Campervan fulltiming

keywords: bed and breakfast, camper, campervan, contractor, fulltiming, holiday, road trip, smbcc, travel, vacation, van

I am considering fulltiming.
I thought that my budgeting could be interesting to someone considering the same.

It may at first appear that not paying rent will save lots of money but it may not be so simple. The conclusion is not as I expected.

Here are the basic figures, rough and ready.

Previous Rent:
£350/month (all inclusive)

Van:
£350 rent / month saved
Current vehicle is next to worthless = £200 saved

Recoup on cost-
£7000 = 20 months
£5000 = 14 months
£3000 = 9 months

But if only £200/month saved;
£7000 = 35 months
£3000 = 15 months

B+B:
£90 a week x4 = £360/month + £40 for mistakes = £400 / 2 for 180 days (here for half the year maximum) = £200/month

2 years of b+b = £4,800
2 years of rent = £8,400

But interest on investments is also lost with Van:

2% / month on £7000 = £140
2 years at 2% = £3,360
2% / month on £4,800 = £96
2 years at 2% = £2,304

Conclusion:
Using a £4,800 van for 2 years could cost me about £2,000 more than B+B. I think this is worthwhile `luxury`[sic] to pay for, but you have to remember that it is negative equity and not saving money.

Notes:
It is a saving of just £200/month at max in b+b. This saving will be even little less if I stay in some other kind of free accommodation.
Selling on the vehicle not taken into account.
Insurance tax etc remains the same as it is a replacement vehicle for something costing similar.

Pros:
All the freedom of a camper. And I can actually cook!

Cons:
Cost. Clearly this is not an economic move.
To get a cleaner vehicle than what I have now I have to spend inordinately more. The longer I can drive around in a cheap vehicle delay making that change the cheaper it is. However, if I am changing the vehicle anyway this cost is reduced.

I'm a dog

keywords: hearing, supersonic, ultrasonic

I seem to have ultrasonic hearing! This is especially interesting as I've been in quite a few loud nightclubs (came out of one with my ears literally ringing and couldn't hear properly).

I wonder how good my hearing would be if I had looked after my ears!

I'm 26 but my hearing is apparently that of a dog...

thanks.


edit:: I asked my Dad if he could hear the sounds and he could too. So perhaps it's not reliable? Well, turns out he can hear bats squeaking too.

If it's true it's amazing that you can discover something like this about yourself after all this time. Amazing.

1984

keywords:: 1984, orwell, orwellian, privacy

I read 1984 for the first time the other day (2007).

As someone growing up in the 80's I didn't find it that shocking.
Part of it was because it wasn't completely on the nail (i.e. I think it takes a human face to make the boot).

But also these things I have always known - credit ratings (and credit underclass), CCTV, email logging, phone tapping, search at airports, passports, credit card, insurance prejudice, sham democracy, privately owned national banks, powerful media, no privacy.

I already feel and have always felt like the character in the book - so I identified with it but didn't feel how I was supposed to.

I wonder, does anyone else feel this way?

The strange east England seaside

keywords: emit, groccles, holiday, holiday makers, materialistic, Norfolk, seaside

Ever had a clear out and wondered why you bought the crap in the first place?

Well here it all is in one place.

Miles and mile of sprawling tacky, tacky shops. Arcades, junk food and other amusements. I couldn't see anything of any value? Yards of sweets, deep fried food. Plastic, lots of plastic. Gollywogs and other racist fluffy toys. This pic really doesn't capture it.

Here Londoners drive up and spend a cheap holiday I guess -and so does the north; is this their south? At least it's not gridlocked Cornwall I guess.

This was a greater culture shock than Nepal. Amazing.

Having said all this it would be great if I was 15... but then you'd never get in the clubs.

-8 to 26 Celcius

keywords: snow, spring, summer, sunshine, weather


This is what I left from in Scotland - Stags and snow, quiet and deserted north sea.
4 weeks later I come back to packed out Pleasure Beach and it's 26 degrees.

What a shock. UK weather is crazy.

Pollution at Padstow Cornwall

keywords: cornwall, kernow, newquay, Padstow, pollution, sewage, surf, surfers against sewage, surfing

Is this pollution? After one friend surf friend now has an eye infection and another recovers from an ear infection I would like to know.

Meanwhile, I am a member of SAS (Surfers Against Sewage) yet I have no idea of the water quality around our coast.

Does sewage get ejected over the winter and cut back in the summer?
Is this brown poo like sludge sewage? What about the froth that blows over the cliffs?

I must add that as a kid in the late 90's we were swimming at Bournemouth beach and a full human turd went by. Lovely. I'm no tree hugger but this is different.

I want one of these

keywords: media, news, satellite, Vito
2 media vehicles parked outside Plymouth council for a news story.
It's a Mercades VITO with a Satellite dish on top.

The gyro on ships is required but these here could be fashioned for less than £500. If you wanted something to work on boats that would be £20,000-ish, but without the gyro it could be as little as £100 and then £40/month. This could be 2 way Satellite, or GPRS using T-Mobile £1/day pay as you go for the uplink.

Of course, not as plush as this though.

Rickshaw in Plymouth

keywords: cab, omg-bak, plymouth, pouspous, rickshaw, scooter, taxi, tuk-tuk

New Taxi in town. He kept following us so I gave him what he wanted and took a pic.

Looking like Britneys Spear, not. Very posh vehicle too.

Would have been good in the chase from Omg-Bak.

Remember this?

keywords: exercise, gym, keep fit, sport, training

Good grief I haven't seen on of these in 20 years! This typifies Great Yarmouth.

The pic was taken at the local gym in Yarmouth; this kind of thing adorns the walls everywhere. There are Skis from the 70's, boxing gloves from the 80's and misceallanous gym home style equipment piling up everywhere. Never seen anything like it. Remember those air compressor static gym equipment from the late 80's - they got it. The guy who runs it looks like he trained Barry Mcguigan when he was 8 years old. I'll have to take some pics of the wooden rackets on the wall next time I see the place.

keywords: boat, cabin, homeless, marine, offshore, quarters, seaman, ship

This is my room for most of the year. It is why I am at no fixed abode - I get free accommodation on the boat so why rent accommodation on land when I won't be there for most of the year?

It's really noisy here. The bed rocks usually by 30 degrees. Viration from the diesel engine next to your head but earplugs do help. Oh, and your boss can knock on your door at any time.

keywords: billabong, surf, surfing, wetsuit


Just look at this, after just 10 sessions my wetsuit is falling apart. These tabs are coming off exposing the unfinished thread underneath.

Is it deliberate?

Who know, but I've been gluing over the threads with wetsuit Black Witch glue. Now I've switched to a cheaper clear stretchy glue, thanks to a friend.

I wouldn't buy Billabong again. This was a Billabong Ocillator. I suggest only buying suits double sitched but also with preglued seems both sides. The extra money spent is worth it.
I only paid £100 for this suit but it would be worth spending £170 for this extra durability I guess as 70% extra use would just be about 17 surfs instead of 10.

Update: about 30 surfs later and it's still holding together - the trick is to nip it in the bud before by catching the thread with the glue before it unravels. But now the neoprene itself is coming thin and separating!

Mobile food

keywords: health, surf, surfing

It's not easy to easy healthy food on the move.

But here's 2 things that are easy, cheap and healthy: Long Life Milk and dried fruit; apricots are cheapest, mine from John Graves; always cheapest.

Facebook deleted account nightmare

keywords: facebook, privacy, social networking

Just deleted my Facebook account.


Why would someone do that?

Well, first of all my girlfriend doesn't like my ex'es getting back in touch with me. Understandable yes, fair no.

But also here's the core of the problem there are legitimate reasons for privacy. However, if you block someone from seeing who else you know they get pissy.

Imagine the husband who had a gay spell at University, does he want his children seeing previous bumchums - hopefully it's fine but you can't rely on perfection in others. What about prior convictions or a mis-spent youth?

I learnt the hard way. I suggest you don't. Get the emails you need off there and leave.

So, from now on I will attempt to keep roughly anonymous. And this Blog is the start.

A lesson has been learnt on how to justify privacy - it is needed because other people are not perfect.

Update a few months onwards:

1.6% of Facebook sells for £160 million to Microsoft... please tell me people have th brains to know what that means.