It’s late again, as usual, but I need to squeeze out a short post because it’s been over a month since I’ve done anything on the site. I got sick again too, not surprisingly, since I’ve allowed too many factors to mount up. My job as a teacher is directly responsible for two of those factors: constantly being around young children who are perpetually germ-infested and oozing mucus, and constantly putting my voice under strain. The other two factors are not getting enough sleep and constantly trying to get too many things done. I can do better to keep things things in balance, it’s ultimately my fault for letting things get out of hand.
Anyway, I still got a bunch of stuff done this weekend despite being sick, and I’ve got a lot more stuff from recent weeks to share as well too, although some of it won’t be ready right away as there will be editing and other work involved. I also made some uploads to my channel recently, but haven’t updated my site to link them in the galleries or share them in a post.
November 5th, 2023
I printed some molds to start making chess pieces, but there is another facet to this project, which is to experiment with recycled materials to try to mold them or rework them into useful things. I currently have some polystyrene in the molds right now drying out.
November 4th, 2023
I started nine new rosemary cuttings this weekend. Hopefully I can track and log more data as I continue to root cuttings and grow things hydroponically. Right now I’m debating whether or not I want to transplant the rosemary which has been sitting in the bubbler for months. I had only planned on rooting them, but they seem to be doing very well under their current hydroponic conditions.
November 4th, 2023
I’d like to expand my set up so that I can do more than just root a lot of cuttings. I’d like to be able to make growth comparisons under different conditions, such as lighting, water/air ratio, and growth rates after transplanting in soil compared to being left in a hydroponic setup.
September 12th, 2023
The same three rosemary cuttings can be seen in this photo from mid September. The other cuttings from that batch obviously did not develop roots. There are also some melon sprouts which were added as an experiment. They were originally sprouted as a science class demonstration for my students, but I brought them home to see if they would develop hydroponically. They did well up to a certain point and then started to struggle. It seems that they might be suitable for hydroponics if certain parameters are changed.
October 14th, 2023: For a comparison of growth
You can see vegetative growth on the rosemary and melon sprouts. Also, by this point I had also added some cuttings from my Ficus microcarpa.
October 31st, 2023: Halloween!
This year I went as Toad so that I would match with my co-teacher, who went as Mario. I am going to do fully edited video on the making of this costume. There are other topics and projects that were related to the making of this costume which will also get their own videos. I already uploaded some videos on one of those projects, the EPS foam cutter, which I used to shape the mushroom head. A more comprehensive video is in the works, as well as an upgrade and redesign of the cutter. It probably won’t be ready for a while, as I want it to be thorough and high quality.