Portal Lot

Donated by Valve

At Aperture Science, we value history. In fact, we value it so much that we dedicated an entire sub-basement broom closet to hanging on to it. But, once in a while, we need to move things around to fit in an extra gallon of bleach. That’s where you come in: we need someone to take a few bits of priceless Aperture history off our hands, including a framed 80s-style Portal 2 poster signed by Tristan Reidford (that’s the artist), and a copy of the Portal board game signed by Valve. We’ll even toss in a Valve Friends & Family Steam key for your trouble, good for all Valve games current and future. So do us, Child’s Play, and our janitor a favor and take home some Aperture history!

The lot includes:

• Framed 80s-Style Portal 2 poster signed by Tristan Reidford
• Portal: The Board Game signed by Valve
• Valve Friends & Family Steam Key

About the Sponsor:
This lot has been lovingly donated by the folks at Valve Software. Desert Bus is delighted to once again have the support of this awesome game maker, who is excited to share said awesome games with all of you!

A Sneak Peek: Lunar Module Mk. 3

We are pleased to announce that once again we have avoided cramming our sweaty, smelly human bodies and the ridiculousness that is the prize mines into a too-tiny-for-DB space (read: any of the Moonbases). That’s a backwards way of saying that we have a new venue for DBX, and we’re super excited about it!

The front door. We have an alcove to protect us from the Victoria rain. How posh is that?

With the assistance of Gail Reaney at Colliers International (thank you, Gail!) we were able to secure a super convenient space in downtown Victoria. We were only able to snap some quick pics on our tour, but we’re hoping you can see the potential.

It boasts plenty of space for our on camera shenanigans, kitchen facilities, ample storage for prizes and we have the entire floor to ourselves.

Check out the Lunar Module Mk.3!

The Broadcast Space. That’s some quality brick work.

It may look a little too “normal” now, but we promise the space will be in full DB form once we’re done with it.

The prize mines. The only time you will ever be able to see the walls.

This might actually be the most space our shippers have ever had to work. They won’t know what to do once they no longer have to crawl over each other to get to a prize. They will probably crawl over each other anyways. I think they find it fun. They don’t get a lot of social interaction. Or sunlight.

A kitchen. For sustenance.

A break room. For breaks. Or woodworking. It’s yet to be decided.

Desert Bus Cross Stitch Sampler

Created & Donated by Sarah Overall

daleksteakhouse.etsy.com

Commemorate ten whole years of Desert Bus madness with this hand-made, cross stitched sampler. Featuring a popular meme from each year of the fundraiser (plus a few extras), now you can be nostalgic for past Desert Buses all year round rather than just in November. The piece also doubles as a handy reference guide: Did Paul really shave his beard all the way back in DB2? What year did the doge overlay happen? How much money did DB4 raise? Now you won’t have to guess anymore!

This piece has been custom framed in conservation masterpiece acrylic, which is lightweight and shatterproof. It has UV protection, reduces reflections, and doesn’t attract dust. From left to right, top to bottom (roughly), the memes are:

DB1: Is it safe?

DB2: Paul shaves his beard after the DB1 donation total is passed

DB3: Caramelldansen! So much dansen.

DB4: The tradition of “taking people to the store” begins

DB5: Play Minecraft, watch Top Gear, get pig

DB6: Whale plaid!

DB7: The overlay is taken over by doge-speak

DB8: Matt makes a splash in the Bus King Pageant

DB9: Frank the puppet stands in for Bill when he’s unable to attend

This project is a result of roughly 180 hours of work and an enormous amount of love. Special thanks to the Video Strike Team, Andrew Ferguson, and the people who run the Desert Bus wiki for their fantastic documentation and archives, and to Featherweight for designing Bus King Matt and for his feedback.

About the Artist:
Sarah has been a crafter since her early teens and a geek since she learned how to read, so it was only a matter of time till she found a way to combine the two. She mostly works with embroidery, but has also learned crochet (inspired by other people’s amazing Desert Bus donations) and likes to dabble in other crafts. Sarah also works as an editor, where she gets to be a geek about the English language. This is her seventh year contributing to the craft-along and her ninth watching Desert Bus.

You Are Now Earthbound Backpack

Donated by Fangamer

From Fangamer’s You Are Now Earthbound Kickstarter, we have a special pack of awesome Earthbound goodies! This backpack and its handy adventuring contents were exclusively available through a high-level support tier for the Kickstarter. This is a special sneak peak at what’s inside these packs…

The set centers around a cheerful yellow backpack, which is filled with ephemera from an Eagleland vacation (hotel slippers, postcard, trading cards…). Of especially beautiful and critical world-saving note is the blue Sound Stone! Take this backpack with you on your own Eagleland adventures and continue filling it with mementos.

The backpack, originally exclusive to Kickstarter backers, will be available at Fangamer.com in the future – they are still working on some further items to be added to the final product. In the meantime though, if you missed out on the Kickstarter this is your one place to get a backpack and start filling it with your own Eagleland treasures, so don’t hesitate to try and get your hands on it!

About the Sponsor:
Fangamer offers wonderful geeky clothing, art, and household goods of high quality and beautiful design. They are longtime supporters of Desert Bus for Hope, and are the skillful creative force behind the annual Desert Bus t-shirts and the Desert Bus Documentary Kickstarter shirts.

Driver Schedule for Desert Bus 10

This year we’ve moved back to 12 hour shifts for extended discomfort and fatigue and we’ve got some shared shifts – but don’t be fooled! They’re not easier. Both drivers will be on camera the entire time, even if they’re not driving. All times listed in Pacific Standard Time.

Click on each driver’s name to learn a little more about them or see all profiles on our drivers page.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

Saturday, November 12
10am – 10pm:		James
10pm – 10am:		Jeremy
Sunday, November 13
10am – 10pm:		Matt		Tally
10pm – 10am:		Cameron
Monday, November 14
10am – 10pm:		Ash		Ashley
10pm – 10am:		Ashton		Jamie
Tuesday, November 15
10am – 10pm:		Kara		Kate Watt
10pm – 10am:		Ian		Alex
Wednesday, November 16
10am – 10pm:		Graham
10pm – 10am:		Liz		Tara
Thursday, November 17
10am – 10pm:		Kathleen
10pm – 10am:		Beej		Johnny
Friday, November 18
10am – 10pm:		Paul

Mega Man Replica Helmet

Donated by Joe Worm

Made by Capcom and worn by the coolest of Mega Man fans, this helmet is the thing you longed for as a child, when you cut out one side of a cardboard box, coloured it blue and ran around the house in search of Energy Tanks. You did do that, right? That… that wasn’t just us?

The helmet comes with soft padding so you can adjust it to better fit your head. The crest of the helmet opens to take batteries that light up the side panels. Yes, it lights up! The lawyerly instructions included with the helmet make clear that it is neither a safety item nor a toy, but we all know that’s categorically untrue. It will keep you safe from ever being as un-awesome as those who do not own such a helmet, and it is very clearly something for play and fun and imagination – ie: a toy. So let that inner child out and make it giddily, crazily happy with this fantastic Mega Man helmet!

Materials:

• Highly polished ABS plastic
  
• (2) AA batteries for LED lights
• Interior helmet soft padding

Measurements:

• 14″ tall x 11″ wide
• Weight: 3 lbs

Desert Bus Cat Cube

Created & Donated by Flailsquared

flailsquared.wordpress.com

Prize photos by Stephen Schmidt

Celebrate 10 years of Desert Bus with a one-of-a-kind plush cat bed! Everyone knows that Desert Bus is the best time of the year, but you may not have realized how much your cat loves it too. It only makes sense though – during Desert Bus their favorite human is always around the house, everyone keeps strange hours and only takes brief cat naps, and there are plenty of opportunities for pets and couch cuddles. With a subtle blue and yellow exterior and a full reproduction of the Desert Bus logo on the interior, this cat cube is a great reminder of the amazing experience that is Desert Bus.

Materials:
Blizzard fleece, ribbon, and 1″ HD36-R foam.

Measurements:
The cube measures ~17″ on all sides.

About the Artist:
Lauren has been sewing since she was 7 and now focuses mostly on cosplay and cat-based crafts. Her two cats are deeply offended every time she makes a bed that they can’t sleep in, despite the fact that they already have cubes made specifically for them. This is her 4th year contributing to the Craft-Along.

Enchanted Rose

Created & Donated by Mirrored Line Props

www.mirroredlineprops.com

This rose is 100% guaranteed curse free! Though it’s still probably best to be nice to all wandering old women asking for shelter…

This reassuringly benign replica brings the visual magic of the enchanted rose from the Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast into your home. In the movie, the rose and the prince have a spell cast over them; the prince is cursed to live as a beast unless he can learn to love before the magic in the rose fades. To replicate the rose’s enchanted glistening, programmable light effects are embedded into the replica’s rose and underneath the petals. The rose shines constantly, and the petals twinkle to show the magic fading. The lights are powered by a usb cable. It is a beautiful, one of a kind addition to any Disney fan’s décor!

Materials:
This prop is built around a glass dome with a wood base. The topper and golden base are made with 3d printed plastic and coated with an epoxy resin. The rose flower and petals are also 3D printed, but with transparent red plastic. The rose stem is made of dyed plastic. The light effects use 5 LEDs powered by an Arduino Gemma microcontroller.

Measurements:
The dome is 9 inches (23cm) tall and 6.5 inches (16.5cm) wide.
The usb cable is 3 feet (.9 meters) long.

About the Artist:
Alex started his prop business, Mirrored Line Props, after he had trouble finding replicas available from his favorite movies and shows. He primarily uses 3D printing, but likes to incorporate additional materials like wood, glass and aluminum for an authentic look and feel. He specializes in adding lighting and material effects to his props. This is his second year contributing props to Desert Bus, and he hopes to continue to make bigger and better props each year.

Welcome DBX Volunteers!

Every year as we put our teams of volunteers together, it is impossible to ignore how they really make the magic happen for us. They turn what is an overwhelming, chaotic experience into something joyful and ORGANIZED! This year we have approximately 30 people joining us on site and dedicating a week of their lives to this weird and wonderful fundraiser.

We are so grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you for your time, skill, and above all your incredible sense of humour as we set out on this crazy desert-filled adventure together.

Broadcast Team

Ben Ulmer

Broadcast Tech

@benhulmer

Coriander Dickinson

Broadcast Tech & Overlay Engineer

@Apsalar

Felix Kramer

Broadcast Tech

@legobutts

Jason Chinnock

Broadcast Tech

@JChinnock

Sarah Mendiola

Broadcast Tech

@sarahmendiola

Thomas Ourada

Broadcast Tech

@stealingzen

Communications Team

Amber ‘Phedran’ Campbell

PR Assistant

www.phedran.com

Dan ‘SecondlookDan’ Wu

PR Assistant

Ian ‘Dix’ Dixon

Onsite Chat Mod

@Dixonij

Jordan Hopkins

Blogger

twitch.tv/RayFK

Kate Stark

Social Media

@katestark

Kells ‘Pikachaos’

Social Media

dontseek.it

Kelly Voorhaar

Social Media

@GeekyKraftyKel

Mike Whitaker

Blogger

fb.com/iqtrivia2k

Tim Lindvall

Blogger

Infrastructure & Software

Chris “Fugiman” Gamble

Web Tech

@Fugiman

Photographer

Andrew Ferguson

@warandpeace

[email protected]

Production Assistant

Emily Jarrett

@e_jarrett

Shipping Team

Brad Moran

Joanna Stinson

Juliana Cooper

fb.com/juliana.cooper

Meagan Hogg

@geo_megs

Site Volunteers

Cullen ‘CaffeinatedLemur’ Auerbach

youtube:caffeinatedlemur

D. Max Loy

@sharkfists

Joe Trollo

@JoeTrollo

Lindsay Luft

@alatriyana

Matt Griffiths

goatprince.tumblr.com

Paxton Grill

@Paxtonium616

Pokemon Needlepoint

Created & Donated by Keroan

Haven’t you always wanted to catch them all? Let’s assume that for nostalgia’s sake, we can draw the line at the original 151 Pokemon – now YOU can indeed be the proud owner of a full collection without walking entirely around Australia and hoping your phone battery doesn’t die, or struggling with your old gameboy cables. This Pokemon piece is truly epic; for its completion, its crafter Keroan put in over 1 year of daily stitching for a couple hours a day! Enjoy it as an art piece to make your neighbors jealous or as a totem to complete your Dratini summoning circle – the choice is yours. If you want to be the very best like no one ever was, help out some children and become the Pokemon collector you were born to be!

Materials:
This needlepoint is made of traditional needle pointing aria, DMC pearl & matte floss. It measures 29″ by 16″ (borders are all approximately one inch for mounting).

The original pattern for this piece was created by Servotron on the Sprite Stitch forum boards.

About the Artist:
Kelly, aka Keroan, first learned to sew from her mother, who hoped to teach her to quilt and needlepoint rugs. But Kelly realized one can only have so many cats the walls before it looks too ridiculous to have friends over. Therefore, Kelly turned her needle to more geeky purposes and has ascended to a higher plane of sewing.