B u r n l o g

This deep article highlights Jim Mason of the Berkeley Shipyard, the upcoming Escape from Berkeley race, and the Mechabolic fame and how regulatory and electrical power disputes with city officials has led to all kinds of innovations including gasification cars, high-capacity and portable combined heat and power (CHP) and solar power in shipping containers, and other intriguing green ideas.

Power From the People by Brian Doherty

[Jim Mason:] “I wanted to take up power not from a Luddite ‘the world is being destroyed’ mentality that we should all do nothing, sit in a corner, and not consume at all, or since we can’t, just do a little and feel guilty anyway,” Mason says. “I wanted to take it up as a culture of potential abundance, of doing and engagement.”

So he and some of his pals experimented with living large off the grid. Tea, shmea; they needed to operate three-phase industrial power tools. So they scrounged transformers and off-the-shelf generators from junkyards, bought inverter arrays on eBay, assembled solar panels and switching stations. It took them many months and many failures along the way, but they ended up cobbling together a system that successfully supplied their workshop with electricity, controlled by a snazzy computer program that made it possible to trace all operations online. Though it tended to trip out at least once a day, Mason hopes eventually to offer a version of the power system bundled together in one shipping container as a “powertainer” for off-grid use in the Third World and elsewhere.

Tom Price (Environmental Manager of Burning Man and Director and founder of Black Rock Solar) is interviewed by Robert Knox at Environmental Graffiti.

Price, the “environmental hero” (PEOPLE magazine), had this to say:

“Solar costs on average $10 per watt to install, and the rebates were $5. But about half the cost is profit and labor, and we realized that if we weren’t interested in making money, and could get volunteers from Burning Man to help build and install it for not very much wages, then we could build it pretty much for free–which is exactly what we did. The great thing about the environment and community of Burning Man is that it’s very much a do-ochracy, so when someone has a good idea there are very few impediments to making it happen.”

If you’re down south a bit and like all things fire, drop by and visit PyroSpin

Also, check out a profile article in a local rag: Santa Barbara’s PyroSpin

More Addis arson news from Laughing Squid!

Paul Addis Arrested, Planned To Set Fire To Grace Cathedral

Apparently, Addis was “arrested on the steps of the church wearing an old ammunition belt that carried small explosives.”

Trying to burn Grace Cathedral? Now that’s just going too far!

If he thought acceptance was possible before from the Burner community for torching the Man like a good prankster and anarchist, I’d say his actions are far and away beyond acceptable now.

The Guardian’s San Francisco Blog has an article about the recently deceased clothing designer Tiffa Novoa.

The article’s author credits her with informing much of the style and couture found at Burning Man and throughout the west coast, and particularly San Francisco, club culture scenes.

She was just 32 years old and apparently died of a “fatal drug reaction” in Bali. Her style and legacy probably won’t be dying anytime soon no doubt.

Did you or someone you know undergo an illegal search and receive a $525 citation from a BLM Officer or Ranger? An increased number of burners did this year. See below for a brief list of what you can do to cope with this situation in the future both on and off the Playa. Any other helpful (and legal) hints are welcomed.

This just in from Jack Rabbit Speaks:

Lawyers For Burners

Calling all Lawyers & Burners
A group of burner attorneys are mounting a grassroots project to challenge BLM citations that may have been issued WITHOUT probable cause and/or where consent to search was NOT freely given. If you or anyone you know was issued a federal citation from a BLM Officer or BLM Ranger at Burning Man 2007 and you are interested in contesting the citation then read on. Please note this only applies to BLM citations; not Pershing County arrests or citations for state law violations.

The same story has been recounted from numerous participants, and if the reports are true, then there seems to be a pattern. It goes something like this. Participant is stopped by BLM Rangers for no reason in particular, or for a very minor reason, and is then told that they have no choice but to allow a search. However, we believe there may have been violations of the Fourth Amendment in these types of an interaction.

Enough is enough! We are looking for attorneys to volunteer with contesting these tickets en masse. This will require getting the facts from each defendant, advising them of their options, filling out pro hac vice’s for each, and traveling to Reno for the hearings and trials. All of the attorneys can get together several evenings and weekends to tackle this project together.

Know Your BRC Rights
Here is a simple guide to conduct on the scene based on ACLU guidelines. Another great organization is Flex Your Rights (see the handy FAQ and, for TV junkies, watch a classroom style instructive video).

NOTE: To illustrate your rights, the following list lends itself to a worst-case-scenario viewpoint of abusive conduct. Apparently, some BRC cops are wiling to take advantage of people they know cannot or will not take the time and money to hire a lawyer and attend court in Nevada. However, these officers are a minority. Most officers are genuinely concerned with public safety and will not abuse their unique privileges.

• SEARCH: You are not required to submit to a search without probable cause (see also Wikipedia). An officer must see drugs or paraphernalia on your person or otherwise have reasonable cause to believe that a crime has occurred, is taking place, or will occur in order to legally search you. Again, police officers cannot search you in the default world or on the Playa without reasonable cause other than briefly patting down your clothing for weapons.
  (Is a light saber a weapon?)
• POLITE: Be polite and respectful. Never bad-mouth or argue with a police officer. Simply ask nicely if there is a charge being made against you and, if not, request that you’d like to be on your way.
  (If the officers’ faces are melting or look like muppets, it’s probably okay to discreetly ask for the nearest chill lounge or portapotty.)
• CALM: Stay calm and in control of your words, body language and emotions. Keep your hands where the police can see them. Don’t run. Don’t touch any police officer. Don’t resist even if you believe you are innocent.
  (Resist the urge to wander off to the nearest art installation or mutant vehicle rolling by.)
• STATEMENTS: Do not make any statements regarding the incident. Don’t complain on the scene or tell the police they’re wrong or that you’re going to file a complaint. Avoid lying if possible as officers are trained to catch it. Better to remain silent than to get caught lying which will exacerbate your situation.
  (The officers also don’t care what your complaints are about the ‘07 burn versus pre ‘96.)
• SCARE TACTICS: Be wary of intimidation and cornering. Harsh words and actions or advice to give up or allow a search because your buddy over there already admitted your guilt are often tricks. Remain calm and stay silent. Remaining silent is a legal right and is NOT considered in court to be an admission of guilt even if an officer might suggest otherwise.
  (If you’re David Best, go ahead and get arrested for open container in a mutant vehicle, only to enjoy a chummy greeting at the Gerlach sheriff’s station and watch as a rookie gets a hand slap! …ahem, so I hear anyway.)
• DETAILS: Remember officers’ badge & patrol car numbers. Write down everything you remember ASAP.
  (Try to focus beyond how kewl their outfits and ATVs are in terms of desert costumes.)
• WITNESSES: Try to find witnesses & their names & phone numbers.
  (…before they wander off to some art installation or mutant vehicle.)
• COMPLAINT: If you feel your rights have been violated, file a written complaint with police department’s internal affairs division or civilian complaint board.
  (Try to do this at home on paper and envelope, not a dusty shred of your shade structure or wrinkled paper bag your ’shrooms are still in!)

UPDATE: Shoutfit WAS cut just right. Alas poor Shoutfit has died an ignoble and swift death. It suddenly stopped working in late 2007. Sorry, folks. No more fun to be had here… move along…

My favorite new social site is Shoutfit.

Think trends, friends, outfits, and closets of your own creations and those from others who are proud to show off their style. The trendsetters there are fun and stylish to the extreme. Plenty of Playa style cabaret, gothic, circus, apocalypse, vampire, aristocratic, wasteland, fruits chic by and for the folks who do and appreciate it!

One neat feature is the Collage element that allows you to take your photos of different clothing bits and pieces and arrange them on a white board. You can also show an outfit and then create squares over the bits and pieces to point out and explain to viewers what and where you got your stylish duds. Shoutfit is still in beta so will no doubt get better.

It’s irresistible to anyone on the Etsy DIY style wavelength. Lookit me in ma clothes!

This from Laughing Squid:

• Hear AND see why and how you should vote for Chicken John in the Video: Help Chicken John Run For Mayor of San Francisco
• VoteForChicken.com site to further illuminate San Franciscans on resusitating a “city of art and innovation” (not to mention the chance to drive a truck into that Embarcadero giant bow and arrow sculpture if he’s elected! YES!!)

Chicken John who would be mayor / Burning Man devotee says his platform is bed of pickup truck by Cecilia M. Vega, S.F. Chronicle Staff Writer.

If only… * sigh * … Go Chicken John!

His platform, he says, is the bed of his 1975 GMC pickup, which he converted to a zero-emissions vehicle that runs on coffee grounds and walnut shells. His party affiliation is simple: “I like to party. Party hardy.”

“The government should be like someone you want to invite to the party, not someone you would call to do your taxes,” he said last week during an interview about his candidacy. “The government body of San Francisco should be intoxicated every once in a while on a Friday afternoon, or have a piercing.”

Among his complaints: “Our city is being turned into a f — ing strip mall. It’s being turned into a suburb.”

The people who are running the city don’t have any new ideas, and they’re just boring, he said, adding that there’s not enough art and innovation in the political process, and too many creative minds are moving out.

Even if he doesn’t become mayor, there is one thing he still wants to do. “I want to drive my pickup truck into the bow and arrow even if I don’t have permission,” he said. “Where’s all the whimsy gone?”

Yet more from Laughing Squid today: “Topsy-Turvy Bus Tours US Questioning Budget Priorities”.

“The Topsy-Turvy Bus, lovingly known as Topsy, was designed to dramatically depict America’s upside down budget priorities.

Topsy is a brainchild of Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s and noted artist Stefan Sagmeister, and was constructed by artist-mechanic Tom Kennedy (of “Ripper the Shark” and “The Whale” Burning Man art car fame).”