Hello, I'm John Comeau, originally from Skowhegan, Maine, now living in the high desert of southern New Mexico. Welcome to my home page. My old page no longer really reflects who I am at this time, but I'll leave it online as a reference.
I'm not looking for a job. I might need some odd jobs once my current employment dries up, but most of my time is now devoted to following my dreams, and making them reality. Heard of "voluntary simplicity"? I started living it before I heard of the term. The only "central service" I use daily is the Internet, and someday I hope to build the unternet to where I can dispense with that, too.
Following is a list of some of my current projects, in no particular order. Or you can check my photostream at Flickr for a quick glimpse of what I'm up to.
Terra preta, black earth, is remarkably productive soil found in the Amazon. Part of the secret to its superiority over the surrounding soil is the addition of charcoal powder. See Bidstrup's page for details. I'm working on eliminating at least my own lifetime carbon footprint by building a charcoal kiln and charring tumbleweeds and other undesirable vegetation in it. When I get it working well, I want to build another one in South Padre Island for use with seaweed.
Now that Joseph Jenkins has made available his Humanure Handbook for free at weblife.org, there is no excuse to not read it. The ideas and methods outlined in this book will have immediate benefits, especially in the developing world, if people will give them a try.
Windsurfing, windskating, snowkiting, paragliding, wingsuits... free transit all over the globe if you don't mind following the wind. You can google these terms for some awesome videos on YouTube and elsewhere. In June 2008 I rebuilt my windskate sail frame with carbon composite tubing for a much lighter rig; it breaks more easily now but repairs quickly.
When the wind isn't blowing, I usually walk, run, or bicycle to my destination, or hitchhike or bus if it's more than 10 miles or so. I'm really not happy with bicycles -- the designs haven't improved all that much in the last hundred years. I'm working on a HPV design which uses both arms and both legs, similar to these exercise machines. When and if I get something usable prototyped, I plan to show it off at Burning Man and the Kinetic Sculpture Race.