Photo-of-the-Week # 235 – Happy 7th Anniversary Day To Me – November 1, 2008

This is a view from the front door and porch of my residence and the world headquarters of Oakhill Press and Oakhill Recordings for nearly six years. I affectionately called it Oakhill Ranch. It was located just outside Winchester, Virginia in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. This day, exactly seven years ago today, was the first day I was no longer residing on Oakhill Ranch and Oakhill Press and Oakhill Recordings were no longer headquartered at this location.

This was, as I sometimes refer to it, my “Emancipation Day.” I had made a decision several months earlier that when the long term lease I had on this property terminated I would not renew and I would leave. This bucolic vista greeted me everyday for most of those six years (except for those days when I was traveling). I have displayed other photos of the house and property in Photo-of-the-Week posts in the past. To be honest, there wasn't any view from the house that I didn't cherish. But, I loved this view from the front probably most of all. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #205 Blood Moon Over Arizona, Tonto National Forest (near) Payson, Arizona, April 2015

Did you see it? Did you see the Blood Moon on the morning of April 4, 2015? I did and I have the photos to prove it.

A Blood Moon is caused by a total lunar eclipse. This particular Blood Moon was the third in a series of four within 18 months. This series of four eclipses, six months apart, is called a tetrad. There will be a total of eight tetrads between 2000 and 2100. This is the second tetrad of the century. The moon will typically look orange or red and is caused by the rays of sunlight bending around the Earth, which is between the sun and the moon. The color is caused as the sunlight bends through the Earth's atmosphere. . . READ MORE SEE ANOTHER PHOTO

Photo-of-the-Week #193 - Griffith Observatory, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, January 2015

Here is the Griffith Observatory. The Observatory is prominently located on what may be the highest point in Griffith Park on Mount Hollywood, a 3,000 plus acre preserve donated to the city of Los Angeles in 1896 by Col. Griffith J. Griffith. In his will he also left the funding to build the observatory with detailed specifications. The observatory was built in the mid 1930's as a WPA project during the Great Depression. It was officially opened to the public on May 14, 1935. It is and has always been free to the public in accordance with Griffith's will. . . READ MORE

The Good, The Bad, But There Is No Ugly Today

So, the good is that while My McVansion has suffered an automotive heart attack, I'm fortunate enough to have close family in an idyllic location, especially considering the weather conditions back at my eastern base camp in Keyser, West Virginia. The temperatures there for the past several days have been in the 0-10 degree range at night with 25 to 50 mph winds creating wind-chill temperatures in the -10 to -20 range. Additionally, they have had a nominal blanket of snow on the ground. . . READ MORE

Beautiful Downtown Tinseltown - Hollywood, California

I'm sitting in front of the Tiago Coffee Shop next to the Emerson Theater at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and La Brea. The sidewalk in front of the coffee shop is part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the stars honoring those entertainers who've earned the privilege of being so recognized. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #190 The Land of REAL Illegal Aliens, Walmart, Roswell, New Mexico, December 2014

I think this photo is pretty self-explanatory. Roswell, New Mexico has made quite a big thing about an event that occurred in 1947. A flying saucer supposedly crashed on a ranch outside Roswell (about 60 miles or so outside Roswell). There they found the bodies of extraterrestrials, obviously, depicted as the lanky green men painted on the windows at the Walmart Supercenter at the north end of Main Street. Are these real "Walmartians?" . . . READ MORE

2015 Trek #1 - California, Here I Come, #2 Georgetown, Kentucky & Cherokee Village, Arkansas

I left Huntington, West Virginia Tuesday morning, December 9, 2014, after a pleasant breakfast with Patrick Grace and a tour of his current office and book storage space in downtown Huntington.

My next stop was in Georgetown, Kentucky to meet up with another vandweller (part-time) currently, Dan Cordray. Dan has been a reader and commenter on this blog for some time, so we've had a relationship, but hadn't met before. Dan lives out in the country side not far from the Toyota assembly plant where he works as an automation programmer. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #189 - American War Memorial, Ash Flat, Arkansas, December 2014

There are so many interesting finds as one travels the United States. This is one of them. My friends, John and Sharon Abert, currently of Cherokee Village, Arkansas (soon to be full-time road warriors and nomads) brought me to this park in a small rural town, Ash Flat, Arkansas. In this park is one of the nicest small community war memorials I've seen in my travels. . . READ MORE

2015 Trek #1 - California, Here I Come, #1 Huntington, West Virginia

I FINALLY made it on the road yesterday, Monday, afternoon at 4:30 PM. Whew! It sure does take a lot of time and energy to get packed and rolling when planning on an indefinite period of time and a variety of climates. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #188 - The GRAND Canyon, Arizona, June 2010

Yes, indeed! It is a grand canyon. There is nothing special about this particular photo except I took it on my first (and so far) only excursion to the Grand Canyon. It's not an award winner and really not much more than the all too typical gratuitous photo of the giant chasm, but it's meaningful to me, because I took it, of course. . . READ MORE

2015 Trek #1 Departure Date Is Imminent

The much awaited (by me) target date for departure on the first trek for 2015 is Monday, December 8, 2014. Yes, I'm calling it the first 2015 trek because it's so close to the new year and the vast majority of this trek will be during 2015.

The van preparation is coming along. It's been hampered a bit, unfortunately, by colder weather and a bit of snow and very cold rain, not to mention some serious wind from time to time. But, I keep progressing. A number of projects have already been completed (alterations, changes and additions) and while the current list of items still looks daunting - it's really quite doable. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #187 Walking Through Trees, Kings Canyon National Park, California, May, 2009

Yes, I mean, literally, walking through a tree, not through the forest. This photo was taken at Kings Canyon National Park in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California, east of Fresno. It is north of and contiguous with Sequoia National Park. This tunnel bored through a tree giant sequoia. The person at the other end of the tunnel is my son, Pete, who is about 6' tall. That should give you an idea of the size of this tunnel. . .
READ MORE

BEWARE - SCAM ALERT! Mystery Shopper Scam Using Social Media

Many people seek opportunities to generate extra revenue. There are, of course, more ways to approach this then there is room in this post to mention them all. A lot of the readers of this blog are "location independent" (full-time) or at least part-time "travelers. So, you are usually looking for portable, mobile or, in someway, location independent opportunities.

So, here's the deal. There are at least as many scams and possibly more as there are legitimate opportunities. The challenge is often that the scam or con is so well crafted that even the smartest of us can be duped. . . READ MORE

The Apparent Demise of Millenicom

Boy, wasn't that a shocker about Millenicom? Something very unsettling there. I used the word "apparent" in the title of this article because no one knows what really is going on and if Millenicom might move in a new direction.

Since Millenicom is a no contract wireless data reseller, there is no guarantee that any or all of Millenicom's customers will stay with Verizon and for those who do, will they be bullied by Verizon? I guess we'll find out the answers in due time. Millenicom is pretty silent on the whole thing though I've heard (hearsay) they've let their staff go. So, I guess they don't have enough business left to sustain full-scale operations.

I am still with AT&T, so I'm not personally impacted by this change, though I could have been had I followed through on my plan to set up a Millenicom data account. Here's the story and the rationale I used for staying with AT&T. . . READ MORE

Information Overload, Brain Drain & Writers Block

As regular readers of this blog, I'm sure you have noticed that I haven't been publishing much in the way of new articles for the past few months. I regret that. I have actually written several posts, however, after spending considerable time writing and contemplating each article, I just wasn't satisfied that I was delivering thoughts and ideas I felt would be useful for you. So, they sit in my draft file and may surface sometime in the future after I look them over again and possibly edit or rewrite them.

So, What Is My Problem?

I am back at my base camp in West Virginia. I arrived here about 9:30 PM this past Tuesday evening, July 22^nd after six weeks of travel. I realized that I just haven't been producing the way I normally do or the way I like to. Since I returned I actually wrote, yet, another article the other day. I wasn't happy with it either.

So, I realize that I'm in some kind of funk, phase or mode that I'm not very pleased with, after all, my life and philosophy are all about living free, yet, I don't seem to be able to write anything about it. Am I actually living free? Is my mind and creativity free? Or, am I trapped in some kind of black hole of my own creation.

I believe I've identified three causes for my writing malaise. The first is “Information Overload” or as some call it, “TMI” or “too much information.” It's basically mental clutter. The second is “Brain Drain.” The third is “Writer's Block.” Let me explore each of these a bit with the intent of helping emerge from my personal state of the literary doldrums and, perhaps, assisting you in climbing out of some kind of personal “black hole” you may be dealing with.

I might also mention that this kind of lethargy or mild despondency may actually be the manifestation of some (hopefully) mild form of depression. I'm not sure what specifically triggers various manifestations of depression, but I know that I have a genetic predisposition. So, while I don't feel particularly depressed, it may have nothing to do with how I'm actually reacting.

Information Overload

Let me first examine the idea of “TMI.” I am, by my very nature and as a 50 year veteran of the recording industry, an information “sponge.” While I was drawn into the recording industry by the music part of the business, I actually spent the vast majority of my life creating thousands of hours of information content. I guess I could almost say my middle name is Information. People often comment to me that I'm a fount of information. This can be very good, but it can also be a curse.

I am a voracious reader (though I really never classified myself as such), but not so much in book form as in articles, blog posts, newsletters and a variety of other forms. There has been so much going on in our country and our world, both recently and currently. My mind seems to never quit grabbing at and attempting to comprehend and order continuous sound bites both aural and printed. I have also shared time with an amazing array of very interesting people over the past six weeks on my just completed trek to New Jersey, Connecticut, New York (state) and Pennsylvania. By the way, if you aren't aware, I find just about everyone amazing and interesting since each person is so unique.

I learned so much on the trek. I took more than a thousand photos. I have about 150 hours (maybe more) of video I've captured with my dash cam. I explored old “stomping grounds” and witnessed the changes. I met, spoke with and learned from the numerous people I interacted with along the way. All this while traveling about 3,300 miles mainly in just one of the four states I visited. My mind may be having some issues with sorting, categorizing and analyzing this “data” to put to some tangible use. So, as I said, TMI!

Brain Drain

What I mean by “Brain Drain” might be considered by some to be numb or “brain dead” (not in the clinical sense, but psychologically and, maybe, emotionally). There is so much going on inside my head that I simply have needed to shut down for a while to take some time to sort, analyze and categorize all the accumulated new data. I need to discern that which is useful and valuable enough to to relate it to you and which is the chaff that I simply need to discard.

There is a blog I read by Randy, titled Mobile Kodgers. Randy seems to have his act together, but he uses pictures to speak thousands of words. He has found his voice. I haven't met Randy, yet, but intend to when I get out west later this year. Another interesting blog is Waterfall Road by TJ Worthington. I've met TJ down in his territory in the mountains of northwestern North Carolina. I was down there this past New Years Eve and passed a brief pleasantry with TJ, but it was at a celebration of one of my closest and longest friend's wedding (on New Year's Eve – that's a way to start a new year). So, I didn't have the opportunity to get aside with TJ and really chat about – well, lots of things. TJ also seems to have his thoughts in order.

So, not only am I dealing with Information Overload, but I've allowed this overload condition to drain my brain, leading to . . .

Writer's Block

I'm sure, if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, being at a loss for words has not been a problem for me. Actually, if anything, I need to get a copy of the AP Style Guide used by journalists and learn how to curb my words to make my posts faster, easier to read and comprehend and more interesting. (Maybe I'll order a copy for my Kindle library after I complete this post.).

Writer's Block is a real psychological problem, first described by a psychoanalyst in 1947. Many, if not all, writers including best selling, award winning authors have suffered the malady at some level at one or more times during their careers. So, while not exactly reassuring, at least I know I'm in good company and I can “recover.” I also read another article that enumerated ten types of writer's block and I can identify with at least four, if not five, of those.

I am going to post this article because it may assist you in overcoming some form of writer's block or even just some other challenge or even procrastination you may be dealing with. I know there are numerous other bloggers and writers who read this blog and, perhaps, you may also be going through some periods when writer's block sets you back a bit.

Ready! Set! Write!

I have a lot of things I want to write about. And, actually, writing this article has been educational and motivating for me. It has helped me focus my attention on the issue and recognize the things that may be blocking my creativity and productivity. So, be ready for some new articles with, what I hope will be, valuable and useful information. It's welled up inside this living free, location independent, nomadic blogger. It's about time, isn't it?

Photo-of-the-Week #168 – You Meet The Nicest People, Albion, New York, July 2014

Meet Steven and Lindsey from Portland, Oregon. This cute, young couple shared the Walmart parking lot with me in the small, upstate town of Albion, New York one evening. I'd guess they might be in their mid 20's, but they seemed to have the “living free” idea figured out already. Good for them. . . READ MORE 

Preparing For 2014 Trek #2

I'm three days away from embarking on my next significant trek of 2014. The past three months have been spent dealing with warm, cold, cold, warm, cold, cold, cold, warm, etc. temperatures and rain, a little left over snow, a fair amount of overcast and some sunny days while planning and attempting to execute a number of modifications, refinements and the completion of some projects on My McVansion that I didn't get to before I left on the last 2 1/2 month trek.

Truth be told, I've also done some work on client projects, assisted as I could with the transfer of leadership/coordination of the Veteran Speakers Retreat I coordinated for the past twelve years, began a substantial revision of the Living Free blog site and my over all blogging philosophy and plans, done some contemplating of what I want to do when I grow up and a bit of just being LAZY.

The List of 40 . . . READ MORE

My McVansion Food Shopping List

My last article offering three tips for simplifying included comments about how I've simplified my diet as I travel in "My McVansion." Madmike, a blog reader, sent in a comment that he would like to see the list I have developed for my personal diet and tastes while traveling the highways and byways of America. So, to follow up on that article and to respond to Madmike's request, here is my shopping list.

Ed Helvey's My McVansion Travel Food & Sundries Shopping List . . . READ MORE

Welcome To My World - Six Years Later!

Once a year, around this time, I usually take a look back to see where I am in my world as compared to where I was when I began this adventure of Living Free. It's now about six years from the time I started this blog and five and a half years from when I dove head first into the new world of living free without a fixed home or business location. I have since come to call it being happily houseless and location independent. So, here's my six-year report. The original post (excerpted) from February 2008 is copied below. My updates are in italic bold. The original post begins now . . .  Read More . . .

There'll Be Some Changes Made!

My regrets for not having at least one article to post this past week, other than the regular Photo-of-the-Week. It's been a busy and interesting week. I have two new articles I've been working on, but other things have taken a priority. I guess it's just one of those "life happens" kind of weeks.

New Background Photo

You will notice that I've done some changes to the appearance of the blog. I particularly like using one of my own photographs for my background. Some time back I decided to take my "road" photo from out in the desert down and move it to my up and coming travel blog. But, then I couldn't find another photo in my every growing library of personally taken photos that suited the feeling I want for the blog. So the photo with the blue sky, clouds, grass and red flowers I had as the background until earlier today was actually a stock photo from a Google library, I believe.

I have taken several thousand more photos over the past year and the new one I just put up as the background is one of those. I call it, "Free as an Eagle Soaring." It reflects what I believe it would feel like to be an eagle soaring over the trees, beach and ocean, literally, free as a bird, if you will. I actually took the photo at a height of about 136 feet from the observation deck of the Hunting Island lighthouse near Beaufort, South Carolina. I hope it gives you the same feeling of freedom.

New (modified) Blog Name

You'll also notice that I've added some additional words to the title of the blog. While I'm still going to refer to it as the "Living Free" blog, I decided to add the words "in an Unfree World." I borrowed those last words from the 1973 book title by Harry Browne How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World that I reviewed here on September 21, 2012. As I have noted numerous times in this blog, I am basically apolitical. I do not buy into any of the political ideologies, though, of course, I do agree with some of the beliefs of most of the mainstream political ideas. Unfortunately, there is no utopian world. It amazes me to know that there are substantial numbers of people who believe the United States is the only free country/society and that humans first walked the face of the Earth about 6,000 years ago. In fact there are about 95 free countries/societies in the world and there is irrefutable scientific evidence that humans have been on this planet for more than 100,000 years. But, I'm not going to debate or argue those points with anyone who chooses to believe otherwise.

In actual fact, the U.S. is not actually a free country. We are a country of laws enacted and enforced by, in my estimation (and a broad generalization) far too many incompetent, narcissistic, power hungry (and in a few cases immoral and sociopathic), supposedly duly elected representatives of the populace. The chances are, if you're reading my blog, you probably have no more faith or trust in these people looking out for your/my welfare than I do. And, further, they have created armies of minions who do their bidding for them through more agencies than most of us even realize exist beginning with the local "Constables On Patrol" abbreviated - "COPS" through IRS, DEA, FBI, EPA, ATF, Homeland Security, NSA, CIA, Secret Service, DOD and so many more I can't name them all. The point being, the United States, while described as a democratic-republic, free society under a capitalistic free enterprise economic system, is, in fact, probably more restrictive, regulated, limiting and controlling of our lives than many of the other, so described, free countries/nations. Thus, my title, "Living Free . . . in an Unfree World."

No Extreme Political Rants

Please! Don't worry! I'm not going to start writing extremist rhetoric. Frankly, extreme rants don't, in my opinion, accomplish anything except rallying other extremists and alienating those I consider the rational, personal freedom-seeking individuals I consider similar to myself. I receive and read (some of the) literature, emails, newsletters, etc. from all sides of this picture. I find it interesting to be aware of all the viewpoints. And, while I'm not a pure pacifist when it comes to all this crapola, I find that there are a lot of people like me that I come in contact with. We are the freedom seekers and choose not to fall in lockstep with any of the extreme groups. We do our best to keep up with what's happening around us, mainly to be sure to protect our own interests. But, I find there's no percentage, at least not until someone directly threatens me, to grabbing pitchforks and torches and marching on the big White House and the building with the big dome in Washington, DC. Having spent too many years in or near that place, I view it as a nest of pit vipers. One needs to keep their distance. Unfortunately, though, we can't totally escape politics.

So, it is, and continues to be, you, those who I consider simple, frugal, productive, peace and happiness seeking individuals that I write to and for. Some of you, like me, are nomadic individuals who travel this country (and possibly, the world) full or part-time. I like using the term that seems to be popular these days, "location independent." Others choose to be stationary and may be located in major cities, small towns or even the extreme of tiny houses in low population density, rural areas. It doesn't matter, because we're all seeking the same basic things, personal freedom and happiness.

New Category Tabs

You'll also notice that I've added tabs along the top of the blog that define topical categories. There is still a list of additional pages along the left side of the blog that reflect specific kinds of information for anyone interested. Beginning with the new posts, I'm going to begin placing them in these categories as I write them. As time permits, I'll be going back through all the older posts on the main "Living Free" blog page and creating a list of links back to the categorized posts. My intention in doing this is to make it easier for you, the reader, to find ideas and information that is of particular interest to you. Since the photos of the week are typically about places I've traveled, they will begin appearing in the "On The Road" section. You'll notice I have defined six major categories: Personal Freedom, Happiness, Simplicity, Frugality, Working Free, Reviews and Traveling. There is an eighth catch all category I call Everything Else. It's even likely that, from time to time, you'll find a few articles that may fall under two or more categories.

This will take a bit of time to get it all refined and, honestly, I don't know why I'm taking this project on, I really don't need more to keep me busy. So, bear with me. I'm hoping it will be much more user friendly when it's all implemented.

Teasers

While the entire context of each post will be found under its specific category, the main
"Living Free" blog page and most likely your email feeds, for those subscribers who receive the latest articles via email, will have a one paragraph "teaser" to let you know what the title of the new article is and the gist of the information to be found in the full article. You'll simple need to click on the title or the "Read more. . ." link at the end of the teaser to go directly to the full article.

Once I get everything integrated and functional I'll be soliciting your feedback. Actually, if you have any suggestions as I'm going through this implementation, please send them along.

Other Information

You'll also see that I'll be getting the pages listed along the top of the left column filled out with the intended information. Some of it may be useful or of some value to you while some may not. But, it will be there just the same. The Donation page is now up and operational. The product page will be more active with a variety of products and vendors. I will have affiliate arrangements with the vendors and I'd appreciate you clicking through my links to place any orders. It won't cost you any more, but it will help me support my blogging efforts. Also, products of vendors that I promote on the product page will be vendors I personally use and can endorse because of my experience. The same will be true for any products I endorse. I'm endorsing them because I use them and I'm satisfied, a happy camper, if you will.

You'll also note that a few other things have moved around the "Living Free" home page. And, you'll probably see a few more things in the not too distant future as I continue to refine it. That's it for the immediate changes. Let me know what you think. Oh, and here is one final note. Tomorrow (Sunday) morning's regular Photo-of-the-Week will be the 156th (three full years) post. So, it will be in the same format to complete the three years. Next week's Photo-of-the-Week will be the first post in May, the first post of the fourth year and the first post in the new format.