Lauren Byrne Color Guard Instructor LAUREN BYRNE began her color guard career in 2013 with the Blue Springs Golden Regiment Marching Band and winter guard. She continued her performance career […]

Ian Hoffman Brass Instructor IAN HOFFMAN has a deep-seated connection and passion for music and the arts, having started his musical journey singing with the Dreaming Summit Honor Choir in […]

Riley McCallum Color Guard Instructor RILEY McCALLUM is an interdisciplinary performance artist originating from rural Texas. He has a broad background of movement experiences, ranging from martial arts, musical theatre, […]

Joe Venezia Brass Instructor Currently based out of Boston Massachusetts, JOSEPH VENEZIA is an active performer and educator. Joseph’s career has led him to perform across both the United States […]

Mike Lebrias Brass Instructor DR. MIKE LEBRIAS (he/him) recently completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with […]

Matthew Ezeh Brass Instructor MATTHEW EZEH is an accomplished trombonist/brass/music educator. Matthew received his degree in Music Education from Mercer University in 2020 and studied trombone under Hollie Lawing-Pritchard. He […]

Benji Gonzalez Social Media BENJI GONZALEZ is a designer and creator based in Southern California. His creative journey began at John F. Kennedy High School (La Palma) where he was […]

Prospective performers and their families are invited to learn about Pacific Crest, our 2025 season, and auditions. A brief presentation will be followed by an AUA (ask us anything) session. All […]

...in the Shadow of the Berlin Wall. [BBC] "Named 'Operation Trap', the Stasi's attempted to crush a group fighting for a cleaner environment – and for the right to speak out. The secret police's tactics ranged from interrogations and jail to bizarre mind games. In one incident, informants who managed to infiltrate the environmental movement covertly took coffee from a shared pantry without putting money into the coffee kitty. That plan did not work out. On the contrary: Operation Trap became one of the very rare cases in history in which the Stasi was forced to back down."

"In his best run, Jammy had become the richest person in the world in eleven years, three months, eleven days, and twenty-three hours (in-game timer)..." "Any Percent" by Andrew Dana Hudson asks: "Imagine you could play a video game that let you live a whole human life in a matter of minutes. What would it mean to 'win' in that game? What would it mean to speedrun?" in an ultimately hopeful "proletarian-themed" science fiction story deliberately published on May Day, 2023 to celebrate International Workers' Day. I pair it with Grace Petrie's energetic song "Fixer Upper" which starts "I woke up from an awful dream / in June of 2016" yet finds a way to lead to "everything you dream is possible / it's waiting to be made .... come grab a spade!"

Petrie previously. From Petrie's song "Fixer Upper": "I woke up from an awful dream / in June of two thousand sixteen / in a far right fake news fucked up universe / and though we sang The Mountain Goats / loud enough to bruise our throats / every year that followed still got worse and worse" "And maybe I'm delusional / but I think you are beautiful / and if we could just keep from losing heart / we might still / not rest until / if anybody can, we will / we will build something better from the parts" (full lyrics to "Fixer Upper") Spoiler: "Fixer Upper" made me absolutely burst into tears and I feel like I needed to hear it precisely now.

Mobile Crisis Construction is an Australian initiative to turn rubble back into homes, schools and hospitals in war-torn or disaster-hit countries like Ukraine. Its Lego-like MCC Crisis Blocks "employ simple technology that works with standard brick coursing height and length, and can be laid with unskilled labour due to their interlocking design". They need no mortar and are produced on site with a mobile factory housed in a shipping container, each of which can produce enough bricks for 5-10 homes in a week. The Perth-based charity has been funded by the local Ukrainian community.

"I find it reassuring that in a game that is in some ways a libertarian power fantasy (you and your spaceship, go anywhere do whatever you want), and a PvP universe, one of the first things people did was create a volunteer ambulance service." Over on Mastodon, Dave Anderson walks us through the story of the Fuel Rats, the emergency refueling service of Elite:Dangerous.

"Everlasting Love" is one of two songs to become a Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s* and the only song to become a UK top 40 hit in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

Written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, "Everlasting Love" was a hit for Robert Knight in 1967. Love Affair's 1967 cover, the most successful version in the UK, knocked The Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye" off the number one spot on British charts. Singer Steve Ellis was 17 and recorded the song with session musicians after the record label rejected the band's version. Carl Carlton's 1973 cover, the most successful version in the US, was originally the B-side of a single but was made into the A-side. The video for Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet's 1981 cover features them as a couple getting married. Their version includes an additional verse of uncredited authorship that was approved by the song's composers. The video for Sandra's 1987 cover has her and "Austrian model Rupert Weber as lovers in different periods of world history" Eve to 1987. U2 did an acoustic/electric cover in 1989 as the B-side to "All I Want Is You." Gloria Estefan was pregnant when the video for her 1995 cover was filmed, so three male and two female drag performers appeared as Estefan at different stages of her career. Jamie Callum's 2005 cover was featured on the soundtrack to Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Other covers of note include Joe Dassin's "Plus Je Te Vois, Plus Je Te Veux" "(The More I See You, The More I Want You)" (1968), Patricia Paay (1977), and Willy Sommer's "Liefde Voor Altijd" (2011). The song was featured in an episode of the BBC One TV series Casualty and the cast later performed it live. Jamie Dornan performed the song in the 1998 movie Belfast. Buzz Cason performing "Everlasting Love" in 2013. The writers of 'Everlasting Love' tell their story:

Mac Gayden started writing "Everlasting Love" when he was 5 years old. Those "oooh" vocals that float in the background of the chorus? It's a melody he came up with at that age. "I just kind of drew it out of the air," he says.

Aftermath, the tech and gaming blog founded by webugees from Kotaku, is one year old! In a lengthy post on their site, founders Luke Plunkett, Gita Jackson, Riley McLeod, Nathan Grayson and Chris Person discuss what running their little co-op business is like, and the issues they face in keeping it afloat.

The Mushroom Color Atlas is a resource and reference for everyone curious about mushrooms and the beautiful and subtle colors derived from dyeing with mushrooms. But it is also the start of a journey and a point of departure, introducing you to the kaleidoscopic fungi kingdom and our connection to it. My hope is that through this Atlas everyone will be inspired to learn more about the mycological world, and begin to understand the importance of the networks, connections and symbiotic relationships that live in our forests. Most importantly, understanding our impact on these delicate networks and our role as stewards of the land, bringing positive change to our local environments and our planet. [via The Morning News]

I Hate it Here - Wilco

I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts - X Everybody Knows - Leonard Cohen Hot Girl Bummer - Blackbear A short list of songs to have on repeat in the post-election era. Add as you see fit! Hot Girl Bummer is the general vibe of late stage whatever as far as I can tell.

Don't know about you, but I had a pretty rough week so I'm indulging myself with Jinjer and Spiritbox, starting with one of the greatest collabs of the current millenium: Spiritbox - Circle With Me ft. Tatiana Shmayluk of Jinjer

Megan Thee Stallion - TYG (feat. Spiritbox) Jinjer - Who Is Gonna Be The One - Live Spiritbox - The Mara Effect - live Jinjer - Pisces - Live Spiritbox - The Mara Effect - live Jinjer - Just Another We will return to more varied programming next week, probably.

100,000 Chinese students join 50km night-time bike ride in search of good soup dumplings

Rhythmical Lines "When he was eighty-five, Wacław Szpakowski wrote a treatise for a lifetime project that no one had known about. Titled "Rhythmical Lines," it describes a series of labyrinthine geometrical abstractions, each one produced from a single continuous line." [via]

This explains a lot.

A Narcissist's Prayer That didn't happen. And if it did, it wasn't that bad. And if it was, that's not a big deal. And if it is, that's not my fault. And if it was, I didn't mean it. And if I did You deserved it. by Dayna EM Craig The Trauma Survivor Mantra It did happen. It was bad. It was a big deal. It doesn't matter if they meant it. I reject the shame. I didn't deserve it. by Dr. Elayna Fernández ~~~~~ Elayna Fernández is a happy, smiling, festive, wise powerhouse who lives oh so large. A joy to read, I cannot help but smile. I was/am so glad to come across her take on A Narcissists Prayer -- honest, painful, human, smart. A Narcissists Prayer is the best description of the animal I've ever come upon, in six lines (!) no less. Craig gives it to us dead on. Fernández in The Trauma Survivor Mantra nails it, gives us the sane and healthy response to insane unhealthy people.

Federal government invests $28 million [US $18.25 million] in fight to save Maugean skate. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese heads to Tasmania to announce $28 million to improve water quality in Macquarie Harbour — the last known refuge of the endangered Maugean skate.

He's an optimist at heart. You'd like him. I, of course, don't know who you are, dear reader, but I know you'd like my dad, Bob Gruber, because everyone likes Bob Gruber. He can tell a good joke and he loves to tell them. There's a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln, that I was reminded of, just the other day, from of all things a garbage can: "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better." I don't share Lincoln's there's-something-to-like-about-everyone optimism about our fellow men, but my dad does. from How It Went by John Gruber [Daring Fireball]

My husband has a birthday coming up. I know he would like something like this coin bank, but it's sold out and I'm having trouble finding an adequate, grown-up substitute. As a kid my husband really liked marble roller coasters and other kinetic toys, but never got them because they were too expensive. He expressed that he really liked the coin bank in the link above. There are some toy options, like this one, that aren't quite right, mostly because they are cheaply made and our 5-year-old daughter will claim anything sufficiently toy-like for herself.

I'm considering making something myself, so links to DIYs would also be helpful. Thank you for your help!

I am trying to find a song from a Bollywood movie. Please hope me if you can, based on the little I remember. Difficulty: I don't speak Hindi. The movie would have come out 2004-2007, and I think I remember it was about a young couple in an arranged marriage getting to know each other over time. The song was an upbeat dance song, but not a bass-heavy club song or anything like that. It had a longish title, 5-7 words, and here's the part that might actually help you help me -- it reminded me of Mere Sarpe Dupatta from Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo -- I had them in the same playlist on my (dead!) iPod.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Is there a maps app that will give me time/traffic estimates on the route of MY choice? So for example, I ask Google Maps to navigate me back home and they give me time & traffic for a couple different options. But in many cases there's another route that I want to take for my own reasons that's not being presented, and I want to see how it's doing traffic-wise. I would like to be able to input the street/bridge/whatever I want to take and get a route based on that. Does such a thing exist? I'm on iOS (current).

I know I can add a stop along the route to force it to go the way I want in the worst case scenario but this isn't always possible or practical. I would like to find out if there's an app that has this functionality built in.

Waze doesn't do this either.

I've tried a bunch of pomodoro-style apps that I haven't done well with. I recently found one that's like Pomodoro except there's a growing plant, and if you mess with your phone you'll kill the plant. This works for me for whatever reason. I was wondering if anyone knew of other apps like that; especially ones with more real-world consequences. I guess my will isn't strong enough to not mess with my phone just because some timer is counting down. But the charming messages about the poor little plant and the cute drawings appeal to me apparently.

I saw this app PocketPoints, which would be great except it only works at participating schools.

I'm also not interested in those apps that quantify how often you check your phone.

This is for iOS please.

Thanks!

So I read a children's book as a kid in the 1980s that used the title quote as a running gag. Can anybody identify it? It may or may not have been a guide to surviving school. It was almost certainly a paperback from a Scholastic book order. (I had thought it was by Jovial Bob Stine, but no book of his that the Internet knows of seems to fit. It might have been bundled with one of his books, though?)

There's an illustration I remember fairly vividly from when I was a kid, but I don't remember whether it was a print or in a book. It depicted tiny dragons, smoke curling from their nostrils, lounging around and/or on a big, beautiful book with cabochons and other jewels either set on or around the book, perhaps with candles and greenery nearby as well. The image shows this from the perspective of slightly above and to one side of the book and dragons, but not from directly above. I don't know whether this was a stand-alone illustration or an illustration in the book, nor whether there was more than one such illustration. it might have been inside the front or back cover. I was really into jewels as a kid, and I remember being entranced by this image and spending some time staring at it. This could have been from the '80s or '90s or earlier. Anyone else remember this?

I'm listening to NPR's streaming "First Listen" of Cibo Matto's "Emerald Tuesday," off the forthcoming Hotel Valentine, and I know this song it's sampling from the first note. (And I think that's the point of the lyrics, that the ghost in the song listened/listens to the sampled song all the time.) I feel like it's also something my husband listens to all the time, or that was in a movie I just saw, but I can't pin it down. My first thought was Curtis Mayfield, but I'm not finding it. I know it's going to seem obvious to me once you tell me, but nonetheless—help! What is that song?

Please share with me your favorite places online to order custom die-cut vinyl stickers, preferably iridescent or glitter or iridescent glitter, using art I provide. I'd ideally like these to be about 2 square inches, and really shiny or sparkly, but with good (outdoor-quality) staying power. I have a few different designs I'd like to have made, in quantities of about 55 each. I put in a bid with diecutstickers.com almost a month ago now and never heard back beyond the initial form response, so I'm looking for other options for quality work with a fast turnaround time. Thank you!

I asked a similar question a few months ago, but the "best answer" to that question no longer works because Facebook has changed the interface. I recently put a Facebook post (an article) into an album (using the relatively new feature that lets you do this with all kinds of links, not just photos/videos). But I changed my mind — I don't want it to be in any album. How do I remove it? I could use either a browser or the iPhone app.

Note that Facebook's album interface seems to have changed about a month ago, so older Facebook how-to posts might not be relevant.

I don't want to delete the post because it already has comments, etc.

My Spectrum (formerly TWC) cable box works via RF with a particular remote that comes with it in some areas. Not mine. I've got the IR remote and need the other sort. Can't find it on Amazon or eBay... I've visited the Spectrum offices in my area (Portland, ME) and have been told that, in my area, the new cable box I have (the Spectrum 201-T, which is actually the Technicolor WorldBox) does not ship with its regular, RF-capable remote, the URC-1160. In some parts of the country, however, it does.

I've searched online to find a replacement--no dice. I've also called Spectrum, to see if they will send me one, and I was told that they can only request a new remote, not specify what sort. They shipped me another IR remote.

How can I get my hands on one of these URC-1160s?

About a decade ago, an early music group -- possibly the Medieval Baebes -- sang a post-medieval encore that I can't find a whisper of. The line I think I remember is "The orchard didn't know if it was planted for/ The bitten cherry or the apple core." Can anyone identify this?

I'm looking for a blog about a civilian embarking on a short-term deployment to Afghanistan (or Iraq?) in some sort of support role—I think he was involved in engineering or computer modeling or mapping or something similar. I believe he was either a MeFite or was mentioned somewhere on MetaFilter. Anyone have a link? Other things I remember: I believe it was hosted on Blogger, though it also may not have been. I remember the poster being sad to be away from his daughter and wife for six months, but the money was of course enticing. I remember there being a couple of pretty lengthy rundowns of his time traveling and being processed on a couple of bases in the U.S. before deployment, and being concerned that he wouldn't make his deployment window if he missed a flight, and there being some discussion of all the military-issue stuff he was required to buy in order to deploy (and some things I think he deliberately chose not to bring along). All of that is pretty common fodder for deployment blogs, I guess, but maybe it'll ring a bell with someone!

Searching for "civilian deployment blog" and "Afghanistan deployment blog" has brought up a few results, but I don't think they're the blog I'm seeking. This result isn't the right one, as far as I can tell, but it may be using the same template as the one I'm remembering. This is one of the top search results, but it isn't the one I'm looking for. This and this aren't it, either. Most of the ones I'm finding are from a soldier's perspective, rather than a DoD civilian's one—or if they are about deployed DoD civilians, they mostly seem to be ones who've served in the military in other capacities previously, or who are doing multiple-year tours in Afghanistan. This guy was just going for about six months...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Does anyone know what those green lapel pins are that about a third of Obama's staffers seem to be wearing in the photos here? (via)

Where/when did the phrase "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke" originate? I've seen/heard it in a lot of different places, and associate it with the Church of the SubGenius. The guy in the cubicle next to mine says it originated with Bette Midler. A quick Google finds evidence that she said that 1979ish—but does anyone have an earlier Bette Midler reference for the phrase? Or, alternately, know whether this phrase gained currency anywhere else before that?

How do women who mud wrestle or take regular mud baths (esp. naked, say at a spa) avoid getting mud in their, er, orifices—or do they avoid it? Would tampons be useful in preventing such an occurrence? Or is that even necessary?

And if mud is allowed into the vagina or anus, does that lead to an increased incidence of infection (whether by yeast or bacteria)? How would one go about (or, ladies, how have you gone about) preventing such resultant infections? And do spas have problems with the transmission of such infections in their mud baths?

I've found an abstract from a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found a greater incidence of pustular follicular dermatitis outbreaks among mud-wrestling college students (no joke) at the University of Washington in Seattle—but that doesn't speak to the question of vaginal, anal or urethral irritation stemming from prolonged mud exposure.

(And yes, this is a serious question, I promise—the topic came up during a conversation I was party to a while back about, well, vaginal irritation/infections. Fun stuff, huh?)

I went scuba diving at Clear Lake, Oregon today. I saw a ton of tiny, medium-brown unidentified biological-looking... *things* attached to some of the rocks. What were they? Their silhouette was roughly the shape of a fungus growing on a tree -- think a minaturized oyster mushroom or turkey tail mushroom, but with (as far as I could tell) not particularly pronounced gills. They were attached to volcanic rock.

What were they? Eggs sacs of some kind? Actual underwater mushrooms? Some other life form? In case it's relevant, other stuff I saw in the lake included verdant fields of algae growing off the silty bottom (where the volcanic rock isn't exposed), schools of trout (the lake is stocked), plenty of caddisfly larvae in their cases, and cold-water springs feeding the lake from deep potholes. Water temperature was 41 F. We went as deep as 85', but I only remember seeing the brown unidentified objects in shallower areas -- say maybe between 15' to 30'.

Is there anywhere in the United States I can take an electronics intensive course anytime between mid-June and October? I find myself needing to learn quite a lot of electronics quite quickly. I would do better with structured learning than independent study. Is there anywhere in the US that offers an intensive course with substantial lab time that fits my schedule (mid-June through October)?

Bonus points for Hawaii, Upper Midwest/Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest, coastal Canada, or New England. Thanks.

I've been missing Miami's Cuban bakeries. My plans to visit have been put on hold indefinitely, so I'm looking for options to have a few items (cuban crackers, cuban bread and pastries) shipped overnight to my house a few states to the north. Does a service that does this exist? I'm willing to put some dollars toward paying for this, but would prefer something established as opposed to posting a Craigslist ad.

I know that Vicky Bakery ships guava pastries and croquetas, but I'm looking for a wider selection. Thanks everyone!

This was my experience this morning: I'm cycling, and I see this guy running, opposite direction to me. He has a cap on, and on top of the cap was what (at first) I thought was a light. Then I thought maybe it was a camera. Then as he got closer I thought it was a donut, like maybe an orange cream filled or something. then as I got closer I heard very regular beeping that I'm pretty sure was coming from the not-donut. And then I couldn't tell what it was, apart from it was orange and about 2 inches tall, maybe cylindrical or donut-shaped. My best guess is that it was some sort of device to help him regulate head/posture, kind of like "teach kids to walk while balancing books on their head". Google is not helping. Can the hivemind suss this out?

Is there a way to change the Microsoft voice Zira so she stops saying "Mississippi" when the word miss is used as a title or with a period at the end of it? I found two files (MSTTSLocEnUS.dat and MSTTSLocEnCA.dat) in the folder C:WindowsSpeech_OneCoreEnginesTTS that contain the text "mississippi" but they are both dat files and when I open them in Wordpad or Notepad, I cannot find the text. I looked in Windows Speech options and there is no place to fix pronunciations. I am using Windows 11 and it does not seem to happen when I use the David voice, only the Zira voice.

I don't want to get hosed buying a pretty label and sales pitch on the bottle. I don't mind buying more than one bottle to get a better price. I don't know what "should be" in good mayo but you do, that's why I came here for guidance. I know we all hate Amazon, plz go to the next question rather than telling me Bezos blows; I am aware.

Initially thought of this in the context of a camping trip, but now also wondering about home safety purposes. What's the latest on ensuring that water is drinkable/potable and won't kill you?

•Iodine, sure, but what are the limitations? How much water per tablet can it purify?

•Boiling? To what temperature, for how long? Which types of microbe is it effective against?

•I know next to nothing about filters/osmosis.

•As far as I know, basically all of the above are for bacteria only. Which is good and all, but what if the water has chemical toxins instead of just biological? (Unlikely for a camping trip, I know, but somewhat more plausible when it comes to, say, well-water for a house.) Is there anything that works then? How to even tell if this is the case?

I'm struggling to go through perimenopausal changes with grace, but also struggling with some disordered eating habits as I try to find a balance between accepting what nature wants to do to my body and trying to maintain a healthy weight. I'm not overly restrictive during the day. I eat when hungry. I don't crave junk early in the day. But at night once everyone is in bed I crave junk and binge. I'm not sure if I am using that word correctly in a clinical sense. I am doing HRT and my meds seem to work ok to balance me out.

I'm pretty sure this is mostly mental, like I'm trying to make healthy choices but I have a shadow self that doesn't like the rules and I keep her at bay til the end of the night. Idk. I had this problem when I tried keto a few years back. Many years ago I decided to do a raw food diet temporarily and maintained it perfectly. I didn't feel restricted or rebel against myself. But then after having children and breastfeeding my relationship to carbs changed maybe. So I tried keto and I feel AMAZING in ketosis but I end up eating tons of garbage because the mental aspect of restriction just doesn't work well for me.

So even though I am not intentionally "restricting" early in the day I am prioritizing healthier foods and I guess in some way it's effectively the same thing.

I also have PDA autism which is probably relevant as I wonder if the food choices are a "demand" and how to navigate that. I also suspect part of the current issue is due to having to take a break from my Vyvanse until I get checked by the cardiologist - since Vyvanse is also prescribed for binge eating disorder it isn't surprising if I'm struggling more with this while I can't take it. (As an aside, if you've done research into the safety of stimulants for cardiac patients, specifically those with late discovered congenital issues like a hole in the heart, please share citations for clinical studies about this as I want to advocate for the doctor to let me stay on my meds.)

I don't want to just get fat. But I also don't want to have so much mental energy taken up by this inner battle. What do?

A father, mother, and nine kids arrive in St. Louis circa 1840, knowing no one. What options would they have had? Would tenements have been their only choice?

I was reading a listicle of jokes and this quote from Tina Fey appeared "I like to crack the jokes now and again, but it's only because I struggle with math."Is it a joke? What does it mean?

I'm in the US PNW. I have to use or lose a week of PTO. I'd like to go to warm. I'm 50s, widowed, a people person who values awe, adventure and connection. Hiking in the SW? Snorkeling in Mexico? An organized tour? And are there cool online communities to find like-minded travel buddies? I don't love that I'm alone now, but it is what it is. I have many awesome people in my life, but like me they work. In my youth, I didn't hesitate to travel solo and I would often end up connecting with cool people at hostels, and then we would set out together on hikes or city explorations. In my 50s, I don't imagine that going the same way.

Ideas on my radar right now:
-fly into Phoenix and rent an equipped camper for eight days of driving and hiking in the vicinity of Sedona and Grand Canyon. I am hyper aware that 30 years ago I would have done this without any worries regarding personal safety. I'm less carefree/more aware now, and I do have some concerns about boondock camping alone...so may compromise with traditional campgrounds. Apart from that, I don't at all mind hiking alone, but I do wonder if I will get lonely.
-some sort of organized tour to guarantee not so alone... possibly to Mexico, and possibly to swim and snorkel. I do like good food and cultural experiences. My Spanish is terrible, but it will get me to the baño.
-some kind of... Dance camp? Craft camp?

I'm not a cruise person.
I do want to spend at least part of the time moving my body.
The best time for this is in October after the 20th.

Hatching a plan for an 8-10ish week, self-contained, van-based cross-country solo journey in 2024 while maintaining a work schedule that absolutely requires me to be connected and on video for scheduled calls every workday. Now in the brainstorming and resource-gathering stages and open to creative ideas and tools. The short version:
Because I'm a worker bee and cannot take all of this time off, I feel like anything like this needs to be fairly well structured, with a good idea of where I plan to land most of the time. This is a really non-specific post, and I welcome all thoughts around apps (e.g., Google Maps with pins, VanAlert, iOverlander, Facebook groups) or other online resources or advice, that will help me plan and execute this.

In brief, the 39yo vanagon has a 100ah LiPo aux battery, a WeBoost cel booster, a fridge, propane heat, a kill switch and good mountain tires. She has a new-ish engine and my dearly departed husband was building her out for work-travel. I'm already set up to plug in and work comfortably from the back seat for a couple of days at a time.

The nitty gritty...
About trip planning:
-starting in the PNW and hoping to route thru New England and California;
-no specific time frame in mind, though I would like to avoid intense heat (no a/c) and extended days below freezing... off the cuff and since summers in the PNW are beautiful, it might be great to stay here and enjoy it while working out kinks with the van, and leave mid August. Loosely aim for a New England fall, down to the Carolinas, return (also loosely) via TN, KY, NM, AZ, and then San Diego and north;
-I'd like to largely avoid interstates, driving in the dark and more than 300-mile days;
-I plan to develop a rough itinerary around the results of outreach to my friend network via social media to ask who would like a visit. Something like: "hey friends, I'm exploring the idea of a big road trip in 2024 and want to know if you'd like a visitor." I would include some language around the fact that I have to work, and probe for what kind of visit they would like, if they could accommodate me and the van, if I could stay/play/work in their house, and if not do they have flat and safe off-street parking, access to an outlet, etc. Your ideas welcome around the framing of that post;
-for the parts of the trip that don't involve friends, I will seek out safe and beautiful camping destinations, stealth camping as needed, forest/BLM land, options that wrap in nature and beauty and hiking and making new friends, iOverlander solutions, driveway camping invitations (I know of just a couple van and women's networks that encourage this), etc;
-I really have zero interest in camping at Walmarts, Cracker Barrels, casinos, truck stops, etc., but I know it's a thing and I will if that's my best and safest option in the moment;
-I have an iPhone and general comfort with tech... is my best bet to create a Google map with pins, or is there something better? Any additional considerations if I would like to wrap in social media to share about my trip?
-I'd kind of love to learn more about driveway camping networks, where people add themselves to a map and welcome travelers to a safe camping spot and a friendly connection. I like meeting people who like meeting people;
-I am aware of networks like trustedhousesitters.com and would be open to engagements like that as I move about.

More about the van:
-I have been setting aside a little fund to add things this year like a suitcase solar panel that trickle charges the auxiliary battery. I don't quite know how that all works, but there are lots of resources out there to figure this out;
-Starlink? I can never not be available to connect for a video call on a workday, I pay extra on my cell phone to use it as hotspot, but that relies on excellent cellular connectivity (the WeBoost typically gets me one extra bar, but often that's not enough. I don't really know if it's supposed to do better than that).

About security:
-the van has a kill switch to reduce the chance of vehicle theft, but of course this does nothing to prevent breakins, theft and vandalization. There is a locking strongbox between the seats to hold my electronics and cash, and a hitchsafe to hold extra keys, ID and cash. I'm thinking I should hide an AirTag or have some other kind of tracking mechanism;
-I don't carry a gun and really don't want to. I have bear spray. I have thought that a trip like this might call for a small InReach or some other gps tracking device;
-as much as I would like to explore urban areas, I would be worried about the van. in the absence of a safe place to park, probably I will base the van outside of a city and take public transit in to be a tourist.

About me:
-50s, fairly extroverted, lover of outdoors, adventurous, though still new to widowhood and discovering a new timidity around taking risks without my adventure partner at my side;
-have driven solo across the country three times, but that was more than 25 years ago and all in less than 10 days;
-not self-employed. I work full-time from my laptop, with a balance of heads-down work and regularly scheduled calls. I also have a fair amount of flexibility in scheduling my day. I'm planning to stretch my PTO around 3- and 4-day weekends when friends have time to play or if I am wanting to linger and explore. I can also imagine on occasion driving for a couple of hours between meetings in the day and making up for it after it's dark and I'm parked;
-not a mechanic, though I can change oil, tires and filters, look up YouTube solutions and follow basic directions (like yesterday, changing an o-ring on my power steering pump). I do plan to take measures in the next year to learn more of the basics of mechanical troubleshooting;
-possess general common sense around safety, and want to take precautions. No plans to install an alarm system or a dash cam.

This is an unreasonably long post, I know. But I figured it couldn't hurt. Seeking your favorite resources for such a trip, your best advice, what do I need to know, what should I be thinking of, etc.

Brainstorming session for my brother please! Stay-at-home dad for most of the last 15 years has launched the teen and now hopes to find something rewarding that he can do when ADHD translates to everything taking him 5x longer (but is near perfection once it's done). Four-year business degree. Veteran. Some success a long time ago in sales, but never loved the work. Enjoyed a couple of years in tech recruiting because more than anything it seemed he found great satisfaction in helping his clients find just the right match. Otherwise, youth soccer coaching led to becoming a ref at the collegiate level. Got a Salesforce Admin cert but never used it. Learned a ton as the parent of an elite athlete about the realm of sports marketing and sponsorships and contracts and really gets into it.

Has a good head for businessy things and building relationships. He likes helping people, using his brain and problem solving. Very kind and personable guy, logical head, communicates well, a smart and sensitive dude. I think he'd be great in business strategy, maybe athletics administration. But he has so little recent work experience and is pushing 60.

The ADHD means that composing the perfect 20-min business communication can take two hours. Obv this does not translate well to successful work and can make it stressful. I think he takes meds and experiences limited benefit. His happy place is spending hours reading the paper and going down rabbitholes of news analysis.

Given his age and the ADHD time suck problem, what might be out there for him? Even part time? He's healthy, he can travel, he's near a major metro area.

I deleted a whole paragraph of TMI for context, and have shortened that to: His partner makes good money, so this is more about him finding rewarding productive work that he can do to augment the household income.