Cheap alternative to Topsy-Turvy

Everyone has seen those commercials for the Topsy-Turvy, the planter that hangs your plants upside down. Aside from some silly claims on plant physiology, it looked interesting. When my grandmother mentioned that her tomatoes and strawberries were doing well, I decided to give it a shot. However, I am far too cheap to pay even the $10 price for a Topsy Turvy on sale. So, I went to some of the local stores and bought those recyclable bags everyone seems to have for around $1.
I then poked a hole in the bottom, and cut a slit in a cheap cleaning sponge to wrap around the stalk of the plants.The sponge holds moisture and keeps the dirt from falling out of the hole in the bottom of the bag. I mixed in some time-release fertilizer as I filled the bags up.
The first two I built with no supports. The rest I built with a u-shaped support made out of cut up cardboard boxes. I also started dropping in extra sponges in the later versions, with the idea that they will hold more moisture. Then, I hung the bags by their handles in a series of hooks that I installed along my front porch, which faces east. Two of the bags hang on the south side of the porch.
The initial results are great. All of the plants have fruit, and they don't seem to be adversely affected by the situation. I haven't had any fruits ripen yet, but that's likely because of how late in the season I started my experiment. The two tomato plants that I have in the back yard are also not ripening yet.
The only caveats I have seen so far is that they need to be watered daily, and that you have to keep an eye on cross winds. The two on the south side were battered by the wind on the side of the house during a recent storm, and both developed splits in the stalks. However, the splits healed and the plants are doing fine now.
I'll try to post pictures later.
EDIT: Here are the pictures I mentioned.

Another watery passion

Sailing. I love the idea of sailing and sailboats. I have owned two sailboats. The first was an old Hobie Cat that I put a few hundred dollars into and then sold when it became clear that I wouldn't ever have the chance to get it into a lake.
The second is a little inflatable Aqua-glide sailboat/windsurfer combo. Nice, but it's far too hard for me to move around in. For the kids, it should be perfect. If I can get into one of the sailing courses in Wichita, and maybe get Phillip into one of the sailing camps they offer, I think it would make a fine little boat.
However, my heart is caught by the idea of sailing a decent sized vessel in the ocean. Silly, I know, for a guy sitting in Kansas, but there it is. I saw a pair of mono-hull sailboats in need of restoration in Louisiana that caught my imagination all over again. If only I could take up the challenge, and make something like that happen. Alas...

I should...

occasionally add content to this blog.

Right now, the Ironhead is down while I finish the carb. I'm also getting close to getting the Honda CM185T back on the road(need to find tires). And I'm watching a basketcase XS650 on the 'bay which I may throw a bid at if Heather doesn't choke me to death.

I haven't had a chance to do anything SCUBA related in over a year. We did end up going to Florida briefly this summer, so my need to get wet is rekindled. I'm going to try and get my boat fixed this summer, and at least go out and jump in Wilson Lake a time or two before the year is out.

My newest Regulator

Well, I just had Bryan at Vintage Doublehose rebuild a DA I had with a new Phoenix nozzle. A fully balanced doublehose regulator with 4 lp ports and 3 hp ports. I look forward to diving with it. Until I get the new yoke, I have a Conshelf XIV yolk on it.

Mistral Rebuild

Well, I received an original USD Mistral in the mail a few weeks ago. It came in in poor shape, but once rebuilt, it works wonderfully. I hope to have it in the pool tonight.
This brings my double hose collections to:
3 DA Aquamasters
1 USD Mistral
1 USD Jet Air
2 Healthways SCUBA
1 Titan/Aquamaster Hybrid

Along with various single stage regulators in varying states of assembly.

My new harley

Well, new to me. Here is a link to a youtube video of it running.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiGw_ZBkqjw

Well

It's been about a year since I blogged. A lot has happened in the meantime. I've built a functional Trieste/Titan/Aquamaster hybrid. It breathes very well. I'll post on it further later.
I sold my '79 Suzuki GS to a friend. Now let's see if that Ironhead I've been wanting for a few years will be mine :)

Double hose modifications

Well, I decided to rebuild one of my Healthways single stage regulators recently, and add a few improvements in while I was at it. The air from the Healthways comes out of the valve body at a 90 degree angle to the lengthwise direction of the lever assembly. I first had a machine shop drill and tap a new set of holes which would place the air flow towards the inhalation port. I then took a 1.5 inch washer, drilled a set of mounting holes and used a dremel to cut a flap, which I bent upwards slightly to block the air on the opposite side of the valve body and direct the stream into the hose, hopefully creating a nice venturi effect.

A scary proposition

If this is remotely true, then the White House is considering using nuclear weapons against Iran. This insanity is spiralling out of control.

Record Coral die offs

According to this article, the coral reefs are dying off. Go reef diving now, cause at this rate, it won't be long.

Brrrrrrr

Man, and I get whiny over 40 degree water.

Glad we invaded that country

A man is currently on trial in Afghanistan for the crime of converting to Christianity. I'm glad we helped install such a tolerant and non-violent regime there. And who says that Islam is not a religion of peace?

What we have here is a lack of trust

You know, I voted for Bush twice. I didn't like his foreign policy, especially his war, but I considered him better than his opponents. Perhaps I was wrong. Bush has just reinterated his support for the doctrine of pre-emptive strikes. This is not sane foreign policy. I also disagree with how the Jose Padilla case was handled. If you can charge a man with a crime, then do it. If not, set him free. End of story. I am appalled by the almost complete lack of regard that this administration has for liberty and justice. Unless something radically changes, the Republican party has lost my vote for the foreseeable future.

Update: In an interesting twist, Iran is backing down and indicating that it wants to open talks with the US on it's nukes.

Thieves and divers

It's sad that some divers can't see the value of historical wrecks. I admit, the idea of cracking open some underwater treasure is tempting. But, do that, and the whole diving community
is all the poorer for it.

what the kids are up to

Time for a quick family update.
Phillip has learned how to ride without training wheels.

Tyler just turned 5. He asked for a Godzilla
theme. Have you any idea how hard it is to find Godzilla party stuff?


Jonathan is just plain onery.

Hey, it's the year of Linux on the Desktop! Again!

Well, Novell seems to think that they can break Microsoft's monopoly with the new version of Suse. Color me skeptical, but I think until someone kills X or overhauls it, and pushes for a real underlying conformity to Linux distributions, we won't see the giant fall. Xegl is a promising step. I've been tinkering with porting Y to the egl rendering model. If I ever get some more free time to get some of my code cleaned up, I'll post it.

Vintage Diving

One of my interests is vintage diving. That's simply diving with vintage style equipment, such as double hose regulators and horsecollar style bouyancy compensators. It also entails the use of older style techniques, with an emphasis on training and fitness instead of using your gear to overcome training deficiencies.

There are several annual meets which focus on this facet of diving, one of those being the Sand Dog meet in Ocala, Florida. A few of us will be diving prior to the main meet at Destin, FL. If you are interested in this sort of diving, log onto the Vintage Double Hose forum, and get more information.

Furry Lobsters

The sea is an amazing place. Where else would you find a "furry lobster"?

Hello

Well, it's been awhile since I had a blog. I happened to run across an old link on google to my last one. Time for a new one.

Currently, workwise, I am doing Perl coding for a company in California. Some cool stuff I haven't got to play with before, like chart generation from DBD::Chart. Hacking on GNATS right now.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be doing some vintage diving in Florida. I've got 95% of my gear assembled. Part of my excitement is the fact that I get to see some of my old stomping grounds. I've got my DA Aquamaster rebuilt, and tuned up.

I'm getting ready to throw my old GS550 on ebay. Maybe, since I am getting real paychecks now, I will be able to purchase a bike that fits me a little better. We'll see. I'd rather dive than ride, so for now, bikes take a backseat to my favorite hobby.