March 29, 2010
Automatic gardening
I've decided to geek out a bit and build an automated garden-maintenance package.
It's kind of neat working for the company that I work for. We deal with a lot of automation equipment, and it gives me a lot of ideas. Recently, I've been considering adding some rain barrels to my house gutter system, and automating my garden watering. My work plays into this a little bit because my daily bicycle commute brings me past Decagon Devices (located on the same street as my office).
Decagon makes moisture detection equipment. Well, saying that Decagon makes moisture detection equipment is a bit like saying that Harley-Davidson makes scooters. Decagon's sensors are on NASA's Phoenix Scout surveyor (may it rest in peace).
Decagon's sensors are a little pricey...the lowest-end models cost about $110 each when purchased in small quantities...but they are much better than the "nails in gypsum" soil moisture sensors because they use alternating current. Over time, the homemade gypsum units tend to collect salts in the gypsum, which skews their accuracy by a long shot. I plan to pit gypsum against the Decagon units this summer. I'll be recording the measurements from both types of sensor starting on Labor Day. Hopefully this will be useful to the amateur hacker crowd in deciding how to automate their watering systems.
I'll be using an Arduino to monitor the soil moisture sensors, and I'll be shopping around for an electrical actuator to actually control the valve to the drip lines in my garden (the actuator will probably be operated by a relay connected to the Arduino, assuming that I can get things working). If everything goes well, I'll likely make (or buy) more sensors and rig up my entire landscaping with automatic soil monitoring and liquid dispensing equipment.
Now if I could only automate the weeding process...
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Further back...
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Previous Trips...
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Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
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Stealing the Network
I first bumped into the Stealing the Network series when reading the exploits of Joe Grand, one of the book's many hacker authors.
The 'Stealing the ...' series of books follows a rather disparate group of computer hackers as they help a former NSA spook (many of them unwittingly) gather the money he needs to retire.
The stories themselves are not fantastic fiction. The writing is uneven and choppy, the characters are stereotypical and not very well thought-out. What is fascinating about this book series is the technical accuracy of the exploits (at some points *too* accurate, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions).
It's a great series to read if you're a system administrator, or just getting into the wonderful field of computer security.
Rated 
by reid
on March 06, 2011
by reid
on March 06, 2011
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Close to the Machine
Ellen Ullman is one of those authors that somehow avoided my radar. Until now...
Close to the Machine is less a book than a collection of loosely related personal anecdotes from Ellen's time as a very rare thing -- a successful female bisexual independent computer programming consultant.
In the course of her work and relationship life, she learns hard lessons about programming, running a business, being lonely, and loving the wrong people. I found it particularly poignant being a crypto-nerd with difficult times in relationships and a more-or-less NDA'd, secret work life.
This book is a must-read for anyone into running their own business, programming, or anyone dating a person that is a business-a-holic or programmer.
Rated 
by reid
on November 23, 2009
by reid
on November 23, 2009
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The Long Trip Home
I had the joy of dining with the author in Florida. We went to a little Brazilian BBQ where he spoke with our waitstaff in (what I can only assume was) flawless Portugese.
Brian Wyllie spent 1969-1971 living in Brazil working for the Peace Corps. His recent book outlines his trip back to the United States via Bolivia, Peru, and the Carribean chain, by way of bus, train, and sailboat. The format comes spattered with observations from the modern day, and makes me think, "this must be what John McPhee's journal looks like."
The trip sounded like a fantastic one, but I was left wanting more detail...where did the gun (being snuck through customs in a variety of places, no doubt) come from? And how did Geneve's hair smell? Alas, we'll have to wait for another book to find the answers.
Rated by reid
on April 16, 2009
by reid
on April 16, 2009