The Library of Technomadics
BEHEMOTH
In 1983, I left Ohio on a "computerized recumbent bicycle" named Winnebiko to begin a career of technomadic publishing, then after the first 10,000 miles built a new machine that would let me write while riding. After another 6,000 miles, it was time for the mega-cycle... a 580-pound monster named BEHEMOTH. All three bike versions are described here.
Microship
After 9 years of pedaling around the US on geeky bicycles, it was time to port the whole adventure to water. The Microship project spanned a decade, with three different labs and multiple design revisions... at last yielding an amphibian pedal/solar/sail micro-trimaran. This massive project was fueled by about 160 corporate sponsors and a team of brilliant geeks...
Nomadness
By the time the Microship was "done" in 2003, I wanted something more practical... large enough to live aboard with crew, piano, and lab. After a year with a rocketship 36-foot trimaran, I bought an Amazon 44 — a steel pilothouse cutter. With the intent of preparing for open-ended global voyaging, I cruised and lived aboard for 6 years while immersed in nautical geekery.
Datawake
In my sixties, it was time to move to the Dark Side... so I found a new owner for Nomadness and acquired a Vic Franck Delta 50. I now live aboard this floating lab in the San Juan Islands, with communications, virtual reality, underwater vehicle, piano, audio studio, data collection, machine shop, and deployable micro-trimaran for local exploration.
New Posts
This column showcases new activity, and may include articles about the Datawake boat project, dives with the ROV, photography, and other real-time content.
Floating Technomadic Lab/Office for Sale! Recent posts in this wide-ranging archive have covered my move to the “Dark Side” – selling my Amazon 44 named Nomadness on a quest for floating lab space. I bought this gorgeous Delta 50 in early 2016, named her Datawake for the “wake of data” streaming astern, then spent four…
Coronavirus will echo for decades. Everything was normal… then suddenly we were on sabbatical from our own timelines, routines disrupted by intimations of mortality… priorities shifted, values inverted, unspeakable things whispered, stats obsessively reloaded. We watch the news in horror, contemplate de-facto partnerships, ache at disconnections, and muse about the messes we will leave behind…
One of the strongest motivations behind the Datawake project is to extend my human sensorium, letting me see into otherwise invisible realms. This takes many forms: data collection systems fed by environmental sensors, embedded probes that report conditions I would never otherwise detect, optics for long-range peering, scanners and software-defined radios for keeping my ear to the…
I’ve recently been enjoying immersion in a sort of ham radio for introverts… a new digital mode called FT8 that allows weak-signal communication on all the HF bands from 160 to 6 meters via tiny 50Hz-wide signals exchanged by time-synchronized computers running WSJT-X. A complete exchange takes a minute and a half, with the connected machines…
A driving force in my years of building technomadic machines has been a toolset for seeing the world beyond the limitations of my usual senses… something that is not only intrinsically fascinating, but essential for diagnostics. The latest addition is a FLIR ONE thermal imaging camera (the Gen-3 USB-C model for Android; there is also…
During my years in Friday Harbor, mostly living aboard Nomadness and Datawake, I have kept a low profile in the local media. This was an exception, with an enjoyable interview with Hayley Day that became a front-page piece in the weekly paper… along with a related editorial. Here’s a photo of the front page, with…
Recent Archive News
Changes to the library are automatically shown here... whether newly scanned articles, digitized videos and movies, historical documents, or edits to existing material. August 10, 2020 item count: 900
This article in my home-town paper appeared just before we drove the van to Vancouver to display the shiny new Winnebiko II at Expo ’86, and has the distinction of being one of the most amusing titles in the entire collection of media binders. by Tim Doulin Columbus Dispatch August 16, 1986 Steven Roberts does some…
by Steven K. RobertsPalo Alto, California — March 10, 198711,729 miles Eyes wide, steadying myself against a massive redwood high in the Santa Cruz mountains, I stare at the distant campfire. Sparks soar into the trees through a column of suffused smoky light; black shadows stab the sphere of fireglow with every human movement. I…
Just as I was about to hit the road (driving the van to Vancouver for Expo 86), there was a small flurry of media coverage announcing the start of the second trip in the Computing Across America adventure. During the first trip, I had written a regular column in USA Today, so it was nice…
I’ve always been something of a control-panel geek, and once I had committed to building the Winnebiko II and heading out again, the project became focused on console design. If I had learned anything from that first 10,000 miles, it was that the key to this whole adventure would be full access to all on-board…
by Steven K. Roberts Columbus, Ohio July 4, 1986 A nation takes a day off from its countless private prisons—its careers, its roles, its lives of quiet desperation—and celebrates liberty. Liberty! Red, white, and boom! Company picnics, family gatherings, bratwurst in the park. Fireworks. Tall ships, the Lady, and 40,000 shells bursting over New York…
This is an account of my talk at the 1986 National Online Meeting in New York City, including discussion of electronic publishing, the upcoming Winnebiko II, and resumption of my computerized recumbent bicycle travels around the US. The publisher was a significant force in the early epoch of online information retrieval; this article was prepared by…
Harbor Digitizing and other Services
I live aboard in Friday Harbor, and offer a variety of services using some of the tools that have become part of the ship: 8mm & 16mm film digitizing, thermal imaging, 360 photography, ROV exploration, 3D printing, and system design...
Microship Store
I have an online store for my technomadic publications, along with a few special items of historical interest. (This is in addition to the Microship eBay store offering an eclectic mix of gizmology, collectibles, and antiquities.)
1974 Homebrew 8008 System
In 1974, six months of geek obsession led to one of the first personal computers... a homebrew 8008 that is now on display in the Computer History Museum. The story of that machine is here, including complete schematics. This predated the computer kits that kicked off the personal computer revolution, and it was in daily use for years.
The Polaris Mobile Lab
I have occasionally needed a capable laboratory that is not constrained to a fixed location, so I built one into a 24-foot utility trailer. Featured in MAKE: Magazine, this is a detailed description that includes preparing the space, inventory storage, furniture, fixturing, and power.
Isabelle
I live aboard Datawake with this magical being, and have a massive backlog of photos and stories. In the meantime, this is just a teaser... this 7-year-old Russian Blue has a lot to do with my quality of life. Here's her high-tech litter box, with carbon filter and webcam:
The Shacktopus Power Cart
A universal power system, built into a collapsible hand truck for use in emergencies.