Finished Initial Draft of New Book

Yesterday I finished the first draft of my new book (still not details to be made public yet). Now it has to make it's way through the editing process and I'll have to refine the results before I'm ready to send it off to the presses. To celebrate this milestone I rewarded myself by upgrading to the 3G iPhone.

I took a quick trip to San Diego last week to look at some old buses. The model I was looking at is called the Flxible Clipper and the one I like was made in the 1940's. I was not looking at these buses to purchase them since they are not for sale. I was looking at them to determine if I could live in a bus that is seven feet shorter than my current rig and does not have underfloor storage bays. After spending a few hours in two buses I found that it could work, but only with some careful planning. I can't just buy any bus that is already finished and would instead have one done custom for my specific needs. The photograph above is of one of the buses I looked at. You can click on the photo to see a much larger version.

I'll be heading to Las Vegas on Tuesday to speak at PhotoshopWorld before heading off to Maui, HI for a few weeks to teach a workshop and chill out with friends. When I return, I'll spend a few last days in Los Angeles before heading towards the LEPP Institute to teach a week-long workshop (I think there are still three seats left if you're interested... but expect those seat to fill next week while I'm speaking at PhotoshopWorld).

Comments

[Janine Smith]

Hey, Ben, loved your PSW precon class today. You didn't get to (but class notes included) some CS3 Extended features. Yay! If you're ever rolling through LA, give me a shout. I even have a space for the 40' bus in front of my house!

J.

[Ben Willmore]

Here's the info from a previous comment about HDR:
Search for MaxwellRender; you'll find it's the most true to photography renderer out there; they also use HDRI for various purposes, lighting backgrounds, reflections, refractions, etc.

-Ben

[Charles Mesker]

I have some photos of 2 old Flxible Clippers in much more deplorable condition than the one you looked at.

[Cheri]

Hi Ben, great class on Maui, job well done and great tips! Jason and I had a great photo safari Friday 9/19/08, and he sold me your last copy of the HDR Mastery. I did finally get the last copy :) Enjoy your continual photo safaris and teaching others. Thank you for your expertise.

Aloha

[photoDan]

Hi Ben,

Do you really make a living riding around the world in your bus teaching and making pictures (images) or do you come from a rich family????????????

I'm really curious to know.

dan

[Ben Willmore]

I wish I came from a rich family, then I wouldn't have to be writing all these books and presenting all the seminars. I really do make my living cruising around the country giving seminars, writing and taking photos and you could too... but you'd have to make many sacrifices and spend many years building your business.

-Ben

[Sean]

Ben,

I, too, really like the looks of the Flxibles -- classic. I read elsewhere, though, that you are expecting the cost of ownership to be lower than your Prevost. I think you might be underestimating what it takes to keep one of these on the road (especially in show condition), and also what it takes to do a custom conversion (of any coach).

I recommend you spend some time on the bus conversion forums to get a feel for what you might be in for:

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/
http://www.busnut.com/cgi-bin/bbs/discus.cgi?pg=topics

20 year old Prevosts that have been factory converted (by Marathon, Vantare, Liberty, Country Coach, etc.) can now be had for five figures, and, while they may need a few adjustments at that price, there is no way you can do a custom conversion for that amount unless you do a substantial portion of the work yourself.

If you added up what it would cost to buy everything inside your current coach (appliances, electrical systems, plumbing systems, HVAC, etc.) the figure would exceed what the coach, as a whole, is worth by a fair amount.

Just food for thought, and some resources to look into.

-Sean

[eric starr]

i ADORE flxible clippers. the extra cost is definitely worth it for the unusual, sexy cosmetics of the bus. they really turns heads. check out youtube for some fun videos of them.