About a year ago, we gave up on finding a person or agency that could render any of our graphic-rich books into ebooks. So Rick Gordon, our Director of Production, decided to create Shelter ebooks in-house.

Marathon: You Can Do It!, by Jeff Galloway, was the first one. It works on an iPad (and iPhone), as well as the Kindle, and it was a beautiful job; it went on to qualify for a QED (Quality/Excellence/Design) certification from Digital Book World. This certification is given to ebooks that pass a rigid test of quality, functionality, and compatibility. It was also a finalist for a Publishing Innovation Award in non-fiction. See review of it here.

Ebook available here.

Tiny Homes, the 2nd one, was more of a challenge; it contains 1,300 color photos. In May 2012, Rick completed the job, and the (fixed layout) ebook version of Tiny Homes is now available for the iPad (not Kindle). I don’t know of a single ebook of this complexity that compares to this one. It maintains virtually the exactly look and feel of the print version. It even looks good on an iPhone.

Ebook available here.

Stretching Now Rick has completed the e-version of our best-seller (over 3 million copies), Stretching, by Bob Anderson. This one, the biggest technical challenge so far, has lots of interactivity, and some unique and very useful features for navigating through the book and saving personal information.

We had over 20 responses to an earlier post for beta testers and tests are now under way. We’ll make an announcement once we deem it ready to go.

This guy came into our booth yesterday and I handed him a mini book. He promptly passed it over his shoulder to his kid. I expected the kid to drop it, but no, he started looking at it while working on his pacifier. This is Phoenix Davidson; parents are Michael & Angelica Davidson.

Got up at 6, just as dawn was breaking. Wish I could say I do this often, but I don’t. When I do I get 3 times as much done, everything is so quiet, exquisite, as the day unfolds.

  As I write this, right now on BBKing’s Bluesville, “I’m Tore Down” by Freddie King. “I’m tore down, I’m almost level with the ground.” Next: “Temptation” by Kelly Hunt. Shit, what great music!

 Change in the weather last night. Feels good. Been unseasonably warm. Fog now in, storm coming. Rain, rain (+ neg ions), come our way…

   I gotta say, the election was a huge relief to me. For the future of Supreme Court, for just one thing. In fact I’m pretty fucking overjoyed to think that the Koch brothers and Carl Rove and the Tea Party and Fox and the Money Guys and Trump/Limbaugh/other mean-spirited, controlling people couldn’t buy (and lie their way to) the election. This just happened in America and it reminds me that there are things that I love about this country.

Now on radio, Buddy Guy with “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember,” done live in the Sirius blues studio. Great vocal harmonies.

Tiny Homes On the Move: Water & Wheels We’re in full gear. I’m corresponding with dozens of contributors. Material is coming in daily. Much from the UK — lot of nomads there. I’ve got about 50 pages roughed out. The book has come to life, as our books do once underway. Mojo workin.

   It changes from day to day. About 25% so far are “Water” (houseboats,sailboats, tugboat); 75% “Wheels” (house busses, house trucks, RVs, trailers, vardo, vans). I sort of schizophrenically juggle this blog, all the necessary pub biz necessities, and working on the book (and getting out to the beach). Both Lew and Evan are starting to work on the book. Lew on various vehicular homes, Evan on snowboarder Mike Basich’s truck/camper and 39′ sailboat, and some bike guys.

Tiny Homes at San Francisco Green Festival this Weekend We’ll have a booth, be selling Tiny Homes (plus other building books) for 20 bucks, giving away the mini (2″x 2-1/2′) books. Lew, Evan and me. It’s at a great venue, the SF Concourse Exhibition Center, which is like a big steel and timber barn. Sat-Sun, November 10-11, details here.

Stretching, the eBook Rick Gordon is putting the finishing touches on the iPad version of Bob and Jean Anderson’s book Stretching (which has sold over 3 million copies and is in 23 languages). When Rick started putting together our 1st eBooks, none of us realized that he was going to do such a masterful job. Jeff Galloway’s Marathon is head and shoulders (in design and ease-of-use) above any other running eBook in Apple’s library. Then he did Tiny Homes and it’s spectacular — even on an iPhone. The electronic Stretching looks really good. It’ll work on an iPad, also on an iPhone (dial up “Airplane Stretches” during your flight, or “Hotel Stretches” when you travel…).

Green Smoothies We just got a Blendtec super-powered (3 hp) blender. I’m making drinks with fresh fruit and greens (parsley, kale, spinach, dandelion roots, or carrot tops). A lot of times I get going in the office and skip lunch and this is a great solution. Interesting comparison between a juicer and a blender. With the latter, you get all the fiber. When I realized that, it was, like, duh…Not just carrot juice, but the whole carrot.

   Yesterday I made pancakes by adding 1 cup of oat groats, eggs, buttermilk, and baking powder (+ a little baking soda) —  blending, and voila — batter. This is a wonderful tool (better late than never). I got it with two books by the Boutenkos which are exceedingly relevant in explaining the principles and providing recipes. Here it is on Amazon.

Elegant Mini Reading Glasses You can put these on your keychain; I keep a pair in my fanny pack. They fold up tiny. For whenever I don’t have my backpack (with regular reading glasses). Discovered here on CoolTools (my favorite blog in the world). NOT available from Amazon; let’s hear it for the manufacturers!

As I sign off, it’s Slim Harpo doing “I Got Love If You Want It.”

Boy have I been in a funk. Partly due to a banged-up shoulder, partly the hot dry weird windy weather, partly lack of exercise, partly too much time on road. Takes me days to catch up upon return. I’m stayin  home a whiles.

  Weather shifted dramatically this morning. Way cooler, clouds in sky, feeling of vibrancy about. Along with 2 tiny cups of crema Malabar Gold monsoon espresso, and a great blues selection by Bill Wax on Sirius radio’s blues station, things are lookin up. For ex., “Ax Sweet Mama,” by James Luther Dickinson.

Tiny Homes on the Move: Wheels & Water is rolling (and floating), about 40 pages laid out. Each book we do is like setting sail for an unknown destination. Here we’re out in the ocean, wind in sails, charting course as we go. Exciting!

Google Do I love it! I can find just about anything. For example, at times I’ll get a Goole Alert to an article I’m interested in; if the link doesn’t go anywhere, I can type in a sentence quoted in the article, and bingo!

TV of Late

Treme Great episode last week, lots of good music (by previously obscure authentic New Orleans musicians), wonderful scene between La Donna and the Chief (who was Lester in The Wire), exquisite acting (and communication and humor) between two powerful people.

Boardwalk Empire I’m back into it. Gave up on it last season, but it’s now in a really good mode. Nucky more human; costumes, era (prohibition—1920s-30s) impeccably portrayed.

Bill Maher The closer the election gets, the more relevant Bill is. Last night the most contentious panel ever, but with great appearances by Gary Hirshberg of Storyfield Farm with totally convincing reasons to vote yes on requiring GMO labeling, and Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone telling politics like it is.

https://www.real-time-with-bill-maher-blog.com/real-time-with-bill-maher-blog/2012/10/18/guest-list-october-19-2012.html

Read More …

https://grooveshark.com/#!/search?q=memphis+slim+sassy+mae

Finally back to work on Wheels & Water book, after two trips. Today doing 4 pages on a young woman living on (and sailing) her own sailboat. I’ve got about 15 or so pages lined up to lay out now. Such good stuff.