Knex and Lego Plant support

 

My indoor plants are growing really well with the automatic arduino plant watering system (created for last semester college group project). The Cuban oregano is growing so well that it needed more support. Instead of using a tomato cage, I created a support system out of Knex. I had a few sets of Knex in storage, including a roller coaster and some adapter pieces that allow it to connect with Legos. I was able to use Lego base plates to start with a stable platform. The advantage to using Knex is that the shape can be expanded as the plant grows, and the pieces are flexible so they won't damage the plant. I even added some fun pieces at the top. 

Although this system works great for a single indoor plant, it would not work outdoors. Heat and sun would end up fading and breaking down the plastics.    

All the tinctures and extracts I have made

Here's a comprehensive list of all the flavor extracts I've made (not including syrups)

    My goal is to make flavorings for soda, milk, or cooking projects. I include alcohol as a solvent for other flavors, but I'm not interested in creating alcoholic or mixed drinks. 

Spirits I used as the base:

• NGS-neutral grain spirit- made from grain,190+ proof (95+% abv)
• Bourbon- made from mostly corn with other grains, barrel-aged, always made in the USA, 80+ proof, 40+% has own flavor
• Vodka- commonly made from grain and/or potatoes, 80+ proof, neutral flavor

Jar Sizes

8oz, 2oz, 1/8th oz

Labeling

Labeling jars is important so that I don't forget what is in them or when I started it. I label the flavor, start date, the type of base spirit (including brand for bourbon since each can have different recipes and flavors), and on some extracts I also add a date when I strain it.

    

Extracts

Mint, fresh

tried vodka with heating, and room temp with NGS. NGS was faster and provided better color/flavor used in mug cake and milk

Lemon balm, fresh

NGS, used in sparkling water

Lavender, fresh

NGS, used in sparkling water, lemonade

Grapefruit, peel, fresh

NGS, used in sparkling water

Lemon, peel, fresh

Tried room temp with vodka, NGS was stronger. Used in sparkling water, mug cake

Lime, peel, fresh

NGS, used in sparkling water, cranberry sauce

Orange, peel, fresh

tried room temp vodka, NGS was stronger and looked better. Used in sparkling water, mug cake, cranberry sauce 

Eggnog, powdered spices(cinnamon, nutmeg) + commercial vanilla  extract

room temp with NGS and bourbon, bourbon preferred, used in mug cake and milk, spent spices usable in banana bread and pancakes/waffles

Cider spices, powdered (cinnamon, clove)

used bourbon, added to apple cider and juice concentrate for soda, spent spices usable in banana bread and pancakes/waffles

Chile tepin, fresh

vodka, Added to lemonade- stir well!

Purple Nutgrass- fresh root in NGS 

Very strong cedar/tea tree smell. I hate it.

Rootbeer Tea- NGS, bourbon preferred. 

Licorice flavor if left too long. Add to simple syrup with molasses for soda

Rose Petal, fresh

Not strong enough, didn't have enough rose petals.

Solar Power Battery Replacement

 I used a marine starting battery for my solar power system, but it is pretty much worn out. I had it for about three years, and it was about three years old when I got it. 

The old battery has almost 100 milliohms at 4 amps. A new one should have less than 20. To test this, I ran a 40 watt load on an inverter for about one minute and measured the voltage, then turned it off for a minute and measured again. Following Ohm's Law, R=V/I. I took the difference between the two measurements and divided by 4.2.

The capacity has also dropped significantly. It should take over a week to charge (with no usage) once the under-voltage protection activates. However, it only took a few days with heavy usage.

The final straw was not having enough power to charge a phone overnight or open my motorized roller blind after a couple of cloudy days.

I decided to replace it with a used car battery from a junkyard. I found a few places that sold batteries for around $40. Some had no warranty. Other places had extra fees. None of the junkyards were close to where I live or along my travel routes. I decided that it made sense to buy a brand new battery for about twice the price. I chose a type of battery that is designed to be charged and discharged frequently. This one has terminals that are easy to connect to, and it is possible to check the fluid levels. It didn't come with a data sheet, but I was able to look up most of the information online. Making sure that the fluid level is correct will allow the battery to last a long time.

Looking at Printing under the Microscope

 I have a digital microscope which is useful for electronics repair. It can store photos or videos on a microSD card or connect to a computer. Sometimes I use it to look up close at other things besides electronics. 

When we got a piece of junk mail that was designed to look handwritten, I was able to use the microscope to see that it was actually printed. 

That looked very different from things printed on our color laser printer.

I also looked at different types of printing on a bourbon bottle from my flavor extract project. I could tell that the front label was ink jet printed. The rear label was press printed, and  some parts looked metallic. Some printing and laser engraving was done directly on the glass. And there were words and logos molded into the glass. That's a lot of customization that I normally don't notice.

Front label- Inkjet printed because each bottle has a unique number on it  

The label on the back is the same on all, thus press printed

Printing directly on glass

 My mom tries to look at leaves and insects with my microscope, but it's not very good for that. It's more difficult to take photos of things that are not flat or are moving.

Tomato sprout stem