chilli

Hmm, the only syringes I could find there were 10cc disposables and some second hand 2cc glass ones. Plus, isn't that an American site? I don't think I'd want customs knowing I was importing glass syringes.

Wow... I love both those Trichs at the front... I haven't really seen any big TBM's before, I don't think they exist over here... can't wait to get back to Aus so I can start hunting some of those suckers down...

My wife's a GP, so I get mine from her... you should be able to get some from a pharmacy or something I guess, might be harder to get big ones though... I think someone said you can get them from veterinary suppliers, like farmers get them for horses and stuff.

Hey Amulte, I know you don't take it too seriously, I was just using it as a springboard for the question of credibility, which I'm glad you picked up on. I agree that its an absurd situation when people are criminalized for consuming certain plants, and hopefully over the years change will take place, but what do others think about the reaction in the short term? It seems like with psychedelics, all publicity is bad publicity. The numbers would really have to be on our side, and at the moment it just isn't so... I think the first step is to debunk the official propaganda about how harmful psychedelics are, and educate people as to the realities. Without a vast portion of the population supporting such a change, any activism and legal battles are bound to end in disappointment IMO. I think another problem is that many people who take psychedelics are basically seen as fruitcakes in one way or another, and usually with some support. Whether its talking about 'cosmical' ideas, dropping out of society, wearing outlandish clothing or just having an unwarranted sense of superiority, lots of trippers are just seen as outcasts and as a result are derided by the population at large. This undermines attempts by such people to change the societies take on psychedelics, even if they are doctors, lawyers and teachers.

There's plenty you can do to change the world, its like the cheesy starfish analogy... two kids walking along a beach where thousands of starfish have washed up, and one of the kid's is picking them up one by one and tossing them back out to sea. Her friend says "Why bother, there's thousands of them, what difference will it make?" She tosses another starfish into the ocean and replies "Well, it made a difference to that one." I agree with komodo to a point... I believe it is important to reflect on life, think hard about the world and your place in it, grapple with the big questions, have a different perspective and all that. Furthermore, I think it is important for a society to have people who actively think about things. Thinking is definitely underrated... inward labor can be just as tiring as outward labor. However, I would suggest it is not enough to just stop there, but the next step is to externalize it somehow. Its easy to get overwhelmed, especially when you feel like the people around you don't "get it," but you have to start somewhere if you want to change things... maybe join an activist group, swap your car for a bike or send some money to starving kids. Small gestures, but if everyone did it the world would change overnight.

I'm going to second gerbil's opinion, I wouldn't worry about it with cakes... in fact, all the cakes I've done were in a translucent plastic tub, and most of the shrooms coming off the side bend upwards anyway, even though the light source was at the sides (it was under a table near a window).

Well, I hate to say it because it sounds like he's being a dick, but GreenOsiris had a point beneath all the venom... I'm all for starting your own religion and everything, but will such a thing ever be taken seriously? Will the adherents themselves? Amulte, no insult to you, sounds like GO has a personal problem, but there's some truth to what he's saying regarding credentials, isn't it sort of like people getting a degree off the internet? I know this is really just one aspect of what this thread is about, but it sort of fits in with the biggest problem I see with such a venture, which is credibility... it will be difficult if not impossible to be interpreted as anything other than a flimsy cover for taking psychedelics. What do others think?

I had a closer look at those pics after PD's comments, and I'm swinging away from my earlier suggestion about chopping those pups, they are still quite small... Ultimately though, if you're waiting for that old log to put out shoots, you might be waiting a hell of a long time. Let alter my earlier recommendation to say make the most of the last of the warm weather and like others have suggested pop them in a warm spot and with a little bit of dappled sunlight, protected from the rain, and let those pups grow a bit... they will still grow a decent amount even before the log takes root. If you give them a misting once a week or so, they will still absorb some moisture. At the end of the warm season, chop the pups and root them separately... I know what its like with your first cuttings, you just want to see some roots, and I'd predict there's a good chance that even if you chop the pups in 6 weeks or so, you'll still get roots appearing from them before the main log. And like I said, you'll have four plants instead of just one. As far as where to chop... I'd want to take it from as close to where it joins as possible just to be tidy, but it seems sometimes that makes it harder for it to put roots out. It won't make much of a difference ultimately though. Some people like to leave a bit for more pups to grow from. Also, I agree with PD, just chill and let them do their thing... it wasn't so long ago others were telling me the same thing, and I've got more cacti than I know what to do with now.

Hi GiR, "one of the shoots has doubled in length, and now the tip is turning yellow well more of white" This is called etiolation, it tends to happen when the cactus keeps growing when there is little light. Pachs naturally go dormant in winter, when there is less light and it is colder. If it is fairly warm, and not very bright, then etiolation may occur. It also sometimes seems to occur when the piece is new growth or has been chopped only recently and then moved into a low light situation. Recommendations: those pups will put out shoots A LOT sooner than that gnarly old piece will, chop them off and let them dry in a fairly bright area if it is warm there, or put them in a nice cold dark place if you have one... also that way you will have four root systems forming instead of only one, and the energy for each plant will be much greater. For example, if I have one big pach with five pups, the growing energy being delivered by the single root system is spread thinner between all the pups... Moisture doesn't seem to make any difference to the appearance of roots for me, although there are others who swear that it does.. once a couple of roots have appeared however, I have found it makes a massive difference to their growth if the end with roots is placed in some dry soil, allowed to sit for a couple of weeks, and then given a decent watering during nice warm weather (when it will dry out quickly). I too have seen that orange stuff on the surface of a number of my cuttings, particularly from the NZ supposed TJG, and have not had any trouble with it... BUT My brother got a big mature macro cutting from someone, and it had a very similar looking orange discoloring, and he assumed it was the same thing, but less than a week later it had rotted out much of the inside of the cactus into a sloppy orangey mess, and only about half of a 6 foot piece was salvaged... The moral of the story? I don't know exactly, but at least with non-pach trichs, keep half an eye on that orange stuff just in case.

Sounds like too much BRF went in, but its hard to tell because of the inexactness of your measurements... try measuring them exactly, and there shouldn't be any problems. I've found the ratios on this tek: http://www.fungifun.org/English/Pftek to be quite good, although I usually use a little more water than it recommends.

Hey komodo, glad you're still weighing in, sorry I didn't really respond to your more recent posts. These egoistic arguments for personal morality are logical up to a point, but they stop short of explaining how moral relativism does not necessitate nihilism. The first instance is particularly unhelpful, as it simply shows that someone may act out of self interest, but does not explain why what that person values should be ascribed any meaning. The second instance is more ambitious but ultimately unconvincing. Good and bad are still defined by the individual's purely relative values, and the argument again fails to invest those values with any meaning. It certainly doesn't illustrate "that moral relativism requires by definition that everything is not equally empty," but merely that that individuals values are not equally empty to the individuual. I argue that moral relativism requires by definition that no moral judgment can be considered ultimately more right or wrong than another, and therefore divests every individual moral judgment of objective meaning. How is this not nihilism?

Yeah, I agree... The adbusters calendar for this month has a bike drawn on one of the days, and says something like "one less car," and it suddenly struck me in the opposite way to which it usually does. Usually, I think "what difference is it going to make anyway?" but I suddenly realized in a real way that it is a difference that is worth something... its one less fucking car! Hehe, its hard to share epihanies.

I'm confused KanJe, earlier you agreed that words, numbers and concepts can be absolute... are you now altering this position?

Hi DeadLizard, welcome to SAB... Here we see the ultimate absurdity of sheer relativism. Can anyone demonstrate how moral relativism can lead to anything other than nihilism?

Sorry I missed your question. The best way would be to use a humidifier, some people just put the lid on the chamber as normal, but don't snap it down. BTW, I see you have been to the nook, but have you actually checked the Archives there? They are full of answers to all of the questions you have asked so far... the link is: http://www.thenook.org/archives/5.html or to download them to your computer: http://www.thenook.org/archives/download.html if you unzip them on your harddrive, you can use you OS's search function to look for specific terms by searching the body of the text. Mind you, I wouldn't want to get busted with them on my HD.

The term flush has nothing to do with rehydrating cakes or casings, it is simply the term used for the maturation of a 'crop' of mushrooms, also known as a break or a bloom. Well there are a number of ways, some people inject their cakes and some people recase their casings. Dunking casings would be pretty pointless though, because part of the casings purpose is to deliver water to the mycelium. Casing refers to the medium that the mycelium is covered in, not the container that you put it in. Actually, sterility is less of a concern if you are doing an outdoor tek, and preventing contams should be your number one issue indoors. I am not sure what CE means? I think I see where the confusion lies now, you are referring to 'dunking' as 'flushing,' but this is inaccurate, you do not flush the substrate with water or anything else when you dunk, you soak it. Flushing is the term used for growing successive crops of mushrooms. Actually, there is one more usage I can think of for flushing, because you will have to 'flush' all your cakes and casings if you think contams are not an issue. *edit* BTW, dunking does not technically trigger the next cycle, it merely provides sufficient water for the mushrooms to grow.

Actually, I just went back and zoomed in on that pic... I'm not sure why I said exactly, and I definitely was overeager when I italicized it. I would say it is similar to some of the KK242's I've got here, but the big piece looks like one I've got that I've been considering a macro. But, the other definite macros I have look quite different to yours, and the growing tip on the one that looks similar looks pretty different to the tip I can see poking in in your photo. Well, I'm sure that cleared things NOT up. Hehe I just watched Borat.

Its becoming increasingly popular to call it Cuzcoensis who knows? ... btw, I would say the little tip poking its head in on the photo of the cuttings looks exactly like my KK242's, but like I said the cutting looks more like something I've got I've been told was a Macro, are they from the same plant?

I am relieved that you think it is wrong to torture and kill a baby, but can you see that if you think morals are relative, there is really no point in having them? There is no point in doing good or avoiding evil, because there is ultimately no such distinction to be made. You mentioned two people may have opposite morals and both of them would be real to the respective individuals, but this is a different thing from each set of morals being true... someone can sincerely believe that people never really landed on the moon, or that global warming is not happening, and yet be completely wrong... the fact that their belief is real to them does not mean that it concords with reality. Why do you believe in abstract laws of mathematics, logic, language and science, but not a moral law?

That's why I said he will need to start fanning when he gets fruit appearing, but I have heard quite a few reports that a buildup of CO2 is positive, mind you I have also read the exact opposite, that it is in fact O2 that helps induce pinning. What is definitely true though is that CO2 causes the growth of mycelium, so at least don't start fanning until your casings are showing mycelieum poking through here and there... from what I recall, it's best to let a decent amount poke through, then remove the gladwrap and then start fanning. I'm not sure what you're asking here... a flush is the term for each successive 'batch' of mushrooms, you certainly do not flush your casings with anything. Perhaps you mean drainage? In which case, I think holes might help if you overwet the casing, but you should definitely try and avoid this... probably can't hurt though, as long as the trays are in a sterile fruiting chamber. It is precisely because of flushing that the casing 'shrinks,' as the growing mushrooms suck up all the available water.

The cutting on the left is what I've been calling Macrogonus, doesn't look Bridgesoid to me at all.

If you haven't already, check out the 'archives' at http://thenook.org/, all this info is from there. A casing does become like a big cake, but obviously its not exposed to the air like a normal little cake is. The casing itself is basically just there to supply moisture to the mycelium. People use all sorts of things for casing, and get good results. The depths of casing you mentioned sound a little thin for 3" of mycelium. Any opaque container will do, again people have success with all sorts of things. Opaque is best, otherwise the mushrooms will grow out to the sides. Putting the tray in a fruiting chamber will help to protect it from airborne contaminants and also to keep it moist... cover it with gladwrap with fork holes punched in it until it starts pinning. Crumble or cut fully colonized cakes with no pinning. Once the mycelium starts to poke out the top, just be patient and shrooms will start to appear soon after. From what I recall a buildup of C02 is supposed to be good for inducing pinning, but in any case, it will be important to have good airflow once your shrooms start to grow... check out some of the articles on fanning in the nook archives for more info. Ideally, you should sterilize the casing mix in a pressure cooker, especially if peat is involved. As far as overflowing the casing tray, doesn't sound like a good or idea, and its obviously not going to work if you cover it with gladwrap... I'd say leave at least an inch, there's no need for it to be flush, and this may in fact promote infection and hinder pinning. Good luck, and make sure you check out those archives at the nook. *edit* just saw your last post... the casing wont get higher with each flush, it will actually get lower as the cake dehydrates. Any clean container will do, it doesnt have to be plastic, aluminum trays work fine.

Okay, I'm confused... is Spudamore's and Shiva's last exchange related to this thread? If so, who are they referring to as being so much more vastly ignorant than themselves? Hehe, in this at least I am quite ignorant, albeit unwillingly.

Sorry KanJe, I actually mixed this thread up with the other one, the two were so similar... and Gomaos mentioned killing babies in this thread. What I was referring to when I said torture was our discussion in the other thread where you compared cutting up babies for fun to clipping a poodle or stuffing a duck for Christmas. I mistakenly included a specific reference to torture in my last comment because I thought it was implicit in cutting up the baby for fun rather than just killing it. I'm curious to know why you mention this point though, does the addition of torture make any difference to your position? What I mean is, would you compare someone torturing a baby for fun with say, someone playing a video game for fun? I'm glad you said with regards to science at least that one view can be considered 'more valid' than another, because otherwise I'd see little point in discussing anything with you. I also would usually refrain from saying any scientific finding is incontestably right, although I think that we can for practical purposes generally disregard extreme skepticism about induction. For example, I think it is safe to say that it is right that the earth revloves around the sun, and I'm fairly sure you would agree with this? Given your position that words, numbers and concepts can all be absolute, I'm interested to know why you are opposed to concepts about morality being potentially true or false? Sorry for all the haranguing questions, I've just been thinking about this stuff a lot lately.

Hi KanJe, how about we just move the discussion to the other thread then? I'll answer your last post over there if thats cool with you. Um, do those last two comments belong to another thread, or have I missed something?