Date:  Dec 8, 2015

Today, we bring the whole family for our final lesson @ Urban Ski.  The main focus is Kay Kay.  I really wanted Kay Kay to enjoy skiing.  It seems like we are going to go skiing for many many years to come.  It is a very fast speed sport and needed to take a lot of precaution so that you don’t get injured.

And yes, Urban Ski is available in Singapore.  It is at Millenia Walk.  And they are getting extremely popular now.  I heard coach Aaron next week going to coach this lady for 8 hours lesson over 4 days.  Wow.  So, people really get the idea of learning how to ski before you go to Japan or Korea or even Europe for skiing.

In fact, this is our third ski.  And later you can see how much Kay Kay has improved.

My wife also learning, but she is an adult, so, she will finally get it.  

But I am so glad to see Kay Kay is having so much fun!

Check out our previous two lessons and see how much we improve….

An Hour at Urban Ski:  http://miniliew.blogspot.sg/2015/08/an-hour-at-urban-ski.html

Urban Ski Lesson #2:  http://miniliew.blogspot.sg/2015/10/urban-ski-lesson-2.html

This is the third year Jay Jay into skiing.  So for him, it is a matter of recollection of his memory to make it work.

The first 10 minutes, the kids are trying to remember how to stay stable on this running carpet (snow field).

Kay Kay: “errr…. I don’t want…..”  

He is still a bit scared.

Today is about getting him ready for skiing.  I hope today’s 1-hour lesson will be enough.  This is his third time here.

In order to make him get used to the French Fries and Pizza, coach Aaron placed a clip in front of Kay Kay’s skis to keep the two skis close at all time.

So, I also get my chance to ski.  And watch him from behind.

Unfortunately, some one fell, and the carpet stopped, and I fell too.

Since I know a little bit of skiing already, I think I better be the camera man today.

Into the 20th min mark, Kay Kay still trying to get used to the skis.

Suddenly he gets it.

It is just like a scissors ya.  Open and close, open and close.  French fries and pizza, french fries and pizza.

Even Mommy got it too.  Slowly.

Jay Jay is playing.

He is flying.

He is floating on snow.

Imagining that.

And he is really having lots of fun!

French Fries…. Pizza Pizza..

He really gets it!

French Fries to move.  

Pizza to stop.  But just that Pizza at Urban Ski means you move to the back.  

At the real skiing hill, Pizza means stop.

Both Jay and Kay is enjoying.  Now coach Aaron is spraying water onto the boys.  To keep the ground wet.

Now they learn how to go left and right.  They are really skiing like that.

Can over take too.

And now comes the testing…

OK.  I think we are ready for the skiing trip to Hokkaido next week.

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Ok, maybe not a bobsled but still something you usually dont get to do in Florida, Sliding on the ice. Its been below freezing for a few nights and while at work cleaning the planes I realized that all of the water and ice I had been dumping from the galley had frozen onto the beltloader. Last night my coworker and i got the brilliant idea of letting the belt freeze up and then using trash bags to slide down the belt.

belt frozen and ready to go.

Jamie decided to go headfirst and pull a superman move.

I went feet first just in case I wasnt going to be able to stop when I got to the bottom.

I got a little braver on the second run.















and managed to crash into a big pile of ice at the bottom. Short lived but we had a blast!!

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A week last Sunday I had planted some seeds in the barrels. Corriander, Basil, Spearmint and a couple of Thai Herbs. So checked up yesterday on progress. Thats 10 days on and were doing OK. Also the tomatoes and egg plants aer doing well. These we had put in earlier. Tomatoes are not red but getting bigger. I do think they are slow but cannot be sure. Just me in a hurry as always.

The cat fish are another story.  We put them in on the 16th Dec, they were tiny back then. And now 5 weeks later. they are big Difference in size is amazing. My wife will probably give them a few more weeks before they do a one way visit to the Bar B Q....

When we purchased the Cat fish back in December they were about 6-8 cm long. Now I estimate them to be about 12-16 centimeters. Only guessing! If I was a real fisherman I would be telling you 30 centimers!!!! As would any other self respecting fisherman.  Thats me on the right with the newly bought Cat fish.

But seriously, the next time round the system is going to be very closely monitored and recorded. I want to get a real feel for costings. I know a small barrel is not the final solution but its a start, a very good start.

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Date:  Mar 22, 2015

There is only one medal for this short game competition.

Jay is the one of the youngest in his class.  The rest I think is P4-P6.

So far he has yet to get any medal this year.  The older kids are definitely much better golfer than him.  But he enjoys it.  

Today competition is to hit putting into the hole from all direction (with slopes) and score points.

Not so hard, not so easy either.  The kids needs to learn how to read the green, read the slope and putt so that it goes into the hole.

This is one of the hole that made him proud.  He is the only kid who get the ball in twice in the long putt.  The rest did not get it in.

He still learning how to read the green, so, some holes he is in trouble.

Chip and run.  Not too bad.  And he scores.

He learned the technique and applied it in his golf game.

He has some problem in the sand bunker shots.  He did not score well there.

I think he placed his ball too far right.  That is why the swing did not catch much sands and the ball flies up high.  

Jay likes golf a lot.  Kay expressed his interest in golf too.  So, it will be very happy for us if the whole family can go to Golf Vacation trip together when they gets older.

Next week is a big day for Jay.  he is going to take part in his first every Golf Game Competition.  It will be the monthly Junior Medal game competition with his peers.  Let’s see how it goes.  Anything can happen on the golf course.  HaHaHaHa.  Good luck Jay.

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I finally got a chance to post some info about my system. I was given a bunch of 8" ABS piping. At first I was going to just split them in half, but I didnt think I would have enough root depth. Heres what I did:

First of all, I bought some 1/4" and 3/4" taps. I use them throughout the project and they pay for themselves by not needing to buy bulkhead fittings! They work great in ABS or PVC!

I cut each pipe into 5 sections, and then cut out 2 slots in the top about 4" wide for the plants. I then drilled and tapped a 3/4" fitting in the bottom for filling/draining. Once I put in the barbed fitting, I cut off the top on the inside to "maximize" the drainage. Plus, if there is any debris, it will get sucked out though this area.



In the background, you can see I cemeted and a ring around the inside of the pipe. This will act as a shelf to help support the end cap that I welded into place. This is the first time Ive done plastic welding....LOVE IT!



I had a bunch of 1/2" black pipe so I welded a rack together and also dug a hole in the floor of my greenhouse for a sump. It was heartbreaking to dig out the floor in my nice little greenhouse. Im sure Ill get over it once I see all these yummy veggies The sump pumps the water back into the 650 gallon tank.



I split a piece of 2" pipe and half and laid it in the bottom of each tray. This keeps the rocks out of the drain pipe....but Im still concerned about the roots getting in there and I dont have a good way to clean them out...



I wanted to have an external bell siphon. I dont have a lot space of play with the water/gravel height in these trays, so by having the external siphon, I can fine-tune the height of the entire siphon. Im really glad I did this now....Its has been working perfectly and I can make really fine adjustments to it without having to dismantle it.

Here area all the parts to it. Just a couple of odd things about it: A) I tapped two 3/4" fittings in the bottom-side. At first I tried to use just one fitting, but the 1/2" stand-pipe can suck the water out faster than a single tray can drain into the siphon chamber. B) I have a homemade bulkhead fitting in the bottom...I didnt have an o-rink or rubber laying around for the seal, but a dab of plummers putty worked really well! C) The ball valve is for the water supply and the little tube is used to direct the water down into the chamber....I had a little spray problem and it would shoot out the top of the chamber! As a bonus, since I just sort of stuck the tube on the threads, while its filling, it sucks air in through it and it act like a little bubbler.



Here it is all assembled. Just by dumb luck, I was able to sneak the supply tube under the vacuum break tube. It holds it all together nicely and helps to keep the bell from moving around.



Here it is with Its lid on and the 2 fill lines in the bottom-side.



Heres a couple of shots of the entire setup in operation!

From Aquaponics

Last week I planted lettuce, broccoli, peas, radish, beets, peppers, carrots and green beans. The peppers I planted indoors about a month ago. Everything else has sprouted. It will be interesting to see what the carrots, radish, and beets do in this sharp gravel.



The ground is still frozen outside (you can see the snow in the background). Even though this setup much smaller than my outdoor garden, I usually dont get to start planting until the first weekend in May! A 2 month head start rocks! The mass of the floor and tank can keep the night temps in the greenhouse about 12 degrees F warmer at night...just enough to keep everything safe!

I hope you all enjoy my setup...I have more expansions Im working on......

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Been a while now since I posted anything on my system progress. The past few weeks its just been a day to day routine thing, where I have been feeding the fish and at weekends emptying out the fish waste. We use the fish waste on the garden and the plants seem to like it.

Its not so exciting at the moment. That makes it difficult to write a lot but .... Today we had a good clean up and checked the water quality, pH of 8.0, bit on the low side but OK. Im still looking for DO and Nitrate test kits. So if any of you out here can point me in the right direction please do!

The plants are doing well. Tomatoes are turning red and the chillies are surprisingly hot! Also thinned out a few of the basil and will be planting some more in next few days.

Wanna is beginning to take an interest which can only mean one thing. They are nearly ready for the Bar B Q!!!!

On a separate note Ive been looking into a commercial system and will be getting round to my business plan shortly. Need to decide just how big to be and as long as it is sustainable I can employ someone to look after it up on our farm. Will keep you updated on developments.

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After several above average weeks, I am happy to see a normal variety of food in normal amounts. Not that I dont love a challenge, and I have proudly seen very little go to waste. I am overjoyed to get a cantaloupe. This blog, so called Cantaloupe Alone, attracts lots of google searches for preposterous cantaloupe recipes. I often find "cantaloupe cookies," "(hot?)cantaloupe (rind?)pickles," "baked cantaloupe," "cantaloupe butter," and "cantaloupe broth." Search terms that have never ever crossed my mind as food I would ever eat. I was thinking in honor of these die hard searchers who are continually finding and probably being disappointed by my blogs lack of cantaloupe cookie recipes I would figure out some new cantaloupe recipes. Meta inspiration. But back to my CSA for right now.

Ditmas Park CSA Week 8
10 medium and small tomatoes
2 onions
2 heads of garlic
1 bunch of basil
2 eggplants
1 bunch of kale
5 medium/small cucumbers
4 banana peppers
1 patty pan squash
1 yellow squash
1 cantaloupe

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Seems more and more this subject is fast becoming a favourite amonst Journalists.
I will not reprint this latest find here, but for sure will continue to follow up on this one as with developments. Need to keep learning all I can. Long way to go.
Recirculating aquaculture systems: The future of fish farming?

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Dangerous candied bacon

What is that dark slimy looking spider like blob up there? Well its simply one of the most addicting flavors to ever be added to confections and desserts. Candied caramelized bacon. Thats right salty and smoky taste awesome with sweet and chewy food. Its almost evil. Putting meat in dessert feels bad, but tastes so good. Ive written this recipe before, but by popular request I have chosen to give candied bacon its own recipe. Its is amazing baked into chocolate chip cookies, or if youre really fancy these monster chocolate toffee cookies. You could also use it to garnish cupcakes (think banana peanut butter Elvis style!), doughnuts or whatever needs a modern and slightly wild kick. Whatever you put it in, people will ask you for the recipe. Send em here.

There are two popular recipes for candying bacon. Well one is more popular than the other. Most often I see recipes suggesting people put bacon on a silpat, cover with sugar, and let it do its thing in a 300 degree oven. That will work, and it will work with much less effort. But the bacon fat will crowd the baking sheet, and prevent the sugar from adhering and caramelizing perfectly. Small batches on top of the stove allows you to perfect the carmelization.

Candied Bacon

1 lb bacon
1 cup demura sugar (raw sugar)

Par-cook the bacon in a wide sauce pan or stock pot until only beginning to brown. You want to render off half the fat so you dont get that swimming in fat problem. I usually work in batches of 4-5 strips, pouring the fat off into a can between batches. You will finish cooking the bacon as it caramelizes.

Fry bacon a little bit to render off fat first

Pour off all remaining oil from pan. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of sugar right on to the pan. Lay 4 strips of half cooked bacon on top, and cover with another layer of sugar. Let sit for 3-4 minutes until the sugar begins to melt. You may hear a quiet hiss or see small bubbles. If its loud and spitting oil you need to turn the heat down or you will burn the sugar. Periodically press the bacon down and into the sugar to really coat it. Flip after 5-6 minutes, and repeat. The bacon will be a very dark brown when its ready. Remove from pan and let harden in a cool place on a cookie sheet about 3 minutes. Repeat until all the bacon is done.

I find a pound of bacon takes the better part of an hour, maybe more like 90 minutes after clean up. You can chop the bacon up and add it to any baked good, or freeze it in airtight bags. The bacon is coated in salt and sugar, which means it should last for a few months. Dont be too ashamed to it plain like candy, sooooo good.

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Date:  Aug 9, 2015

While we driving home.  It was 12 noon when we on the ECP Expressway.

There is a fighter jet flying in the sky.

So, we hazard light our car, and investigate.

Kay: “Is Singapore under attack?"

Where have they fly to?  Where is it?

Here it comes again.  Four fighter jets doing the twisted moves.

Here comes Larry Leong.  Our friend who is going to drive across 15 countries form Singapore to London in 66 days in his Land Rovers, with his wife Simone, and their daughter Lucy.  I think Lucy is only 5 years old.  And the plan is, 50 years later, hopefully Lucy will do another long Land Rover trip to celebrate SG100.

What do you know?  The four fighter jets came to see them off too.

A convoy of 52 Land Rovers will escort Larry’s car to Tuas check point where he will joined with other Malaysia drivers, about 15 of them to embark this wonderful journey.

The sky is not that good.  But good enough for us to see the LOVE shape the fighter jets make.

The kids really love it.  They don’t like the sun though.

Let’s do selfie.  or Wefie.

Happy Birthday Singapore.  In front of us.

Happy SG50.  Behind us.

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