Off Grid Living: Bus Houses!

Ever since this whole economic crash and teenage peer pressure business started (which was around the same time for me) I've thought it'd be really convenient to live like a hermit in the middle of nowhere, where I wouldn't have to deal with money or humans. I don't much like humans; they creep me out.

It was a bit more recently that I found out about the trend of converting old buses into homes. What could be cooler than living in an old bus? It's cheap, cozy, green, and pretty damn unique. Also you could totally drive your house down the street, were you so inclined. Whee!

Here are a few cool pictures that I pilfered from the internet:

Not gonna fit. :(

So with that, I thought I'd try my hand at designing one of my own. Not in real life, though; it's midterm season so I wouldn't have the time. But that's what CAD modelling is for! If I do say so myself, I think I managed to make a pretty cool off-grid home. I'd seriously consider making the real thing and moving in, but then I realized that there's no way I could find room for my bass.

I built with self-sufficiency yet simplicity in mind. Note the solar panels and veggie gardens. I aimed to keep the gardens compact, to create a plot of land that could fit in an country, suburban, or even urban location. I wouldn't mind hermit-ing in a city, either; there it's acceptable to just ignore everybody else.

Overview from above.

The front yard.

A cozy little nook for reading, writing, and dining. 

The living room and kitchen, as viewed from the doorway. 

The living room, as viewed from the kitchen.

The bathroom. 

The bedroom.

The backyard: a shady orchard with a gazebo. 

The floor plan. 

Just a Little Mini Post

Found this on Pinterest. Awesome, yes?

A Walk Through London

Just a few pics taken during my walk from Westminster to the Globe Theater!

Tower Bridge!

Below Tower Bridge

I don't know what this place is, but I found it across from the Themes, and I like it. 

And it has a cool fountain.

s

A recreation of the ship formerly belonging to Sir Francis Drake.

Steampunk Cafe

The exterior

Not too long ago, I was wandering the city of Milwaukee in search of cool-looking old buildings, (What do you mean that's weird? Doesn't everyone do that? No?) when I discovered Alterra Coffee, and upon entering just about died from joy.

BEHOLD THE MACHINE! Erm, the sewage-pumping machine, that is.

The atmosphere of the place was incredible, all bricks and pipes and machines. Housed in an old Victorian pump house, this place oozed pure steampunk. By pump house, by the way, I'm not referring to a little shack that pumps toilet water. I mean that there's a giant machine that used to suck dirty water from the Milwaukee river and replace it with lake water. Though no longer functioning, the machine is still there for the purpose of looking awesome.
The bad news is that it's a small building in a fairly central location with good food and atmosphere--so parking and finding a seat is a nightmare. You have no idea how many times I've tried to go here only to find a line of cars battling over parking spaces.

An interior photo

Home Office Designs

I really can't think of much to say about these steampunk office designs other than that they're really, really awesome. *sigh* If only I could have an office like this... But then, I'd probably never get anything done.

Industrial-styled Lamp Made From Old Books

This picture isn't mine. Please don't sue me. 

I'm not sure I could bring myself to destroy a stack of books like this, even for the sake of art, but I have to admit that this tutorial looks pretty cool and remarkably easy.

Futuristic Church

As a hardcore architecture geek, I've really wanted to visit the Hallgrimskikja in Rekyjavik, Iceland ever since I came across a photo of it on The Steampunk Home, which I finally got to do a few days ago.

The front entrance. The statue in the front is of of Lief Erikson.

Inside the church.

The pipe organ was exceedingly awesome.

The view from the steeple.

Inside the steeple.

A view of one of the steeple clocks from inside.

Blaa Kannan Cafe in Akureyri, Iceland

Finding the ideal spot for a cup of tea (or coffee, if you insist) and a good slice of cake is of utmost importance to every steampunk. The best place for such, at least that I've encountered, is the Blaa Kannan (Icelandic for "Blue Teapot") Cafe, located in a dramatic Edwardian-era building in Akureyri, Iceland. I've visited it several times throughout the four days I've been here.
The food is fantastic, consisting of a daily lunch buffet, as well as more traditional cafe foods like sandwiches and some very good cake, accompanied by a reasonably large selection of teas. The rustic/steampunk decor is nearly as drool-worthy as the food.

Pulley-Operated Curtains

            This is an idea I came up with after getting sick of trying to keep track of curtain ties. It’s really quite simple to set up, and it greatly eases the complications that come with flowing, Victorian-style curtains.

1.Hang up your curtains normally.

2. Affix three fairly sturdy nails evenly spaced a few inches above the window, putting the middle nail slightly higher than the other two.

3.Hang a double pulley from the  middle nail.

4. Cut two very long (about seven ft.) pieces of string. Tie a small loop on each end.

5. Attach one end of a string to the back of the curtain, about halfway down the window. I used safety pins, but sewing would probably look more professional. Do this for both sides.

6. Thread each string over the nail on its side and through the pulley, so both hang down in the center of the window. The ends of the ropes should reach a few inches above the bottom of the window.

7. Affix another nail about four inches below the bottom window, positioned so that it lines up with the pulley and the dangling ropes.

8. To open your curtains, pull down your ropes and hook the looped ends around the bottom nail.  

A Unique Photographic View of London

I have this thing for old buildings, especially abandoned and dilapidated ones, so I was completely geeking out over Derelict London, a photographic collection by Paul Talling. It really shows a different, much grittier side of London from the usual tourist sites, featuring factories, crumbling cemeteries (including, if I'm not mistaken, the one after which the band Abney Park was named), abandoned houses, and all kinds of things that make for an intriguing view of Victorian and modern London. Out of respect of copyrights, I cannot post any pictures here, but you can find all manner of them at Talling's official site.

Steampunk Cities: Lewiston-Auburn, Maine

These twin cities, though not really thriving tourist destinations, have a distintive place in my memory as the inspiration for the setting of a steampunk story/book/thing that I've spent the past few years working on. From within a few days of when I first knew steampunk by name, I've thought of the cities of Auburn and Lewiston, with their mill-lined canals and victorian architecture, as a definitive steampunk locale. There's also a spectacular hot air balloon festival every year. Unfortuanately, I missed it on this particular visit, but from previous years' experience, I must say that the sight of a fleet of balloons over an industrial skyline is one of the most steampunk things I have seen in my life.






The city, as viewed from the river.

The Lewiston-Auburn Musuem, which housed a small collection of industrial artifacts. A bit dissapointing after the Charles River Museum, but it contained some things of interest.

Some architecture, as viewed from the museum.

The hot air balloon festival of a previous year.

The city skyline

Green + Wired Smart Home

            After a recent trip to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, I’ve returned with all manner of potential blog material, so this may turn into the Museum of Science and Industry Blog for a little while.

            At first glance, green and steampunk might not go together. I mean, really, belching smokestacks, massive factories, and air filled with London-esque smog? But on the other hand, the modern steampunk lifestyle—self-sufficiency, upcycling, and frugality—might be a bit more eco-friendly.

            While the museum’s Smart Home exhibit might be a bit too plain and modernist to fit the look, it certainly has some steamy details. First off: the gardens. Personally I think that growing one’s own food is about as DIY as it gets, and the gardens surrounding the house are filled with fruits, vegetables, and herbs, some around the house, some literally growing on the walls, and some in hydroponics systems.

            Inside, it includes cutting-edge technology, like automated window shades, a smart telescope, and bathroom mirrors that surf the web (in case you’re really addicted to Facebook?). Most of it, being digital, would be better categorized as cyberpunk, but a little genre mixing is fine by me.

            The real steam comes in the furniture, most of which is from reclaimed industrial or vintage pieces. Old filing cabinets and all manner of old knickknacks and so forth sit inside with the postmodern architecture. Sadly, I couldn’t get any interior pictures, but you could find some at the official site.

            In other announcements, I’ll be gone for the next week or so and probably won’t have internet access, but I’ll be sure to post about my travels when I get back. 

Post-apocalypse Condominiums

            Poking around Discover Magazine, I came across an article on an underground, nuclear-war-proof living complex, sort of like a real-life City of Ember. It’s capable of self-sufficiency, with hydroponics farming, fish tanks, and zombie-proof defense mechanisms. Unfortunately, however, the steampunk pretty much stops there. While I appreciate the effort to make such a usually dark place pleasant, the “brand-name kitchen appliances,” and “window-like HDTV panels” would probably detract from the overall steampunkness. Nonetheless, this might be in interesting setting in a post-apocalypse tale: a world where a lucky few live in safety and luxury below the ground, while the rest of the world’s population must fend for itself.    

            Since, due to copyright issues, I was hesitant to include pictures, I’ll put in a link to the official site: http://survivalcondo.com/index.html