diff --git a/templates/bacteria/sauerkraut_beginnings.html.tera b/templates/bacteria/sauerkraut_beginnings.html.tera index 7bf0f6a..74de7fd 100644 --- a/templates/bacteria/sauerkraut_beginnings.html.tera +++ b/templates/bacteria/sauerkraut_beginnings.html.tera @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ 22 October, 2019
Colour photo in portrait orientation of a 3L jar filled with purple sauerkraut-in-the-making. The jar is on a wooden countertop and is covered by a blue and white cloth. A glass jar with water is visible inside the bigger jar. Bubbles can be seen forming on the surface of the sauerkraut mixture / solution. -
Counter-top fermentation factory
+
Counter-top fermentation factory.

I started my first batch of sauerkraut on Sunday - something I’ve been meaning to do for a few months.

1 red cabbage, 1/2 apple, 1 carrot, cut finely, sprinkled with salt, massaged and pressed down into a 3L jar. I had to add a little brine after 24 hours to ensure the vegetables were completely covered. I also added a glass jar with water to act as a weight.

diff --git a/templates/bacteria/sauerkraut_bottled.html.tera b/templates/bacteria/sauerkraut_bottled.html.tera index 60580e8..a3f9e13 100644 --- a/templates/bacteria/sauerkraut_bottled.html.tera +++ b/templates/bacteria/sauerkraut_bottled.html.tera @@ -8,7 +8,7 @@

All of it will be gifted to friends in the valley; gifted by the combined efforts of the sun, soil, water, plants, bacteria and humyns.

Colour photo showing five glass jars, one small and four large, in a row on a wooden handrail. The first jar contains a cream-coloured mixture of coconut oil, while the other jars are filled with purple sauerkraut. Trees and a mountain can be seen in the background on the right. A brick building appears along the left margin of the photo. -
Vibrant delights in the valley
+
Vibrant delights in the valley.
{%- endblock %} diff --git a/templates/computers/esp8266_dht11.html.tera b/templates/computers/esp8266_dht11.html.tera index 9ef9b52..1bd7ff4 100644 --- a/templates/computers/esp8266_dht11.html.tera +++ b/templates/computers/esp8266_dht11.html.tera @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@

I had fun putting together a simple electronics project over the weekend: NodeMCU dev board (ESP8266) with a DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor and DF Robot RGB LCD display.

Black and white photo in portrait orientation showing electronics on a striped table-cloth. A NodeMCU dev board appears in the lower-right, DHT11 sensor in the top-left, and an LCD in the top-right. Text on the display reads: temp: 18.0 and humidity: 64. The display is propped-up by a white pyramid (mycelium) and a wooden floor is just visible in the background. -
The basic setup
+
The basic setup.

The code is quite simple: connect to the local WiFi network and create a UDP server. Respond to UDP requests on port 3210 with a temperature and humidity reading from the sensor. Write the temperature and humidity to the display every two seconds.

Arduino (C++) code: mycognosist/esp8266_dht11_udp

diff --git a/templates/computers/i2c_adventures.html.tera b/templates/computers/i2c_adventures.html.tera index 04a4021..f5176ed 100644 --- a/templates/computers/i2c_adventures.html.tera +++ b/templates/computers/i2c_adventures.html.tera @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@

I received my first lesson in soldering last week and attached pins to the RTC. That made it a simple process to plug the module into my breadboard and connect it to the Pi. The module works on I²C and only requires 4 connecting wires (power, ground, SDA, SCL). The I²C pins on the Pi include a fixed 1.8 kohms pull-up resistor to 3.3v, meaning that no additional resistors needed to be included in the wiring setup.

DS1338 RTC module plugged-into a breadboard & connected to a Raspberry Pi. -
DS1338 RTC module plugged-into a breadboard & connected to a Raspberry Pi
+
DS1338 RTC module plugged-into a breadboard & connected to a Raspberry Pi.

Following the AdaFruit guide to Adding a Real Time Clock to Raspberry Pi (with small additions), I was able to run an I²C scan and verify that the module was wired correctly to the Pi:

sudo apt-get install python-smbus i2c-tools
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@

If we were running Raspbian for this project the next steps would be pretty simple. As it turns out, the process for Debian Buster ARM64 is quite a bit more complicated. A blog post I found last night neatly summarizes the pros and cons of this choice:

List of advantages and disadvantages of running Debian Buster ARM64 on Raspberry Pi. -
List of advantages and disadvantages of running Debian Buster ARM64 on Raspberry Pi
+
List of advantages and disadvantages of running Debian Buster ARM64 on Raspberry Pi.

No kidding! There were, however, a few crumbs along the way to sustain me over the course of the journey. These included What is needed to get I²C working with Debian Jessie? and "I2C transfer failed" flooding the logs.

I appended dtoverlay=i2c-rtc,ds1307 and dtparam=i2c_arm=on to /boot/firmware/config.txt and i2c-dev to /etc/modules but the RTC device was still not coming under control of the kernel driver. When I looked at /var/log/kern.log I found an i2c could not read clock-frequency property error which led me to the second of the two posts linked in the paragraph above. It seemed I would need to decompile, patch and recompile the device tree blob for my Pi. I copied /boot/firmware/bcm2837-rpi-3-b.dtb from the Pi to my laptop for the following steps:

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@

I ran sudo i2cdetect -y 1 for the 234th time and bingo! It works! Running around room celebrating.

Screenshot of terminal showing successful configuration of I²C RTC module. -
Screenshot of terminal showing successful configuration of I²C RTC module
+
Screenshot of terminal showing successful configuration of I²C RTC module.

This is really exciting because it opens the door to (relatively) easy integration of other I²C devices (sensors, LCD displays etc.). Next step will be to fine-tune the process so that everything loads correctly on boot. If you stuck with me this far - thanks for reading!

diff --git a/templates/fungi/grow_together.html.tera b/templates/fungi/grow_together.html.tera index 4de2363..2583769 100644 --- a/templates/fungi/grow_together.html.tera +++ b/templates/fungi/grow_together.html.tera @@ -13,11 +13,11 @@
-
Inter-species companionship
+
Inter-species companionship.
-
Makes me wonder how long these species have been dancing one another into being
+
Makes me wonder how long these species have been dancing one another into being?
diff --git a/templates/fungi/lichen_space.html.tera b/templates/fungi/lichen_space.html.tera index 51b03ef..f6f1f45 100644 --- a/templates/fungi/lichen_space.html.tera +++ b/templates/fungi/lichen_space.html.tera @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ 28 May, 2020
-
Xanthoria elegans lichen in cross-section, stained with FUN-1 dye
+
Xanthoria elegans lichen in cross-section, stained with FUN-1 dye.

So I think many of us have a basic understanding of what a lichen is: a symbiotic mutualism between a fungus and algae / cyanobacteria. The fungus provides a cosy home for the algae, along with water, nutrients and anchorage; while the algae photosynthesises and provides the fungus with carbohydrates. As Trevor Goward puts it: “Lichens are fungi that have discovered agriculture”. Put another way, lichen are fungi with solar panels. But I’ve only recently learned that the situation is far more complex than this simple 1:1 rendering of fungus and algae.

diff --git a/templates/plants/aloe_there.html.tera b/templates/plants/aloe_there.html.tera index 8e5088b..810df61 100644 --- a/templates/plants/aloe_there.html.tera +++ b/templates/plants/aloe_there.html.tera @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ 6 June, 2020
Dense cones of golden, tubular flowers dominate the frame, with green succulent leaves at the bottom, a bright blue sky above, and a thatched-roof in the background. Bees can be seen amongst the flowers. -
Sunshine in the winter time
+
Sunshine in the winter time.

All the aloes are in full bloom right now and it makes me so happy. The bees are pretty stoked about it too, as are the sunbirds.

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@

This is likely Aloe ferox, though it should be said that I’m still learning to differentiate species. It’s categorised as a solitary, non-branching tree aloe. There is another one nearby which is easily 5-6 meters tall. Some species have yellow flowers, while others are orange, red or pink. They are wonderful neighbours. I think I will devote a good portion of my life to caring for aloes and learning more about them. If my spirit has a colour, it is that of the flowers above.

-
Majestic tree aloe amongst the succulents
+
Majestic tree aloe amongst the succulents.

An anecdote: I once drank Huachuma on a farm which had a cactus and succulent garden home to more than 1,000 species. After a good few hours drumming around a bonfire, my friends and I went to walk through the aforementioned garden. The moon was full, the night was still. Of all those species, the aloes were the only ones which appeared to me to be glowing blue-green. Not just reflecting the moonlight…glowing. I shall let the reader interpret that as they wish.

diff --git a/templates/plants/blueberry_dance.html.tera b/templates/plants/blueberry_dance.html.tera index b4cee55..9462bb1 100644 --- a/templates/plants/blueberry_dance.html.tera +++ b/templates/plants/blueberry_dance.html.tera @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ 20 December, 2017
-
Hand-picked blueberry snacks are where it’s at
+
Hand-picked blueberry snacks are where it’s at.

Today I thought about ripeness. How do you know when it’s just right? Well, it’s different for every plant I guess. With blueberries I’m learning to evaluate ripeness based on sight (colour of berry) and touch (firmness when gently squeezed). When I first started picking them, just two weeks ago, I only used my eyes and thus tended to pick unripe, tangy berries. Now I get 'em when they’re oh-so-sweet! In the last few days I’ve also started to notice the rate at which the berries ripen and can time my future visits more precisely.

The more time I spend with these plants, and the more patient I become, the more fully I come to appreciate their being. So this is then one way to form relationships (and sometimes friendships) with plants: visit them regularly, use all your senses to engage and be patient. I reckon the same approach might work with humyns ;)

diff --git a/templates/plants/botanical_deceptions.html.tera b/templates/plants/botanical_deceptions.html.tera index 5edc576..cb99a56 100644 --- a/templates/plants/botanical_deceptions.html.tera +++ b/templates/plants/botanical_deceptions.html.tera @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@

Botanical Deceptions

15 May, 2020
- Ceropegia sandersonii flower. + An unusual flower which looks like an umbrella with a hollow, tapering stem. The top is white with green speckled petals and frilly egdes. A twisting, dark green vine is blurry in the background.
Ceropegia sandersonii flower. Photo credit: Wildfeuer. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic (CC BY 2.5) license.

I’ve been on a steady one-a-day listening spree of In Defense of Plants podcast episodes. Today I listened to Episode 216: Dying Bees, Wasp Venom, and other Strange Floral Scents, featuring an interview with Dr Annemarie Heiduk. If you enjoy geeking out about plants, insects, chemistry or ecology, I highly recommend taking a listen!

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@

More info can be found on the Wikipedia page for Ceropegia sandersonii and in this article: To Attract Pollinators, Flower Mimics Wounded Bee.

A friend of mine has a gorgeous vine growing as a potted plant at her house. Only while listening to this episode did I realise it’s a member of the Ceropegia! Now I’m stoked to identify it to species level and ask her ever-so-sweetly if I might take a cutting (or seeds). The one she has looks very much like this C. linearis sub. woodii:

- Ceropegia linearis subspecies woodii flower + A grayish-pink vine with two heart-shaped, gray-green leaves and an unusual, hollow flower with furry black structures at the tip.
Ceropegia linearis subspecies woodii flower. Photo credit: Dr. David Midgley. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.5) license.
diff --git a/templates/plants/potato_tech.html.tera b/templates/plants/potato_tech.html.tera index 03cd723..cd5d7a2 100644 --- a/templates/plants/potato_tech.html.tera +++ b/templates/plants/potato_tech.html.tera @@ -7,11 +7,11 @@

Seeing the potatoes like this is freakin rad! I got to appreciate the potato plant as an energy capture and storage technology: harness solar energy, grow a battery, redeploy solar panels from that battery months later. Beautiful.

-
Warning: battery is reaching critical levels
+
Warning: battery is reaching critical levels.
-
The courageous potato perseveres in search of the light
+
The courageous potato perseveres in search of the light.
diff --git a/templates/support.html.tera b/templates/support.html.tera index ae6fb16..9e075c8 100644 --- a/templates/support.html.tera +++ b/templates/support.html.tera @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@

Support

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