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The Corroboree

CβL

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Everything posted by CβL

  1. I haven't seen any around. That doesn't mean they don't exist though. I really hope that things are better than the estimates that have been out on TV. Some of them are truly horrifying. However, I think that John Key's allusions to "the darkest day" are probably a bit more correct than he's letting on. :/ But if you are a Christchurch member, please give me a PM and I'll do what I can to help. Although, of course, more pressing issues are at hand first. Also, I have donated some money, which you can do too here: http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/research-media/media-centre/local-news/salvation-army-appeals-for-funds-for-renewed-earthquake-response
  2. CβL

    Mammillaria Hahniana

    Taken 22/02/11
  3. CβL

    Mammillaria Hahniana

    Apologies for double post. I had received an error while uploading (image file invalid or so) and tried again. Both worked.
  4. CβL

    Mammillaria Hahniana

    Taken 22/02/11
  5. CβL

    mammilaria hahniana?

    Here is my Mammillaria Hahniana (it's too beautiful to cut, I need to graft the pups when they're bigger): It was IDd by a cactus and succulent expert in person, who grew it from seed from a trusted source.
  6. CβL

    New Zealand Earthquake

    I hope the people of Christchurch are going to be able to rescue all those trapped in rubble. From the sounds of it (I've been watching coverage since 2pm) - it's looking like this is FAR worse than any of the prior quakes. I wish I was down there and could help. I didn't donate money last time, but I will this time. Edit: since seeing the new death toll (and number of trapped individuals), I'm even more shocked than before. This earthquake has been absolutely devastating, and it's shaping up to possibly be the worst natural disaster NZ has ever seen.
  7. CβL

    Identify this cactus???

    The size of spines, number of spines and number of ribs suggest pachanoi. But the areole indentation looks a bit scopulicola. However though, I have a similar plant which also showed no v-indentations until it was repotted into proper cactus soil and fertilized. Then the growth changed completely. Most felt the plant as scopulicola, but it was actually a pachanoi once it began to grow much healthier. I would say the same is possible with your plant there. Also, is that sunburn, or snail damage? If it's snail damage, your plant won't grow properly if the tip keeps getting munched.
  8. CβL

    Catha edulis collection for sale

    If only this was in NZ. :S What I wouldn't do for that sweet collection... haha.
  9. There is far too much writing here to read all in one go. I'd hear the roosters before I was done. I have a few things to say however. One is a quote from Terence McKenna: http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/research_chems/research_chems_article2.shtml I personally think that a spirit world is unlikely. For one, while entheogenic (I use this term simply because of it's lack of negative connotations) your brain is not functioning rationally (but still is functioning). There are molecules interacting with your synapses randomly the entire duration. Their electrochemistry is different from your normal neurotransmitters and as a result each nerve impulse can produce slightly different effects. Your brain - being a network consisting of a multitude of feedback loops can amplify aberrant signals in a non-linear manner so as to produce greater effect elsewhere. The result? Your brain will not function as it did before you imbibed your sacrament. The short-circuit model (while not fully accurate) is a humble view to the content of your trip. In my voyages so far, I have not once come across phenomena which I would need spirits to explain. I have only met my own delusions. You may argue my mindset of thinking a spirit world unlikely, precludes me from having contact with it. Is this somehow different from me going on a hike and thinking it unlikely to find a bear (if I was in America again) - would this mindset stop me from meeting a bear? Why would the spirit world be any different?
  10. CβL

    Salvia Divinorum

    I was not aware of this unfortunate reclassification of everyone's friend, S. Divinorum, who I prefer to think of as an old man, rather than a young woman (far too frail and and impotent to be a young woman, don't you think?) I hope that it doesn't change much for people though.
  11. CβL

    Corroboree recipes

    I can attest that eating prickly pear cactus (with spines, without gloves) is NOT worth it.
  12. CβL

    some more if my cacti

    Excuse my ignorance, but is the 6th one a Mammillaria?
  13. CβL

    near pinus radiata

    Do you have any better pictures of the 2nd one. It may be a bolete. Edit: It's the 3rd one in BTF's links.
  14. CβL

    Free Seeds

    Thanks for the very generous offer. I'd like the A. colubrina please.
  15. CβL

    Dragon fruit setup

    A row of spineless Opuntias next to this row? :D
  16. CβL

    Into the wild

    I have indeed, sorry. But I disagree nonetheless. I would say that rich people would not have the equipment (or mindset) necessary for survival. How long do you think a fully kitted out motorhome RV will survive the apocalypse (hint: less than a week)? Will they be able to rent the same sherpa team to carry their equipment across adverse terrain once s**t hits the fan? Would they even be outdoor inclined in the first place - or would the comforts of TV, ethanol, and shopping have distracted them? I don't think that the common denominator of people ill-equipped to survive is money - but distraction and apathy.
  17. CβL

    Into the wild

    There's always a balance - a concept that most Western dualists (I think I used that word correctly...) cannot seem to grasp. There is almost no way to survive in this world without using money (we are born dependent on money's use). However, there are ways which minimize its use, especially for frivolous crap. So there's no need to give up before the first stair simply because you cannot cling to an ideal.
  18. CβL

    Into the wild

    Seeing as this topic was bumped... I have very recently been planning my own exodus from 'civilization'. I have become highly disillusioned with the state of the nation - the unimpeded indoctrination of the people, the subduction of our rights, the by-the-books theft of our ideas and properties. Greed sickens me, and I wish to avoid it. So what I am planning is to progressively live more and more directly off the land. I've been building up survival skills and equipment, reading books on edible natives and exotic plants, reading about health and ethnobotanic medicine and training fitness and strength. Once I have come as far off the grid (out in the forest, walking and exploring while foraging and fishing) as possible, and stayed there for a while - then I'll plot my return. As someone else said, who I can only paraphrase: "You can do more damage to the machine from the inside." I will help my fellow humans in Africa by installing water wells. I will also try and help reverse desertification (cacti cultivation skills?) on a large scale. Whether or not you accept the varying degrees of the Gaia theory (to clarify, it has nothing to do with planet-wide sentience, and everything to do with the multitude of life's feedback loops which stabilize the climate for life) - the trees and other plant life are our main defense against CO2 increases (and therefore temperature increases). The higher the concentration of CO2 - the faster the trees grow. They are amazing like that. They even seem to prefer higher temperatures for a given higher CO2 level! That's just crazy, it's like plants are perfect for combating a CO2-induced global warming. This increased growth rate is enough to buffer whatever caused the original CO2 increase (volcanic and anthropogenic). But then humans have decided to chop down the forests (among other tragedies waiting to rear, like unsustainable monoculture of genetically identical [and therefore weak] plants [Monsanto]). It's theorized that once a forest drops below a critical level, it becomes a CO2 source rather than a CO2 sink. Good work humanity - we've removing our main defense against possible temperature increases. I don't fear that the planet will become lifeless - but that we will f**k up our current opportunity to live on a beautiful planet. There's no knowing what might emerge after a massive climate shift. Maybe a far more hostile environment? Biblical Noah was a coward - he too ran from the problems of the planet, and let everyone else perish. What a c**t.
  19. Just to clarify, the study only dated the parchment. So it's possible for the parchment to have been blank for a while before being written on, so maybe they have prematurely ruled out some of the origin theories.
  20. That's right. So just enjoy the game. Also, some of you might get a kick out of reading some of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality Essentially, these people have philosophised if we were all in a simulation - then according to whom you believe, we may or may not ever figure it out. The stronger form of the theory says that if it's possible to simulate a reality whose inhabitants could not tell from a simulation, and if the universe is infinitely old - then it's very likely we are in a simulation. Judging by the average person's use of time and resources... I'd say it's likely we are binary monkeys.
  21. CβL

    Free Tricho Hybrid Seed offer

    Mine arrived in the mail today. Thanks again HN. Edit: Got 6-7 seedlings going of the 8 I planted. So very happy with these.
  22. CβL

    ancestors and forms theory

    I like the sound of most of what you've written. But where do Taquimbalensis and Werdermannius fit into your framework? I also think that more research on extant ancient populations needs to be done. I'm pretty sure there's a few islands off the coast of S. America which would have been uninhabited yet contained Trichocereus species. These populations might help to provide an understanding of the direction certain Trichos would evolve in without the hand of man. I need a supercomputer and a genome sequencer...
  23. Hmmm, well if you define God as anything... Then I can't really say much more. But there are humans who do not believe in a creator (Although they do believe in spirits to some degree). This tribe is a shining example: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,414291,00.html A choice quote - Living in the now also fits with the fact that the Pirahã don't appear to have a creation myth explaining existence. When asked, they simply reply: "Everything is the same, things always are."
  24. I'm sure that we can mostly agree that if there is a God; it would be far too much for us to directly comprehend. Based on that, how can you really know if there is a God? How can you tell apart a delusion of God from a knowing of God? The equivalence principle states essentially "Locally, the effects of gravitation (motion in a curved space) are the same as that of an accelerated observer in flat space." Similarly if a medicine has consistently the same effect as a placebo - we don't know if it had effect or not. Furthermore, we all know the power of the mind to sincerely believe in delusions - yet most of us are sure that there are none in our own mind. I understand this, as once you think you have experienced retrocausality, you know something's up. Lastly, the ability of the mind to understand itself is limited - a complete explanation here: http://meta-religion.com/Mathematics/Articles/godel_theorem.htm So, how can you know that your belief of God is not a delusion? I simply don't think it can be done. Essentially, existence of God is unknowable.
  25. CβL

    NZ flora and fungi (image heavy)

    The unidentified plant with tiny berries and parallel veins is a Coriaria spp. Awesome pictures though mate, I haven't hiked in Kahurangi NP before - definitely is higher on the list now though.
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