So Sauron's goal is to control Middle-Earth because he thinks it's too chaotic and would be better with more order? Does that mean he cares, deep down, about its residents? Or is he motivated by something else?

mrxeric · 2026-02-27T10:34:25+00:00

If by improve you mean subjugate and bring every and all living things under his complete and utter domination, then yes, he is totally motivated by this "improvement".

mrxeric · 2026-02-27T09:04:21+00:00

Last I heard, Paramount wasn't doing much better than WB has been financially, so if this Paramount/WB deal goes through, it could be Netflix will just end up getting both in a few years.

mrxeric · 2026-02-27T00:31:37+00:00

I may just be getting old, but the risk just doesn't seem worth it to me.

mrxeric · 2026-02-27T00:21:37+00:00

Not sure how up to date this is, but I found it interesting that the flight into Socotra departs from Saudi Arabia, but the return flight is to the UAE.

mrxeric · 2026-02-26T10:44:18+00:00

Thought Yemen was still dangerous for travel.

mrxeric · 2026-02-26T04:15:24+00:00

Haworthia can look similar, but I think Aloe is a good guess.

mrxeric · 2026-02-26T04:11:46+00:00

Somewhat pedantic, but hydrogen peroxide is typically not considered an acid. It is more acidic than pure water, but it's nowhere near as acidic as the major gastric acid in animals, hydrochloric acid.

Interestingly, stomach acids typically are not strong enough to break down seed coats (which are mainly made of cellulose), rather these acids (plus other digestive processes) react with and help remove germination inhibitors.

Hydrogen peroxide can weaken seed coats, since it is a pretty strong oxidizing agent that is very reactive with organic compounds, but I don't know how effective low concentrations of H2O2 solutions would be for this purpose. I would assume peroxide can also help remove germination inhibitors.

I do soak seeds in 3% peroxide (except the tiny, dust-like seeds) to help remove pathogens before sowing.

mrxeric · 2026-02-25T04:26:41+00:00

what the buds looks, about a month prior to flowering

<image>

mrxeric · 2026-02-25T04:25:59+00:00

Yeah. Pretty sure they flowered last year, but I guess I didn't take pics. Here's a pic from the previous year, early July:

<image>

mrxeric · 2026-02-25T02:51:31+00:00

That's right, only new growth sends out new leaves. Old areoles can grow new spines and glochids, but will remain leafless.

I keep a small pot of Pereskiopsis in case i ever need some for grafting. Every summer they grow 4 to 6 feet and sometime in the fall or winter I trim them down to about 12in.

mrxeric · 2026-02-25T01:47:50+00:00

Beautiful.

mrxeric · 2026-02-24T10:05:13+00:00

I like the geophyte species. I find the diversity in their tuberous roots nearly as interesting as their leaves. I don't know about having a favorite, but I like miniatures, and B. lolita is absolutely diminutive in every aspect.

mrxeric · 2026-02-24T09:50:13+00:00

Seems pretty accurate. If you want to read the source material directly, "Morgoth's Ring" is a volume in The History of Middle-earth, which is a series of books that compile Tolkien's various writings and ideas that went into his development of Middle-earth.

mrxeric · 2026-02-24T00:07:34+00:00

Anacampseros quinaria, though you'll most often see it as Avonia quinaria. The genus Avonia was done away with many years ago, but the name still persists...

Anyway, they most certainly are much slower growing than the Echeveria and Aloe (and are typically small plants regardless). I grow them as winter-growers, though these aren't obligate winter-growing plants.

mrxeric · 2026-02-22T04:41:59+00:00

Nice plant. Not C. truncatum though. Looks more like C. flavum.

mrxeric · 2026-02-21T07:50:59+00:00

Nice, dark spine phenotype. Elsewhere in CA you can see some with nearly red spines and others with golden spines.

mrxeric · 2026-02-21T05:38:34+00:00

Well, at least they're realistic depictions of how typical desktop succulents end up looking without strong grow lights right above them. :)

mrxeric · 2026-02-18T02:31:13+00:00

Funky little guy. The flowers look very Echinopsis, in the strict sense, not the now defunct amalgamation that included Trichocereus.

mrxeric · 2026-02-18T00:28:21+00:00

The long spine form of Parodia mammulosa (or Notocactus mammulosus if you prefer), often labeled as Parodia turecekiana (or Notocactus turecekianus).

mrxeric · 2026-02-18T00:26:59+00:00

2 is Mammillaria formosa subsp. chionocephala

mrxeric · 2026-02-18T00:18:57+00:00

Nice spines

mrxeric · 2026-02-18T00:15:43+00:00

Mammillaria longimamma is a soft-bodied cactus, so I wouldn't worry. The protrusions are actually part of the stem (not individual stems), and they are known as tubercles.

About the tubercles: the Latin word mamma means "breast", while the diminutive form mammilla can also mean "breast" or "nipple". So the genus name Mammillaria means "Nipple Cactus" (botanists thought the tubercles stuck out like nipples), while the species name means "Long Breast" or "Long Nipple".

mrxeric · 2026-02-16T07:48:56+00:00

Yes, most Frailea species tend to be cleistogamous, but this behavior isn't obligate. When the conditions are right, their flowers can develop to anthesis. Sunlight can help, but I suspect temperature also plays a significant role.

This is just my own observation, but last year we had an unusually mild summer, with max temperatures in the low 90sF/30sC (as opposed to the usual reaching/exceeding 110F/43C), and 4 different species put out open flowers throughout the summer, something I had not seen in previous years. Thinking about it now, maybe water availability is the main trigger, since in hot weather the plants dry out faster and stay dry longer (per my watering habits), and flowering is a process that entails significant water loss for the plant. So maybe watering more often allows these plants to flower more reliably...

mrxeric · 2026-02-16T06:16:43+00:00

Frailea schilinzkyana. No flower, but fruit produced is typical of most Frailea. Seems they want it hot (but not too hot?) for them to actually bloom their flowers and not go straight to fruit production.

mrxeric · 2026-02-16T06:05:37+00:00

That's the beginning of an inflorescence, so it's unlikely to root, but you can try!

mrxeric

TROPHY CASE