Welcome to my adventure shack
Hi I’m Marcel, a fullstack web developer and digital nomad. I have more than 20 years of business experience with building interfaces, apps and server integrations.
Check out my place or drop me a line, Cheers!
Character Sheet
| Name: | Marcel Wilhelms |
| Nickname: | Willi / Chaos |
| Profession: | Software developer and adventurer |
| Personality: | INTP-A / Logician |
| Strengths: | Big picture & out of the box thinking, hyper focus |
| Weaknesses: | Creative chaos, prioritization, 0 or 100 |
| Attributes: |
Web Development
Remote team communication & tools
Wordpress & E-Commerce
SEO & Accessibility
API Design
Vector Illustration & Animation
Server Development
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| Special Skills: |
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I travel a lot - full time
In 2014, I moved to the US and started travelling full time with my wife, 2 kids and our dog. Right now, we explore North America in our self-converted van.
| Countries in a van: | USA, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland |
| Fav places: | Lamar Valley / Yellowstone - USA Flatruetvägen - Sweden Lofoten - Norway Stuart, FL - USA |
| Fav memory: | 1. Sitting on the roof of the van, drinking tea and watching reindeer roam beneath auroras. That was magical! 2. Hearing grey whales sing while I was spearfishing and getting greeted by a leatherback turtle in Mexico. |
| Time on the road: | 10 years |
Hiking, running and bikepacking
I live for adventure and being out in nature!
| Trail Running: | I've run in all countries we've camped in, usually wearing my Altra Lone Peaks or Bedrock Kairn Sandals. My last race was a half marathon through Valley of Fire, NV. However, I prefer running & exploring by myself far away from any humans |
| Backpacking: | It's awesome to get the family on multi day hikes, even the dog gets all excited when we get out the backpacks. We prefer the mountains and alpine lakes |
Our tiny off-grid living capsule
We were lucky and got one of the few vans before the pandamic messed up all supply chains. We bought a regular crew van and I fitted it out myself.
The goal was to build a little survial capsule that is suited for boondocking all the time with enough space for lots of toys, gear and comforts.
| Name: | Ellie the Elephant |
| Van: | 2019 Mercedes Sprinter Crew 2500 |
| Setup: | 170" high roof, V4 gas engine with 9-speed automatic |
| Average MPG: | around 16 MPG |
Appliances and Features
| Roof windows: | 2x Dometic Mini Heki in the front, one Dometic Midi Heki in the back |
| Range: | Force10, 2 propane burner, gimballed |
| Fridge: | Nova Kool RFS7501 212L Refrigerator and Freezer AC/DC |
| Wood stove: | Tiny Wood Stove Dwarf 3kW lite |
| Dining area: | Swivel seats and 2-seater bench |
| Storage: | Lots of cabinets, we use every inch |
Electrical
| Batteries: | 200Ah Battle Born lithium |
| Solar: | 420W |
| Shore charger: | 30A Victron shore charger |
| Inverter: | 500W Victron inverter |
| Antennas: | MiMo Antenna, Starlink Dishy McFlatface, Verizon hotspot |
Water
| Water: | Sink in kitchen and shower in bathroom |
| Water filter: | Travel Berkey |
| Fresh water: | 30 gal (4 jerry cans and one tank underneath the van) |
| Grey water: | 5 gal underneath the van |
| Black water: | None, we installed a composting toilet |
Construction
| Van upgrades: | AO suspension kit and 2 seat bench |
| Lumber: | 1/2" baltic birch ply wood, bed & counter is 3/4" |
| Insulation: | Havelock Wool |
| Fabric: | 4-way stetch felt and 3M glue for hiding the metal inside |
| Bed: | Slide out bed frame made from 80/20 extruded aluminum |
| Table & desk: | 2x Standard Lagun Table System and swivel seats |
| Mounting stuff: | Magnets, bungee cord, double sided velcro |
Random stuff we carry in that poor little van
| Food: | Copious amounts of fruit, meat, cheese, lots of ice cream, 7 tins of green tea, dog food, cook books, mason jars, pots & pans, a blender, a kettle ... |
| Clothes: | Clothes for all seasons for 4 humans and one dog, winter boots, flip flops, running shoes ... |
| Kids stuff: | Legos, lots of toys, books, school books, stem experiment kits, a microscope ... |
| Bikes: | 4 bikes on the DIY bike rack made out of 80/20 extruded aluminum, 4 helmets, frame bag |
| Boards: | 2 inflatable stand up paddleboards and 3 skateboard, sadly no surf board |
| Gear: | Climbing gear (2 ropes, 4 harnesses, shoes, Edelrid Ohm, GriGri etc.), 6 backpacks, 2 tents, bear proof food canister, swim vests ... |
| Making music: | Electric guitar, guitalele, ukulele |
| Tools: | Some Ryobi battery powered tools, wood processing tools (foldable saw, chain saw, axe), general tools, shovel, recovery gear and sand boards, snow chains ... |
Always connected!
This is my never ending quest to find usable internet wherever I choose to go and work. Ehm and Netflix, that's kinda important too. Ususally, we stay somewhere wild in the boonies, which makes for epic camp spots, but hard to be connected. These things ensure us to be connected:
| Starlink: | Yes, we rock Dishy McFlatface on top of the van. Satellite internet is an absolute game changer, still a little bit cumbersome for travelling, but the only way to be connected in remote places. |
| Cell Data Hotspots: | We use several hotspots from ATT & Verizon to connect to nearby 5G/LTE/4G cell towers. On top of the van, we installed a MiMo antenna for better reception. In the past, we've found a truckload of awesome campsports without any cell towers nearby - before Starlink, we had to leave those spots on our quest to find usable internet |
Software development and the right tools for the job
Besides crafting forntends and layouts, I am trained to work on the whole enchilada - I feel right at home on the server side.
What I do all day
I am mostly a frontend developer working fully remote in my mobile home office. I am working on several projects, including UI/UX/API development. Tools of the trade:
Oh Mr Cody
The best travel dog one can think of. Seriously, he's the goodest boy, always watching out for his hoomans. Throw his frisbee and he’ll love you forever!
Food! I like food!
I eat a lot of stuff to fuel an active lifestyle. I try to pay attention to nutrition, metabolic health and quality food in order to get my brain working.
| Fav Breakfast: | Coconut flakes, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, coffee beans, berries, kefir |
| Fav Dishes: | Poke Bowl, Sushi, Steak, Ramen, grilled seafood with guacamole |
| Fav Beverages: | Green tea, turmeric ginger tea, kombucha, sake on occasion |
Skateboarding
I'll spare you my oldschool shaky fisheye videos from the early 2000. I started skateboarding when I was 14 and shredded obsessively for some years.
Now I'm a grown ass human and still find inner peace when I grab my board. Since I'm in nature most of the time, I started skateboarding in the wild. Mother nature builds some great features! Favourite spot: dry lake bed close to Vegas.
Favourite Skater: Rodney Mullen. Dude, he's just great. Watched his THPS2 video a million times when I was a kid, now my kids play the same game on Switch.
Most of the time, I do wear clothes
Since you’re going through my stuff anyways, here's what you find:
- Trucker hat keeps my hair under control, minimal Arc’teryx logo
- Plain shirts, some national park memorabilia or printed with my stuff
- Do it all shorts, always ready to hike, swim, run, bike, relax, sleep ...
- Barefoot in camp, otherwise bedrock sandals, altra trail runners for more technical trails, skate shoes when on a skateboard
- Warm hat that keeps my head warm and hair under control
- Ginormous down jacket and a fleece hoodie underneath
- If I absolutely cannot wear shorts, it's Prana pants, hands down
- Winter boots with an extra wide toe box
Chop Wood!
Since we like it cozy, but have a track record of getting snowed in all the time, we need a reliable heat source.
Heck yeah, I like to chop wood - and yes, there is a tiny wood stove in the van, so we can camp in conditions like this:
I love books
Since the van is small enough without a private library, I got a Kobo Ebook reader. It goes everywhere I go.
I read all kinds of books, whatever I find interesting at the time. Classics, biographies, non fiction, science fiction, fantasy, dystopia or post apocalyptic.
| Fav fiction: |
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| Fav non fiction: |
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| Latest book: | My latest project is reading the japanese original version of Kiki's Delivery Service from Eiko Kadono. It’s a part of my japanese studies, but so hard and so veeeery slow |
Virtues & Values
Not to say what I’m doing is all that special or anything, but at least I’m trying to be a decent human being. I’m putting in the effort to craft the life that makes me happy and feel the most fulfilled. These are the virtues and values I try to incoorperate into my life:
| Family First: | Be there, show up 24/7 and nurture your inner circle. Care for the people around you |
| Mindful: | Be active, not passive and radically take responsibility over every situation you're in |
| Simplify: | Make it easier, less complex, focus on the essentials in order to substain your efforts |
| Substain: | Exercise preventive care for body and matter, nurture and repair, everything requires effort to maintain |
| Endure: | Strengthen mind and body in order to overcome hardships without taking damage |
| Chaos: | Creative chaos is what makes you chase those soul fulfilling visons no one else can see |
| Curiosity: | Learn a bit of everything and combine knowledge. Save the child in you, it’s important to play |
| Feel: | Everyone and every thing radiates energy of it's essence and spirit. Let your spirit be positively influenced by the energy around you |
| Sprezzatura: | Focus on the important part and don't aim for best, aim for yours, inject soul |
| 80-20: | 80% of outcomes (or outputs) result from 20% of all causes (or inputs) for any given event |
| Re-evaluation: | Never ever run on auto pilot. Constantly ask yourself, what can be done to improve the situation |
| Humility: | Exercise the attitude that you have no special importance that makes you better than others. Calm your ego. Be kind and respect every being. |
| Risk: | Take risks, be bold, fight for a cause but pay attention, don't be dumb nor careless |
| Tribe: | Be stoked and passionate and likeminded people start to gravitate towards your effort |
| Misogi: | Do something so hard and intimidating one time a year that it has an impact on the other 364 days |
G'day, I'm Chaos
Chaos does not mean total disorder. Chaos means a multiplicity of possibilities. Chaos is from the ancient Greek words that means a thing that is birthed from the void. And it was about that which is possible, not about disorder.
Chaos is my nickname.
Usually, my tools are scatterd and supplies are distributed evenly, creating an environment of creative chaos. That's just how I work, that's how I create.
In my oppinion, chaos is essential to creativity and unconvential ideas. One needs to make mistakes easily in order to learn and improve. Order on the other hand creates an efficient box with no space to roam, no space to step out of the line.
Cleverly combining pieces of information in an unusual way is what sets us apart from machines. As Robert Ford once said: "Evolution forged the entirety of sentient life on this planet using only one tool: the mistake." And chaos supercharges the environment for those unevitable good mistakes to happen.
Music
Hang in there ... comming soon ... maybe
Artsy and stuff
I love to scribble and play around with lines and different styles.
Tea is liquid life!
Green tea is my comfort and unreasonable indulgence, ordering straight from Japan (yes, I've visited the plantations in 2023). The van is packed with tins of high quality loose tea, ready to pick me up and recharge my soul.
My favourites: Gyukuro on weekends, Fukamushicha or Sencha on weekdays, Kukicha or Matcha in the afternoon. Sometimes I mix dried elderberries in.
Let's drink!
I don't know why I have developed such a taste for all foods from Japan, but it's soo tasty and mostly good stuff.
| Kombucha: | Yum! Kombucha is a type of tea that has been fermented. This makes it a good source of probiotics, which have many health benefits and makes you feel great. Favourite: GT's strawberry serenity |
| Sake: | Ice cold sake is refreshing in the summer, you can heat it up in the winter or just drink it with room temperature complementing a seafood dinner. Favourite Sake: Rihaku (Wandering Poet) and Soto (Junmai Daiginjo) |
My Zodiacs
I'm a Taurus born in Fire Rabbit year and my lucky number is 2.
Now you know my birthday, congratulations!
Some quotes I like
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.
Overspecialization can lead to collective tragedy even when every individual separately takes the most reasonable course of action.
Adventure Time
Man, I am all for adventure & exploring the wilderness and usually it's the beasts that get me all exited.
| Fav Encounters: | Black wolfes, foxes in all colors, tarantulas, mountain goat babies, curious manatee, humpback whales, rays, sea turtles |
| Least fav encounters: | Grizzly bears, rattle snakes, bighorn sheep on the trail, alligators, anaconda torn to pieces |
| Special animals: | Bison & reindeer, these two have a special place in my heart. I love Yellowstone and seeing all seasons the bison have to go through is amazing. While in Skandinavia, I ran / travelled / lived with herds of reindeer for many weeks. |
* I also like Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time a lot!
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