Halif

^yep. Lovely flower. How many other flowers conjure up so many stories of suffering and pain, both past and present? Exploitation, war, politics, medical science, economics, addiction - and all from such a tiny little seed, too. Wow, nature is amazing and human nature is complex. <strokes non-existent beard and gazes skywards>

Yep, it feels like it is getting to that time of year. Time to get out into the garden and do a bit of maintenance. Time to look at all the weeds I've let run wild. Time to start planning what I'm going to do with all my beautiful plants before the end of the year when I have to find new accommodation. Today was a nice day. I did almost nothing. Smoked too many cigarettes (terrible habit recently picked up again), drank a few nice beers, sat outside and looked at the plants, talked to my cats, looked at birds as they hunted for food... Hope everyone else had a decent day. Feels like it's time to wake up from the Winter freeze and get active again. Warm weather and many blooms on the horizon! Huzzah!

yep, me too. It's an evocative track - a soundtrack to something. Keep going.

hehe thanks Amazonian You've brightened up my day a bit and produced a smile. The warm weather here in Victoria must be lifting my spirits a bit. A couple of hours back I wouldn't have been able to produce even a turd let alone a smile. It is a very pleasant day though, isn't it? I'm starting to feel like some kind of living organism with feelings and words and whatnot. Doxylamine, for me, has the unfortunate effect of turning me into a zombie after a few days of use. It gets to the point where I have to seriously ask which is worse, being tired and irritable or being a walking void. Anyway, feeling a bit more lively now. I think I'll go outside and smell the ...errrr... cacti. Have a happy ol' day everyone!

OK. I've entered those details into my leather-bound planner with a fountain pen made of jade and ivory.

Thanks for the comments guys/girls. Meshuggah: I'm really just learning how to balance the frequencies and use reverb/delay/etc properly, so there's heaps I am yet to understand. I've been given some great advice recently and am just now trying to implement it into future tracks. Thanks for the feedback! Just listened to your track. Very unique blend of sounds - like Robert Rich or Steve Roach mixed with Trent Reznor!! It's beautifully balanced and the percussion is suitably driving for the tribal aspect of the piece. I can definitely say I like it, but there's not a jot of advice I could give in return because you're way ahead of me with the track production!

I'm pretty sure 7-MeO-BaNaNa-Dine is still legal. Personally, I wouldn't touch it though. My mate smoked one cone of that shit and thought he was a banana for like three days.

Thanks, guys! Here's one more (my favourite one) and then I'm having a break from music playing around with -ing, because I can feel my cycle of creativity going to seed. I've been messing around with trackers for years, but I tend to go through cycles like 3 months on, 9 months off. Before this burst of creativity I didn't touch my software for about a year and half... Anyway, here: http://soundcloud.com/tepalom/revival

I love tracks like this where there's nothing jarring or harsh, but the beat drives it along and keeps me focused on it. Nice. I think I'll check you out on Soundcloud...

Yeah I agree, planthelper - cutting can be tempting but I've found it to be counter productive at times. And yeah, what Fluss said: see if you can gently scrape it off.

Really nice message, and welcome back! I've been a lurker on these forums for a few years and have only recently decided to make an effort to be a more active member who contributes something to an excellent community from which I've learned a lot. I like the way the appreciation of plants and nature either creates or attracts people with a spirit of generosity. Growing plants and cacti has shown me that nature is really generous. Cacti can multiply so easily, and sometimes growing a single plant can reward you with tonnes of seeds or useful material. Just think of how many poppy seeds are contained in a single pod, or how growing vegetables is fun and you basically end up with more than you could ever use yourself - so why not give it away?

Oct 14th works for me. And thanks Sharxx for the answer about bringing stuff. I was going to put a message in the seed exchange area, but It'd be easier for to just bring stuff than try to figure out how to post chunky, spiky logs of cacti goodness all over the place. Just good confirm it's common practice. Guess I'm a bit paranoid, what with Channel 7 and their hidden cameras out to save Australia from the most dangerous group (gang?) of people: plant lovers.

I had to look up the meaning of 'mercurial', but that's a great adjective to describe such an experience. Hell can indeed be other people (sharemates, especially). It's tough to be the one who takes responsibility for the maintenance of shared accommodation, and it's a pity that a lot of people who live in that transient world don't carry their weight because.... well, I guess it's an unfortunate facet of human nature that often people won't do tedious but necessary tasks if they believe someone else will. Go for it - get your own place/space!

Hey, I have to move again in the coming months (life of a renter, eh) and it seems that I won't be able to bring a lot of stuff with me, which makes me sad. But if I can give away some cacti to people and it makes them happy, then I may be less sad. Or possibly it won't make any difference. Who knows? The point is, would it be (in)appropriate to bring some cactus cuttings and/or rooted cacti to a gathering? I'm really dazed and confused about what we can and can't and shouldn't do or have these days, and I definitely don't want to somehow get myself or anyone into trouble. I have some t.pachanoi, t.peruvianus, and t.WTF is it? to share around to people who can give them a better home.

Shit, I had completely forgotten about this. Nightmare. Once they move in they are very difficult to get rid of. A few years back when I had a nice d.metel growing, I would gently rub the underside of the leaves to mash the mites and my fingers would come away stained reddish. Rubbing the leaves would also release this distinct peanut-like odour. It's all coming back to me now... During one season which was particularly bad (back when it was still hot and very dry in Melbourne summer), if I didn't rub the leaves regularly and neglected the plants, a fine cobweb material would end up covering the plant. Spider mites and fungus gnats - two things that made my plant-life very frustrating

Cool. I've still got your song going around in my head. That may not sound impressive considering that I only listened to it some ten minutes ago, but taking into account my 90 second memory, it's a good sign!!

^good advice. A good submersion soaking can do wonders. It's tough trying to establish caapi and other tropicals in such foreign climates. I had a beautiful plant (purchased from the SAB store) which I made every effort to protect. Every winter it would drop its leaves and then in spring come back with a vengeance, but on the third winter it dropped its leaves and never grew them back. I've actually left it there in its big pot in the hope that it'll make a miraculous recovery, but the last leaf I saw on it was two years ago! I think it's expired. Oh, to have an ambience controlled walk-in greenhouse.... one day...one day...

Beautiful simplicity. Vocals and acoustic guitar will never get old.

Datura metel v fastuosa is one of the most beautiful plants/blooms I've ever grown. They are simply captivating to look at; deep purple stem, huge buds, and spectacular flowers with a unique scent. I've never seen a more hypnotic plant. You can just sit and stare at it, as it has such a presence. The nighttime scent of these are incredibly evocative - it's alluring, and bypasses all of the conscious mind's processes to hit some fundamental centre in the brain which, in an instant, takes one on a journey back to the ancient roots of humanity. As per its use in traditional Chinese medicine (I believe), smoking a little bit of the dried flower can really help stimulate respiratory function. Particularly for people with asthma or other respiratory conditions, for a good couple of days after a little puff, one can notice improved respiration. Perhaps ironically, given its reputation, small amounts can also be very grounding. Of course it's worth noting that any ingestion of datura can carry substantial risks, which are well documented. A quick net search about this will reveal some hair-raising stories. As with everything in the world of psychoactive substances, knowledge and respect is key. I should see if I still have some photos of some blooms from years back...

Anyone else like Ceephax?

^yes, i agree, Bread Filter. And that was a good post, Hoptis. It is not wise to assume that one is immune to the law of 'example making'. The odds may not be bad, but it is never risk-free.

Excellent! I particularly like the second one. I still listen to the MegaMan 2 soundtrack from the NES. That 8-bit sound is so distinctive and charming and I can understand why people make chip tunes in this day and age of advanced technology. What's especially cool about your tracks is the fact you made them back in 1992 - well before it was retro-cool! Post more if you got 'em!

^Yeah.. What was the message again? Was it "take them before entering the festival"?

Amazing post, Pat Uri. Thanks for that ... (ummmmmmmmmmm I tried to find a normal smiley face to put at the end of my message but saw all this weird crazy stuff. I wanted the smiley to show I meant what I was saying and was NOT being sarcastic, but this long bracketed explanation will have to suffice)

Do people really call it that? I've read of DMT apparently being called 'the business man's trip' decades ago, but I haven't met too many people who consider it such a breezy experience that they think of it as something to kill a bit of time with. Sometimes I think the media just gets fixated on certain terms and drags them out every few years even if nobody else uses them. Did anyone read the article a few weeks/months back about MDPV showing up and wreaking havoc in South Australia? In that one MDPV was called 'scat cat'. Never heard that term before or since that article. Hopefully I never will again. I'd like to take this chance to introduce a new term, which the media may use in its next article on dangerous substances: Business cat's phat scat. It'll be the substance that causes vulnerable young Aussies to wander out into traffic and fall down while believing they are cats who can fly - during their lunch breaks.