Same procedure as every summer: Science and tech blogging comes to a halt, and the daring ‘internet artist’ is summoned. But also unorthodox avant-garde art is rooted in down-to-earth engineering.

In summer elkement leaves the programmer’s cave (a bit) and sees the sun. The local elkemental microcosmos is a fully functional biosphere-2-like ecosystem with lots of life-forms. They interact with each other – and they interact with the collector and the ice storage tank. In 2018 it’s time for a retrospective!

As soon as the collctor was built, the flying descendants of the dinosaurs occupied it. As the white spots show, it has an important function:

This is also a modern, innovative ecosphere: We provide co-working space and meeting rooms, also for the slimiest of life-forms.

The collector has obviously a positive impact on any life-form – not only the fauna:

According to a questionable theory byy crackpot hobby scientists, this can be explained by the collector’s true core: It is made up from life-forms itself – gigantic worms.

We also had ghastly apparition of a very rare life-form integrated with the collector: The Solar Scorpion:

Let’s not forget the ice storage part of the heat source: It is every bit as interesting as the collector for the technically savvy life-forms:

Now and then you can spot even human life-forms within the storage tank:

The storage tank is giving something back in an eternal circle of life: Excess water is drained from the tank – and it is said to boost the vegetables!

This posting is like all the other soporific TV documentaries about animals roaming beautiful landscapes. Nature is cruel. Also the ice storage tank took its death toll.

But life-forms strike back … and they target the heat source. Never underestimate an aggressive tree:

Fortunately most living beings come in peace; some are particularly likeable and intelligent. Recently the collector had a surprise audit:

Finally the elkement knows what smart monitoring actually is: