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Cension
Student



Registered: 01/25/10
Posts: 84
Last seen: 14 years, 26 days
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Things you had to learn the hard way
#12521804 - 05/07/10 11:38 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Shroomery is a pretty well-rounded place for mushroom growing information, but sometimes in all the haste and excitement new cultivators experience, critical information can wind up being overseen or slip through the cracks entirely.
This thread is for experienced cultivators, or at least those with a few grows under their belts, to chime in on the things that, despite all the research they may have done before they started, set them back in some way, shape or form.
These could be little, mundane things like:
If you don't dry you hands completely after washing, you will have a hell of a time putting on surgical gloves
-or-
Plastic mason jar lids shrink in the PC, so if you put your plastic grain jar lids on tightly before you sterilize, they will be impossible to open when you go to spawn
-or-
If you don't cap your alcohol lamp tightly, the alcohol inside will evaporate within a couple of days and you will have to refill it each time you need to sterilize an instrument.
Anyone have any others??
inb4 invert agar
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Breakfast Crew
Cheerios



Registered: 01/20/09
Posts: 1,985
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Cension]
#12521820 - 05/07/10 11:42 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Duck tape is NOT the solution for everything.
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lozerfreek
Stranger



Registered: 04/27/09
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Breakfast Crew]
#12521887 - 05/07/10 12:00 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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don't talk about fight club
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Nyawinge



Registered: 03/17/10
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Breakfast Crew]
#12521893 - 05/07/10 12:01 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Plan on starting your sterilization process a full 24 hours before you inoculate- my first attempt got stymied because I rushed into it and didn't let the jars cool enough
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teknix
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Registered: 09/16/08
Posts: 11,953
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Cension]
#12521911 - 05/07/10 12:05 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Agar agar builds up a lot of positive pressure in your jars, dont over fill it!
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Bom_Tombadil
ShRoOm GrOwEr & EaTeR

Registered: 05/12/09
Posts: 206
Last seen: 9 years, 5 months
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: teknix]
#12521950 - 05/07/10 12:15 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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remember to put a hole for air exchange in your rtv jar lids so you will not create a vacuum that suck out all of your spore solution into your LC jar
-------------------- "There is only one Lord of the Ring, only one who can bend it to his will. And he does not share power."
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dyskon
Bottom Dweller

Registered: 04/26/10
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Cension]
#12521962 - 05/07/10 12:19 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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DO NOT. I repeat DO NOT light a lighter inside your (sealed) still air box after you just sprayed it down with 91% alcohol.
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bigcrackrock
Stranger


Registered: 02/26/10
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Nyawinge]
#12521970 - 05/07/10 12:20 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Using grains on anything bigger than a quart jar is risky business and not worth it.
Fruiting cakes made from pop corn. You can actually get a decent amount off of em but you usually rip off a couple kernels every time you pick one leaving the cakes badly bruised.
Not having the fan on high enough when oven drying. It burnt a lot of my caps in half but they still did the trick.
Putting off starting your grow because you don't have some kind of filter for your jars. As long as you have a sterile stash spot you shouldn't have a problem with just leaving your lids loose.
Using h2o2/h2o for misting.
I thought using coir as a casing layer was the reason I was getting overlay. Now I'm not sure because I have a cake that has a bunch of stalled white pins. If I pick em is there a chance new pins will come in healthy and not covered in mycelium? I've seen absolutely no growth in about 3-4 days from that cake.
I'm sure there's more. I tend to fuck up everything I do.
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teknix
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π°π‘ πΌπ⨻


Registered: 09/16/08
Posts: 11,953
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Cension]
#12521973 - 05/07/10 12:21 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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The cake is a lie . . .
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13shrooms
Lightning Shaman



Registered: 01/01/09
Posts: 26,719
Loc: IN ETHERS TORSION FIELD
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Bom_Tombadil]
#12521978 - 05/07/10 12:22 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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let iso alcohol completely dry after you wipe your work area down b4 spore printing or it turns your caps into mush and spores wont drop from a mushy cap.
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Breakfast Crew
Cheerios



Registered: 01/20/09
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: bigcrackrock]
#12521988 - 05/07/10 12:24 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Don't believe everything you read.
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13shrooms
Lightning Shaman



Registered: 01/01/09
Posts: 26,719
Loc: IN ETHERS TORSION FIELD
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Breakfast Crew]
#12521994 - 05/07/10 12:26 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Breakfast Crew said: Don't believe everything you read.
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A M U
Click here ^ for the AMU forum
VVV AMUs Free Active/Edible/Exotic Spore Print or Syringe or Edible Culture Trade Thread VVV
"Man is the sex organ of the machine world" ~ Marshall McLuhan
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Cension
Student



Registered: 01/25/10
Posts: 84
Last seen: 14 years, 26 days
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Nyawinge]
#12522028 - 05/07/10 12:34 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Nyawinge said: Plan on starting your sterilization process a full 24 hours before you inoculate- my first attempt got stymied because I rushed into it and didn't let the jars cool enough
Yep, patience is the virtue.
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Fungal growth
Lootinint



Registered: 03/21/10
Posts: 3,641
Loc: under a rock in your yard
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Cension]
#12522267 - 05/07/10 01:26 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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growing bulk opens you up to far more contamination risk than noccing up 12 pf jars for you and your friends. hypothetically speaking.
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geohoe
Mad Scientist

Registered: 01/26/10
Posts: 68
Loc: Outer Space
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: dyskon]
#12522424 - 05/07/10 01:52 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Bic lighters and alcohol lamps take too long to heat the needle and are for chumps. Find a small butane torch for kitchen use (creme brule kits @ Bed, Bath, & Beyond)
Quote:
dyskon said: DO NOT. I repeat DO NOT light a lighter inside your (sealed) still air box after you just sprayed it down with 91% alcohol.
Two things can happen. One is that there is so much alcohol in the GB that is displaces O2 and your lighter won't light. The other is you loose your hair and eyebrows in a fireball.
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Shea25
Just some guy



Registered: 01/27/09
Posts: 7,772
Loc: Westcoast Canada
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: geohoe]
#12522452 - 05/07/10 01:58 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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A lighter is fine i find it only takes a few seconds for it to get red hot. Have never had a problem using them .
Also its always best to do your flame sterilization outside the glovebox always
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dyskon
Bottom Dweller


Registered: 04/26/10
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: geohoe]
#12522471 - 05/07/10 02:01 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Well it wasn't completely sealed. I should have put closed. The 1.5inch pvc vent on the side was open and some of it went out through there. The plexy top did come up and the heat/flame kind of went out the sides of it and it fell back down. I *almost* lost my eyebrows but just singed my shirt
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Dr.scifi
Stranger


Registered: 03/09/10
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Last seen: 10 years, 6 months
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Fungal growth]
#12522475 - 05/07/10 02:02 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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1.The first time you do something follow the directions exactly you can change it the second time. That may sound redundant but if I could only get my wife to do that i would be the happiest man ever.
2.Don't wipe your needle down with alcohol after flame sterilizing to cool it faster this is unnecessary and not sterile. If you are going to be weighting weeks what is a few seconds.
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afrosheen
9Lives the cat



Registered: 03/06/10
Posts: 1,878
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Dr.scifi]
#12522719 - 05/07/10 02:51 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Don't cheap out and substitute isopropyl alcohol for denatured alcohol. Denatured (90%) alcohol does the same job, but doubles as a fuel for your homemade alcohol lamp. Isopropyl will cause sooty needles; denatured will not.
Invest in a decent tube of silicon sealant. The kind with the pointy applicator tip is probably best for most jobs. Larger openings will cause you trouble with precision when applying it.
Don't bother with damprid or other desiccants. Get a food dehydrator. Fast, efficient, and you can do alot at once.
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colemantallent
Back after ten years!



Registered: 01/01/10
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Cension]
#12522737 - 05/07/10 02:56 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Do not open your contaminated jars inside your house. You may never see good contamination rates again.
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Shea25
Just some guy



Registered: 01/27/09
Posts: 7,772
Loc: Westcoast Canada
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: colemantallent]
#12522749 - 05/07/10 02:58 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Always label misting water bottle in big clear writing
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Boozie
I like beer.



Registered: 02/18/10
Posts: 1,227
Loc: :βoβ
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Shea25]
#12522770 - 05/07/10 03:02 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Shea25 said: Always label misting water bottle in big clear writing 

Guilty as charged.
-------------------- "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
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fungus_tao
Hah Zah!



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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: dyskon]
#12522777 - 05/07/10 03:03 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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I have made 90% of the mistakes listed above.
Quote:
dyskon said: DO NOT. I repeat DO NOT light a lighter inside your (sealed) still air box after you just sprayed it down with 91% alcohol.
That actually made me laugh pretty hard.
-------------------- Follow the light
The Light is your guide.
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Giggle_Grower
A lil less noob each day



Registered: 04/07/10
Posts: 1,598
Loc: Shroomery
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: fungus_tao]
#12522781 - 05/07/10 03:04 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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u cant grow from a bag off the street without agar.
-------------------- I'm always interested in trades.
The Awesome Purple Mystics
Noobs! The best tool here is up top to the right. Don't forget about it. Just type your question in!
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CrayolaHalls



Registered: 03/23/10
Posts: 217
Loc: The Lot
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Bom_Tombadil]
#12523296 - 05/07/10 05:06 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Bom_Tombadil said: remember to put a hole for air exchange in your rtv jar lids so you will not create a vacuum that suck out all of your spore solution into your LC jar
LOL I learned the hard way on this too. shhhlllurp!
--------------------

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geohoe
Mad Scientist

Registered: 01/26/10
Posts: 68
Loc: Outer Space
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Shea25]
#12523345 - 05/07/10 05:16 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Some bathroom/kitchen silicone won't survive the PC. Buck up and buy the heat resistant RTV.
SiTR and demerera don't seem to carmelize in the PC. You can pop it in with your grains and run it for 2 hours if you want.
Honey LC sucks. LME or SiTR/demerera are far superior.
Keep a few jars for blanks. Leave some uninoculated, and inject some with sterile DI H2O. This can help pinpoint contam problems. (Actually I should have known this from the start given my background in analytical testing...)
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ambargh



Registered: 08/15/09
Posts: 3,433
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: CrayolaHalls]
#12523357 - 05/07/10 05:18 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Do NOT pick up a homeless hitchhiker and put him to work fanning your mushrooms, cutting your straw, and cleaning your jars. Because they smell really bad and are really hard to get rid of.
-------------------- "The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.." - Douglas Adams
ambargh's easy agar
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Cension
Student



Registered: 01/25/10
Posts: 84
Last seen: 14 years, 26 days
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Cension]
#12551967 - 05/12/10 09:23 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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A couple more came to mind recently:
When inoculating and sterilizing your needle with a flame, be sure that the alcohol you just sprayed on the syringe, your gloves and your arms has completely dried before you touch the needle to the flame. 
Also, you really should follow the weekly and monthly cleaning directions for your humidifiers or they will not last very long.
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fastfred
Old Hand



Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 6,899
Loc: Dark side of the moon
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: Cension]
#12552362 - 05/12/10 10:29 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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-Learn proper sterile technique and don't fuck with stupid tyvek/silicone/ports/micropore/electrical tape on your lids.
-Soak longer (48 hrs) and in the fridge for higher moisture content and better quality.
-WBS sucks, rye works great.
-100% verm casing layer works best.
-1/2 pint to pint jars for smaller PF style grows
-No larger than quart jars for bulk
-Bags suck ass and are very prone to failure
-PDA and LME are BY FAR the best media for agar and LCs (PDA is a lot easier to work with)
-Flame between EVERY inoculation (per jar at least)
-Don't post in the pub or OTD, it just gets you bad ratings
-Don't use an underlayer for bulk
-Don't tape your holes
-Don't flip your lids upside down
-Always do a control jar or two (uninoocluated)
-Don't fuck with your jars, leave one out to look at/play with
-Don't over-fan
-Don't tell anyone about your grows or where the stuff came from
-Fan drying is by far the best way to dry
-Put anything (LCs) in the fridge as soon as they reach proper growth
-Get a proper bunsen burner and propane tank to power it
-Don't waste time/money on a laminar flow hood
-Build a non-laminar flow hood as soon as you can
-Keep supplies handy... hand sanitizer/lysol/IPA/EtOH/bleach/gloves/etc.
-A week in the lab saves you an hour in the library (or researching on the shroomery)
-Get a handful of dental picks/tweezers/scalpels/etc. for agar work
-cynmar.com has dirt cheap lab supplies
-A verm layer is worthless and just wastes space and materials
-30 min for 1/2 pints and 1 hour for quarts of grain is plenty
That's all I can come up with at the moment. I'm sure the thread will fill with other hard earned tips.
-FF
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Giggle_Grower
A lil less noob each day



Registered: 04/07/10
Posts: 1,598
Loc: Shroomery
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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: fastfred]
#12552391 - 05/12/10 10:35 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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i dis agree about the verm barrier being useless. im also unsure why you say a laminar flowhood is a waste of time and money. and is over fanning really possible? just what im wondering
-------------------- I'm always interested in trades.
The Awesome Purple Mystics
Noobs! The best tool here is up top to the right. Don't forget about it. Just type your question in!
RR is my favorite source of knowledge. Check out his videos!
If I forgot to leave you a rating, please remind me.
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Mikey09
Strangest



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Re: Things you had to learn the hard way [Re: fastfred]
#12552402 - 05/12/10 10:37 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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If you try to cool syringes, with hot sterile water in them, in the freezer.. Dont forget about them
-------------------- "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."
"LSD, It melts in your mind, not your hand."
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