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Lab Activities
Fun And Educational |
An additional way to help out...
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What's this, you ask? Well, it's a year's worth of sunscreen products that I have purchased in advance for my walk.
Both sides of my family originally hail from Scotland many generations back, and we all have very fair skin...I'm the palest of the
bunch...I'm the only person I know who can get a sunburn in a rainstorm, lol! (I'm exaggerating of course, but not by much.) Since I will be
out of doors 100% of the time during my cancer walk, and I will be passing through deserts where the sunlight is fierce,
I am very concerned about limiting my sun exposure. If you like to work
or play in the outdoors, then you should be too -- be sure to put on sunscreen every time, because most skin cancers are entirely preventable.
I purchased all of these sunscreen products very affordably at a dollar store --
protecting yourself doesn't have to cost a fortune.
Just say no to skin cancer! |
Corporate Sponsorships - 5/13/2010
I would like to get major American corporations involved in this project; I will be offering product endorsements and other corporate sponsorship opportunities. Any company that contacts me about this is sure to receive an enormous amount of (nearly) free publicity for an entire year; the handcart I am constructing is eight feet long and it's basically a rolling billboard that will no doubt be photographed constantly during my trip! Plus I will be speaking to the press on a daily basis, and I will definitely work hard to make sure an appropriate spotlight is thrown upon any company that supports my walk. This is a golden opportunity for the right company to enhance their brand image -- corporate support of charity projects is a proven method of generating positive publicity and public goodwill. I am most interested in support from corporations that produce sporting and outdoor gear (Nike, Columbia Sportswear, etc.) -- this makes sense because I will be making extensive use of outdoor products during my trip -- but I am willing to make arrangements with anyone who wishes to publicly support the fight against cancer. If you would like to discuss sponsoring my walk, please contact me at douglascraig@craigresearchlabs.com right away!
Update on Preparations - 5/9/2010
Here is my new solar power system in action! During the walk the solar panels will be mounted on the top of my handcart, and the batteries/inverters will be mounted inside. The laptop computer is actually running off of one of the batteries in this photo, but you can't tell because the angle of the LCD screen makes it appear dark.
Update on Preparations - 5/8/2010
I've been concentrating my energies the last few days on my training runs, publicity, and getting my new solar power systems up and running. I got out my soldering iron and my voltmeter, and soldered up the custom cables I needed to interface the panels with my battery bank. I charged up the batteries from the sun for the first time today, and everything worked great! I am particularly impressed by the fact that it was cloudy out, but the panels still charged the batteries without a hitch -- this is a result of the new efficient amorphous solar cell technologies which work well under low light conditions. Solar's day in the sun (pun intended) has finally arrived! I also purchased a bank of small solar LED "push lights" that I will install inside my cart, and they worked great too...they produced plenty of light, more than I need.
Update on Preparations - 5/3/2010
Work continues on preparations -- every day I am building something new, and crossing numerous projects off my "to do" list. This weekend I finished building my privacy shelter, so that during my walk I will be able to take showers and whatnot...in private. I designed the structure to be extremely easy to set up; I can have the posts in the ground and the walls & roof attached in literally seconds. It's much faster to set up than a tent. Also, the roof, when attached to shorter posts and placed over a bucket, doubles as a rain catch so I can collect drinking water.
Update on Preparations - 5/1/2010
I have lots of news today...first of all, I've been training really hard lately to get myself into the best shape possible for the cancer walk -- I'm running about 50 miles a week, approximately what would be considered to be an average training regimen for a marathon. I am trying to condition myself to the heat that I will be experiencing out in the desert, so I am taking my training runs during the hottest part of the day (weather here in Florida has been in the mid 80's lately, so it's not really that hot). I wouldn't recommend this regimen for anyone else, but it's fine for me because I am a lifelong runner and I was in better than average shape even before beginning my training for this walk. Yes, I am drinking lots of water!
Yesterday I tested my solar shower for the first time. The shower is basically a black five gallon rubber bag with a shower nozzle attached to it; you leave it out in the sun to warm and then hang it from a tree to take a shower. I was expecting just a short, lukewarm drizzle, but I was very pleasantly surprised. After only three hours laying out in the sun, the shower produced water that was so hot I couldn't even stand under it!! I timed the shower, and it produced a decent stream of water for approximately seven minutes -- plenty of time to get cleaned up. These showers cost only about $8, so I think I will probably buy a second one as a luxury so I can take really long, leisurely showers (if I can spare that much water while out on the road).
Best of all, my solar panels showed up in the mail the day before yesterday. Now all I have to do is get out my soldering iron and a few inexpensive electronic components I purchased at Radio Shack, and I will be able to interface these panels with the battery/inverter units I purchased a few weeks ago and make a totally rad AC power system with more than enough juice to run my laptop and all my communications equipment throughout the walk. Reliable power will be crucial for me because I will be doing hours of publicity every day during my walk. Solar is definitely the way to go.
Update on Preparations - 4/22/2010
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In celebration of Earth Day, I just ordered the solar panels for my cancer walk. I live a fairly "green"
lifestyle anyway, but for the entire year that I am walking I will need to be nearly totally self-sufficient,
and I will of course also be following the backpacker's code: "Take only photographs, leave only footprints."
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Update on Preparations - 4/19/2010
I am doing a huge amount of pre-departure publicity for my cancer walk. My email box is stuffed every day. I am excited to be meeting tons of amazing people who are also involved in the fight against cancer...I have created a "Friends of the Cancer Walk" page to honor these people. Please do whatever you can to support their efforts!
Tomorrow, time permitting, I am going to order the solar panels for my handcart.
I am also working on a funding proposal for kickstarter.com to help offset some of the costs of this project.
Update on Preparations - 3/26/2010
Most of my time these last few weeks has been spent on two things: gear and publicity. I've been
ordering all sorts of essential equipment I will need for my walk...Katadyn's best reverse-osmosis water filter,
two large batteries/inverters for AC power, first aid supplies (Quikclot bandages,
snakebite kit, disinfectants, etc.), camp toilet, tarps, wireless broadband equipment, and about a zillion other items I am going to
need in my travels.
In addition, I am spending a great deal of time on my pre-departure publicity, since media exposure is key to the success of this venture.
I've launched an extensive campaign to find supporters within the blogosphere and social media (MySpace, Facebook, and the like) and I am also trying to
reach out to the mainstream media -- I need as many newspapers, radio programmers, and TV stations as possible to carry the
story. I cannot afford to hire a PR firm or run TV advertisements, so I really need help from anyone willing to support my
efforts. *If you run a blog or have a significant social media presence or work in the mainstream media please contact me
at douglascraig@craigresearchlabs.com
ASAP to set up an interview or do a public service announcement.* I will make press photos and video
clips available for media use as soon as possible. Thank you for supporting this project!
First Photos! - 3/1/2010
Cart construction - view of the first completed wheel base.
Another view.
The undercarriage of the cart. I will not be doing any further construction of the cart until just before I leave on the walk.
(The completed cart will be so large that I will not have any place to store it!)
Please check back soon! As the project gets going over the next month or two I will begin posting video blogs, more photos, sponsorship information, press & media links, and all kinds of other goodies for you. Please bookmark this page and return often, because I will need everyone's continued support to make this project a success over the next year!!! :) |
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