modernduck.com

A few people have asked me about this recently, so I’m going to summarize the options I know about. Please share your experiences in the comments, especially if you’ve tried one of the options I haven’t or if you have more up to date costs than I do.

Advice on flying:

• You might be able to take more than you think.  Consider the costs of baggage when you book your ticket.  Most airlines let you take 2 pieces up to 50 pounds for not much extra.  If you’re flying business class (even on points) your allowance is probably a lot more, and also if you have status (obtained by flying large numbers of miles in one year) with the airline.
• What pieces should you take?  A large cooler if you need one – a 66 litre cooler is within standard baggage dimensions and you can fill it with stuff.  For your second piece, a well made duffle like the extra large MEC duffle bag is usually within standard dimensions or close enough to fool a checkin agent.
• Bring extra bags (stuffed into one of your bags) so you can reorganize after landing… especially important if you bring a cooler :)
• Don’t forget carryon.  A standard sized rollaboard is actually pretty big and you can get away with a small backpack as well.  Theoretically there’s a weight limit but they never check – as long as you can comfortably lift the rollaboard over your head to put it in the bin, bring it.

OK, enough of that.  What if you’re running a theme camp or bringing medium/large art?

Driving options:

These options are all expensive but the idea is you share the costs among theme camp participants.  For example, Midnight Poutine had around 20 members on both years it operated, so we all paid about $100 each for shipping (and about $100 each to cover poutine itself).  I strongly suggest collecting money up front and then refunding people if there’s a surplus rather than trying to chase down people after the burn.

• Boston container.  You pay for “shares” of the container, which are 100 cubic feet.  In practice you can get away with 150 cubic feet or so per share, unless people start checking closely which is unlikely because Burners.  It’s a community effort run out of Boston.  The container loads on a Saturday 3 weeks before burn night, and unloads 2 weeks after.  You need to drive your stuff down to Boston and help load in, then drive it back after unload.

  Costs: in 2009: $2000 total for 200 cubic feet.  We paid $1000 for 2 shares and $1000 in van rental + gas for 2 round trips to Boston.  If you can borrow a van or trailer, the van + gas cost will be around $500, so $1500 total.

  Want to do this?  Shares go on sale very soon after the end of Firefly and are usually announced on the Boston Burners list.  Someone needs to monitor this list several times a day and be ready with money to PayPal to the appropriate place to secure some shares because they usually sell out within hours.  There is also a Boston Container mailing list but share sales are not always announced there.  Here’s the 2011 information page.

  There is also a New York container. I don’t know anything about it other than it’s further to get stuff to NYC and their share cost is higher.

• Van.  In 2010 I bought a van and drove it down.  It cost about $1500 in gas (which is about 10% more expensive now, so figure $1650) which was covered by my theme camp and $1100 in vehicle wear and repairs, which was not.  Still, if you pack it right, this option may be cheaper than the Boston container because you can carry 2 people and save them from buying plane tickets.

  An extended (allongée) GMC Savana or Ford Econoline holds about 280 cubic feet.  It’s 48 hours of driving.. I did it in 4 days alone, but I’ve heard of teams of 2 doing it in 48 hours straight.

• Truck. In 2011 a camp called Nit Whips rented a 16′ box truck.  Total budget for the truck, insurance, and fuel was $5000.  I don’t know what their final costs were.  A truck of that size holds about 800 cubic feet, so this is cheaper per cubic foot than a Savana if you can pack it efficiently enough.

  If you’re renting a vehicle, make sure you tell them it’s going to the US because some agencies won’t allow this and the ones that do usually charge a lot more for insurance.

Options I’ve thought about but never done:

• Trailers – has anyone towed one there?  How much did it cost you?
• Sharing space with Toronto – I’ve never done this but it is on your way to the playa by the most direct route, so you could rent a truck here, fill it half full, then stop in Toronto for the rest of the load.

I hope this information is useful to you.  Please let me know your experiences in the comments or by private email (scjody@modernduck.com).

I found this printed on a dead tree and was going to send it to a friend, but I figured more people could benefit from it if I posted it here:

Here’s what you should look for in a good therapist.  Some good signs are:

• Someone you know says this therapist has helped her with a similar problem in concrete ways.
• The therapist offers a plan that focuses on helping you reach the goals you’ve set, and it’s clear to you how what the therapist does will help you reach your goals.
• This therapist uses a variety of methods depending on your problem and who you are.
• You have an ongoing sense that this therapist is more often than not helping you feel better in your life and helping your life work better.

Some bad signs are:

• There’s no change in your life or how you feel or what you do after four sessions, or things actually get worse.
• The therapist seems uninterested in the concrete realities of your current life.
• The therapist is focused exclusively on ways you’ve been damaged, instead of on your needs or strengths.
• The therapist seems to have one all-purpose theory or “answer” that explains everything.

Shoulder surgery went well, I think. I spent Tuesday in the hospital, came back to Montréal on Wednesday morning, and I’ve been recovering at home ever since. As predicted, recovery has been easier than last time because they didn’t do as much. They didn’t put in a nerve block (the anesthesiologist felt it wasn’t worth the risk) so it hurts a bit more, but it’s not too bad and getting better every day. Tomorrow I’m heading to Ottawa for a followup, which is when I get to find out what they actually did. I also expect to do a full day’s work, which will be nice because I’m tired of sitting at home and watching movies :)

There’s a photo of the incisions over here. One of about 2cm in the front, and one of about 1cm in the back. That’s all. Yay technology :)

I visited Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories in October last year, and I was struck by the number of 3 legged polar bears I saw.

First, a few 4 legged ones, like the Arctic Alarm bear.  If I hired a polar bear to guard my shop, I’d want him to have a full complement of legs too!

Then there’s this bear from a diamond shop in downtown Yellowknife:

And the Sorel bear.  Makes sense that a boot company would be able to count legs correctly.

So, onto the 3 legged ones.  This is the bear that started my obsession with leg counting.  He works for the Northwest Territories government, and he doesn’t really seem to care.  ”Hey, this is a government job.  I just have to do this for another few years and I can retire with a nice pension.”

And then there’s the Canadian North bear.  This bear is pissed off.  ”What did you artists do to me?  How am I supposed to fly a plane like this?”

Finally, just to prove that the Northwest Territories government has at least one competent artist on staff, the iconic NWT license plate is in the shape of a… 4 legged polar bear. Hooray!