Robot gardener in your backyard

Farmbot food bed example

Home gardening is a hobby for many, a way of life for others and a primary food source for some. If you’re not a green thumb, or have more money than time, this robot gardener is pretty cool. This is an open source project, meaning you can get the plans for free and build it yourself (or buy the kit for $3,900). The robot is programmed through an app and does everything from planting seeds and watering to weeding the garden (yes, it uses a camera and software to recognize weeds and pluck them out). With durable parts, it can survive year round outdoors.

To learn more about this project, take a look at https://farmbot.io/

Of course, if you like to get dirty, plant and pluck, this takes away from your hobby time in the garden.  I know a few folks who prefer the old fashion gardening methods. But this is a great direction for places like urban rooftop gardens, or folks with a desire to just experiment, or like me who like the food but have little skills or patience for gardening.

 

In Praise of Slowness from Carl Honore

in praise of slowness

Carl Honore shares his perspective on slowing down. From Work, to relationship, as well as helping our own kids to slow down.  He reminds us to stop being busy for the sake of being busy.

He also makes the point that companies get better productivity and schools that reduce the work level for students have better performance. Overall, slowing down helps in almost all facets of life.

 

 

Greenland Shark lives up to 500 years!

In August 2016 scientist looked at 28 Greenland sharks that were accidentally cot in nets as by-catch by fishermen in the North Atlantic. Through tissue Greenland sharksdating they determined that some of the sharks were over 292 years old when they were caught. Their estimates ranged as high as 400 years for those caught, leading to a determination that they would live to 500 years if not accidentally caught.

While the estimates are wide, at over 300 years, and possibly 500 years lifespan, the Greenland shark is the longest living vertebrate.  Scientist cannot greenland sharkbe certain but believe the low temperatures of the North Atlantic slow the rate of aging for the shark.  Whatever the reason, it is remarkable.

 

more on the sharks here

The voice is the Music

The voice is the music. The language is not english, so I don’t understand the words. But the voice is magic.

The judges have a hard time believing it is her voice. So they make stop and sing acapella. She does not disappoint. Amazing voice.

Being happy is staying in the moment

Material gains and progress are not tied to being happy. Even though we have much more than we had a generation ago we are no happier. Income, age, gender are not connected to being happy.

So, what make us happy? Trackyourhappiness.org has something to teach us about being happy. The key finding is stay in the moment. Be aware of where you are and be engaged with the people you are with.

We are able to contemplate the past and plan for the future. Our ability for mind-wandering is unique to us as a species. This is a strength.

Smile Anyway

It seem like the world has a preference for the bad things. But there is overwhelmingly more good. We simply choose to look for the things that make us smile. Sometimes it’s a beautiful photograph or painting, then it might be music or children laughing. There are so many good things about this world. We just want to bring it to life.