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Hydro-sai

2010-08-21T22:44:00.001-07:00

The potential of hydroponics is far to appealing to ignore and apply to bonsai. Not so much for a finished product but for recovering trees faster from collection or hard root pruning. And for pre-bonsai material.

If I can apply this to yamadori trees at the time they are collected this could drastically reduce the time it takes for the tree to go from mountain to show. From 10 years or so, down to just 4.

The current thought on substrates used for bonsai is almost identical to hydroponic growing mediums. As well as the use of pond baskets to encourage a denser root system. A combination of pond baskets and the flood/drain watering 2 or 3 times a day will encourage trunk development for smaller trees and speed recovery for yamadori or field-grown trees.

When considering the types of trees and the individual needs I believe that I can separate them in to two broad groups; Arid and "Wet." Arid trees are ones that are very drought tolerant and can have completely dried root system before watering again. Wet trees are ones that are native to rainforest and temperate zones, that won't tolerate drought for very long at all. In their current pots this means little to watering cycles, since nearly none of them are planted in the same substrate. Arid group would be cycled twice a day during spring until late-fall and every other day during the rainy season in winter . Wet group will get cycled three times a day from spring till mid-fall and once a day during winter.

Will start with some smaller mallsai in small pond baskets, and cuttings.

I will have to start the build by Christmas

Inspired by (also, refer to):

http://www.bonsaihunk.us/info/Hydroponics.html

Feeding, Substrate and Watering by Walter Pall.

Daily logs

2010-05-06T13:48:00.001-07:00

5/5/2010, 12:39 AM

Weather starting to warm up. Water demands also increasing. Most cuttings from Pfitzeriana are nearly dead due to being in perlite and forgetting to water them on Sunday, transferred to cutting tray and watered. Ficus cutting also seems to have died. If it doesn't come back in the next few days it'll confirm that it's dead. Cutting dried out during the first hot days of May

Found a pair of 6 inch "utility shears" from Harbor Freight for $1.99 made of carbon steel and butterfly handles. Look just like "bonsai shears" that cost around $30. They are made in china. Workmanship isn't the best looking, but the cutting edges are sharp, well ground. The pivot is a thick rivet with brass bushings I believe. I will compare side by side with real bonsai shears when I get a chance to. Need to coat with oil to prevent rust.

El Pinon

2010-05-05T01:11:00.001-07:00

Pinus cembroides

Mexican Pinon Pine.

Collected: 3/19/2010.

Location: Edgewood, New Mexico

+35⁰ 3' 2.83"

-106⁰ 12' 32.26"

Watering every 3 or 4 days depending on weather

Fed on 4/25/2010 wait 4 weeks till next feeding.

Found next to a trail about 6 feet wide, going around private property owned by my parents. Area was nearly full shade it was growing under a much larger Pine, and a juniper which also found in approximately the same density. Two needled pine with length of about 2.5". The crown was about 14" from the ground level.

The trunk itself is leaning hard to the south, after the first large branch the trunk is nearly parallel with the ground. It grew as if under glass and was forced to have a flat crown. Judging by the number of yearly whorls of branches this tree could be from 7 to 10 years old. Branches are long, skinny, and have many curves that grew parallel to the ground. Foliage appears a healthy dark green new grown is bright and dense.

Soil it was growing in was light and quite airy seems that the root system was growing in composted needles, that was lightly stacked about 13" deep. This made digging it out incredibly fast, less than 30 minutes of digging, as it was soft and light; there was also no thick taproot to be found. Once under cut and ready to be pulled the root ball began to fall apart, was ill-prepared as the burlap bag was to small to fit the root ball inside, I had to cut the sides to double its surface area.

Once it was collected I still had to get it home from Edgewood, NM to Thousand Oaks, CA. for 3 days it was held in a wheel barrow inside a bright garage with no direct sunlight or wind. Watered it on the first day. When it was time to pack it up for the road trip I had to put it in a large white nylon fabric bag with similar texture of burlap. Watered lightly before we left.

Made a grow box the day we arrived. Potted in a wooden grow box with a false bottom as to aid in removing it when it's time to repot. Made the grow box with 1 inch on each side of the size of the root ball as to not "over pot" the tree. Drilled an inch and a half hole on the bottom for drainage and aeration, lined the bottom with 1/4" wire mess and large lava rocks. Filled the rest of the box around the native soil with happy frog to encourage mycorrhizal growth.

Munny in Training.

2010-02-18T22:21:00.000-08:00

starting on the Munny. shooting for a scarecrow. hopefully it will be done before next Halloween.

3 months of rocking them jeans.

2009-03-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

3 months have gone by since i first put these on. worn everyday except the days that dress pants where needed.

the whiskers are started to get more defined. nothing on the combs yet. more pictures after the jump.

501s_3months (10)

2009-03-06T12:21:00.001-08:00

501s_3months (10)
Originally uploaded by abattoir

3 months of daily wear, more later.

H&M Sliq Denim

2008-12-18T23:23:00.000-08:00

ah finals are over.

here are some of my favorite pants from last year. H&M Sliq fit jeans, wore them for about 5 months, with monthly washes. manly bike rides. and work. retired cuz i don't want my wallet to fall out.

the back pockets are to close together for me. my wallet was rubbing on my bike saddle and made a fatty hole, and these i got on sale for like 20 buck or something, so not worth a 20+ dollar repair. so if you ride a bike. DON'T BUY THESE. waste of money, but they are rather comfortable.

check some pics

best color representation. don't wanna photoshop all of the.

again with the rivet fades.

cuffs and roping. front,

back

this is what happens when designers put the pockets to close together, then i ride a bike with them.

Denim: 501's at 14 days

2008-12-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

worn them every day for 2 weeks so far. already getting fades on the back. in the pictures my wallet is NOT in the pocket. i hung them up for a steam bath, and some starching. and decided to catch some pictures while i was at it.

527's going to bed now.

2008-12-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

well, since there's no real reason to post anything new on my 501 STF's i'll just post some pictures of my last pair of jeans that wore.

Levi 527's got them in May '08, had some "light whiskering" as Levi puts it on there website, but i out faded them. check out some pix. wore these about 5 times a week for the first 3 months and washed them once a month. from august to the begining of november wore them everyday without washing. riding my bike about 10 miles a day, sleeping in hostels, cars, couches, i was homeless again. either way some sick fades happened over the the already existing "whiskering."

check those fades coming from the rivets.

you can see my wallet in there still... even though it's not in there.

i don't repair my hems. oh well.

wish list.

2008-12-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

well since people have asked, this is what i want for christmas.

Selvege, Raw (dry, unwashed, rigid, shit that will bleed indigo), japanese denim.
waist 34, inseam 34+.

Self Edge x Sugar Cane = SEXSC06
Self Edge x Imperial = SEXI04
Samurai Jeans - 21oz Mid Rise Straight Fit S5000VX21oz
makeyourownjeans.com

Brooks Swift Saddle
Profile, track hubs

and a mac.

Denim: Week 1

2008-12-05T14:55:00.000-08:00

well been wearing my 501's for 5 days straight, taking them off only for showers. i even sleep in these things.

here are some pictures.

marked for the first day of wear. hella rigid at first, damn near uncomfortable.

strange shine right above the back right pocket... hand rub from getting my wallet? idunno, but looks cool kinda. honeycombs.

so that's 5 days straight, with sleeping in them most night. they are starting to feel good and still pretty rigid. more in a few days.

Denim: day one

2008-12-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

new pants.
my denim mania has returned. yea. 4 pairs,

501 STF x2

501 Pre-shrunk over dyed black

514 Dark, no shitty wash.

back in the saddle.

2007-09-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

holy shit... it's been a hell of a time getting my computer back up and running. but it's finally good again.

not 100%, i need some more RAM. but other than that it's legit.

just got a bad ass old bike. a Fuji Royale!

so far only spent about 30$ on it.
new chain, new freewheel, tires, chain ring bolts, and tubes.
currently set up as a single speed 52x22 gearing... HARD AS HELL. but able to fly uphils.
still trying to find out how old it is... i think it's late70's or early 80's.... old as or older than me.

Addictive game of the week.

2007-04-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

http://fogdogg.net/digg/Boomshine.swf

very addictive...

365 days.

2007-04-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

i've decided to give up drinking and smoking for a whole year. i'm going to dedicate that year to skating, riding, and my artwork. everyday for the next year i will either skate, ride my bike or make a peice of art. possibly 2 of the 3. i need to stop clouding my head with alcohol and pot, when my head has been clouded by those, i can't draw or create anything that is a cohesive image. they are lost in a cloud of carbon that has nothing to do with what i want them to be...

the skating and riding will help me more than the gym as those are fun... and the gym is not.

and i need short pants.

2007-04-02T15:55:00.001-07:00

2007-04-02T15:09:00.001-07:00

http://www.jasoneppink.com/pixelator/

awesome.

sad state of affairs.

2007-03-27T15:44:00.000-07:00

this is a double edged sword. i'm a artist that trained myself on street walls with graffiti. there's always that underground stigma to it. to be known, but not famous. to be famous, but not get paid for it. soon as you're able to make a LEGAL living with it... people start calling you a sell out. these are the purists. so lame. if some has the talent to become something with it... who's to say that they shouldn't? if you have talent, use it. there are people making lives out of themselves with faked street cred, getting some spray paint and putting it on a canvas with some oil paints and claiming they are a graffiti artist. i'm part of a new wave of artists that neither accepts nor rejects tradition. I've learned from experiance and i've hit a plateau in teaching myself. but with the article that i linked to, people would be willing to buy my art as an investment. not as a peice of art... a tradeable commodity. if that's how some of my work will be bought, then i'll be reluctant to sell it. i hate putting up my art for public viewing already, becuase by the time anyone sees it i already have had time to critique it and hate it. even the stuff i paint and put on my own walls i hate after a few days at most. I'm basically calling myself out as a hypocrit right now as i'm gonna goto art school for illustration, and be a "professional" artist...

EPIC IN THE MAKING.

2007-03-20T16:52:00.000-07:00

FOOKKEN LOL

2007-03-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

swoopies

2007-03-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

i figured out my damn swoopy lines i put into my work... they are freeways. i use them nearly every day of my life. they are purposely made to keep traffic flowing in a way that SHOULD prevent clogging of the throughoways... something something, blah blah blah... yea.. that's all. FUCK SHIT CUNT WHORE SLUT BITCH. >______> had to let that out.

graffiti, drums, and the congo... wtf...

2007-03-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

check it.

Wake up Timebomb

2007-03-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

what a timebomb for me is someone or something that i know is bad for me, something that will blow up in my face. you can see it coming from a mile away. you can't stop it though. the face on the andronous girl is a Pierrot due to the fact that, for me at least, time bombs are girls that i know will just end up hurting me, but i'm strangely drawn to them because i feel sorry for them almost. the eyes behind are a warning, saying that i need to open my eyes and look for these traps. his eyes are blood shot because he can't see clearly due to drugs and the chaos in his life. the chaos is represented through the background, the red and black i always use for chaotic scenes and whatnot.

done with photoshop from a sketch in my black book.

my SF Trip.

2007-03-08T19:02:00.001-08:00

yea... like 3 weeks ago or something.

The Legion of Doom

2007-03-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.myspace.com/tlod

FUCKING AMAZING.

Application essay.

2007-03-06T19:04:00.001-08:00

Brian Chavez
Id

Being a drug addict is like being insane. Drug addicts don’t think like normal people. Drug addicts don’t act like normal people either. We don’t know the difference though. To me, and other addicts, our day to day thoughts are normal as the sky being blue. It wasn’t until I had a nervous breakdown that I was told that a drug addict has different thought patterns then most people. That we have different reactions to situations then most people. I also learned how to begin recovering from this self-induced affliction.

Feelings where something that I feared most in this world for a long time. I was afraid to be happy, afraid to be sad, so I kept it all inside of me. The only emotions that ever came out of me where anger and laughter. I only allowed to let these out to keep the perceptions that I was “fine,” so no one would question me about my guarded secret. I knew I couldn’t keep up appearances like this for very long on my own. Then I found something that would help me not feel any more. I found drugs.

I started small, with a drug that some don’t consider a drug per say. The first time I smoked weed, I was thirteen. Instantly, I knew it was something worth having. Or so I thought. Like many kids lost in the suburban sprawl I was a D.A.R.E. graduate. I told everyone that I would “just say no,” but, that was the sixth grade. By the seventh grade I was stealing cigarettes from the local supermarkets, because I wanted to be “cool.” By eighth grade I was smoking weed out of coke cans and bongs made from pog containers and bic pens, so I could be popular. There is no rational explanation why I wanted to be cool, or popular, but I knew this was a way to go about it. Once I made a few new friends in high school, I should have known my habits would only worsen. As a drug addict, I could literally smell a fellow addict if I was close enough. I can smell the substances we abused through our sweat. My freshman year in high school I was stoned or drunk more often than I was sober in my classes. Needless to say I failed out of many of them. This brought upon my parents attention, which at the time I did not want . Their reaction of utter distain toward me drove me in to a downward spiral that would only worsen with time.

Their disappointment and hate in their eyes made me feel guilt. It made me feel something. These where feelings that I didn’t want to feel. A normal, sane person would apologize and perhaps make the effort to succeed in school. However, I’m not a normal, sane person, I am a drug addict, that plan of action never crossed my mind. The only thing that could possibly make me feel better was to get fucked up much as possible and never stay sober for more than the few hours I did sleep. It consumed me.

In the years that followed I fell deeper into the rabbit hole. With this addiction to feeling numb, would forego doing my studies for school. Before I knew what year it was, I had to tell my parents that I wasn’t going to graduate from high school with the rest of the Class of 2000. Telling them this made me feel guilt again. I started to fall again. I needed a way to destroy these feelings. Then something came that wasn’t a drug, however, it became an addiction. Sex.

The physiological changes in the body that happen during an orgasm became an addiction that nothing else could match. Once again I was consumed by the quest to receive my current drug of choice. The situation is not something that most people would want to be in. although I had a monogamous relationship; it was with a girl that was three years younger than myself. I was nineteen at the time, Jenny was sixteen. There was no way that this relationship was legal, but I couldn’t give her up; I was addicted to her - to the sex. This relationship lasted ten months. Once that ten months was done, the sex was gone. Again I was able to feel.

Over the years whenever feelings came back, they would come back stronger than ever. Every time there would be a flood of emotions I was not use to dealing with. I felt I was falling. I was on fire. Once again I turned to drugs to put out this fire. This was the first time I ever binged on alcohol. I was drunk everyday for four months. I didn’t have a job or a car. I didn’t need one, I made money off buying alcohol and cigarettes for under-aged kids. Toward the end of the binge I made the decision that should have changed my life. I knew that I needed to get outside of my life to fix it. So, I moved to Albuquerque New Mexico.

Sometimes a change of scenery isn’t a change at all. With in a month of living in Albuquerque I was doing the exact same thing that I was doing at home in suburban California. This time however, a new drug found me. Cocaine, a powerful drug in any form. It drove me even deeper in to the rabbit hole. It took me so far that I hit rock bottom. alienating my friends and family. My entire life became the pursuit of my next line. When I hit rock bottom, it wasn’t a metaphor, it was my face going through a plate glass window and a gun to my head. It wasn’t a surprised that I ended up in this situation. A normal, sane person would prevent this situation from happening. But I’m an addict.

I was an abstinent addict for a year until last October, when Jenny died of a drug overdose. My first love died for the same reason that I was nearly killed. As fate would have it, my girlfriend at the time cheated on me, which made me feel worse than ever before. I felt I was falling. I was on fire again. I was more afraid of living than dying. However, I didn’t turn to drugs this time. I turned to friends that I should have turned to before. I learned that I was I the middle of an anxiety attack that would last 24 hour, it also put me in the hospital. Eventually that hospital visit lead me to the therapy I needed.

Now armed with knowledge of my disease and the tools to help myself I can finally say that I’m recovering. Finally I am able to show emotions and not fear weakness. I can say that I do have the soundness of mind and understanding of how my actions affect others and myself.

2007-03-06T16:26:00.001-08:00

understanding the throw up.

2007-02-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

artist block

2007-02-23T15:22:00.001-08:00

yea... it's been happening to me for the last 20 minutes... i think it's just cuz i want to get out of here (work) and take a fucking shower. what do you do to fight it?

video show

2007-02-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

just a couple of videos that i've enjoyed alot.

Sometimes /b/ wins.

2007-02-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

the Ducks slump...

2007-02-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

so being a hockey fan, i've been following the ducks... BAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH.

they need to get their shit together... at this rate we'll never get to the stanley cup let alone WIN it.

Stress... just a bit.

2007-02-16T01:43:00.001-08:00

it's 1:45 in the morning, and i just finished putting together my portfolio... saturday at 10 am i have an appointment with an admissions counsler.

wish me luck.

Autumn Cannibalist

2007-02-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

Die Mannequin's video for Autumn Cannibalist

2007-02-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

i am strangely attracted to this chick.

the singer of Die Mannequin...

Papercuts.

2007-02-15T10:18:00.000-08:00

i just found an awesome artist that cuts paper to form pictures. somewhat like stencils... more like masking. very reminecent of Swoon.

http://www.nikkimcclure.com/

Happy Valentines day.

2007-02-14T13:48:00.000-08:00

shits funny.

i'm not in the hospital this year... which is good. i've been haveing bad luck with that for the last 2 years. so yea, to the funny shit.

Carlos Mencia getting OWNED on stage.

Featured.

2007-02-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

One of my paintings was featured in a small online news publication on DeviantArt. http://news.deviantart.com/article/25923/

you can see it there. here's the link to the painting. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/47813471/