(photo: myself at the 2009 Man Build)

About 23 miles north of the middle of nowhere lies a small, innocuous ranch. A sign, about the same prominence as the NO TRESPASSING beside it, identifies it as Black Rock Station Storage and Production Facility. This is Burning Man's work ranch.

Since 2007, I have trekked here- I am in situ- along with 15 other artists, crafters, carpenters, city slickers- to build Burning Man's figurehead, affectionately known among us as Mr.Splinters. In just under a week, a pile of lumber is transformed into a false idol famous enough to Moses blush.

The internet is spotty up here- we are, in fact, in the wild west (scorpions included) but both myself and the internet-starchild SFSlim will be posting about our progress. His writings can be found at the Burning Man Blog. You might also considering following me on Twitter, as 140 characters is a little bit easier for this ol' bessie, our internet connection, to handle.

On a recent trip to Portland, I was introduced to Brandon and Heather, and their project: Bus-Zilla! The project is also known as the Mutant Bus- and it is crazy, it is ridiculous, nearly impossible- and totally f'ing cool.The makers are taking a duo of 70's VW vans- cutting, welding, splicing them into an articulated monster; with gas engine in the front and electric motor in the rear. They seem to be making quick progress, as well- it's inteded to premier at Burning Man this year.Their build blog is extremely detailed, chronicling much of what is certainly a technical Everest.

From the Build Blog:

"A self powered hybrid articulating Volkswagen transporter. Built from two (2) buses, it is approximately 40ft long with accessory trailer and lizard costume. Drive train consists of both electric and gasoline motors. The gasoline engine is used on the highway, and the electric motor “PlayaDrive” is used on the Playa a more green form of transportation. BusZilla II has a total of 6 wheels, with 3 axles, 2 of which are powered at any one time...The main construction feature of BusZilla II is that it articulates (bends) between the 2nd and 3rd axle, much like a large metropolitan mass transit bus."

(the also let me drive their uni-mog around their sleepy suburban neighborhood, thus fulfilling my tank-girl fantasy)

Here's a picture of the completed heart of The Burning One built by our own Meredith Scheff! This is a screen grab from the incredible Fullscreen Gigapan of the Man at Gigapan.org!

Here's a short on setup for Burning Man (via Make:Blog) if you watch closely I believe you can spot our own Meredith Scheff who is on Man Crew this year and is the builder of the Man's Heart.

Alas, I won't be going this year. But perhaps next year I'll find a way!

I was commissioned this year by the Burning Man project to create a very special project: a beating, kinetic, heart for none other than The Man. Being on the build team for Mr. Splinters (El Hombre del Fuego, Dude Man, The Great False Idol) I was honored and wanted to create something very, very special. I'll be chronicling the build of the heart over the next few days.

After much debate, I settled on a design from KMODDL, a wonderful, smooth, cam-and-follower mecanism that reminded me of the beating heart of some giant.  Since KMODDL provides CAD drawings, I could easily take some of the parts into Adobe Illustrator to elaborate on and, you know, make purdy. If you can figure out which model I used, you get a prize.

Above is the first part I made- the cam.With the help from a friend with a schmancy super-secret shop, the part was cut of 1/2 inch steel plate (side note: scrounging around in the scrap section of Alco Metals is about as much fun as a gearhead like me can have. I got filthy!) using that most excelent of machines: an Omax water jet  cutter. It came out..dare i say it? Pretty dang sweet. I made two, because, well, why make one when you can make two at twice the price?

Tomorow: The cam follower, electronics,  troubleshooting