In an early issue of the Nomadness Report, I found myself discussing the mental model necessary to take on something so insanely complex as a homebrew starship of sorts. Companies handle this sort of thing by creating a hierarchy of departments and design groups, but I’m working more or less alone on this tour de force…

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This lovely piece by Karl Smerecnik served as a reminder to press on… back when I was stuck in a deadlock between a lab in the Camano Island woods and the lovely Nomadness moored 2 hours away. I’m grateful to the author for motivating me with discussion of my own adventures. Read the full article on the…

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I suppose it is ironic for a paleo-technomad to look at something as mundane as moving and note that it’s personally epic. But epic it is, after 13 years in a place that was created for the high-energy Microship project… fabulous facilities that were perfect at time but are now too far from my nautical…

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The move to La Conner is now about half-complete, with the Camano house empty and the lab still cluttered. New facilities are online and working well, and when the relocation is complete I’ll give you a proper walkthrough. Already I’m noticing that there are no more excuses… lab, shop, office, home base, and all the…

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by Steven K. Roberts La Conner, Washington July 18, 2011 Thanks for your patience with the reduced publishing schedule during this move to new development facilities! It’s a monstrous project, but is going well… offices and living space are set up, shipping department running smoothly, and the storefront sparse but inviting (curtained off from the…

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by Steven K. Roberts La Conner, Washington June 27, 2011 Lots of changes in the air! The schedule slipped last week; not only did we lose a beloved cat (The Ghost of Harry Mitchell) but we also acted on an opportunity that simply could not be ignored… renting lab/office/retail space along with an apartment upstairs.…

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Overload won this week, though I did do a burst of writing in the form of a detailed blog post about nickel generators (including this publication). In a self-referential twist, one of said nickel generators then demanded a huge block of my time, and now it’s Friday night already. Since #7 was a standard deviation…

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Photo above – Winnebiko II circa 1988, photo by Dan Burden In 1983, I abandoned all pretense of responsibility and hit the road on a bicycle. This was deeply alarming to my parents, since I was now 30 and a suburban homeowner; even though I was barely scraping by as a freelance writer, at least…

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by Steven K. RobertsJune 8, 2011 In this issue, we take our first look at the boat’s interior… classic wood joinery and a beautiful, almost austere layout that is a natural backdrop for gonzo engineering projects. She’s not cushy at all, and although that is sometimes annoying, it lends itself well to gizmology (while quietly…

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This issue looks at the physical context of this massive project… the boat herself. After a few false starts and near misses, I chose a robust and well-respected steel monohull, accepting an unfamiliar set of maintenance issues in exchange for the knowledge that the most fundamental structural components are sound. Next week, I’ll present a…

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