I've been intrigued by hydroponic gardening for quite a while. It eliminates many of the things that bug me about regular gardening: working at ground level, working outside, weeds, dirt, etc. Beyond that, it appeals to my geeky side.

Plants grown in a carefully prepared chemical soup, recycled water and carefully controlled parameters that results in bigger, healthier plants year round is just plain cool. I've got a couple of books now and have read dozens of websites.

I know that I'm prone to wanting to try a big, complex setup out of the gate. Because I know this, I now force myself to try a basic setup of something new before getting in too deep. As such, I gave the most basic kind of setup a shot.

Basically, the plants sit in plastic baskets filled with rockwool (an inert, lightweight material that holds onto moisture). Those are suspended just barely into a solution of water and a whole pile of nutrients. At the bottom of the nutrient broth are airstones (from aquariums) that pump oxygen into the nutrient bath and the roots of the plants. This gives the plant roots all that they need: nutrients, water and oxygen.

The result is usually plants that grow phenomenally well, even indoors. For my first setup, I'm aiming for herbs to cook with. The first plants to go into it are stevia, which is an herb that's extremely sweet. My intent is to harvest the leaves for sweetening my tea without artificial sweeteners and without calories. I got 4 plants initially, but will be giving a couple of them away to other people.

The rest of the 6 slots will be filled with basil, oregano, mint and parsley. I am NOT growing any form of cannabis and am not encouraging anyone else to do so. Because this method of gardening works indoors, under artificial light, it's the favorite choice for growing illegal plants, hidden in closets, etc. While I think that drug policy in the United States is wildly out of whack, I will not be held responsible for anyone getting arrested after building something that I explain how to build.

Anyway, that said, I ordered the stevia plants just before things got nuts at work and they had to sit in temporary quarters until this past weekend. Finally, on Sunday, I had the time to put this little contraption together. It ended up only taking about an hour and didn't cost much either.

What you need is this:

• 14 Gallon Rubbermaid Tub - make sure it's opaque. If light gets through, you'll have algae problems. Something like $6.
• Air stones - these are the bubblers for aquariums. I used 3 big round ones. $3 each.
• A valve for the 3 air stones. About $4.
• An aquarium air pump. I already had an extra one of these. However, they're cheap too.
• Air tubing. Another $4.
• 6 Net baskets - I ordered these from Hydro Harry's a few weeks before I actually built this.
• Rockwool - Also ordered from Hydro Harry's
• Nutrient. This stuff gets mixed 3 teaspoons per gallon to make the nutrient bath.
• The plants. While I'm probably going to start some from seed, I wanted to get up and running with as little hassle as possible, so I started with already growing plants instead of seeds. That decision was made easier by the fact that stevia is notoriously hard to start from seed. I ordered the plants and they shipped by FedEx.

To actually explain the build process, View the Tutorial on Flickr.

There are 2 quick notes that you should also know. The photos don't include one change that should be made. When you cut the holes for the net baskets, unless you want the baskets popping back up, you should cut out a bunch of the tabs around the edge. Second is that the air pumps are NOT waterproof and should only be run under dry conditions. I'm just running mine when I'm home and it's not raining. I'll be moving it inside as soon as I get lights set up and that will eliminate the problem.

Meritide, the company I joined back in May, is looking to hire another developer and I thought I'd mention it to the readers here. We're looking for someone who, when thrown into the technical ocean, not only swims, but fashions a raft from nearby kelp and builds a small resort on a desert island.

The job is basically doing the same things I'm doing there. In general, I'm working on 3 or 4 projects at any given time, juggling between them according to project timelines and priorities. Some projects I'm the only developer and on others I'm one of a few. I do the client contact to determine what needs to be built, build it, test it and deliver it.

The technical skills that would make for a fit are across the board. The more of them you're comfortable with, the better fit you'll be. Since Meritide does genuine solution-based consulting, a broad technical and problem solving background with a geeky bent to your personal interests will be best. Because the landscape changes quickly, the technologies may change, but 6 months from now the ability to solve a technical problem quickly is really the skill they're after.

My current projects involve the following technologies:

• Programming languages: PHP, VB.NET, C#, Perl, XSLT, Javascript, Java
• Database- SQLServer, Progress, MySQL, etc.
• Techniques and methods - web services, AJAX, Pocket .NET
• Other tools - Subversion (SVN), Apache, IIS, VMWare, Flash

The dress code is reasonable. It's casual when you'll be at your desk all day and dressed up a bit when going onsite. There are lots of opportunities to learn new technologies and they're good about making tools and equipment available. Workstation is a laptop (under your full control) with an additional LCD monitor.

The benefits are better than average and there are plenty of perks, but this isn't a dotcom startup. We're building real bread-n-butter solutions here. The office is located in New Brighton, north of St. Paul, MN at 35E and County Road D. Parking is free. Schedule is relatively flexible, but driven by client requirements.

If you're interested or have any questions email me I'll forward it along. Include your resume if you want to throw your hat in the ring.

Photo: ben britten

I actually got home at about 5:00 today (beats 8:00 last night) and was going to catch some TV while waiting for Shelly to get home. I had some stuff from Food Network recorded, including an episode of Ham on the Street about sandwiches. I should know better than to watch that stuff when I'm hungry, but I did it anyway.

Next thing you know, I'm in the kitchen slicing up a tomato and a bit of the fresh basil in the fridge, put it onto some Italian bread with a slice of provolone cheese and ended up with a grilled cheese sandwich that was a complete delight.

Of course, that just got me hungry, so I figured I might as well make a complete evening dinner out of the grilled cheese idea. So, I followed up the tomato, basil and provolone by trying something based on what George suggested: that any bread, any cheese and any jelly tastes fantastic.

However, when I opened the fridge for round 2, before I went for the jelly, a couple of little jars caught my eye. A while back, when at one of the outlet mall food stores, I picked up jars of Pumpkin Butter and Apple/Cinnamon Butter from Stonewall Kitchen. Hmmm.

So, sandwich 2 was apple/cinnamon butter and sharp cheddar on wheat, which was a deeply complex tasting sandwich. I'm not 100% sure how often I'd make this one, but it was definitely good. Probably more of a mood-based selection than a regular choice.

Then, sandwich 3 was pumpkin butter and provolone on wheat, which was fantastic. Great flavor, texture, etc. This one I really liked. I will definitely be making this one more often.

If you're looking for more ideas for what is, to my mind, the perfect food: two buttered slices of bread, grilled to perfection with heaven in between, you might want to check out the stuff from Slashfood's Grilled Cheese Day from a while back.

Incidentally, most people make grilled cheese too quickly. If you run the burner at a med-low level, they brown up nice and slow and completely melt by the time they're done. I've seen WAY too many people flip it on high, and burn the heck out of it before the cheese even starts to flow.

Anyway, Food Network is evil. They made me eat grilled cheesy goodness instead of the healthy chicken and green beans I was planning on making for dinner.

If you've been watching my recently listened to music page over the last week or two, you would have come to one of two conclusions based on what you saw.

• I wasn't listening to anything.
• I was listening pretty much constantly to the same album.

That's because the list of albums, artists and even songs hasn't changed much over that time. And, the second conclusion is pretty much why.

I've been listening, nearly non-stop (with a few deviations) to Gov't Mule's new album: High and Mighty. It, like the 9 or so albums that they released before this one (what counts as an album isn't entirely agreed on) are like musical barbeque: rich, savory, filling and enjoyable.

They hit one out of the park again with this one. All of the reasons I'm a stubborn Mule fan hold true throughout this album. Warren Haynes' vocals have that rich depth to them that tells a story in and of itself. The guitars, keys, bass, drums and the occasional cowbell all have a wonderful interplay that balances the jazz improv approach and a rock sensibility. The lyrics are intelligent (I love a band that can use "sycophantic tirades" as a lyric) I've always respected the improv jazz musicians, but never really enjoyed the music. Mule does some of that same idea, but with rock/blues and, on this album, even a bit of reggae. They tend to understand the attention span and keep songs a bit shorter than other jam bands, which I appreciate. I really don't like hearing myself say, when the lyrics kick in again after a long interlude, "I'm still listening to this song?"

As far as the disc itself, I had actually ordered it as soon as I found out they were recording it, but was thrilled to find it on Rhapsody about a week before it actually came out, thus giving me time to already be enjoying it before getting the actual disc. By the time it arrived, I had forgotten that pre-ordering also garnered a copy of the MuleOrleans concert recording as well. Given how seldom they come near here, the concert recordings are as close as I'm likely to get to most of their concerts.

If you've never heard Gov't Mule, this is a fantastic introduction. If you have, then you'll love it too. If you need more objective opinions (and your head doesn't explode at the concept of an objective opinion), read the various reviews by the pros.

Photo: Michael McCauslin

I admit that, when it comes to weather, I'm an odd duck. I love a stiff Minnesota November breeze, I love 20F degree February days and I love rain.

This morning, the view of the back yard while feeding the dogs had that dark, rich green color of an early morning rain shower. I opened the patio door and the distinctive, sweet, fresh smell filled the kitchen.

I love the quality of the light, the sounds of thunder and of water drops massaging the earth. I love the way the feel of the air and the smell changes just before the first drops fall and even that slightly damp feeling from being caught out in it.

Frankly, I hope it rains all day. I could use the boost.