All those years ago, way back before I got into housetrucks, even before I left the cradle of Los Angeles, I was deeply into Geodesic Domes. I read everything about them I could get my hands on, built popcicle-stick-and-thumb-tack or soda-straw-and-tape models. Leading the popular movement in the stead of R. Buckminster Fuller was Lloyd Kahn and the Whole Earth Catalog crew.

Then something happened that threw my fascination off the tracks. Lloyd penned the now-prosthetic "Smart But Not Wise" in his book Shelter, presenting it early in the chapter "Domebook 3". In it, Lloyd disavowed domes, railed against them, in fact. I was heartbroken.

I got over being crushed by the demise of dome allure, partly (mostly, actually) because of some photos and descriptions of housebuses and housetrucks in Shelter "that flipped-my-trip". But that's another story, one told elsewhere.

"Smart But Not Wise" is still a good read, available on the Shelter Publications website. Some of the descriptions of computers and such seem a bit quaint, but otherwise, this missive, penned in 1973 is as relevant today as if it were written last week. Take a few minutes and read it, then consider how it relates to the "tiny house" and "green building" movements that are currently popular. After re-reading it just now, I remembered where I picked up the term "chemically rearranged oil" to describe windows with plastic glazings.

Feb 1 Welcome back to another exciting episode of "Complaining-about-something-that-you-can't do-anything-about-and will-have-to-get-used-to", also known as "Lousy Weather".

We last left off with December 2011's total, which, surprisingly, wasn't all that bad. I guess there isn't much to complain about this time, either. The chart shows that it was a not-too-bad month for PV production. In fact, if you consider that the average production total for January is somewhat skewed due to first an extreme high in 2009, and then an equally extreme low in 2010, things might have been not-quite "normal" (I always put that word in "quotes", what is "normal" anyway?).

Being a leap year this time around, February might not be all that bad, an extra day could make all the difference. So far, it's OK, so we'll see. Wonder what I'll do if the rest of the year turns out to not be so bad, weather-wise? Maybe rename this topic title??

Feb 29 Yes, I may have to start calling this "Average Weather 2012". The February figures look quite normal.

March 31 OK, so "normal" goes out the window this month. Average production would have been 60 KwH, but the lack of sun cut that back to 46. It didn't help that we had a five-and-a-half-day utility power outage as the result of six inches of wet snow one evening. I operated off-grid for that period, and did very well, but any production above the little that I allowed myself to consume (not knowing how long the power would be out) was wasted. As it was, I weathered the power failure fine, and there wasn't much sun during anyway.

Yep, I am SO ready for some Spring weather, bring it on!

April 30 Another record low production month. Oh yay. I'm actually beginning to see referrals in my site statistics where people have searched goggle for "Why is the weather so bad" and gotten this page in their results. I don't know why, I just know I'm real tired of it.

Readers of this site will be aware that I am a promoter of alternative motor fuels, primarily biodiesel, but also fully electric vehicles. Anything has got to be better than using evil gasoline. LPG (propane) is frequently used as a motor fuel, but being a byproduct of petroleum refining, it tends to have a volatile price the fluctuates closely with gas and diesel prices.

There is another domestically-produced fuel that is in adequate supply and when used as a motor fuel, produces much less pollution, and that is natural gas, specifically, compressed natural gas, or CNG. CNG has been used for years with great success in hybrid transit buses in this country, but it's use in private vehicles has been limited. Part of the reason for slow growth in the use of CNG is that there has been few resources for those who are interested in using it as an alternate fuel for cars and trucks. As awareness grows about the benefits of CNG as a motor fuel there are more conversion kits available and greater numbers of service technicians installing them.

I was recently approached by Brent, proprietor of the skycng.com website asking if I would be interested in presenting some information regarding the use of CNG as a alternative fuel. Brent was kind enough to supply me with an overview of converting a vehicle to CNG, and I'm presenting it to you here as another resource in the movement away from petroleum fuels:

Brent's website, skycng.com, presents an overview of CNG use keeping things grounded to the composition of CNG, how it works in the vehicle, the components of a CNG conversion kit, and the immediate benefits of running on this clean, alternative fuel. He carefully avoids politicizing the subject, and gives resources for more reading as well as reviews and "tips-n-tricks" from other users and converters of CNG vehicles. Give the site a look and learn more.

In the Beginning, there was The Whole Earth Catalog.

And it was good.

Thus begat Shelter, and that too, was good.

Eventually, after some recreation, and most likely wine and cheese, and about 30 years, which must have seemed like an epoch to those involved, came Home Work, then Builders of the Pacific Coast, followed by Tiny Houses in short order.

Now, word comes down the grape vine, (well, OK, it actually came down on the satellite internet connection) that Lloyd is getting ready to start production on his next book, this one titled Wheels & Water: Tiny Homes On The Move. As the name implies, it revolves around mobile accommodations of all sorts, housetrucks, buses, bikes, boats, caravans, etc. Lloyd always manages to make his subject stand away from the wall with exemplary writing, sublime photography and innovative and pleasing layout.

This book is sure to be a winner, and not just because it's on a subject so close to my heart. Have a look at Lloyd's blog for tidbits about the new book as they become available. The particular blog post announcing his book intentions is here. More of Lloyd's books, as well as selections from other authors at Shelter Publications

Feb 28 Is it unusual for a nomad to get wanderlust? Sounds like Rob is getting ideas about breaking out into the wide world and having a go at Europe, or The Americas, or Africa, or (gasp), Antarctica (???? if he goes there, he'll need one of these).

April 7 Something Rob said in this latest update took me aback, he doesn't (or at least up until the beginning of this year) own any shoes! Now, I myself do run around barefoot most all summer, but I at least own one pair of shoes. Well, that and four pairs of rubber boots. This is Oregon, after all.

www.robgray.com/graynomad/issues/issue_067/index.php#latest

Hop over and have a look.

Readers familiar with this site will recognize that I don't spend any time on "ordinary" bus conversions, be they sleek tour bus units built by professional converters, or "throw-an-old-mattress-in-a-corner-of-the-school-bus-and-move-in". In order to qualify for a mention here, the vehicles has to be unique, substantially modified from the factory configuration, and most important, it has to have soul.

I've been following the construction progress of a shorty school bus for a couple of months now, a project undertaken by a young couple residing, for the time being at least, in Santa Cruz, California. The bus is taking shape with proper pace and appears to have the correct character to become a new example of what is mostly a lost craft in the new century, a genuine Housebus.

The exterior is still a bit rough, but once a coat of paint covers the school bus chrome yellow. and the various bits of trim and corner molding are put into place, it has a lot of promise.

Much of the interior wood, as well as the construction timbers are salvaged from the local landfill. Around here, no one would toss out redwood, no matter how pecky it was, but I guess when you live among the Redwoods, you get kind of numb to the beauty of this wood, especially when it is weathered and rough. Underneath lies a heart of golden violet waiting for the knowing wood butcher to release it to view.

More complete construction photos and accompanying essays are available at the Glitter and Grit blogsphere. There you will also find blog posts devoted to food, petite outdoor living, and some femisophic imaginings to stimulate your inner child.

Bumping around in my site logs as I usually do, I happened by a blog called Domythic Bliss a few weeks back. In describing the purpose of the blog, it's author, Grace has to say: "Domythic Bliss...a new blog devoted to fairy tale, mythic, and otherwise enchanted decorating!"

Grace was kind enough to have featured a link to this site some time back while posting about house trucks, and I thought then that I needed to call attention to her blog, but got busy with the dramatic weather we've been having and other projects around the property.

Last night's wake-up call was a referral that led me to her post about a structure that has been built (some time ago) to house a collection of Tolkien and Hobbit-esque artifacts, one that has been designed and constructed in a fashion true to the "Hobbit hole" design:

Pretty stunning to think that this isn't a movie set mock-up, or a miniature model.

Have a look at more over at the Domythic Bliss blog. Grace includes some links to her source material, including Fine Homebuilding magazine's review of the library. These will give a wide variety of interior and exterior photos, as well a insights into the design and construction phases of building such a unique structure.

Stolen form the nomadistica.org forum:

Terry and Hardy Evans' hand built trailer "Wayzalot" was a familiar fixture at RV shows and gatherings in the East, and on various media (it was featured in Some Turtles Have Nice Shells).

Unfortunately, the trailer and it's tow vehicle (not the one in the photo above) were totally destroyed on May 11, 2010 in a traffic accident in Indiana. The good news was that no serious injuries were sustained.

Within a week of the accident, the couple went shopping for a new trailer frame on which to build the successor to Wayzalot, this one to be named "Wayzless", as it has been designed to be more compact, lighter and capable of being towed by a one-ton pickup truck.

Construction has been taking place over the last year and some months, and the Evanses hope to take the new trailer touring by May of this year.

You can view a gallery of construction photos on the Wayzalot/Wayzless site, as well as see many photos of the old trailer both before and after the accident. Myself, I'm looking forward to seeing some interior photos of the finished trailer, and see it parked outside in some beautiful setting, all hitched up to that gorgeous International Harvester tractor.

In car-collector circles, a "barn find" is a vehicle that someone put away in storage, under cover and safe from the elements. Years later, some lucky enthusiast stumbles upon it, makes a deal with the owner (who may or may not know the true value of the piece), and then runs and tells all his buddies about his amazing "barn find" before restoring to to some resemblance of it's former beauty.

Steve didn't have to go too far to find his restoration project, and he didn't have to haggle with the owner much, either. Truth was, it was as close as his own family's barn in Ohio. The car, a 1925 Studebaker, belonged to his grandfather, who had it custom built as an early car-camper, so he could enjoy trips to Canada to fish.

In the early days of motor vehicles, it didn't take very long for owners to realize that they made a good base for what would eventually become the "motor home", or "RV". There are many early examples, from rickety old Model T's to custom made vehicles such as this one. "Car Camping" became a popular craze with city-bound residents, the automobile allowing them freedom to roam much farther from home than ever before, and when properly outfitted, allowed them to sleep off the ground in relative comfort, and with some of the "normal" amenities of modern life.

Steve has put together a page describing his grandfather's Studebaker, which he helped restore as a teen:

www.lastchancemarina.com/studebaker.htm

There are additional photos, as well as Studebaker literature, including old bus maintenance manuals in PDF format. Drop over and see some of the history that led to our small sub-set of the craft, house trucks and buses.