Transporting Freight Expediting Van Sleeper pictures and Smarter Logistics in USA

Custom made sleeper on a van from Scotland and the UK is doing a great job at giving the US ideas about transporting freight more economically in terms of LTL loads and different types of 3PL freight. I think the models for transportation and trucking from Europe will be the norm in the US unless we want to keep fighting for oil prices. A refreshing aspect would be if the US would use innovative tactics and intelligence to lead the way in fuel cost saving transportation and logistics.

This is the ultimate in no frills expeditor hauling. It says I can go anywhere and cook and my fold out stove with a propane single burner and slip on my flip down mattress. It would be a good payload living like this on the road.

Cargo Trailer Camper Conversion Pictures

Here are some options for building a custom RV out of a $800 trailer from the clearance lot at your local Menards or other big box store like Home Depot.
Check out these innovative designs for vagabonding economically:
This place has all the fancy features:

Travel Writing That Matters: Part II

Travel Writing That Matters: Part II

Great suggestions on tactics for making travel writing a blend of strong narrative, description, and the trials and tribulations concerning vagabonding for the fearless traveler. This is part 2 of a 3 part series on making the most out of your travel writing content.

Writer's Digest on How to become a traveling writer or travel writer-literary nomadism

I am reading and digesting Writersdigest.com in the last few months. I like the way this publication covers such a plethora of writing topics, and it does offer some great free articles, such as: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/how-to-become-a-travel-writer this great article on travel writing.   I like the suggestions and resources found in the article along with the introduction:
"Each person in the audience fights the bull along with the torero, not by following the flight of the cape, but by using another imaginary one that moves differently than the one in the ring."

—Federico García Lorca, Poem of the Bull
"Nearly everyone loves to travel, and many of us wrote a really great story in Junior High, so often people feel it would be easy to become a travel writer. But to me, it is like entering the ring in Madrid’s Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas to face a raging bull, waving, instead of a cape, Hemingway’s “truest sentence you know”.
All good travel writing moves the reader twice: it transports him to a place, and moves him emotionally"(Klem).

I don't think any post on travel writing is complete without a quick anecdote from the Tim Cahill, in a recent interview I read at the following blog: "In Coversation with Tim Cahill" via Amy Gigi Alexander's Blog

I like the sample part of the interview below, as I have some Frederick Remington prints in my work space, and I have the "Trapper" print Cahill references in this response:

AGA: Do you have private space for writing, a Tim-habitat, if you will?

TC: Sure. I have an office. On the wall above my desk are all sorts of awards I’ve won. A friend did that for me when I was traveling. I used to have an old Remington Rifle poster up there. It showed an old trapper sitting by a fire in the snow in the evening. In the surrounding woods were gleaming eyes and the shadows of wolves. The trapper holds a Remington rife. The poster said,“Big Enough and Strong Enough.” That’s how I liked to see myself vis a vis the various publishers and editors I for whom I worked. And yes, I support wolves, don’t see them as threatening campers and don’t like the idea of shooting them. It’s a metaphor.

Travel Writer Tim Cahill gives advice to aspiring travel writers

Read the whole interview and others at http://www.rolfpotts.com/writers/cahill.php

I enjoyed reading this interview with Tim Cahill, and I especially like his advice and sense of humor. Here are my favorite highlights from the interview.

What advice and/or warnings would you give to someone who is considering going into travel writing?
This is not a way to make a lot of money.
The travel is difficult on your relationships with loved ones, unless they are coming along with you, which may not be possible. (see #1 above.)
If you are not in it for the money, it is — in my opinion — the best job in American journalism.
Editors, for the most part, don't care "what" you've done, or how astounding the physical event may have been. You need to write well. Many others are capable of doing what you have done (probably), so you must write better than they.
You become a better writer by writing. You become a better travel writer by writing about travel.
Publishing your work is important. Even if you are giving a piece to some smaller publication for free, you will learn something about your writing. The editor will say something, friends will mention it. You will learn.
If this is your dream, don't give up. It takes a while to work your way up to travel features in magazines. Also, first books aren't always sufficiently appreciated. Almost any writer can tell you that. It goes like this: "I'm not sure I'm a lot better than I was 20 years ago, when all I got were rejection slips. Now it seems they'll publish anything I write." It takes time.

What is the biggest reward of life as a travel writer?
I am living out my adolescent dream of travel and adventure. I do not mean this as a pejorative: adolescence is when we are the most idealistic, the most open to the new and the novel. I try to keep that almost childlike attitude; consequently, I am seldom as cynical as I might otherwise be. I think this is a good thing.

Finally, writing is what I do. The writing is why I am published. I am not a stronger climber than others, nor am I better with languages. But I do take care with my writing and feel that it is getting better and better. That is the biggest reward.

The Seven Myths of Being a Travel Writer with links to Tim Leffel's Cheapest Destination Blog

The Seven Myths of Being a Travel Writer
by Tim Leffel
I found and read this great article on the realities of being a travel writer.  I am also wary of any programs or online services promising something that seems to good to be true. Travel writing is a difficult field to break into and the apprenticeship period must be pretty long. I think it would be fun to partake in travel writing for the right personality type.  I enjoy traveling alone to new locations but the novelty would wear off after awhile, especially for individuals with little to no passion for travel.

Here are some links to other excellent travel writing sites:

For more information on Tim Leffel, check out his latest website called Travel 2.0. The website focuses on travel writing in the new media landscape.
Tim also has a very interesting blog for money conscious travelers: http://www.cheapestdestinationsblog.com/. This blog is filled with resources for economical travel and I found myself immersed in the great links and content.

Check out these other travel writing sites:
Ralf Potts Travel Writing and Vagabonding (excellent site with interviews, essays, and a plethora of information for emerging and established travel writers.)

Tim Cahill Interview at Ralf Potts website (I first read Cahill's brilliant travel writing in an anthology of the years best Travel Writers, but he is also well know for his travel articles for Outside Magazine.) He recently suffered a serious injury in the Grand Canyon. Read the full article here:Tim-Cahill-Heart-Stopping-Adventure.html
For more information, follow the link above, or check out the caption below to see some of the job hazards associated with travel writing.

Tim Cahill suffered a cardiac arrest after falling off his raft at the top of Lava Falls, in the Grand Canyon. Photo: John Fowler/Flickr

Expedite sleeper options and pictures

Finding the right sleeper options and customizing your expediting rig are important first steps for individuals interested in making money in the expediting business.  Hauling freight and minimizing dead head miles can make or break new expediters right out of the gate.  I found a picture of a custom Sprinter at http://sprinterguy.wordpress.com/ and was impressed by the build.  Here is the picture via http://sprinterguy.wordpress.com/ :

Sprinter with fold down bunks and plenty of storage while still allowing for plenty of freight space.

Here are some other custom options to make your expedite rig a comfortable home away from home.

This is a picture of really cool design of a sleeper built for a cargo van. I found the picture in the following informative post at Expediter's Online:

Another DIY option would be to build a loft out of PVC. I found the picture and some very informative plans on http://mark.rehorst.com/PVC_Loft_Bed/Alex%27s%20Bed.jpg and plans for many other PVC DIY projects at http://www.pvcplans.com/pvc-pipe.htm.

Open Courses from Harvard are Free

Check out Harvard's free courses from open-learning-initiative.

I am very interested in open source education and have posted about MIT and other institutions offering open sources courses. The main theme behind open sources courses makes sense because it offers education and higher learning from elite institutions for free. They aren't going to charge us for knowledge in the near future...I promise.

Minnesota Ice Fishing

The ice fishing houses on Minnesota lakes are a common sight for natives to the state, but visitors are often confused by the small shacks on the ice. I explain it to outsiders slowly, and watch their eyes light up.

"First, we stop by the bait shop, get a box of beer and a bag of minnows, and head out to the ice house, crank up the stove, crack a few beers, and visit while waiting for some winter fun and organic, cage free, cold water crappies.

Their eyes light up in disbelief at the thought of driving on ice covered lakes and hauling 3,000 pound man caves onto the frozen expanses.

I have taken many an out-of-stater on first time ice-fishing excursions, and they all leave with the same general themes of cold, cold beer, fish and fun.

I can't wait to head out to Lake Minnetonka to catch some fish  while viewing the Minneapolis skyline. Say what you want about Minnesota and its long winters, but I have caught my limit of crappies in the metro area(with my friend Mitch serving as guide) while we watched the skyline of the city outside the deer blind's shoot through window, while trying to keep up with four, fish-sunken yellow slip bobbers disappearing in our small portable house (clearance deer blind from Cabela's). It's times like these that make me appreciate getting a chance to wet a line during the ice fishing season in Minneapolis. In regards to the upcoming hard water seasons, I bid you good luck and be sure to try and keep your line in the water. To all of you hearty souls willing to brave the elements ice fishing, I wish you a Merry Christmas with plenty of fresh fish.

Aurora Borealis Forecast for dummies

Check and see if you can witness aurora borealis at two in the morning when it is twenty below, Eh>?