Blog - Page 23 of 103 - Nomadic Research Labs

by Steven K. Roberts Microship Status Report #128 Camano Island, Washington January 12, 1999 “Audience: [frenzied drooling, scattering of folding metal chairs, a jumping up-and-down and careening around the room like baboons with electrodes in their pleasure centers running on a dry day in a freshly-carpeted room full of metal doorknobs]” — excerpt from an ancient…

I had almost forgotten this article, tucked away in a binder with only its cover photo showing, but upon reading it I realize that the author did a masterful job of distilling my technical explanation of BEHEMOTH while it was still fresh… with clear and entertaining writing. Actually, I don’t even know the author’s name,…

This is a follow-up to a piece by Daniel P. Dern in the same magazine, 6 years earlier… now discussing my transition to water with the Microship project. In real life, I had just set up a lab on Camano Island, Washington, and assumed that we would be setting out on the new expedition within…

In early 1998, I bought a house with six wooded acres on Camano Island, Washington… ready to have my own workspace after many years moving in and out of borrowed labs (Apple, UCSD, Sun Microsystems, Borland International, friend’s houses…). Almost immediately, my partner and I began putting up a 3000 square foot pole building in…

by Steven K. Roberts Microship Status Report #127 Nomadic Research Labs Camano Island, Washington November 19, 1998 “It takes a village to build a boat.” — Tim Nolan, referring to the ever-growing volunteer population on the Microship project Hello from the Microship lab! Lots of progress on many fronts… with two test sails now behind us, there…

ITX2 – Seattle Center November 13-14, 1998 Keynote Speaker: Steven K. Roberts world traveler and creator of gadgets Years ago, Steve Roberts quit his job, sold his house and embarked on a journey across America with a homemade, computerized bicycle. He has logged over 17,000 miles with BEHEMOTH, which weighs 400 pounds, requires 105 gears…

This was an insanely intense time… with a film crew from Canada, we did the last-minute push to get the Microship ready for its first-ever launch, at the Sea Kayak Symposium in Port Townsend. Like trade-show deadlines, this had a galvanizing effect, compounded by being on camera. The piece opens with a wonderful video 3.5-minute…

This article was written a few months after the move from the Silicon Valley lab sponsored by Apple. In March of 1998 Lisa and I had landed in the house on Camano Island, and immediately put up a 3,000 square-foot pole building in the 6-acre forest (with a contractor erecting the physical structure). It was…

by Steven K. Roberts Microship Status Report #125 Nomadic Research Labs Camano Island, Washington August 24, 1998 “Don’t get mad; get nomadic!” Dan Burdick THE BUILDING IS DONE! I never believed we’d reach this point, actually. Eight months have passed since we rumbled out of Silicon Valley with three trucks and two trailers, bound for…

I was delighted to have a 2-page spread in this 1998 Prentice-Hall textbook aimed at computer literacy and information technology… as an old drop-out, it has always felt subversive to see my technomadic adventure taught to students. In the decades since, physical location has indeed become much less relevant; it is hard to remember how…

Previews of Coming Attractions

Nomadness – Technology on the Open Road – Recumbent UK

The Traveling Technophile – Home Office Computing

Technomads – Stanwood Camano News

Power, Console, Landing Gear, and MIMSY

Keynote at International Travel Expo – 1998

First Microship Launch

Technomad Dream

Building complete and cross-country tour

Technomad in Computer Confluence textbook