The Scolded Blogger

I've been informed by a couple readers that I am not a very prolific blogger on this site. I have to agree. Because most of my blogging has been reserved for the "Recent Articles" at the homepage of bioTrekker.com, I only use this site for content that might not be quite suitable for kids or content that isn't as professionally written. I do a lot of talking to younger audiences, and didn't want to feature anything off color on the main page, so I opened this blogger account just in case I felt like saying something off color. Also, as someone who gets paid to write and tends to be extremely anal as far as editing goes, sometimes it's nice to completely forget about that internal editor and let the free thought rambling go on without worries. The truth is, though, it's really difficult to write something without taking the time to go back through and edit it, so the free thought blog idea has become a casualty of that fact.

Excuse number two: As sad as this is, because I don't get paid for any of the writing or design work on this website, and in fact, because I'm spending money to do it, it sometimes becomes a lower priority than the things that do pay the bills. For those who would like to change that, you can email me to arrange an address to send checks. : ) Or ... send in your own articles about biodiesel and renewable energy, even if they're articles you haven't written. I'll post them here if they're good!

I admit that I'm getting a bit defensive here, but it tends to happen when you throw all of yourself into a project with a big scope while already working a full-time job, and then catch a little heat because you aren't providing daily updates. (Maybe I'm stretching it here, it has been four months.)

I am honored that people are reading the site and would like more content, and I'll be doing my best to continually improve on what I've got. The experiences have been coming at me faster than I can write them down, so there is definitely a delay, but this fall and winter I'd like to take the time to slow down and catch up.

In the meantime, my immediate future plans are to set the wheels down in my homebase of Portland, Oregon while I work to get more partners involved with the Eco-RV project, especially an RV manufacturer. I'd like to organize a team of local Northwest folks to work with me on this project to amplify the volume, and I'll be posting the specific needs I have in the near future.

Once a manufacturer is on board, I will probably sell the existing bioTrekker motorhome, because ideally, I'd like to see an Eco-RV built from the chassis up. If we need to do a retrofit, that's definitely possible, but I would rather start with a slightly smaller, more fuel efficient model. My current mileage in a 34-foot diesel is 10 to 13 mpg, but I'd prefer to have something between 20 and 25 feet that gets better than 15 mpg.

After a year on the road in the bioTrekker, I have a much better idea for my own RVing preferences, as well as my limits. Turning this Eco-RV project into a team project is something that is a necessity in order to see it finished correctly, so that's what I'll be setting out to do. With Nash Evans from Rocky Mountain Institute on board, I have a great start, but the more help we get, the more impressive the Eco-RV prototype will be once it's finished.

So, to those who wrote and asked, "what's up with the blog?" thank you for lighting a fire under my ass. To be honest, in the age of YouTube, I wasn't sure if people still read these things. Now that I know you are, I'll make sure to bring on the updates.