2011 ends tonight and I will soon begin a new year of adventure seeking.  Yesterday, I took my new HD video camera out into the city to begin producing a video of my Denver.  I am getting another introduction into the 'seems easier in the conception phase than the implementation phase'.
Fortunately, the weather has been kind the last few days.  Highs in the mid 50's and lows not sinking into freezing temperatures.  That changes back tonight, but I am prepared with a new propane filter that should allow my heater to run longer.
The bulk of this past year has been spent in Denver.  I am enjoying my time here.  I look forward to what the new year will bring.

Christmas in Denver

I have been enjoying the Christmas season here in Denver.  I went to Casa Bonita, a mexican restaurant with an indoor cliff diving show.  I was a guest of my friend Leanne's family.  17 of us went to this cultural eatery.  I won't lie to you.  It wasn't exactly culinary genius in the meals but the atmosphere and company made it a meal to remember.

Leanne (her brother Mike and sister in law, Tamzin, in the background)

Leanne's daughter, Amy Caroline and her friend Kaila.

 Leanne's Mom getting serenaded by the house band

Me

One of the performances during the meal.









For Christmas I received my coveted boots and waterproof video camera among other things.  I haven't gotten any worthy video yet but I look forward to posting some from it soon.  I wear my boots all the time.  I do switch them out when I will be doing something really dirty (like working under the bus).

I have a little video of 3 clips I took during this last snow.  (All taken on my old camera)  Normally I wouldn't post because I didn't have enough to make a quality video but this will show the kind of snow we had before Christmas.  It all fell within 12 hrs.  Denver has had more snow this year already than all of last winter, according to the weather service.  Freezing temperatures following the snow made for interesting driving situations.

The video shows me on the bus after the snow has been coming down for a couple of hours, then Nala running in the snow and finally me driving the work truck with John down snowy Colorado roads.

It feels like Christmas season

The cold in Denver seems to enhance the holiday spirit.  There is still snow on the ground from the storm over a week ago.  Every store I walk into is playing the requisite Christmas music.  It just feels like Christmas this season.
My friend in town, who is also acting as my local mailing address, has told me that I have received several gifts already.  Thank you in advance to those who have sent me presents.  Now I have something else to look forward to this Christmas.
My latest cold weather challenge is condensation. The bus has it's own climate system. Moisture from my breath, my pet's breath, wet snow tracked onto the bus and cooking cover the ceiling and windows with condensation.  Then it will freeze as the temperature drops at night.  Then I turn on the heat, it melts the condensation which drips down.

The condensation gathers at the ribs because the I-beam supports conduct the cold from the outside.  No way to insulate that part without losing valuable head space.

It has stepped beyond being pesky to actually creating an issue.  It dripped onto the keyboard of my full-sized laptop and caused several keys to stop working.  Fortunately, I have my backup netbook, that I am currently using.   I thought about getting a dehumidifier to see if it helps.  First problem, nobody sells them here.  Walmart carries humidifiers only.   I guess the dry air of Colorado doesn't warrant carrying something like this.  So I searched online and was surprised at how expensive they are.  I am regretting not getting the $10 one I saw at Goodwill a few years ago.  I am not going to invest over $100 for something that may not work or requires too much electricity to be effective.   So I just bring out my towel and wipe up as much as I can.  The trick is that the water evaporates out of the towel and gets back on the ceiling.  All I do is delay the process of getting dripped on by a couple of hours.   I just have to be cautious watching movies on my laptop late at night.
Good news, I am becoming acclimated to the cold.  Once I suffer through temperature on the negative side of zero, temperature in the teens and twenties isn't nearly so bad.   My bus starts regularly, with a few shots of starting fluid.  The air brakes haven't had any more issues since I last de-iced them.  (Although I plan on getting some anti-freeze stuff to put in the air lines, just for insurance)
I am enjoying myself and feel like I am tapping into an inner strength that has long been dormant.  I have to suppress the urge to mock the cars that pass me on the road with their fancy heat and fog-free windshields.

The return of the Smartest Man in the world

In my last post a few hours ago I wrote about my air brake issue.  To sum it up, they didn't work because of the extreme cold.  I had guessed that my air compressor had given up the ghost or I had a clog.  Through my brilliant (some might call it Mensa-like) deduction I identified and corrected the problem.  Once again I feel like the smartest man in the world!
I started by taking a online crash course in Air Brakes.  I knew that moisture can accumulate in the hoses and with sub zero temperatures the day before, I suspected frozen hoses.  Problem was finding and removing the clot.  I don't like to brag...(much), but the operation I preformed was akin to a skilled brain surgeon removing a clot.  I got the bus cranked (no small feat in itself) and let it run the entire 2 hours I worked on the capillary like hoses.  I crawled under the grime covered belly of the beast bus.  I opened the petcock that I normally use to drain water trapped in the air tank.  It usually greets me with a whoosh of air spewing out.  This time is was a pitifully small hiss.  I used the unlikely mechanic's tool, the hammer.  I find that getting all Neanderthal on pesky mechanical parts is a good place to start.  Actually, I just gently tapped the tanks and copper lines going into the tanks.  My intention was to loosen any loose ice pieces (clots).  Isn't that the way all the top surgeons start?
Long story short...I tap, crawl out from underneath the bus, run into the bus, rev the engine for a few minutes, stare at the non moving needle on the air gauge dial that is stuck on 0, grab some rubbing alcohol and cut tips, crawl under bus, shove alcohol drenched Q-tip into air valve, crawl out from under bus, rev engine, suppress panic when needle still doesn't move, and repeat the whole process 20 more times.  About the 20th time the needle starts to move.  It was working.  But when I pushed the brake pedal, it dropped to zero again.  I resumed what I was doing and I got positive feedback when the tank started to spit tiny ice balls out before clogging again.  After two hours of this madness, I finally got the needle to go to 120 PSI and stay even when the brake was depressed.  I kept working though because I didn't want a clot to get loose and clog another tiny copper hose while I was driving down a traffic light infested road.
I finally felt safe to drive it 15 miles and I am happy to report that it works like a champ.  It is particularly satisfying because I have only the most essential, basic knowledge of air brakes yet I fixed a major problem with the system.  My confidence level went through the roof.  It has been awhile since I have had that feeling.  I solved it all by myself....renewing my claim to being the smartest man in the world.  Even the mechanics in the area that I spoke to knew nothing of air brakes.  
I am not even concerned about the cold weather tonight because I am still aglow from my accomplishment.