Green Phoenix Farms

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

Adam Cohen put together an information session and demonstration of aquaponics to a group of about 20 people this afternoon.  He gave us lots of great info about planning and starting a system, then we got to tour his setup in his classroom.  (he is a high school teacher)  He is going to be placing more emphasis on bringing folks together who are interested in aquaponics and sustainable living, and will be updating his blog more often as well.  My notes from his presentation and Q/A are below.  This was a great experience, I learned a lot!

Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Paintball Game – March 19, 2011

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

We played a few round of hunt the humans today.  For the first time ever, I witnessed a player throw down his marker and mask and TACKLE his opponent.  That was pretty funny.

Ron fixin' his marker

Image 1 of 8

Posted in Paintball | Tagged , | Leave a comment

My blog is about sex?

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

The IT brains have been ‘upgrading’ our Interweb screening to help improve workplace morale.  This site is now banned from viewing.  To add insult to injury, it is classified as ‘sex’.

Posted in Work | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Garden Update – March 14, 2011

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

Lettuce and Spinach sprouts are coming up from seed that I just scattered on the gravel growbed.  I figure about half of the seed turned into seedlings.  This is the easiest planting I’ve ever done!  Zero digging, zero watering, just scatter seed and walk away.

The tomato seedlings are growing strong since I re-potted them into new, larger newspaper pots.  They are getting so big I’m going to have to do something with them soon, because I’m out of room under my grow lights, and they are really sucking up some water now.

This evening, I planted a few green beans, cilantro, basil, marigold, cosmos flower in the asparagus bed, then I mixed up some homemade fertilizer and applied it on all the raised beds.

Lettuce and Spinach sprouted from seed in gravel

Image 1 of 8

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

Dan Carlin’s latest podcast discussed a concept that has interested me for a very long time:  How to use Internet technology to replace our corrupt elected officials with the actual will of the public.  I thought it would require some sort of replacement of the Constitution, but his idea is simple.  If a candidate ran on the promise he would use a sophisticated computer system (that was driven by individuals) to direct his actions, then got elected, we would effectively have my dream come true without having to change out constitution.  

Issues like budget (and threats of shutting down the government) could not be used as leverage to pass pet projects (special interest money).  Dan makes the point that we’ve reached a point now that our Republic-style system is failing because the representatives are no longer making decisions based on what is best for everyone; it is more about what is best for the people who they are beholden to.

I continue to be impressed with Dan’s philosophy and pragmatic solutions he communicates through his podcast, and recommend you take a listen to see if you agree. 

Posted in Politics, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Video of Bryson Reading

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

A video of Bryson for the grandparents:

Posted in Family | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Garden Update – March 8, 2011

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

I went to North Haven Gardens today to use my $15 gift certificate, and couldn’t pass up some of the things they had.  One of the ladies there encouraged me to put tomato plants out in the soil already!  I think we will still get another freeze, so I’m holding off, except for this one huge seedling I bought that I just don’t have room for.  I planted it in the aquaponics bed.  If it gets cold, I’ll try to keep it alive.  I planted a few other cool-weather plants in the gravel too…. it is filling up fast.  I’m on my third batch of ‘worm wine’, and using that to water around all the trees.  It is cheap and easy to make, I hope it works miracles.  The asparagus is coming up.  It’s what’s for dinner tomorrow night, unless my neighbor takes it all like he threatened to do.

Worm Wine (Worm Compost Tea)

Image 1 of 9

 

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

North Haven Gardens Winner

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

I don’t exactly know how this happened, but I recently found the NHG facebook page, and saw other people posting pictures of their gardens on there, so I did the same thing.  Evidently, doing so entered me in to some kind of contest and I won a $15 gift certificate!  Perfect timing, I need some horticultural molasses (for brewing worm wine) and who knows what plants I’ll find that I ‘need’.  It is hard to make it out of their store empty handed.  If you live in Dallas and have never been, I recommend paying them a visit, and you might want to post on their facebook page too.

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Soil Cube Winner

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

I just received word that I am the winner of a free soil cube tool.  I’ve been hearing about this tool from multiple sources, and of course I’ve wanted to try it out to see how it works.  The contest was on the Self Sufficient Gardener’s facebook page.  I just started listening to Jason’s podcast a short while ago.  He puts out a show every week, and the ones I’ve listened to are very informative.  I’m just getting started in looking through all the information on his website and the forum, and I think I’ll purchase his e-book because he says there is a ton of information in there too.

Of course I’m happy to win a cool tool that I’ll use, but there is something else about this situation that is exciting.  This guy is doing all kinds of things (website, blog, podcast, forum) that centers around something he is passionate about.  He is able to help people, create community around a common interest, AND he is able to (at least on some level) make some money on the effort.  (probably not much yet)  He is building his reputation and his resume.  He is building a future, and creating wealth.  He is a perfect example of how we are changing as a result of social media.  He is ahead of the curve.  And for the people who think this whole ‘virtual’ thing is superficial, I’ll challenge you:  If Jason and I sat down in person to talk, I’ll bet you $100 that we could have an interesting and engaging conversation for 2 hours without even trying.  I feel very lucky to be alive at a time when so much is changing!

 

Posted in Gardening, Technology | 3 Comments

Gary ‘Gets’ Social

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Brian Gallimore

I listened to a great interview of Gary Vaynerchuk today.  He has some excellent insight about the direction business will take as a result of social media.  If he is right, we might get to see the end of the no-talent big-business monopolies in our lifetime.  He predicts businesses will be forced to REALLY focus on giving customers what they want, and will go out of business if they do not get on-board with the communities that social media creates.

I’m a big supporter of ‘social’ applications on the interwebs.  Although I’ve known that ‘this is big’ and will change our world a great deal, I’ve never really understood how it would happen.  Gary clearly describes the how.  It is about relationships, it is about being a useful contributer, it is about real actions, reputation, and human networks.  I recommend you listen, and I’d love to hear what you think about it.

Posted in Interesting, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment