The PlantSmart Digital Sensor. Courtesy Black and Decker
The PlantSmart Digital Sensor. Courtesy Black and Decker
The PlantSmart Digital Sensor. Courtesy Black and Decker
The PlantSmart Digital Sensor. Courtesy Black and Decker

Technophile: Devices to wirelessly manage your garden's health


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PlantSmart Digital Sensor

What it is Some would-be horticulturists are guilty of getting the cart before the horse, of picking plants they want with no regard for the needs and wishes of the soil in their gardens. The PlantSmart Digital Sensor is a kind of matchmaker that can tell you what kind of plants will fall in love with your dirt and vice versa.

How it does it Simply set the device, which runs on one AAA battery, for "recommend" and stick it in the ground for 24 hours. Then remove the sensor and plug it into your computer to get the results. The sensor can also offer care advice through its online database.

Who it's for Tech-enabled gardeners who know vibrant growth comes from communicating and forming a compromise with nature.

Dh85

Rapitest Electronic Soil Tester

What it is The Rapitest Electronic Soil Tester is a quick, simple device that can give you accurate data about conditions on (or in) the ground of your garden. Its four-in-one meter measures moisture and pH levels in the soil, light intensity and total combined nitrogen, phosphorus and salt levels.

How it does it Just insert the Rapitest device into a soil sample and it will gauge results within seconds. You can then compare those results with preference checklists and charts that come with the device.

Who it's for For the more pro-active gardener who wants immediate, objective data on all their greenery.

Dh150

Koubachi Plant Sensor

What it is Let's face it, some of us spend so much time on our smartphones or are otherwise occupied in our digital universes that our real-world relationships can suffer (and in the case of plants, wither and die). The Koubachi Plant Sensor, which sort of looks like a golf club for a garden gnome, can send a distress message from our outside greenery that can reach us where we now mostly live: inside our browsers or hovering over our mobile touch-screen displays.

How it does it Once you stick it in your garden or pot of dirt, the wireless, battery-operated sensor will soon know as much about your soil chemistry as the plants you left there to deal with it. It then connects to your wireless network and sends updates on your plant's moisture needs, light access and temperature exposure. It even creates care plans for individual plants and transmits this data to your iPhone or via e-mail.

Who it's for People who brag about having green thumbs on Facebook, but actually don't; in part, because they are on Facebook bragging about it all the time.

Dh590

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

Profile box

Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)

The%20specs
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if you go

The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.

The trip 

Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

'Skin'

Dir: Guy Nattiv

Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

MATCH INFO

Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')

Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')

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The biog

From: Upper Egypt

Age: 78

Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila

Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace

Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries

• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.

• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.

• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.

• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.

• For more information visit the library network's website.

On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE

Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”

PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

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Eagles
Tries: Bright, O’Driscoll
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey 3

Hurricanes
Tries: Knight 2, Lewis, Finck, Powell, Perry
Cons: Powell 3

Honeymoonish
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