Tech, Dirt, Rain, and Security

Security is essential on an urban farm. From cameras to drones to locks I am always looking for ways to improve security. Locks are my nemesis. I forget combinations, I lose keys. So when Amazon offered up a weatherproof biometric lock option I leapt at the opportunity. No more locked gates! No more fumbling or running back into the house for a key or a hastily written combo code. Not so fast!As the great Roman orator Ovid once declared; Omnia Praeclara Rara. Or All Splendid Things Are Rare. And as modern diva Lizzo is fond of saying; Why men great till they gotta be great? Or in this case, locks. The biometric feature is awesome! Until your hands are muddy or dirty. Then you are the other. I have to wash and dry my hands to unlock the gate. When you are hauling things out to the alley waste bins or otherwise in a hurry, not cool. Then there is the question of how robust this precious piece of equipment is actually going to be. It’s rained a few times, been close to 37C (100F) a few times but it hasn’t frozen yet. The freeze/thaw cycle is brutal on electronics. We’ll have to wait to see to “unlock” the truth about this tech. Groan, I couldn’t resist.[media-credit id=3 align="alignnone" width="300"]