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.
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.auA 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...MuwahahaHeard 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.
( I prepare. ) 114. azurelunatic
Very excited for volunteering for @mythbusters in the morning. Hope I can sleep... 12:34 AM May 6th via Echofon
( I found it hard to. ) ( I didn't get much sleep, so my morning was really entertaining. I tripped balls on caffeine. )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 were all very excited. ) 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.
( We got silly fast. ) 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
( We had an amazingly fun day. Spoilers lurk below. ) 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
( Lunch hilarity. )We finally got back out there in the heat.
( Afternoon filming, spoilery. ) 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.
( Read more... ) 
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!
( End of the day. ) From MB executive producer - Thanks to all today's awesome volunteers. You guys rocked! Our fans are the best!!