Pictures from the other day… Laura Ruth, part of the P-coat shooting squad, wields a giant gun… the other is Dad showing his skills with a bow and arrow….


Same ol stuff going on…

comcast....

Comcast knocking on wrong doorHey Buzz crew,As an avid listener of your show, I thought you would be interested to know that Comcast has begun a disinformation campaign regarding the digital TV conversion.My doorbell rang this past Sunday afternoon (Thanksgiving weekend) and I answered the door to find a young woman from Comcast with a list of the subscribers in my neighborhood, the services they received, and their monthly package price. She proceeded to inform me that as of February 2009, the FCC was requiring Comcast to cease transmitting analog signals to their subscribers and that I would need to move to their digital package. She pointed out that I currently pay $95 for a basic channel package and Internet access and that I could get their triple-play which included voice for $99. We walked through the pricing as it would actually be for my nine-TV household (Hey, I'm a geek), and that it would be more like $160.I proceeded to inform her that she was incorrect in how the FCC change would and should affect me and, being the well-informed BOL listener that I am; I then proceeded to educate her on how the digital transmission actually worked, that the FCC is mandating cable companies continue to provide analog service those of us that don't see the need for digital TV and that I was not thrilled that Comcast was using this as an opportunity to rake their customers over the coals. (OK, so I'm a luddite geek.) We spoke for about 30 minutes, during which she asked how Verizon's FiOS service worked and I introduced her to the concept of a la carte vs. package pricing for cable TV subscriptions. In the end, she apologized for not being informed and promised to check out the FCC Web site.My biggest concern after speaking with her is how they will play this with older subscribers that may not be familiar with this technology change. She indicated many seniors were on a special $16/month plan and would be pushed into a $60+/month setup if they believe what Comcast is telling them.Love the show and many thanks for keeping me well informed to fight the Comcast machine.Keith AlbrightQuakertown, Pennsylvania

Always learning, today I learned two things… 1. How you end up with spam, and 2. people at our insurance company think they know everything, I seem to be getting a lot of that lately.

In addition my boss was talking to some folks today and was given an interesting objection to the suggestion that they purchase an aftermarket warranty. “The Lord is going to come back in 3 years and we will not need it…”

I met my new bos today, Seems like a nice guy, I am happy about that.

above, a nice engine that i wish i had, and two cool busses....

Rain Rain Rain…. it is nice to finally have some rain. The creek behind work has risen significantly, however I do not believe that it poses any threat to the campers. It’s fun to look outside and watch sticks and logs float past on their way to the sea, (eventually I suppose.) I would have liked to go kayaking, I don’t know if anything actually came up but I am overdue some river time.

Getting my car registered has been *(^&*(%^ annoying! I believe I finally go everything figured out. It has been a “learning experience on many levels,” maybe even a life lesson. We will just leave it at that.

I have been thinking more and more about moving away from chatty, I never have wanted to before. The only place I really would consider moving to would be North Carolina, that’s not in the cards right now… I think I am more interested in the thought of distancing myself from aggravations. I guess we all know that I / we don’t have to leave town to do that; it’s just a bit more difficult for some reason.

Today I need to do some school work and then tie up some loose ends. I made a list but left it at home, rats.

Past few days have been pretty much standard… not to much going on to speak of. Thanksgiving went well, ate some food… talked to the family… pretty much about it.

Tomorrow I don’t think that we really have any plans… we’ll see what happens. I would still like to go shoot my .22, but I don’t know if I will be able to convince Melissa that shooting would be a fun way to spend part of a Sunday afternoon…

Went to the "nice" Mexican restaurant out by the mall last night, it kind of sucked... Amigos is far better... Today we ran out to get Melissas window fixed and then i worked on the bus for a bit. was able to get the the brake lights working (important) and also the fuel gauge. I messed with the gps for a bit and still can not seem to get the aux power to work. It may be time to replace it with a tom tom... i probably will put it on ebay soon, it you know anyone who wants a nice garmin gps v let me know. It works great, I simply like that i can use my mac with tom....

Tomorrow we are going to have din din at the fam's, no plans after that, we may go down to the country and shoot my .22, I have had it for 2 years and never shot it... tomorrow may be the big day. If not, i don't know what we will do... Last year we went to hair of the dog with jonny pantz... it we do that tomorrow we could almost call it a tradition.

I've been looking at dual carbs for the bus... I may round up a set here soon.... with the funky gearing that the bus now has; a bit more power would help. I defiantly want to stick with a single port engine for the torque, but the dual carbs should open it up a bit.... on top of that, nothing beats to look of two carbs on an air cooled engine.....

Dad had a good idea for paint on the bus... i think we are going to go with a white top, leave the middle OG green, and the paint the lower half white... not sure what color to paint the bumpers, probably green... i like the patina look and there is no reason to spend bunch of time working on something that has chronic rust... this bus will be great to fiddle with for another year or so, then I'll find my so23...

Got a new job lined up, still at the shop but I will be moving from finance to parts, special order parts to be exact. I will be leaving my nice corner office that reaches the mid to upper 90’s in the summer and is constantly facing the sun, sacrificing my view of the latke for something that has a little bit better hours. The sales department is making a change (they will be open on Sundays and until 7:00pm from March till October) and I don’t foresee myself being able to handle not getting home till 7:30 or 8:00 every night. I was really torn up about the change all weekend but after a good talk with my boss this morning and laying out some sort of schedule for the move I am pretty excited.

Tonight I have class, not looking forward to that, and tomorrow should be a fairly easy day. I plan of taking back the ratchets that I broke, doing some home work, and getting stuff ready for my move. I also will probably shadow the guy I will be working with for a bit; I hope he is nice.

The bus is running pretty darn good, my break problem was a result of collapsed soft brake lines which were letting fluid go to the wheel cylinder but not letting it return to the master cylinder… it only took about an hour to fix…. and about a week to figure out what exactly it was. Next on the list is the following:

Fix fuel gauge
Fix gps wiring
Run wires for tachometer and amp gauge
Start the dreaded body work
Work on the registration

What a weekend… The get-together went well… Sunday I felt pretty lazy… basically I was sleeeeepy… didn’t step outside the house till after 2. I sat in bed and watched top gear on the computer…

We eventually wondered outside the house and went to target… there were kids everywhere, all running around screaming with toys making noise, I really thought I was going to have a panic attack.

After that it was back to the couch, we watched a few episodes of “Long Way Down” and called it a day.

I am intensely jealous of Ewan and Charley. The ride, the adventure, their friendship, bacially the whole romantic idea of it all... It really is one of the best shows i have ever seen.

“Did someone say MARGARITAS?” -As you can see Melissa is excited about this weekend!

Work should not be really busy until later today. That’s nice, it gives me a chance to catch up on some things and get some stuff ready for tomorrow. After dinner last night I pretty much went strait to bed. I am hoping that I don’t have to stay at work terribly late tonight; there are quite a few things that I need to get done in preparation for the weekend. We have to pick up a machine at the rent-all tomorrow and the bus needs to be running. I also need to get all the crap out of the garage. In order for that to happen I’ll have to bust-it tonight and accomplish the following:

-Remove the front wheels and;
Adjust the breaks, and add lock nuts to the spindles
Replace the speedometer cable
Connect the horn wire… {It lives under the driver side front wheel}
-Disconnect the emergency break, and the bleeder valves on the rear breaks and find out why the Drums are locked up/ tight.
If am able to get this done I will weld up the spacers I made
-Check the Trans fluid level, I will need some added I am sure!
-Adjust and bleed the front and rear breaks
-Fix the fuel gauge, easy… lengthen the wire from the gauge and attach it to the wires at the ignition switch.

Last night I made an attempt at fixing the leaking axle seals in the bus… it was a bit of a mess to say the least… it was raining outside so there was condensation on the ground, then oil Leaked out of the trans, then I put cat litter on the ground to soak it up, that turned to some sort of grey stinky mud. The trans oil smells like a psychedelic drug the drums would not go back on the axles b/c the breaks were rubbing… AHHHHHHH. I thought about setting everything on fire.

time to wash your jeans...

Another week ticking away, yesterday went by fast enough, nothing really eventful, work, class, dinner, TV, sleep. Pretty much sums up everything, although I did wash my jeans last night. I think that it has been right over 1 year, they didn’t smell bad but I thought they felt a little itchy; so time for a bath.

They look like a different pair of pants, much more “blue” the little lines are very prominent… whatever, they are just jeans….

Drove the bus again today… everything seems to be in working order. I am not satisfied with the breaks. I am sure that that has to be with the adjustment of the pads and also the leaking axle seals…. Either tonight or tomorrow night I plan on taking care of that. It’s fun to drive, a totally different feel. The gearing is really strange, I think that I will eventually need to put a larger engine in it or change the transmission to one from a bug. That’s a ways off though; right now it’s time to enjoy all my hard work.

Speaking of hard work the jobs never done, here is what’s next;

-Change bearing caps, axle seals, and adjust rear breaks.
-Fix the horn wire, easy but need to be done
-Fix the fuel gauge; I broke this when running a new wire from the ignition to the coil.
-Check the trans fluid
-I NEED to get this thing registered… uuuggggg RED-TAPE!
-Need to find two lug nuts that are not messed up


Un-important tasks are as follows;

-Swap speakers from the cruiser to the bus
-Continue tackling the body work
-I want 2 lights on the bumper… I know, I know I have a thing for lights…
-flip the vw logo up front so it is upside down….

Well got a call from the alignment shop and the Trans is leaking… Stupid bearing caps… the guy I got the axles from insisted that they were correct, I thougth otherwise but decided to go with what he said; again… another reason to do everything yourself. I have the correct ones at the house (soaking in a cup of gas…) time to put them on.

Good weekend, had some sort of guy’s night Saturday. It was fun, I suppose we were feeling adventurous and swung by the Indian Mahal… it was pretty good actually; I had NO idea what to expect although I was pretty sure that I would be burned by some exotic spice. Everything was mild enough, I would go back sometime.

After that we tackled the fire pit, and smoked cigars. I don’t think I’m sold on cigars. One of those things that's fun once a year, like a Krystal burger.

Sunday we went to church, I’m a little down on our church right now. That pretty much boils down to most everyone in out sunday school class being a prick. I’m not sure how that works, what happened to the brothers and sisters in…? After church I wrestled with the yard for a bit, I ran the weed-eater out of string then mowed.

I was able to get the bus running. I actually drove it to work! It was a little bit of a scary drive. Not as bad as the first one, but still a little scary. I’m going to take it up to the alignment shop here in a few, hopefully that will help a bit. I am also going to have them alighn it and run through the brakes. They still are a bit squishy.

My boss is out of town this week, things should be fine. I don’t think that is will be –that- busy, we’ll find out.

$753.34

Yesterday and today I have felt a bit bedraggled… work has been sort of s&%*%y and on top of that I have been feeling a bit insecure I suppose. That comes and goes, no worries, it just gets old.

Last night we took a trip up the mountain to see some of Melissa’s mom’s watercolor paintings. They were very-very good; she defiantly has natural ability. Art shows are so funny, I like [no scratch that] LOVE looking at the prices people think that they can charge for their work… How presumptuous it is. Value is so relative; price is not what someone thinks it should be “worth” but what someone is willing to pay. Art of any caliber, I believe, should be sold on a “make an offer” basis. But what do I know.

After the show Melissa and I went out to eat, then watched SURVIVOR MAN, great show :-)

Not sure what the plan is tonight, maybe we’ll tackle the fire bole?

No coffee this morning… I feel a little grumpy… yesterday I had “empty head” so time to cut back….

Last night we had a family dinner at Melissa’s. It was a good time; one of her cousins was in town from Texas… he seemed like a great guy! I was told before hand by Melissa’s grand mom that he “didn’t have quite as much personality as his brother, but was very nice…” He was defiantly not deficient in the personality department. I’m pretty sure that she thinks I’m bland and void of any personality after that comment. Dinner was g-r-e-a-t and I got to hear some fun family stories! A good time!


Work today is about the same as yesterday. I have a good deal of things that need to get done, however I’m stuck waiting on things. Tonight we are going to do the run-around and then eat with some folks.


Next weekend is Melissa’s birthday, I need to put together the fire pot that we got from lowes last week and also clean up the oil that is spilled all over the garage floor. Aside from that all we need to do is plug in the little fridge and fuel up the lanterns.


Saturday night/ Sunday I am planning on:
-going to church
-doing some homework
-cleaning up the oil spill
-putting the fire bowl together
-cleaning up around the house and yard
-giving the bus a light tune up.
-fixing the wiring problem
-possibly dropping the rear of the buss a bit more so it matched the front and decreases the caster issue I think I am experiencing; I can’t stomach the idea of raising it up after working to make it low for so long…

Well I figured out that some of the poor handling jonny pantz and I experienced on our test drive yesterday is probably due to the caster being out of whack. The front end sitting lower than the rear apparently has quite an effect, well that and it being out of alignment. It is recommended that I either drop the rear to match the front, or raise the front up a bit to match the back. I initially wanted to leave the front low and change the tires, but I now I believe that JP was correct in his suggestion to simply raise it up and inch. Hopefully this will help.

I was able to find some brake bleeder valves at the store today and also picked up a few bits to mend the electrical shortage… I should not be able to get everything ready to take it to the alignment shop Monday morning, Thursday at the Thursday at the latest.

By then I think we’ll be ready for a longer test drive; one problem at a time…

alive?

Today i worked on the bus... got the wheels back on, the breaks, etc... I thought I was ready for a test drive.... pulled out the drive way... made it about 100 yards...

yep, the ol' dog crapped out; 2 hours later, thanks to the idiot Manuel, I was able to take a cruise through the park. Apparently the wire that goes from the ignition to the coil is/ was broken. I was able to get it running by taking a wire and running it from the battery to the coil... a cool trick!

Jonny Pantz came over and we went for another drive... Honestly it was a bit scary. There were shakes, grinds, bumps, shimmys, jerks.... everything seemed to be "almost" working but not quite. Upon consultation it was decided that the bus needs the following:

-Either switch the tires or raise it up a notch. I think I will switch the tires...
-It neeeeeeds an alignment...
-The breaks need some work...there has got to be some air in the lines ....
-The electrical problem needs to be addressed...

I believe that's the major stuff, surly there are other things that will need to be addressed... one thing at a time.

The rain gutter on the bus sits at 60 inches... right at my chin. It looks good and kind of mean. Honestly a little scary to drive....

alive?

Pictures of Popeye (i think i posted this picture a while back but i can;t remember,) and a bus I found a few months ago. I left a card on the bus, I hope I get a call…. I doubt I will… but we can always hope can’t we?

It's a pitty, such a nice bus verry little rust to speak of and OG paint with pressed bumpers... Makes me SICK to think that it's just sitting there...

"God, I hate school."

crappy test tonight, ugg... so much for my "A" in the class... i'm have to do well on the next test.

Anywhoo... per fedex parts should be here tomorrow, so maybe late tomorrow night, or at the latest wednesday at lunch i'll be taking the bus for a spin! I can't wait!!!!

back to class, this guy just won't cut us a break.

Yesterday was a good day. Woke up and wondered around for a bit… Melissa and I didn’t make it to church, we should have… but didn’t. I worked on the car for a while and was able to get a good bit of stuff finished. I finished welding up the steering box guard, found out that the trans isn’t leaking, or as of last night was not leaking (yesss!!!) Lowered the beam another notch, and then stripped the breaks off in preparation for new parts. After that I cleaned up around the “shop” for next week’s margarita party.

The bus is about an inch lower in the front than the picture, Wednesday we’ll be going for a test drive!!!

Jonny pantz had this posted, i borrowed it from him;

“The following statement may be attributed to Sena Fitzmaurice, [Comcast] Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Government Relations: ‘Consumers in apartment buildings and condos across the nation received a blow today from the action taken by the FCC. The result of this decision is likely to be higher prices for services and years of litigation and uncertainty for consumers. The significant concessions building owners have been able to bargain for on behalf of their residents will be lost.’”

I HATE COMCAST!

Yesterday I got to spend some time working on the car. I was able to accomplish a few things;

-Connect the drag link
-Gave the car a rough alignment (this will need later adjusting)
-Connected the shifter rod
-Connected the shifter (this will need later adjusting)
-Raised the front suspension a bit, then decided it was better left low
-Adjusted the front breaks
-Put the front wheels on and rolled it into the driveway to take a look
-Connected the emergency breaks, made some spacers for the cable out of some spare bolts. (A quality .10c JRS solution to a $60 problem)


I started to bleed the breaks but I think that due to certain circumstances they are beyond repair. This sucks, new break parts won’t be here to Wednesday… Aside from the breaks I need to:


-Fill the trans w/ fluid & clean the new (old) bearing caps I got off the Samba incase I need them.
-Tighten the massive bolts holding on the rear drums (220ft/lbs.)
-Adjust the clutch cable… it’s very loose.
-Finish the breaks of’ course
-Tighten a few bolts on the beam
-find two new lug-nuts, two of the ones I have won’t work for whatever reason…
-Clean out the inside, it is absolutely filthy!
-re-install the front rack
-trim the bracket I made for the steering box protector, as it turns out when you depress the break pedal it hits the bracket… a design flaw…whoops!

Aside from the breaks, there really isn’t that much major work left to do. Lots of piddley things but I believe that that is what makes a project, and also what make the difference between a successful outcome and a failed attempt.

When I had the car out in the driveway I forgot to snap a picture of it, the one above has pretty much the exact same suspension setup and about a 100000x better body; when i am standing next to the bus, (i'm about 5'7") I can almost see over the roof....

Last night I played Chef Justanky. For those of you that don’t know that is my chef alter-ego. I wasn’t much of a chef, I just cooked some tilapia….in a pan, for 4 min, then flipped it over and cooked it for 4 more min. Regardless the fish was good, and while it came pre-seasoned from fresh market. I’m going to take credit for it. I guess my chef alter-ego it’s really much of a chef. Oh well.

Tonight I want to work on my car, I am going to have to do home work some time today. After reviewing the progress, or lack there of from Wednesday night I decided to order new break lines for the car, I plan on replacing all the metal lines and wheel cylinders on the front part of the bus, and maybe two of the hard lines that go to the rear wheels. I figure its cheap insurance, $45 for new lines… easy choice.

Tonight I want to get the following accomplished:
Connect the shift rod and the shifter
Connect the drag link
Connect the remainder of the hard lines to the breaks
Hit some of the bolts holding the beam up with the impact wrench
Adjust the front breaks
Attach the emergency break cables
Adjust the beam up one notch
Work on a rough front end alignment

If I’m on a roll I want to mount the front wheel and roll it out of the shop a get a picture of it… I doubt that will happen but I am pretty sure that next Wednesday night I’ll be taking it for a spin.

1. Good fall beer, integral to the success of the project.

2. Side view of the beam, nice welds.

3. Front view of the beam

Yesterday went by pretty fast, in the a.m. we ran around, picked up some soap and some other bits we needed around the house. I did some home work, then just wondered around waiting on fedex to deliver the beam… around 5:45 it arrived…. An appropriate time for something that has takes nearly three months to receive. Regardless the quality is very high and it was very easy to install. I worked on it for a bit last night. I was able to get the beam in, the spindles mounted, and the breaks and backing plates on. It’s still a long way from driver status but we’re on our way…due to certain happenings I probably will have to replace some break lines and parts… part of the learning curve we’ll say.

Work this week has been brutal; this place has a very unique way of wearing you down. I guess being gone for a week made comeback a little hard, but regardless there is something about walking into a building every morning that seems so void of personality and deficient of the sensation that I/ we/ them/ are attempting to offer.