In the last post I spoke about the first phase which was all about the Aerogarden. I planted two cherry tomato pods on Feb 16th. The first picture you see here is my first garden station. A small Ikea table between my old sofa and storage unit. I picked a spot that I can get blocked off if needed. Had to keep in mind the light this thing generates. It can get annoying if your watching a late movie or catching a quick nap. I kept everything away from our main living space. The cherry tomato setting will keep the lights on for 17hours a day so I have them set to turn on at 2am and back off at 7pm. This works out well since I’m usually out of the loft by 2am and the natural light in the house ends right before 7pm.

Once I figured out the light timing and had the pods in place I added water and the correct nutrients then plugged it in. The lights came on right away and the pump started doing its thing. That was it… everything was all setup. I left the lights on til it was 7pm. Now all I had to do was let it run for a couple weeks before I would see anything interesting. The one thing I did notice right away when planting the second tomato pod was how dry and funky it looked. I didn’t think anything of it since it soaked up the water and looked just like the first one after a couple minutes of operation.

After about a week the first tomato pod started to spout. The second pod showed no signs of life. I figured something was wrong with it. I removed the dome from the first plant as instructed in the guide that came with the garden. There were about three plant stems. One looked pretty small and frail. The other two started their battle for space. I would have to choose who dies (que dramatic music). I’ll wait awhile to see which one grows stronger before I snip away.

I’ll post more info next month with more pics.
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After a while I started moving more things to the loft like my old sofa, some Ikea storage units and my DJ set. Having those things in the loft/office gave me some ideas on what I wanted to do with the space. Now I have bigger plans for the loft. My vision is to basically convert it to the ideal work get away. My ideal programming environment. Even though it’ll be devoted to work I don’t want it to resemble the usual corporate office. Traditional corporate offices really suck for programmers. My day job would never ever create an ideal environment for programmers so my home office will be my Google or better yet my FogCreek get away.

The pictures your seeing in this post were taken at random times after the move into the loft. I’m working on the redesign now so you won’t see any new pictures until I’m done. The initial idea is to take the fun side of Google’s office ideas and merge them with the efficient ideas of FogCreek. I’ll be the only person working in this space so there are a number of things I can leave out.

I have a bookcase that I’ll keep as my library but the cd & dvd towers gots to go. I’ll box up my collection until I can layout a plan to rip them to my hard drives. Most of the books and magazines in my bookcase are outdated so I should probably get rid of them. As a web developer I’ve been programming all kinds of different languages. Time to let some of them go. For example I have five Perl programming books. I can honestly say I’ll never code Perl again (thank god). It was fun while it lasted but time to move on.

If I can get rid of enough books I might get a bookcase that’s half the size. The way things are going I probably won’t buy many physical books anymore. I’ll just need a nice docking station for my iPad, Kindle or Nook.

Speaking of gadgets, I got rid of the dual 19″ monitor setup and got one 24″ Dell HD capable monitor. I gave away one of the old monitors but I still have the other. Depending on the layout I might still use the two monitors. Maybe I can set it up FogCreek style… minus the adjustable desk. The added advantage with the 24″ is the dual connections. I have my Mac Pro hooked up via DVI and my XBox 360 via VGA.

I was lucky enough to snatch up a Herman Miller Aeron chair back in 2002 during an office auction (a company I use to work for). It’s an earlier version of the popular chair but it works just fine. Between the monitor, xbox, dj set and other little gadgets my desk is pretty much planned out. Just need to get better cable management.

As for the rest of the loft/office I plan on making it the ultimate coder lounge. I got my sofa which I’ll probably mostly use for laptop sessions, book reading or just relaxing. On each side of the sofa I have some experiments setup. It’s pretty well lit during the day. There’s plenty of natural light flowing into the loft from the two skylights and a double window on the oposite side of the loft (away from desk). I’ll invest in some nice lamps for late night coding sessions or when I’m just collecting achievement points on XBoxLive. I thought about getting some bean bags for the remaining space but I wanted to keep it clear since at some point I’ll probably have the kids up there hanging out with daddy. I also have my bike stored here.

So that’s it! I’m already close to getting this all done. I’ll post a follow up to this post as soon as I have some pics… I might even submit them to Home Office Snapshots to see what other people think.

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Well I decided to find out if its possible after watching a number of documentaries about the crapy food we’re all so use to eating these days. I started by researching how to grow my own produce from my condo year round. Not only is it possible, there are some real easy ways to get started without digging up soil or worrying about green thumbs.

What can I grow?
There are a number of things that limit what I can grow. First I had to find a place to grow. Luckily I have a loft in my condo that’s separate from the main living area. This is great since my twin girls are just starting to get into that crazy touch & break stage. The loft is my “can’t reach, can’t break” zone. Currently I’m using it as my home office/storage area but there’s plenty of room to get my mini-farm on.

So with all that space I figure I can get a couple trees and some table top plants going. But there’s some other things to consider. I’ll need to control temperature and lighting. I’ll only grow things I can keep at room temperature since its an open loft. The lighting will have to sync up with our normal routine at home. Can’t have a nice cozy movie night with a virtual sunshine beaming from the loft.

With all that in mind I figured I can grow some basic veggies, greens and maybe some fruit. I might also try some herbs (the legal kinds) since they don’t require too much space. So here’s my tentative list:

• Tomatoes
• Romaine Lettuce
• Green & Black Tea
• Jalapeno Peppers
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Herbs (cilantro, basil, oregano, thyme, and parsley)
• Lemons
• Cucumbers

How will I grow them?
I found a lot of great info on the web on how to get my mini-farm off and popping. I decided on using techniques from the great minds at NASA. Ever heard of Aeroponics and Hydroponics? These techniques basically take soil out of the equation. This makes growing much easier and efficient.

So all I need are some plant lights, water reservoirs, water pumps, tubes, light timers, nutrients, and that staples easy button. This project is gonna take some serious work… I’m gonna break this down into phases. I don’t know how many of these phases I’ll need but for now I’ll just talk about phase one.

Phase One
There are a couple devices out in the market that help you with the whole NASA farm magic thing. The first that came to mind is the Aero Garden. I saw the infomercials a while back. Got one from Amazon last year.

The Aero Garden is a cool table top appliance that makes hydroponics easy. I can’t think of a better way to start. My plan is to learn the basics with this gadget and then build my own system down the road. There are other products out there but based on my internet surfing this is probably the way to go for now.

I own the Aero Garden Deluxe which has 7 slots for planting. I originally choose this one because the lamps extend higher and I get the most slots for the money. My first run with this was terrible since I didn’t really take it seriously. I think I ended up with about 14 cherry tomatoes that I never ate. This time I’m gonna get focused. Back to the Tomatoes.

The last time I screwed up the nutrients. I didn’t know they were split up into stages (starter, growth and fruiting). I also think I should only plant two pods on opposite ends of the reservoir since the cherry tomatoes got pretty big. Don’t want them to fight for light or root space.

In my next post about this project I’ll go into more details on starting this first phase with pictures and all. Let me know what you think about this idea, the project and anything you might be doing like this.

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It’s been about a month since I posted anything. I’m assuming that everyone by now has already heard about the tragic earthquake in Haiti (Ayiti).

First off please keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and support a charity of your choice that you know can best help the people affected. I personally recommend Yele Haiti.
Text ‘Yele‘ to 501501 to donate $5 or Text ‘Haiti‘ to 501501 to donate $10.

I’m a first-generation Haitian American who has never been to Haiti. Sadly my family (me, my parents and siblings) were never able to find the time or resources to make the trip while it was safe to go. But with such a big Haitian-born family I got to know my heritage very well. I say all this to point out that I know a lot about whats great about the country and the people. Haiti is so much more then what is shown by the media even now.

Above is a before and after picture of the Haitian Palace which pretty much symbolizes the state of Haiti today. Most people in the US only see tragic images of Haiti. Mostly focusing on the poor & hungry, then there’s what seems to be constant coup d’etat coverage. While Haiti does suffer from a lot of those issues, the media never seems to ask the question why. They only seem to focus on talking points… “Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere…”.

Quick History Lesson
Haiti became the first african-led republic in the world after a successful slave rebellion in 1804 against France. The name Haiti (Ayiti) was chosen to honor one of the indigenous Taíno names for the island which meant land of high mountains.

You can imagine how the ‘super powers’ in the world felt after Haiti not only became free from slavery but an independent nation. France really wasn’t cool with that setup. In July 1825, during a vulnerable time, France came back with troops and forced the Haitian president Jean Pierre Boyer to sign an indemnity stating that in return for 150 million francs (modern equivalent of $21 billion) paid within five years, France would recognize Haiti as an independent country. This was just the start of the crushing debt that Haiti owes the wealthy nations of the world just to be free.

“Imposing an indemnity on the victorious slaves was equivalent to making them pay with money that which they had already paid with their blood.” Victor Schoelcher

After that many nations pimped the Haitian government. There were many coups. From 1911 to 1915 there were six different Presidents of Haiti, each of whom was killed or forced into exile. The US at the time was worried about a group of wealthy Germans who had huge influence is Haiti’s international commerce. The American government decided to act quickly to preserve their economic dominance over Haiti. The United States occupation of Haiti began on July 28, 1915.

During the occupation, representatives from the United States controlled Haitian customs houses and administrative institutions such as banks and the national treasury. Through American manipulation, 40% of the national income was used to alleviate the debt repayment to both American and French banks. Despite the large sums due to overseas banks, this economic decision ignored the interests of the majority of the Haitian population and froze the economic growth the country needed. For the next nineteen years, advisers of the United States governed the country, enforced by the United States Marine Corps. [source]

After the great depression the US was done with Haiti. Franklin Roosevelt removed troops and left the country powerless. Potential war with the Dominican Republic and more coups kept Haiti in its poor state. Once Papa Doc took over it was a wrap. Between him and his successor Bébé Doc, Haiti fell into much more debt. Both dictators were supported by loans from the worlds wealthy banks who knew exactly where the money was going. As long as they didn’t go communist it was all good.

L’union fait la force
Despite such an oppressive history Haitians remain strong. The national motto written on the flag in french means strength through unity… L’union fait la force.

As terrible as this earthquake and the previous natural disasters were, I hope nothing but good comes from this exposure. But I keep hearing and seeing the same crap. The worst is pictures of hundreds of armed troops landing in Haiti. Historically that has never been a good sign. What else can the world take from Haiti? Most of the citizens of the world want to help and trust their governments to do the right thing… but we all know how that usually goes.

As soon as the public loses interest… Haiti may fall back into the hidden oppression it has suffered for far too long. And the media will pick up where it left off… “…another coup in the poorest nation in the western hemisphere”.

What will I do?
I’ll continue to share more about my mother’s land in the hopes that people will read and learn more about Ayiti. I’m working with my parents to continue supporting family still in Haiti as well as supporting the Yele Haiti movement.

Hopefully in the near future I’ll take my long overdue trip to Ayiti with my new family (Wife and kids). Invest in some land and keep the ties to my roots going…. hopefully.
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What now?
Well… the purpose for this blog has changed. Before I was focused on sharing my thoughts on tech stuff and every now and then some personal things. That didn’t really do much for me so I never had the motivation to keep up with the blog. Now I’ll focus more on my journey in life, my goals and how I achieve them. I figure this would be way more interesting not just for me but also for anyone who stumbles onto my little piece of the internet.

So basically this blog will track and share my efforts in lifestyle design (got the idea from Tim Ferris). I hope you gain something from my future posts.

–HB
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My amazing twin girls were born on Nov 7th after the elections which pretty much explains why I couldn’t really focus on this blog. 2009 proved to be a very challenging year for us. Between child care, work schedules, my wife getting laid off and just trying to be good parents we really didn’t have time for much else.

Now here I am on the last day of 2009. My second new year as a father of twins and my third as a husband. Its hard to even remember how my life was before 2008. I’m looking forward to 2010. I’ll post more on this blog not only to share my thoughts and my life but to also have a log for me to reflect on later.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!
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Yes We Did!!
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I’m not a big fan of huge complex electronics so this Sanyo Xacti is the perfect size. The Sony HDR-TG1 is smaller but cost about $300 bucks more. The Xacti also has more options like adding external flash or mic. The lens on the Sanyo are bigger so more light is captured. I’m sure this helps out big time in darker places.

Takes about 3hrs to charge so I’ll post more later on the performance. Here are some test videos I found online:

• Test shots by Colin Cubitt
• Flowers by Colin Cubitt
• Old sailing ship

Check out the reviews on Amazon & Steve’s Digicams.
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I’m finally inspired enough to take part in the political process here in the US. Sure I’ve voted before and had many political discussions but never had a strong positive feeling about any politician until now.
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The interview took place in the same hotel as the conference. I look like I really need to sleep or something. It was a long day.

Anyway… if you want to check out the latest MLB.com media player then go to www.mlb.com and click on any link under the “Programming” tab.
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