First Time Slithering to unSCruz in Santa Cruz

With Santa Cruz a very short drive from the TechnoGecko home and build site, it was a natural evolution to take part in unSCruz, the Santa Cruz regional burn event. Once it was pitched to the TechnoGecko team, they raised hands for participation in droves. Because of the large number of people from our camp attending, we were able to coordinate staff to bring the whole Gecko out - all three modules, the backup trailers, and all the towing vehicles. Here’s a recap video:

And wow, what an awesome burn it was! We were so pleased and so proud that everything worked great! The lights! The music! The DJs! The flame effects! The Gecko gorgeous looked awesome! The project visualizations!

The subwoofer door! The electric jacks! The towing drivers! The fire inspection passed smoothly! Our wonderous pole dancers! The Entheos temple! The labelled bins so we could find things! The volunteer structure! The kitchen! The power systems! The tires! The *everything*! If you understand the tech and take into account the 2+ years since full assembly, having such a smooth experience was quite a feat.

It was at unSCruz that we debuted the upgraded visualizations on the dance floor module flap. The lights were much more vibrant and the interactivity drew people of all ages in, over, and interacting with us!

Renegade Man 2021 at Black Rock City

Renegade Man at Black Rock City

was one for the history books

Fires were raging up and down the coast. The Bay had air quality reports far into the unhealthy range but unofficial Burning Man aka Plan B aka Renegade Man was gaining momentum. A decision had to be made by TechnoGecko on if it’s a go or no-go as the event was two weeks out. Do we go or do we pivot? A handful decided to go no matter what because even arriving and needing to turn back would be better than if we missed out. Our souls were yearning for something novel. The idea of it being different made it even more enticing. The barriers to entry were lower in some aspects but the self reliance was higher and that made the challenge more exciting.

With a small TechnoGecko crew everything had to get simplified. We didn’t have our Canadian technical crew, we didn’t have many of the supporting camp members to help fix things and for sheer strength, and many that went to Juplaya a few weeks back didn’t have another large desert event in them. The solution was to bring the dance floor and a truck to pull it around. That’s it. It wouldn’t be under its own power. We wouldn’t bring the head, body, tail, and the whale trailer with all the backup supplies would stay at home as well.

Despite all this, we were excited. Tracking the fires, weather, roads, and winds on a daily basis was now part of the prep work. We bought proper smoke masks, air purifiers, filters, and the early crew went down on Sunday. Normally we had a crew in a week in advance but since this was a ‘lite’ version we were hoping a week would be enough. They got the camp shade structure up. Our boots on the ground, despite some being very sensitive to smoke, said it was manageable and even ‘okay.’ More people joined the team going and the TechnoGecko campers grew a bit bigger. The vehicle came down on Tuesday and the majority of the camp on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Slowly the city formed. Roads came out of the dust. The What3Words app which was used by the community and camps were able to place themselves was being followed. Streets, although without names, were followed. The concentric circles appeared. The people of Black Rock city were proud.

Did we have ice? No. Porta potties? Certainly not. BMorg to set it up? Not this year. A man that burned? No. Street signs? Nope, not even street names - only three words as identifiers. Burning of temple offerings? In barrels but not with the structure. But, the guiding principles were followed. The lawlessness that scared some didn’t exist or at least wasn’t readily seen. Everyone wanted it to work. And some of the principles lake radical self reliance and radical inclusion were at a level that hasn’t been seen by the event (or un-event in this case) in a long time.

People came from the neighboring cities to see what it was about. Those always wanted to go but never were able to get tickets or those that were never able to afford tickets came. The worries about bodily fluids on the playa seemed to be no more severe than any other year. The incidents of accidents also seemed low (or possibly lower) than in a typical year. It felt like 20-30k people showed up with all those that just came for the day. We were doing it.

The camps brought their basic version of offerings - some had liquor to share that they made, others massages, others music, and some just safe spaces to hang out and chill. There were small art pieces that appeared late in the week and were left standing despite authorities warning that any structures not for sleeping or shade would be taken down. With very strong rules enforced against fire, a massive drone show was put on where a man made with drones burned in the air with red and yellow faux flames also made by the light from drones. Art cars came. DJs showed up. Robot Heart played. Fun was had. And, the playa provided - the weather was mild, the wind was mild, the temperature was mild. We appreciated it.

A community of people seeking hope, comfort, togetherness, and renewal found it in each other, themselves, and the earth. Two years of isolation, fear, and trauma was at least a little washed away after a few days. Our brains rested by disconnecting from our phones. We talked to other humans and were present.

TechnoGecko had a dance stage and the people created the memories. We made new friends and deepened connections with our existing community. Despite all the uncertainty, lack of structure, and non-existent oversight a beat wasn’t skipped. Black Rock City is made by the people, and we all showed up.

Fourth of Juplaya 2021

We slithered out of the dust and decided, as a camp, that this was the year to bring TechnoGecko to Juplaya. Certain people without our crew went before and said nothing but magical things. Plus, our souls needed something to aim for that wasn’t possible to be canceled. An off-the-books event sounded like just the ticket. The COVID restrictions and infection rates were decreasing, the vaccine rollout was underway - there was hope for holding a safe gathering to top it off. And, what better place to have it than in the middle of a desert void.

Juplaya happens over the Fourth of July at Black Rock city. It typically brings a thousand or so people and is growing in size and popularity each year. Without rules from a governing body, you’re bound by federal law exclusively. People bring fast cars like side-by-side cars or motorcycles all the way down to bicycles and walking around by foot.

Our camp assembled to pack up the gecko dance floor and splines, and we headed down to Black Rock City. Our a small but mighty crew were COVID tested and vaccinated. Everyone was in great spirits. The people that showed up were enthusiastic about being out there. They loved the energy we brought. It was a great place to forge meaningful connections because, unlike larger events, we often would run into the same people everyday.

We had music, dancing, and made memories. DJs hopped on. Other mutant vehicles showed up. Art was formed. We saw sunsets, we stayed up for sunrises. Our community connected and grew in size. If you haven’t gone, be sure to arrived prepared and check it out. You’ll love the people you meet! We hope to venture out again!

A Year for Visual Impact - BM 2019 in Review

It wasn’t an easy year. We knew all the inaccuracies and shortcomings from BM2018 that had to be fixed, what the department of mutant vehicles wanted from us the following year, and what we personally wanted to accomplish by playa time. In short, our to-do list included changing the robot head module so it weighed less, adding in suspension, restructuring the wheels on the robot to better distribute the heavy load (it’s made entirely of steel), refabricating the actual gecko head to look more gecko-like, adding the dance floor module (full fabrication from scratch which included motor controls, batteries, etc. so it can be a stand alone unit as well), getting the sign created and mounted, fabricating a gecko foot, making sure all the LEDs work, and programming the controls so it can drive. But, that all happened. Every. Last. Bit.

The team was amazing, so many truly talented volunteers that gave it their all. Some came in with ample skills in engineering or fabrication, others learned on the fly. It was pure magic. As Playa Time at Black Rock City came closer, it was another mad dash filled with late nights, long days, and round the clock help to get the Gecko on its way.

Each unit and support unit gets towed to Black Rock City (BRC). For us this year, there were 4 units going up — the Robot head, the Dance floor, the DiscoFish tail, and the Whale which is where we house all the backups we bring. Each unit has an assigned driver that tows by hitch, and teams already in BRC as well as back in Sunnyvale monitoring their travels.

People talk about the good, but every group has issues. Running a large art car is not easy task. Just getting them to BRC is a feat and we hit a few bumps along the way. For us this year, there was a snafu with the sign when the dance floor module was being transported. Mark was the driver and his calm nature as well as attention to detail helped get everything adjusted, fixed, disassembled, and back on track. The robot head’s driver had a tire issue on the unit. It made it to BRC but the tire was trashed.

The sign took a good part of the evening to fix, some quick thinking used RVs to help mount it. The spare parts in the whale allowed us to rebuild the broken railing. For the Robot tire issue, the team pivoted to use the street tires. There was a possibility of overheating because of the pivot as the drive systems were calibrated for the other industrial wheels. After testing the Robot, there were some issues, it did overheat. Luckily, we have some amazing engineers that went heads down for nearly three days to identify, re-engineer, and create solutions for those problems.

By midweek the Gecko was ready for the DMV with a day license granted on Wednesday. Due to a technical hiccup, the night license was postponed until Thursday. Then, after the night license was granted the overheating issue persisted and caused another night in for the gecko.

But, Friday was a full day and night success for the TechnoGecko. The engineering team worked out most of the kinks earlier in the week and the gecko cruised the playa doing and ARTery tour at 9:45am, bait shift at 6pm, and evening plus late night slithering through the playa until calling it at 4am. The Gecko had the privilege of seeing the Man, the Temple of Direction, the Awful Gas Station burn, the Folly burn, Head Space, Wing Portal, and many more of the amazing art the graced the playa this year. The docent that joined us Friday morning for the ARTery tour gave great insight into the stories and meaning behind the deep playa pieces that further enriched the experience.

Watching people walk and bike by, jump aboard, dance with us, and call to us makes all the labor (of love) worthwhile. We basked in the warm fuzzies the Gecko provided to the burners and enjoyed hosting as many as we could each day and night we were out.

Our Canadian crew spearheaded creating a robotic bartender named Mr. Tipsy. Those that came aboard (that were of age) were excited to select one of over 30 drinks he can create, mixed perfectly, and without complaint.

Our duo dance poles caused people to stop in their tracks, drop bikes, jump aboard and show us their moves! No moves? Not to worry! The burner community provided attempts by first timers that were fabulous! We even had some pros come and teach others that wanted to learn. The joy that came from the dance floor that we added this year was immense. We loved the special experiences it provided.

Saturday was also a success with nearly no technical interruption. Being staked out for the Man Burn and sharing that moment with the team aboard the Gecko was pure magic. It was a great reprieve for the crew to have a working vehicle to party in after all the labor that was put in to make it happen. They were able to go out, enjoy, then come back to camp and sleep (opposed to staying up late trouble shooting).

(Note: The vehicle is built entirely from scratch from the ground up, it’s fully electric, and uses a joystick to drive. The tech is something unique and with that comes a unique experience but often some challenging (aka fun) problems to solve.)

Sunday we packed up and proceeded to prepare to slither ourselves homes one person, one vehicle, one module, one piece at a time. We learned a lot, we grew, we experienced, we had another successful year with a lifetime of memories for remembering self to bask in.

PLAM - Power Lights Audio Movement

2018 was the year of PLAM, the bare bones basics to get a mutant vehicle on playa — Power, Lights, Audio, Movement. Without completing these features, we would never be able to get a mutant vehicle pass. This was looming in our minds from the start, a clear goal ingrained in all the volunteers.

It took months after the 2017 burn to develop the new art car visions theme, list of capabilities, fashion a look and feel, and identify all the bells and whistles. Months after that were spent engineering loads, developing fabrication designs, and waiting for parts to arrive. It was in the last stretch before burning man 2018, May through August, that everything was coming together and work actually started. The team needed to sprint as fast as they could to get as much done as possible before the burn, recruiting more able bodied people to help make up for the lack of time.

The big question was - would it be enough. We didn’t know.

The team initially wanted to complete two modules, but in the ended focused on just one - the front half of the body. The DiscoFish caboose was fully functional and would be added to the TechnoGecko first module to make it more impactful on playa. Getting the first module done was tough. We had to weld A LOT to make the frame of the body. No one on the team was experienced in welding. The amount of man hours to make it was severely underestimated but people stepped up, took ownership, and became experts. We recruited more experienced welders to help, non burners that wanted to contribute to a cool side project. We were thankful.

POWER

For power, we needed to get the batteries assembled, connected, and built in an electronic system that would allow the vehicle to be directed from a remote control (no autonomy yet). Luckily, our group has a lot of battery experts so of all the things we had to get done, power was one of the easiest.

LIGHTS

The team played around with light ideas for the outside of the gecko, testing and retesting to see what might be something that would look cool, work, and hold up to the playa elements. Chris built a custom vacuum forming machine, it worked but it was slow. The burning man gods sent us three professional vacuum forming machines that a business was tossing and therefore willingly donated to us. It sped up the process but we still spent nearly every build day cranking out molds for the gecko scales that would be placed on the outside of the first module. Each mold then had to be spray painted for daytime visual impact, have LED lights placed inside for nighttime impact, a metal blacking added, the entire piece fastened together, then sanding to prevent MOOP. After completion, they had to be assembled onto the gecko body. It was tedious and nearly half the volunteers helped in those steps alone.

AUDIO

We ordered an upgraded sound system from a group in California. It was going to be glorious. But, they couldn’t delivery in time after all. With a few weeks before the burn we pivoted our audio ideas entirely and went with what we used in years past. The DiscoFish audio gear was gutted and re-purposed on the Gecko. Everything worked.

MOVE

Although everything was tested before the playa — the Gecko could be attached to the DiscoFish Caboose and maneuver in the parking lot — that is never enough. The big moment would come when we got to Black Rock City. The beast was HEAVY, we knew that. The Playa was not flat, we also knew that. The tires weren’t built for traction - we know that. Unfortunately, the gears and chains pulled apart and broke upon first test on playa. It was a hard moment for everyone to take in. Luckily the team was there early and it left a little more wiggle room for options. Calls were made and new pieces were overnighted to the team that was arriving mid week. The crew that was there early started stripping off the old pieces and when the new ones arrived, replacing them. There was still no guarantee. But, luckily, after the swap (which took nearly two full days) the Gecko was mobile. With only a few hours left before the DMV shut down for the day, we went and after a long inspection were granted a day and night pass for the remained of the burn.

The debut of the TechnoGecko was something the team was so excited about. It took a village. We embarked on a crazy quest and made it to the playa, something a lot that plan on never do for a host of reasons. We learned a lot. We gained a lot of useful information and insight on what to do for the five remaining vehicles, and then we partied.

Our bait shifts were fun, the night parties were fun, we brought joy to the Burners and that in turn brought us joy.

We cannot wait for what next year brings!