Thanks for this post Sawdust, you are a great chemist, and a great person.

It's not exactly a healthy coping mechanism, but my brain just suppresses most of the risks associated with clandestine chemistry. And I'm of the sheepish belief I'm doing the right thing - I'm just making and tasting psychoactives to explore the interaction of a beautiful structure with my mind, I don't share and I certainly do not sell and will never ever. If I'd be aware of how much this hobby could truly destroy my life... I'd probably not be here and I wouldn't be in the lab. Let's just hope that things stay civil.

I'm always here to listen to rants in DMs, or if someone just needs to talk.

Dito. Feel free to reach out yourself (or anyone else)

How many ponies do you have to squeeze until you get a liter of xylene?

Depends - saponyfied ones give better yields

Supply chain: german fertilizer producers cut production due to high gas prices.
Greenhouse growers (veggies and kitchen-weeds) the same: high fertilizer and heating costs.
Aluminum- and even egg-producers the same...

edit: sunflower- and rapeseed oil, flour, noodles and many canned goods sold out ...

Will leave a msg, if we need candy bombers (pony-powered please!) again.

Remember when oil had negative value during quarantine? Remember how most of the world stopped driving and oil companies lost billions in a day? Well, this is how you cover those losses. Double the price of gasoline and petroleum products for a period of time (not too long or larger economic systems corporations depend on will be irreparably affected) and you'll make your money back, even though nothing has changed about the supply/production chain.

Supply chain hasn't really been affected in the US, and prices of finished petroleum have been artificially inflated. The price of crude oil is less than it was in 2008, during the last global recession, so it isn't a scarcity problem which causes the rise in price. Especially considering our considerable reserves which would take years to be affected.

Russia is one major supplier of the world's oil, but remember that the US has its own reserves, pipelines and imports which are independent of Russia, so saying war or sanctions on Russia is a facile argument. This being said, that narrative can be pushed so that there's an excuse.

We are just witnessing how cartels affects markets. Nothing new here.

P. S. The though of a pony-based chemistry instead of petroleum-based chemistry sounds like a good direction to go. How many ponies do you have to squeeze until you get a liter of xylene? Probably some cost-savings to be had. Plus, everyone gets a pony! Well...at least until your pony becomes a cheap source of raw hydrocarbons.

Quote from: Sawdust and Honey on February 03, 2022, 01:09:19 PM

Wonder what the cutting agent was.

My first thought was fentanyl , not far off.

"But that hypothesis is now giving way to the view that the tainted cocaine was cut with a poorly manufactured opioid."

Code: [Select]

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/at-least-23-dead-after-ingesting-tainted-cocaine-in-argentina-1.4793717

Never understood using an opiate as a cutting agent for cocaine.  At least use another stimulant or inert mannitol, inositol, etc.

...stupid corrupt governments...

bitchute.com/video/LkFt3sMXRe7f/
this filthy old guy states, he f***ed all of them (although i'm german it's really not my kind of porn...)

This paper (never thought to use sci-hub on non-chemistry things )
sci-hub.wf/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.05.049
(beeing 8 years old!) describes the worldwide problem!

( problem in one picture
mdpi.com/energies/energies-06-05940/article_deploy/html/images/energies-06-05940-g007.png)
So just extrapolate the graphs and take a look to know where we are.
Not only as germans, russians, chinese or `muricans (sry if i forgot someone), but as whole humanity! atm.

Regarding this, I wonder, why the price of crude-oil stayed more or less STABLE the last decade(s).

And, as having fun with conspiracy theories but not taking them really serious, CO2-global warming is not the problem, covid is not the problem: the problem is: we're running out of the "cheap slaves" in the form of energy / oil!
And with this the possibility to feed and warm the whole world-population!
Rise in prices for petrol or food are negligible, because it will be not an issue of (just printed) money in (the near?) future.
I try to live (exploited and mostly missused word!) sustainable, but even with a 1000m^2 garden it's impossible!
Even, if I could grow all the food i need in this space, i need wood for heating and cooking. Although i tried to calculate that, i failedto get any numbers.
But, lets (unrealisticly!) assume i need 10 times this space for growing food and heating material, it's obvious that it (space/land) will not be enough for the whole humanity. 

Inspired from the "dude", i thought about basic chemicals from nature/non petrochemical sources:

think about, how many precious resign from natural sources you would have to pyrolize to get a liter of cheapest toluene or styrene, how many willows you have to skin and extract for a kilo of salicylic acid, how many almonds for a l of benzaldehyde, how many kilos of ephedra you have to extract for an ammount, which is worth a HI/RP or so... don't forget the wood-chopping, because you'll have no heating mantle or bunsen-burner!

Petrochem is such a great present from nature or god or whomever...

not want to bee doomsdayish (just scientifically realistic!), but enjoy every mg of petrol-based life as long as you could!
Buy a dodge ram, just for the sound ... and get a garden!

ps

beautiful movies regarding this topic

there will be blood
black gold
(little time-gap in between)...
soylent green