Sir Jeans

What will this entail, if I may ask?

That's an excellent point, Distracted. That reminds of the "cause-marketing paradox" - people donate less to a cause after they buy a product that supports the cause. Even if by buying the product, only a couple of cents are donated to the cause. The strength of the con argument you described above depends on the likelihood that someone would have done something if they hadn't signed the petition. I'd be inclined to think that VERY few people would do anything at all in most cases that don't directly concern them personally.

Yeah I understand your skepticism, qualia. And I agree that in many cases petitions probably achieve little. However, there are exceptions and they can precipitate changes. For example, the petition against live exports - that led to immediate cessation of live exportation. Whatever anyone thinks about the more long-term consequences of that issue is another story - the point is that the petition had an impact. Another thing is that even if petitions often have little impact, the cost-benefits ration is extremely favorable. It costs only a minute or so to sign a petition. So even if only 10% of petitions make an impact, you are still only spending 10 minutes of your time to make a difference. Beats doing nothing!

I have done little in this respect except for discussing these issues in a rational way with people who had previously thought little about it. Although I am far from expert, I am knowledgeable enough about the harms of illegal drugs that I can make a convincing argument that our current laws are arbitrary, ineffectual and harmful. I am doing post-grad study in psychology, specializing in social psychology and the psychology of attitudes. I intend to dedicate much of my time and energy to activism (especially environmentalism) after another year or two, once I have more expertise and experience.

looks like bridgessi to me. Did they come in cardboard tubing? Perhaps the person who packaged them put them in the tube arse-first, thus bending all the spines in this unusual direction?

I'm not against this. I may not have been very clear when i said this: "I don't like the idea of trying to bring about drug law reform by focusing on the potential spiritual aspects of psychedelics" I'm talking about primarily focusing on the spiritual aspects, to the point where it eclipses other arguments for drug law reform and further marginalizes illegal drug use.

I don't like the idea of trying to bring about drug law reform by focusing on the potential spiritual aspects of psychedelics. I think this is counterproductive, because I think it associates psychedelics with things like hippies, cults, non-science, wacky beliefs and bizarre practices that many people (especially those who are against drug law reform) cannot relate to and are repulsed by. I prefer an approach that involves normalizing and legitimizing psychedelics, not further marginalizing them. I think a campaign for drug reform should emphasize that users of psychedelics are NOT all "wackos" and "hippies", but include doctors, scientists, teachers, free-thinkers and other responsible, productive members of society. Combined with high quality empirical evidence to show that many illegal drugs are not especially harmful, I think we might have a chance.

Perhaps my graft success is partly due to the fact that the root stock's vascular rings are so much larger than those of the scions I have been using. Come to think of it, some grafts I did in the past (where the stock's vascular rings were completely covered by the scion) did fail in the way you described - by the stock shrinking away from the scion and leaving an air space. Thanks for the tip - I'll keep it in mind next time I graft.

The white euhporbia (?) in the second photo looks pretty nice. Can't see any san pedros there for sure though. Maybe send the seller a message and ask for more pics?

Is this something you recommend doing? I've never done that, and all but one of the 10 or so loph grafts I've done onto pachanoi have been successful. I figured it might be better to put the scion on when the stock is as healthy and actively growing as possible - that's why I never did what you suggested (I am just a beginner with grafting though). Have you had more success by letting it callous first?

This thread is a sweet idea! I'm a guitarist, very much influenced by Joe Satriani and love improvisation of all kinds. Here's an idea for a song I recorded a while ago. Its extremely rough in certain ways (I'm a bit of a perfectionist with my own music), and the final product will be at least twice as long and will have more sections. This recording is just the core idea: Heavy Aeolian.mp3 Hope people like it!

I support your cause - I support the fight to ameliorate our arbitrary, harmful and ineffectual drug laws. But unfortunately, I expect that the government will ignore you for as long as possible. It is an extremely controversial issue, and as we all know, the governments only really care about two things - getting elected, and getting re-elected. I would have been extremely surprised if they had granted your wish for a meeting about this. I think it will take more than emails from a single person to create change here. However, I'm not too sure that a hunger strike is the best idea either. perhaps the biggest obstacle to our cause is the fact that people are fearfull, often poorly informed and sometimes deliberately misled about illegal drugs. Drugs are associated with crime, delinquency, chaos, destruction and madness in the minds of many. I fear that the spectacle of a lone person starving in the street may be counterproductive to the goal of breaking down these misconceptions.

What kind of plant do you wish to marry?

If you put food out, they may become conditioned to return to that spot next time they are hungry. And yeah, I had a really nice peruvianus have a big bite taken out, as well as an M. Geometrizans. Hopefully the same doesn't happen to you Bretloth, but I wouldn't leave it to chance if I were you!

That's what I was thinking based on the appearance of the fruit., but I'm certainly no expert on the matter.

I'm pretty sure that possums are protected in Australia - at least where I live. In other words, I'm pretty sure its illegal to kill them.

I have the same problem - they get onto my apartment's balcony and take big bites out of whichever of my prized cacti they feel like sampling. Little fuckers! They don't seem to actually eat them, they just take bites out to taste. My solution has been to create enclosures for my most valuable plants using wire mesh. I'm also making wooden contraptions covered in wire prongs to attach to the poles supporting my balcony and which the possums must be climbing up. I have also tried to arrange my cacti so that the more valuable ones are surrounded by the extremely spiny ones (macrogonus, pilosocereues, grusonni etc). However, I have been amazed at just how capable the possums are of biting into very spiny plants (e.g., a large peruvianus with larg spines). To be safe, I bring the extra special ones inside during the night time. One thing I heard of on these forums is that using white oil can deter them. It was recommended that you apply it to the base of the pots, but I reckon putting some around the rim of the pot would be good too. I've yet to try this though. Let us know how you go with it!

Perhaps you could try using a very small amount of weight to hold the scion on? I just did two pere grafts and that's exactly what I did - I just put a stack of books next to the pot, then used some sturdy cardboard (one side on the books, other side on the scion) and used a 20c piece to hold it down. I know that other people don't use weight for pere grafts, but that just doesn't feel right to me!

Thanks for posting, worthwhile read.

This will be interesting: "Given the strength of Internet rumors about impending disaster in 2012, the institute is organizing a special round table of 60 Mayan experts next week at the archaeological site of Palenque, in southern Mexico, to "dispel some of the doubts about the end of one era and the beginning of another, in the Mayan Long Count calendar.""

I think its unlikely you have anything at all to worry about. All my bridgesiis have the same thing, as do most other peoples from what I gather. Seems like a fairly benign thing that generally doesn't harm the plant or spread. But then again, its hard (at least for me) to be sure without seeing a photo. And yeah, are you sure there were insects inside? If so what did they look like?

I thought that black rot was not associated with insect activity. The few times I have cut into a weeping black spot on a trich, I have never found any evidence of insects. MajorTom, are you absolutely sure there were insects inside? A photo might help some of the more expereinced members help you out.

Sorry to hear about that and I hope its not too serious.

danshaman's last bid was made after the end time of the auction and was thus invalid. I have already discussed this with danshaman and we have agreed upon an additional transaction outside of this auction so that they don't miss out. So with this in mind, and without further delay, here are the winners! Item 1 - tipz: $25 Item 2 - danshaman: $5 Item 3 - coryWA: $40 Item 4 - TheExplorer: $5 Item 5 - GoOnThen: $5 Item 6 - thed00dabides: $8 Item 7 - thed00dabides: $5 Item 8 - tripsis: $15.50 Could the winners please send me a destination post code. With this information I will be able to calculate postage costs and will contact each winner with the final cost either tomorrow or the day after (Wednesday).

Ok, so I'm running really low on cash so its time for an auction!!! There are 7 items for sale below. Here are the rules: 1) Place a bid by posting on this thread - specify the item and the price. Also, please do the same for questions so everyone can see the answers (no pms please) 2) Some of the items have a reserve price. Bids must be at or above this price to be valid. 3) None of the prices include postage - this costs extra. 4) Postage is within Australia only. 5) All plants will be sent bare rooted, not in the pots they are in. 7) Discounts: anyone who buys two or more items gets a 25% discount on all items EXCEPT the most expensive one that the person receiving the discount buys. 8) AUCTION ENDS ON MONDAY THE 21ST OF NOVEMBER 2011, AT 8.00PM, ADELAIDE TIME (UTC/GMT +10:30 hours). I will make a post announcing the end of the auction at that time. No more bids can be made after I announce the end of the auction. ITEM 1: T. scopulicola cutting (RESERVE - $20). 45cm long and very thick - about 14 cm in diameter at the thickest point. Weight is about 5kg. ITEM 2: T. scopulicola plant (no reserve) For those who would prefer to start small, here is a far smaller scopulicola. Rooted and very healthy. Will be sent dry rooted. ITEM 3: T Pachanoi x 5 (RESERVE - $10) Five rooted tip cuttings, standard clone. ITEM 4: T Pachanoi x 1 (no reserve) One rooted cutting. Substantially larger than the pack of 5 above, and has much more roots. Was rooted in perlite, with roots visible in the picture. Might be standard clone, might not be - the mother plant looked different to standard clone to me, but I am not certain - It may just be due to intense sun exposure. ITEM 5: Mammilaria Fragilis (no reserve) As the name suggests, it is fragile. I'll package it as carefully as i can, and any parts that do break off can easily be rooted. ITEM 6: Notocactus Magnificus (RESERVE - $8.00) ITEM 7: ??? (no reserve) Nice looking succulent. Paid $6.00 for it a year ago but don't remember its name. ITEM 8: Selenicereus (no reserve) Great for grafting and very fast growing cactus. Both photos below are of the same plant. HAPPY BIDDING!!!