Keeping gear clean at Burning Man

[Mark Sottilaro <sine@zerocrossing.net>]

Here's how I keep my gear clean as a whistle at Burning Man.  First, 
find a nice muddy area near your home and roll around in it naked for a 
while.  Let it dry and then crumble it off.  If you can't find such a 
mud situation, you can get facial grade beauty mud, which I'd actually 
recommend, but it's expensive.  Get most of it off, leaving a fine dusty 
layer on you skin.  You can wash your hands but try to keep it at a 
minimum.  Don't bathe the day before (or two...)

Prior to this, stop at a army surplus store and buy some RTE meals in 
those foil pouches.  Yum.  Don't forget to stay hydrated!

Next, get all your gear set up and ready to use.  Turn it all on and 
make sure it's all working 100%.   Then (this is the important part) 
DON'T LEAVE YOUR HOME.  That's right.

Don't go.

Instead, take a hit or two of acid (which you were going to do anyway) 
and make all the damn noise you want! invite others for extra realistic 
Burning Man action!  If you need to see more naked people, the internet 
is chock full of sites.  Turning up the heat and all your halogen lamps 
is also a plus, but I personally try not to waste natural resources.  At 
the end of the day, light a roman candle if you can get your hands on 
one.  If not some nice Jesus votive candles are fine, and inexpensive.

I've actually tested the above method, and I can confirm it's 
effectiveness.  The next day, there's a little pocket of dirt near your 
gear, but it's mostly clean as it ever was!

Burning Mark Sottilaro


On Monday, June 3, 2002, at 10:28  PM, Paul Weissman wrote:

>
>> i hope you're all looping at burningman.
>
> speaking of which... anyone figured out how to bring gear out to the 
> desert
> without it getting dust infested yet?
>
> i want to build a hermetically sealed chamber for electronic gear, 
> unless
> there's a better way someone has already thought of...
>
>