Aquaponics is (also) the new Linux…

• Week of 8 to 14 August… week #432.
• Staycation week, felt like we had three Sundays in a row.
• Monday, school holiday – so I also took the day off, tinkered with the aquaponics farm and took some water readings – pH went up a bit to 7.5, Mia played some Day of the Tentacle Remastered, device upgrades and backups, I hacked some cargo shorts to fit better, late lunch at Posticino’s in Hout Bay and some tiramisu with Mia, beach walk, Chardonnay and a mocktail at Dunes, beach walk around Beta Beach, catch up with Wouter – watched the sunset from the balcony with some Chardonnay, Mia finished writing a poem, watched 2001: A Space Odyssey with Mia – she complained in the beginning, but kept watching.
• Tuesday, public holiday, farm check – plants seem happy, more DoTT, buffet lunch at Melissas in Kloof st – Mia played DoTT – I processed notes and photos and updated my blog – lots of tea involved, De Waal park walk, Gardens Centre, Green Point Park walk, promenade walk, Wouter cooked his signature green pasta – peas, basil etc, Mia created a blog for herself.

• “…such a generous spirit, you’d be embarrassed to behave in a small way around her.”

• Impressive how little garbage we have now that we recycle and compost. Obviously not being good consumers.
• Wednesday, I made a fruit salad for Mia while she cycled the aqp farm, school run, gym, office, catch up with Eugene, Mia read a poem she wrote at the Eisteddfod – she was awarded a gold (medal?), aquaponics farm control system hacking with Michael and Luke – a bit of yak shaving – turns out relays like 12V – we managed to get the Pi to switch the relay on and off, some blogging.
• I think I might be a gifted yak shaver.
• Thursday, Titea, gym, swim, cold showers – I considered complaining about the cold water in the showers not being cold enough, office, milk and chia, found a 12V PSU at the hardware shop, exported some 2006-2009 iWeek photos – wow, feels so long ago, migrated a few months of photo masters to my external drive, 90GB backup, tinkered with the pump control relay – mega yak shaving.

• “Success without fulfilment is the ultimate failure.” — Tony Robbins

• Remember why you started.
• Friday, Titea, aqp farm water tests – NO3 levels looking very good, office, drove to Stellenbosch with Hilah, Trumpet Tree with Al and Hilah – bumped into Dawid – we’re planning to go to Oppikoppi next year, Balboa until they closed and then we stayed a while longer.
• Saturday, Wouter fetched me from Al’s house, road trip to Bloutoring Plaas / Touwsrivier for John’s birthday weekend, managed to not shoot away any arrows in the lawn archery game, took a “nap” at about 17:00ish.
• Sunday, woke up at 2:00, joined the birthday celebrations that were still going on, nap, road trip back to Cape Town – stopped at Die Veldskoen Padstal in De Doorns for breakfast, tinkered with my aqp farm control system – it now automatically floods twice an hour, a beer with Al at Van Hunks to wrap up the weekend, time well spent.
• Some projects you just have to start with a beginners mind.

Have a fun week, crazy kids.