Review: Northpole 30-foot Party Tent

Tom got a nice deal at WalMart - $88, and no shipping charge for store pick-up:

www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do


Good product for fairly mild conditions. It's pleasant looking, quick to put up and strike, covers a decent amount of ground, and provides shade and mosquito protection. Would be legal at the park and beach where regulations may prohibit enclosed tents, since it has big panes covered only with mosquito netting. While the opaque fabric is said to be water-proof, a good portion on the footprint won't get rain protection because of the large mosquito-netting openings in the sloped wall.


Erection proceeded smoothly with two people. After the tent is laid out on the ground, one person needs to position and prop up the center pole while the other person goes around the tent perimeter staking the corners. Some additional braces are then added inside. The very mild breeze in the park was definitely felt by the person holding up the pole before the corner stakes went in. Putting this thing up in stronger wind would not be fun or maybe not be possible. The center pole is composed of several interlocking pieces and doesn't seem strong enough to withstand much wind stress. Since the tent starts out lying on the ground, and has no floor, it will get dirty inside if pitched on dirty ground without exceptional precautions. Even building it in a well-maintained park resulted in a number of leaves and grass clippings sticking to the fabric and being retained in the bag.


The documentation claims a thirty-foot corner-to-corner hexagonal footprint, but our build was only twenty-eight feet across. Perhaps another two feet could have been achieved, but not easily. Flaps around the perimeter were supposed to prevent surface winds from going in, but again, our installation did not have enough tension to achieve this, and there are no grommets in the flaps to facilitate attachment to the ground.


Break-down was quick and easy. Leisurely break-down to tent in bag took two people 20 minutes, and could have taken considerably less. Good feature: the bag this tent came in had an extra zipper for enlarging the bag a bit. Since a tent will grow once it's deployed, this eases stowing it back away.


Is it at all useful for the playa? Alla doesn't think so, but Tom thinks it just might work. It certainly is not a panacea, as the screen doors would let in dust, and enough sun to prevent prevent morning sleeping. Any significant attempt to cover them would probably defeat the ventilation and increase the wind profile beyond the capabilities of the center pole to support. The footprint is large, and much of the space has low clearance, so it would not be particularly useful. This would not make you popular with your campmates if space was tight. Setup would have to be managed to be done quickly during a break in the winds, and the fabric would pick up enough dust to make it unpleasant for subsequent use. Even so, it would make a distinctive, and somewhat useful structure for mid day shade.

The wedding video you may not believe

Friends,

We have a video of our wedding up for your edification. If you were there, you'll want to watch again because you may not believe your eyes, and if you weren't there, well, you better just see for yourself: www.youtube.com/watch

Photos from bender and Alla's wedding

Here are a couple of photo collections from the wedding.

We are sorry if you couldn't make it, but hopefully this gives you an idea of the great fun we had:
Dr Evil's:
tinyurl.com/d6aukw

WhiteBear's:
s205.photobucket.com/albums/...dezilla/

The burner community has a sexual problem!

[I originally posted this on the BED in LA tribe ( tribes.tribe.net/bedinla ), but I believe this message needs to be spread more widely. Please read this and think about how this applies to what's going on around you.]

In 2004, I went to Burning Man for the first time. I was amazed by the love and support that was in evidence at this alien gathering. After I got back to the real world, I started going to regional events and socializing with the local burners. These people have become my friends, and in many cases, are closer than family. I was so impressed by the entire experience that I eventually got a Burning Man tattoo.

For years, I "drank the Kool-Aid". I have thought and written about radical self-reliance and radical self-expression. I have de-mooped, I have volunteered at theme camps and decompressions, I have done everything in my power to be the best burner that I could because I felt that we had a community within the wide wild world, I saw this as a spiritual movement where people of like minds come together and make the world a better place, both within our community and without.

I still hold these idealistic views. I still see so much good in so many burners that I know I am on to something. I know this movement has the capability to make the world a better place, and has done so in so many ways. Burners Without Borders provides help to many people in distress, and burners as a whole seem to be helpful, positive people who believe strongly in leaving the world better than they found it.

However, there is also a less altruistic aspect to the burner community. We tend to be self-indulgent hedonists. I also believe in hedonism. I think that if one is responsible, one is entitled to seek the pleasures of life. In fact, I believe that seeking pleasure, when not at the expense of others, is a key part of our advancement. Finding and spreading joy exalts and elevates us all. Pushing back the boundaries of conventionality allows us to learn what is possible in this world, and to expand our horizons in ways that help us to understand our world and our relationships with other people, both what they are and what they could be.

But the world doesn't appear to other people exactly as it appears to me. Others come from different backgrounds, have had different experiences, and have different moral and ethical characteristics. What I say and what I do can send a message to others that is completely different than what I think. When people encounter our community, they often see the drugs, the sex, the intimacy, and the good will, and they very well might think that is the extent of it. For many people, that may even be the full extent of it. I don't own Burning Man. As a movement, I don't even think Larry Harvey owns Burning Man. It consists of what we all make it, those who share my view and those who don't. If a large number of people see the burner community simply as a place to do drugs and have sex, then I suppose that is as true a description of it as the hippie-fantasy I hold in my head.

If we are going to carry a banner, we have the responsibility to know what it represents. If we are going to enjoy the benefits of a community, we must be full members. Otherwise we are building a vast, powerful machine, but have no idea of its full function and effects. If we are not going to challenge the precepts of radical self-reliance and radical self-expression, we must acknowledge that we have publicly accepted them. Otherwise, we should find something else to call ourselves.

As a whole, we have dropped the ball on this. As a whole, we continue to enjoy the benefits of our association, and yet, when something threatens our fun, we look at our feet and mumble about how something should be done.

I write this because of a single, isolated incident, not because that's all I care about, but because that's the one I know about. I refer to New Year's Eve. A woman was enjoying herself, and a man took advantage of her altered state of mind. I will not belabor the details, as they are available elsewhere, suffice to say, he had unprotected sex with her without seeking her consent. She was not unconscious, but she did not say yes, and she had said no before.

I will say it right here, right now: That is wrong! That is the kind of exploitative behavior that debases us all. I will never stand for such, and I wish I had the clarity and strength to say it before. The earliest comments I saw about this was to avoid making it a witch hunt. This is not a witch hunt! A witch hunt is where baseless claims are made and extreme measures are taken with no regard to justice. All I saw were factual accounts, and even an admission of guilt (which has since been removed).

And what has been the result of this? A bunch of "atta-boys" for an apology that was not even contrite, a couple of poorly-attended meetings, and a whole mess of people that seem to just wish this would go away.

What the hell is the matter with us? This poor girl is hurting every day because she discovered her world isn't as safe as she thought, and that she's a member of a community that won't even stand up for what's right and what's wrong, despite the loftiest of stated goals. She has to cope with having been violated, while those around her seem more concerned with keeping the party-train going, than acknowledging a dangerous and wrong situation, and a continuing risk to us all, even those of us who think our lifestyle choices will protect us. She has to see one man's popularity outweighing the despicable nature of his actions.

She has to wonder if her lifestyle choices have caused her to be objectified. She has to wonder if people think she got what she deserved. Our inaction speaks louder than anything I have heard said or seen written.

Maybe I just don't know what's really going on. Maybe people have had long talks with this guy. Maybe people have heard him go over this and come to a true, organic understand that what he did was wrong, and why, and what it is about him that led him to do it in the first place. I hope so, but what I saw appeared perfunctory and a simple attempt to patch things up and get on with business as usual.

How do we rate the severity of what happened? Is it as bad as hitting a parked car and not leaving a note? Is it as bad as driving drunk? And getting in an accident that hurts somebody?

What remedies have been sought? Has he had counselling? Has he attended some Sex Addicts Anonymous ( www.sexaa.org/ ) meetings? He didn't even think he had done anything wrong until days after the event when he was confronted! How the hell is he supposed to behave if he doesn't readily understand misbehavior?

And, my God, unprotected sex in a questionable (not just non-consensual, but any first-time) situation? What kind of reckless shit is that? That alone should be raising flags and causing discussion all over the place. He's not protecting himself and he's sure not protecting anyone else.

I'm a nice guy, and I generally give people the benefit of the doubt, but does anyone see any defense for this? Does anyone care about absolute right and wrong? I really do believe in radical self-expression, but radical self-reliance does not mean having to endure the attacks of predators without help! Have your fun, but if you contribute to a situation that is hazardous to those around you... to any one of those around you, you are doing way worse than mooping the playa.

Look, I know this forum probably has the people who have stepped up the most in this matter, but it's also where the closest thing to a discussion on this is occurring. And I think the BED effort is coming along, but this goes beyond that. BED is voluntary and optional and I think it's right that we're not pursuing the notion of BED rangers. I'm writing about the whole community and what it means to be a part of it. I am saying that all of you need to nag your friends, nag this guy, the way I am nagging you.

Are you mad? You should be. Are you more mad at me for going off like this than you are at this guy, at other guys like him, at the whole notion that this can happen? That's OK. Start with being mad at me and then think about this for awhile and realize what's really riling you. Consider why you are in this community and make your friends consider the same thing. Consider your actions and how you value the individuals around you, from the slickest, most popular guys and girls to the socially awkward ones. Do they know what they're getting into? Are the situations fair, or are people at risk of being exploited?

It's not that you have to play cop. It's that you have to stand up for what you believe. You have to spread your beliefs far and wide so everybody knows what they are, and if they disagree, they may not want to have anything to do with you, but when you really think about it, you wouldn't want anything to do with them either, because you're not agreeing on the basic issue of right-and-wrong.

It we are going to be a community, we have to act like one. We have to express some kind of group ethic, and if we have to fight amongst ourselves to clarify it, so be it. To do anything else would be irresponsible and a travesty of what we represent.

I cannot let this stand, and if I must stand alone, I will.

For immediate release

Bender and Alla bring weddings into the 21st century.

IRVINE (AP) In today's troubled times, couples are finding it harder and harder to have a normal, traditional wedding. Customs requiring specific family members to contribute to the celebration are considered quaint and outdated, especially for a second or third marriage.

Couples are forced to employ novel, creative methods to finance even modest weddings. Lodging rebates, auctioning options on wedding gifts, even selling plasma have become commonplace for those who insist upon ceremonies beyond their normal means.

Bender (not his real name) and Alla are one such couple. Unexpected expenses, such as bear-trapping and alcohol treatment, threatened to deplete their budget months before their wedding. Taking a cue from their favorite social-networking site, tribe.net, they come upon a brilliant idea: Start charging from something that used to be free. "We established our user base with the free-service model, but then transitioned to the pay-premium model. We expect some attrition, but our dedicated user base should follow us into this new territory."

Bender and Alla are offering a three-tiered membership structure. Basic members ($100) will be allowed entry to the event, and to observe the wedding. Premium members ($250) will be granted in-and-out privileges, and up to three Porta-Pottie visits per day. Gold members ($500) add unlimited visits, toilet paper, priority seating at the ceremony, and acknowledgment (eye-contact only) by the bride.

"With a viral marketing campaign, we have been able to reach people we never would have thought of inviting to our wedding. Most people don't know more than two ex-convicts, but we'll have enough for a soccer game. They've already given us two sets of hubcaps as wedding gifts, but they say they'll have a lot more for us at the wedding."

As the economic downturn drags on, we expect more couples to come up with new ways to defer and defray the huge costs associated with getting together. Next week, we'll interview a couple who has sold advertising rights to a number elements of their wedding and subsequent union, including naming of the first son and two daughters.

Episode IV - A New Hope

As many of you may know, I have been seeing an absolutely fantastic woman for the last few weeks. The more I see her, the more I like her. I have never been happier.

For the last six months, maybe a year, I've been in a funk, and I've really been letting myself go. I've tried to hide it, but I've been able to feel it. And even for the last few years, I've been feeling my age, and then some.

Lately, I have been so happy and invigorated that my previous attitude and behavior seem alien and inexplicable. I have been dropping bad habits like, well, like a bad habit.

Part of this, a very small part, is set dressing. I certainly want to look better for my lady love, but the majority of it is that I now care. I care about myself. I care about how I feel in the morning and throughout the day. I care about what I can get done. I care about the future.

I got into a weird place. I'm sure at least part of it is depression, and I am looking into that. I am taking this opportunity, this gift, to tend to myself and lock in these gains. I know I won't feel this good every day for the rest of my life, but I will not let myself feel like I felt before, or rather like I didn't feel.

In short, if you've been concerned about me lately, I want to let you know that I understand. I see it, and I see how bad it was. In fact, it was probably worse than you thought. I'm pretty good at keeping up appearances.

I won't say you don't have to worry about me at all, ever again, but my future is looking much brighter.

And please don't think that I'm putting the burden of my health on the shoulders of this poor little girl. I dearly hope that she will be in my life forever, but the benefit has already been taken. I have been given the objectivity to see myself clearly, and the strength to be honest with myself about who I want to be, and even how much I liked (or disliked) the person I had become.

This is a long, perhaps unending, road, and a good start doesn't guarantee a good end. And yet, it's a requirement. I have been lucky enough to have an upturn to let my "hitting bottom" be less low than it might have been. I have been lucky enough to have my reset button hit so I could tell the difference between doing well and not. I have seen the possibilities in life. I realize that if I take care of myself, I can have anything I want, but if I don't, my universe will shrink until it is uninhabitable.

I am so looking forward to today...

Aspirations and desparations

I probably should have written this one last year when it was more topical, but I can't control when these things come off the back burner...

Hope and fear
Far and near
Yet the path
Is never clear

Like the yang
And like the yin
Half a clap
Shall not begin

A question

Ain't love grand?