BusBuilding

For all the Busnuts out there, no better way to usher in the New Year than swappin’ lies and enjoying more than one hundred coaches, at Jack Conrad’s…

BUSSIN’ 2006!

Wannabe’s Welcome
Thursday, December 29, 2005 through Sunday, January 1, 2006

Early Arrivals OK - beginning on Monday, December 26, 2005

To be held in Arcadia, Florida at Horizon Coach
(approximately 90 miles S/E of Tampa, Florida)

Room for 200 + coaches. DRY CAMPING ONLY

One of my primary criteria in designing Evangelina’s layout was that to the greatest degree possible, every usable cubic foot have at least two uses. I’ll add to this explanation later, but for now here’s the floorplan.

This layout is almost unheard of. I’ve seen quite a few coaches in person and have looked at literally thousands on the web. NObody does it this way, so it is *not* a recommendation, ok?

If you traveled with a family or other groups this would not work at all, but as my travel and living plans only concern one or two people I want to use every region to its highest advantage. I just couldn’t bear the thought of allowing almost 1/3 of the coach to waste away as the sleeping chambers when one doesn’t spend much conscious time there.

The side-hinged murphy bed is by far the biggest contributor to the space savings. This area will double as a study/office when not in evening use. Other features include a countertop which slides over the cockpit area to allow for some 16′ of counter space in the galley, and a sliding countertop on the curb side which doubles as a breakfast counter. There’s also a sliding closet which doubles as a door and lives in the shower area when not in use. (with plans for an air-actuated cylinder to power it just like on Star Trek!)

Oops, I just noticed there’s a chair in the wrong place…oh well…

Ah, to be in the desert in wintertime…
When I get to Quartzsite, you can be sure to find me

at The City Bus Cafe!

[update: the link is broken. That’s a shame because it was a neat site. Maybe it will fix itself soon.]

How to solder
MAKE’s soldering primer, and another for beginners and novices alike from the Edinburgh Engineering Virtual Library.

[MAKE]

A great way to choose a calendar:

VW Photo Calendar Voting just in…

Man, those folks are serious about their VW Vans!

Diesel Alternatives

“The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But, such oils may become in course of time as important as petroleum products of the present time.” That quote may seem like it came out of a recent environmentalist summit at some prestigious research university, in the wake of rising oil prices and unrest in t the Middle East. Ironically, Dr Rudolf Diesel himself, who ran his prototype engine at the 1912 Paris World Exhibition on peanut oil, spoke those words more than 90 years ago.

Fuels of the future in Solar Power and Alternative Energy