Ouch! My sore arse...

Now I know what a gay man feels like! My arse is still very tender after sliding down those stairs the other day. Indeed, it's now a nice shade of purple. I did wonder how close to the purple of the galley area of the bus it is but it would be hard to color match and I'd have to get somebody else to hold up the color matching cards. I don't think the world is quite ready to see my bare arse!

Today I fully intended to get to work on the coil for the front door unlocking system but as soon as I got to the thing, the glue had failed where I'd glued the enamel wire to the brass tube. That was addressed by cleaning the glue off the tube and the wire then wrapping aroud and spraying with varnish. That should hold it. If not then I'll have to go back to taping it.

Meanwhile, those with longer memories will recall my bathroom vanity. I'd cut a hole in some wood to make the original kitchen fixture back around January and then subsequently recycled the wood when I built the current vanity to include the original handbasin that came with the bus. As that handbasin totally lacked any means of securing it to the vanity and as it also had two large holes for water piping that I coudn't easily fill, I removed it and replaced it with a piece of OSB cut to size.

Today - even though it was pouring with rain, I took that OSB to one of the abandoned sheds on m'lady's land and sprayed it white. The paint dried to touch dry astonishingly quickly given that it was - as I said - pouring with rain. 

Having sprayed both sides, I took the OSB to the bus and set it in place. I'll screw it down tomorrow. It had been dark, rainy and overcast all day so by the time it was dry enough to put in place, it was already dark.

The plan is to stand a jug and a bowl on the vanity top. Think back to the Gary Cooper westerns where in the hotels there was a chamber pot in the room and a bowl with a jug for washing. This setup gives me so much more flexibility because after washing I can just open the emergency exit door (conveniently situated to the left of the toilet) and simply chuck the water out. In more regulated climes, I can empty it into the bucket underneath the vanity ready to empty at leisure. Now the downside of this arrangement is that unlike an ordinary handbasin, I now have nothing that doubles as a urinal unless I use the shower. Fortunately I do have my bucket and I suppose that could double though it'd have to be scrubbed every time it was emptied or it'd begin to smell. On the other hand since Walmart buckets are $2.50 and the lids $2, it's no hardship to treat myself to a new one every now and then.

Thinking about the front door unlocking mechanism, if the current electro magnet idea doesn't work then I might work on some kind of cam mechanism and an electric motor. That stands a reasonable chance of success though it would have to be designed such that it doesn't remain in the unlocked position.

When the rain finally stops, I'll be able continue with construction on my battery compartment. That will first require the battery compartment floor components to be derusted, painted and welded into the compartment. Then I'll paint the whole compartment. The sides will be thinner and riveted in place after the whole thing has been welded underneath the bus.

I realised I should try to get the bus retitled as soon as possible. I need to get the plumbing under the bus completed which will basically be a downpipe going to a U bend then down to a tap that I can close when I don't want to let water out. Being closable also means it's a way of keeping critters out.

Cooking is an interesting thing. For cooking, the answer could be electric, gas or tea-lights. I've been reading about cooking using tea lights and how many preppers use tea lights for their cooking needs. I already know how to blanch almonds using a candle and a spoon but this is more interesting. I like the idea of using tea lights as the worst that can happen handling a tea light is that it melts in the heat or bounces on the floor when dropped. Unlike liquids or gasses, they're much more controllable. They also keep almost forever and the biggest thing of all - they're pretty darned cheap. Now the downside is soot but as I was already going to have to install some kind of exhaust vent, it shouldn't be a great problem.

Thinking about exhaust vents, I could put one at the top of the window I filled in or I could make a hole through both layers of the roof. On the whole, I suspect they both have the same number of problems. The biggest will be leakage and then insulation. I don't think welding will be a good solution for the vent.