Other

Last edit: May 13, 2012

This group of projects encompasses everything that is NOT on the boat… but is nevertheless necessary to pull this off. It includes facilities, computers, web presence, publishing, nickel generation, tonnage, and so on. For privacy, since this is on the web, I’m obviously leaving out financial and personal issues… some things are still better with traditional paper to-do lists!

The most urgent and clearly defined NEXT tasks are italicized.  Completed items are lined out and eventually deleted. (Big clean-up of lined-out items 3/20/12)

Computers and LAN

Migration from ancient MacBook Pro

The new Maclet is an awesome contraption, and I deliberately resisted the default method of turning Migration Assistant loose on it. I really don’t want 860,000 files anymore, with the cruft of ancient caches, useless drivers, irrelevant prefs from a decade past, old collections of weblocs, and so on.

• Buy Pixelmator for image editing, or stick with faithful Graphic Converter
• Eudora Mailbox Cleaner, it turns out, tries to install everything in Mail… so do it manually.  Sparrow, Thunderbird, Postbox, and Apple Mail have all turned out to be unacceptable. Try Mailmate.
• Install 1Password
• Set up an HTML site editor other than broken old KompoZer
• Clean up the old LaCie drive for offline storage, then slim down the MBP after all the transfers and do a final backup to it.

LAN-resident machines

This has become a category of its own, with so many gadgets dependent on the local WiFi.

• Get CrashPlan account for offsite
• Configure LAN with mix of fixed IP (cameras and other servers) and DHCP (everything else)
• Move the Canon inkjet to USB hub off Time Capsule
• Set up printer drivers and network configuration on the Laser and the 11×17 AOI
• Try to get the Zebra to work via sharing on the Time Capsule
• Set up Axis cams
• Rock Island re dual site or two accounts
• Set up VPN, AP for boat, backup server, etc
• Acquire SecuritySpy software and configure in a Mini
• Set up iMac for desk, archiving, scanning, CAD, and primary lab workspace
• Move into DEVONthink Pro Office
• Set up Mini for music system including AirTurn, FireWire, LilyPond, GB, Pianoteq, sheet-music library, etc

Physical Facilities

Development Lab

The lab is moving to Friday Harbor, so this section covers setup of the new facilities.

• Ensure that stud wall will be in place prior to arrival
• Take first trailer load with entire contents of Station House before 5/14; offload most of the furniture to open hauling space.
• Bridgeport decision

Tonnage Reduction

Much remains to be moved from the old facilities, and it’s largely just a tedious grind of hauling, stowing, and eliminating. The free cart and Freecycle are moving a steady stream of small stuff out the door, but there are some things that require special attention (these get deleted a while after being lined-out; there are too many of them and they’re ephemeral).

• Find a home for the Microship. Lower price on Yachtworld listing.
• Sell BikeE recumbent – find box – ship it
• Sell old AIS receiver & Fanless SolarPC MiniITX 12V machine & Icom M602
• Sell Technologic board
• Sell pink sink
• Sell gutter
• Bring spinnaker pole from Camano
• Most old computers to recycling
• Sell antique grinding wheel
• Sell the retail display cabinet
• Sell glass retail shelves

Websites

Nomadness.com

This is the site for the Nomadness project, and consists of this WordPress installation.

• Remove boat trailer rental page when possible; title already shrunk to keep menu on one line. Redirect when target site specified; send page text.

Microship.com and the Archives

This is my long-established web “front door,” first started in 1994. Much of it is terribly antiquated, with lots of dead links and ancient page layouts that are rough on modern eyes. The primary goal with this site is to transform it into a single archive of all publications, posts, audiobook chapters, and media coverage… with every item carrying the actual date and thus forming a well-tagged timeline. The intent is for this to replace both my wall of old media binders and the various little collections of postings with a single thread of over a thousand entries. The list of to-do items here is thus mostly incremental… just keep doing this a little at a time. In all cases where we are relocating web content, and delete old to prevent duplicate text… that makes Google unhappy.

• Remove obsolete 2005 flotilla pages
• Deal with that Apple Touch Icon thing for mobiles… needs a handler
• Transfer all Bikelab Reports
• Transfer all Microship Status except some of the early casual UCSD ones that were directed to small group
• Transfer all Nomadness Notes
• Transfer Microship blog
• Scan and import all print media coverage
• Do YouTube conversions of all TV coverage and embed (a huge ongoing job)
• Scan and add atlas segments as well as overall
• Place CAA audiobook chapters appropriately, interleaved with other material

Nomadicresearchlabs.com

This has been just for the store, historically, but would be better as a front door to everything.

• Make a purty landing page

Storefronts

My Zen Cart installation died when the hosting provider did an upgrade to PHP5, and since I had made the long-ago error of not modifying the graphics with proper upgrade-resistant methods, my old version was still there. I do need to fix this; the E-Junkie stuff is great for download management, but it’s a ridiculous way to have a store with tons of small parts since they charge monthly based on number of items.

• Flesh it out.
• Close Zen Cart store and delete files

General Server Stuff

Like the old Mac, there is a lot of obsolete stuff here… as well as a few things that I may or may not still be hosting for friends. All this needs to be eliminated.

• Saved for the Demon… if inactive, close folder and FTP account
• Cruisingdogs likewise
• Old Microship forum (phpBB) likewise
• Still have camanoforum files even though domain long gone – nuke it
• Music school is active but should relocate to a free host and be more easily updated (suggest WordPress)
• Transfer Sky’s domain names (auto-renew off)
• Find a new home for shoaldraft.com (renewed March 2012)
• There are folders of dead, redundant, and irrelevant material… sit down with FTP and do a decent clean-up.
• Point other idle names at appropriate redirects (boat hacking, datawake, gonzo engineering, shoal draft, etc)
• Transfer lumigro.com

Print Publications

Computing Across America

This really needs to get back out there after the publishing fiasco of ’88 (I am still owed royalties, but fortunately kept the copyright in my name). I have started a free audiobook reading that will trickle out in the archive pages, then be available as a complete product, and need to do a Kindle edition of the entire combined story.

• Disassemble and scan a copy with Fujitsu ScanSnap
• Edit to reduce some of the FAA content
• Integrate complete MWM sequel and selected tech material, with sidebars and interludes
• Create Kindle edition
• Publish print version with Createspace

Nomadness Report

This is the print/ebook compilation series of the “weekly compendium of boat hacking and gonzo engineering” as well as the PDFs.

• Adjust overall layout size at PDF level (not Pages) of Book 1
• Replace two blurry images
• Add table of contents
• Create page at boathacking.com (presumably) for the print-edition link redirects
• Re-upload to MagCloud and order the first batch; advertise

Boat Hacking Design Packages

These are focused monographs about specific how-to topics (rather than the orthogonal slices through the same reality that take the form of development narratives).

• Establish a production style to standardize the series (same Pages template as NR but with project-specific header graphic and front-page intro)
• Helm seat (with bonus sidebar on Companionway step)
• Video-integrated remote-controlled spotlight
• Forward head system (and lessons learned)
• APRS from tracker to web integration
• Building an integrated power distribution panel with BlueSea, Front Panel Express, and custom hardware.
• Shared project with Steve & Daniel