Skys Not The Limit For Arduinos In Space

Arduinos In Space could be the tagline for the two microcontroller (MCU) products that are the topic of tonights post -- Ardulab and ArduSat.

Ardulab has been completely open-sourced (from ArduLab)

First off, Ardulab. Although some may find it a skoosh misleading, SpaceRefs July 25 article about an Arduino in space is titled, "Infinity Aerospaces Ardulab Makes Building & Launching Space-Certifiable Hardware As Easy As Baking Cookies." I baked cookies tonight. Oatmeal-raisin cookies. They tasted good. Baking them was more difficult than walking across the street and buying cookies from the North Coast Co-op. But it was much less challenging than building and launching space-certified hardware. On the other hand, baking cookies was also definitely much less rewarding and interesting than launching space hardware.

Ardulab projects are intended to democratize the hardware needed to perform experiments on the International Space Station. According to the SpaceRef article,

"Today Infinity Aerospace announced the complete open-sourcing of Ardulab, the Arduino powered platform for building and launching simple experiments to the International Space Station. Previously costing space researchers, students, and experimenters between $2,000 - $3,500 per kit, anyone can now build and launch an off-the-shelf space-certifiable experiment, with the only costs being building their equipment and launching it. When it was originally conceived back in 2012, the fundamental idea behind Ardulab was to give as many people as possible the tools and information they need to be successful in space. Making Ardulab a completely open-source platform allows for all of the intellectual property to be used to its full extent. The Ardulab is a plug-n-play electronics platform with all of the necessary features and interfaces for use on the International Space Station."

Moon redwoods behind CCAT on HSU campus

It seems like Humboldt creative minds could come up with a few unique and worthwhile space station experiments. Maybe something involving redwoods in space. After all, there are already redwoods growing on the Humboldt State University (HSU) campus grown from seeds that orbited the moon in 1971. Using the Ardulab platform, the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group could help build the hardware for the experiments that get accepted by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Or the MCU group could help organize a design competition for an Ardulab project. That might be a fun and effective way to get Humboldt students interested in learning how to design and build Arduino-powered projects and might also get them interested in space. It would just be a extra bonus if one of the Humboldt Ardulab competition projects was accepted by NASA to be sent up to the space station. Maybe the end result would be that wed have another batch of aerospace redwoods growing on the HSU campus.

The second MCU in space item for tonights post is the ArduSat. The backstory for ArduSat, designed and built by the space startup NanoSatisfi, is an intriguing one if youre interested in how a microcontroller project went from a concept to company that just received $25 million in funding. The backstory can be told as a couple guys that designing a cool, innovative and useful piece of technology in a California garage -- the Singularity Hub article "Space Exploration On The Cheap: Kickstarter Sensation NanoSatisfi Launches in 2013" says:

"NanoSatisfi is based out of a collective workspace provided by tech incubator, Lemnos Labs, and situated near the ballpark in downtown San Francisco. Upon arrival, one is greeted by a nondescript front door sporting a few haphazardly labeled buzzers...NanoSatisfi doesn’t have a buzzer—Lemnos Labs is in the garage."

ArduSat in space (from Singularity Hub)

Or the backstory can be looked at from a different perspective that seems a bit less grassroots bootstrapping, with the same Singularity Hub article explaining that:

"Singularity Hub asked Peter Platzer, co-founder of NanoSatisfi, to elaborate...Platzer began his career as a high-energy physicist at CERN [Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire; same place the Internet was invented]...After CERN, Platzer went to Harvard to get his MBA and wound up running a $500 million quant fund on Wall Street."

The Wikipedia entry for ArduSat has a timeline for the project, but the big picture is that NanoSatisfi ran a Kickstarter campaign for the ArduSat and got over $100,000, about three times what their original funding goal was. They followed that up by raising over a million dollars more. Apparently that wasnt enough money to successfully launch that ArduSat, because they just announced today, July 29, that they have raised $25 million and changed their name from NanoSatisfi to Spire, Inc.

The Wikipedia entry described ArduSat this way:

"ArduSat is an open source, Arduino based Nanosatellite, based on the CubeSat standard. It contains a set of Arduino boards and sensors. The general public will be allowed to use these Arduinos and sensors for their own creative purposes while they are in space...ArduSat is the first open source satellite which will provide such open access to the general public to space."

If there are a few civilian space enthusiasts in Humboldt, we could pull together a complex, interesting, challenging and fun project or competition involving both Ardulab and ArduSat, two MCU-controlled projects that Humboldt people could work on. Thats one project that would truly be out of this world!

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Beryl pit Mine █ ◊ █ Mineral collecting in eastern Ontario ☢ Radioactive minerals ☢ ◑ ◑

Beryl pit mine

Im not sure what I like more, rockhounding in the spring or fall?. 
Something about the smell in the air, the sparse bug population and the ability to put in work without turning into a one maned sauna is always kinda nice. Being that Id be away all day and this was kind of a special occasion for me, I decided to bring a little treat to toast off the fall season. A local brewed citrus ale accompanied me in my journey adding to the celebration and spice of harvest time.

The day did not disappoint, and from what Ive learned now, I wasnt even where the REALLY good stuff is. Turns out, I was walking on it. Here I am, crawling up the side of the cliff face looking in crevices and hacking at the wall when it turns out, I could have just sat on the ground? YUP. 

There you can find feldspar, ( some radioactive stuff too ) amazonite, mica, fluorite, tourmaline and the thing everyone comes here for 
*Drum roll*.......... ? BERYL ? 


When you go, expect a bit of a hike to get in, I kept thinking to myself a combination of,  
{why did you bring the sledgehammer?}  and {just a little bit further, its just around the corner}. I highly suggest a backpack for tools and a bucket for your rocks, a palanquin with 6 able bodies and  your journey to the new world awaits!. Ok, ok, Im over-exaggerating the walk in, its not that bad compared to other mines. Im just saying, After a day of digging rocks, who doesnt dream of being brought out on a palanquin from time to time?.

Beryl pit mine walk

Being that its fall, it was one of the nicest jaunts to a mine Ive been through. I have heard that in the summer months this walk is a feeding frenzy of bugs tho. Personally, I dont believe in bug spray. Im the guy in the bug hat whos been eating raw garlic and hasnt showered for 2 days in preparation for the trip *grin*  *wink* ( Tip from caver461- best geo/caving/mineral Ontario channel on youtube) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEcWqnK5ufQ3sUonColo2Tw

Beryl pit mine info stand

When you arrive, there are a few display stands giving you some sample specimens to look over and information on other mineral collecting spots in the area. There are quite a few mines around so this place does have traffic from collectors. But, from what I can make out, it looks like the owners move things around, adding to the pile and open things up ( the dumps ) every so often. So theres  PLENTY to be found. There was some broken beryl in the dumps, along with large smokey quartz and clear quartz, Cleavlandite, amazonite, garnet, and I personally found some very nice black tourmaline specimens just lying on the ground. The blue in some of the amazonite here is brilliant. The amazonite is mostly comprised of the pinkish/blue type, but if you look hard enough there are chunks of bright baby blue beauties to be found.  

Beryl Pit Mine

This is where I found the decaying radioactive feldspar. It would be around the dark area. Cant remember But I think this where the smokey quartz is?. Its really all over the place. Impressed.

Beryl Pit mine- Ontario

 Climbing. Finding the sweet spot. Relax. Bliss. 

Decomposing radioactive feldspar?

Amazonite ?

  
Cleavlandite  ?

 Beryl ?

Smokey quartz ?

 Black Tourmaline ?

Beryl pit mine rock specimens

 A little bit of what I collected at the beryl pit

Beryl Pit mine stand

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woof meow squeak BANG

Woof goes first. Attention people....My friend has a cat, dog, and child friendly eight year old medium sized dog that needs a home ASAP!!!! There isnt much time to wait. She is spayed and microchipped with HomeAgain. Must go NOW!!!

I agreed that I would take Lisa upon finding a job. Even a temporary house would work. If my dear friend is doing what she is supposed to, then I should be able to take her within two - three months. I know I have said I really want a puppy but puppies tend to get adopted in shelters. Dogs this age DO NOT!!!

Anyway...there is this male orange bi-color tomcat that seems to have tried to "adopt" my house. I have been trying to trap him to get him neutered (as he is spraying everywhere and fighting with neighborhood cats) and have him possibly released into a feral colony. He is NOT people friendly and typically strolls at night. If he is someones pet, too bad.

Supposed to go up and get "my" cat neutered. Whether I take him with me or not when I move is still a mystery. Just in my opinion, one less cat to father a population of thousands of cats that will be put down in Sacramento alone is totally worth the $20.

Speaking of adopting and finding homes, I have been debating on whether or not to give up my rats. It became a thing of "what happens happens" and if I found someone that wanted them, they could take em. Otherwise Id keep them. By the looks of it, I have found a home for them where they will be spending the rest of their lives with much more toys and soft beds. So Im gonna check out this place. Hope its all good. I dont mean to impose a sort of "give away animals and take more" but hey. I agreed to taking Tux, the cat, well before I had two months to find a job.

And now my teacher. Supposedly two people in her class have Ds and she would let us know who if we didnt get a grade. Fail enough as she is, apparently only 5 people got a grade and the others got theirs later. I dont understand why she cant send everyone a grade so we know its not a mistake...but whatever. I got a zero on online class discussion because I only did 90% of the work. As in I posted...but everyone after me posted at the last minute so I couldnt respond. Homework not posted when she promised (by Wednesday night) and fairly unorganized. Time to talk to the dean? I think so. Seems the entire English Reading department is screwed in the butt by her.

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æ¯é€±å ­ã€æ—¥é–‹æ”¾è¾²å ´å°Žè¦½ Farm Tour on Weekends

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MECO 菲律賓經濟文化辦事處 參訪 Visit from MECO

5??Sunny??????????????????(MECO) ????????????????????????MECO?Gina?????????5?11??????2:00?????MECO???????????Zambales???????????????????????????20??

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

?????????????????MECO??????

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???????????

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Poster at Reception at right.

????

??????????
Poster at Reception at left.

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???

??2:00???????????MECO???????????????????Zambales ?????
At PM2:00, came a group that I eventually figure out is not from MECO but the Taiwanese businessmen who invest in Zambales Philippine. 

???

?????????????Zambales?????????????????????????"????"?????????
The Taiwanese Businessman told me they have invested in Zambales many years for organic vegetable and also spiral shells, so we communicate with each other on "Aquaponics" system. 

??3:30????????????!
At PM3:30, came the Zambales Delegation!

Zambales?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
The Zambales Delegation came first, and before I introduced myself and my partners, they were introducing themselves. Besides the members of the delegation, there were also some families that came along with.

?MECO?????????????"Aquaponics"(??????)????????????????AP???????????????????AP??????
This is my first time briefing Aquaponics system in English. I was afraid of the misunderstanding.

?????"??????"????????????????????
After my briefing, they visited the 4 models of the Urban Aquaponics system.

?

?MECO??????Mr. Reydeluz Conferido??
Communicating with the Director from MECO.

?

?????Zambales??????Mr. Ramon Lacbain???????????
Mr. Ramon Lacbain, the vice Governor gave me a very special souvenir.

???????????MECO????????????????
The delegation members, Director of MECO and I were taking the photo together, and after that, we said "Thanks" and "Goodbye" to each other.
?

Mr. Ramon Lacbain, Mr. Reydeluz Conferido and me

?

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All part of growing up

I blog now about as much as I see friends.

*sigh*

I miss people, not that Im solitary or anything...like a rabid cat. I feel terrible for a desperate cry for attention. Im feeling socialization, and even a bit overcrowded at times. But at the same time so alone.

so let me know whats up guys. Im curious...like this deer

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WEDNESDAY 15th DECEMBER

Busy, Busy. So straight into the fray.

And the first one is:
Trout don’t like hot water, nigh, trout don’t even like warm water. From my experience somewhere around 25 degrees C and they start to struggle. It’s not actually the temperature that gets ‘em, it’s the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) level. See as the temperature of the water rises, the saturation level of DO goes down. And trout are....

Aubrey Parsons, Richard Robotham and Aaron Stachowski, all seniors at Judson, studied the feasibility of an aquaponics operation — raising fish and vegetables in an urban environment.

They talked to two organizations already growing fish and food — one in New York City and one in Milwaukee, Parsons said. They also reached out to grocery store chains and found few willing to...

Enter aquaponics, a system of food gardening that has a small but growing following, not least because its advantages seem almost too good for being true. An aquaponics installation requires no soil, scant water (two-ten percent of that which is employed in usual vegetable garden), a modest financial outlay and minimal maintenance.

Buddhists in the Bathtub: Aquaponics, Boulder Style  by The Aquaponic Source

Olomana Gardens / In a concrete jungle, green dreams are made of aquaponics. How it works: Aquaponics combines aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (soil-less farming in nutrient-rich... 

ELGIN — If run as a non-profit and with the right marketing, an aquaponics business could be successful in Elgin.

However, turning the second floor of the Tower Building into a for-profit shared office space for small businesses likely would lose money

We’ve grown accustomed to hearing about sustainable endeavors like urban farming around town, but fish farming? Who knew? Thanks to the Massachusetts Avenue Project’s ambitious aquaponics (aquaculture plus hydroponics) system, fresh fish raised locally and sustainably on Buffalo’s West Side is...
Read more: http://artvoice.com/issues/v9n49/five_questions#ixzz18BOWde1l

Aquaponic systems need a fish tank and a separate plant tank. I had to choose between buying an existing, prefabricated tank or building my own custom tank. I couldn’t find an existing one that would fit into the space available....

Voices from the Good Food Movement: Aquaponics at Our school at Blair Grocery...

 

The Urban Conversion Visits Colorado Aquaponics

The great folks at The Urban Conversion recently paid a visit to JD Sawyer, of Colorado Aquaponics. JD has set up 3 different aquaponic systems in The GrowHaus, and hes showing Rodman the ropes.

From 120 thingsAquaponics Cheese Handmade fishing lures Mold making Solar hot water

Aquaponics - Duckweed auto feeder side view

To add clarity to the previous post, here is a side view animation of the duckweed auto feeder.

Which is better Hydroponics or Aquaponics?Posted on December 9, 2010 Which is better to have, considering maintenance, yield, costs

Fishy Farm Creates Polyculture System for Home Use:Fishy Farm out of Hillsboro, Oregon has created both an indoor and outdoor aquaponic-horticulture-vermiculture system that can grow food and raise fish all within the comfort of your humble abode or backyard

Planting a vegetable garden is a great way to save money on grocery bills, enjoy fresh, healthy, and delicious foods, and reduce your carbon footprint, but across much of the United States, 

Affnans Aquaponics: Conceptual 3D Rendering of Aquaponics - Abhar Amir...: "Receive pictures from Abhar Amir Alias The following picture are interesting 3D rendering by Abhar Amir Alias. The siphon below is an impr..."

 That will do for today
All the Best
OZZIE

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