What do you do
when you are literally crippled? Watch a lot of TV and movies and eat. That was what I thought but I get a bit restless. Breaking my foot give me a taste what it is like to have movement challenge. While mine is relatively minor kind of immobility I realize how much difficulties it brings to daily chores.
When you are immobile everything in the house goes to hell in a hand basket fast. Dirty dishes pile up, fruit flies in the air, you don't want to cook a real meal, and let alone pulling out the vacuum cleaner. The house is becoming a pig pan fast.
the met's parsifal was on my local PBS station this past sunday - it is 5 hours long
daniele gatti has been conducting a lot of met's operas recently
the costumes are modern and minimalist
One thing on Brunnhilde's maintenance punch list is fixing the power lock on the rear door. With the mechanical key I can unlock it but cannot lock it (and as a result cannot lock all other door locks)
Well it cannot be easier. I just have to wipe off the dried grease on the electrical contacts. It seems a lot of auto mechanics don't know you should never smear lubricant grease on these contacts.
this is one of many simple meals i made - linguine with canned smoked oyster in cream sauce
When I
installed the backup camera system on Brunnhilde last year I installed two cameras. One mounted just below the third brake light and the other on the license plate. The one on the license plate is just a low cost one from Amazon. I initially was quite please with it's performance. Unfortunately it's poor construction only became apparent until the rainy Oregon winter.
The image became very blurry. Examining it I could see what looks like water condensation on the lens as well the transparent covers for the IR LEDs. Obvious the cause of water/vapor intrusion is due to the leaks on the glue seams of the plastic housing. I verified the leak by sucking the seams with my mouth.
I would very soon found out I could not remove the craze on the lens caused by the vapor condensation. Without vacuum apparatus I put a glass jar with a big bag of desiccant into the microwave oven to remove the water content. I then put the camera into the jar and placed the lid. Every with many repeat of this process the craze remains. I knew it is more than water condensate. I suspect there is solder flux and may be other contaminants.
review camera i mounted onto the license plate - it became blurry due to condensates on the lens
While the camera cost only $25 I didn't want to just throw it away. I devised a way to flush out the contaminants without taking the risk of trying to open it along the glue seams. I drill two small holes on the housing which I can patch with glue later to close them back up.
With a 3cc syringe I pumped rubbing alcohol into the cavity. I then drain out the alcohol and flushed with more alcohol. I also use tap water to flush it. I can definitely see the result immediately. The lenses became clear. However I have to figure how to remove all trace of water and alcohol. I resorted to using the blow gun with my air compressor in my garage. Still due to the small size of the holes I could not completely remove all the liquid.
you can see the small pool of alcohol in the lens if you look carefully
i use a 10cc to flush it with water
this is the discicant and jar microwave oven method
of course you don't put the camera into the microwave
cannot help but to notice the Kitchenaid mixer is really a re-badge Kenwood (the UK Kenwood) similar to one I have
Back to the camera. My luck will have it that the pressure of the compress air popped the glue seam of the plastic housing. I was so please this happen as removing the trace of liquid is now trivial.
closeup of the camera assembly - it is actually quite nice; you can see one can adjust the degree of wide angle and then use the screw to lock it in place; the device at the left front is the light sensor for ambient light
I dried the camera in the hot sun and then glue the housing back together with Tap Plastic's
plastic repair glue. Tap's Plastic plastic repair glue is the only glue I found effective in repairing thermal plastic.
At the mean time my local rep for the water level sensor called. The special order has arrived from Germany. Spencer Fluid is nice to work with. Just one phone call and they contacted the German manufacturer and call me back to confirm it is for the right application. They only charge my credit card when I pick up the part a few months later.
they have some pretty big hydralic parts
the will call area
the new sensor has stainless steel shaft which enclose the "electronics"
It has only been 6 days since the surgery and I have my follow-up appointment with my surgeon. The nurse cut open my splint. Next is two x-ray images for my surgeon to examine.
the left is before the surgery; the right is 6 days after the surgery in which a metal screw was installed
Everything looks good and my surgeon was satisfied with the progress of my healing. While he recommend and gave me a supportive boot he actually allow me to start gradually putting incremental load on the foot, as long as I am careful.
my new darth vader's boot
Brunnhilde has a Fiamma F45i awning. It is 3 meters wide and about 2.5 meter deep when deployed. Fiamma awning is used by a lot of RVs and campers it is sets the standard and quality. I have never use it and probably will rarely in the future as I often camp at breezy places. I am considering replacing it with a compact and smaller unit that can safely deployed in places where there is potential for sudden gusts of wind.
fiamma awning deployed - the fabric is virtually new
For the Fiamma I also have this tent that I have never used. I set it up to take some pictures in case I want to sell it. It is a custom made unit built with heavy material used to make boat covers.
close up of the inside side of the fabric
there are 4 zipper windows in all - all with insect screen
the tent takes just a few minutes to erect onto the awning
removing the heavy Fiamma awning entails the use of the step ladder - i was extra careful with my foot
the much more compact awning called "
shady boy" which i bought from wolfgang long time ago for my VW Westfalia camper
In order to install the Shady Boy awning I have to fabricate an adapter. I have designed in my head of an adapter fabricated with 1/8" sheet aluminum which requires bending it at a shop. To complete the dimensions and some design specifics I set up a mockup using a length of 2x4 lumber. The wood lumber allows me to judge the optimal mounting point of the awning with respect to the sliding door. Unlike the factory installed awning which is heavily bias towards the rear of the camper I want it more center around the door opening for best protection from the sun from all three sides.
my aluminum mounting plate will eliminate the need of these brackets for the Fiamma awning
the shady boy is fastened to the wood with just 2 drywall screws and big washers
erecting the shady boy is really easy
the fiberglass battens and poles
seeing a cantilever awning is quite a sight
the tie downs and vertical poles installed
for the tie downs i just attached the plastic hooks to the steel wheels
Just by eyeballing the awning with respect to the door opening and the visual balance with the vehicle I plan to move it forward 11 inches. At this location it is still slightly bias towards the rear. Moving it more forward will look awkward.
With the Shady Boy awning I think I will use the awning a lot more. I have never once use the Fiamma when camping. I estimate there is a saving of 60 pounds not including the weight of the tent.
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