Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azurelunatic) wrote2010-10-06 07:09 pm
azurelunatic) wrote2010-10-06 07:09 pm
MythBusters: "Hair of the Dog": one volunteer's experience
Adam Savage announced that long-time MythBusters medic Sanjay Singh has died, and tonight's episode is in his honor. I had the honor of meeting him when I washed out from "No Pain, No Gain", and he exemplified the caring, safety-conscious attitude I have come to expect from the MythBusters. He will be missed.
The MythBusters called for volunteers to help out with "Hair of the Dog", in testing possible methods to help defeat a sniffer dog. Of course, we didn't know exactly what we were signing up for at first.
(I've tried to make this not take up too much space, but if you want to flee now, jump to the end. This also uses nesting cuts for the spoiler-phobic, since I'm posting before 9pm PST (but after 9pm EST), and you can expand them from http://azurelunatic.dreamwidth.org/2010/10/06/#entry-6434015 )
Call for Volunteers:
We need 200 volunteers! May 6/San Fran/8:30a-5p. Must be over 18. Free T-shirts+lunch! For more details: mb@beyond.com.au
A little nervous:
[#MBMole] We're visiting a pet store to buy lots of tarantulas! They will NOT be harmed in any way. Hosts on the other hand...Muwahaha
Heard back from MythBusters with details. It involves sniffer dogs, and the volunteers are to be lining up as if in a line for a concert or other event. This has costuming potential! Dress code: anything you really want to wear, except no logos -- and bring layers/hat, as this is going to be involving standing outside in San Francisco weather.
After some deliberation, I decided against wearing my incredibly heavy and hot blue velvet skirt and blue and gold bodice, as standing around in the sun in that is no fun. The next practical option was goth.
Have taped over the logo on my tote bag; have taped over logos on buttons on my favorite purple hat. The rest of my clothing is generally logo-free.
115. @Back2Bethel
In less than 12 hrs, Ill be on-set! 9:41 PM May 5th via txt
114. azurelunatic
Very excited for volunteering for @mythbusters in the morning. Hope I can sleep... 12:34 AM May 6th via Echofon
Realized that it was raspberry leaf tea season. Crankily wondered whether the drug-dog sniffing would be on the day when I might actually have to use hard drug painkillers, decided this would be hilarious. Made a comment to that effect on Twitter (somewhat vaguely). Then realized this was maybe too much information, so I deleted it after it archived. Then I decided to leave some anti-spoiler red herrings about for good measure.
113. azurelunatic
This does concern me a little: http://twitter.com/MythBusters/status/13373341300 #mythbusters #arachnophobia 2:16 AM May 6th via Echofon
112. azurelunatic
8:30 is way too early in the morning to be rising and shining. But it's for a good cause! #mythbusters 2:18 AM May 6th via Echofon
111. azurelunatic
http://48hrmag.com/ sounds like amazing fun, but I seem to be busy for much of Round 1. 2:26 AM May 6th via Echofon
110. azurelunatic
So my brain wants to make sure I remember that I want a Mythbusters BPAL set. Warehouse, workshop, busted, plausible, confirmed ... 0400
109. azurelunatic
Mythbusters BPAL notes might include concrete, dust, wood shavings, ozone, hot metal, black powder, smoke, pepper, leather, plastic... 0403
Wound up sleeping the better part of 12 hours on Wednesday, then staying up very late such that there were two and a half hours of actual sleep time for me to sleep. Did polish my nails (at hour 3.5; after 1 hour they were good to not be flat out but my brain was still buzzing). Was incredibly incoherent when the alarm went off, but snoozed it and held the phone in my hand so I could wrap up the last bit of the sleep and get back into wakeful territory.
Then I took my caffeine and St. John's Wort.
One of the things I'd done while still up was make a customized checklist for morning, so while I couldn't focus on ... many things ... I could focus on what needed doing next. I had most of my everything already laid out.
Meanwhile, the people I was soon to meet were already on their way:
108. @JulianaMarie
0508 am - on my way to SF to be an extra for the day, for an @Mythbusters experiment! Nephews will think me the COOLEST AUNT EVER! about 21 hours ago via web
107. azurelunatic
OH WOW. You know how microwaving water can be dangerous? Looks still, put something in & it boils? That just made my tea ball self-dunking!! 0622
I discovered a really fun physics moment. There's a thing where you boil water in the microwave and it's flat water and it's still, and when you drop something into it, it boils violently? Well, I set the water out in the microwave the night before. It was pretty flat. Then I boiled it. Then I dropped the tea ball full of raspberry leaf stuff into it. FOOM! It started bubbling (fortunately not ONTO me) and the bubbles started happening inside the mesh of the tea ball. The tea ball rose. Then the bubbles escaped. It sank. This repeated a few more times: a self-dunking tea ball! I was charmed.
My forays into the world of makeup, and putting same on my face, was brought up short against the problem that my black lipstick had, when unobserved, turned into pretty much tar. Oh dear. This made gothing myself up a bit harder than I'd planned on.
I got out the door within just a little bit of when I had planned to be. I counted this as a win. I debated about refueling, but decided against doing that immediately on the grounds that I wanted to be early and there might be traffic. I drove there, pretty much without incident. I had been expecting more traffic than I got, so the light traffic was pleasing. This got me there earlier than I expected. I was thinking that I might refuel then, but the turnoff came upon me unexpectedly, and I went for that rather than continuing a search for a gas station. I looked for indicated parking. It was not immediately obvious where to park. I drove around a bit but got parked and located the building. The area in front of it was fenced off.
I didn't feel like spending the whole time waiting in my car, so I got out, looked at the ocean, and breathed deeply of the morning air. The deadline for finishing the dreamsheep was coming up the very next day, so I broke out my crocheting. It was a beautiful morning, and I was happy to be there, happy to be alive, happy to have the breeze on my face, and generally high as fucking hell from the caffeine I'd just ingested.
I espied @JulianaMarie, noticed that she vaguely resembled @Skud, and we struck up a brief conversation. I communicated my sneaky plans to rickroll, but concluded that it would be probably best to wait for more people to arrive. More people did, but by this time, the lift that was hanging about a nearby building walloped into operation, and I had to wait for it to turn off before I did anything. It eventually did turn off, and I tried, but the external speaker was not playing well with my palmtop, and only sputtered out fragments of music. I pouted, turned it off, and put the whole assembly away.
103. @azurelunatic
Tried to Rickroll the #Mythbusters volunteer crowd. Sadly had technical difficulties with my external speaker. :(
0821
We were called to attention by the pretty blonde lady in the red jacket (the director) and told that we would need to get ourselves signed in. We spontaneously generated a remarkably tidy line which wrapped around the outside of the fenced-off area, then turned around and went against the retaining wall. I started out up against the fence, fairly far up in the line, but not particularly close. I tried fishing for anyone else who might be on Twitter and have a phone capable of keeping up with hashtags. (My phone was not capable of this.) Sadly, I didn't really get any takers.
102. @azurelunatic
Brought a printout of Skippy's List for the entertainment of anyone bored in line. #Mythbusters 0831
101. @Back2Bethel
On set, waiting around, so stoked!
The sign-in process was remarkably efficient, but there were around 200 people present, so it took a while. We shuffled up with remarkable good humor. We were told that due to the logistics of wrangling this, only people who'd managed to get theirpermission slips release forms faxed or emailed in beforehand (as the emails had clearly stated) would be admitted. This was not a problem for me, as I'd read the emails. (Imagine that.)
It came to be my turn. I presented my ID, got myself found on the list, and was handed a small whiteboard with my name written on it. I stood still (grinning my fool head off) while I was photographed. This was for their records, they advised: they wanted to be able to easily match up people on film to their paperwork. I approved of this plan.
After we were signed in, we were directed to wait and keep the hell out of the way. This translated to going into the building. The cavernous space dwarfed the handful of tables with folding chairs set up. This space is evidently a favorite location: this was where they had tested the bullet dropped vs. bullet fired in "Knock Your Socks Off". There were even snacks, for people who'd not had breakfast: soda, pastries, apples!
I found a table with a few available seats and sat down; I was joined by @MrsGneissGirl. Fiber geekery hilarity ensued: she was knitting, I was crocheting frantically on Dreamsheep Alpha to get it done for the party the very next day. Other people had fiber arts projects as well. I felt all warm and fuzzy.
I was sipping from one of the bottles of nice chilled water when I realized that water bottle labels might be a problem that would have to be bleeped out onscreen; I peeled them off. This would stickily haunt me throughout the day.
People kept on filing in, and people started to get bored. Someone joked, half-seriously, that the myth was about what people who were bored waiting in line would get up to. Indeed, people were pacing the length of the building, there was a certain amount of experimentation with echoes, and I felt the urge to turn cartwheels. (I didn't actually, though.)
I broke out the crocheting once again. There was a knitter at my table. There were several knitters about. My table started chatting, and determined that we would, for entertainment purposes, start generating urban legends, and see if any of them made it back to the MythBusters for their show. We created a tentative name: MythBuilders! We discovered that many of us were on Twitter, and exchanged usernames quickly. I had mastered the skill of adding someone via text message, and added my fellows this way, which had the bonus of sending their tweets to me as text messages. @Back2Bethel and @JulianaMarie added me immediately, having more modern phones; @MrsGneissGirl had an older phone but promised to reciprocate as soon as she was at a computer.
100. azurelunatic
Building better mud myths to be busted! #MythBuilders 0905
99. Back2Bethel
Plotting with my fellow extras to start a new show called #MythBuilders
98. mrsgneissgirl
#mythbuilders born today!
97. JulianaMarie
#mythbuilders on a mission
96. Back2Bethel
Plotting with my #mythbuilders costars @julianamarie @mrsgneissgirl & @azurelunatic.
95. azurelunatic
#MythBuilders team has chocolate, apples. Win. Also fiber arts, bubbles, cards. 0918
94. @Back2Bethel
"Apples are a natural toothbrush" #mythbuilders
93. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras get champagne & lobster buffet #Mythbuilders about 17 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
91. azurelunatic
What size Mythbusters crowd does it take to spontaneously generate myths? #MythBuilders 0925
90. @JulianaMarie
See I'm really here #mythbuilders http://twitpic.com/1ljoo1 ( &
http://twitpic.com/1ljotg )
88. @Back2Bethel
Just took a picture with Tory & @grantimahara
Before the shoot. Tory and Grant are posing with volunteer-fans. This is @Back2Bethel, with @MrsGneissGirl watching and @JulianaMarie photographing.
Before the shoot. Tory and Grant are posing with volunteer-fans. @MrsGneissGirl getting hugged, @JulianaMarie photographing.
The pics got broken up as shooting was ready to start.
Milling around outside. You can see @MrsGneissGirl's head, and JD Nelson in the distance.
I was delighted to learn that JD Nelson would be present. (JD Nelson is an actual officer of the law, not to be mistaken for the similarly-named, and fictional, JD Neilson.) JD Nelson often shows up when the MythBusters are dealing with explosives, firearms, and other reasons that officers of the law might need to be present. This time, it was because of the sniffer dogs who would be present.
Tory holds forth on something, with JD Nelson standing by.
We got our safety briefing. (Safety Dance != Safety Briefing, Skippy's List reminds us.) Basically, the sniffer dogs are police dogs but not the sort where you're in biting danger: they're sniffy, nosy dogs, but we're not to touch them, only their handler should while they're working. (Which is exactly the sort of stuff I am used to: working dog is working; do not touch working dog while working dog is working.)
Back outside to file in for time-lapse thingy; we were to go in at a steady rate, as doing it speeded up would make it look like a demented caterpillar. We were instructed that no-one was to go over the black line with any part of their body, as that would make it necessary to re-shoot the whole thing. We were also to not look at the camera, which would make it All Weird.
Grant takes a picture of the volunteer crowd: http://twitpic.com/1ljx8e (I'm somewhere invisible in the back)
87. MythBusters Official MythBusters
Looks like a lot of our followers are volunteering with us today! about 17 hours ago via TweetDeck
86. azurelunatic
In crowd, and @grantimahara is taking pictures of us! #MythBuilders 0944 (RT by @Back2Bethel)
85. azurelunatic
Having who came the furthest contest. Alaska or Canada. #Mythbusters 0951
84. azurelunatic
"Quiet please" is marred by giggles in the back of the crowd and seagulls. #Mythbusters 0956
82. Grant Imahara grantimahara
Our volunteers, moments before the experiment... #fromset #Mythbusters http://twitpic.com/1ljx8e about 16 hours ago via TwitPic (RT by @Back2Bethel, @MythBusters, @azurelunatic)
We shambled in.
80. azurelunatic
May have zombies here. Not looking at the camera. #MythBuilders 1009
78. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras don't cross the black line. about 16 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
75. @Back2Bethel
RT @grantimahara: @CraigyFerg Apparently, offering food works for getting volunteers! Thanks for the idea... about 16 hours ago via txt
74. @Back2Bethel
Joking around with @grantimahara about Tribbles & chest hair #mythbusters #mythbuilders about 16 hours ago (RT by @azurelunatic)
Grant is wearing a tiny little clip microphone. It has a tiny fuzzy black cover to protect it from the wind. @Back2Bethel, of course, asked whether that was some of Grant's chest hair, or a tiny tribble. Hilarity from all.
Someone mentioned the MythBuilders thing to Grant, who thought it was hilarious, but was a little concerned about confusion, because of MythBuilders being so similar to MythBusters. He suggested that we could think of a name that wouldn't be confusing. By that time, though, the name had sort of caught on with the four of us, and it was already a bit too late.
The back of Grant's head, and @MrsGneissGirl grinning.
Then back outside to mill in, in crowds. Clustered in, and chatted.
We were told to chat silently, ignoring the cameras, so they could get some clean sound from the guys. We did.
One of my new crew found an incredibly long white fiber on my black shirt. I realized that it was from the wool/acrylic blend I was using for the crocheted dreamsheep. Hilarity ensued.
73. azurelunatic
Knitters have more chest hair than non knitters. #MythBuilders 1047
72. @Back2Bethel
Standing around pretending to be talking but not making any sound. I always liked that game... #mythbusters #mythbuilders about 16 hours ago (RT by @azurelunatic)
71. @JulianaMarie
And we're milling & muttering & looking for bathrooms #mythbusters about 16 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
We were instructed not to touch the black line. This suddenly became a problem as people realized that they had to use the bathroom. Ooops. When we were finally told we could take a break, there was a mass charge for the bathrooms.
68. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras on simultaneous bathroom break can cause a toilet tsunami #Mythbuilders about 15 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
A taco truck showed up; it would be serving us lunch. It took some maneuvering to get into place. While they were doing that, there were various shots of the crowd cheering. The thing that got the biggest cheer out of us was invariably the taco truck, to much amusement. Amazing, amazing amounts of cheering for the truck, and we were already pretty stoked to start with.
66. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras can stop taco trucks with their silent conversations #Mythbuilders about 15 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
64. azurelunatic
Taco incident. Mud pie of death. Whiteboard truck. about 15 hours ago via txt
Not sure what the "taco incident" was; was that the truck? or a Noodle Incident? Mud Pie of Death was the rock concealed in the mudpie. The whiteboard truck -- someone had sketched stuff on an equipment truck with whiteboard markers. We approved heartily.
63. @JulianaMarie
Attendance @ annual tarantula migration in Alum Rock park highly recommended even 4 arachnaphobes #mythbuilders about 15 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
Actually *not* recommended.
The camera crew was getting some shots of Tory and Grant wandering through the crowd. The crowd was instructed to chatter (aloud, this time) and look natural, so I was holding forth to the cluster of MythBuilders about the TREE incident of a few nights before, because I was fucking high on fucking caffeine, and it was still amusing me.
Cue Tory wandering into our general area just as I had declared "TREE." in a deep and resonant voice. He was pursued by lots of camerapeople. He said something about either flare (lens-type), or flair (all the buttons on my hat). I did what came naturally.
62. azurelunatic
TREE (please don't take my picture) TREE #MYTHBUILDERS about 15 hours
What came naturally, of course, was shrieking a bit, and jumping out of the way of Tory and camerapeople, behind one of the rest of my crowd. They laughed extensively at me.
Tory and camerapeople wandered off. The MythBuilders continued chatting. I briefly explained my best friend to the Mythbuilders: we're BFF, I'm madly and unrequitedly in love with him; we somehow make it work.
We then lined up with our bags on the ground so the dogs could sniff us. We were told that somewhere in the crowd, some contraband was in the possession of one of us. No-one but the MythBusters and the person with the contraband knew who it was. The person with the contraband also had a distraction technique. We were told that the "contraband" was nothing illegal, just a target that the dog had been trained to find, and that the person who was holding it knew what it was, but the rest of us would not be told. A reasonable thing, given that law enforcement dogs are trained on it, and I imagine that having a great number of people be in possession of the target that you're trained to find for practice would actually be a seriously problematical distraction technique.
59. @JulianaMarie
Release the hounds! Mythbuilders about 14 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® (RT by @Back2Bethel, @azurelunatic)
58. azurelunatic
About as exciting as waiting in line at the DMV about 14 hours ago via txt
The dog was a yellow lab named Gypsy, very pretty girl, very cheerful and waggy. Clearly having the time of her life. She loves her job. She sniffed up and down the rows of people as we waited in suspense. Finally, she offered her signal behavior for a dude in a green knit cap in a row to my right.
Tory with ... THE CONTRABAND! http://twitpic.com/1iwqx2
The "contraband" was an un-prepossessing looking manila envelope concealed in the guy's backpack, folded down small, obviously containing something scented. Also possibly rocks and/or beans.
The mystery distraction turned out to be a very high pitched noisemaker, out of the audible range of most of the adult humans. That is to say, a FUCKING EAR-PIERCING NOISYBOX. The dude wanted to have a listen of it, and tried, and YOWZA. he regretted it. There was some schadenfreude.
The handler explained what he was watching for, the increase in the rate of sniffing, the head jerking up as she catches the scent, the hesitation at the target. He runs her around in circles if she gets off-task, or if he wants her to go back.
The dogs and the handlers were asked to step inside the building while the next person was chosen. The next person, for a control run, was chosen via the simple expedient of Tory tossing the contraband out into the crowd.
His throw was amazing. It beaned some guy in the head, and slid to the ground. The guy was not particularly hurt, just with some wounded dignity.
56. azurelunatic
Ow. Science hurts. #Mythbusters about 14 hours ago via txt
@Back2Bethel claimed the contraband. She was instructed to conceal it in her purse.
Gypsy and her handler came back out, and sniffed up and down the rows.
Tory and Grant are hysterical in person, with amazingly bad unscripted puns. They're even funnier off-camera, and they are hilarious enough on it. There was a lot of goofing around trying to get good takes of their narration, and good shots of the dog at work. It was starting to get hot.
55. azurelunatic
Always wear sunscreen. #mythbuilders about 14 hours ago via txt
54. azurelunatic
@grantimahara brb LOLing forever. #cryptic about 14 hours ago via txt
Apparently a target that is in a leather purse might be harder to find than one that is in a backpack. After a while of Gypsy not finding the target, and it getting to be lunchtime, a break was called. They said that it would be about a half-hour lunch break, then they would get back to filming. We rushed for the bathrooms again, grabbed soda, and queued up at the much-hailed taco truck.
52. azurelunatic
I spy jdn. JD Nelson, that is. about 13 hours ago via txt
Then I had to explain jdn, the fanfic character, to the MythBuilders, because JD Nelson of the bomb squad was there. See, once upon a time in the Stargate episode "Fragile Balance", an alien abducted and cloned Jack O'Neill. Jack's genes were DRM-ed, so the clone came out teenage and his body started to fall apart. Magical aliens fixed it all, and then teenage!Jack got packed off to high school and was never heard from again in canon.synecdochic thought that this ain't right, and Jack would never the fuck stay in high school, so she shipped him off to a monastery to get his head on straight, then off to Baltimore to get some ink, held his hand when he came out of the closet, and let him choose a new name: Jonathan Daniel Neilson. JD Neilson. jdn for short.
There were two lines at the taco truck: one for ordering, one for picking up. The idea was that by the time you got to the front of the pickup line, your taco would be ready. It worked surprisingly well, but it was still a major bottleneck, and we ran well over the original lunch estimate.
The taco truck had Mexican coke with real sugar in the glass bottles. Someone (can't remember who) wanted one; she got one of them while I took over the canned Coke she'd grabbed. By this time I was tripping balls on all the caffeine. I told the Cock-Cola story, and explained the cock-a-holic incident.
We settled down to lunch inside, giggling, cheering, and toasting each other by clinking our phones together. I tried to explain slash. @JulianaMarie looked the least mystified by it.
I finished up my lunch and called my best friend to share the squee, and/or gloat at him about how epic this all was. Happily, he was not annoyed with me for calling in the middle of the day, and contributed to the conversation. <3 <3 <3 <3
51. @JulianaMarie
#Mythbuilders toast with their phones. about 13 hours ago (RT by @azurelunatic)
49. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras relate everything to sex. Taco #Mythbuilders about 13 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
48. azurelunatic
Sour apples make better toothbrushes. #MythBuilders about 13 hours ago via txt
My best friend added the bit about Jamie's mustache. <3
46. azurelunatic
Human hair is more effective than those green scrubby things. Really. Especially JAMIE'S mustache. #MythBuilders about 13 hours ago via txt
45. azurelunatic
"is that a leg? Can I hump it?" about 13 hours ago via txt
Teenage boys and sex. Or is that teenage dogs?
44. @Back2Bethel
Ive been quoted! RT @azurelunatic: "is that a leg? Can I hump it?" #mythbuilders #lunchconvos about 12 hours ago via txt
43. @JulianaMarie
Note: slashtag is COMPLETELY different from Hashtag #Mythbuilders about 12 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® (RT by @azurelunatic)
42. MythBusters Official MythBusters
Nice pic! RT @LauraxBorealis: Filming @MythBusters http://twitpic.com/1ll7ks about 12 hours ago via TweetDeck
I have no idea who this actually is, but they were having fun. This was from early in the day, as you can see the angle of the sun, the camera guy setting up on top of the white panel truck with the whiteboard marker commentary on the side, and the blue crane in the background that was making such a gawdawful amount of racket before filming started.
40. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras are baby Jedi to @grantimahara's Yoda #Mythbuilders about 12 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
39. azurelunatic
Lunch break going long due in part to a bottleneck at the taco stand. #Mythbusters about 12 hours ago via txt
38. azurelunatic
"the alligator puppet needs a trumpet!" Grant on Craig Ferguson. #Mythbusters about 12 hours ago via txt
We finally got back out there in the heat. Gypsy circled around again. She finally found the target in @Back2Bethel's bag. (We were all standing together; I was right next to her in line.) She was duly congratulated and told that she'd be sitting the next one out, to avoid confusing the dogs.
A really sweet red convertible had arrived at some point, and it blasted music at us for a while. We rocked out.
36. @Back2Bethel
On set hanging with the Bomb Squad about 12 hours ago via txt
The contraband got reassigned. Gypsy and her handler stepped away, as she'd worked a good solid shift, and a new dog was brought forth. There was some evil cackling from the guys. The three lines surrounding the contraband were shuffled. The directions for doing so sounded (and looked) a good deal like line dancing. Hilarity ensued.
A bitch in heat was brought out, which was another factor involved in the switching of sniffer dogs: this new sniffer dog was male, unaltered. Various people brought up the Bloodhound Gang's "Bad Touch": "You and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel!" Given that the new dog was starting to look like he'd be humping the bitch, and this was in fact MythBusters, the song was more hilarious than ever. Grant did eventually make a "Bad Touch" crack. The jokes that were not filmed were more racy than the ones that were, given that MythBusters is supposed to stay PG-13.
35. azurelunatic
That looks like a very complicated dance. #fromset about 12 hours ago via txt
34. azurelunatic
Busily earworming my MythBuilders team. You and me baby ain't nothin but mammals. about 11 hours ago via txt
Other people were having the same earworm and thought about line dancing that I had.
33. azurelunatic
Seriously hivemind here. about 11 hours ago via txt
32. azurelunatic
Line dancing? about 11 hours ago via txt
31. azurelunatic
@back2bethel Hivemind! about 11 hours ago via txt
People were starting to turn pink, and people with sunscreen made new friends. There was sunscreen all the hell over the place as we paused the filming.
Late in the day, we take a break as the taco truck leaves. Goodbye, taco truck! We love you!
The taco truck drives off into the sunset.
We pause between sets of filming. Here, Mr. Chair kneels so his friend can sit down. Our Meg's skirt and parasol are visible at the right.
The dog handlers noted the presence of the bitch in heat, allowed as it was certainly an effective distraction. They explained that in a real-world situation, if something like this happened, the distraction would be removed from the area, as it was pretty damn blatant, and also something that could be done. So the bitch in heat was removed, the lines were shuffled, and the dog continued sniffing. And ... found!
29. @Back2Bethel
Wrapping on the @mythbusters set, then back to the BART, Livermore, & First Street Alehouse about 11 hours ago via txt
28. azurelunatic
My FEET have PAIN. about 11 hours ago via txt
27. @JulianaMarie
Missing @back2bethel, #Myuthbuilders temporarily apart about 11 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
All the volunteers got a T-shirt. However, they were short on the adult-sized t-shirts, and long on the small ones; people who didn't get a shirt got their names taken down so a shirt could be shipped.
Getting shirts issued turned into Grant and Tory signing shirts.
Bomb squad guy JD Nelson. Me, grinning like a lunatic fangirl. Note the taped-out slogan on the button on my hat.
Tory signs a t-shirt.
26. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras are treated like royalty. http://twitpic.com/1lmb4y about 10 hours ago via Twitpic
@Back2Bethel is thrilled to meet Grant.
@JulianaMarie, @Back2Bethel, and @MrsGneissGirl queue up.
I am thrilled to meet Grant. Behind us, Tory has decided the best and most stable surface for signing the shirt is a fan's back.
I am thrilled to meet Tory. Tory said that he liked my flair, then noticed the blacked-out buttons on my hat, and commented that someone must have Happened to my hat. "Actually, I did that myself at home before coming here," I said.
"You know the drill then!" Tory said, or words to that equivalent, and seemed mildly impressed.
Our Meg waits in the background.
Our Meg gets a photo with Grant and Tory.
Earlier, she'd mentioned the decision behind her outfit: they said clothes you might wear to a concert, right? And, well, she goes to some really fun concerts.
Our lovely director, the Woman in the Red Jacket! Officers and K9s are visible in the background.
Meet the "Myth-Builders": @MrsGneissGirl, @Back2Bethel, @Azurelunatic, and @JulianaMarie. BFF!
25. @Back2Bethel
All wrapped up, tons of pics later. Everyone was so great! about 10 hours ago via txt
Officers and K9s and MythBusters: the Woman in the Red Jacket, Tory, and Grant mingle.
Grant looks down at a chillin' German Shepherd.
We made our farewells, and headed our various directions. I realized that really, I needed to refuel the car. I was still dancing on air, despite the burning pain in my poor feet.
24. azurelunatic
Brain in blissed out whitespace. about 10 hours ago via txt
23. @Back2Bethel
Ditto! RT @azurelunatic: Brain in blissed out whitespace. about 10 hours ago via txt
22. MythBusters Official MythBusters
From MB executive producer - Thanks to all today's awesome volunteers. You guys rocked! Our fans are the best!! about 10 hours ago via UberTwitter
21. @Back2Bethel
RT @azurelunatic: RT: @JulianaMarie: Note: slashtag is COMPLETELY different from Hashtag #Mythbuilders about 9 hours ago via txt
20. @Back2Bethel
RT @azurelunatic: "the alligator puppet needs a trumpet!" @grantimahara on @CraigyFerg. #Mythbusters about 9 hours ago via txt
19. @Back2Bethel
RT @azurelunatic: Ow. Science hurts. #Mythbusters about 9 hours ago via txt
18. @Back2Bethel
Do your feet hurt? Cuz you've been standing in a @MythBusters line alllll day #mythbuilders about 9 hours ago via txt
17. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras laugh @ gridlock #mythbuilders about 9 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
16. @MrsGneissGirl
hung out w/ @mythbusters today... Amazing! Loved everyone on the crew! Made friends... Made memories :) about 9 hours ago via mobile web
15. @Back2Bethel
Me too :-D RT @mrsgneissgirl: hung out w/ @mythbusters today... Amazing! Loved everyone on the crew! Made friends... Made memories :) about 9 hours ago via txt
I zipped over to Borderlands Books to pick up @miragrant's Feed, then found a nice parking spot for my usual Thursday evening's festivities with my friendcleverthylacine and company. I realized that my phone's battery was dangerously low from a busy day of twittering and retweeting. I ... sort of failed to realize that I actually had a car charger. Woops. I left a message on my best friend's voicemail to gloat about the lovely day I'd had.
14. azurelunatic
Won't be home to check back scroll for a while but OMG, the only thing that could have made this better would have been best friend there. about 9 hours ago via txt
13. @JulianaMarie
To wit http://twitpic.com/1lmuli about 9 hours ago via Twitpic
12. Grant Imahara grantimahara
Thanks to all of our volunteers... Awesome day. Hope you all had fun! about 9 hours ago via Tweetie
11. Grant Imahara grantimahara
Having drinks with the crew. Yes, that's a cobra with a scorpion in its mouth. Snake whiskey, from Laos. http://twitpic.com/1lmwhr about 9 hours ago via TwitPic
10. azurelunatic
Got to meet @grantimahara & Tory & other awesome crew & guests; also new fellow fan friends. about 9 hours ago via txt
9. Grant Imahara grantimahara
Snake whiskey tastes like leather and brown sugar. Eeeew. http://twitpic.com/1lmzg6 about 9 hours ago via TwitPic
8. @Back2Bethel
Just got called a "sexy, sexy thang" in the Dublin BART station #firsttimeforeverything about 8 hours ago via txt
7. @Back2Bethel
But they cheer better when fed! RT @grantimahara: @CraigyFerg Apparently, offering food works for getting volunteers! Thanks for the idea... about 8 hours ago via txt
6. azurelunatic
Best friend called back and I burned some of my one battery bar on him. Good times. Promised him a proper write up once it is no spoilers. about 8 hours ago via txt
5. @MrsGneissGirl
Mini Naps can save lives. #mythbuilders about 3 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
I showed up oncleverthylacine's doorstep, and once inside, I realized that I looked like a "zombie raccoon prostitute" because of my smeared dark eyeshadow. Fortunately, my photosensitive glasses would have made this not apparent when filming.
3. azurelunatic
@Back2Bethel FEET HURT LIKE BURNING OW. But not as bad as the time I froze them off! Fri May 07 07:42:51 +0000 2010 in reply to Back2Bethel
From MB executive producer - Thanks to all today's awesome volunteers. You guys rocked! Our fans are the best!!
Hair of the Dog
The MythBusters called for volunteers to help out with "Hair of the Dog", in testing possible methods to help defeat a sniffer dog. Of course, we didn't know exactly what we were signing up for at first.
(I've tried to make this not take up too much space, but if you want to flee now, jump to the end. This also uses nesting cuts for the spoiler-phobic, since I'm posting before 9pm PST (but after 9pm EST), and you can expand them from http://azurelunatic.dreamwidth.org/2010/10/06/#entry-6434015 )
Call for Volunteers:
We need 200 volunteers! May 6/San Fran/8:30a-5p. Must be over 18. Free T-shirts+lunch! For more details: mb@beyond.com.au
A little nervous:
[#MBMole] We're visiting a pet store to buy lots of tarantulas! They will NOT be harmed in any way. Hosts on the other hand...Muwahaha
Heard back from MythBusters with details. It involves sniffer dogs, and the volunteers are to be lining up as if in a line for a concert or other event. This has costuming potential! Dress code: anything you really want to wear, except no logos -- and bring layers/hat, as this is going to be involving standing outside in San Francisco weather.
After some deliberation, I decided against wearing my incredibly heavy and hot blue velvet skirt and blue and gold bodice, as standing around in the sun in that is no fun. The next practical option was goth.
Have taped over the logo on my tote bag; have taped over logos on buttons on my favorite purple hat. The rest of my clothing is generally logo-free.
115. @Back2Bethel
In less than 12 hrs, Ill be on-set! 9:41 PM May 5th via txt
114. azurelunatic
Very excited for volunteering for @mythbusters in the morning. Hope I can sleep... 12:34 AM May 6th via Echofon
Realized that it was raspberry leaf tea season. Crankily wondered whether the drug-dog sniffing would be on the day when I might actually have to use hard drug painkillers, decided this would be hilarious. Made a comment to that effect on Twitter (somewhat vaguely). Then realized this was maybe too much information, so I deleted it after it archived. Then I decided to leave some anti-spoiler red herrings about for good measure.
113. azurelunatic
This does concern me a little: http://twitter.com/MythBusters/status/13373341300 #mythbusters #arachnophobia 2:16 AM May 6th via Echofon
112. azurelunatic
8:30 is way too early in the morning to be rising and shining. But it's for a good cause! #mythbusters 2:18 AM May 6th via Echofon
111. azurelunatic
http://48hrmag.com/ sounds like amazing fun, but I seem to be busy for much of Round 1. 2:26 AM May 6th via Echofon
110. azurelunatic
So my brain wants to make sure I remember that I want a Mythbusters BPAL set. Warehouse, workshop, busted, plausible, confirmed ... 0400
109. azurelunatic
Mythbusters BPAL notes might include concrete, dust, wood shavings, ozone, hot metal, black powder, smoke, pepper, leather, plastic... 0403
Wound up sleeping the better part of 12 hours on Wednesday, then staying up very late such that there were two and a half hours of actual sleep time for me to sleep. Did polish my nails (at hour 3.5; after 1 hour they were good to not be flat out but my brain was still buzzing). Was incredibly incoherent when the alarm went off, but snoozed it and held the phone in my hand so I could wrap up the last bit of the sleep and get back into wakeful territory.
Then I took my caffeine and St. John's Wort.
One of the things I'd done while still up was make a customized checklist for morning, so while I couldn't focus on ... many things ... I could focus on what needed doing next. I had most of my everything already laid out.
Meanwhile, the people I was soon to meet were already on their way:
108. @JulianaMarie
0508 am - on my way to SF to be an extra for the day, for an @Mythbusters experiment! Nephews will think me the COOLEST AUNT EVER! about 21 hours ago via web
107. azurelunatic
OH WOW. You know how microwaving water can be dangerous? Looks still, put something in & it boils? That just made my tea ball self-dunking!! 0622
I discovered a really fun physics moment. There's a thing where you boil water in the microwave and it's flat water and it's still, and when you drop something into it, it boils violently? Well, I set the water out in the microwave the night before. It was pretty flat. Then I boiled it. Then I dropped the tea ball full of raspberry leaf stuff into it. FOOM! It started bubbling (fortunately not ONTO me) and the bubbles started happening inside the mesh of the tea ball. The tea ball rose. Then the bubbles escaped. It sank. This repeated a few more times: a self-dunking tea ball! I was charmed.
My forays into the world of makeup, and putting same on my face, was brought up short against the problem that my black lipstick had, when unobserved, turned into pretty much tar. Oh dear. This made gothing myself up a bit harder than I'd planned on.
I got out the door within just a little bit of when I had planned to be. I counted this as a win. I debated about refueling, but decided against doing that immediately on the grounds that I wanted to be early and there might be traffic. I drove there, pretty much without incident. I had been expecting more traffic than I got, so the light traffic was pleasing. This got me there earlier than I expected. I was thinking that I might refuel then, but the turnoff came upon me unexpectedly, and I went for that rather than continuing a search for a gas station. I looked for indicated parking. It was not immediately obvious where to park. I drove around a bit but got parked and located the building. The area in front of it was fenced off.
I didn't feel like spending the whole time waiting in my car, so I got out, looked at the ocean, and breathed deeply of the morning air. The deadline for finishing the dreamsheep was coming up the very next day, so I broke out my crocheting. It was a beautiful morning, and I was happy to be there, happy to be alive, happy to have the breeze on my face, and generally high as fucking hell from the caffeine I'd just ingested.
azurelunatic:
Several of us are here early. This has the potential for even more awesome fun. 0753
JulianaMarie:
Not far from where my "job" for the day is... Alcatraz... http://twitpic.com/1lj0np
Lynnette Joy Housky:
Just hailed my first cab without a hitch, saw Ramzi's Cafe( @mramz ) and will be on-set shortly!
I espied @JulianaMarie, noticed that she vaguely resembled @Skud, and we struck up a brief conversation. I communicated my sneaky plans to rickroll, but concluded that it would be probably best to wait for more people to arrive. More people did, but by this time, the lift that was hanging about a nearby building walloped into operation, and I had to wait for it to turn off before I did anything. It eventually did turn off, and I tried, but the external speaker was not playing well with my palmtop, and only sputtered out fragments of music. I pouted, turned it off, and put the whole assembly away.
103. @azurelunatic
Tried to Rickroll the #Mythbusters volunteer crowd. Sadly had technical difficulties with my external speaker. :(
0821
We were called to attention by the pretty blonde lady in the red jacket (the director) and told that we would need to get ourselves signed in. We spontaneously generated a remarkably tidy line which wrapped around the outside of the fenced-off area, then turned around and went against the retaining wall. I started out up against the fence, fairly far up in the line, but not particularly close. I tried fishing for anyone else who might be on Twitter and have a phone capable of keeping up with hashtags. (My phone was not capable of this.) Sadly, I didn't really get any takers.
102. @azurelunatic
Brought a printout of Skippy's List for the entertainment of anyone bored in line. #Mythbusters 0831
101. @Back2Bethel
On set, waiting around, so stoked!
The sign-in process was remarkably efficient, but there were around 200 people present, so it took a while. We shuffled up with remarkable good humor. We were told that due to the logistics of wrangling this, only people who'd managed to get their
It came to be my turn. I presented my ID, got myself found on the list, and was handed a small whiteboard with my name written on it. I stood still (grinning my fool head off) while I was photographed. This was for their records, they advised: they wanted to be able to easily match up people on film to their paperwork. I approved of this plan.
After we were signed in, we were directed to wait and keep the hell out of the way. This translated to going into the building. The cavernous space dwarfed the handful of tables with folding chairs set up. This space is evidently a favorite location: this was where they had tested the bullet dropped vs. bullet fired in "Knock Your Socks Off". There were even snacks, for people who'd not had breakfast: soda, pastries, apples!
I found a table with a few available seats and sat down; I was joined by @MrsGneissGirl. Fiber geekery hilarity ensued: she was knitting, I was crocheting frantically on Dreamsheep Alpha to get it done for the party the very next day. Other people had fiber arts projects as well. I felt all warm and fuzzy.
I was sipping from one of the bottles of nice chilled water when I realized that water bottle labels might be a problem that would have to be bleeped out onscreen; I peeled them off. This would stickily haunt me throughout the day.
People kept on filing in, and people started to get bored. Someone joked, half-seriously, that the myth was about what people who were bored waiting in line would get up to. Indeed, people were pacing the length of the building, there was a certain amount of experimentation with echoes, and I felt the urge to turn cartwheels. (I didn't actually, though.)
I broke out the crocheting once again. There was a knitter at my table. There were several knitters about. My table started chatting, and determined that we would, for entertainment purposes, start generating urban legends, and see if any of them made it back to the MythBusters for their show. We created a tentative name: MythBuilders! We discovered that many of us were on Twitter, and exchanged usernames quickly. I had mastered the skill of adding someone via text message, and added my fellows this way, which had the bonus of sending their tweets to me as text messages. @Back2Bethel and @JulianaMarie added me immediately, having more modern phones; @MrsGneissGirl had an older phone but promised to reciprocate as soon as she was at a computer.
100. azurelunatic
Building better mud myths to be busted! #MythBuilders 0905
99. Back2Bethel
Plotting with my fellow extras to start a new show called #MythBuilders
98. mrsgneissgirl
#mythbuilders born today!
97. JulianaMarie
#mythbuilders on a mission
96. Back2Bethel
Plotting with my #mythbuilders costars @julianamarie @mrsgneissgirl & @azurelunatic.
95. azurelunatic
#MythBuilders team has chocolate, apples. Win. Also fiber arts, bubbles, cards. 0918
94. @Back2Bethel
"Apples are a natural toothbrush" #mythbuilders
93. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras get champagne & lobster buffet #Mythbuilders about 17 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
91. azurelunatic
What size Mythbusters crowd does it take to spontaneously generate myths? #MythBuilders 0925
90. @JulianaMarie
See I'm really here #mythbuilders http://twitpic.com/1ljoo1 ( &
http://twitpic.com/1ljotg )
88. @Back2Bethel
Just took a picture with Tory & @grantimahara
Before the shoot. Tory and Grant are posing with volunteer-fans. This is @Back2Bethel, with @MrsGneissGirl watching and @JulianaMarie photographing.
Before the shoot. Tory and Grant are posing with volunteer-fans. @MrsGneissGirl getting hugged, @JulianaMarie photographing.
The pics got broken up as shooting was ready to start.
Milling around outside. You can see @MrsGneissGirl's head, and JD Nelson in the distance.
I was delighted to learn that JD Nelson would be present. (JD Nelson is an actual officer of the law, not to be mistaken for the similarly-named, and fictional, JD Neilson.) JD Nelson often shows up when the MythBusters are dealing with explosives, firearms, and other reasons that officers of the law might need to be present. This time, it was because of the sniffer dogs who would be present.
Tory holds forth on something, with JD Nelson standing by.
We got our safety briefing. (Safety Dance != Safety Briefing, Skippy's List reminds us.) Basically, the sniffer dogs are police dogs but not the sort where you're in biting danger: they're sniffy, nosy dogs, but we're not to touch them, only their handler should while they're working. (Which is exactly the sort of stuff I am used to: working dog is working; do not touch working dog while working dog is working.)
Back outside to file in for time-lapse thingy; we were to go in at a steady rate, as doing it speeded up would make it look like a demented caterpillar. We were instructed that no-one was to go over the black line with any part of their body, as that would make it necessary to re-shoot the whole thing. We were also to not look at the camera, which would make it All Weird.
Grant takes a picture of the volunteer crowd: http://twitpic.com/1ljx8e (I'm somewhere invisible in the back)
87. MythBusters Official MythBusters
Looks like a lot of our followers are volunteering with us today! about 17 hours ago via TweetDeck
86. azurelunatic
In crowd, and @grantimahara is taking pictures of us! #MythBuilders 0944 (RT by @Back2Bethel)
85. azurelunatic
Having who came the furthest contest. Alaska or Canada. #Mythbusters 0951
84. azurelunatic
"Quiet please" is marred by giggles in the back of the crowd and seagulls. #Mythbusters 0956
82. Grant Imahara grantimahara
Our volunteers, moments before the experiment... #fromset #Mythbusters http://twitpic.com/1ljx8e about 16 hours ago via TwitPic (RT by @Back2Bethel, @MythBusters, @azurelunatic)
We shambled in.
80. azurelunatic
May have zombies here. Not looking at the camera. #MythBuilders 1009
78. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras don't cross the black line. about 16 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
75. @Back2Bethel
RT @grantimahara: @CraigyFerg Apparently, offering food works for getting volunteers! Thanks for the idea... about 16 hours ago via txt
74. @Back2Bethel
Joking around with @grantimahara about Tribbles & chest hair #mythbusters #mythbuilders about 16 hours ago (RT by @azurelunatic)
Grant is wearing a tiny little clip microphone. It has a tiny fuzzy black cover to protect it from the wind. @Back2Bethel, of course, asked whether that was some of Grant's chest hair, or a tiny tribble. Hilarity from all.
Someone mentioned the MythBuilders thing to Grant, who thought it was hilarious, but was a little concerned about confusion, because of MythBuilders being so similar to MythBusters. He suggested that we could think of a name that wouldn't be confusing. By that time, though, the name had sort of caught on with the four of us, and it was already a bit too late.
The back of Grant's head, and @MrsGneissGirl grinning.
Then back outside to mill in, in crowds. Clustered in, and chatted.
We were told to chat silently, ignoring the cameras, so they could get some clean sound from the guys. We did.
One of my new crew found an incredibly long white fiber on my black shirt. I realized that it was from the wool/acrylic blend I was using for the crocheted dreamsheep. Hilarity ensued.
73. azurelunatic
Knitters have more chest hair than non knitters. #MythBuilders 1047
72. @Back2Bethel
Standing around pretending to be talking but not making any sound. I always liked that game... #mythbusters #mythbuilders about 16 hours ago (RT by @azurelunatic)
71. @JulianaMarie
And we're milling & muttering & looking for bathrooms #mythbusters about 16 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
We were instructed not to touch the black line. This suddenly became a problem as people realized that they had to use the bathroom. Ooops. When we were finally told we could take a break, there was a mass charge for the bathrooms.
68. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras on simultaneous bathroom break can cause a toilet tsunami #Mythbuilders about 15 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
A taco truck showed up; it would be serving us lunch. It took some maneuvering to get into place. While they were doing that, there were various shots of the crowd cheering. The thing that got the biggest cheer out of us was invariably the taco truck, to much amusement. Amazing, amazing amounts of cheering for the truck, and we were already pretty stoked to start with.
66. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras can stop taco trucks with their silent conversations #Mythbuilders about 15 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
64. azurelunatic
Taco incident. Mud pie of death. Whiteboard truck. about 15 hours ago via txt
Not sure what the "taco incident" was; was that the truck? or a Noodle Incident? Mud Pie of Death was the rock concealed in the mudpie. The whiteboard truck -- someone had sketched stuff on an equipment truck with whiteboard markers. We approved heartily.
63. @JulianaMarie
Attendance @ annual tarantula migration in Alum Rock park highly recommended even 4 arachnaphobes #mythbuilders about 15 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
Actually *not* recommended.
The camera crew was getting some shots of Tory and Grant wandering through the crowd. The crowd was instructed to chatter (aloud, this time) and look natural, so I was holding forth to the cluster of MythBuilders about the TREE incident of a few nights before, because I was fucking high on fucking caffeine, and it was still amusing me.
Cue Tory wandering into our general area just as I had declared "TREE." in a deep and resonant voice. He was pursued by lots of camerapeople. He said something about either flare (lens-type), or flair (all the buttons on my hat). I did what came naturally.
62. azurelunatic
TREE (please don't take my picture) TREE #MYTHBUILDERS about 15 hours
What came naturally, of course, was shrieking a bit, and jumping out of the way of Tory and camerapeople, behind one of the rest of my crowd. They laughed extensively at me.
Tory and camerapeople wandered off. The MythBuilders continued chatting. I briefly explained my best friend to the Mythbuilders: we're BFF, I'm madly and unrequitedly in love with him; we somehow make it work.
We then lined up with our bags on the ground so the dogs could sniff us. We were told that somewhere in the crowd, some contraband was in the possession of one of us. No-one but the MythBusters and the person with the contraband knew who it was. The person with the contraband also had a distraction technique. We were told that the "contraband" was nothing illegal, just a target that the dog had been trained to find, and that the person who was holding it knew what it was, but the rest of us would not be told. A reasonable thing, given that law enforcement dogs are trained on it, and I imagine that having a great number of people be in possession of the target that you're trained to find for practice would actually be a seriously problematical distraction technique.
59. @JulianaMarie
Release the hounds! Mythbuilders about 14 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® (RT by @Back2Bethel, @azurelunatic)
58. azurelunatic
About as exciting as waiting in line at the DMV about 14 hours ago via txt
The dog was a yellow lab named Gypsy, very pretty girl, very cheerful and waggy. Clearly having the time of her life. She loves her job. She sniffed up and down the rows of people as we waited in suspense. Finally, she offered her signal behavior for a dude in a green knit cap in a row to my right.
Tory with ... THE CONTRABAND! http://twitpic.com/1iwqx2
The "contraband" was an un-prepossessing looking manila envelope concealed in the guy's backpack, folded down small, obviously containing something scented. Also possibly rocks and/or beans.
The mystery distraction turned out to be a very high pitched noisemaker, out of the audible range of most of the adult humans. That is to say, a FUCKING EAR-PIERCING NOISYBOX. The dude wanted to have a listen of it, and tried, and YOWZA. he regretted it. There was some schadenfreude.
The handler explained what he was watching for, the increase in the rate of sniffing, the head jerking up as she catches the scent, the hesitation at the target. He runs her around in circles if she gets off-task, or if he wants her to go back.
The dogs and the handlers were asked to step inside the building while the next person was chosen. The next person, for a control run, was chosen via the simple expedient of Tory tossing the contraband out into the crowd.
His throw was amazing. It beaned some guy in the head, and slid to the ground. The guy was not particularly hurt, just with some wounded dignity.
56. azurelunatic
Ow. Science hurts. #Mythbusters about 14 hours ago via txt
@Back2Bethel claimed the contraband. She was instructed to conceal it in her purse.
Gypsy and her handler came back out, and sniffed up and down the rows.
Tory and Grant are hysterical in person, with amazingly bad unscripted puns. They're even funnier off-camera, and they are hilarious enough on it. There was a lot of goofing around trying to get good takes of their narration, and good shots of the dog at work. It was starting to get hot.
55. azurelunatic
Always wear sunscreen. #mythbuilders about 14 hours ago via txt
54. azurelunatic
@grantimahara brb LOLing forever. #cryptic about 14 hours ago via txt
Apparently a target that is in a leather purse might be harder to find than one that is in a backpack. After a while of Gypsy not finding the target, and it getting to be lunchtime, a break was called. They said that it would be about a half-hour lunch break, then they would get back to filming. We rushed for the bathrooms again, grabbed soda, and queued up at the much-hailed taco truck.
52. azurelunatic
I spy jdn. JD Nelson, that is. about 13 hours ago via txt
Then I had to explain jdn, the fanfic character, to the MythBuilders, because JD Nelson of the bomb squad was there. See, once upon a time in the Stargate episode "Fragile Balance", an alien abducted and cloned Jack O'Neill. Jack's genes were DRM-ed, so the clone came out teenage and his body started to fall apart. Magical aliens fixed it all, and then teenage!Jack got packed off to high school and was never heard from again in canon.
synecdochic thought that this ain't right, and Jack would never the fuck stay in high school, so she shipped him off to a monastery to get his head on straight, then off to Baltimore to get some ink, held his hand when he came out of the closet, and let him choose a new name: Jonathan Daniel Neilson. JD Neilson. jdn for short. There were two lines at the taco truck: one for ordering, one for picking up. The idea was that by the time you got to the front of the pickup line, your taco would be ready. It worked surprisingly well, but it was still a major bottleneck, and we ran well over the original lunch estimate.
The taco truck had Mexican coke with real sugar in the glass bottles. Someone (can't remember who) wanted one; she got one of them while I took over the canned Coke she'd grabbed. By this time I was tripping balls on all the caffeine. I told the Cock-Cola story, and explained the cock-a-holic incident.
We settled down to lunch inside, giggling, cheering, and toasting each other by clinking our phones together. I tried to explain slash. @JulianaMarie looked the least mystified by it.
I finished up my lunch and called my best friend to share the squee, and/or gloat at him about how epic this all was. Happily, he was not annoyed with me for calling in the middle of the day, and contributed to the conversation. <3 <3 <3 <3
51. @JulianaMarie
#Mythbuilders toast with their phones. about 13 hours ago (RT by @azurelunatic)
49. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras relate everything to sex. Taco #Mythbuilders about 13 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
48. azurelunatic
Sour apples make better toothbrushes. #MythBuilders about 13 hours ago via txt
My best friend added the bit about Jamie's mustache. <3
46. azurelunatic
Human hair is more effective than those green scrubby things. Really. Especially JAMIE'S mustache. #MythBuilders about 13 hours ago via txt
45. azurelunatic
"is that a leg? Can I hump it?" about 13 hours ago via txt
Teenage boys and sex. Or is that teenage dogs?
44. @Back2Bethel
Ive been quoted! RT @azurelunatic: "is that a leg? Can I hump it?" #mythbuilders #lunchconvos about 12 hours ago via txt
43. @JulianaMarie
Note: slashtag is COMPLETELY different from Hashtag #Mythbuilders about 12 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® (RT by @azurelunatic)
42. MythBusters Official MythBusters
Nice pic! RT @LauraxBorealis: Filming @MythBusters http://twitpic.com/1ll7ks about 12 hours ago via TweetDeck
I have no idea who this actually is, but they were having fun. This was from early in the day, as you can see the angle of the sun, the camera guy setting up on top of the white panel truck with the whiteboard marker commentary on the side, and the blue crane in the background that was making such a gawdawful amount of racket before filming started.
40. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras are baby Jedi to @grantimahara's Yoda #Mythbuilders about 12 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
39. azurelunatic
Lunch break going long due in part to a bottleneck at the taco stand. #Mythbusters about 12 hours ago via txt
38. azurelunatic
"the alligator puppet needs a trumpet!" Grant on Craig Ferguson. #Mythbusters about 12 hours ago via txt
We finally got back out there in the heat. Gypsy circled around again. She finally found the target in @Back2Bethel's bag. (We were all standing together; I was right next to her in line.) She was duly congratulated and told that she'd be sitting the next one out, to avoid confusing the dogs.
A really sweet red convertible had arrived at some point, and it blasted music at us for a while. We rocked out.
36. @Back2Bethel
On set hanging with the Bomb Squad about 12 hours ago via txt
The contraband got reassigned. Gypsy and her handler stepped away, as she'd worked a good solid shift, and a new dog was brought forth. There was some evil cackling from the guys. The three lines surrounding the contraband were shuffled. The directions for doing so sounded (and looked) a good deal like line dancing. Hilarity ensued.
A bitch in heat was brought out, which was another factor involved in the switching of sniffer dogs: this new sniffer dog was male, unaltered. Various people brought up the Bloodhound Gang's "Bad Touch": "You and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel!" Given that the new dog was starting to look like he'd be humping the bitch, and this was in fact MythBusters, the song was more hilarious than ever. Grant did eventually make a "Bad Touch" crack. The jokes that were not filmed were more racy than the ones that were, given that MythBusters is supposed to stay PG-13.
35. azurelunatic
That looks like a very complicated dance. #fromset about 12 hours ago via txt
34. azurelunatic
Busily earworming my MythBuilders team. You and me baby ain't nothin but mammals. about 11 hours ago via txt
Other people were having the same earworm and thought about line dancing that I had.
33. azurelunatic
Seriously hivemind here. about 11 hours ago via txt
32. azurelunatic
Line dancing? about 11 hours ago via txt
31. azurelunatic
@back2bethel Hivemind! about 11 hours ago via txt
People were starting to turn pink, and people with sunscreen made new friends. There was sunscreen all the hell over the place as we paused the filming.
Late in the day, we take a break as the taco truck leaves. Goodbye, taco truck! We love you!
The taco truck drives off into the sunset.
We pause between sets of filming. Here, Mr. Chair kneels so his friend can sit down. Our Meg's skirt and parasol are visible at the right.
The dog handlers noted the presence of the bitch in heat, allowed as it was certainly an effective distraction. They explained that in a real-world situation, if something like this happened, the distraction would be removed from the area, as it was pretty damn blatant, and also something that could be done. So the bitch in heat was removed, the lines were shuffled, and the dog continued sniffing. And ... found!
29. @Back2Bethel
Wrapping on the @mythbusters set, then back to the BART, Livermore, & First Street Alehouse about 11 hours ago via txt
28. azurelunatic
My FEET have PAIN. about 11 hours ago via txt
27. @JulianaMarie
Missing @back2bethel, #Myuthbuilders temporarily apart about 11 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
All the volunteers got a T-shirt. However, they were short on the adult-sized t-shirts, and long on the small ones; people who didn't get a shirt got their names taken down so a shirt could be shipped.
Getting shirts issued turned into Grant and Tory signing shirts.
Bomb squad guy JD Nelson. Me, grinning like a lunatic fangirl. Note the taped-out slogan on the button on my hat.
Tory signs a t-shirt.
26. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras are treated like royalty. http://twitpic.com/1lmb4y about 10 hours ago via Twitpic
@Back2Bethel is thrilled to meet Grant.
@JulianaMarie, @Back2Bethel, and @MrsGneissGirl queue up.
I am thrilled to meet Grant. Behind us, Tory has decided the best and most stable surface for signing the shirt is a fan's back.
I am thrilled to meet Tory. Tory said that he liked my flair, then noticed the blacked-out buttons on my hat, and commented that someone must have Happened to my hat. "Actually, I did that myself at home before coming here," I said.
"You know the drill then!" Tory said, or words to that equivalent, and seemed mildly impressed.
Our Meg waits in the background.
Our Meg gets a photo with Grant and Tory.
Earlier, she'd mentioned the decision behind her outfit: they said clothes you might wear to a concert, right? And, well, she goes to some really fun concerts.
Our lovely director, the Woman in the Red Jacket! Officers and K9s are visible in the background.
Meet the "Myth-Builders": @MrsGneissGirl, @Back2Bethel, @Azurelunatic, and @JulianaMarie. BFF!
25. @Back2Bethel
All wrapped up, tons of pics later. Everyone was so great! about 10 hours ago via txt
Officers and K9s and MythBusters: the Woman in the Red Jacket, Tory, and Grant mingle.
Grant looks down at a chillin' German Shepherd.
We made our farewells, and headed our various directions. I realized that really, I needed to refuel the car. I was still dancing on air, despite the burning pain in my poor feet.
24. azurelunatic
Brain in blissed out whitespace. about 10 hours ago via txt
23. @Back2Bethel
Ditto! RT @azurelunatic: Brain in blissed out whitespace. about 10 hours ago via txt
22. MythBusters Official MythBusters
From MB executive producer - Thanks to all today's awesome volunteers. You guys rocked! Our fans are the best!! about 10 hours ago via UberTwitter
21. @Back2Bethel
RT @azurelunatic: RT: @JulianaMarie: Note: slashtag is COMPLETELY different from Hashtag #Mythbuilders about 9 hours ago via txt
20. @Back2Bethel
RT @azurelunatic: "the alligator puppet needs a trumpet!" @grantimahara on @CraigyFerg. #Mythbusters about 9 hours ago via txt
19. @Back2Bethel
RT @azurelunatic: Ow. Science hurts. #Mythbusters about 9 hours ago via txt
18. @Back2Bethel
Do your feet hurt? Cuz you've been standing in a @MythBusters line alllll day #mythbuilders about 9 hours ago via txt
17. @JulianaMarie
Mythbusters extras laugh @ gridlock #mythbuilders about 9 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
16. @MrsGneissGirl
hung out w/ @mythbusters today... Amazing! Loved everyone on the crew! Made friends... Made memories :) about 9 hours ago via mobile web
15. @Back2Bethel
Me too :-D RT @mrsgneissgirl: hung out w/ @mythbusters today... Amazing! Loved everyone on the crew! Made friends... Made memories :) about 9 hours ago via txt
I zipped over to Borderlands Books to pick up @miragrant's Feed, then found a nice parking spot for my usual Thursday evening's festivities with my friend
cleverthylacine and company. I realized that my phone's battery was dangerously low from a busy day of twittering and retweeting. I ... sort of failed to realize that I actually had a car charger. Woops. I left a message on my best friend's voicemail to gloat about the lovely day I'd had.14. azurelunatic
Won't be home to check back scroll for a while but OMG, the only thing that could have made this better would have been best friend there. about 9 hours ago via txt
13. @JulianaMarie
To wit http://twitpic.com/1lmuli about 9 hours ago via Twitpic
12. Grant Imahara grantimahara
Thanks to all of our volunteers... Awesome day. Hope you all had fun! about 9 hours ago via Tweetie
11. Grant Imahara grantimahara
Having drinks with the crew. Yes, that's a cobra with a scorpion in its mouth. Snake whiskey, from Laos. http://twitpic.com/1lmwhr about 9 hours ago via TwitPic
10. azurelunatic
Got to meet @grantimahara & Tory & other awesome crew & guests; also new fellow fan friends. about 9 hours ago via txt
9. Grant Imahara grantimahara
Snake whiskey tastes like leather and brown sugar. Eeeew. http://twitpic.com/1lmzg6 about 9 hours ago via TwitPic
8. @Back2Bethel
Just got called a "sexy, sexy thang" in the Dublin BART station #firsttimeforeverything about 8 hours ago via txt
7. @Back2Bethel
But they cheer better when fed! RT @grantimahara: @CraigyFerg Apparently, offering food works for getting volunteers! Thanks for the idea... about 8 hours ago via txt
6. azurelunatic
Best friend called back and I burned some of my one battery bar on him. Good times. Promised him a proper write up once it is no spoilers. about 8 hours ago via txt
5. @MrsGneissGirl
Mini Naps can save lives. #mythbuilders about 3 hours ago (RT by @Back2Bethel)
I showed up on
cleverthylacine's doorstep, and once inside, I realized that I looked like a "zombie raccoon prostitute" because of my smeared dark eyeshadow. Fortunately, my photosensitive glasses would have made this not apparent when filming. 3. azurelunatic
@Back2Bethel FEET HURT LIKE BURNING OW. But not as bad as the time I froze them off! Fri May 07 07:42:51 +0000 2010 in reply to Back2Bethel
From MB executive producer - Thanks to all today's awesome volunteers. You guys rocked! Our fans are the best!!
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Was much amused at the photo which appears to show Tory signing a black shirt with a black pen - later photos show signature in white, but the pen was black!
r is easily amused :)
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