening included an offshore breeze reaching as much as 15 knots. The Springbar, of course, took it all in stride — despite the near-vertical nature of its side walls. The next morning (I was unable to remain awake for the neighbor’s return) my neighbor laughed at my concern. “I have never used any other guy lines, and I have camped all over the west — even in the desert during wind storms,” she said gently. Oh, my. A heavy canvas tent that is easily erected by a 95-pound, size-4 petite! And it stays up!!! I bought one. I might go on and on about the style and design simplicity, its cool looks, its USA manufacture (in Utah), its impressive ability to withstand wind and rain, the modern materials used in its manufacture, the tent’s history, the joy that standing headroom is to users bigger-than-the-standard-bear (78” max. for the model I selected, the Traveler) and everyone else, whatever. I bought one. www.springbar.com Seeya ‘round the campfire, Johnny

Campfire Cafe is Born!

Dok_Atomik — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 17:04:08 GMT

Thank you very much for your patience! Over a busy time (for everyone, I'm sure) of the year, I have appeared to be silent in Tribe. Actually, this is not entirely true. For a very few of you, there may be an awareness of the admin details involved in the start-up of the Campfire Cafe tribe -- and that, with such a period of rapid growth, the number of personal messages to handle the volume of new friends and forum members is significant. For every four new friends and Campfire Cafe forum members I recruit who use the Tribe defaults for the messages, a fifth chooses to write something more personal. Cooking and camping anecdotes are my favorites, but there are some other messages as well. For the forum-related stuff, my preference would be a public message to introduce themselves. But in almost every case, the individual receives a personal reply from me, and in no event would I try to "cut & paste" those emails to increase volume in the forum. Why bother with the "friend" part of the recruiting? Well, quite simply, because of Tribe -- limitations of the Tribe software, and my commitment to Tribe's Terms of Use and their (our) Code of Conduct. Tribe won't let me send invitations to Campfire Cafe to anyone who is not my tribe friend. I support this limitation completely. It reduces spam to a trickle. Can you imagine how this might otherwise be exploited if the Tribe software were altered to make my work for the Cafe easier? I sure can! What is different about my contacts? Is what I am doing wrong? Am I a spammer? Not according to Tribe. I am working entirely within the Tribe software -- no scripting or other high-level shenanigans beyond the use of pasting to post the message telling folks about my intent -- to invite folks to be my friend and/or join Campfire Cafe. No behaviors that are not completely in accordance with the Tribe Terms of Use and Code of Conduct agreements. No commercial interests or links. No personal contacts after the initial invite. No requests for chat or to meet. No use of the Tribe RSVP feature. No alts. No bullshit. Okay, you say, but how dare I disturb your peace on the internet by interrupting your reverie with my email? After all, you're a raw vegan / vegetarian / carnivore / non-cook / non-eater / non-camper / primitive camper / backpacker / car camper / RVer / only-campgrounds-with-room-service / always-within-range-of-my-home-theatre's-remote-control-kinda camper (pick one or several). Hmm. Have I found limitations of tribe that are not "features?" That are, err, bugs? That some users may -- because it appeared to begin with a contact from me -- blame me for some additional burden associated with their internet experience? You bet. Many Tribe users report failure of the Tribe Invitation flag to clear after they have responded to the request. To some users, this may make it look as if I used a script or other trick to make repeated requests to join Campfire Cafe. This bug is a problem for me, too. But I did not cause the bug, am no more responsible for it than any other person might have been if they had invited you to some other tribe, and am not able to flick some switch to turn it off. It did not occur because of repeated efforts on my part. It’s just a bug ─ and a doggone inconvenient bug, at that. It has been reported to Tribe by other moderators. There is another “feature” of Tribe that is an even bigger hassle to me ─ but that inconveniences far fewer users. After a new friend has joined my network, I still need to send the invite to join us in the Campfire Café. Unfortunately ─ when sending invitations, Tribe won't give me enough info to distinguish among my friends when they are using the same logon name. In order to select one, I have only the name spelling to choose -- no thumbnail pictures, no unique user ID, and no other info but the user name. I'm sorry. If you want to see what I'm talking about, just use the option to invite friends to a forum. Maybe you don't have two friends (yet) with the same name, but it does show how little info you are given to choose. For these users, I have to send another message. I ask the new friend to use the link I provide to go to Campfire Cafe, and then use the manual feature to join. Life’s little administrative details. Johnny

Dutch Oven Cooking

Dok_Atomik — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 05:40:40 GMT

Hello, campers! So anyway, what’s going on in the Dutch Oven Cooking forum? Well, we are seeing a period of rapid growth at the inception of a new discussion forum. Who are we? (the members of the Dutch Oven Cooking forum) Many of us enjoy cooking, and many among those also want to improve our cooking options in the outdoors ─ whether that “outdoors” is the lanai (patio) outside our dining room, or at a Renaissance Fair, Burning Man camp, scouting group camp, or a family outing. Who am I? (your gentle moderator) A 52-year-old engineer who has always cooked, and ─ more importantly ─ entertained. My earliest cooking experiences were as a Boy Scout, where I caused a small sensation by showing up with a steel washbasin strapped to the outside of my backpack. At the end of the day’s hiking activity, I hurriedly assembled an apple pie. I placed the pie on the bottom of a fire ring, covered the pie with the washbasin, and built a campfire around and over the whole thing. While most campers were eating the more-typical scouting fare, I was uncovering what was absolutely the most-exotic camp dessert any of my scout buddies had experienced during a hike-in camping trip. During the same year, I began reading about Dutch ovens. I purchased one before my fourteenth birthday. My remaining school years included lots of fine memories of camping, cooking, and surprising adults with my skills. Before I go any further, let me tell you that Boy Scouting remains a fond memory ─ and that a parent can sure use the help that the scouting program can provide to today’s boys and girls. Don’t just drop the kids off. Become an active supporter, and if you are able ─ become a leader. My twenties took me through my evolution as a cook and baker, and as a scouting leader. My employment took me down the path of a gypsy, and my avocational interests included cooking and entertaining (along with camping, sailing, scuba diving, surfing, fishing, hunting, shooting and reloading). With my thirties and a new marriage, the scouting ceased but many other camping experiences continued (and all shooting activities ended). Partway through the decade, I returned to Hawaii for what I thought was the last time. For seven years, I traveled to many locations around the Pacific Rim ─ including remote islands where electricity, drinking water, and EVERYTHING else (except fish and sharks) had to be brought in by barge or seaplane. Even at home in Hawaii, my wife and I were avid campers. It’s a local thing. On Oahu, as development has continued and competition for housing has driven housing costs out-of-sight, the folks with some basic camping skills have an interesting option. When your home is small (especially if four generations co-reside, as some families have been forced to do), one great way to entertain larger groups is to go camping. Another camping motivator was my long experience as a scuba instructor. For many months-at-a-time, I worked only as a beach/scuba bum ─ and for the same months wore only a bathing suit and rubbah slippahs (err, rubber slippers, err, flip-flops). Running a night-dive boat a couple or three nights a week plus one or two open-water classes fills the typical week, but it’s the advanced-class weekend that gives another camping opportunity. The typical advanced class student is a 20-year-old soldier, sailor, or marine. A weekend class that includes a night dive. And camping. Is this a mid-life gig to die for, or what? It is not a great challenge, even with the population pressures of Oahu, to find a spot where you and your group can be alone. I have a favorite camping spot where we can camp on the water and have unspoiled beachs (free of any other evidence of human impact) as far as you are able to see. Talk about your opportunity to become a Dutch oven wizard! And time-and-time-again, I have been amazed how some camping skills and entertainment abilities have to be taught. Can you imagine how those soldiers/sailors/marines shopped for the fixin’s of the evening meal? I do not exaggerate. Left to their own, each diver would bring an average of four pounds of meat (with little clue of how to cook it) and two bags of cookies/chips. That’s it. So, I taught scuba. And the basics of a cooked meal by the beach. Bringing this threatening-to-be-epic missive to an end, I offer that even as recently as Burning Man 2006 I am still surprised how many folks need a little help (and sometimes, a lot of help) to make meals happen. Let’s try to teach and preserve some simple skills, to avoid “settling for” the portrayal of a 20-year-old frat boy (or babe) begging someone to feed him/her. It’s funny when you’re twenty (sort of). It’s a little pathetic when you’re fifty. Johnny *

Entering the Emerald Triangle.

Dok_Atomik — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 15:55:50 GMT

Hiya! Hmm. I s’pose I’ve been bad (or, at least, very uncommunicative). I’ve certainly been busy. Since my last post, I have relocated to Mendocino County, CA. I am stable, meaning that I will remain unhitched through the winter. I have improved a portion of my medications quite a lot, and my life circumstances have ratcheted upward a bit in consequence. The produce sections at the area supermarkets are amazing. Of course, after my previous location for my recovery (rural east Texas), any improvement in my grocery shopping that provides options beyond “Tater Tots,” canned goods and frozen pizza is a real plus. Oh, the restaurants! I have replaced the Volcano (ouch). I have cable TV and high-speed internet access for the first time in over four years. There’s a real improvement in the public library (Hint: There are books in it -- even some without pictures or pop-ups!). There are shopping options beyond Wal-Mart. The improvement in the behavior of drivers on the highway is, err, remarkable as well. MUCH more on this later. Finally, after a successful transformation from “Road Doggie” back to his relatively mild-mannered alter ego, Kimo remains one very happy camper. Life is good. Johnny

Deuxieme virgule trois

Dok_Atomik — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 07:28:48 GMT

I cannot put the burn pics away without posting my own "official" waffle waffle waffle pic. That's RevRot being the Glyph Guy.

Deuxieme virgule deux

Dok_Atomik — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 07:00:01 GMT

Bad Idea Theatre -- what a good idea this turned out to be at the burn. Really good bad movies, and Red Stuff! Kudos to Mike, Bender, Larry, Keith, Eric, Skip, et al -- for a good time and a theme well-executed. And, er, thanks especially for the Red Stuff. BIT defined my range during the burn (or, at least, my unassisted range). I also visited the dance camp right next door, stumbled into the Bubble Bar several times (until I noticed Dave collecting patrons' leftover drinks and odd leavings into a pitcher from which he then poured the next customers' round -- the notorious Playa Punch -- no thanks), and managed one 30-second visit to the Eplaya Bar. Forgive me for taking so long with these postings. It's the nature of my brain injury to be a bit slow (beyond the standard "musta been a football player" kinda dumb). I am also trying to use Photoshop Elements for the first time.

Deuxieme virgule un

Dok_Atomik — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 21:14:22 GMT

I mistakenly added Mr. Fixit’s entry to my thank-yous among the Apokiliptikans. Mr Fixit deserves his own especial mention (and I have still other kudos not yet assigned). Mr. Fixit runs a camp from which he makes available several art cars to folks with limited mobility. I can’t say enough good things about what he does, nor can I adequately thank him for what he did for me. Left to my own, I was limited to visiting camps that were about three hundred yards from Apokiliptika. With Mr. Fixit’s kind assistance, I was better able to see and appreciate the sheer scale of Burning Man 2006. Thank you, Mr. Fixit!

Deuxieme (Burning Man 2006)

Dok_Atomik — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 17:23:46 GMT

First and foremost, I want to thank all of the folks at Camp Apokaliptika for their generous hospitality. Without your kind support and encouragement, I would never have made it out of East Texas to continue this next phase of my recovery. I am sorry that I was not able to contribute more. Thanks, especially, to: RevRot ─ for his friendship, kind and compassionate assistance, and courteous reminders. Kernul Killbuck ─ for his benevolent despotism. Marck & Rabbit ─ for the otherwise thankless scullery duties. Nox ─ for the reminder of our responsibility to those who come after (and the joy that is offered by a simple game of kick the can, er, plastic bottle. *grin*). Mr. Fixit ─ for the (all too brief) gift of mobility early in the week. Jelly ─ for all the fish. BoxaRox and Marshall ─ for comic relief. I was limited a bit by mobility (or, a lack thereof), and by my incredible act of brain flatulence in leaving my walker alongside the road during our deployment odyssey (making it unavailable until after the burn). More of my adventures at BRC later.

The First of Three (or so)

Dok_Atomik — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 21:48:17 GMT

Whatever else it may have been, this past week (and, really, the past three weeks) certainly have been something special. Of those three weeks, the first (my travels and travails to get to BRC) is best forgotten quickly. Only one campmate seemed to realize the tremendous odds against my arrival. That’s good, I suppose, since the handicap against which I struggled was almost entirely psychological ─ and my new mates were either more aware of the physical components of my handicap, or more concerned with their own stuff. I was, quite simply, in the process of recovery from a physician-prescribed, chemically-induced straight jacket from four years of psychotropic medication. Er, and I did it ─ went off the meds ─ without a physician’s approval or supervision. Cold turkey (not s’posed to do that, either) sometime around the middle of June. Ya wanna talk about seeing things that aren’t really there? But then, I’m “off the reservation” entirely, anyway. I don’t have approval to drive on unaccompanied trips any further than from my previous temporary “home” to the VA clinic (about 45 miles), and dragging my Airstream along over 2,100 miles to BRC is kinda beyond the pale. Oh, and they (the VA physicians) still think I’m in Livingston, TX.

This bag's for you.

Dok_Atomik — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 06:11:59 GMT

Got lotsa stuff to catch up on... my initial processing by CalMedMJ folks, the burn, my lingering rash, my new regard for things porcine, lotsa stuff. Maybe this weekend. But I do need to get a pic out to that BRC DPW dude...