Gaia Community: :franc's Blog

grow your own food.

http://rails.gaia.com — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:25:10 GMT

So maybe you've got a garden, and you've always thought of building a fish pond, or starting your own organic vegtable patch, or both.

Or maybe you have some experience with growing hydraponic vegetables. Then you'll know how wasteful that can be, and you would have had to worry about disposal of toxic waste water.

Or you have a aquaculture setup and realise the huge water waste that is - with regular water changes needed to keep fish healthy and all that.

In any case you have been thinking how you can be more water wize and you've been saddened by the wild fish reserves being overharvested and soon to be depleted.

aquaponics to the rescue

Aquaponics is the marriage of hydraponics and aquaculture. It tends to be more productive but it has the huge benefit of not having the mayor negative issues that hydraponics and aquaculture need to deal with.

oversimplified basic principles:
You have a water filled container (fish pond) with some fish in. Fish produce ammonia. So pretty quick you have a container filled with water, fish and ammonia.
Ammonia inhibits fish growth and is toxic. In aquaculture regular water changes are needed to keep ammonia levels low.
In our aquaponics system however we pump our water out of the fishtank and into a gravel filled grow bed. Bacteria grow on the survice of the gravel. There are 2 types of bacteria. One consumes ammonia and produces nitrites and the other consumes nitrites and produces nitrates. In the grow bed we also plant our vegetables (no need to stick to vegetables though, you can grow fruit trees, herbs or just about any plant).
The plants take up the nitrates through their roots and use it to grow quickly. The water drains from the grow bed back into the fish pond.
So in short; the fish dirties their water, which we then give to the plants, which uses the nutrients in the water to grow and in the process cleans the water for the fish to live in.

In aquaponics the only water you loose is that which is lost by evaporation. Fish and plants grow exeptionally well, and soon you can harvest all the vegetables you consume from your own little garden. Every so often you can also harvest a fish or two knowing that these fish are organically grown and fed, and does not deplete the ocean reserves.
You control what the fish eat, so you can have very healthy organic fed fish. If you have herbevorous fish, like talapia, you can feed them the kitchen waste from the vegetables harvested from the grow bed.

For more information on getting started I highly recommend: http://www.backyardaquaponics.com

Tags: aquaponics, blog day, fish, vegetables, organic, produce

Friday 5 on stars

http://rails.gaia.com — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:46:06 GMT

1) Do you wish on shooting stars?
i live seeing them. wishing on them doesn't make much sense. i'm pretty hopeful by default.

2) Would you like to travel to outer space?
I would indeed! should be a profoundly spiritual experience.

3) Do you like astrology?
No. infact, i'm not sure i understand what astrology has to do with stars at all. astrology makes incredible claims that is built on non sensical propositions. There's way more spiritual authenticity and awe to be found with actually studying the universe as well as we can, by means of astronomy and cosmology, than the faux intrigue created by a bronze-aged interpretation of heavenly bodies. also, there's much better methods for understanding humans, by means of the various sciences of psychology.

4) If you could name a new planet, what would you call it?
Bob

5) Do you enjoy star-gazing?
absolutely. it's exciting and truely awesome. looking at entire and multiple galaxies through a telescope is an amazing experience!

Tags: friday-five, stars

a day of new beginnings

http://rails.gaia.com — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:18:59 GMT

strange how many such days fly by.

Tags: new day

How does your mind relate to your body?

http://rails.gaia.com — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:06:52 GMT

i'm sure he knows better

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/keith_barry_does_brain_magic.html

Tags: QaR, mind, body, life, holistic

Getting things done.

http://rails.gaia.com — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:31:34 GMT

this manifesto is from here: http://www.brepettis.com/blog/2009/3/3/the-cult-of-done-manifesto.html

There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
There is no editing stage.
Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it.
Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
Once you're done you can throw it away.
Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
Destruction is a variant of done.
If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
Done is the engine of more.

this might be somewhat related to this book by Mark Lesser:
http://groups.gaia.com/gaia_books/331765/less/by_marc_lesser

Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less
by Marc Lesser

Buy from Amazon!

so, it seams that you can get things done by doing less, and getting things done enables you to do more. ? fun.

i'm done drafting this. you are done reading this.

Tags: getting things done, less, more

our ancestors walked like us already by 1.5 mil years ago

http://rails.gaia.com — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:37:12 GMT

Modern humans, homo sapiens, have been around for a few hundred thousand years. We have good remains and artifacts dating back 200 000 years.

We also have some very good remains of Homo Erectus/Ergaster from around 1.5 million years ago who were sufficiently different to be called a different species, but who passed their genes down to us.

With those genes we also inheritted our modern gait. yep, that's right, analysis of fossilized footprints found in kenya along an ancient riverbed shows that ergaster, although his legs were slightly shorter and arms longer, had a similar gait and foot structure to ours.

Tags: ergaster, fossils, evolution, homo sapiens

What is a must and what is not?

http://rails.gaia.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:30:24 GMT

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.

Yoda
-
http://www.gaia.com/quotes/43736/try_not_do_or_do_not_there_i/by_yoda

Tags: QaR, must, essentials, necessary, flexible

What is your favorite theory?

http://rails.gaia.com — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:09:03 GMT

Evolution.

but it is important to note that a scientific theory - like evolution - is not merely an opinion. Like gravity, evolution is fact and theory, and a scientific theory is:

"a well supported body of interconnected statements that explains observations and can be used to make testable predictions."

"Scientific theories describe the coherent framework into which observable data fit. The scientific definition of the word "theory" is different from the colloquial sense of the word. Colloquially, "theory" can mean a conjecture, an opinion, or a speculation that does not have to be based on facts or make testable predictions. In science, the meaning of theory is more rigorous: a theory must be based on observed facts and make testable predictions."

"In science, a current theory is a theory that has no equally acceptable alternative theory, and has survived attempts at falsification. That is, there have been no observations made which contradict it to this point and, indeed, every observation ever made either supports the current theory or at least does not falsify it. A revision of the current theory, or the generation of a new theory is necessary if new observations contradict the current theory, as the current findings are in need of a new explanation (see scientific revolution or paradigm shift). However, the falsification of a theory does not falsify the facts on which the theory is based."

all quoted from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_as_theory_and_fact

Tags: QaR, theory, belief, explanation, world

Mandela congratulates Obama.

http://rails.gaia.com — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:35:29 GMT

Peace Train by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)

Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela congratulated US president elect Barack Obama on his victory on Wednesday, saying he was an inspiration to people all over the world.

"Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place," Mandela said in a letter to Obama.

"We note and applaud your commitment to supporting the cause of peace and security around the world. We trust that you will also make it the mission of your presidency to combat the scourge of poverty and disease everywhere.

"We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead. We are sure you will ultimately achieve your dream making the United States of America a full partner in a community of nations committed to peace and prosperity for all," said Mandela.

from here

Tags:

thank you american gaians

http://rails.gaia.com — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:44:49 GMT

today was certainly one of the great days in my life. it has much of the same feelings of hope, relief and validation that i felt when Madiba walked from his prison to lead a nation to change.

today americans redeemed their great country in the eyes of the world. today a great man compells great hope and trust in americans and humanity.

today reason and hope triumphed over ignorance and fear.

today you can be proud.

may tomorrow be everything we hope for.

Tags: hope, progress, america, obama, politics

Gobama!

http://rails.gaia.com — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:36:00 GMT

Obama's final rally

Tags: obama

the great immorality

http://rails.gaia.com — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:40:45 GMT

Christopher Hitchens: Christianity Is Totalitarian

Tags:

go democrasize

http://rails.gaia.com — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:33:39 GMT

Go vote. (for Obama)

Tags: vote, obama

power of sol

http://rails.gaia.com — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:16:42 GMT

concentrated. focused. powerful.

Melting steel with solar power

Tags: solar power, sun, energy, steel, melting

i can't vote. but it does concern me.

http://rails.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:45:09 GMT

The American election is an odd occurrence.
300 million people have the opportunity to vote and decide who will be the most powerful human being on the planet for the next 4 years.

this choice has very broad reaching effects, felt throughout the world. often the consequences are felt more keenly far outside the borders of the States.

The world watches in suspense to see if the American public will redeem itself. we still remember the potential missed 8 years ago by Al Gore not being victorious. we see the damage caused by not enabling John Kerry to change direction. We hope that Americans will look inside and beyond their borders and realize that their choice on November 4 will in a very real way be a life and death decision for hundreds of thousands of members of humanity.

I can't vote. But i can voice my opinion. I am changing my profile picture to that of Obama, and i hope and believe in a progressive, sound and compassionate American administration that the world and Americans can be proud off.

I hope you will join me and make your profile picture a visual ad for world peace, progress and hope.

Tags: hope, progress, america, obama, politics

How do you keep yourself busy?

http://rails.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:14:50 GMT

trying to figure out how to get everything done that needs doing.

Tags: QaR, busy, time, pressure

signature strengths.

http://rails.gaia.com — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:40:36 GMT

so at Siona's suggestion i headed over to Authentic Happiness, and retook the signature strength test that i last took in Oct 07.

I'm a great fan of Martin Seligman and the positive psycology movement. See this TED talk he gave on the state of psychology. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psychology.html

Regarding the signiture strength test:

The test is designed to show you the things in your life you should be concentrating on in order to live a fullfilling life.

The interesting part is that i have now taken the test 3 times. and they do change in interesting ways.

in every test Curiosity and interest in the world is rated as my top strength.

curiously 'critical thinking' has never featured in the top 5, and if i were to guess my strengths i'd be guessing that to be number 1.

Robben Island, from Blouberg strand

in other developments: i've aparently become less creative, and more grateful.

here are my top 5 for each time:

august 2006:

1 Curiosity and interest in the world

2 Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness

3 Forgiveness and mercy

4 Creativity, ingenuity, and originality

5 Capacity to love and be loved

october 2007

1 Curiosity and interest in the world

2 Perspective (wisdom)

3 Capacity to love and be loved

4 Creativity, ingenuity, and originality

5 Forgiveness and mercy

june 2008

1 Curiosity and interest in the world

2 Gratitude

3 Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness

4 Capacity to love and be loved

5 Appreciation of beauty and excellence

Tags:

I'm that guy.

http://rails.gaia.com — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:13:38 GMT

I feel very fortunate. I've realized i'm pretty much that guy.

you know the one. the guy you imagine you might be someday. the guy with the awesome wife, loving family, the fullfilling job, the house, the car, the motorcycle, the dogs, great friends and breathtaking views.

the guy that's gone out and proved, if nothing else, that conventional wisdom does not apply to unconventional people.

I am authentically happy.

and looking forward to living up to some of the great guys on my ever growing list of awesome dudes i might become.

i know this seems pretty self-obsessed. but really this is above all an expression of my gratitude to no-one in particular and to everyone who has shaped me and my circumstance in any way.

Tags:

the big nine zero zero!

http://rails.gaia.com — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:08:48 GMT

20080722-7694

20080722-7695

this is my new Kawasaki VN900 classic. i've been wanting this for a few years now.

at lasts!

Tags: bike, vn900, vulcan

the Big nine zero!

http://rails.gaia.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:01:48 GMT

Thanks again Madiba. and happy, healthy 90th birthday!

Tags: mandela, gratitude