Arc Controller Motor Shield More Power!!

The August 21 article "Arduino Motor Shield, Arc-Controller Launched By Arc Robotics" gave me a good reason to do a little research on microcontroller (MCU) motor control and motor shields.

Arc-Controller motor shield

The article covers the Arc-Controller, a new high capacity motor shield that has a Kickstarter campaign in progress, telling us:

"Maker, developers and hobbyists that enjoy building Arduino platform based projects might be interested in a new Arduino Motor Shield called the Arc controller which has been created by Arc Robotics...“There have been a lot of amazing projects come out of the Maker revolution, however, many are limited by the capability of their motor controller. We want to change that. The Arc-Controller is a bridge to bring high Amp motor control to your projects, up to 43 amps with a heat sink. It is capable of variable speed and direction control over a single Stepper Motor or two DC motors, because when do you only need one motor. The Arc-Controller is compatible with about any Arduino, or other micro controller such as Raspberry Pi. It runs an ATMega328, and is user programmable via the Arduino IDE."

The Kickstarter campaign still has 36 days to go, but it has gotten off to a very slow start, with only $927 pledged of the $41,500 funding goal. According to the Arc-Controller Kickstarter page,

"The Arc-Controller built around two H-Bridges. Each one can supply 43 amps of continuous current, with a properly mounted heat shield. The dual H-Bridges run separately, controlling two high-end DC Motors or as one controlling a single stepper motor. Built into the H-Bridges are current and temperature fail-safes.  If they begin to get too hot, or if they exceed the maximum current levels, current limiting will take affect. They will automatically shut down until they cool off, or until conditions are safe to operate. We also have included a reverse polarity protection...There is an integrated circuit on board that gives a current reading from the H-Brides to see how much current each individual motor is using. This gives you the option to write your sketches to react under certain loads, detect shorts and over heating states...We are creating a simple library that can be used to easily send commands to the Arc Controller. These commands can configure the Arc Controller to run a stepper motor, drive two brushed DC motors, and even an integrated an XY thumb stick “Arcade Drive”. The interface library will take input from you and transmit it to any number of connected Arc Controllers...We have had lots of success with tank style robots to the point that we made it run on two wheels until you want it to act like a tank. then it will lay down and drive like a tank. We have many theoretical uses, that we are eager to try such as: home made Segways, drive-by-wire go-karts, RC lawn mowers..."

There are a fair number of existing motor controllers for Arduinos if the Arc-Controller is overkill

for your needs. Here is a sampling of whats available for Arduino:

Adafruit motor shield V2

1. Adafruit Motor Shield V2 for Arduino -- $19.95 -- "We kept the ability to drive up to 4 DC motors or 2 stepper motors, but added many improvements...Instead of a L293D darlington driver, we now have the TB6612 MOSFET driver: with 1.2A per channel and 3A peak current capability. It also has much lower voltage drops across the motor so you get more torque out of your batteries...Instead of using a latch and the Arduinos PWM pins, we have a fully-dedicated PWM driver chip onboard. This chip handles all the motor and speed controls over I2C...5 address-select pins means up to 32 stackable shields: thats 64 steppers or 128 DC motors!"
2. Pololu Dual MC33926 Motor Driver Shield for Arduino -- $29.95 -- "This shield makes it easy to control two brushed DC motors with your Arduino or Arduino-compatible board. Its dual MC33926 motor drivers operate from 5 to 28 V and can deliver a continuous 3 A per motor. These great drivers also offer current-sense feedback and accept ultrasonic PWM frequencies for quieter operation."
3. Ardumoto - Motor Driver Shield -- $24.95 -- "This is a motor shield for Arduino that will

   

   Ardumotor from SparkFun

   control two DC motors. Based on the L298 H-bridge, the Ardumoto can drive up to 2 amps per channel. The board takes its power from the same Vin line as the Arduino board, includes blue and yellow LEDs to indicate active direction, and all driver lines are diode protected from back EMF."
4. Monster Moto Shield -- $69.95 -- "This is essentially a ramped up version of our Ardumoto motor driver shield. For this monster shield we’ve replaced the L298 H-bridge with a pair of VNH2SP30 full-bridge motor drivers. We’ve also beefed up the support circuitry so this board is capable of driving a pair of high-current motors!"
5. EasyDriver Stepper Motor Driver -- $14.95 -- "The EasyDriver is a simple to use stepper motor driver, compatible with anything that can output a digital 0 to 5V pulse (or 0 to 3.3V pulse if you solder SJ2 closed on the EasyDriver). EasyDriver requires a 7V to 20V supply to power the motor and can power any voltage of stepper motor."

If you use large motors or lots of motors on your MCU projects and could really use the Arc-Controller, you may want to head over to their Kickstarter page and support their campaign. If you know of other motor shields that do pretty much the same thing, send an email to arcatabob (at) gmail {dott} com and let me know what you use or recommend, and Ill update the post with that info.

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Gravity Blog cross posting

Oh bloggers...I love you guys.  I know I get a lot of traffic here but quite frankly, I feel like Im talking to myself! I will be posting at a community known as The Gravity Blog.

Girls I have met on a certain forum starting with a P, be warned that this will include many images that may cause what is otherwise noted as trigger content (much like old posts here.)  I will continue to keep this blog clean but all texts will be added to Gravity Blog.

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Insomniatic Throw Up

According to my spell check, insomniatic isnt a word. Thats ok...Im sure you can all figure it has something to do with insomnia.

Well thats exactly how I feel right now...wide awake when Id normally be asleep. Its not too late though, but still. There are three major things bothering me right now and they may surprise you.

1) Jobs.

Now this doesnt seem like a surprise to anyone that knows me...likely. Well truth be told. Where I live, I am at the mercy of what mom brings home. However, what she brings home is typically leftovers. Every blue moon, I get fresh food at home. Great...but comes with a catch. Whats that you say? I will be expected to eat whatever for at least two - three days. Another thing my mom bullshits with is dinner. "Oh I ate. Dont know why you didnt," she would say. "You ate at grandmas," Id say back with a glare. "Why didnt you come over?" "Because I had class/you forgot me at home/I didnt know they were having dinner!" Times like these lead to dinner-less nights which often get me into trouble...especially when I sneak in a secret stash of desserts mom has.

So I really want a job so I can eat fresh food at least three times a week. That would be nice.

On top of that, mom runs the power bill and doesnt manage money well in my eyes. Id like to move out. When she decided to splurge on company parties, fixing a car that had "Im NOT WORTH IT" written all over it, my sister that blows money on even dumber things...but doesnt pay the power bill so we have a poorly insulated freezing cold house during a storm....well that was a sure fire way to get me to NOT want to stay.

Im still waiting for that $130 she owes me. $100 of it was stolen.

2) Pets

Call me paranoid but Im having a huge freak out about the death of pets. Three died within two months....not something Im thrilled about. Six rats...I will likely be trying to rehome them if I move out on my own. However there is a high chance that if Im on my own for sure, they will stay. In 2nd place on the worry list is Tux. Since I didnt file taxes or have proof that my mom is a California State worker struggling, I asked my dear friend Ashley to have Tux done and Id pay her for it. This means he will be in her name and I have to have the license transferred over. No big deal...but Id really like to take home "my" cat. And in 1st place is my beloved Spyro who turns 10 March 28th. I have already had a dog die and I felt like he died in a crappy way and wasnt treated to my standards. Id like for Spyro to not go out the same way. Call me shitty but Id rather have him euthanized than to die in his sleep. I just dont do well with dead bodies. However this means Spyro must be in the best of care till his body just cannot function anymore. It wont happen if he continues to live at my grandparents house. As far as the dead body thing...well as much as I love all of my pets, theyre just harder to let go when you have had them for this long.

3) Marriage

Bet you didnt see this one coming. Adam told me he didnt want to get married...ever. Well ok whatever. But I do. I sat back and thought to myself...I wonder why he doesnt want to get married. Is he scared? Then I asked myself why do I want to get married? Am I scared? I cant believe I am going to admit it...but maybe I am scared. The problem isnt Adam...its me. Maybe Im afraid of him leaving or maybe Im just insecure. Whatever it is, I have realized that it is my problem...not his. I admit it. I want to get married because of my personal insecurities. I think it is a big lump that could later affect our relationship. First step, admitting. Next, fixing. Will work on that later.

So now I feel much better with all of this stuff off my head/chest. Still not tired but thats probably because of too much Dr. Pepper. Since you got this far...here is trivia.

In 1972, Dr Pepper sued the Coca-Cola company for trademark infringement based on a soft drink marketed by Coca-Cola called "Peppo." The soft drink was later renamed Mr Pibb.

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Nubian goats Ontario Canada ◍ Meet Nabob and Mocha our coffee coloured goats ◍

Pet Nubian goats

Nubian goats

Grass fed goats

Goats in Canada permaculture

This is mocha, hes a wild one. He loves eating/licking things hes not suppose to ( pressure treated wood, chicken coops, clothes on the line ), But he also enjoys the good stuff like watermelon, cantaloupe and oats. His favourite game involves head-butting anyones hand, but of the two, hes the baby of the bunch, always needs a companion and CANT be alone.

Anglo-Nubian Goat

This is Nabob, He is gentler then mocha and he use to be inseparable, but has recently been gaining courage, bravely trotting off around the property. Hes much pickier the Mocha and doesnt like fruit, just his oats, grass and maybe a few trees. 

Nabob the Nubian goat

Nubian goats cutting grass

Anyone know what kind of tree this is?

Nubian goats in Ontario, Canada.

My new tent, theres nothing like sleeping under the stars, even if its just in your backyard, the grounding force speaks for itself.

Tenting in eastern Ontario

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CHALLENGES CHALLENGES

Going Beyond....

I was wondering over the last couple of days if any of you may be interested in thinking beyond the envelope, beyond Aquaponics. Not necessarily doing, but just reading, absorbing or challenging your thoughts. So Im going to include anything that might be of interest that I consider a possible offshoot from A/P. If you are interested and wish to delve a bit deeper, please let me know and Ill endeavor to include further information in that area.

One such example is Cloning. The process of taking a section of a plant and making it possible to identically reproduce this plant as many times as you need to. Now to give you a taste or two.

I do hope you realise that as we are in Aquaponics, we are bound to the basics of Hydroponics and we are very fortunate as we have untold experiences from Hp to aid us because what ever problem we may have in relation to plant growth etc. They have probably had the same many times over.

Likewise the fish we keep and grow have all of the problems that any other fish have and at times more so because of the particularly crowded environment we may have them in at various periods of their growth. So both aquaculture and even your local aquarium dealer and be a source of important advice under certain circumstances...

Rant Over, Back to the notes...

....and there will soon be an organic garden and an aquaponic freshwater system for farming tilapia; that is, for raising the fish symbiotically with plants.

It is the mission of Santa Cruz Aquaponics to produce the healthiest, most flavorful and nutritious fresh Tilapia and Watercress available on the Northern California market.

Rene LaMarche of Port Orchard is growing tomatoes and other produce using a technique called aquaponics, which combines aquaculture and hydroponics. (MEEGAN M. REID | KITSAP SUN)

 it seemed a little like they just kept throwing things up, and yet somehow it works.  this one is a triple-decker aquaponics system.  the bottom layer is a tank with 8000 tilapia swimming about.  in order to aerate and filter the water it gets pumped up to the top layer where the tomatoes are growing.

NOW, A Small scale aquaponic system in Barbados

Long before the term "aquaponics" was coined in the 1970s the Aztec Indians raised plants on rafts on the surface of a lake in approximately 1,000 A.D. 

The one that gets biggest the fastest needs put in another tank. Quickly. Atila only has 19 friends left. They are all his friends, because he ate his enemies... 

I hope you all enjoyed that one...Well thats another one done....

Be Back Soon

Ozzie

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Mutli Phase Humboldt MCU Garden Project

As yesterdays Humboldt Laser Harp post indicated, the microcontroller (MCU) music group project is well under way. So now Im thinking about how to get the second group project started in the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group, one involving gardening.

MCU and sensors for potted plant

Several people whove been at Humboldt Makers Group meetings or the MCU group meetings have said theyre interested in MCUs and gardening. And it seems like lots of other people in Humboldt County might have an interest in ways to improve gardening. There are lots of organic gardeners in the area, and agriculture has been part of the Humboldt economy for much of the areas history. So Ive decided to outline a multi-phase approach to a collaborative project focused on MCU gardening. And a significant part of this collaborative project will be identifying and reaching out to Humboldt people who are involved in gardening or agriculture and might be interested in sharing their knowledge and / or participating in this project.

MCU and hydroponics

Two long term goals I have for the MCU gardening is to be involved with a successful hydroponics system and a successful aquaponics system. There are lots of websites and projects on the Internet that tell a person how to do hydroponics or aquaponics, but Im an engineer, and I like to understand what Im doing. Plus I dont have a lot of money to spend on these projects. So my preferred approach to MCU gardening is to start out small, and get more complex after I understand the technology and green thumb art involved with each part of the MCU garden project.

Below are proposed MCU garden project phases. If we get the right people involved with the project and if we can secure funding of some type for the project, we can move very quickly through the phases or work on more than one phase at a time. So if you know people whod like to participate in this project or know of money that can be used for purchasing electronic components and supplies for this, please contact me at arcatabob (at) gmail {dott} com. These are the proposed phases for the Humboldt MCU Garden group project:

MCU and aquaponics (from dzbc.org.cn)

1. Grow one plant indoor in soil.
2. Grow four to eight plants indoor in soil.
3. Grow four types of plants outdoor in soil.
4. Grow one tray of plants indoors in hydroponic system.
5. Grow three types of plants indoors in hydroponic system.
6. Grow one type of plant in aquaponics system.
7. Grow three types of plants in aquaponics system.

Phase 1 of the Humboldt MCU Garden project is simple and low cost and will help us learn the basic principles of MCU gardening. Phases 2 through 7 can easily be redefined as we get more people involved in the project and we learn more about what we dont know about MCU gardening.

The first draft design of the Humboldt MCU Garden project includes:

1. One type of plant.

   

   LEDs and lettuce

1. Lettuce is my first choice, partly because of whats being done with optimized lettuce mcu gardening in Japan and other places (see my blog post "LED Lettuce, The HydroTower And LED Humboldt Hydroponics.") We might be able to find useful data about optimum growing conditions for lettuce (light wavelengths, relative humidity, nutrients, temperature, etc.).
2. If other people who want to participate in the Humboldt MCU Garden project prefer to grow something other than lettuce and have information about good growing conditions for that plant, Im willing to switch from lettuce.
2. Growing container.
1. The type of growing container probably wont be too critical for Phase 1. Mainly something large enough to hold the soil and drainage system that will provide good growing conditions for the plant.
2. A five gallon plastic bucket is one option, especially if we can find a free one.
3. We need to figure out where the container with the plant and MCU Garden system will be kept. It seems like Phase 1 should mostly be indoors because that means we dont need to have a rain-proof system. But having a Phase 1 container thats easily movable would be nice so we can roll or carry the container outside on nice days.
3. Growing condition sensors
1. Light sensor -- very important so we get good photosynthesis (and good respiration?).

   

   One type of light sensor (from Adafruit)

2. Soil moisture sensor -- very important because too dry means dead plant and too wet means dead plant.
3. Temperature sensor -- important for growth, especially during Humboldt winters. Temperature will be less critical for plants like lettuce, but very critical for plants like tomatoes.
4. Relative humidity sensor (RH) -- RH wont be critical for lettuce growth in Phase 1, but it will be critical as the projects future phases try to minimize water usage and as we try to grow RH-sensitive plants like redwood trees.
4. LEDs for indoor gardening
1. RGB LEDs will let us adjust the light if we want
2. Red and Blue LEDs appear to be used for optimum lettuce growth.
3. Research and / or people who know plant growth lighting and LEDs are required.
5. MCU to gather and record sensor data
1. Which MCU we use for the Humboldt MCU Garden project depends partly on who wants to be involved with the project.
1. If we can get a sponsor for the Humboldt MCU Garden project, such as an MCU manufacturer or distributor, Ill use whichever MCU they manufacture or distribute!
2. If no MCU manufacturer or distributor sponsor can be recruited, the MCU will be determined by whoever takes the lead on programming for the project.
1. If Ed takes the lead, well probably use a Texas Instruments MCU.
2. If Josiah takes the lead, or if Im filling that role, it will likely be an Arduino or Arduino-compatible.
3. If someone other than Josiah, Ed or me volunteers to lead the garden-variety programming for this project, that person can choose the MCU type.
6. Type of soil
1. Determining what type of soil to use will require research or a project member who has good experience with growing plants indoors in containers.
2. The type of soil will likely affect other gardening aspects such as what nutrients we need to add and the soil moisture measurement.
7. Fertilizer and trace nutrients to add
1. Fertilizer and trace nutrients is another topic that will require research or a project member experienced in the art.
2. Might want to evaluate whether pH or some other batch or continuous sensor (pH? nutrient analysis?) should be used to track nutrient levels.
8. Data gathering and analysis
1. There are no specific requirements for data gathering and analysis for Phase 1 since its such a simple system. However, part of the purpose of Phase 1 is to learn how to effectively monitor growing conditions, so it makes sense to establish good gardening data practices (GGDP) for those growing conditions and different types of sensors.
   
2. As part of my goal to get Humboldt people more involved in the Internet of Things (IoT), it would be good to use services like open data bases and IFTTT (If This Then That).
3. One gardening data goal is to use that data to automatically track, alarm and interpret the data generated by the sensors. It would be nice to generate online graphs and have alarms sent out by IFTTT when growing conditions reach or approach setpoints where action needs to be taken.

The above outline give you an idea of what I think Phase 1 of the Humboldt MCU Garden group project should look like. Next steps for me to get this project rolling are (1) talk to and try to recruit a couple people whove expressed an interest in MCU gardening, (2) promote the project to other people in the Humboldt Makers and MCU group and try to recruit some of them, (3) develop a one-page MCU project proposal that I can use to pitch to potential sponsors, and (4) continue to do research for Phase 1 topics like sensors, nutrients and soil types.

If you are interested in this project or know someone who might be, please email me at arcatabob (at) gmail {dott} com or come to an MCU group meeting or Humboldt Makers meeting in the near future.

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Chitin ☜ the all natural pesticide disease correction in plants ●●●●☺

We have been very interested in chitin as of recently, weve always used worm castings in our grows, even hydroponics,  but never knew of its amazing qualities in bug prevention and disease correction, we just thought it was our special touch, lol, how naive the human brain can be.
But just recently thanks to john from growing your greens.com
( http://www.youtube.com/user/growingyourgreens )
gave a wonderful talk about the benefits of chitin and where you can get it. This got me to researching and found its one of the most abundant sources of natural polymers, has healing benefits, treats disease on trees, and repels insects just to name a few. I found an article online with an extensive list of ideas on how to use it, create it, and where to pick some up. HERE YA GO
http://idigmygarden.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51481

and if your into worm composting this is a great site to help you along with making teas and such.
http://www.organicrosecare.org/articles/worm_castings.php

We were also lucky to have stopped by the local hydroponics expo recently
( homegrown Hydroponics expo)
Not only are we very excited over there snap together piping but, they had a product there that was fertilizer from insects, this seems like a great idea, we will doing a controlled experiment very soon with this product, Will keep ppl updated on the progress and results.

Masked Hunter nymph, 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masked_hunter

all if a sudden Im seeing bugs Ive never seen in Canada before, 

what in the world is that????? a bug covered in dust? 

YUP!! Meet the masked hunter nymph, for some reason he thought my studio/office was a good place to roam. wish I could have got a better shot for ya but he was a quick little bugger.

Bug covered in dust

masked hunter covered in dust

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DIY Aquaponics System in English!

?????DIY???????????????????????????4/21?????????????????????!! ???????????????????????????????????????DIY??(??5/26)?

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My OWN ethical group

I met a guy on Myspace many years ago that was a diehard PETA member and vegan. What made us great friends is that we had some of the same ideals (calling vegetarians that ate fish or poultry hypocrites and so on.) I supported his cause till he started saying really really stupid things. He told me that hed never eat eggs because of the potential it had to be a life. Depending on what ethical animal group you are in, you will either hear that or the truth.

Chicken eggs are similar to a human period.

That is what my mom told me. Of course I saw nothing wrong with this at all. So what? It is just a waste product then. The more into nature I got, the more I realized that these eggs (unless specified as fertilized) lost their potential as soon as they exited the body...like a period. Nothing can make them more than what they are now. You cannot fertilize a chicken egg out of the body just like you cannot fertilize a human egg outside of the body.

Then this guy started posting about how everything from leather to wool was cruel. At this time, I had heard about a lady that used old hair from her dogs coat to make her own coat. This was theoretically a fur coat...just with waste material. I decided to ask him if this kind of fur coat was bad. He said yes because it encourages the death of animals simply for pelts and the same goes for faux fur.

...

Then I decided to ask a question that would determine if I thought he was truly crazy or not...I asked him how he felt about people eating placenta. This of course has no potential to be a life ever but is meat and a waste product (of course after the delivery of life.) He said meat is still meat and he is against eating ALL meat because it causes pain or is a potential life. I had broken his logic clearly. A placenta comes about because someone is going through with life (the life is still coming into existence) and it is a part that was never alive or dead...but just falls out (AKA waste.) He tried to convince me that nobody ate that part anyway. Yes indeed they do and it is very common in certain parts of the world. A good answer would have simply been "because it looks/is nasty" or "because I just dont like meat."

When I was looking for info to better the environment to help protect animals, PETA wasnt there (although they have some vegan recipes to help me with better health in general.) I turned to Care2 which is very similar but it is mostly petitions, not an actual group which one can really be affiliated with. Id like to start my own group...Care2s little sister but PETA and HSUSs cousin (btw HSUS and PETA do the same thing...just HSUS has a teeny more shelter help...with a lot of stress on teeny.) I want to form a group where protests arent harsh but we learn to respect one another...vegan or omnivore. There are some things that I have only learned by taking nutrition classes...that otherwise proved difficult to find such as the fact that organic grass fed beef has a better omega 3 to omega 6 ratio making it extremely better for you.

I want to form a group were vegans arent bombarded with abuse pictures and told how nasty meat is. They are vegan...they know this. However I want a site with truths (PETA supports vegetarianism for all animals including cats. Felines by nature are designated carnivores and a vegetarian diet easily leads to death. Dogs are, in short, carnivores but can be vegetarian if given a crap ton of supplements but if youre going to do that, might as well just feed em rice with these supplements. A healthy lifestyle can be achieved with no pills or extra powders. Im not against being vegan or vegetarian but for the love of God dont force it on anyone else including your furkin!)

The world sucks when youre an omnivore. Most of your info is limited. With my group, Id like to protest against meat sources, not meat (Tyson chicken, for example.)

By the way...how can we Coexist as a world if we cant even coexist as a nation? Just saying....

But...Im just a dreamer I guess. Maybe someday.

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GAC FRUIT VINE ❍ SEEDS ❍ Turtle from under the tree e

Exotic fruit seeds

So We were stumbling around the internet and think We found a few new seed varieties that would be interesting to grow, some are cold hardy and ready for Canadian winters, while others are packed with nutritional /medicinal benefits and could range anywhere from subtropical to Native Canadian in climate. These are not your regular trees, and the fruit does not show up in your local grocer, Infact, you most likely will not even see these at your farmers market.

Our first newbie is the ? Kaffir plum ?, while it tends to be more on the sour side, it carries many medicinal uses in dermatological ailments. Also, a unique wine cane be made from the berries.

Our second oddity is the » Raisin tree «
while this tree has more of an oriental background it has been proven to grow here in our Canadian climate, with recorded temps of down to -30c. The "raisins" range in taste from bitter to sweet, this all  depends on the lineage/ seed/ source budwood. It has been used as a hangover cure as well as way to reduce blood sugar levels.

Next.... ? Blue Sausgae fruit ?!!, aka dead mans fingers, Another cold hardy fruit tree, this may be used as an ornamental considering the fruit is so vibrant in colour, but being it has deliciously sweet pulp its worth it for the view or the food.

?Cassabanana? was just planted 2 days ago and its already sprouting!!, such a large interesting fruit we thought we would give it a shot, we will post picks of it growing, were also thinking maybe a hydro bucket?.

Another new one is the ? purple apple berry vine ? A small Australian vine found in moist areas from south Wales to tasmania. All I can gather from from my research is the berries are edible, sweet, with a texture and shape like apples. I will update on the exact taste when it comes, for now, Im loving these Australian bush foods.

We have a few more we are starting from seed but I will save those for later, our last one of the day is the ? elephant apple ?. While I have heard it can be an acquired taste, it has been said to be everything from sour and sweet to taste, and with the right amount of sugar, a very refreshing dish. As with most other bitter fruit, there tends to be health benefits, go figure right?.

Our new plant we just picked up is a  ? Gac fruit vine ?. It is known as a superfruit in the health industry, well... maybe the tropical/Asian/ ayurvedic health industry. Im not sure its truly made the way over here other then in a few supplements. Gac fruit is so dense in nutrition it rivals most native fruits and vegetables, With over 70 times the lycopene content of tomatoes and beta carotene levels 10 times that of carrots, in fact, the highest levels of beta carotene in any fruit or vegetable, you can see why we should be consuming a little gac once and a while. While being nutritionally dense, they also carry many medicinal benefits. They have been used to boost the immune system, aid in coronary repair/strengthen eyesight, repair dermatological issues such as burns, psoriases and more, along with benefits to prostate and heart health. We are only listing the tip of the iceberg in what this wonder plant/fruit can do, and so we wish to pass this on to you, We will be taking cuttings once it grows out and will have them available as soon as possible

( we also need to nurse this one to health, as it did not arrive well ?? spider mites, scale, and 1 mealy bug, its ok, theres nothing We cant handle organically ? ??, but with a little care and good food We are starting to see it bounce back now).

Gac fruit vine

Turtle in Holland Landing

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FRIDAY 17th DECEMBER 2010

Well we are in the middle of what could be one of the stories of the century and this is WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his release on bail and what is going to be THE ongoing saga. But meanwhile we have our own Internet developments to deal with. So........ Here we goooooo.....


"IN AUGUST 2006 FRUITA 8/9 SCHOOL OPENED. AS NEW CONSTRUCTION, IT WAS BUILT "FOR COMFORT" AND WASNT NECESSARILY EVER CONSIDERED TO BE ENERGY STAR QUALIFIABLE. HOWEVER, AFTER THREE YEARS OF GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS EFFORTS COMBINED WITH AN ENERGY AUDIT AND CORRECTIONS, FRUITA 8/9 BECAME ENERGY STAR QUALIFIED ON MARCH 31, 2010.
Colorado Aquaponics is conserving water is by growing greens like basil and lettuce in the same container as fish. They both thrive together. The nutrients..... "

                                        ...oooOooo...

From Growing Organic Food, "Help! Why do leaves curl at the tip?

Does anyone know why baby/young leaves curl in an Aquaponics system? Or just curl in general??"

                                        ...oooOooo...

Next, I made mention of the Disney Grants a short time ago. Now this report. 

ECOLIFE wins Disney grant to build farm in Cameroon

/ Courtesy of ECOLIFE

One of two aquaponics systems operated by ECOLIFE, a local nonprofit group.

Escondido-based conservation group ECOLIFE has secured funding from Disney to build an unusual farm in Cameroon that combines growing fish and vegetables in a system that recirculates water...

                                        ...oooOooo...

Aquaponics and other things

Saturday, December 11, 2010

The end of the experiment

Some discussion first of the effect of the big rains we have had recently . Basically we have had a very wet season

                                        ...oooOooo...

From Afnan....

Asparagus Update - 11th Dec 2010

Transplant most of the Asparagus to growbed after the first survived 4th Dec ordeal. Left a few in nursery gravel bed and Ill wait and see what happen....


                                        ...oooOooo...

From 120 things....

Aquaponics - Duckweed growth rate

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I hadnt noticed my duckweed growing, because I tend not to notice such things. But when you compare two photos taken a week apart, i....

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Now for something quite exciting, and make sure you take note of the time from setup to harvest, WOW....

Aquaponic Bananas

By TCLynx, on December 6th, 2010

Don’t they say it takes 14 months to get fruit from a banana? Well apparently my Aquaponics system and my banana plant didn’t read that book....

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What is Aquaponics?

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Aquaponics is a relatively new approach to food production that cultivates fish and plants in a symbiotic relationship. The OrganicNation.tv crew traveled to Flanagan, Illinois where Myles Harston of AquaRanch Industries has been working with aquaponics 1992.....

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 Permaculture and Aquaponics
Perhaps I should mention that one of my primary goals in beginning my aquaponics venture is to include permaculture into the mix.
My ultimate goal is to take the full-boat permaculture course from Permaculture Visions in Australia, but in the meantime....

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 Next, Here is a bit of a giggle from Murray Hallums Forum about people who live in or come from Canada

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From the "Place Where PDFs Live" a plethera of Pdfs for your enjoyment and edification....

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From "Aquaponic-Farm.com"
What is Aquaponics
The simple explanation:? You have a fish and you have the plant (s). The plant will live in some kind of container similar to what you can expect normal (except for not using the land you used to). The fish live in a different container. The plant to get this water from.....

Aquaponics - Decorate Your House With Growing Vegetables

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Grow Fish and Vegetables in Your Garage With Aquaponics

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Aquaponics - The New QWay of Growing Plants - Fast

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Basic Things You Need to Know About Aquaponics

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There we go - All done for now
Take Care
OZZIE

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5 reasons why being homosexual is great

This blog will explain some great pros to being homosexual (for both men and women). Im not saying you should become homosexual, just taking some note.

So lets start with women. Why is it great to be a lesbian.

1) no crunchy towels - if you live in a house with a bunch of stupid men, you have probably encountered this once.

2) no facial shavings all over the sink - really guys...really

3) 90% of misses during urination eliminated - 90% cause I know some of you women still fail

4) Similar feelings - men can seem distant...cant they.

5) no accidental pregnancies - cause when youre a female you cant run from them without paying.

Now for men

1) no more bloody laundry or trash - man those nasty females

2) You dont have to run from crazy bitches cause of an accidental kid - damn those bitches

3) 90% of drain clogs are eliminated - unless you are dudes with long hair

4) same feelings - cause those damn women are from Venus

5) less or more private time - go ahead, pee with the door open

with that said...i have tumblr.

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Out of the Soviet Bears Cave

History books...arent they interesting?

I dont generally find history interesting unless you throw in science (such as in my college class Intellectual US History) or you hear it from someone else that was there.  Funny thing is, when you hear it from someone else, you will either do one of two things:

1. Think that person has the wrong facts
2. Think the history book is wrong

And Im not saying either is right or wrong but the thing about history is it is a story...his story.  Everyones story is different.

I remember someone some point in my life telling me that the Japanese history books had some things scratched out.  I dont blame them.  The US books probably have a bunch scratched out as well.  Many things are explained in short...many MANY things.  How many people know that Thomas Jefferson actually got to know his slaves?  How many people know that he also wrote about Africans being more efficient in their work due to things like them not having to use the restroom as much (scientifically speaking, Africans retain water due to their native environment not being so water friendly.  This is a hereditary trait much like how a person has pale eyes or a dog has short fur...all due to climate.)  How many people thought that this could further feed racism?  My history books talked about camps for the Japanese and others that looked Japanese, but it was only about a paragraph long.  I imagine a Japanese book really touches on it much like how we really go on about Pear Harbor.

But Im not here to bag on anyone.  I have another story.  Yay for story time!

I have a lot of friends that are either first generation American or that were born outside of the US.  I sort of befriended an older lady named Natalya and I love love LOVE her to death.  She is possibly one of the nicest people I know.  Anyway, Natalya came to the US from Russia probably around 5 years ago with two of her kids.  She has a son and a daughter that still live in Russia.  She grew up in the Soviet Union...oh yes she did.  Of course it isnt the same Soviet Union we hear about in US history books though.

She told me that when she was little, everyone went to school and everyone was forced to keep up and learn (which is why today Russias literacy rate is extremely high.  Even though the US requires children to go to school, were not as strict and our literacy rate is very low.)  Nobody was poor but nobody was rich either (generally speaking.)  Everyone had what they needed and nothing more.  According to her, now there are tons of homeless and starving.  "I love my new home," she would say "but western culture is ruining everywhere else."

Funny story, most of the people I know from outside of the US were poor...poor as in didnt have much money.  However their life stories are so interesting.  Take another friend of mine from Ukraine.  She showed me a picture of her old house with her dogs and her grandmother and aunt (both decided to stay.)  Yes it was small but their yard?  HUGE with lots a fresh fruits and veggies everywhere!  They didnt have much at all but they had one cow and a couple of chickens.  They had what they needed which would be poor according to western standards but well off according to other standards.  Another girl I know, Lyudmila, grew up in Uzbekistan and was also considered poor according to western standards.  What did they have?  A large garden with fruits and veggies, a cow, dogs, cats, chickens, and so on.  Again...well off in some standards!  Of course I know many more from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Thailand, and so on...most which had a way and seem corrupt by another.  Most of the people I know are young so they were often considered poor, even by their country even though they had the basic essentials...food, water, a house....

Tell me...whats so wrong with just having what you need?

Dont get me wrong, I know they had to work for what they did have and I know they had to get some money to cover what they didnt have.  Here in the western world, you are considered poor if you cant buy a new $100 TV without starving.  Why is that?

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Adafruits 3D Printed Wearable Video Goggles

Im not a gamer, but I still think it would be fun to make and test drive Adafruits recent microcontroller (it uses an Arduino Micro) project titled "3D Printed Wearable Video Goggles."

There are three reasons I think this would be a good project to work on.

1. The 3D printed goggle housing sounds like a challenge and a great learning exercise because theyre printed with both PLA (polylactic acid) and Ninjaflex (a thermoplastic elastomer) and the two materials are fused together.
2. There are a couple people in the Humboldt area I know of but havent met who do 3D printing. Working on a project like this might be a good opportunity to meet them.
3. It seems like having a wearable personal monitor might be a fun change from the normal way to view a computer screen, and for certain applications, such as video, it might be more engaging and absorbing than a standard computer monitor or screen.

Ninjaflex is a relatively new 3D printing feedstock. A May 2014 post on 3D Printing Industry profiled the Fenner Drives material, which seems like a typical maker story.

"Until recently, prototyping flexible components was a time-consuming and cumbersome process,” said Fenner Drive product development engineer Stephen Heston “It was a big gap in the market, because so many engineered products utilize elastomeric parts.  Without materials that closely approximate the properties of the end product, it is impossible to create truly functional prototypes.” After discovering that 3D printing enthusiasts were trying to use existing Fenner Drives belting material as filament, Heston found that while it was not an ideal material in its current form, with a few months of tweaking it soon could become one. The final product has a textured surface that allows it to be used in most 3D printers with a spring loaded extruder...Most impressively however is the replica of a small childs

3D printed Ninjaflex flexible model of childs heart (Channel 11)

defective heart that surgeons in Kentucky recently 3D printed using his CT scans. By printing a model one and a half times the actual size from a highly flexible material, the doctors were able to pre-visualize the best way to repair the defect without having to perform the risky surgery blind. The fact that the model only cost about $600 and most likely saved a small child’s life is actually pretty incredible. It also would not have been useful to the doctors if it had been printed from a less flexible material. You can watch the local news story here."

This YouTube video about Ninjaflex gives a pretty good idea of what the material is like. Of course, like all new materials, Ninjaflex is not without its particular challenges. On the LulzBot webpage for Ninjaflex, they say:

"The flexibility of this material makes it nearly impossible to print using a standard extruder, so weve designed the Flexystruder, a Gregs Wade-style extruder that fully constrains flexible filaments like Ninjaflex, which is available for purchase here!"

Both PLA and ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) can be tricky to 3D print with, so I imagine theres a definite learning curve for the Ninjaflex, especially if you are using a standard 3D printer extruder and LulzBot is correct about the difficulty of printing it with a standard extruder. Before trying to print the Adafruit goggles, it would pay to make a few test prints with the Ninjaflex by

Screenshot showing 3D printed parts of goggle (Adafruit)

itself, then a few test prints laying Ninjaflex down on top of a PLA base.

Adafruit did a Layer By Layer post about the goggles, in which they give lots of graphics showing different sections of the 3D build and throw in a few project tips, like:

"Adjust the overall size of the goggle frame by editing the curves that make it up. Measure your forehead, cheeks and nose to adjust the cylinders that make the cuts into the hood...Adjust the goggle hood shape by editing each cylinder. The bigger one controls the forehead shape. Measure the depth and width of your head to get a general size for the hood."

The only 3D printers I know in Humboldt are Justin Tuttle and Shawn Dean of InPrinting. Ive been told there are 3D printers at Humboldt State University and at College of the Redwoods, but I havent met them yet. One or both of them may have already printed with Ninjaflex -- Ill have to contact them to find out if they have, and if not, maybe theyll be interested in getting some and trying it out.

The third reason I think the Adafruit goggles would be a fun project is because Ive never worn a head-mounted personal monitor. Im not so much interested in the gaming aspect, although I would like to check out some older computer games on various ancient emulators such as an Apple II or Apple IIgs. But the main reason Id like to try the goggles is to see how engaging the head-mounted and enclosed display would be when watching videos or movies. It seems like it would be either really enjoyable or very restricting. Who knows -- maybe Ill get the chance to find out!

**********

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Remember

I think its funny how everyone thinks their generation is better than everyone elses.  My sister was born in the early 80s and believes early 80s/early 90s was the best time ever.  Me?  I will always hold the 90s/early 2000 close to my heart.  Even then, I remember things changing around 2003...things were nothing like they were even back in 2000.

I remember when I was 10, my family got a cell phone (a small but fairly bulky one) for whatever reason.  I guess it made my family feel classy or whatever.  I remember we had a house phone still but was randomly being shut off.  Besides, this is back when cordless phones were popular and when the power was out, we only had one phone that would work (corded battery phone.)  I rarely had the cell phone but was still considered a geek.  When I wasnt outside, I was learning to surf the web and planted in front of the TV watching cartoons.  Of course, this was no more than four hours a day inside usually (unless I was sick or it was pouring out.)  Best part about it, my best bud would call my house phone and ask if I was home (now duh!)

My curfew was when the street lights came on or when it got dark.  Suburban traffic was high all the time because all of us kids would be playing in the street.  Forget trying to get home quickly during the summer when the streets were always infested with people (usually younger kids in the day and teens later on.)  When one of us fell, wed go home and rinse it with water and maybe some alcohol or peroxide (or worse..iodine.)

You could buy organic but our local farms didnt stress things being organic.  Yes there were frauds but a good number of small farmers were ok with it.  This meant that they didnt have to jump through hoops to call themselves organic and the prices werent all that bad.  In fact, you could buy organic from a farmers market and it would sometimes be cheaper than regular in the store...at least here it was like that.

Halloween was awesome and nobody came outside till it was DARK.  Some houses had a line you had to stand in just to get candy.  Our parents would be exhausted at the end of the day but would still check our 15lbs of candy (or took the time to teach us.)  Because of this, we knew what it was like to get sick from eating too much of it.

Today, even looking back when I was 13, kids started not coming outside so much.  I mean we still did but rarely any younger kids.  When they were out, they often had some parent with them.  Little kids fall in the street and their parents rush them home and put peroxide/alcohol on it and then top it off with triple antibiotic plus a band aid.

Kids dont have a curfew because they never go outside.

Organic is priced much higher than regular, even at markets.  Of course I live in the wonderful California where organics are usually only $1-$2 more.

Everyone goes out trick-or-treating when it is still light out...assuming they go at all.  Last time I went, it took me 3 hours to get about 4 hand fulls (guessing everyone gave up....)

Im almost curious as to what todays and tomorrows kids will say.  So interesting.

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Tux Alyssa Spyro and jobs

Now what if I told you this blog had nothing to do with either? Well Id be lying.

First we will start with Tux. Who is Tux? Why does he have a name? What the hell is going on that makes Tux so important?

First, lets recap. My friend Ashleys mom found two kittens. Ashley kept one and named him kinky after the kink in his tail. The other one they will continue to feed till he no longer shows up or someone takes him. One night I had severe insomnia and decided to name him Tux. Why? For number one, he is a tuxedo cat...kind of. In general, tuxedo is a black and white cat that is predominately black.

According to wikipedia, A tuxedo cat is a bicolor cat with a white and black coat. The derivation of the term tuxedo cat is because the animal appears to be wearing the type of black tie formal wear commonly known in the United States and Canada as a tuxedo. Most tuxedo cats are also black mask cats, a common name for felines who, due to their facial coloration, look as if they are wearing a black mask over their eyes, and often over their entire head. To be considered a true tuxedo cat, the felines coloring should consist of a solid black coat, with white fur limited to the paws, belly, chest, throat, and often the chin, although many tuxedo cats appear to sport goatees, due to the black coloration of their mandible -- that is, the lower jaw and chin. Bicolor may also appear in the skin color. Paw pads may be black or pink. Bicoloring of the nose and mouth are also common.

Theoredically speaking, he is actually a mask-and-mantle type like the one in the picture. In fact he looks a lot like that.

Now what is so important about him? Sacramento has this wonderful thing called the Sacramento Spay Neuter Commuter which offers low cost altering of animals for extremely cheap. For male cats, its merely $20 to have the operation done. Big whoop right? Well heres the issue. The neuter comes in a package. The package includes the castration, rabies shot, and a license. The problem with this is, Im not sure if I want to own this cat (even though he is cool and Id take him home...doesnt mean I can.) I probably wont attach a license to him unless I get to take him home. So why pay $20 to have a cat neutered that isnt yours?

Well lets talk about why Alyssa is important first. For you readers that dont personally know me, she is a dear friend that I go to school with. So whats so important about her? Well nothing, its her cats. They are unaltered queens (thats what female cats are called for ya guys that didnt know...male being a tom) that are outdoor cats and churn out litters every year. Whats the big deal about this you say? It is estimated that well over a million cats are euthanized each year mostly due to kitten season - a time in the summer when cats produce the most litters. The millions are only the ones turned into shelters. These do not include the ones that are left to die on the streets. My deal is to help spay any cats that she may have when I get the money to (likely when I get a job) and alter any kittens she may have. This will help prevent at least 300 lives from being seized due to overcrowding of shelters. That means a lot to me.

hundreds of kittens like this one will be
euthanize this year by one shelter alone.
Imagine the rest that will die across the
nation.

Now on to Spyro. Spyro is turning 10 next month. What does he get for his birthday? Castrated! Well I will be sure to shower him with love. He is too old to go to the Sacramento Spay Neuter Commuter so I have contacted Sacramento SPCA to see if they will do it. If not, I will just pay extra and go to a real vet where they will probably give him pain meds. I plan on letting him eat canned food seeing as he is old and his recovery time will take longer. I love my dog and I think I should show it more.
My list for things to get Spyro once he gets to live with me again.
-oversized orthopedic bed
-fountain style watering system (where water is always running)
-a new vet...the one I like.
-microchip
-rolled leather collar with license and ID (and possibly microchip tag depending on what chip he gets)

and of course...sweaters because he has long, but very thin fur. I hate watching him shiver around the house.


And jobs...what about em? Well I still need one. I will be calling back and bugging the shit out of every place I applied.

=]

So yup. Then I can have money.

A list of what I will do if I have money

-possibly move out...
-adopt Tux...have him microchipped and buy him cat things including Soft Paws so he wont beat up Spyro.
-Take David, Thim, and King out to dinner.
-Spay Alyssas animals
-take kittens off craigslist and alter them
-BUY TEXTBOOKS
-be cool
-donate to animal shelters (tax write off...yessums)
-new rat cage

and yup

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