i'm experimenting with an old motherboard i had, it's running linux. i've interfaced a relay to the motherboard through the printer port and have written code to turn it on and off. i have to decide on a solenoid and a 24vac power supply to power the solenoid then i have to hook that up to the relay and i should be in business. i'm pretty excited about this because i am very forgetful about turning the hose on and it has resulted in the death of a number of plants i have tried to establish over the years. it will be nice to let a computer do it. could also easily make a misting system with this i think, but i will have to find some nozzles and make sure that the pressure is high enough. there is one thing which concerns me, do i need one of those devices i think it is called a backflow preventer ? if i make a misting system i might just make a little plastic covered frame big enough to walk in, i wouldn't be propogating anything but a couple of rhododendron cuttings. there are real advantages to using linux to do this i think because the timers i have seen online can't easily be made to change the duration and timing of the misting at night, etc, but those are easy things to do in software that only take a few minutes to set up. the other thing i like about it is that it's expandable up to 8 relays and solenoids through the parallel port without having to invent new tricks. oh and another question, are there misting nozzles which i could attach to the end of regular pvc pipe or how is that done ? i am thinking of a system i glanced at online which had the misting nozzles pointed up mounted on what looked like pvc pipe so that they did not drip when they were turned off, the pipe rose vertically from the table and the nozzle was upside down on top of it. where do you get nozzles like that if they exist ? thank you in advance for any help. i realize i am turning into one of those kooky people who fidgets around in the garage all the time.