Burning Man 2018 Project

At Burning Man some participants bluster that they experience 60 to 70 MPH winds every day. “Bluster” is an anemometer constructed from a 13-foot commercial lamppost. The piece has an illuminated bargraph that shows the current wind speed and the peak wind speed.… Read the rest

Bluster’s Milestones

A simple project always looks more daunting after one lists its detailed milestones. Last update: August 22, 2018. And it’s done! Anemometer I’m using a modified Adafruit Anemometer to sense the wind speed. The “zero-MPH” value of the original anemometer’s output signal depends on the resting position of the rotor.… Read the rest

Bluster’s Lamppost

Bluster’s lamppost is much taller than I had imagined! I’m very happy that I bought this instead of a short residential lampost from Home Depot. And buying a lamppost was much smarter than trying to build one. Update after Burning Man 2018: Here it is on the playa with its automotive paint job and its new scrollwork!… Read the rest

Bluster’s Comment Book

At Burning Man I mounted a small twin-wire bound notebook on Bluster along with a Sharpie. Participants completely filled the notebook. Here is a PDF scan of its contents: Bluster Comment Book Read the rest

The Final Tally

Mike Case and I installed Bluster on August 25 at 7:00 pm. Then on September 3 at 10:00 am, 8 days and 15 hours later, I took the installation down. During that time, the column of air that blew by was 8,148,257 feet long.… Read the rest