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fyzygy

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Posts posted by fyzygy

  3. Posted

    On 09/08/2019 at 7:55 PM, Crop said:

    Every one could simply vote on every major issue, via an app on their phone. No politicians, no lobbyists, no middlemen at all. True, direct democracy.

    This idea appealed to Timothy Leary, back in the days of landline telephony. He was right, of course ... in principle. 

    Personally, I wouldn't trust Big Data to count my vote on anything. Nor Big Media to promote informed decision-making in the first place. 

    True democracy entails radical egalitarianism, all we have is this late-capitalist sham. 

    • Like 1

  7. Posted

    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. 

     

     

     

     

     

  10. Posted

    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. 

     

     

  11. Posted · Edited by fyzygy

    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 ...


     

     

  12. Posted

    On 21/11/2021 at 10:23 AM, Glaukus said:

    By the sounds of it, they are talking about pre-processed kava products for drinking, not powdered kava roots? Did I read that correctly?

    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). 

     

    1 hour ago, waterboy 2.0 said:

    Someone will know better than me, but wasn't it also a case of ' think of the indigenous communities " where there was imports going into the Northern dry communities as extra weight on bans? 

    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. 

     

  14. Posted

    13 hours ago, Glaukus said:

    Unfortunately that hasn't been quite true since not long after 911 when sweeping laws were introduced that allow for detention without charge, and other draconian measures akin to minority report.

    It's a shame nobody lined the streets protesting about those laws which were an actual attack on our freedom and the rule of law...

     

    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. 

     

  17. Posted

    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.
    seed3.jpgUnder 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

     

    • Like 2

  25. Posted

    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. 

     

     

     

    • Like 1
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