Oddity of the Day: A Less-Mini Minivan
THIS STRETCHED 1990 DODGE CARAVAN was recently for sale in Massachusetts. Oh, and it was used to transport the dearly departed, in case that matters to you. Here’s the seller’s description: Was used at a funeral home so is has been professionally extended. Only 97,000...
Wiring Multiple Solar Panels in Series Or Parallel, and Why You’d Want One Over the Other
THE ADVENT OF PORTABLE POWER STATIONS (a.k.a solar generators) has made off-grid electricity a lot simpler that it was when I started my nomadic life. Batteries, charge controller, inverter, and metering all matched for each other and assembled in one box. Just plug...
Weekend Photo 53
And not a soul in sight — 3 March 2023 — Ajo, Arizona
A Solar Professional Talks About the Mistakes DIYers Make
CRAIG SHACKELFORD has been into electronics since he was a child. He started using ham radios when he was 13, graduated college with an electrical engineering degree, and worked for a major electronics company. He decided corporate life wasn’t for him. Now Craig is...
Where Are You Heading?
Artificial Intelligence Advice of the Day: The Care and Feeding of Automatic Transmissions
MY VAN has 340,000 miles on it, so, among other things, I check fluids regularly. Yesterday I noticed the transmission fluid was a little low, and it was slightly brown instead of pink. I had never had the fluid flushed and replaced in the 225k miles I’ve owned the...
John Steinbeck on the Yearning to Go
My Latest Streetdocking Experience: Trouble-Free, But…
I LIVED IN CALIFORNIA for the first twenty years of my adult life. Most of that time was in Orange and Los Angeles Counties. I loved it, particularly the beaches and the ocean. So I go back a few times each year now that I’m a nomad. The question each time is where to...
Weekend Photo 52
Volcanic origins — 1 July 2014 — McKenzie Pass, Oregon
Alan Watts on Change
Bob Rebooted: The Joy of Walking
Originally published 29 March 2013WHEN I LOOK BACK at the last 5 years of living on Public Land, the thing I love most and that brings me the greatest joy is going for a walk every morning and evening with Homer. When we set out on the road I promised Homer I would...