36 full-color pages.  Printed on heavy-weight paper.  Order Now.

I am so excited.  This is the first public appearance of WaterBoy in over 5 years, and what better way than in an OK Go concert.  I hope to see you there:

Maker Faire
May 22 & 23
San Mateo County Event Center

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Embrace the Moisture and Denounce Your Dry Ways!
Join the WaterBoy Team

We seek volunteers with and without SCUBA certification to help with every aspect of the show, including diving/snorkling, water-wrangling and tech crew.   Contact WaterBoy for more details:  sparkyrust (at) gmail (dot) com

Maker Faire Bay Area
May 22 & 23,
San Mateo County Event Center

Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It’s for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things. So much to see, you will need 2 days to see it all!

Tools, Trash and Technology
A 25-year retrospective of the Art and Design of Marque Cornblatt

The exhibition will include self portraits, interactive sculptures, web-based robots, video, as well as examples of  furniture and interior design.

Opening reception for the artist Friday March 12, 5-8 PM

March 10-April 4, 2010
Wednesday – Saturday 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

For more info and map:
http://www.marquecornblatt.com/balto/

Harbor East on the Circle
The Legg Mason Tower
Retail Suite 102
Baltimore, MD
21202

A number of people have asked what I do about the bugs.  I’ve found that they really aren’t a big problem.  I’ve seen some gnat-like insects, mostly around the cucumbers.   The bok choy has been attacked by a couple of pests as well.  My solution was two-fold.  I used a small amount of garden supply anti-catapillar treatment on the bok choy which seems to help a lot.  The other thing I did was to introduce ladybugs into the garden areas.  I’m sure some might find this concept a bit off-putting, but it doesn’t bother me at all to see the little red buggers, even when they are exploring the rest of the house.  It just reminds me of all the bad insects they are eradicating.

Just for fun, I also got a pot full of Venus fly traps.  Those insect-eating plants work, but a little too well.  In addition to catching the gnats, they were most effective at trapping the ladybugs!  Somehow THAT seemed cruel.

The original post is here.
Here are some recent pix…

I live in the city and although I have a small yard, I have to occasionally share it with a family of local raccoons and other creatures.  After several attempts at raising outdoor crops which accomplished little more than providing raccoon snacks, I decided to move my efforts indoors.

Two south-facing window spots offered enough sun and so I started experimenting.  Within days the various plants were all responding well and so the experiments grew.

Traditional flower pots and planters were soon replaced by big black plastic storage bins from Office Depot which were less expensive and more efficient.  I MacGuvered some one-gallon water bottles into hanging topsy turvy-style planters and tried a variety of vines, including tomatoes, pole beans, cucumbers and peppers.

Hanging crops above other plants is a great way to maximize the amount of growing space and conserve water, and it wasn’t long before the notion of “hanging water bottles” was upgraded and replaced by a complete garden row of inverted plants, all in black bins with holes drilled in them, effectively doubling the garden size.  (12 ft by 1.5 ft)

Initial harvests have been small as I figure out what crops work, but so far have I’ve enjoyed basil, tomatoes, romaine, yellow and burgundy beans and one tiny potato.

Current crops include more tomatoes, peppers, beans and cukes, plus butter lettuce, onions, sugar snap peas, bok choy, blueberries, strawberries, and a meyer lemon tree.

PART 2) More images and details here.

We at Gomi Style are pleased to announce the launch of our new sister site: SparkyJr.com.

Sparky Jr. is a one-stop shop for everything you need to make your own DIY videochat robot. We give you free software, instructions, templates and more – Plus a whole community of people making their own telepresence robots and rovers.  Post your projects, ask questions, and see what others are making.

The Sparky project has been featured in Make Magazine, on PRI’s Studio 360 radio show, and been presented at AFI’s DigiFest, The San Jose Museum of Art, the SFMoMA and museums and galleries throughout the country.

Click Now and join the growing community of DIY Telepresence robot builders

Here is a short teaser for PROMOSEXUAL, one of my finalists and one of the earliest appearances of Gomi Style.

Everyone seems to be putting their DIY projects into Altoids tins and other candy containers.  I’ve been collecting these small containers for a while but didn’t have a use for them until now.  The Altoids Garden.

These tiny succulents cuttings and small herbs seem to be thriving in organic potting soil.  I water them a few times a day.

A single cutting in organic soil covered with black stones.  A tiny bonsai in a promotional CD case.  They will likely stay small with such a small volume of soil.  They should be misted a few times a day but don’t overwater.  A light covering of stones will help keep the soil moist.  Perfect for the office.

I really know very little about plants. However, all of these small succulents are native to Northern CA and are very hearty. I plucked them out of my yard like weeds. They require minimal care and watering. The Banzai were chosen based on small size. I have one that is a Pine, and a few others I don’t know. I also grew cat grass and other sprouting seeds. The only plant that didn’t last long were the herbs, because they need to grow – the succulents and Banzai are content to remain small.