Tampilkan postingan dengan label post. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label post. Tampilkan semua postingan

Jumat, 24 Juni 2016

No Prawns

It is now a safe bet to tell you the prawns did not survive. I had a good look this morning and no sign of any. All gone.
The cat fish on the other hanad of course look frisky, that is, if cat fish can look such a thing.
This weekend will see me clearing out the accumulated sludge that has built up in the header tank. Might also be a good idea to install a bottom drain tap to make it easier for cleaning the next time round. Ill buy the fitting this afternoon and see how I feel on Saturday about doing anything!!!
Im also thinking about adding a second tank for prawns but really I do need to let this set up work its way through one cycle first. Its only been on the go for 40 days. What I will be doing is weighing the fish and from here on in will be checking them on a weekly basis. Should be an interesting  exercise and indeed I will also start to monitor and weigh the food I give them. Make it all a bit more scientific.

Sabtu, 11 Juni 2016

Brooklyn Non Dirt Talk

Brooklyn Non Dirt Talk: Growing without dirt
Urban greenscaping with particular emphasis on helping city dwellers to grow some of their own fresh food using modern user-friendly methods with innovator Bob Hyland and hydroponics for sustainable agriculture with Gwen Hill.

Tuesday May 15th, 2012

7:30 - 9:30 pm
Downstairs @ Sycamore Bar and Flowershop, 21+
1118 Cortelyou RD, BK (Q train to Cortelyou)
Hosted by Meera Bhat

----------
Bob Hyland is an urban greenscaping professional with almost 40 years of experience since his days running a leading interior plantscaping company in Los Angeles. He was a national industry organization speaker, writer and educator during those years.

This is what Interiorscape, the leading industry trade magazine, had to say in the Nov-Dec 1983 issue.
“Bob is truly an advanced thinker in our industry. We can think of no other individual who is more familiar and tuned in to advanced technology for interiorscapes.” “Surely, when the history is written of our still evolving industry, Bob will be recognized as the interiorscaper that modernized the industry with irrigation technology, and for that we will owe him a debt.”

Hyland has been blogging for the past eight years. Inside Urban Green, his internationally known blog, focuses on urban greenscaping with particular emphasis on helping city dwellers to grow some of their own fresh food using modern user-friendly methods. These highly productive systems are particularly suitable for nomadic urban lifestyles and do not require tillable land.
www.insideurbangreen.org/

Gwen Hill is an urban farmer, garden educator and local food lover based in Brooklyn, NY.  She is a team member at Prospect Farm, and leads a gardening program at the Harbor School, a public high school on Governors Island.  She worked as the director of education and greenhouse manager at the Science Barge, a sustainable hydroponic urban farm and environmental education center in Yonkers for two years.  She holds a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies and is completing her MA in Geography at Hunter College, for which she is studying the diversity of NYCs urban agriculture movement.

Meera Bhat
is part of the team at Prospect Farm (http://prospectfarm.org), a neighborhood growing initiative in Windsor Terrace that is working together to grow food in a formerly vacant lot.  She lives in Prospect Park South and works as a project manager at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University.  She also leads a girl scout troop, if youre looking for cookies.

Cantaloupe Alone is the creator of this event and a food blog for people with garlic breath run by Kensington, Brooklyn based Naomi Donabedian www.cantaloupealone.com

Jumat, 03 Juni 2016

Kays First Students Recital Performance

Date:  March 22, 2015

This is my younger son, Kay Kay.

Today, he is going to go up stage to perform what he has learned from the Piano class.

IMG 9847

Yup, it is his first “100 Stages Students’ Recital” performance.  

I think he started to learn Piano from Cristofori since end of 2014.

It is hard work for parents as we need to pick him up and sent him to class.  So, on Wednesday, he always comes home late at 7:30pm because of the 30 minutes piano class.

DSC00143

Influenced by his brother, Jay Jay.  He started to like Piano.  One day, he come back from school and tell mommy he wanted to learn piano.

That is how he got into this piano.

Take note, still, Mommy and Daddy has not played piano before when we were young.  And I don’t think we have much musical instinct in our cells.

So, the kids have to learn on their own, and pick up piano from the class on their own.

Today will be the Recital performance.  So, he has been practising hard at home.

IMG 9793

He actually can perform without the music CD.  Let’s take a look.  This is 10 minutes before the performance.

Very playful.

Because Jay Jay has to go to the Golf School later for Monthly competition.  So, the school have arranged him to be the first one to performance.  No pressure at all.

DSC00169

Since this is his very first performance the teacher insists he follows the music CD.  Teacher says he always practice in school using the CD.  I told the teacher, but he practice at home without the CD.  But then, it was decided to let him follow the CD.

He is pretty serious when he performs.  Don’t you think?  HaHaHaHa… I seldom see that kind of serous face.

And he got a certificate from his teacher Jay.  Yeap, the teacher is the same name as Jay Jay.  That is why he is willing to learn from teacher Jay.  Because of this same name.  HaHaHaHa...

Well done Kay Kay!

IMG 9825

So shy.  Receiving his certificate from teacher Jay.

All the students who performed yesterday.

IMG 9832

OK.  What a relief.  Drink lots of water.  Eat the sushi.  Well done Kay Kay!

IMG 9834

Kamis, 02 Juni 2016

Dont Play iPad Lah! Play Sushi Go!

Date:  Mar 30, 2015

At home, I have all kinds of board games or card games.

Don’t play iPad lah!

Playing iPad sometimes destroy their eye sight.

Playing iPad makes them become isolated or unfriendly.

Let your kids play board games.  Start training them to play.

Let them grew up playing card games or board games.

There are many board game out there.

This is one of them.  I found it quite cool.

It’s fun!

Sushi Go!

IMG 0166

There are 108 cards in there.  

Shuffle them well.

And setup the game as follow.  

IMG 0186

For example, I am playing a 3 players game.  So, each one get 9 cards.

IMG 0168

Every player look at their own deck of cards and choose 1 card and place the card face down.

IMG 0169

All players then open the cards at the same time.

The bottom player chosen a Tempura Card.  At the end of the round, you got to have 2x Tempura cards in order to score 5 points.  If you only end up with 1x Tempura card, you score nothing.

The right player chosen a Dumpling cards.  He will try to collect more dumpling cards, the more dumpling cards he has, the more he scores.  1 dumpling worth 1 point, 2x dumplings worth 3 points, 3x dumplings worth 6 points, if you get 4x dumpling you will have 10 points, and lastly, if you have fun dumpling cards, you score 15 points.

The top player played a “Chop Stick Card”.  Later I explained why.

This is end of first turn in first round.

IMG 0170

Next turn, every one pass his own deck of cards to the player on your left.

IMG 0171

And every one choose 1x card from the new deck (passed over from the player on the right), and place the card face down.

IMG 0172

For the person (Top Player) who has the “Chopstick” card just now, before every one open the 2nd card, he can yell “Sushi Go!”.  This is when he find very good cards in his present deck.  And wish to play two cards at the same time.  After he scream “Sushi Go!” he take the 2nd card out and face down.

IMG 0173

And he plays the Salmon Nigiri card together with the Wasabi card.  So, he score a total 6 points as the Wasabi multiple 3 times the Salmon Nigiri value.

IMG 0174

After he opened the two face down cards, he put the “Chopstick” card back to his own deck.

IMG 0175

Face down.  (Chopstick card).  This deck of card later will be pass to the left hand side player.  So the left hand side player will have a Chopstick card to play later.

IMG 0176

Let’s check out the 2nd turn.  Bottom player has 2x Tempura, so, he will collect 5 points.

The right hand side player has two dumplings.  So, he will have 3 points now.

The top player played a Salmon Nigiri on top of the Wasabi cards which multiply 3 times to the value of Salmon Nigiri value.  So, a total of 6 points.

IMG 0177

Continue to 3rd turn, you pass the cards to the left hand side player.  All the decks are swap to the left hand player.

IMG 0178

You continue to play the cards each turn until you finish all the cards.  That is when you take a paper to calculate points.

IMG 0181

Bottom Player’s Cards Scores:

The single Tempura score nothing as it is not a pair.

The pair of Tempura cards will score 5 points.

The single Sashimi card score nothing as it is not a set of 3x cards.

He collected 4x sushi cards.  He has the most.  So, he score 6 points.  Now if there is any one also have the same and most cards, then, the 6 points will divided by 2.  If all three players scores the same number of sushi cards and all have the most cards, then, it will be divided by 3 and ignore the remaining.

He has an Egg Nigiri card, which score 1 point.

So, in this round, the bottom player score a total of 5 + 6 + 1 = 12 points.

IMG 0182

Top Player’s Card Scores:

Chopstick card score no points.

The Salmon + Wasabi pair give 2 x 3 = 6 points.

The Egg Nigiri is 1 point.

The Sushi card, he has 1x.  And that is the 2nd most card, so, he scores 3 points here.  As the third player did not play any sushi card at all.

So, in this round, top player scores 6 + 1 + 3 = 10 points.

IMG 0183

Now, let’s look at the Right Player’s scores.

He has only 2x Sashimi cards where he requires 3.  So, he score zero points.

He has pudding 3 cards.  He has the most.  So, he score 6 points.  Take note, if at the end of the round, the least pudding player will take -6 points off their points.  So, you must make sure you do not compete the pudding.  As the loser will suffer.

The Salmon + Wasabi earns him 2 x 3 = 6 points.

He has another pair of Salmon + Wasabi which earns another 6 points.

In total, the right player has 6 + 6 + 6 = 18 points.

IMG 0184

So, you continue play three rounds and then calculate and add up all the points.  

Remember, the pudding is kept until the last.  

Here is the quick game summary and their scores of the different cards.

IMG 0194

This game is easy to play.

It is suitable for 6+ and above.

Each game takes about 10-20 minutes.

It is fast pace game.

IMG 0187

It is a strategy game.

You get to see all the possible cards after 3 turns in a round.

However you know it has the cards in somebody deck, but it does not mean that they do not play them.

IMG 0188

Like what we see above, some player trying to collect the Sashimi cards.  But you really need 3x cards to score 10 points or nothing.

So, you have to be wise to make the decision to keep playing Sashimi cards.

IMG 0189

Actually, do you remember the Sushi place that revolving belt?  This game is like that.  The deck of unplayed cards keep moving one direction to the left.

Each time, you pick what you want and pass your deck of cards to the left side player.

IMG 0190

It is also interesting that you need to eat dessert - Pudding after all three rounds.

IMG 0191

Of course you can have different ways of playing.  Create your own.

IMG 0192

And the game is easy and fun.  Even Kay Kay loves to play.

IMG 0193

I recommend this game.

I bought it from Amazon.

Selasa, 17 Mei 2016

First Post of Many WHY AQUAPONICS

While engaging in a debate on the worlds capacity of humans and the limitations imposed by the lack of available land and food, I stumbled upon the concept of aquaponics (hereafter referred to as "AP").

AP is human harnessing of a process that started billions of years ago...yet, amazingly enough, is the future of food production for our entire race.  It will go commercial, and current agricultural farmers with their antiquated techniques will be cornered out of a market with APs ability to mass-produce organic produce locally for less than half the cost using less than half the land.  Couple this with the fact that AP can operate solely only renewable sources of power (wind/solar), emancipating farmers from fossil fuel dependence...and can be scaleable from a kitchen to commercial operation...and you can truly see its limiteless potential.

If I won the lottery, I would become an AP baron, purchase huge cheap plots of land in a sunny climate, raise tilapia in subterranean rooms at constant temperature, and elbow out all competition.  Sadly, the military lifestyle only affords me a meager base pay and moves me every 3-5 years. 

The theory is solid.  The math is solid.  The science is solid.

Imagine...no more irrigation and huge canals...no more algal blooms...no more pesticides...no more dependence on foreign oil...drastically reduced carbon emissions.

Some backyard enthusiasts such as Murray Hallam and Affnan have done much to make it easy for the layman, and have done much to promote awareness of the potential of AP.  I will ATTEMPT to explain the theory behind it all, and emphasize the role that AP will play in our (yes, OUR) future.

Rabu, 11 Mei 2016

Late post of last years Aquaponics activities

Sorry for the late post. This was at the end of the season last year towards the end of September 2012. I moved positions within my company at my day job...you know the one that truly pays the bills, and didnt have much time to dedicate to my Aqauponic adventures. Im hopefully back on track and can post more as time allows.  This post is related to the phenomenal growth of my tomato and Basil plants in the fall. The tomato plants along with the basil, actually choked out all the other growth in the beds by late November. I harvested the Basil, drying some and making the rest into homemade pesto which I froze.

Mainly Tomato and Basil plants


I also had several types of Lettuce and Kale growing in the sprouting rafts



Some of the final product, Dried Basil and Pesto.



Heres an Overview of the September 2012 Growth in the Greenhouse.



Until Next Time....Enjoy!

Rabu, 23 Maret 2016

Grilling Success

Grilla from Manila heating torching the coals


Ill be the first to admit it: I misuse the term BBQ all the time. BBQ is the application of heat and smoke in controlled (usually small) to slow cook meat until its falling apart juicy and good. BBQ is a not easy, requires time, skill and patience to control wild elements like fire. I know how to grill. A grill is just a metal grate that you put over heat, often created from charcoal or gas, but Ive been know to cook over wood fire too. Its not any different from cooking on stove except youre outside and youre in charge! In fact I have a might grill pan I use inside all the time, but yeah its just not as impressive sounding is it?

So lets be clear. BBQ is slow smoked ribs, pork butt, pastrami, brisket etc. Grilling is for hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken pieces, fish, vegetables or anything that can be cooked on grate over fire. Use your imagination, and youll find that lots of things taste amazing on the grill. I find a successful grilling comes down to 2 factors:

1) Choosing the right items to grill. If you are serving a crowd quantity can trump quality if pay attention to the next piece of advice.
2) Preparing marinades and condiments to compliment your grilled foods. I strongly suggest:
1 pickled item, 1 marinade, 1 kind of bbq sauce



Flavor trifecta for best grilling success: BBQ sauce, cilantro lime marinade, and kimchi


Condiments are creative. You can combine, grind, and personalize any set of flavors into existing condiments or from scratch. I am including my BBQ sauce recipe below which you are free to tweak and twist to be sweeter, more sour, or spicy as you see fit. Some other grilling condiments include, chutney, sriracha ketchup, pesto, lemon-garlic aioli, duck fat mayonnaise (just be careful to keep these out of hot direct heat, ick), kraut, bread and butter pickles, pickled turnips, pickled watermelon rind, chili, black bean salsa, and on and on and on. 


Naomis BBQ Sauce Base


1 onion, roughly chopped
5-8 cloves of garlic
1 tsp oil
1/2 cup ketchup
12 oz diced can tomatoes
1 tblsp soy sauce
1 tblsp molasses
1 tblsp vinegar
5 drops liquid smoke
1/2 can of beer
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
hot sauce to taste

Heat onion, garlic and oil over medium heat for 10-12 minutes until transparent in a large sauce pan. Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer for  20 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Move BBQ sauce back to stove, heat for another 10 minutes over medium to thicken. Taste and adjust flavors as necessary. Cool and store in a jar for about 6 months.


Cilantro-Lime Marinade

1/2 whole lime, chopped into pieces
1 large bunch of cilantro, washed and coarsely chopped
2 whole scallions, chopped into pieces
1 tblsp olive oil
2 tblsp pineapple juice
1 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic
1 dried chili pepper, torn into pieces



Grind all ingredients in a food processor. Taste and adjust flavors as necessary. Marinade will keep for about 2 weeks. Spread over chicken, beef, or seafood before and or after grilling.




 

Aquaponics get Here Copyright © 2016 -- Powered by Blogger