The Grapevines are flourishing Year 4

A few days ago I took a visit to see how the vineyard was progressing this season.

DWC Growth Log -- Week of 6/23

Week 6 of system growth progress. At the beginning of this week, I noticed the reservoir solution was beginning to run low. These plants are thirsty! The reservoir was topped up twice this week.

June 23

Bike Light Mount 2

The light mount I made 2 years ago for my main bike has been working remarkably well.  The only problem is that my other bike, the San Antonio Smuggler has been seeing less use due to the the inability to mount my Niterider light on it.  I had been using the 1990s incandescent Cateye light on it, but it hasn't been doing much justice for illuminating the road ahead.  Time to build another mount for the Niterider.
I intended to make an exact replica of the first one.  The problem was I didn't have any blocks of aluminum big enough to match the original dimensions.

The solution was to modify the design to utilize 2 smaller pieces, and have it clamp on the handlebars sideways instead of vertically.  Genius! now it even has the added benefit of weight savings since all that material in the middle is missing.  The catch was I had to machine 2 spacers to go between the blocks while machining (bottom right corner of above picture).

Beers of the World Cup: Group H

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group H we have Poland, Senegal, Colombia, and Japan. We acquired a Polish and a Japanese beer for tasting.

From Japan we have Asahi Super "Dry" lager. This rice beer is reminiscent of traditional American adjunct lagers that use rice (Budweiser). The rice made this one very smooth. 2.5/5.

Beers of the World Cup: Group G

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group G we have Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, and England. We acquired a Belgian and an English beer for tasting.

From Belgium we selected Grimbergen Blonde ale. At 6.70% ABV, this is an all around tasty and  balanced ale. 4/5.

From England comes Samuel Smith's Organic Pale Ale. An orange tinted ale with full body, this was tasty. 4/5.


Check out our Instagram feed to see which other beers we managed to snag as each group stage match goes live!

Beers of the World Cup: Group F

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group F we have Germany, Mexico, South Korea, and Sweden. We acquired a German beer for tasting.

Germany has a wide variety of different beers available. We selected Erdinger Dunkel for tasting. This is a very malty dunkelweizen balanced by the roasted malts and hop flavors. 4/5.


Check out our Instagram feed to see which other beers we managed to snag as each group stage match goes live!

Beers of the World Cup: Group E

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group E we have Serbia, Brazil, Switzerland, and Costa Rica. We were only able to acquire Brazilian beer for tasting.

From Brazil comes Xingu Black Beer. This Schwarz beer is dark with a slightly roasted taste. It isn't as smooth as the Coopers Stout we reviewed earlier, but is still tasty. 3/5.

Check out our Instagram feed to see which other beers we managed to snag as each group stage match goes live!

Beers of the World Cup: Group D

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group D we have Croatia, Iceland, Argentina, and Nigeria. We were able to acquire all but Nigerian beer for tasting.

From Argentina is Quilmes Cerveza, Argentina's favorite beer. A traditional lager that went down smooth. 2.75/5.

DWC Growth Log -- Week of 6/16

Week 5 of growth progress in this system. That lettuce I had harvested last week looks to have already recovered.

June 17

Big Bicycle Bell Ringer

I had always fantasized about putting a train bell on my bike, but since those things are made of cast iron, it would be an unnecessarily heavy addition to my bike (like, even more heavy than the stuff I already put on).  I decided to settle for second best when I found this bell at a garage sale that looks like it goes on a boat.

Ring my bell!

I began work designing a new ringer that wouldn't rattle all over the place while riding.  I used a spring that I found in the street connected to an aluminum tab and bolted the original striker to it.  For the handlebar mount, I modified a bicycle shifter lever mount I had to accept a 1/2" bolt which I tapped a hole in to accept the bell's 5/16"-18 eyelet piece.  To ensure adequate clearance between the bell and handlebars, I turned an aluminum spacer to go in between the bell and mount.  See details below:

Beers of the World Cup: Group C

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group C we have France, Denmark, Australia, and Peru. We were able to acquire all the nations' beers for tasting.

From France is Kronenbourg 1664. This is a pale lager with 5.5% abv brewed in the city of Obernai, France, near the German border. It went down fairly smooth, slightly smoother than the Baltika #7 from Russia. 3.25/5.

Beers of the World Cup: Group B

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group B we have Iran, Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. We were able to acquire Spanish and Portuguese beer.

Beers of the World Cup: Group A

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. Group A is Russia, Uruguay, Egypt, and Saudi Araba. Unfortunately, we were only able to find beer from the host nation, Russia.

From Russia we have Baltika #7 Export Lager. At 5.4% ABV, it tastes like your typical lager. Went down smooth, but nothing too special about it. We rated it at 3/5. Cheers!

Check out our Instagram feed to see which other beers we managed to snag as each group stage match goes live!

DWC Growth Log -- Week of 6/9 -- The First Harvest

The fourth week running this system. It looks as if my nutrient troubles I encountered the previous week have started to remedy themselves. Also at the beginning of this week, the plants are big enough to start harvesting. I plan on cloning the basil plants en-mass to replace other plants in this system as I go.

June 9

Turtle Unification

This turtle sandbox I got for my foundry molding sand a few years ago has been awfully convenient.  The only problem was it didn't come with the lid, so we had problems with the sand getting completely soaked whenever it rained.  The blue tarp didn't help much in terms of waterproofing, so eventually we decided to keep it inside.

DWC Growth Log -- Week of 6/2

For the third week running this system, the lettuce and Swiss chard are well underway.

June 2

Growing plants for a Cat -- Cat Grass - part 1

I had a great idea when I was browsing the seed aisle. Now that I live with a cat, I thought it would be a good idea to try growing it some treats. Similar to how I grew microgreens for a bearded dragon.

DWC Growth Log -- Week of 5/26

The second full week of growth.

May 26

At the beginning of this week, the reservoir needed to be topped up, so some additional nutrients and water were added. One of the bok choy plants was replaced due to poor performance.