Avatars meet at the "Hug Deli," a typically whimsical Burning Man structure. Credit: Rebecca evans The customizable avatars are oddly disembodied, with no legs and gaps between their torsos and hands.

For those that don't know, Burning Man occurs, by design ... Burners work together to load a structure onto a flatbed truck DJs Gautier and Cirklz play a spontaneous party at the Agave Lounge ...

Among the 70,000 or so people who will make the trip to Black Rock City, Nevada, this weekend for the start of Burning Man will be some of the most influential people in Silicon Valley.