Tag Archives: health

General Posts

Wednesday Afternoon Ramblings

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Whatever illness this is, it’s wicked and mean.  It started as a sinus infection and then began acting like the flu.  I’ve had a raging headache, fever, a sore throat, joint aches, and pain in my lower back.  Please forgive the grossness of this, but the really odd part is that I’ve also developed terrible sores on my gums and soft palette.  The closest thing I can find that resembles my symptoms is coxsackie virus.  Regardless, it’s really painful and has me flat on my back.  I hope to be better soon, at least before the boys come up, so please send me lots of positive energy.

Hope all of you are hearty and hale and having a good holiday season.

General Posts

Sunday Morning Ramblings

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I woke up early this morning from a nightmare about heights and couldn’t go back to sleep.  Not being ready to dive back into the pile of grading, I’ve spent the morning researching the crops we’re gonna focus on.  So far, we’re strongly leaning towards cauliflower, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, and lettuce, and most of my research this morning has been on the particular strains of each we want to specialize in.  The variety is staggering, but I think I’ve got it narrowed down to 2-3 of each.  I’m so excited I can barely contain myself.  While I have no delusions about the hard work ahead, I’m looking forward to it.

The prototype is shaping up nicely, too.  I’ve got the basic frame and irrigation network put together.  Now, I just need a pump, a holding tank, and the lighting unit.  The lights will be by far the most expensive component, so I have to get the right unit that will give the best return on overall price and operating expense.  I think I’ve found the best choice, but I’ll wait until I’ve tested it before I give any endorsement.  On the other end of the spectrum, the water pumps won’t be nearly as expensive as I had originally thought, so that will help out quite a bit.

Also, as we get the aeroponic units operational, we’re gonna work on installing the solar panels.  To me, this is the most crucial step of the farm.  My goal is eventually to have a 100% self-sufficient farm, and the most important aspect of that is energy consumption.  While aeroponic farming is much more efficient, it’s also requires considerable electricity to operate the lights, pumps, fans, and climate control elements, so if we can produce at least as much energy as we consume, the farm will be much more sustainable than if we rely on the grid.

Okay, I’ve stalled long enough.  Back to the pile of grading.

General Posts

Monday Afternoon Ramblings

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Here’s an update on the farm:  A couple of weeks ago I bought a used drill from a pawn shop, trying to save a few dollars on the construction costs of the prototype.  For my birthday, my father got me the hole cutting blade I needed for the pipes that will hold the plants, so Saturday I started cutting the holes in the 4″ pipe.  The first one cut out fairly easily, but as soon as I started on the second, the drill bit that guides the circular saw snapped in two.  The blade was graded to cut metal, so I was shocked that a plastic pipe broke it.  I ran back to the store and exchanged the blade, hoping that the bit had simply had a bad spot in it.

When I back from the store, I got six holes cut before something in the drill broke, so now, I will have to go back to the store to buy a new drill before I can get anything done.  The lesson in all this?  Don’t try to cut corners to save a couple of bucks.  Just spend a little extra and get something new with a warranty.  If it breaks, like the drill bit, you can exchange it for one that’s not flawed.  Otherwise, you end up with a $10 paperweight.

Overall, though, I’m still on schedule with the prototype.  I feel like it’ll be completed by early January, and then, we can run a couple of test crops to see how well the plants grow and to decide which ones we want to focus on come summer.  I’m excited and feel pretty good about how well things are coming together.