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Many of the fundamental concepts in this program were later used in the development of a global hypertext system - popularly known as the Internet or the World Wide Web.

The WWW was developed to increase the ease with which people could exchange information. This became a reality with the introduction of the first WYSWIG (What You See Is What You Get) hypertext web browser which was written by Tim Berners-Lee.

The advantage of the WWW over previous systems was the lack of a need for a centralized server. In short, this meant that it was just as easy to retrieve, as well as link to, a document that was down the hall as across the world.

This was a huge breakthrough in computing science.

The Web and the first web server were released to the hypertext communities in mid 1991, after being released within CERN in late 1990. In order to achieve a coherent standard for the WWW, specifications for URLs, HTML and HTTP were published.

The universality forced by these specifications, the non-dependence on a central server and decision by Berners-Lee not to profit from the WWW led to a high level of adoption of the technology between 1991-94. A ten fold increase in annual traffic was recorded on the first Web server during this period.

With the advent of the Web, a number of spin-off technologies have emerged. A vast array of server side, client side and database languages have been created to fulfill needs of businesses and individuals.

There are two types of programming languages used on the WWW: client-side and server-side.

A client-side language is executed in the users’ browser and is not dependent upon the Web server. Client-side programming is done almost exclusively with JavaScript.

A server-side language executes on the Web server. In recent years server-side programming has become more popular than client-side programming because it is independent of the type of browser that the surfer is using. Programmers refer to this as being ‘cross-platform’. Perl, PHP, ASP and JSP are popular client-side programming languages.

Databases have been developed to allow for ‘dynamic’ websites.

Dynamic websites allow for a high level of personalization when retrieving information.

Whenever you type in values in a form on a web page - whether those values are for a user id and password, the characteristics of your ideal partner or an author’s name - it’s a ‘dynamic’ web site. That is just a way of saying that there is a database being used to run the website.

Popular databases used include MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle.

An area of the WWW that Berners-Lee has direct involvement is in his role as the Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (WC3) which has existed since 1994.

The aim of the WC3 is to achieve coherent standards between all companies using web technologies such as HTML, CSS and XML. Prior to the creation of the standards detailed by the WC3, companies used different standards, which led to potential incompatibilities. The WC3 remedied this by creating an open forum - allowing companies to agree on core standards for WWW technologies.

The future of Berners-Lee’s influence on modern computing is in the context of the Semantic Web. ‘Semantic’ means ‘meaning’.

A semantic web is one where elements that appear in a document hold some meaning that can be automatically processed by a machine in some form of data gathering. Currently, documents on the WWW written in HTML hold no meaning  they’re presentation based.

Tim Berners-Lee laid the conceptual foundation for the World Wide Web. It was his initial idea to create a way where information could be freely and easily exchanged. The standards associated with it and the lack of reliance upon a central server, gave the Web a cross platform advantage and independence, which led to its meteoric rise in popularity.

In turn, its popularity spawned and popularized many different programming languages, databases, markup standards, servers - as well as - viruses and worms.

However, while Tim Berners-Lee is the ‘father’ of the Internet, its development over the years is a result of the efforts of an extraordinary number of individuals. There is little question that 500 or 1,000 years from now, historians will look at the invention of the Internet as one of those rare, seminal historical events - much like Gutenberg’s printing press.

Find some of the cheapest internet around by going to cheap internet and getting signed up.

I’m being told that H.R. 875, The Food Safety Modernization Act, is not going to pass. I shouldn’t worry about it. Apparently the bill that has the best chance of passing is H.R. 759, The Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act. It is in committee now. It is much harder to get a handle on. Much of it is written as amendments to Title 21 of Federal Code. That makes it pretty tough for a non-lawyer like me to wade through it and figure out what it means. There is a section dealing with Safety Standards for Fresh Produce that makes me think small farmers who “process” produce on farm should be concerned with this bill as well.

Here is the text of that section.

SEC. 104. SAFETY STANDARDS FOR FRESH PRODUCE.

(a) PROHIBITED ACT.—Section 301 (21 U.S.C. 331), as amended by sections 102 and 103, is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(pp) The production or harvesting of produce not in accordance with minimum standards as provided by regulation under section 419A(a) or a variance issued under section 419A(e).’’.

(b) STANDARDS.—Chapter IV (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by sections 102 and 103, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘SEC. 419A. STANDARDS FOR PRODUCE SAFETY.

‘‘(a) STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall establish by regulation science-based minimum standards for the safe production and harvesting of those types of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities for which the Secretary has determined that such standards minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death.

‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The regulations under subsection

(a)—‘‘(1) shall set forth such procedures, processes, and practices as the Secretary determines to be reasonably necessary—‘‘(A) to prevent the introduction of known or reasonably foreseeable biological, chemical,

12 and physical hazards, including hazards that

13 occur naturally, may be unintentionally intro14

duced, or may be intentionally introduced, in15

cluding by acts of terrorism, into fruits and

16 vegetables that are raw agricultural commod17

ities; and ‘‘(B) to provide reasonable assurances that the produce is not adulterated under section 402;

‘‘(2) shall include, with respect to growing, harvesting, packing, sorting, and storage operations, minimum standards for safety;

‘‘(3) shall include standards addressing manure use, water quality, employee hygiene, sanitation and animal control, temperature controls, and nutrients; ‘‘(4) may include standards for such other elements as the Secretary determines necessary to carry out subsection (a);

‘‘(5) shall provide a reasonable period of time for compliance, taking into account the needs of small businesses for additional time to comply; and ‘‘(6) shall provide for coordination of education and enforcement activities by State and local officials, as designated by the Governors of the respective States.

‘‘(c) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary shall prioritize the implementation the regulations under subsection (a) for specific fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities and have been associated with food-borne illness outbreaks. ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may coordinate with the Secretary of Agriculture and shall contract and coordinate with the agency or department designated by the Governor of each State to perform activities to ensure compliance with this section.’’.

I’ll keep working my way through this as best I can and as time allows. I’d appreciate feedback from others who have looked at it from a small farm perspective.

Thanks to everyone who has expressed an interest in our little project. We are still bashing around ideas, and my straight lines are getting bent quite a bit. In response to questions people have asked I’m posting more info rather than responding privately or in the comments.

1. putting paths where people walk - This is probably the only thing I’ve gotten right so far in this project. It is a method we used in developing elk resistant fences in Wyoming. They are going to go where they want to, so accommodating them with flow-through or easily repaired fencing saved a lot of expense and trouble over time. Same is true for people. Designing while the snow is on the ground has really worked. It is easier to see the patterns, and to go stomp out some of the layout to see how it feels.

2. Lead from the house. That has been a worry for us as we renovate. We have done some testing and not found much of a problem. We are being very careful. The gardens will be built about 10 feet away from the existing house. There is a porch planned (soon to be built) for that space. That should get us far enough away from any residual in the soil. We will also be building up the level with soil and amendments from elsewhere on the farm.

3. Ali at Henblog asked some questions about orientation, wind, shadows etc. I’ve included a sketch that is a bit less cluttered to show some of that. The garage is a single story set partway into the hill. It doesn’t cast much shadow. The house is 2 story and has a pretty long shadow but not until late afternoon. The buildings serve to block a significant amount of wind, and that will be enhanced with some windbreak plantings that are happening on the other side of the house. 

4. The plant list is as follows (so far):

several mint varieties
oregano
lots of sweet basil
spicy globe basil
yellow and red cherry tomatoes
rosemary
several different thymes
sage
peppers, both sweet and hot
dill
fennel
parsley, both flat and curly
lemon verbena
lemon grass
chives
chamomile
horseradish
carrots
ginger
lemon tree
bay tree
lavander
and lots of flowers

Some of these things will not survive in our Zone 5ish climate. They will have to be potted or treated as annuals.

The proposed greenhouse is based on Anna Eddy’s Solviva design. I’ll post the details of that one as we get closer to building it.

Thoughts?

The weather and life finally gave us a break and we put in some time on finishing this project. It’s not there yet, but we made some real progress over the past few days. Of course, I was too tired to post (I could barely milk the goat, let alone type…) So, here is what we have been doing on the potager (other things have been happening too, but I’ll save those for another post.)

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Today we had a project. It was a must do. Of course the kids had school, next week is OAT’s so we were all stressing and focused on test taking skills. But, the project, which has been on the list for a month and a half, had to get finished today. Somehow, in the rush to do it the camera didn’t make it into the tool box, so there are no pictures of the process. (Kim, at The Inadvertant Farmer would be appalled, somehow she always manages to have her camera and get great shots.) Today’s project was a RCU (rabbit containment unit (actually 6 units, space to grow.)) Only two things on the list, well maybe three. The kids did have a tap class in the afternoon. Still, should be OK. School went well. The kids seem ready for next week. Then we unload the lumber, wire, etc. from the truck and start. As soon as the saw starts E, the obsessive mower from across the road, gets off his mower and comes over to see what we are doing (he is interested because we have lots of projects - barn restoration, year three; house painting: year two; and now the whole front yard is torn up and bordered with piles of brick, sand, and chaos.) We chatted about rabbits, projects, and mowing while he smoked a couple. He’s contribution was, “You should have told me you were looking for rabbit pens, I just gave away two.” (I’m sorry, that just isn’t something that comes up in conversation, especially when you don’t talk with the person that often.) The next interruption, 30 minutes later, was C the 4H leader. Apparently we hadn’t tuned in all our paperwork for this year ( I’m pretty sure we are still working on some of last years stuff, rather like taxes…) It had to be done today, so she waited for me to find it and fill it out. Then she wanted to chat about the donkey and ask if the 4H group could borrow it tomorrow for a “Family Fun Day”. I said ……..

THEN the unemployed truck driver from down the road came over to see what we were doing…

I needed to get the kids to their dance class, pick up a trailer to so I can move the cow to Steve’s, and FINISH the RCU (rabbit hutch). The phone rang, it was the gravel co. informing me that the gravel I ordered for the first of the week would be here in the afternoon. Another 19 tons, for the foundation of the retaining wall, the edgers, another walk, and the driveway. JOY!

It’s now 9:45 pm. The cow got moved, the kids danced, we had dinner, the chores got done, but the RCU is only 3/4 finished. I guess the new rabbits will have to wait for an hour or so tomorrow while we finish the doors.

I did get some surprise blooms in the gh today. Picts tomorrow.

Finally, a few hours with my fingers in the dirt. It’s amazing how much I’ve missed that connection over the long dark of winter. Today the greenhouse bed finally got some much needed attention. This weekend I’ll be planting the first of the early greens and lettuce, as well as some peas as a cover crop in the end of the bed that had tomatoes last year. It makes me smile just thinking about getting some seeds in the ground.

I found this site and this site that seemed to have some info on the topic of leaf curl. My tomatoes are also developing some yellowness in the leaves. I first thought it was yellow leaf curl, a virus that causes quite a bit of damage in tomatoes. However, my plants are growing quite well (I have to use a ladder to prune and train them at this point) and have been very productive. This seemed to indicate some other problem causing the yellowing and the leaf curl. The yellow leaves are probably Magnesium deficiency. I’ll be trying Epsom salt as a foliar feed tonight. Hopefully that will help. It may help with the leaf curl too. Most of the information I could find about leaf curl indicated that cool temps and excess water or fluctuations in watering were the major causes. In the hoop house they aren’t experiencing much in the way of cool temps, and our watering system keeps them watered but not supersaturated at all times. (Maybe that is the problem, but if it was I’d expect to see the same problem in the peppers, egg plants and the cherry tomatoes.) If I find anything I’ll post it. Until then I’d appreciate any thoughts from the rest of you tomato gardeners out there.

Yesterday I found a nest that one of the stupid chickens had created outside the fence. All the eggs had been cracked open and licked clean. There was also plenty of raccoon scat present. So, I dug out my second solar fencer and put some juice back into the fence around the chickens. We have had exceptional luck with the electric poultry fencing we use. If the birds are smart enough to stay inside the fence and go into their coop at night, they have no problems. The dumb ones don’t last long.

Today our friend Jack-of-all-thumbs posted his recent adventures with chicken predators

If you make the mesh on the ground about 18 inches larger than the upper step all the way around then any four legged creature trying to get in has to stand on it and touch the hot upper step. The shock seems to keep most critters away. Chickens, being two legged, will hop from the ground to the step and not get shocked. Simple, but it works pretty well.

I sent him the following solution which I have used in various locations with great success.

This post ties in nicely with the one I did on Not Dabbling In Normal yesterday. It was a look at dairy animals on a small farm. This is the story of one dairy animal on our farm, and our obvious lack of infrastructure.

When you try to create a working farm on a property like ours (5 acres of mowed grass, a decrepit old barn, and a couple of sheds, with no trees, no fences, no pens, no water lines, no…) and on a budget like ours (pay as you go, make do or do without) infrastructure issues sometimes bite you in a big way.

Today was a perfect example. It was time to give wormer to the mob. I had been using Safeguard twice a year and an herbal wormer on a weekly basis. Last fall that system fell apart. Animals got sick. Animals died. Not good. This year I am using Ivormect Plus (not what I want to use long term, but I have some drainage and health issues to solve first). It requires an injection. Usually this isn’t a problem. I can clip the goats to the fence in the barn, straddle them, and give them their shots no problem. If that doesn’t work I can put them on the milk stand, and pin them against the wall. The cow is a bit of a different story. Usually I am fast enough to do her just like I do the goats (without straddling her, my leggs arent that long.) She jumps around a bit, and I dance out of the way. Everything is over without much fuss. Then treats all around and we are all friends again. Today I missed getting the needle in first jab. She danced, kicked bashed me with her head, and wouldn’t let me touch her. The more I tried the crazier she got. Finally she turned around so she had me between the fence and her neck. She couldn’t kick me or bash me too much. I popped the needle in under the skin on the other side and we were done. When I was young (and stupid) I used to go slam dancing just for the fun. Not so much any more. I’m going to feel this slam dancing session for a few days. I don’t recomend dancing with a 600 pound angry cow. She always wins.

A squeeze shoot (or even a head catch and a well placed gate) would have made this job quick and mostly painless for eveyone involved. I guess it should move up the infrastructure list if we are going to continue to own cows.