Nomadic Research Labs

Nomadic Research Labs
"Art without engineering is dreaming; engineering without art is calculating." --SKR

Winnebiko & BEHEMOTH bicycle adventure
(17,000 miles around the US, 1983 to 1991)

Bubba the kayak
(with location tracking and solar power, 2003-2006)

This is the playground of Steven Roberts, N4RVE, who skipped out of midwest suburbia in 1983 aboard a "computerized recumbent bicycle" and never looked back. Linked from this page are adventure tales, philosophical maunderings, bloggage, system designs, technical resources, and how-to material covering a huge range of topics. Articles are here.

In 2011 we introduced a new product: a line of sealed "Expedition Medical Chests" with ER-grade contents... click the box to learn more:

Content on this site has been accumulating for over 20 years, and little treasures are salted away in subdirectories and subdomains that may not be obvious... the search box at the bottom of this page should cover it all. The most recent updates are usually at the Nomadness blog.

Nomadness Blog
Historical Blog

Microship Expedition
(amphibian pedal/solar/sail micro-trimaran, 1992-2002)

The 44-foot steel sailing vessel "Nomadness"

S/V Nomadness
(open-ended global voyaging, 2011 and beyond,
with geekery covered in a monthly PDF available by subscription)

There is now a Boat Hacking store for design packages, eBook versions of the Nomadness Report, NRL surplus, and more. We even have an affiliate program!	I have two active blogs: Nomadness chronicles development of the new ship, and the Anarchivist is a growing library of scanned print media and other material.	There is fun stuff in the Microship General Store on eBay, and we also have mugs and shirts, kayak paddle bags, slings for kayak stands, and Winnebiko II posters.
Our Expedition Medical Chests for the marine environment are now shipping, and there is an associated wound-care blog.	Articles and Resources - how-to material, geek info, story archives, other projects, and more...	Gonzo Engineering - a manifesto. Rhapsodies on related themes include The Heart of Nomadness and The Other Woman.
Nomadness Report subscriptions are $20/year, delivered as PDF via email; the first compilation eBook is available now for $10.	Speaking & writing portfolio -- as well as media coverage and a list of sponsors.	There is a webcam and tracker on Nomadness, intermittently active.
Technomads - I'm not the only geek who combines techno passions with a longing for adventure. This page is very much out of date.	In August 2011, I began scanning my old magazine articles and media coverage into the new Microship Anarchivist blog.	E-mail Steve

The Nomadness Report

This covers all aspects of the new project as they unfold, and is delivered as a monthly PDF for $20/year. Content is geeky, nautical, detailed, and near real-time... it's a compendium of boat hacking and gonzo engineering!

The first 12 issues have been compiled into an 80-page eBook. See details and content listing at that link or click here to buy now...

This searches all my sites (microship, nomadness, blogs, NRL store, etc), with results in new window: