Hi Folks! It’s Friday evening in Arizona… Good thing it’s evening. It has been crazy hot in Phoenix the last few days. It’s time for us to fire up the Phaeton’s engine and lift off again. We’re headed to a more temperate climate. Our route takes us northward until we reach Bremerton, Washington. I’m a speaker at SolFest on June 29th. While we have been to the Seattle area, we really didn’t spend much time there. It was a quick trip to help our son. This trip I suspect we’ll be there much longer. Perhaps a few weeks. We have a few things planned this time, aside from my speaking engagement.
We have been interested to investigate the numerous Bigfoot sightings. One of you mentioned a small town in B.C. Canada as “Bigfoot Central” (I need a reminder please, haha…). Also, there are a few people we know of in the northwest of Washington State who actively search for Bigfoot. I think it would be interesting to investigate these places to uncover more information. As we go about doing this you are included every step of the way. We plan to frequently broadcast to you on Connected (our LIVE Broadcast FB page) as we dig into this more deeply. Our plan is this; If we cannot provide you a LIVE broadcast we will record using one of our cameras to bring it to you whenever we’re able to. I have no idea about what reception will be in these areas. Kathy or I will keep you in the loop as this matures. Right now, we only have a vague concept where we’ll be at any time. I know this will come into focus once we’re there.
Additionally, the journey north takes us past several interesting places that Kathy already has plans to check out. I don’t have her list right now. She is still refining it (as usual). That mentioned, we will frequently broadcast as we travel into the northwest.
One thing we have yet to do is perfect our skills with the new drone, a DJI Mavic Pro. It’s an incredible piece of technology! The camera is the best we’ve ever used (Hasselblad) and we’re certainly excited to become better educated to use it as planned. As is the case with most anything, it takes time and a lot of practice. We haven’t had much time lately because of the repairs to the Phaeton and my clients most every day. That is changing now and we will master that thing, haha : )
Patreon Mission Statement & Tiers
I spent the day revising the mission statement and support tiers for our current and future patrons. You should read through both to see what we’ve changed and if you have any additional benefits.
For our mission statement I have altered things from our original concept. Now, it is geared toward the continuing journey as we travel. It’s so obvious now the ability to provide weekly broadcasts with interviews is impossible. While we might be able to bring someone in via Skype, the broadcast would never be error free. After numerous attempts to solve this issue I clearly see this is not possible. We require a really fast connection (40 megs upstream at least). The equipment we have now works really well (12 megs), and the connection is relatively solid. But, it is never going to be faster than 15megs. And that speed is not enough to accommodate two way video streaming for an interview and also supply a working signal for the broadcast. Technology just isn’t there yet. Maybe it will be with 5G, but it isn’t right now.
To better manage this, we have altered our original strategy to incorporate LIVE broadcasts at every opportunity as we travel and during investigations. Additionally, we will also be shooting video to be uploaded or shown during a LIVE broadcast to complete or add to any storyline. It’s a bit more effort but will make for a fantastic production when our drone footage is added in.
Kathy and I want your feedback. Take a look at the new mission statement and perks (mostly the same for the perks). Let us know your thoughts. Do you have any suggestions? Let us know… As we have repeatedly stated, we’re doing this for you. We are excited to include you as a member of our team, to have you “in the wings” watching and experiencing. As we continue to grow with this we feel an honest desire to include you in the evolution. Let us know your thoughts and ideas…
One final thing…
As has so often been the case, Kathy and I are once again living the continuation of our 20 year fantastic journey. Life has taken us around the world and through dangerous as well as beautiful places. For the greater part, it was Kathy and I, with friends and family getting a glimpse once in awhile through an occasional email and photo sent from abroad. Most never knew the depth of what we were doing until it was finished. For many of our family members, they were alarmed we lived such a dangerous life.
This is the first time we have embarked on such a journey with so many of our friends and family included into every moment, experiencing just about everything we encounter and deal with. It’s kind of like reality TV in a way… We are really excited to share as much as possible with all of you – the good and the bad, the joy and the not so great. It’s life… Unpredictable and wild at times. And like life, it’s filled with beauty and adventure, hardship and success. We’re happy to have to along for the next round of these fantastic journeys. Somehow, it just feels better knowing you’re there ; )
Thanks so much, folks… Love and appreciation sent to each of you!
Jerry & Kathy