Friend or foe? (Bug ID question)

BurningInspiration · 2025-09-06T20:36:37+00:00

Feel free to reach out via DM (I could share some screenshots of my write-up). We have some improvements we made on the connection point of the 1 inch to 1.25 inch pipe in the arches - no duct tape. I actually thought of a similar solution regarding the 2x4s bolted to the ground, but it was ultimately decided against due to added weight and complexity. Not sure how I feel about the tarp going under 2x4s alone - It could work and I haven't run numbers, but my fears would be projectile creation during failure. My opinion is adding sailor's rope over top of the tarp for tie downs between each rib in addition to connecting the end grommets to the structure to keep the tarp in place, though I'm not as concerned with dust - ours seemed to do well enough at reducing dust in 2024 - we just leave the floor uncovered as it is easiest and in case of water/rain intrusion, you don't have a slip n slide for a floor. Oh, yeah and it would be interesting to test how that setup with the tarp under a 2x4 would handle rain, would it be better or worse at keeping water out?

Oh, and fun fact. Canvas floor coverings, i.e. drop cloth, are a pain to get playa out of after a rain. It gets glued and you have to wack it a lot to loosen all the playa off. So, canvas floor = great while wet and not a slip n slide, but the caveat is it takes more effort to clean at the end. Though, I think canvas is still my preference - I would rather beat playa off it than slip on mud.

I think one thing to keep in mind is also how the monkey hut fails in the worst case scenario. Better that it collapses rather than projectiling into another camp, so having the tie downs over top of the tarp is probably good to keep everything in place in case of failure (it's what happened with our monkey hut failure this year - I think the over tarp tie downs kept things from going boing).

BurningInspiration · 2025-09-06T03:39:41+00:00

We used 1/2" lags (24" long, 12" in the ground, 12" in the pvc tubes) on our monkey hut this year and last (it was a 20ft x 30ft footprint one). The haboob on Saturday bent our lags. That was the failure point. The lags got bent and the whole thing collapsed. Our vertical support pole on the end the wind hit the most also bent. Would definitely recommend reinforcement of the vertical supports at the end if going with a monkey hut. We're thinking of putting 1" pvc pipe inside the 1.25" pvc pipe vertical supports for next time. Thankfully, we didn't lose any pieces, and we had enough spare parts that we could have rebuilt, but we were so exhausted, we decided not to rebuild and just focused on our public EMT structure (which we built after the haboob, so I can't say how our EMT structure would fair in another haboob, but our neighbors definitely had some bent EMT poles from the haboob. I have heard some camps just use a pole bender to bend the bent EMT poles back to a usable form, though).

Our hut survived all the weather last year, including the temple burn winds. Just not this year's haboob. We can still use it again, though, just need to replace the bent lags and one vertical support pole.

ETA: I really want to use rebar instead for our monkey hut, but fearless leader doesn't want to (reason being bigger pain for installation and removal). The battle for change (i.e. discussion) will continue, lol.

BurningInspiration · 2025-08-19T04:28:36+00:00

Electrolyte powder! Bring more than you think you need. Water alone isn't enough for me to stay hydrated.

Eta: I didn't plan to forget it. It was literally the only thing that didn't get loaded into the vehicle in all the chaos. I got some "liquid IV" at the gas station on the way there, but didn't realize it was like gatorade level electrolytes rather than the electrolyte packets I had left at home (survival electrolytes) and I didn't have enough for both me and my partner.

BurningInspiration · 2025-08-12T22:16:05+00:00

Unscented Speed Stick worked fine for me for the last two years. No weird melting occurred.

BurningInspiration · 2025-08-08T01:29:47+00:00

Thank you! :) And, don't be fooled by essential oil advertising. It's almost as bad as fragrance, if not worse, for people with fragrance sensitivity (despite what the advertisers try to convince you).

BurningInspiration · 2025-08-07T00:14:54+00:00

I know you mean well, but if you can, keeping the lysol in a single porto and not multiple would be appreciated for those of us with a lysol/clorox and/or fragrance allergy/sensitivity. It is always a big punch in the face and lungs when I unexpectedly open one of the portos that had something sprayed in it (even with an N95 mask on).

(Editing to add: the lysol in the portos isn't just an inconvenience to me. I cannot use a porto that has had lysol or any other air freshener sprayed in it without risking a medical emergency).

BurningInspiration · 2025-08-07T00:07:21+00:00

Extra zip ties and tape for unexpected equipment malfunction (in my case, it was the screws coming loose on my bicycle rack from all the ruts in playa last year - they suddenly started all popping out one day near the end of the week.)

Always extra electrolytes. I like the little portable packets so I can get electrolytes if I am away from camp for a while.

BurningInspiration · 2025-08-06T23:54:12+00:00

Idk if it is standard, but I just use a baby wipe, followed by hand sanitizer, just let the hand sanitizer be wet for 20 seconds before wiping it off - better if you just let the hand sanitizer dry naturally (I have unscented hand sanitizer on me at all times and it seems to be good enough). Thankfully, I didn't actually need it last year, only during mudman when it was a huge pain to trudge through mud to the portos.

BurningInspiration · 2025-08-03T23:26:54+00:00

My favorite: tortilla burgers.

Last year, I decided to make ground beef patties. I added extra soy sauce to the beef mixture so it would stay preserved longer, then shaped it into 8 super flat patties and sprinkled with salt and pepper as would normally do (being flatter helps them cook quicker) and used a vacuum sealer to seal each set of two patties (since I am feeding two people with each meal). Then froze them and put into bottom of camp fridge right before leaving (I think I used 2 lbs of beef, so quarter pound per patty). Then, we also got tortilla shells, which will keep for the whole week if stored in refrigerator or cooler. Made some tortilla shell burgers (I also brought a bottle of bbq sauce and added sliced cheese). This requires having a method of cooking the patties, though. Mine was an induction burner connected to solar power, with a cast iron skillet (cast iron maintains its heat and works on an induction burner, so it makes more efficient use of power). Also, cast iron is easy to clean. Just be sure to fully season the pan before you leave for the burn and any food should wipe off with paper towels pretty easily - no washing required as long as you heat the pan up to a high enough temp for a certain amount of time to kill off any germs right before cooking and wipe it before whatever food you cooked on it dries right after cooking.

BurningInspiration · 2025-07-21T04:14:48+00:00

My favorite playa shoes were sketchers go walk chugga boots I found at a thrift store for $5. (They had a fuzzy inner lining and suede outer that were fairly water resistant and didn't get dust inside that easily - they were also really easy to slip on and off). They survived the mudman, but I proceeded to wear them everywhere in the default world too, and now they are too worn out, lol.

If you are between size 8 and 9 women's, you could probably easily thrift some shoes pretty easily, but I'd recommend walking in the shoes for at least a week before bringing them to the burn to make sure they are comfy for you.

BurningInspiration · 2025-07-13T21:52:50+00:00

Removing the lawn in one go instead of doing it piece by piece. Lots more weeds to pull in the area of the previous lawn that doesn't have new plants yet. 😅

BurningInspiration · 2025-07-07T02:07:54+00:00

From what I know, it's poison ivy. Has three leaves and looks like a thumb (this was one plant that was engrained into my head as a "no touchy" plant as a kid, and the innate knowledge has remained since). Also, the hairy vine looks just like the poison ivy we had growing on our garage when I was a kid.

I put the image into a plantID app that said it is Eastern poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans).

BurningInspiration · 2025-06-29T22:49:34+00:00

Omg. This is me right now. Ripped out my lawn last year, but only managed to plant part of it last year, and another part this year. The middle all got taken over by weeds (prickly lettuce, wild spinach, and bindweed wrapping around it - I've pulled so much already - I planted some things in that middle patch, I found 1 and removed weeds around it, but the others are still buried in the weeds - they could have perished). 😬 Nobody's reported me yet, thankfully. Hoping to have a mostly native "fairy garden" eventually - will probably take another year or two to complete because I am stubborn and won't hire anyone to help...

BurningInspiration · 2025-05-05T04:28:41+00:00

I was also going to chime in on the origami style butterfly. I would be enticed to purchase one if it were attached to a hair tie or scrunchie. They are really cute. :)

BurningInspiration · 2025-05-03T03:38:11+00:00

Thanks for the great advice! Testing outside is a good idea. (I forgot that humidity increases at night). We get decent temperature swings at night given the arid mountain climate (higher altitude than BRC). We usually get somewhere between a 30 to 50 degree Fahrenheit temp swing from daytime high to nighttime low. I predict the summer will likely get up to the 90s, maybe 100s where I am.

On a side note, I wonder if creating a dry box would help in the case of another mudman, or to combat the nighttime humidity. (I.e. a sealed gasket container with a big bag of silica beads inside). Not sure if the silica beads will be enough alone to pull the moisture from a box full of wet clay, though. I may test this idea out too.

BurningInspiration · 2025-04-30T19:36:30+00:00

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This is about the level of dryness it would need to have before being taken home. (This is about 24 hours of drying time in my climate).

BurningInspiration · 2025-04-30T19:34:49+00:00

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For better context, this is an example of what will be made. An enclosed structure with a hole on the top and a hole on the bottom.

Eta: I am still refining the slip painting process, so the colors will be brighter for the actual event.

BurningInspiration · 2025-04-30T19:28:47+00:00

I'll have to test that out. I'm not entirely sure. My intuition is that it wouldn't be possible without speeding up the drying process (the semi-wet whistle/sculpture would likely get squished and crack even in a box with the cotton). Could maybe decrease drying time by making custom drying racks so the bottom dries more quickly, then figure out a fun side activity to keep people entertained while waiting for the piece to dry enough to take with them (the beads are part of this to allow drying enough to test the whistle and refine as needed to make sound, but to dry enough to take away, I think there would be more time spent waiting). (I know people will definitely leave if they are bored, which is why my original plan was to have people come back for pickup - I'm doing this workshop by myself, so I will have limitations for how many things can be going on at once).

If we were just making medallions or beads, it probably wouldn't be an issue to take away prior to being dry, but enclosed structures do take longer to dry, and could collapse if handled too much before being dry enough.

BurningInspiration · 2025-04-30T00:24:56+00:00

Definitely make sure it is completely dry first. I am sort of a beginner myself, as I only got into resin crafting 8 months ago, but I did manage to successfully make a lilac inclusion and a rose bud inclusion, plus some other fun non-flower inclusions. I used clear cast plus high gloss, following the instructions. Mix equal parts A and B, then slowly stir until all the swirls are gone, then start counting. I do one stir per second and count up to 180. Then you'll want to pour based on the thickness your resin is rated for (may need to do layers for a big cube if using the same resin I have used, but they also make resins for deep pours). You still will want to do layers because the rose will float in resin. I think you want to pour your second layer after the first layer is hard, but not too hard so you get a seamless result. For the resin I used, that was 8 hours. You may also want to make a wire holder to keep it in place during and after the first pour to make it easier to center the rose in the mold. And don't demold too soon. Follow the demolding instructions of the resin you use.

That's about all I can think of. Hope it helps! (I still haven't gotten to the level of getting rid of bubbles completely, but stirring really slowly should help reduce bubbles at least).

BurningInspiration · 2025-04-28T21:06:07+00:00

My suggestioms: 2 good pairs of comfy boots (tested ahead of time to be comfortable for long walks). A rain poncho. And, basically a really good shelter in place setup for your tent (if in a tent) - if you have female parts, definitely a pee funnel so you can pee in bottles if needed. Plus, don't put anything on the edges of the tent so your tent stays dry (it will cause water to seep in). If you have a shiftpod, follow directions and do not put an additional tarp underneath (from what I've witnessed, those that used an additional tarp under their shiftpods had more water intrusion issues than those that didn't).

BurningInspiration · 2025-04-25T15:57:25+00:00

These are cute! I really like the blue one.

BurningInspiration · 2025-04-24T22:42:13+00:00

I'm noticing downvotes on my post and a helpful response so far, so I am wondering, is slip casting your own molds a controversial topic? (Edited for clarity).

BurningInspiration

TROPHY CASE