fyzygy

Pressure cookers used to show up secondhand, a lot. Because of safety issues (the valve would get clogged, and so on ...) The newer generation -- e.g. Instant Pot, with digital controls -- is more useful in the preparation of a variety of plant medicines.

Is for hypertension?

What becomes of all the filtered contaminants?

Wouldn't purity of distilled water held in storage be compromised by chemical leaching from tank walls, plumbing fittings etc.? Not necessarily a problem, depending on your requirements. I suspect that plants (and animals, including human beings) benefit from trace minerals in their water supply -- pure water would leach nutrients (as well as toxins) from living cells.

I don't know what a bobble valve is, or what the pump does. I guess it speeds up condensation. From your design I assume you need an off-grid version? Not sure what the scale of your design is, or how much water you intend to distill. My friend probably blew more on a passive solar DIY design than he could have spent buying a 4L distiller on eBay (under $130). For $50 - $110 (delivered via eBay) an argon-welded, stainless steel distiller from 12L to 30L -- distills purifies water as well as alcohol. Power requirements not listed -- presumably it would suck a few hundred watts per hour, over several hours it takes to distill water. There's always passive solar, sunshine on glass, but it takes time ...

That's my impression too. But for the purposes of trade and import, wouldn't powdered orange juice (for example) be classified as a beverage? I've only ever seen powdered kava locally, in the health food store, back in the day (late 1990s). The goal of keeping kava out of Indigenous Australian communities wouldn't surprise me in the least. That's what multiculturalism looks like, Down Under.

Half a dozen or so still available, nicely hardened off.

Not only the presumption of innocence, but any and all human rights are potentially overridden "in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation" -- Australian Attorney-General website quoting ICCPR.

Interesting politics - hadn't known about the ban in 2007. Sounds like a pretty racist policy?

Did the TGA have anything to do with this raid?

Mulga's (2002) cultivation notes for Acacia phlebophylla Found naturally only on exposed granite slopes high up Mt Buffalo in Vic, a rare and endangered species. Likes well drained coarse gravel sand mix. Likes full sun, especially once established. Likes water but fungus sensitive so periodic drying out ok, can be grown under cover in high rainfall areas. Can handle exposed conditions, cold, including frosts and snow, bushfires and hot summers and intense light. Seeds can be germinated by scarification of the seed, and them soaked in water for a few hours, until the seed swells and then placed in a germinating medium and kept moist, may take up to a month (or even a few) for them to germinate, longer than many other acacias. Other factors such as cold temperatures or bushfires might also affect the germination process in the wild. Under cultivation they may grow bigger and live longer than in the wild, no need for high nitrogen fertilisers, a granite/ rock dust slow release fertilisers seems good, maintains good drainage. Acacias in the wild and cultivated are found to have a symbiotic relationship with certain rhizobium bacteria that form nodules on the roots and fix nitrogen to the soil. For plants grown outside Australia or in sterile mediums from seed it may be necesary to inoculate the soil or medium with rhizobium culture, which is available commercially for Australian acacias, for the plant to succeed past seedling stage. Pruning dead branches will prolong life, pruning generally will promote flowering and foliage growth in most acacias, producing bushier plants and if old enough more flowers. They can probably cope with pruning quite well, depending on age and health, pruning to remove borers and galls will assist the plants health anyway. For not so well drained areas plants can probably be planted out on small 'rock' hills, say 0.5 to 1.5m high pile of broken rock (granite or similar type of rock) and maybe some soil mix and rock dust between and then the seedlings planted out on them. Healthy established plants would be best for this. May be able to grow as a pot plant in a large pot, use a similar mix and prune to maintain size, can move for sunlight and warmth, indoors if necesary for extreme winters but can handle quite cold conditions. Can grow from 2-4 m high, rarely as a small tree, more common as multistemmed shrub in the wild. Flowers in Sep-Oct (Spring) in it's natural habitat, seeds mature in pods Dec-Jan (Summer) in natural habitat. https://web.archive.org/web/20070314154331fw_/http://mulga.yage.net/acacia/index.html

https://youtu.be/_7cZr7Z65Yo A 5-minute appeal for critical thinking around covid vaccination. Posted for forum users' benefit, not harm.

Here's a close-up of one of the "truer-to-type" phyllodes ...

Seed came via Cactilicious cultivated specimens.

Technically, you'd need a licence (in Australia, but not New Zealand) to produce even the limited quantities of pure alcohol you require?

Off-topic but maybe still relevant, the manufacturer of "bubble bags" claims they can be used to extract essences from almost any plant material, using nothing but ice-water, agitation and serial filtration.

How anyone could choose just one, is beyond me.

These particular seeds have excellent viability -- especially for khat (which has been tricky for me in the past). Thanks, Buttsack! Mine I just sprinkled on the surface of a pot, mainly crushed gravel, and gave a daily misting. Not sure about germination rate, but good enough for my purposes. It's another six months (I reckon) before they need to be transplanted to separate pots.

I love the sound of the instrument. But experimental, this is not ... kinda reminds me of "Switched on ..." Wendy/Walter Carlos wannabes.

The original plastic Coke bottle (2L) with the black plastic base, eliminated all of these flange-interlocking dramas. Just saying. Maybe they should bring it back. The plastic was thicker, in those days. Sigh. I think the tall chamber might be good for growing iboga and other cuttings. Khat perhaps. Sally? In other words, reverse the order of tall/short, air/medium. Thoughts? Do people bother microwaving their media for sterility? Maybe the activated charcoal works better (is rather expensive but)... One advantage of this bottle container over the takeaway tek, is that the takeaway container base is too flexible. You can get miniature earthquakes in the substrate just by trying to prise the lid open. And actually it's that disturbance that kills a lot of young contenders, I find.

You can't apply for Centrelink without MyGov. At least, not under lockdown conditions. (I found that out after $77 in phone calls to Centrelink's 1300 number, at least one of which automatically terminated after about an hour's wait ...) I don't have access to the documents I've uploaded to Centrelink. None can be retrieved, even sensitive identifying information will be held, indefinitely, on Centrelink's severs. (Government's justification for the digital upload of sensitive information: Covid-19). None of this bodes well for a Digital ID card. Though do let me guess ... it'll be mandatory.

Looks like you need to already have a digital identity before you can make a submission / complete the survey. If you go back to debates surrounding the introduction of the Medicare card, you'll see the controversy involved (then) in making Australian identities (i.e. personal information) more centralised. The Medicare card was a concession to citizens' legitimate concerns about privacy and government control. I reluctantly joined MyGov in order to try (unsuccessfully) to get Covid income support. The irony with all of that is, now that Centrelink ATO etc. have all of the information they require -- they still insist that you provide it again and again, into the future. Efficiency is clearly not what this system is all about. I don't have a MyHealth record, for the reason that I'm 100% confident that the government cares not one iota for my health (centralised medical records would be a good idea in principle, but for the meddling hands of business, government, etc..). More power to the medical authorities, who keep records of your mental and sexual health for example, but less power to the actual patient in need of help. The issue is the extent to which people are prepared to trust in authority. Some people crave it, evidently.

Cacao goes well with so many wonderful herbal edibles, it seems to have synergistic effects. I've never experienced any ill effects from cacao. Unlike coffee. Cadmium contamination isn't specific to chocolate products -- apparently it's even worse in grains and cereals. But it's something to be aware of, even in "organic" cacao. The cadmium levels vary by soil condition where the cacao is grown -- higher in Central America than in Africa (or is it the other way around?). There was some legal action a few years back concerning heavy metals in chocolate products, but I don't think it was successful.