DocAzz

Alrighty then! Unless there are objections, I'm going to call up some places in Oberon during the day this saturday and get some details. Are there any areas I should be looking for in particular? Husk, you were up there recently... any ideas? I'll get back with the details and we'll go from there. EDIT: Didn't say it before, but partners are ofcourse welcome! Mine isn't interested tho.

The 12/13th is good for me too! Shall we lock it in? I can take 2-3 people... depends how intimate you like your car ride Everyone got camping gear? Chairs, stoves etc I've got quite a few friends in the upper mountains that might be interested in coming, but if peeps would prefer an SAB get together, then thats cool too. I've got no idea about the Oberon area, so if someone else has a better idea, then I'm just happy to be there. My only request is that we're only a short walk to: 1) mushrooms 2) a bottle shop and a long walk from other people! Would people like to chip in and hire a mini-bus? It'll work out cheaper than public transport if we can fill it up.

Don't view the masses as the enemy, for starters. They're just dormant for the moment. Gotta find a way to wake them up.

Exactly. It brings me back to my question... What will it take to get people to take action against this??? We only cop it because we think we're the only one. "What can I do?" You're not the only one - EVERYONE else has the shits about it. If someone doesn't, then they have vested interests in your money. And honestly, so what if you were the only one? you may not make much of a difference, but you fucking tried! Maybe shoot me a PM if I've inspired some anger and have lit a fire in ye bellies!

Factor in petrol, maintainence, insurance, and registration of your vehicle.

Yer right Nabraxas - it should come free. Look at Australia as an example: we have more natural resources than almost any other country on the planet. We, by all rights, should never be paying tax at all. All we would need is to place a small levy on all natural resources used by business and industry. I don't know about other states, but the government is no longer borrowing money to build public infrastructe... it is just allowing banks to OWN roads. Maquarie Bank owns TransUrban, the company running the M2 and M7 motorways. Not only will the tolls on the road never disspear, THEY KEEP GOING UP! One would have figured that Maquarie Bank (A bank that pays more million-dollar salaries every year than ANY other company in Aus!) would have had the financial foresight to factor inflation into the original cost of the toll. The truth is, they did... and they also know we can't do a goddamn thing about it, so they just keep jacking it up. It now costs, in tolls ALONE, $84 per week for someone (living in the hills district) to travel to work in sydney. $84 in road tolls each week. It goes up if they use the M7 motorway to get onto the M2!!! People just bend over and take it. Why? How can it not piss people off enough to cause them to take action?? Our whole government is quite obviously on 'the take' from large companies to keep them large, and us small. They should be working for Australia.... not having Australia work for them!

Its looking a bit better now

OK, here is another question: Should the basic necessities of life come at a basic cost?

*cough* BUMP *cough* C'mon there has to be more interest than that!!! I've got two replies, and two PMs. 4 people. Looks like the 5 of us are going to have a mad time!!

check the oberon thread ;)

Question: why has the ideal that "freedom isn't free" held up over time? Have we not evolved from the ancient Greeks, is it a tool used against us, or is it simply correct?

I'll keep this quick, most of what I feel has already been covered. I view flashbacks purely as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. War veterans claim to relive moments of terror on the battlefield, and can hear gunfire when they are going to sleep. Why is that any different from a traumatic trip? One happened in a warzone, and the other happened in your house, but they both overwhelmed the mind with terror. Does this make sense? In terms of dealing with it, my views have already been covered. Time + Discussion. Does anyone have experience using Ketamine to help out? It seems to have amazing results with depression.

Anyone heard of "Gulf War Syndrome" ? It affected massive amounts of troops during the initial Gulf War. Some people attributed this to the anthrax vaccine given to the troops stationed in the Gulf, it would be hard to prove this without a control group with which to test against. Luckily there was one. The french soldiers. Not one was innoculated with the vaccine, and none of them got sick either. Joining the military is a sure-fire way to become a guinnea pig for your country.

Any thoughts of another one coming up soon? Perhaps somewhere in the blue mountains would be nicer... more reclusive, and surrounded by nature.

I don't think it is inherent that some people fight, and others don't. I believe that it's a choice people make. Some people chose to sit down, observe and discuss... while others get up and try to make a difference. Fighting doesn't imply violence - It is merely caring enough about our brothers and sisters enough to help those unable to help themselves. Warriors make themselves. I'm taking the third option not presented in the article. Looking at the bigger picture. To legalise or not to legalise... they're going on the assumption that we stick with the government currently in control. That is the real problem at hand, not legalisation of drugs. What say the shamans here?

No such study will ever be conducted by any western government. It'll place blame on them. They're too busy diverting blame to smoking and the hole in the ozone layer, and shite like that. What shits me is that everyone just sits here, when all this information is floating around. Its like a jigsaw puzzle right now, you've gotta put the pieces together yourselves... but we (in this particular community) seem fairly enlightened (as a whole ) and shouldn't just cop this. Its the only reason we're in the position we are now: no one wants to act. Myself, along with a few others, are trying. Anyone that does nothing is just as much to blame as those that have actually done the damage. It would not have been possible without inaction of the masses.

We have hurt the planet, and we're hurting ourselves at the same time. Consider the documented tests set off here in Australia... now consider the high rate of cancer we have. Particularly skin and lung cancer. Greece has the highest rates of smokers on the planet, yet one of the lowest rates of lung cancer. Seems like a pretty good control group to me. Find another country, in south america or africa, the same distance to the equator (or closer) with the same rates of skin cancer that we have. It makes sense that they're getting the same amount of sunlight, if not more, yet we're hit the hardest in terms of skin cancer. Of course you'll never have the government admit to this...

Just curious who else is into Martial Arts here... What do you study, for how long, and why that style? etc etc I'll kick it off, shall I? I started off Boxing when I was 9 and stuck with that for a few months before we moved up the coast. The local boxing gym up there was inhabited by people that wanted to learn how to belt the shit out of someone and take their wallet. Obviously my old man didn't want me in that environment, so I stopped going. Picked up Karate a few years after that, and did that for 3 years until we moved again. My new school offered Judo and Kung Fu, so I jumped straight into them. Then I broke my leg, and even after it healed it was still rat-shit. So all my training had to come to a halt, as I could no longer pivot on my toes. Over the past year I've been using this hydro-therapy machine we have at home, and I can't explain it, but it works. For years I couldn't even walk for more than half hour, and now I walk for a living. 2-4 hours a day without a worry. The thick nasty scar I have is actually starting to heal... which I don't want, because it looks awesome! So I've jumped back into my training, and this time I'm training with a purpose. I want to compete in a mixed martial arts event. So I need a few different skill sets. Stand-up ability, takedowns, and submission skills. For the stand-up I'm doing boxing, and a little muay thai. I don't like the concept of kicking, as I can throw three punches in the same time it takes to kick, but knees and elbows certainly have their place. For the takedowns, I'm doing Judo. Reason being is that they're mega-agressive (Judo competitors LOSE points for adopting a defensive stance during competition), and it isn't all that well known in Mixed Martial Arts circles. I like the agression, because most MMA competitions use the whole time-limit, I watch it and get frustrated that people aren't pushing the fight, they score a point and then just hold the other person down to win without really trying. For the submission work, I'm training in the little known art of Catch Wrestling. A) very very few people use it, let alone know OF it, and it answers everyone of the problems I have with Brazilian Jui Jitsu, which is the most common martial art used in MMA comps. In BJJ, competitors wait for the other competitor to make a mistake. Catch Wrestling forces mistakes. It is brutal, ultra-effective, and no one will know what I'm doing. The Judo and Catch Wrestling cross over a little - there are a fair few submissions in Judo, and a number of takedowns in Catch Wrestling. So I'm going to mix-and-match taking the most effective techniques from both of them. These three also help out with any serious problems encountered on the street better than anything else I've done. With that said, I certainly know the benefit of the internal arts. The three I've picked now will turn me into a weapon in the ring. I think I'm about to take up yoga aswell, to keep me at peace internally.

Man it sucks that I can't make it - I'll only be in The Rocks aswell. Got a big boozy easter lunch on with some friends, so it should be a good day regardless. It's just unfortunate I won't have the time to pop over and say g'day to you fellas! Next time definately.

I believe its due to the fact that in your first lesson of boxing, you're hitting pads, and your ducking and weaving incoming shots too. No other striking martial art does this. My first lesson in BJJ showed me how to take someones back when they're in my guard. The instructor didn't really like my wrestling ideas, which were mainly that physical position isn't superiority, actual position is. It doesn't matter if I'm on my back, what matters is if my arms are wrapped around your neck about to crank it... then I'm in a superior position! For him, it was "gain position, then go for submission." With that said, the BJJ still taught nothing in striking, and hence one will have trouble in real world scenarios if they're caught with a wild swing. A boxer will see a fist clench and draw back... he then instinctively fires a quick one-two due to his preconditioning and pad work. It always happens in pubs... no one slips off a quick cross while drunk, they always pull right back going for the "power shot." Which isn't really a power shot, but the beer tells them it is. You gain a real sense of harmony from interal arts like aikido, but that goes out the window with a hand around your throat and your back against a wall. You are given no experience with that, thus your mind has no way of dealing with the sudden rush of adrenaline. Cross-training - the best of both worlds. Inner peace with an inner beast.

Ok guys, this fella I know has a couple of ideas for his first grow... I'll list them here, and please pick them to bits! The more CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, the better ;) The main point is that it has to be ultra-stealth... to many unknowns live in the same house, and frequent his room. He's figured out there is one place in his room that doesn't get touched, and has a bit of space too. His desk has drawers on one side, and a door on the other... the door side is about 60cm high, 30cm wide and a depth of about 30cm aswell - it also has a divider half way up. He's wondering about using PC accessories, running from the PC, wired up inside the desk... they are: fans/exhaust - getting rid of the CO2. Have them rigged up to a switch, or one of those fan controllers. also for circulation. usb lights - do they need light to grow? they grow towards light, correct? heating pad - to help keep the temperature constant thermometer - perhaps one of those fan controllers has a thermometer on it...? Maybe even install a webcam (one of these babies with the LED lights on it!) so he can monitor the growth.... and one of these for protection! What say you guys?

Ahh yeh - sounds good. I was thinking those stackable tubs from Big W that fit in the desk.

LOL - its actually not the parents that I.... errr... my mate worries about! ;)

Pardon me for pissing in your pocket, Tonic, but I reckon you're bang on with all of that. Ok the demons I see are in one of my friends. He's left the planet too many times with the sole intent of getting ripped. I mentioned seeking purpose in a trip, and he just laughed and called me an idiot. Another friend is a real bitch.. her husband is an amazing lovable guy, but the wife? complete opposite. I saw her as a small child, and it has since changed the way I interact with her. She IS just a kid. I see my girlfriend exactly as I see her normally - truly beautiful with a huge heart. I think I should stop worrying about seeing colours and light trails - I see what I need to see. I learn about people and myself. I've already had one revelation on my life, and its changed how I act. Re: Rammstein - BACK OFF! jokes I love my heavy metal. One particular rammstein track sounded amazing! Moskau! It has a real electo sound to it, it even has those t.A.t.U. russian girls singing bits in russian during the song. Germans refer to it as Tanz Metal - meaning Dance Metal. I think I might try an experiment this thursday or friday night. Setup a playlist of several hours, ranging from Beethoven, to the Beatles, to Metallica and Tool... and everything inbetween. I'll go in on a low-ish dose, and document different effects of music on me. I know for a fact that any metal I love won't have a negative effect on me. Re: being stuck on something. I'm at a cross-roads with myself lately. I've worked out that I sabotage myself to no end. I just have no clue why. I know I've got potential for anything, but I just stop myself from trying/studying/practicing! example: I'm getting serious with my band, we're all fucking good, we've got some good songs down too.. so what do I do? chew the shit out of my fingernails to the point where it hurts too much to play bass. I missed rehersal tonight because of it, and haven't touched my nails since... and won't, until two days before next rehersal. If I've got assignments due, I'll occupy my time doing other things, and helping other people with their work. If I have an appointment to meet, I'll find something to do up until the last minute and turn up late. The only reason I still go out and work hard every day is because my family depends on my work more than I do.