Just like I said on your blog, people are buying ads on paidbypixels rather than donating to the trip. For every block a person purchases, they get an ad rotation on our network. I think people are getting results because they keep returning to purchase more space on the pixel board.

No one has ever been quite so interested in our personal or business finances before.

It’s not hard to know how or where we spend money we make. All you have to do is watch the shows, read the blogs, and follow our twitters. The same will be true for the trip. The more money generated by paidbypixels, t-shirt sales and DVD sales, the more money we’ll put into technology on the bus.

One of the cool things that would dramatically impact the kind of video we would produce on the bus would be Iconix HD RH1 cameras. They are the world’s smallest HD cameras and they can be mounted anywhere. The cameras themselves are inexpensive, but the cost of the gear to control them adds up quickly. If we can afford it, we will install the cameras along with a computerized switching system that would enable us to shoot from anywhere in the bus (except the bathroom).

Our goal is to figure out a way to share as much of the trip with people who are interested as possible. Fully realized, people could bounce over to BigTrip.TV and see whatever is happening live. That’s almost impossible technically at this point, but we’re working to land as close to that target as we can.

If they’re selling their house, why are they trying to raise $400k with PaidByPixels? What’s that going to be spent on?

There’s no delineation between personal finance and business finance (and we’ve already established the Big Trip is a business venture.) On top of that, they’re asking for “donations” through PaidByPixels, which implies it’s a charitable venture. You don’t “donate” money to a business.

And again, I’m not saying they shouldn’t do it. But it’s simple common sense to tell people where the money is coming from and where it’s going. They *must* have already figured this stuff out, because it’s basic information that the tax man needs to know.

As I’m Dutch, I can’t say much about what happens in the US other than what my friends who life there tell me. That, and the American media.
Like almost anything else, things do tend to polarise in the American Media. Positions are extreme while the truth tends to lie in the middle.

Global Warming is a fact. that in turn does not mean that temperatures will rise everywhere. If for instance the icecaps melt, this will change the salt content of the ocean, and slow or perhaps even halt the Atlantic conveyor. This in turn will make Northern Europe a lot colder.
My own country (the Netherlands) is pouring billions of euros into reinforcing and increasing dikes because the sea already has risen, and will continue to do so. For us, the prediction of ice-free polar caps in the near future ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7139797.stm ) is not a happy one, and not just because of the polar bears.

@Dom,
Concerning the Money for the RV. Neal and Lucia are selling their house (and most of it’s content) in order to buy the RV. What is going to happen to it? It’s their house!

http://blog.domramsey.com/tech/shiny-happy-environmental-fascism/

We also returned his Geek Brief Paypal donations.

Cali said people were asking what they could do to support the trip. I had always been intrigued by the Million Dollar Home Page project. The guy who did it sells the script. Value of pixels can be adjusted, so we cut the value in half and set aside $50,000 worth of ad space for Heifer International. That makes the total potential of the page $450,000.

It’s essentially a market place for advertising on our network of sites. A block of pixels = an ad rotation. You see those ads in the upper right corner of GeekBrief.TV, iCali.TV, DearCali.com, Carnivore.TV and nealcampbell.com. It’s an easily accessible, inexpensive way to get exposure across our network.

I applaud your decision not to allow Gore and his goons to bully you into thinking their way. Frankly, I’m pleasantly surprised to hear you say it. (I don’t know you all that well, obviously.)

I, myself, drive a fairly fuel-efficient car (Honda Element), but not to save the Earth so many worship more than the God who created it (and is the only one with the power to destroy it, ultimately). I do it to save some money, to try to keep the air a bit cleaner, and because I believe the thing will last longer between repairs.

If my wife and I had the good fortune and inclination to travel across the country, though, you better believe we’d be looking at an RV. One thing’s for sure: you and Cali will be burning decidedly less fossil fuel than Gore does flying about in his private jet to “spread the word”. (Look, quotes!)

As soon as things take a more pleasant turn financially for my wife and me (I’m hoping soon), I really want to help support the Big Trip. (Note the lack of quotation marks.) By the way, the PaidByPixels thing is brilliant. Did you guys come up with that on your own?

On an unrelated topic: Have you and Cali decided on what to name your RV, or are you waiting until you buy/lease it first, so that you’ll get a better feel for its “personality”? Do you intend to appeal to your listeners/readers for suggestions at some point?

Best of luck,
Sean

I said I was concerned by your use of the word “fascist”, not that you’d called me one directly. I know people who had to flea Nazi Germany during the war, so I’m particularly uncomfortable with that word being used with something as benign as looking after the environment.

@Tony - two separate issues. In terms of the content of the show, I’d rather see them go somewhere cutting edge. And at no time have I said I’m against travel - just that Neal and Luria should at least *consider* possible environmental impact.