A little help is all I need...

I've just posted this ad on the local Craigslist. I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out a bit. I'm looking for a Diesel Cargo Vehicle to get me further off the grid and act as a place to live during graduate school.

(begin shameless appeal for a cheap / good vehicle)
First and Foremost, thank you for taking the time to read this posting. I am a graduate student starting at a very expensive private university and a veteran of the US Army. One of the things that I learned in the military that I think most people have forgotten (but not our grandparents) is the idea of thrift and living within ones means, while still saving a bit of money for a rainy day. With the high cost of my undergraduate student loans looming over my head, I am searching for a way to live as thriftily as possible. An idea came to my head and I've decided to give it a try. I am currently looking to take up residence in a Step Van, E350 or Sprinter with a diesel motor or a shipping container on a legitimate piece of land that I won't get hassled on. Now you make think that only shiftless lay-a-bouts live in vans but I'm here to change that misconception. My graduate degree is going to be in Engineering (Civil-Transportation) and my undergraduate degree is in Fine Art and Product Design. As a designer, I've learned to do a lot with a little. I have the skills to make this a wonderful space to live in rather than just a space that I live in because I have to.

The plans for the van or container are simple. Gut it, and put in a beautiful floor, kitchen and Murphy bed and desk situation then work out the logistics of the SVO/WVO recycling system that will become part of my counter top kitchen space and a good deal of income hopefully. The solar panels may take a while due to the costs. A windmill will probably take place before the panels just to get me off the grid. I plan to convert the Diesel to a WVO/SVO operating vehicle within the first six to eight months of ownership (Depending on costs and system , the fuel injection system is the key factor here).

If there is anyone out there that has an operational vehicle (Step van, E350 or Sprinter) that can get me ~2000 miles away from here by the first of September and they don't mind parting with it for cheap then I would love to hear from you! I will post all of my experiences on the internet at my blog and various Biodiesel, WVO and van living websites so that others can learn from my trials and mistakes! I hope also to give classes, seminars and talks about my experiences and how to do the same thing yourself!

Again, thank you for taking the time to check out my ad and please, if you can help please contact me as soon as possible.
(end shameless appeal for cheap / good vehicle)

I hope it works!

Testing out my new...

So I've been testing out using my G1 (HTC Dream) out as a wifi only net tablet. Its working pretty well so far. I would love it if it had more RAM and was a little speedier but I have live with what I've got. The upside is that this new camera app I'm using is far superior to the one that comes standard with Android Cupcake. Perhaps someday soon we will be able to sell our desktops in exchange for highly mobile super high powered mini computers.

Continuing to Frugality of it all!

So a while back I decided to work out the cheapest way to bank. Banking in this country has just gotten completely out of hand in terms of fees interest rates and general customer service. I feel banks do more time determining the best way to steal your money legally than determining how you could best build a tight little nest egg for the future. Enter ING Direct. A lovely little Dutch bank that offers online only, high interest bearing accounts of both checking and savings varieties at no cost to the account holder. Genius right? Their debit card works almost anywhere in the world and most ATMs are free to use as well! Oh did I mention the free billpay and other services like Person to Person digital payments and paper checks when you need them! Being I'm a proper cheapskate I couldn't wait to say goodbye to Citibanks purse pilfering and take up with ING Direct. No fees and better than that they pay me interest on my accounts! Good job guys!

Nathaniel's got a Peek how about you?

The Peek option

Lately I have been lamenting the high cost of my mobile phone. I have already ditched my high priced T-Mobile plan for a much more cost ffective, though less glamourous, Cricket Wireless plan but i still hate spending the kind of money I was just to stay connected. Enter the peek in combination with Google Voice. I now have a number, very similar to my old number (if you replace 391 with 340 then you know the number, for those of you who want it) that anyone can text or leave a voicemail at, for the small cost of Peek service, which is currently at around $17 a month. This is an excellent option when one considers that if you receive a voicemail, GVoice will transcribe it and send it to my peek in plain text format! I can then reply with a text or an email regarding the call! I never have to touch a phone if I don't want to Awesome! Now if I could get it to make a voicemail from an email, that would be a perfect solution. I imagine this service exists somewhere for TDD users (telephony device for the deaf) but I doubt it's as seamless as the GV option could be.

Sent on the go from my Peek

The Promise of Citizenship

Today is the primary election for Illinois. Have you voted yet? I have. It's a pretty amazing thing, when you think about it. The vote. I put some marks next to some peoples names. One of whom, I know and the rest are ambiguous mysteries with their public lives as open as Ubuntu and their private lives sequestered in the murky shadows of, well, privacy. Which is just as well because, I'm really not interested in their private lives. I just want them to perform the duties of their office well and with out totally destroying our rights as citizens of this nation.

At this point it doesn't feel like many of us has a say in the way things work around here. I don't feel like I have a say in whether our army goes to war or not. So the best I can do is try to elect and get elected people who will act in the same manner or better than I would if I was in their situation.

If you haven't already, you should go vote, it's fun and you get to feel like you've had a say in something.

A new goal.

http://www.panamericantour.net/

I'm going to do the Panamerican Trail! It's about 16 to 18 months long from the tippy top of Alaska to the bitty bottom of Argentina! Sounds like fun. I'm going get my grant and proposal writing skills up to snuff. Also, I need a new bike for this one. Something a bit more rugged. Possibly a Mountain Bike. I wonder if any bicycle companies sponsor touring riders...

Bicycle Accident

On the 2nd of January I was hit by a taxi while riding home from a movie. I can't make any other statements other than that because of potential legal repercussions. I'm alive and that is good.