Update: Cruise Condo internship, fundraising, and talk

[Patri Friedman]

We have completed some initial research into this business, including
talking with someone at ResidenSea, and touring the ship:

http://seasteading.org/blogs/main/2009/06/03/condo-cruise-ship-challenges
http://seasteading.org/blogs/main/2009/06/12/james-patri-tour-residensea

Also, there is a new cruise condo assisting living venture in Florida
which looks very likely to be the 2nd actually launched operation (not
just an attempt) in this space:

http://seasteading.org/blogs/main/2009/07/01/new-retirement-cruise-ship-project

The main result so far is that operational costs are key. If we
cruise continuously around the world like ResidenSea, the costs will
be out of reach. If we sit in a port, the costs are reasonable, but
with no freedom, tax advantages, or excitement. The key question is
whether we can find a good compromise between these.

In order to explore this, TSI is starting a fundraising drive to raise
$4,000 to hire an MBA intern who will develop the business plan in
more detail, and (if necessary) pay for data on cruise ship
operational costs:

http://seasteading.org/votewithyourwallet/shipstead

Here are the internship details:

http://seasteading.org/node/937

Donations and applicants are both welcome!

Also, I am working with community member Mikolaj Habryn, who will be
giving a talk on our cruise ship research to date at our upcoming
conference:

http://seasteading.org/interact/events/conference09