a girl with a secret past

So who is Tatyana? If you have read through some of my posts about Tatyana you would have already know the answer.

brunnhilde's fresh water level sensor failure

Just because it's made in Germany doesn't mean it is good. It is the case with Brunnhilde's fresh water level sensor. Westfalia has been using a similar sensor for a long time now, ever since the Vanagon Camper. The one in my a few months to 25-year old Vanagon Camper still works but not the one in Brunnhilde.

an dong market 安東超市

I have been shopping at An Dong Market 安東超市almost as long as I first move to Portland from Toronto. It is a medium Asian grocery store. I have seen the up and down of this store over the years. When the few larger supermarket like Asian grocery stores open it had a hard time staying afloat because of the loss leader prices the new stores was offering to rob away customers from existing stores. To me the price difference was so insignificant and I remain a loyal customer.

a new dish is born

I was down to scrapping the barrel as the old timers would say with what I have left in the refrigerator to cook with. Just some week-old vegetable and a tiny piece of pork belly that is also less than prime.

brunnhilde's power ports

I considered naming this post "how to make lemonade out of lemon. I decided not to least someone mistake that I put down the cup holder in Taytana's cabin is a lemon. It is not a lemon. In fact it is one of the best cup holder money can buy.

I have always loath the cigarette lighter jack. I don't smoke and cigarette lighter jack is only good for it's original design purpose - to light a cigarette. For used as a 12V power outlet they are big, ugly, and do the job poorly. However often did you find the device is not getting power because the spring loaded contact has jarred loose?

Disclaimer - this post is not intended to be an instruction for modifying the DC system in your vehicle. Should you choose to follow what I did, in part or in whole you are solely responsible for any potential risk or damage that occur.

brunnhilde's sound system's final touch

I had thought that the tiny 4" speakers in Brunnhilde's cockpit would have little contribution to the overall sonic performance of the sound system. Last year I replaced a number of elements of the sound system except the front speakers. While the Mercedes' factory front speakers with paper cone sound quite poorly, I just assume putting better after market ones would only contribute to marginal improvement. I have been relying on the bigger rear speakers to carry the load by biasing heavily with the "fader" setting towards the back.

brunnhilde's shower curtain

The first time I took a shower in brunnhilde I was so shocked to see the amount of water leak though the gaps of the bathroom door. When I examine the design of the door closer I realize it was not design to withstand any direct or indirect spray of the shower water. Something has to be done to resolve this. At the mean time I try to avoid spraying water in that direction. To do this in the bathroom with the old toilet you just take the shower sitting on the toilet.

a blog without words

I've a lot to write. It is late on Sunday night so ya all just have to wait. If Maestro Maazel could conduct the Ring Without Words I don't have a heartburn writing a blog without words. Here are some photos to tide you over and keep in suspense. No words after the jump - promise.

brunnhilde's slimming program - part 5

Today is the day to find out how well my hill billy engineering of the simplified grey water discharge pipe work. To be tested is the entire design utilize simple household ABS and PVC plumbing part resulting in a much reduced diameter of only 1 1/2" instead of the standard 3" used in American Motorhome. Also to be tested are the glue and mechanical joints I made.