On the Net 4: Desert Bus for Hope 2018

My favorite annual charity event is about to begin.

On Friday morning, at 10am Pacific time, a group of Canadian comedians and their friends will begin playing and livestreaming the most boring video game ever created: Desert Bus, in which you drive from Tucson to Las Vegas at 45 miles per hour in real time, in an otherwise empty bus with steering issues. It takes eight hours, at the end of which you get one point and the option to drive back. They will be playing this game for somewhere around a week; the more people donate, the longer they drive. All the money goes to Child's Play, a charity that gives games to children's hospitals and women's shelters.

But why, you ask, would I want to watch such a boring stream? Well, mostly because driving through the virtual desert is not all that's going to happen. There will be singing, dancing, skits, calls from cool people like Phil Plait, and most importantly, auctions and prizes. Many of the things being auctioned off or given away in random drawings were made and submitted by viewers.

And that's where I come in. This will be my fifth year watching Desert Bus (out of the twelve in which it has happened), and my fourth consecutive year of sending in something I knitted to be sold for Child's Play. This year's submission is a pro-wrestling-style Desert Bus championship belt. A good friend of mine has also gotten in on the crafting for the first time this year; she sent in four beautiful laser-carved deck boxes. Both of these projects will be available at some point during the stream as silent auctions.

There's a lot going on at Desert Bus for Hope. It's a lot of fun, with a great community, for a great cause, and it's a great relief these days to see a community getting together and having fun for a good cause. Hope to see you in chat! I can't wait.