If you think of it, remixing is exactly what nature does too: the result is evolution. So what we call innovation is actually evolution. Ok, there are some exceptions to that, for example random discoveries like Teflon. But generally innovation evolves. This leads me to think that probably the best way to innovate is to look into the past and present to see what others have done, copy it, and add your own ideas into the mix – et volià, you might have created something new and useful.

Additional information to the series can be found on Kirby Ferguson’s project website: www.everythingisaremix.info

Ok, let’s Copy, Transform and Combine. Have fun!

Everything is a Remix Part 3 from Kirby Ferguson.

startraum gmbh haben Claudio und ich gegründet, um Verkäufer von Immobilien, wie zum Beispiel Einfamilienhäuser, Mehrfamilienhäuser, Eigentumswohnungen, etc. eine bessere Möglichkeit zu bieten ihre Objekte online mit einer eigenen Webseite darzustellen. Die Webseiten werden möglichst alle Informationen zu einer Immobilie enthalten. Damit können sich die potenziellen Käufer online gut informieren, bevor sie dann das Objekt in Realität besichtigen gehen. Unter anderem ist auch eine Virtuelle Tour geplant. So kann der Besucher sich ähnlich wie bei Google Streetview durch das Haus bewegen und alle Räume anschauen.

Zur Zeit haben wir folgende zwei Beispiel-Webseiten für startraum realisiert:

• Einfamilienhaus in Altreu – Haus im Grünen
• Mehrfamilienhaus in Worben

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

My lucky shot of this trip can be seen in my gallery…

Fast forward to the 30th of December 2010 I knew I was very lucky… Secret Mens Business 3.5 was the Overall Winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2010! It doesn’t get any better than that! Bringing the winner back.

I couldn’t wait any longer when I finally flew to Hobart on the 31st to meet the delivery crew as well as some of the racing crew. After having a look around, it was soon time for the first drink. Celebrating New Years Eve there was certainly something that I’ll remember for a long time .

Next day was the official prize giving ceremony at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. One thing that surprised me was that there were a lot of prizes to be given away… of course fastest yacht, overall winner and all the division winners, but there were also first woman skipper over the line, boat that traveled the furthest to the race (from Italy), best navigator, etc. to be won.

After the ceremony it was time to spring into action and start doing what delivery crews do… getting the boat ready… shopping for food… having a drink…

The rest of the story is best explained through the pictures I uploaded into my gallery. To summarize, I liked it a lot and already signed up for another trip at the end of January to bring SMB back to Adelaide.

• Pictures of the Secret Mens Business Delivery Trip
• Official website of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race (SMB profile)

Once some initial research on the internet was done I decided that I’ll go with a Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) design that uses PVC pipes. This seemed like a good way to start since it’s straightforward and doesn’t involve any complicated parts (well so I thought, but more later). After a bit more research I bought the materials (recycled PVC pipes, wood, a pump, etc) and the tools to build the system. First off were the pipes… cutting them into size and making the inlets for the plants later on was actually quite easy once the proper markings had been made. That was my first time to work with PVC and I was surprised how well it handles with the jigsaw and the other tools. Once the pipes were ready I started working on the stands that would allow to hang the pipes. I figured that by hanging the pipes I would have better control later on the slope and setup of the system.

Once the PVC pipes were in place in the greenhouse I could start working on the piping to and from the PVC pipes. For that I bought some smaller irrigation and gray water pipes. Since the PVC pipes had different heights I built in a little reservoir on top that allows to distribute the pumped water evenly over the two pipes. The thing to say here is that this only works because I got a pump that is quite strong and can push the water 2 meters up.
After finishing all the work I finally could test if the whole water cycle worked. Turning it on for the first time showed that there were still a couple of leaks that needed some attention but other than that it was ok.

In parallel to building the system I grew a couple of seedlings in rockwool so they would be ready once I got everything up and running. Actually putting them into the small plastic baskets and then into the PVC pipe felt like the system was finally complete. The last thing to do was setting the timer and let it run and wait (and change the water every week). That was a couple weeks/months ago and today I finally can enjoy  the fruits (or vegetables) of my work.

Looking back, kind of like a review, the issues I discovered with my system are the following:

• The round PVC pipes don’t allow for the regular plant baskets since they are flat at the bottom and thus all the water just flows underneath them without touching them. That is a problem as long as the plants don’t have any long roots that could touch the water. By heating (or melting) the baskets I deformed them so they have the shape of the PVC pipe at the bottom and thus are in the water stream. I don’t like this approach since, it takes a lot of time to deform them, it makes the baskets usable only in the round PVC pipes and it’s not as stable once the plants grow bigger.
• The openings in the PVC pipes are too large… that allows light through to the roots which is not all that good. So far I was lucky and there hasn’t been that much of a problem with that, but I’m sure it would be better if the roots were in a darker environment.
• The piping that goes from / to the water reservoir… this is just a PITA to set up and seems to be a point where weaknesses can occur. My issues were that the drainage pipe couldn’t handle the amount of water at first. Using a bigger pipe solved the problem but I still think it’s not ideal. I already got a NFT design in mind that would not have any or almost none feeding and drainage pipes…
• The water storage container is too large in area, e.g. 10 liters barely cover the bottom where a taller and narrower container would have a higher water level with the same amount of water, thus the pump would always be submerged.
• Having Perlite loosely in the PVC pipe (without the baskets) doesn’t work that well since it’s moving slowly downwards every time the water gets fed through. Watching it is quite funny since it’s almost like a little avalanche that is coming down.
• Once the plants get bigger the baskets tend to tip over since they don’t have any weight and no hold with the big opening in the PVC pipe.

Huff… seems like a lot of issues there . Well I guess it was a really good learning experience. Anyway, the salad and vegetables are tasty.. that’s what counts in the end.