Safely landed the A380 in Germany. Got a croissant, sparkling water and brushed the pearly whites. Now it’s bedtime again. Need to fool ourselves that it’s 1am our time (even though it’s sunny)!
NYC here we come!
Auf weidersehen.
Category Archives: Bon Voyage
Wilkommen in Deutschland
We made it to Germany. Flight was smooth despite delays taking off and taxiing in Frankfurt. Neither of us slept much. It’s never restful on a plane. And when there’s a baby crying, it’s damn near impossible to stay asleep.
Hopefully we get our rest on this next leg which is 12 hours or so. Imagine spending more than your entire work day on a plane? Yea, well me neither. But about to go experience that. It does make you realize how close Europe really is. Could jump over the pond for a weekend if you wanted!
That’s it for now. Auf wiedersehen!
Keeping the Basil Happy
So when we started planning this long getaway I immediately thought about things around the house. Especially the garden! Three beautiful tomato plants, squash and zucchini, basil, arugula and other random botanical items. I, being the geek I am, decide to rig up a quick irrigation system.
Yep, that’s right. Full out automatic watering system. Having Crestron in my home (and knowing how to program it) enabled me to build a relatively inexpensive irrigation system (about $100 of parts). All that was needed was a few sprinkler heads, some pvc pipe and glue, a length of hose, a solenoid valve, and a rain sensor. Oh, and a new event in the scheduler on my MC3 (programming).
Everyday, one hour after the sun sets, the sprinklers turn on for twenty minutes and bring new life and cleansing to my bunches of greens. But if it’s already wet outside, the rain sensor tells the Crestron system and the sprinklers don’t turn on.
I can keep an eye on things through my Crestron Mobile app from the other side of the world (if we have a decent Internet connection). Thats the cool part. If I feel like watering my plants from Bali I can!
It has been running for a couple of weeks now. And it works well! Sure beats getting the hose out in the morning. The basil looks happy. And really that’s what it’s about. The basil.
