Bandit on a Safari and I'm Hunting Unicorns

[doublej]

FYI:: I can't get there R1s on the SC. to pop .... don't know WTF, KINDA pisses my off,,,,,Just a FYI.

Looking goooooood

 

[Bandit420]

FYI:: I can't get there R1s on the SC. to pop .... don't know WTF, KINDA pisses my off,,,,,Just a FYI.

Looking goooooood

I've had an off start to my past few seed drops TBH with you. IDK man...seeds get more and more expensive and less and less reliable. Then there's all the trash stuff to sift thru so yeah there's gonna be some shit starts man. It sucks. Quality control is seriously lacking.
Good news bad news though...I've liquidated all of my GPS fems an as expected, lots of mutants, two hermies, 3/5 mutants but at least now I know and they're done.
Ethos and Eqilbrium have not been 100% for me and more like 60-75% germ rate which sucks on a pack of 5.
Fems are just giving me troubles really. Regulars are still doing very well but my gosh the fem scene is super hit and miss.
I want 12 plants but am probably going to drop 30 seeds to get them. That's over half being a waste of money and at these prices, an ez $100 pissed away.

But...like a moth to the flame I just restocked my fem supply



Trying to nail down some issues that have been plaguing me in the carport tent. Really starting to think it's the lights being too strong after eliminating water and soil. I may be underestimating how strong the little ACI lights can be so I've turned it down to 20% and cut off the Ionbeams. There's no stretch so I know they're not lacking but they look beat down and pale so I'm thinking it's lights.
Dropped it to 20% and will see how they look tonight but am ready to drop more seeds if I've fucked these up.

 

[doublej]

I've had an off start to my past few seed drops TBH with you. IDK man...seeds get more and more expensive and less and less reliable. Then there's all the trash stuff to sift thru so yeah there's gonna be some shit starts man. It sucks. Quality control is seriously lacking.
Good news bad news though...I've liquidated all of my GPS fems an as expected, lots of mutants, two hermies, 3/5 mutants but at least now I know and they're done.
Ethos and Eqilbrium have not been 100% for me and more like 60-75% germ rate which sucks on a pack of 5.
Fems are just giving me troubles really. Regulars are still doing very well but my gosh the fem scene is super hit and miss.
I want 12 plants but am probably going to drop 30 seeds to get them. That's over half being a waste of money and at these prices, an ez $100 pissed away.

But...like a moth to the flame I just restocked my fem supply

View attachment 108779

Trying to nail down some issues that have been plaguing me in the carport tent. Really starting to think it's the lights being too strong after eliminating water and soil. I may be underestimating how strong the little ACI lights can be so I've turned it down to 20% and cut off the Ionbeams. There's no stretch so I know they're not lacking but they look beat down and pale so I'm thinking it's lights.
Dropped it to 20% and will see how they look tonight but am ready to drop more seeds if I've fucked these up.

Well here's some real-time bro- science...light at 20% and 8-10 inch away

Other than the heat they're doing good at 10-14 days...

So just guessing....you could be on the right road with that little ACI bugger...IDK.

YEAH! these were fresh bought beans, it just sucks and there's not much to do about it except stop buying there shit I guess.

Is what it is...

 

[Bandit420]

Well here's some real-time bro- science...light at 20% and 8-10 inch away
View attachment 108783
Other than the heat they're doing good at 10-14 days...

So just guessing....you could be on the right road with that little ACI bugger...IDK.

YEAH! these were fresh bought beans, it just sucks and there's not much to do about it except stop buying there shit I guess.

Is what it is...

Looks like science to me...bro
Turned it down to 20% and I'm liking the response. Kinda surprised a light that small can pack that much punch



Got your box in the mail today man. Should be there Monday.





Welp...Summer's over for me. Been a great 6 weeks off but it's back to the office this week and time to grind

 

[Zen_seeker]

So far I’m liking those white grow bags a lot. I’m just planting them in the ground or larger pots as is. I cut the bag down to the soil level first but it’s been working great so far.

I kind of doubt they are biodegradable as they don’t seem to rot in the sun so far. But the new shopping bags seem to last up to three years of use before they become unusable so we’ll see.

Regardless I’ll be using the 190 that remain until gone. Already planning how I’ll use them for next years vegetable garden.

Need a better system for my cucumbers and watermelon too. Horizontal screen/mesh is okay but I think vertical might be a worth while option.

 

[Zen_seeker]

View attachment 107827

Yep I don't mind the heat but others do so that's why the crowds thin out in July and August out there.

The best deals really on everything will be downtown on Freemont. Most casinos in that area are still pouring the freebies and offering bottled beer for free and often. If you're not playing then $3 beer and $4 mixed drinks. Happy hours can have beer as low as 50 cents on Freemont.
That's probably why there so many passed out drunks in that area but yeah man you can get hammered on Freemont for less than $20.




I'm leaning the same way but with 3 and no more than 4 RC's. I think 3 is the sweet spot.
Yeah SVG is up to 27 but was at 32 last week. Two wins and still way below the cut line so yeah no matter how they spin it, he's terrible on ovals and has never raced his way into a good finish but got them out of attrition.
On the other side, if the playoffs started this month he's taking a spot from the 8, 43, or 2 and I can't really say any of those cars have done much better than the 88 this year.
If the entire field was better I think it would be a greater issue other than KFB getting some hurt feelings like Buescher last year crying about Burton getting in.
But those 5-7 guys at the top with a legit shot at the cup aint getting taken out by the guy at or below the cut line and definitely not a rc ace..

I missed a ton of points my first two seasons collecting. All I really wanted was some merch but then last season I saw they had garage experiences at COTA and also made it to where you could use this seasons points on a race next season after they update the catalog later on so that put me on a mission to get every point I can to see if it's possible to get that many for an experience.
I was super skeptical but now I'm starting to see yeah it's hard and you have to do almost everything but it's possible.
I'm giving it my all this year because IDK if I can do it again and if I get that garage experience, may not want to collect again like this other than casually.
Been a damn good month of July so far though

View attachment 107831

Still waiting on the catalog to update but I'm thinking that won't happen until the 2026 schedule comes out. Maybe late August/early September?
Then we get until December 31st to cash them in and I think between the last race and Dec31 there were a few hundred points to be had for various things in there so I'm hoping I'm at or very near 15000 by the time Phoenix gets here.



Welp, tomorrow I take that next step towards being an old man and will go in for an eye exam and get some prescription glasses made.
It's time. Been using readers and relying on them too much so gonna go ahead and address the peepers like I did my ears.
Kinda getting the 50,000 mile overhaul so I can keep up with these damn kids at least one more season! I know I've got about 5 more before retirement but for now it's one season at a time.

Weird Summer. I'll have had the biggest watermelon in my life and the smallest thanks to this little black diamond on the vine if the squirrels don't get to it.
Doesn't seem to wanna get bigger than a baseball.

View attachment 107848

It has some pals

View attachment 107849


My tomatoes want to clones themselves as they crash out. So there's that

View attachment 107851


New crop on the way. Some are no-gos.
IDK what they are. I just know they stink when they bloom

View attachment 107852


It bugs me so much that I can grow sativas but I can't grow Vietnamese sativas? WTF is up with that???

View attachment 107847

Freaks are doing well. They like rain! Thinking about getting out the ol clone machine and having at it

View attachment 107850

My Sugar Baby watermelon are in the baseball size as well. Only 4 or 5 of them though. The green house attachment helped keep birds and weather from damaging the vegetables but also seems to keep pollinators away. Considering removing it for the rest of the season.

My Roma and beefsteak tomatoes are starting to get bigger but it was a slow start. Cherry tomatoes haven’t started yet.

All if the tomato plants are growing shorter and more bush like this year. Nothing like the last two years. All from seeds I made/saved so must be the effects of this years weather.

 

[Zen_seeker]

I would go with the Jeep only because I'm considering buying one, but for fun absolutely the Mustang! (Or maybe the beamer convertible) I haven't driven a standard in decades but I've owned quite a few of them in the past

I’ve owned both. Mustangs are fun but in a desert environment I’d have to go Jeep. I had a hard top of remove each summer and take off the doors.

Stuck in traffic? No problem. Pop it in 4WD and over the median and head the other way.

Just leave the windshield up. Down is fun off-roading but you eat bugs on the highway.

 

[Zen_seeker]

I've googled cannabis dispos and there's one right across the street from where we'll be in Laughlin open 24/7 on the main street through town. I've seen the ads on a few web sites but I've not seen an ad for anything over 1 gram, lots below .8g seems popular. I've seen some of the the Stiizy vapes I'll look for them when I get there. I\ll also need some gummy's for my wife as sleep aids, otherwise she's restless and up peeing 2-3-4 times. 2 of her home made gummy's and she sleeps great and she's all fun and giggly at bed time...

Nice to see you have your priorities straight.

Fast cars and drugs close by.

 

[Stoneyluv]

just getting caught up here and also on your AI thread... i'm a bit star struck and mind blown on it right now as i never even had a clue there were soil sensors or wireless!!

your garden is looking great as usual!!!

have you gotten your ph doser dialed in? how well is it working for you so far?

sucks your back to work already, i was swamped for a couple weeks and finally i get back to a normal schedule this week. i got a couple pages of threads to catch up on so that should keep me busy for a day or two.

on saturday we went to that world canna fair again in the poconos.. there was a vendor there selling ready to flower plants and he had a fruity freak there!!! i asked him if it was freak show and he said yep, actually it's fruity freak and held up the same pack of seeds we all got!!! hahaha

i also leveled up this weekend.. would have been last week if i wouldn't have fucked up that fantasy streak.. the level up gave me a bonus 313 points though.



.

i'm stoked for football season man!!!!! been loosely watching the raider's news and still haven't seen a "wtf are they thinking?!" moment yet this year. it seems like every decision so far has been thought out and calculated!

Chip Kelly might be making a believer out of me!! i've gotten excited in years past though too so we'll see!!!!

i'll be a longhorn fan tomorrow.. 97° and humid tomorrow and i gotta work outside for the day, yeah i'll be wearing a dry fit longhorn shirt for sure!!! haha

i hope you got to ease back into work man and it's not all chaos from the start!!!

 

[Bandit420]

So far I’m liking those white grow bags a lot. I’m just planting them in the ground or larger pots as is. I cut the bag down to the soil level first but it’s been working great so far.

I kind of doubt they are biodegradable as they don’t seem to rot in the sun so far. But the new shopping bags seem to last up to three years of use before they become unusable so we’ll see.

Regardless I’ll be using the 190 that remain until gone. Already planning how I’ll use them for next years vegetable garden.

Need a better system for my cucumbers and watermelon too. Horizontal screen/mesh is okay but I think vertical might be a worth while option.

I like the bags a ton too.
Been in a slump though with finding good soils ever since CoM did me dirty so some of what I've started in the bags hasn't gone well.

Yeah I've done tests and they don't degrade anytime soon. The stitching will pop and they'll come apart, thin and wear out but not dissolve like paper which is what I was hoping from them.

My Sugar Baby watermelon are in the baseball size as well. Only 4 or 5 of them though. The green house attachment helped keep birds and weather from damaging the vegetables but also seems to keep pollinators away. Considering removing it for the rest of the season.

My Roma and beefsteak tomatoes are starting to get bigger but it was a slow start. Cherry tomatoes haven’t started yet.

All if the tomato plants are growing shorter and more bush like this year. Nothing like the last two years. All from seeds I made/saved so must be the effects of this years weather.

Roma and cherry were very prolific for me and cherries are still coming. Beefsteak didn't give up a single fruit likely due to planting too late and way too hot for them so I just got large empty vines. Still doing a good job concealing the pot plants I have nearby so I'm getting some good use out of them.
They all got huge for me though. About 7' tall and wide for each cluster of vines.

I installed a mason bee house a couple years ago. They're just as good if not better than honey bees without the maintenance. I don't think it's a coincidence between that house and a great pollination season I just had so that may be an option for you to get those pollinator numbers high again.

just getting caught up here and also on your AI thread... i'm a bit star struck and mind blown on it right now as i never even had a clue there were soil sensors or wireless!!

your garden is looking great as usual!!!

have you gotten your ph doser dialed in? how well is it working for you so far?

sucks your back to work already, i was swamped for a couple weeks and finally i get back to a normal schedule this week. i got a couple pages of threads to catch up on so that should keep me busy for a day or two.

on saturday we went to that world canna fair again in the poconos.. there was a vendor there selling ready to flower plants and he had a fruity freak there!!! i asked him if it was freak show and he said yep, actually it's fruity freak and held up the same pack of seeds we all got!!! hahaha

i also leveled up this weekend.. would have been last week if i wouldn't have fucked up that fantasy streak.. the level up gave me a bonus 313 points though.

View attachment 109463

.

i'm stoked for football season man!!!!! been loosely watching the raider's news and still haven't seen a "wtf are they thinking?!" moment yet this year. it seems like every decision so far has been thought out and calculated!

Chip Kelly might be making a believer out of me!! i've gotten excited in years past though too so we'll see!!!!

i'll be a longhorn fan tomorrow.. 97° and humid tomorrow and i gotta work outside for the day, yeah i'll be wearing a dry fit longhorn shirt for sure!!! haha

i hope you got to ease back into work man and it's not all chaos from the start!!!

Hell yeah man! Done gone wireless and will run a zone defense of moisture probes to dial in water!

The AI is meh. To me it's just the 69+Pro with two sensor ports and now it can handle sensors that can't be used with other controllers. For my use, the wireless ability far exceeds using AI to help me grow
The wireless is some true OMG where has it been all my life kinda shit though. I'm loving that. Probably not for everybody or whatever but for somebody who has a pet peeve tick over all the wires and cables used in a grow op they're sort of mental therapy.
Made a good return selling the older model controller gear so overall very happy going to the AI even though it was never about the AI

Automated pH isn't for beginners I'll put it like that. Took a day and a total dump then a quarter dump to dial in.
It's really freaking baddass when it's on point but when a probe is in water 24/7, there's gonna be some glitches.
Gotta keep it clean which is hard and it takes better readings in still or barely moving water. Basically, pH probes are insanely fragile and this fucker is a bit on the high maintenance side of life.

It's NOS tech from the before times but I have so much faith in the old Hydrofarm and Autopilot brand it was a no brainer to buy it.
8 years ago it was a $300 system and I got it for only $150, new in box couple weeks ago. Dude has a ton of new old stock hydroshop stuff listed on ebay and has at least two more of these still in sealed boxes.
I have a line on replacement probes as well. The probe that came with it was stored well and the fluid had not crusted over completely though there was some salt residue from where some of the storage solution had dried up. I've ordered a bottle of probe cleaner and a replacement probes to keep this rig humming along for years to come.
I was waiting for AC Infinity to release their pH dosing system but it's delayed again and will be at minimum, a $200 investment but a coupon code will drop that to $180 + shipping, not inclduing the $170 AI controller, and whatever the wait time is.

I'd say that type of tech will be different for everybody so what I've found to be best for me may not be best for anybody else.
I use a 50 gallon supply of water. I don't refill until it's near empty so I draw it, filter it, set the pH, and keep it running thru a filter and aerated until it's all used up then repeat.
At first I thought, plug in the dose controller and it will handle the rest. But there's a fragility to the probe always being in water and reacting to every little thing in the water so I've come up with my own way to use this device.
Instead of always being in the water I give it 3 days to do it's job then pull the probe, clean it, and store it in storage solution.
The following week I plug it back and in let it set the pH again over another 3 days but this time it may or may not dose and if it does, probably just one dose since it doesn't drift very fast back up...maybe .1-.2 over 3-4 days keeping my pH in the neutral range of 6.8-7.1


Yeah back to work!
I like to go from vaycay to fire really. I used to hate going back to work to sit around for 3 weeks until camp started. Now I just take vaycay time and when it gets serious, call me lol.
It was 98*F and 98%rh my second day back. The ol double 98. But this work perk was in the building entrance so I couldn't get mad at the weather too much

https://imgur.com/a/6n4t17k

Yeah this coming season has that vibe man. Picture day today then pads will be hitting by the weekend. Stratosphere high expectations. On top of that, the Manning era begins. Out of the gate it's a rematch between Texas and Ohio State up in Columbus September 1st. Hold onto your butts!!!

Congrats on leveling up in Fan Rewards!!! Now they'll roll in for ya!
I fucked up Cup check in two weeks ago. IDK what I was thinking. Just spaced it and when Denny was doing donuts I finally remembered but it was too late.
So yeah, I was down in the dumps for that brain fart. 15000 is a world away now and I know I've left at least 1000 points out there.
Up to 8253 today after trivia so hopefully I don't space out on anymore check ins. Damn I felt dumb after that with all those rain delays and sitting out back listening on the radio just happy as a clam not realizing it.

With work though comes a new year!
It's weird but I kinda work off the fiscal year calendar so August 1st is my first of the year. Vacation closes out the year then football season begins the new year. Just a different timeline so for me, it's like January 1st but it's hot lol.
In those regards, I'm gonna go ahead and close out this journal and start a new one for the new year, run these things August to August each year. Working on that now.

That's funny the freaks are catching on like that. I'll definitely order more seeds and make it a yearly tradition to grow them outdoors if they restock.
They're incredibly ez to grow as I've just added water and not done anything other than top them to force branching. 3 plants in one full bag of soil.
The leaves are super cool and TBH, if I got another tattoo it might be a freak leaf. Gonna try to preseve some of them and maybe make some framed art too.
One of mine has some cotton balls coming on and they're different. Kinda bulbous and green.
Only aroma I can smell so far is when I rub the stems then my fingers smell like pineapple juice. Not skunky at all. In a cluster like this they look more like a citronella bush than weed





The Haze freebies are solid too but I need to feed them some tea and move them to a better hiding spot. They're almost fence high and that's a short 5' tall fence, ez to see over and from above.





Blended the freeks with my ballsy melon tub and pride of Barbados plants.
I plan to buy more freek seeds and clone them. Maybe grow up to 15 next year in large clusters.




Thing about good camo is using an eye catcher to draw attention away from the plants I'm hiding in plain site.
No better eye candy than mammoth sunflowers. They're big and brite and bring in birds and bees too




I'm gonna miss my Summer perch. Sitting here sipping iced tea, getting high AF, and smelling that mint in the air