Burning Man

While Hurricane Gustav is grabbing the top weather news slot, for those making the trek into Black Rock Desert for the annual Burning Man Festival this weekend, the weather was also an unexpected performance art piece in the form of a dust storm.

The storm was caused by a cold front moving through the region and turning the atmosphere into a “total whiteout”, according to a commander at the Federal Bureau of Land Management.

Although no damage was reported, nor any injuries, the BLM claims that the storm did chase away some would-be counter-culture revelers. Though Saturday morning the crowd reached a new record of nearly 49, 600 up 2 thousand from last year, many left before the Saturday night main event of torching of the 40-foot signature effigy. The Burning Man art festival began in 1986 in San Francisco’s Baker Beach and moved to the Black Rock Desert in 1990.

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I love to find examples of good design that's working for a good cause. In the case of designer Vinay Gupta's Hexayurt, those two elements are definitely present. The Hexayurt is, in Gupta's words, a "microbuilding." Gupta's design is a small, strong, and economic structure that can be erected in about two hours, and is made from easily accessible materials such as insulation board, plastic, and cardboard. The Hexayurt has a high R-value, which means that it is relatively comfortable in high and low temperatures.

Gupta's designs for the Hexayurt are in the public domain, which means that they are available for free download. While the Hexayurt was originally envisioned as a refugee shelter, it's recently gained popularity at campsites at the desert festival Burning Man.

To see a video explaining the Hexayurt, read more

Burning Man, that annual experiment in community and creativity opportunity for nerds to get naked and have gross sex in the desert, has come and gone. I didn't think it could get any dorkier, but then I found this clip. You know when "Malcolm In The Middle" is cooler than you, it's time to retire the body paint and angel wings and just keep writing code.

Yes. He calls himself "WaterBoy, King of All That Is Wet." You can find him at Burning Man where he hangs out in scuba gear and floats in a water-filled suit suspended high in the air. He's equipped with a mic and chants off mumbo-jumbo about moisture, hydration and giant wet spots on bedroom linen-- get the drift? He might be more tolerable with a flush feature.

As if you needed more reasons to say "no" to drugs and other forms of fake liberation, here are three more reasons to avoid Burning Man--color coded for your convenience. ("Thanks," Fit!)

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