The events everyone looks forward to seeing. Drums beating, firesticks twirling, lamplighters dancing. People will be cheering and yelling.

IF .......you do what you can to reduce lag and set your viewer up for optimal viewing. Here are some things to do so we don't all end up stuck in lag or suddenly find outselves on a crashing sim. Swimming through molasses (lag) is no fun!

Remember we're all there to see the man burn. So we don't care how newbie you dress or if you're bald and shoeless. Pat yourself on the back if you can come in with an ARC of 1 and a script count of 1. As someone on tv says...It's a good thing!

#3) Set up your viewer for best results:
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Force to Sun to Midnight
Draw Distance 152m to 170m
Particle Count 4096 minimum; 7168 maximum
Local Lights = Maximum
"Sounds" volume slider = Maximum
Avatar Impostors = CHECKED

Advanced Settings:
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Lighting & Shadows OFF
Global Illumination OFF
Water Reflections MINIMAL
Post Process Quality = High
Objects & Sculpts LOD = High (4.0)


Optional Settings:
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"Music", "Media" and "Voice" volume sliders = Minimum
Speaker volume = High
If your viewer supports "Derendering", consider derendering various objects at your discretion.
If your viewer supports "Maximum number of avatars", consider lowering that value for the duration of the Burn.

Burners are nothing if not creative. All the art and music you see on the playa attests to that fact. They're also very good at putting together amazing outfits and outfits that help them survive and thrive in the heat and dust. The first of two fashion shows was today and several people strutted their stuff on the catwalk before Silver Seed said enough is enough and wanted to go shopping ...I mean, needed a reboot.

Here are some of the fashions we saw today:

Now some shots of the models. Unfortunately a couple didn't rez completely so they aren't in the pictures. There was more than a little lag...but the outfits were worth the wait

What's the first thing people see at Burn2? 

The front gate with a big Welcome sign and friendly greeters. And newbies. Not just Burn virgins. But real life newbies. Some made avies and the first thing they came to was the Burn. How cool is that! So be nice if someone has a box on their head..hmm..this is the burn, so that box might be a fashion statement. But it could also be a newbie...so if ya gotta snicker and point, do so quietly, and offer some help. OK?

Bo and Luna working the gate road

A sign at the welcome gate reminding people about the live stream

Image via Wikipedia

You hear people say that a lot - we're an official regional event in Burning Man. (and the only regional event to actually burn the man, i might add!) And here's a pic of the Man from 1999 for those of you who like a little history.

But have you ever checked out the regional groups? There might be one in your area that you could hook up with.

Here's the webpage for them - http://regionals.burningman.com/

They've got a blog - http://blog.burningman.com/tag/regionals/ 

and a calendar - http://www.burningman.com/calendar/yearround/month.php

Here's a map showing what countries have regional groups

Here are some night time pictures ....not much ambient light yet on the playa to wash out the moon and stars.