Projects – Page 6 – john paganetti

To Do:

Ain’t Gonna Work by Leftover Salmon
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/los1996-03-16.flac16/los1996-03-16d1t01_64kb.mp3]

So after my first week of class, I’m enjoying things here. I’ve got a three day week, with four classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and only one on Wednesday. That leaves me with a four day weekend again this semester, so I’ve got to remember to do something with it this time around.

I honestly don’t remember what I used my long weekends for last semester, but that probably just means I was hanging out, listening to music or playing games. Not gonna do that again (listen to this ambitious talk). I’m going to use my weekends for productive things.

Buy a bus
Convert the bus
Learn banjo
Get Landshark moving again
Write/film 4D:TVGS
Homework, maybe

That sounds possible, I guess.

Frustration

Its understandable that sellers think highly of their buses, because of the original price they likely paid for them. But as soon as these buses get on in years, they lose value considerably. The average prices on these things is around $2000. Lately, the average reserve is higher.
I’ve seen dozens of buses […]

I’ve seen dozens of buses on eBay end without sale. So many, any of which I would have gladly bought. Sellers are setting reserve prices higher than they will ever get. This is the main problem I’ve had buying buses so far. 7 auctions have ended in which I was the high bidder, but the reserve price wasn’t met. Its starting to bug me. I just wish sellers could start setting realistic reserve prices so auctions would end with a winner.

Foiled again

So…
There were 4 bus auctions ending today. I bid on one before I went to sleep, and though I was the high bidder, the price hadn’t yet passed the seller’s reserve. When I woke up shortly before the auction ended, I had been outbid by a couple hundred dollars, but the reserve still […]

Next bus: I was outbid, and when the auction ended, the reserve was also not met. The third bus was higher than I wanted to bid, and it ended at about the same price as the second bus, with the reserve not met.

The fourth bus is the only one without a reserve price, but the current high bid is over $3k. So that’s out as well. Desperate, I went to the next bus on my watch list (this is the bus located in CT), which ends in a few days. I bid my max ($2150) and was immediately outbid by the previous high bidder.

So…crap. Turns out January is not a very good time for buying used school buses. Mid-December was incredible, but I wasn’t yet ready to buy, so I held off. Let that be a lesson to you, if you should ever have to buy a school bus, do it mid-December.

Looks like I’ll be waiting a while, and may not get a bus this break (I will get one this semester). Hopefully that’ll work out in the end.

Prospects

Well, I’m looking at a few buses on eBay, many of which end in a couple days. Also, somehow most of them are also located in Texas. I have no issue with going to Texas to pick up a bus, especially when they look as good as these do. Thanks to Texas weather, these buses have a lot less rust than buses in the Northeast. Here is an example of the buses I’m looking at (there are two more that are practically identical from the same dealer). There is a reserve price, and the high Buy It Now price makes me think that these might go above my budget, which is less than usual thanks to the cost of getting down there.

There is hope, I’m also looking at a bus for sale in CT, which I would love to get. Its a beautiful bus, but it is also a ‘95, meaning it’ll probably also go out of my price range.

The quest continues, and even if I can’t get a bus before I go back next semester, I’m willing to wait until the perfect bus comes along. That isn’t a big issue, since I wasn’t going to be able to work on it much while at school. My only concern is that prices may go up once spring/summer come around…

Outbid

No surprise here. I knew that I would be outbid from the second I threw my hat in. My bid was just barely above the guy before me, and the current bid was high enough that even if someone bid the minimum increment, they’d have me beat. Oh well.

Looking ahead, this bus catches my eye. Its massive, with lots of storage and a side door. In fact, this bus has everything going for it except that it is on the other side of the country. Now, I’ve got no problem going 6,000 miles (round trip) for my bus, but I am concerned that something could happen to it. That’s a long haul, and if it isn’t in perfect mechanical condition then it may not make it back without issue.

I think I’ll give him a call later today and see whats up.

New Year, New Blog

Mr. Transistor (w/Auld Lang Syne) by Perpetual Groove
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/pgroove2007-12-31.flac16/pgroove2007-12-31d3t01_64kb.mp3,http://www.archive.org/download/pgroove2007-12-31.flac16/pgroove2007-12-31d3t02_64kb.mp3,http://www.archive.org/download/pgroove2007-12-31.flac16/pgroove2007-12-31d3t03_64kb.mp3]

Well, sort of. This blog isn’t going anywhere, but I’ve created a new blog for the Juan Way Tour so I can keep its updates and such all in one place. I think I’ll have that stuff all cross-posted on this blog, so if you already read this blog, you won’t have to read that one as well. But if you should want to read about the tour without the rest of the crap on this blog thrown in, it has its own home.

Its Almost Time

Kickin Up Dust by Robert Walter’s Super Heavy Organ
[audio:http://ia310129.us.archive.org/2/items/rwsho2005-08-19.flac/rwsho2005-08-19d2/rwsho05-08-19d2t01_64kb.mp3]

I’m selling the ~$400 of stock I have tomorrow, so I can get that money by the time I’ll need it. That money should put me at almost exactly $2000 to spend on a bus, which should be plenty. I’m planning on picking up a early 90s bus with around 120k miles on it, somewhere between 36 and 40 feet long. In a perfect world, I would have bought this bus. But the timing wasn’t right, the price ended up higher than I wanted it to, and it was in Montana. A bus that fits my needs will come around, I just hope I don’t need to wait too long.

My dad was trying to persuade me to buy something smaller, so I could use it as a day-to-day vehicle. He encouraged me to look at box trucks, step vans (UPS-like vans), or even just fullsize vans. I get where he is coming from, but I really am looking for a dedicated roadtrip machine. I’ll still use it as a day-to-day vehicle, in spite of the impracticality of it, because it is so incredibly novel. Even though I have no intention of buying notabus, I took a look at what else eBay had to offer me.

I wasn’t too impressed by any of the vehicles my dad suggested to me, but I’m glad I looked around, because I found eBay Motor’s Emergency and Fire Trucks section. Yes, you can buy fire trucks. They’re actually quite reasonably priced. I am a happier person now that I know that I can buy a fire truck on a whim. But what is really interesting about this section is that I discovered ambulances. They’re perfect for live-in vehicles. I’m not talking about ambulances that are just significantly modified vans, but the ambulances that have a massive box for a back-section.

They are tall enough for me to stand in, they already have a bed, electrical setup, air conditioning, and they have access to the cab. They’re also decently cheap (<$5k for a decent one). I would love to buy one, but I figure at most six people could stay in one, and that would be tight as hell. I figure I’ll buy one after I’m done touring with lots of people. An ambulance is perfect for a solo trip, or a trip with four or fewer people. You don’t need a special license to drive them, and overall they seem to be pretty comfortable living. I’m watching this one. Again, not intention of buying, but I’m going to keep it in mind, for future plans.

Bus things

While my Guitar Gently Weeps as done by Jake Shimabukuro
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/jshimabukuro2006-06-09.RevivalTent.superlux.flac16/jshimabukuro2006-06-09t09_64kb.mp3]

Well, part of the original plan with the bus was to have it as a traveling wifi hotspot. I’m starting to think that is no longer necessary. Several things have changed since then.
1) There are far more hotspots than there were three or so years ago when I wanted to do that. Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, other random places all have wifi, and they are by no means uncommon.
2) Everything I would have wanted an internet connection for can be done on a cell phone. Blog posts can be made by email, photos and videos can be taken and then uploaded from the phone, Google Maps are accessible on most phones as well.
I think I’ll still bring my laptop, but I think I’m going to be much less reliant on it. That should save some power, make it easier to travel, and I’m sure there are some other benefits as well.

I’ve been watching eBay for a few months now, and it seems the cheapest school buses are the 40ft flat-nosed buses. And of course the fact that it is winter helps push down the price a little. So that is very likely what I will end up with. I’m in love with this style of front end, although I’m not sure why. It just looks perfect. Unfortunately that is only on mid-80s model buses, and that may prevent me from getting one in that style.

One way or another, I should have a bus by February.

Mall

So it seems someone has already tried living in a mall, even if it isn’t exactly how I envisioned it. This may be even cooler. Michael Townsend lived in the mall for four years while it was still running. See his site here, or listen to an interview with him here (streaming below).

[audio:http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_383_A_Home_In_The_Mall.mp3]

Desert Sea Lion Recap

See The Light by The Breakfast
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/breakfast2007-10-06.483.flac16/breakfast2007-10-06d1t03_64kb.mp3]

Saturday morning arrived, and I woke up early. I had a mission, which was rare for a weekend. But I had to save the desert sea lion. When we concieved of this idea weeks ago, the original idea was to chill in the dining hall for a whole day. Somewhere along the line, we thought to make a fake cause to justify hanging around all day. Later on Ali came up with ‘Save the Desert Sea Lion(s)’, which stuck.

So on Saturday morning around noon, I arrive in the dining hall with some poster paper, some lined paper, and some markers. I dick around and eat until more friends start to arrive later on. We draw up a sign on the poster paper, and set it up hanging off the side of the table. This is when people start to notice us.

Part of our idea was to have a mailing list that asked for really intrusive and personal information. The first draft of this included Social Security Number and Sexual Activity. Most people quickly caught on that it was a joke when they saw the mailing list. We revised it to see if we could really get some signatures. The new mailing list asked for Name, Blood Type, Eye Color, Shoe Size, and Y/N. Note how none of these have anything to do with sea lions, or how we don’t ask for any sort of contact information on our mailing list.

We were able to get some signatures before a serious looking guy walked up to us and told us we would have to move outside. “We don’t let the guys with Bibles in here, and you can’t be here either.” So he set us up with a table right outside the entrance of the dining hall, and said we’d be able to go in and get food whenever we wanted to, we just couldn’t try to save the sea lions inside. So now we’re VIP. We also have a little more credibility since people are used to seeing folks outside the dining hall for one reason or another. More and more signatures fill the page, until we have to start another list. Most people didn’t question the relevance of the things on our mailing list, or ask about how we would contact them.

A couple listened to our story of the Desert Sea Lions, and signed up, although they were a bit skeptical. They left, only to come back five or so minutes later and erase their names from our list. They told us “We just Googled it and it said they don’t exist.” I’m curious where the page is on the internet that says “Desert Sea Lions Don’t Exist.” (here)

We wanted to change up the mailing list anyway just to see what would happen. It seemed in line with the rest of the stuff we were doing (facts we proclaimed changed from person to person). Our next mailing list asked for Name, Blood Type, Eye Color, Date of Birth, and Hometown. This drew even less questions than the first mailing list. I’m not sure how that’s so. This information is much more important to a person than Shoe size or Y/N. During this round a girl casually mentioned as she was signing that she was an Animal Science major. Eric asked if she had heard of the Desert Sea Lion. She told us “Yes, but I didn’t know they were endangered…the Discovery Channel is a wonderful thing.”

The second page of signatures fills up, and our third changes it up again. We ask for the same info as on the second sheet, but GPA replaces Date of Birth. This page fills up as well, just as the dining hall is about to close. All in all, over one hundred people concerned about the plight of the desert sea lion. Incredible.