Well there are still more Great Sites for us to visit

Here we are, the middle of another week and all sorts of things keep turning up. So Ill see if I can make head or tail of some of it.....:But First - I said on Monday I would make it up to you - Well Heres Your Bumper Crop:
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Courses, Workshops & Events


For Upcoming Courses, Workshops, & Events in Permaculture, Ecovillage Design, Sustainable Living Skills, & More
Resource?Center
2008, Living Mandala
creative services by: 360 Degrees

In Association With

Nor Cal Aquaponics

Mendocino Ecological Learning Center


Facilitators & Instructors

Max Meyers

David William House

Chris Byrne

Guests Instructors TBA


Course Inspiration

What if there was way to produce an abundance of organic food using 98% less water, while producing up to ten times more food in the same amount of area and time? What if you could achieve this using 1/4 the amount of energy, in a system that does not require fertile soil, saves you labor, makes you a good living and is incredibly sustainable?

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Experts release qualified information on sustainable food production.
Right and wrong methods – and little pointers that will rapidly increase food productivity and bio-security with functional foods!


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Feb 03, 2011 – I could hear the spruiker calling out to the public as they walked past "Come on a journey with Australian Andrew S. de Dezsery, M.Sc and International Specialised Skills Industry Fellow as you learn Aquaponics 101The who, how to, where and what!” he cried.

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 From Murray Hallam
The First 12 Months and DIY Toteponics.

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Murray

Guest post by Eco Films.

Just a quick update on what’s happening with the upcoming DIY Aquaponics DVD. The DVD is complete and ready to go. We’ve been waiting for Murray Hallam to complete his accompanying pdf file that will be included with the disk and today we got his first draft and boy is it looking good. We were expecting a plan with measurements of the various layouts of the IBC container, but Murray has submitted almost a detailed book, full of photos, graphics and an extensive parts list with a...


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Herring Gut students learn from experience
by Alexandria Brasili
School of Roots students with harvested greens. L-R: Kyle, Tyler, Jack, Savanah Photo: Alexandria Brasili
Its a cold winter day in Port Clyde. While all is quiet and snowy outside, inside Herring Gut Learning Center its a completely different story. Students dart back and forth in rubber boots and aprons with baskets of fish and clipboards, yelling out weights and quantities in order to determine tank stocking densities. The group shrieks as a fish flops out of a basket and onto the floor. One brave student cups the fish under the belly and over the nose, a handy technique for ensuring that the fish doesnt wiggle out onto the floor again. Meanwhile, students in the greenhouse work in t-shirts, planting and harvesting crisp heads of bright green Bibb lettuce while snow gently falls outside.

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West Chatham Events CalendarWest Chatham Events Calendar
Posted: February 9, 2011 - 12:20am  |  Updated: February 9, 2011 - 3:18am
Advertisement
By Savannah Morning News

TODAY

"Club 316"

5-7 p.m. Feb. 9, Salvation Army, 3000 Bee Road. There will be cooking, sports, Bible study and more for ages 4-18. Free. For information, call 912-352-8366.

Opening Reception for "New Beginnings"

6:30 p.m. Feb. 9, Gallery S.P.A.C.E., 9 W. Henry St. The youth art exhibition celebrates the talent of local middle...[MORE]

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Aquaponics Systems Work With Nature Instead Of Against It
By , on February 16th, 2011%

Growing plants in the ground the old fashioned way may seem like the natural way to grow plants, but in reality, you are working against nature that way. It starts out by...
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 From YAHOO ANSWERS
Aquaponics , how to build aquaponics Garden?
I am trying to build my own aquaponics garden, but i am having trouble completing th eproject. Thus far i have been relying on forums and free guides. All the guide I have found are either: Harder to understand, incomplete, or just dont work. I know they are well intentioned but i want a professional guide that will lead me through the process step by step. Any suggestions? Read on for the Answers...

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Aquaponics

by Walter Newsom
(Gilbert, AZ, USA)

Tilapia from our tanks

We have a small acreage in Arizona that we raise our chickens for eggs, calves for beef and fruit trees. As we aged, we found that raising beef was too expensive and we needed protein that was more digestable.

We started raising talapia in tanks in our back yard 2 years ago. We us... Get the Full Story HERE
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Aquaponics For The Beginner - 5 System Considerations And Requirements
By K Bray Platinum Quality Author

You can set up your own aquaponics system rather easily however there are some factors you need to consider and understand before you get started. The first item is selecting your location, if you have limited space then this will determine the size of your grow beds and the fish tank.
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Aquaponics and Apartments… oh yes!

Photo Courstey: AquaBundance Aquaponics System $1295 retail

With more people moving into apartments from single-family residences, property managers have begun to encounter resident hobbies and behaviors that can be challenging. One of these is the practice of aquaponics, or raising fish and plants together in a tank and plant medium system.

How does it work? A very organic process recycles the fish excrement into plant fertilizer and as the plants grow they

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Grow Leds Hydroponic Aquaponic hps mh solar indoor whatever

Im sick of foreign countries controlling our shit. no offense, jus sick of it..German Hydroton, Netherland rockwool, south american or indian coir , saudi oil or chinese everything else..cmon America .put our heads together.
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Maui Sustainability Learning Center open for volunteers
Banana starts are planted in the Canoe Garden.

Advertisement
LAHAINA — Lahaina’s new sustainability center in Launuipoko invites the public to come and help with its monthly projects.

Established in 2010, the Maui Sustainability Learning Center, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, already has plantings of bananas, breadfruit and sugarcane in its Canoe Garden, with plans for many more plants that the early Polynesians brought to Hawaii in their canoes.

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Farmer-Chef Conference to be held in Buffalo.

Hyatt Regency Buffalo will play host to the Third Annual Farmer-Chef Conference on Monday, February, 21.
             
The theme this year is "Bridging the Farm to Table Gap" meaning all farmers, restaurateurs, and related professionals will gather and build awareness of Western New Yorks agricultural products, their quality, and accessibility to restaurants and the food industry in general.
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Toquaht chief speaks at Seafood Summit
Land-based aquaculture could be future for First Nation community
Julia Prinselaar, Westerly News

Toquaht First Nation chief Anne Mack attended last weeks Seafood Summit in Vancouver and made a presentation about a proposed aquaculture park within her territory.

"At this point were in the early stages," said Mack, who was part of a panel discussing the business of land-based closed containment salmon farming.

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Ryan Lilleys Page
We area a group of students from Santa Barbara City College building an Aquaponic Systems for our class called Projects in Sustainability
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Well, that should satisfy the best of you. I sure hope so....I got RSI of my two typing fingers...
So, have a good week [Whats left of it]
Soon
O Z Z I E

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Samsung Smart Bike MCUs For Your Bike

Bikes present a wide range of opportunities to use microcontrollers to improve your riding or at least give you a new experience. This posts briefly looks at a few of those opportunities.

Samsung Smart Bike

Tonights collection of bike related MCU projects and ideas was prompted by reading "Samsung Smart Bike packs an Arduino and frickin’ laser beams," a June 12 post in Geek.com. Geeks post said:

"Samsung’s been working on a concept bike in conjunction with Maestros Academy...For the smart bike in particular, the design team wanted to help reduce the number of cyclists involved in accidents each year...Front and center (literally) on the bike is a magnetic smartphone mount. Slap on your Galaxy phone and fire up the app to control the bike’s systems. There’s onboard LED lighting for nighttime riding and a rearview camera so you can safely keep tabs on traffic as it approaches from behind — video is streamed to your bike-mounted phone. And then there’s the four bike-mounted lasers. The lasers on Samsung’s bike aren’t designed to take out incoming foes...They’re part of the bike’s safety system. Fire them up, and a virtual bike lane gets projected onto the roadway to make sure motorists give you enough room to

ride...How does the bike communicate with your phone? It’s hiding the maker’s secret weapon, an Arduino, which gets paired via Bluetooth. The Samsung app also

Laser bike lane concept

does the typical social fitness stuff. You can track your rides and share them with other smart bike users, see where other people are riding, and even keep tabs on how many people are riding the same path as you in real time."

The Samsung Smart Bike is just one type of MCU-bike project. Using MCUs on bikes can be divided into five categories:

1. MCUs improving biking experience but not connected to the bike
2. Bike-connected MCUs for independent projects
3. MCUs integrating multiple biking features
4. MCUs connected to bike and to smartphone
5. MCU-controlled e-bikes

Numerous MCU posts could be written about each of the above categories of bike-mcu combos. For tonights post well just briefly descibe each category and mention related projects or webpage links.

Flora brake light backpack

The first category, bike-related MCUs which arent bike-connected, covers items like this Arduino blinking bike patch backpack, this Flora brake light backpack or this jacket which uses an Arduino to light up an arrow or other rider-visibility features. The MCU in these projects arent actually connected to the bike or integrated into its functioning, but they do create a better riding experience.

The second category, bike-connected MCUs for independent projects covers items like the bike speedometer from Instructables or some of the Arduino-bike projects from the Intro to

Bike speedometer

Arduino Pimp My Bike series. To find a specific bike-mcu project youre interested in, just Google for  bike Arduino [or microcontroller] xxxxx, where xxxxx is the topic or type of bike feature or function in which you are interested.

MCUs integrating multiple biking features includes projects like this bike dashboard Instructables which integrates a lighting system and a speedometer. An Arduino or other MCU system can control a wide variety of sensors and outputs, so you could include front and back-illuminating LEDs or lasers, blinking LEDs for turn indication, photosensors to automatically turn on your bike lights and lots of other physical computing features that are functional, cool or both.

Bike dashboard

The fourth category, MCUs connected to the bike and a smartphone have a huge upside for innovation and benefit in the next five to ten years as smartphones add sensors and computing power and as MCUs continue to become more powerful. This category includes projects like the Samsung Smart Bike. The MCU controls and communicates with a wide variety of devices and sensors, and the smartphone can easily connect your bike with the internet and with your friends or other bikers.

MCU-controlled e-bikes represents the largest financial impact of MCUs on biking to-date. China has been a huge market for e-bikes because of the size of the population, the low cost transportation provided by e-bikes and the effort to reduce or minimize pollution caused by gas or diesel vehicle engines. Here are two e-bike overview PDFs; a Samsung application note "Electric Bike Controller System" and a Texas Instruments application report "Hardware Design Considerations for an Electric Bicycle Using a BLDC Motor."

What type of MCU-bike project would you like to work on with the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group? Come to the next meeting, tomorrow night, Thursday, August 21, at 1385 8th Street, Arcata, California, and discuss that project with the MCU group.

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sleep is for the weak

Almost forgot about today...probably cause I didnt do much. Camera is still MIA and the phone is still an ass. I mean...why arent the pictures in DCIM or whatever? Or the photo folder???

But man am I sleepy. Guess I can make up for it all with two posts tomorrow.

Continue

That Dungeon with a Dragon in it

There really shouldnt be any excuses on why I havent posted.  I mean...I just didnt!  I guess Im a rebel huh?  Camera is still MIA and phone is still an asshole.

But Saturday, I did have a reason why I didnt post.  Husband was hosting a weekly Dungeons and Dragons game at our house.  We have been playing 4th edition which...well he is still learning how to be a good DM.  Recently he has decided to take a step back and focus more on school.  In other words, he doesnt really have time to do any story progression.

My character in this game is Kiki (like Kikis Delivery Service of course.)  I totally dig redheads so most of my D&D characters sport red hair.  Kiki started out as a half elf summer druid but made her way into an ardent.  Originally, she joined the quest because her homeland was being destroyed by magic energy which naturally pissed her off.  She was originally accompanied by a bear named Cid that we used and abused.  Cid has been set free to live as a normal bear.

One of the guys has wanted to play Advanced D&D (D&D 2.0...were actually taking a few steps backwards here) and took over on Saturday.  AD&D has a hell of a lot more RPG in it than 4.0 so my character has quite the back story here.  Her name is Sivalri (which I have not taken from any other game.)  She is also a half elf but is completely different.  Her mother was kidnapped and raped by a dark elf and managed to escape (or so everyone is told.)  Her mother raised her but was hanged for doing so (as she was told when her mother kept her locked in the house.)  When she was 13, she became an orphan.  To make money, she became a bard (a class I have never played before, making it more interesting.)  At the age of 15, she met a warrior which brought her to a cleric.  Silvari is on this quest to, essentially, bring back the middle class.  The poor are very poor which has created more poor orphans while the rich are in control of all magic which could help everyone out in the long run.  Silvari has brown hair and green eyes with darker skin.  

And so now you know why I may not post on weekends.  

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My discovery

Ok it seems God hates FIGS way more than he hates FAGS. He never referred anyone to a rotten fag…just a fig.

Also said that you probably shouldn’t lay with a dude like you do women (and if you don’t lay with women…)

BUT he would deny you figs.


12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

I don’t blame him though. Figs are friggin nasty.

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More for Newbies and then some

Keeping the trend going, There are several interesting sites that are just begging to be looked at that are full of vital information.
So often we can go to a site and after reading a few lines we find within ourselves a feeling of false security because there seems to be nothing that we havent already read or heard.
The problem is, there could be a little gem in the very next line or paragraph. Some experience or problem that has been overcome the hard way. Something that leaves us with "Thank God I kept Reading".
They say there is nothing you cant find on the web. But you need persistence and really well organized search techniques. 
Or just keep reading what we have here......lol

It does take time and effort to learn how to operate a system and anyone who says different would be telling a lie, but in the end...

systems can actually produce 8 to 10 times the volume of vegetables in the same space and time as conventional farming systems.This makes aquaponics an...

Lloyd Fischel of Lanikai Farm will welcome attendees for a tour of his aquaponics system, where he...

The tilapia fish are still alive and swimming and the plants that are growing in the nutrient laden water are growing quite well. I have to say the...

Aquaponics is the symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment....

Ideas included geothermal and passive solar greenhouses; aquaponics — to raise fish and produce in small urban spaces; edible landscapes....

WARNING....This is an MJ grower but his Videos are SO GOOD...

OK, Like I said above always read the fine print - There is always something new.....

And where it all Started....
On an eighth of an acre, a person can produce 25,000 pounds of food, Rakocy said. Of that, 11,000 pounds are fish and 14,000 pounds are vegetables.

That might do for today..

But just to update you on our progress, our BSF gear is now moving along and flies are laying so the lavae will soon be appearing, our test unit is still operational and the major setup is starting to look something special. Will include photos soon..

All the Best
Ozzie

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Spark io Raises 4 9 Million Lessons For Humboldt County

Spark Core

Spark.io just raised $4.9 million to hire more employees, increase the usefulness and user base of its cloud-based Spark OS platform, and increase its market presence and penetration. Microcontrollers (MCUs) were a key component of Sparks first product, Spark Core. Spark Core would be useless without the MCU, and knowing how to use and program the MCU was key to the early success of the product.

Can Humboldt County learn anything from the Spark.io story and replicate Sparks success? Yes, it can. Heres why and how.

Humboldts small town atmosphere, access to a beautiful natural environment, and the isolated, pastoral landscape which inspires creativity combine to provide a quality of life that attracts highly talented people to the area. However, Humboldt doesnt have a national or global reputation as a high-profile innovation community or a thriving high-tech business ecosystem. This means Humboldt MCU developers and entrepreneurs need to focus on the right things to be financially sustainable and have a chance for Spark-like success.

The highly talented people in Humboldt County who focus on the following six principles put themselves in a position to succeed like Spark did.

1. Engage in emerging technologies and sectors. (While the focus is on long term technologies, be conscious of low entry cost opportunities which take advantage of short term trends. Italics edit on July 20.)
2. Focus on interesting platforms that have high market potential.
3. Build a core network of people, both in and outside of Humboldt County, who are passionate and highly skilled and are focusing those passionate skills on developing disruptive innovations in emerging technologies and sectors.
4. Have a physical presence both in Humboldt and in a leading US location for the subject technology or sector.
5. Use Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Tindie and other appropriate high-profile sites to launch products, determine mass appeal, gain funding, gain visibility.
6. Build a network of support resources that allows long term serious product and platform development and insightful pivoting.

Only a small percentage of independent developers and startups who build and launch products and

companies will create a sustainable revenue stream, and even fewer will be as successful as Spark has been so far. However, talented people who successfully focus on the above six principles have a much greater chance of success than those who dont leverage those principles.

If youre interested in the Spark story and want more background, check out the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), TechCrunch (TC) and BusinessInsider (BI). According to the WSJ, "Spark.io “empowers engineers” by letting them create and improve products without relying on technology, features and access afforded to them by large companies...Having recently moved his

Spark Core breadboard circuit

business from Minneapolis to San Francisco, Mr. Supalla plans to use Spark.io’s freshly-raised capital on hiring, community-building and outreach to developers, and to manufacture and sell its Spark kits and operating system." TC says, "Today, the company has announced a third product called Spark OS, which allows developers to integrate their projects with an open-source OS, compatible with iOS and Android...The project shifted from the Spark Socket...to the Spark Core and the Spark Cloud...“Our greatest challenge is the shifting landscape,” said Supalla. “The IoT is a big deal, and companies around the world are trying to figure out how they play in it. The market changes every week when someone launches an initiative, but luckily we move quick." Sparks team is currently 12 people, but will, BI says, "...grow to about 20-25 people within the next few months." Per BI, the Spark CEO had "targeted makers and the growing hobbyist community centered on building things with technology, but...was surprised to discover that customers wanted to use Spark to deploy across thousands of devices for work and enterprise purposes...The time and energy it takes to build a product from scratch, we can potentially cut off 6-9 months off development time and millions of dollars from R&D so you’re not starting from zero."

Im going to write a weekly blog post that follows up on opportunities for Humboldt County microcontroller users. The posts will focus first on the above six principles, then will explore emerging products and technologies, MCU-relevant entrepreneurial success news, and other topics that may help Humboldt microcontroller users achieve high-profile success, or at least long term sustainable profit.

If you have comments about Spark-like opportunities in Humboldt County, or if you are interested in expanding or strengthening the community of Humboldt microcontrollers users, send an email to me at arcatabob (at) gmail {dott} com.

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The Perfect Gardening System for any age

Gardening has always been spoken of as a sort of labour of love. Well that is sort of it. For some. For others, it can be variations of Love or variations of labour - Or just a various mix of both. But one thing stands out.
Aquaponics is the vehicle that can provide the easy ride for people who find gardening to be a chore or physically too demanding for whatever reason. Take children, a garden is not always an inviting adventure. The processes that we see as a means to a goal doesnt always add up to be worth the effort or the wait for kids.

Aquaponics is visual gardening with interesting management thrown in. Children can more easily chart in their minds the process as they watch and begin to understand how each step in the A/P program unfolds. Seeds, Seedlings, choices of raft or gravel or expanded clay balls, little pots with plants growing inside while roots are being observed outside the containers while water rushes through, feeding the plants as the roots of the plants help to clear and purify the water. That same water gurgles down a shoot or slipway sometimes visibly, as it heads off to a sump tank where sludge is allowed to settle then that water is off again on its journey to a tank or pond where there are real live fish swimming, cavorting, surfacing with mouths open almost saying feed me, feed me....

Or the guy of my age. Carrying injuries from a life long past of work and play. Feet, ankles legs that are swollen or aching. and the back, Oh the back. Age catching up. Age acting up. Aquaponics for me and many others is not a chore its a recreation, a hobby that is the embodiment of gardening with none of the difficulties. No bending, Raking, Shoveling, digging, squatting and trying to somehow get up with some semblance of grace or dignity without falling face first or toppling sideways totally out of control. Being able to do all those things that were taken for granted 10, 20, 30 years ago, and now to do those things better and grow vegetables faster, better and easier. Oh yes, and tastier so much more tastier.

I LOVE Aquaponics with a passion. and thats why I sit here spreading the word bring everything I can find that can help, encourage and motivate you, your Dad or Mom or your children to participate, to enjoy and hopefully love A/P as I do....Now back to play....


For everyone else, you either remember or you still have a while to go...

School aquaponics, not finished yet either!

2 pics of the aquaponics system. All in place, but plumbing not finished yet. Theres 3 1250L fish tanks, with viewing windows, and 6 540L plant grow beds. 2 of these will be filled with 19mm drainage gravel, 2 with the fancy (and expensive) expanded clay balls and 2 will be floating raft style.

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Path to isle food security is to create local demand

Editors note: This piece was signed by the 15 agricultural industry groups listed at the end.
Hawaiis reliance upon imports is not the fault of individuals or institutions but the result of economic forces. In seeking to find alternatives to this reliance, we must bear in mind that agriculture is a diverse industry, which is a strength. 

 

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Aquaponics Workshop to Feature Dr. James Rakocy
Aquaponics workshop attendees at Nelson and Pade, Inc.’s aquaponics greenhosue.
Montello, WI (Vocus) August 12, 2010

Dr. James Rakocy, Director, Agriculture Experiment Station, University of the Virgin Islands will be co-teaching the Aquaponics and Controlled Environment Workshop offered by Nelson and Pade, Inc, Montello, WI, Sept 29 – Oct 2, 2010. During his 30-year career as a research scientist and ...

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Growing Cheaper And Healthier Vegetables Using Aquaponics

Submitted by Ready Done

If you ever thought you were paying to much for vegetables, keep reading.

We pay unjustified amounts of money for vegetables just because it is more convenient than finding the time and energy to grow our own...

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Tim Mann and Susanne Friend share the results of their work developing efficient and sustainable aquaponic food production systems, growing a worldwide community of organic farmers. Learn more about aquaponics...

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Field Report and Recipes, January 8, 2011

Waking up to a snow covered city this morning, I happily thought of the escape from winter I made on Monday afternoon.  I took a little sustainable ag field trip to White Horse, PA, to see the greenhouse where our Boston bibb lettuce grows.  Sunset View Aquaponics is located about 15 minutes east of...

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Video included: Anyone else have any experience with it? I just helped a buddy set up a greenhouse with an almost identical setup to the one in the videos. We used three 330 gallon tanks instead of the totes though, and tilapia instead of goldfish...

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What is A/P: Land-based agriculture can be hard on the environment. Crops often use nitrogen-based fertilizers. The fertilizers seep into ground water and run into rivers and streams, where they foster the growth of aquatic plant life and algae. Excessive algae growth strips...

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From historic bush block to horticultural haven

IF you are like me, you might occasionally think how much easier it would be to grow lots of food if you had a few acres in the bush.

While this may be true, what you gain on the roundabout you can lose on the swings.

Alan and Jan McKibbin bought 6.5 hectares (16 acres) at Ellalong nine years ago, thoroughly fed up with the maddening crowd, and especially the traffic, on the Central Coast.

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From one of the Forums: since jan 1 weve had 477mm - most of it in the last 48 hrs -- the road to wamuran is under water - were ok - on top of a hill
my chooks have turned into ducks --
poor sods im not allowed outside - being a pom - im allergic to water!!!!
all that lovely fresh water just running out to sea -- we need HUGE dams up north -- then pump it all south following the rail line - sydney - melbourne - adelaide
water control is the key -- another snowy mountains scheme!!

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Aquaponics on FaceBook: 
We said it before and well say it again; Aquaponics is profitable.. but DONT quit your day job until AFTER you are in the right position...

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Another Forum:Hey guys, so since most of you folks on this forum have a keen interest in ponds, or at least fish, I though i would ask you guys if you have any experience in aquaponics....

OK thats it again. Have a good day and Ill catch you later
Good planting my friends
O Z Z I E

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Daemons Car duino Tracker

Daemon by Daniel Suarez is an excellent book for most people who are interested in microcontrollers (MCUs), and Im currently in the middle of re-reading it. The MCU project in todays post, OpenTracker v2, is something that would have been right at home in Daemon.

OpenTracker (well drop the v2 suffix for the rest of this post) is an Arduino-based GPS / GLONASS vehicle tracker. The August 21 article in Electronics Weekly gives an overview of OpenTracker and mentions a couple use cases.

"This one could of interest to a Gadget Master looking to track moving objects, such as a vehicle. Want to monitor your elderly parent, perhaps, or keep an eye on your son or daughter’s first driving adventures...The people behind it, Tigal, are raising funds on the Indiegogo crowd-funding website...it’s actually the second version of the firm’s open source GPS/GLONASS vehicle tracking system...As well as tracking single or multiple vehicles, it also monitors the speed and altitude of the objects...The Arduino Due compatible module has an Atmel SAM3A8C ARM controller, a Quectel M95 GSM/GPRS modem and a Quectel L76 GPS/GLONASS module..."

OpenTracker v1

TIGAL just completed their Indiegogo effort to fund the development and launch of the second version of this moving object tracking device. Their Indiegogo campaign raised only €3,319 toward their funding goal of €50,000, so the new version of OpenTracker didnt get quick or strong uptake in the maker community or the general public. Because the Indiegogo effort was a flexible funding project, TIGAL, the developer of OpenTracker, keeps the money pledged. Also, TIGAL is an established Austrian company that sells the first version of OpenTracker online, as well as other products. The first version can be found online for €118.80 including 20% VAT.

Based on the online description of their company, TIGAL will likely continue development of the trackers second version in spite of not reaching their crowdfunding goal. It will likely take longer for the second version to become available, so if youre interested in this open source  moving object tracker, you should probably just buy the first version to learn on while waiting for the second one to appear. If you do interesting hacks with v1, TIGAL might want to have you be a beta tester for v2. Their website describes the company this way:

"TIGAL is a...international distributor and manufacturer of...innovative technological products.  TIGAL’s product line includes embedded Linux/Windows CE devices, M2M solutions, wireless devices, CAE/CAD, development systems and compilers, professional programmers, measurement tools, LCD and OLED displays and display modules with and without touch screen functionality, and speech recognition development tools and systems. TIGAL is also leading several OEM projects with its international partners...in the fields of SMS and MMS messaging, Voice Recognition and Linux-based development tools and embedded hardware."

If youre considering buying or building a GPS tracker, you might also want to look at a few of the

other open source trackers. I didnt do in-depth research to find out which have the best reputation, but here are a few links to get you started:

GeogramONE board

1. GeogramONE (originally released as DSS Open Source Tracking Device on Kickstarter) -- $120.00 -- "The Geogram ONE is an open source tracking device based off the Arduino platform.  After a successful Kickstarter campaign, several hiccups in the manufacturing and assembly process, were proud to announce the Geogram ONE is finally available for sale. Were selling the bare bones board here for development, however to take full advantage of its capabilites youll still need...accessories...The board also comes preloaded with firmware to use as a tracking device.  Communication is handled simply by send an SMS from your smart phone."
2. RuuviTracker -- "...an open-source, electronic global positioning device as well as free

   

   RuuviTracker Rev C PCBs

   software. Our GSM- and GPS/GLONASS/Galileo-enabled tracking system can be used for various different tasks...it can be used to track your hunting dog, it can become your vehicles alarm system, a portable weather station, a security system for your children...The device itself will be an affordable, water-proof, robust, high-quality and state-of-the-art product...We have, for example: 168MHz ARM Cortex-M4, GSM, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, accelerometer, microSD, microphone, speaker etc. The device draws only few microamps during sleep, so even a small battery might last for several years. Additionally, our accelerometer is able to wake-up the device when its touched." Heres a link to the project status page on their wiki. They appear to have completed a Rev C PCB (printed circuit board) for their tracker in June 2014. 
3. GPS Cookie (funded with a Kickstarter project in 2013) -- $89.00 -- Overview from

   

   GPS Cookie

   CNET: "The GPS Cookie runs on two AAA batteries and records data onto a microSD card you supply. It records data, time, and location to track your routes, letting you build up a history of your movements. That data can then be imported into Google Earth so you can visualize your travels. The idea behind the gadget is that you just carry it around and not worry about it until you upload the data to Google Earth and see your information. This could come in handy for travel abroad so youll be able to locate that out-of-the-way Parisian cafe later. It can also be used to track bike routes, commutes, or just about any travel adventure."
4. Adafruit Ultimate GPS on the Raspberry Pi -- From Martin OHanlons blog post about this Adafruit GPS tracker: "I got myself one of adafruits ultimate GPS breakout boards as I want to experiment with capturing GPS data in my car projects.  Its a seriously good bit of

   

   Adafruit Ultimate GPS on Raspberry Pi

   kit and if you looking for a GPS module you could do a lot worse than this.  They also have an excellent tutorial on setting it up with the raspberry pi...I used the raspberry pis on board UART to connect to the GPS module, Adafruit advocate using a USB to serial device but that didnt suit my needs (I need the USB for other things). I also create a GPSController class in python to allow me to communicate with the module easily."

Ive never done a maker project with GPS tracking, but it appears there are a number of options for doing that with open source designs. If you want to track your child, your parent or a potentially wayward or nefarious client (I have no idea as to the legalities of any of those activities and IANAL) or if you want to clearly understand how someone might be tracking you, this post should at least point you in the right direction...

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Princess sodalite mine ▨Ontario▨ ▣Canada▣ ♦ ♢ ☼ ☀Dign For treasure ☼ ☀ ♦ ♢

Princess Sodalite mine

The princess sodalite mine has been a destination high on my rockhound priorities list. When I was young, my uncle gave me a piece of sodalite, fascinated by its colour, and little did he know, that mineral would snowball my curiosity for the field.

( If theres one thing Ive learned from this, its, Give your child, or any child for that matter, a few of your specimens, 

you never know who you will inspire )

Today couldnt have been better, it was 23C, early spring ( no bugs...yet), bright blue sky, and for the most part, it was me, by myself, digging all day. I had brought some carrots, a peach, few apples, and a mason jar of water 

( cant forget the toilet paper!! ? all they have there is ? ONE ? outhouse ? )

This dig does not require any fancy tools, A simple rock hammer and maybe crack hammer would be good but even those are not necessary.

( One thing that would be a good idea to bring is a good pair of safety goggles tho ).

Other then that I brought a UV flashlight and my camera to test and capture what was around,
Of coarse, I get lost in picking and forgot to take pictures of what I was doing/found. lol.

Mine cart in front of Sodalite mine Ontario, Canada.

Princess Sodalite mine

( It took a lot of work to get rid of the poles and wires, Im still tweaking it tho, needs a little more work on the right side, I will come back and post the update later )

The View driving in looks like something the group of seven would paint, a scene so perfect that even the overhead wires seemed to drift away as I became swept up in the beauty, fresh air and relief of knowing this past winter was finally behind us. There is an old mine cart that sits out front stacked with a  rockhounds treasure. Across the road lyes a large body of water, infusing the air with an aroma impossible to capture in a glade plug-in 

( can you tell I dont like those things?).

Ill be honest,  this was one of the easiest drives to go rockhounding, I think it was nearly one or two turns off 62. There is ample parking, its a no worries type of place, if you want to head out to your car to eat lunch then go back to picking, you can. Its a very easy going vibe, thanks in large part to its  owner.

Walking up, the gargantuan sodalite pieces greet you at the door.
drool........

Princess sodalite mine greetings rock.

It was so bright that day I didnt even notice I was in the shot, lol. Ah well, it will have to do.

Princess Sodalite mine Ontario

Sodalite

Sodalite Ontario, Canada.

spaghetti coral

I managed to find a small specimen in the pile out back.

Conglomerate lava

I also found some of the that brownish/red rock to the top-right. Its a lava conglomerate and from what Im told, its from around the Greece area.

Princess Sodalite mine shop

The inside is a great little shop, they have all kinds of specimens from ontario and around the world. They have everything from home accessories, jewelery, sample specimens, healing stones, fossils, rock/mineral books, and info on other mines in the area. The owner is extremely friendly and the only reason I didnt get a picture of him was, I find it strange asking people I dont know for theyre picture. Other then that, He is willing to listen and help identify what you have, cant say enough good things about the man. 

Amethyst tree

I think the tree was a really neat piece. It caught my eye when I walked in.

Sodalite jewelry

This is some jewelery made from the sodalite mine here in Ontario.

Sodalite jewelry

Sodalite jewelery

Princess sodalite mine specimens for sale

Sample specimens.

Princess sodalite mine specimens for sale

Very reasonably priced specimens.

Princess sodalite mine fossils for sale.

Fossil

Princess sodalite mine fossils for sale

Princess sodalite mine fossils for sale

Im gonna get one of these the next time I go, I was so tired at the end of the day I kinda forgot they were there.

Princess sodalite mine jade inuksuks playing hockey

I really like the inukshuks playing hockey.

Princess sodalite mine specimens

BISMUTH - Prices sodalite mine

I actually picked up a piece of bismuth as a mothers day gift.

Azurite?

Is this azurite?

Rock/mineral books sodalite mine

Display case of healing stones, rock/mineral books and other accessories.

Native art.

1.

1.Calcite quartz 2. geode -amethyst 3.?

Geode.

It looked like they were making eggs out of pyrite.

Princess Sodalite mine Ontario - Black tourmaline

Princess Sodalite mine mountain- Ontario

This is the path to the rock pile, its not far from the actual building. VERY convenient when hauling a large bucket.

Princess Sodalite mine Ontario, Canada

Mountainous area blocked off with roap so the little ones know where not to go 

( good for a family outing,)

Please, dont let your kids yell and scream and throw rocks all over the place, this just ruins it for everyone else. NO EXCUSES PARENTS.

Princess sodalite mine rock pile

This is the tailings pile, from what I understand, it gets filled up a few times a year with more rocks/minerals and the fun continues. While I thought it would be bigger, and at first I wasnt finding much, but this was all my fault and all to change in due time. I thought I would check the sides of the pile but that turned out to be a bust, so I thought, If they were dumping it in here it must be piled up in the middle, so the digging began and the beauties started popping out of everywhere.

Princess sodalite mine specimens from around the world

These small specimens were just some stuff I didnt have, they are ( from right to left )
1-Green opal, 2-calcopyrite 3-green quartz 4-fuchsite

Rocks/minerals from princess sodalite mine

It was late, I had only the kitchen light to assist me, I will have to take some more pictures as these ones did not do my diggings any justice.

Gems from princess sodalite mine

These are some of the gem/minerals I found. There was a lot of apatite, some rose quartz and Im not sure what that black looking mineral in the top right is, well, its actually redish/purple but the camera cant pick it up. Also, there is a black mineral on the far left, to the right of the rose quartz, I think it might be black tourmaline?.

Fossils from Princess sodalite mine

Some of the fossils I found range from clam shells to corals. They must have shipped these in from Ottawa/Montreal/Quebec because, I was just reading a book on fossils (road rocks of Ontario- Nick Eyles- http://www.amazon.ca/Road-Rocks-Ontario-Geological-Discover/dp/1550418599 )  and these look exactly like what was shown from Quebec/Montreal area.
( FANTASTIC book by the way, I will be picking up the entire collection )

Sodalite from princess sodalite mine Ontario, Canada

Some of the pieces of sodalite I found.

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