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i think you can look through an album here:

http://s979.photobucket.com/albums/ae279/alt0182/lolie%20gaggin/

(let me know if it works)

I thought the HI strain might just have very soft white stems, but now I'm wondering if this is some sort of mold or contaminate eating away at the stems.  If some of the better versed could take a look at the pic it will be much appreciated:

http://s979.photobucket.com/albums/ae279/alt0182/lolie%20gaggin/?action=view&current=Photo_030710_002.jpg

Of the ones you see here, the tops never fully developed, just drooped over.  They also did not drop spores, though the veil had broken.

Is this a common factor of the strain?  Any insights will be appreciated.

[PS] much better pic here:  http://s979.photobucket.com/albums/ae279/alt0182/lolie%20gaggin/?action=view&current=DSC02160.jpg

You didn't waste $100.  It would have cost WAY more to take classes to learn how to do this stuff.  You invested $100 in your education, and that will pay off later.

(I sound like my grandpa)

I've seen where some will stack cakes in a round pyramid 4 or 5 cakes high (to save room in a round FC).  Lots of fruits (from the pics), but not sure how the cakes interact with each other.  Have also seen two or three cakes stacked directly on top of each other like a tower.  The idea being that growth would come from the sides of the cakes and they would hold moisture better. 

In either instance I'm not sure if the cakes willingly come apart for dunking between flushes.

I think there is some video at mushbox.com - let us know what you come up with.

nice yield! 

if they were dried cubes, i would think there was no active fungi.  ps is water soluble, so the steeping would essentially leave water and ps (he filtered out the powder right? - if not, that might be the problem...).  not too familiar with just how the body absorbs through the EYE - there are much easier ways to ingest right?  i'll let others test that out. 

["BOOM" tough actin' Tenactin! - too funny]

not to buck the trend, but my goal was to use what i had around the house.  i set my FC on a folded electric blanket (heating pad will work too - but mine times-out).  used the FC tote for an incubator and it worked well.

i already had a hydrometer and thermometer for the FC, so dropped those in as well to monitor and control climate.  later i put plates under my jars, so the heat would not transfer so fast/hot from the bottom of the tote to the jars.

the answers above are from those far better schooled than i, but i try to keep all my hobbies on the cheap so that's what i ended up with.

might try sporeworks.com

if they are really bad, and you're concerned about it, new lids are CHEAP - like a dollar or two for a box of 12. 

I found a very helpful tool at Lowe's or Home Depot.  It's made by "General" and is a 3-in-one marking tool.  One of the tips is a hardened steel awl.  It allows you to make small, perfectly round holes in your lids with just a little pressure using your fingers.  Very smooth, easy to control.  Less damage to the lids, less rust.  I think the tool was about $6.

...that's messed up.

I had a batch of perlite get contaminated with trich.  It's near impossible to scrub or scrape it from the plastic surface once that happens. 

I suggest putting the perlite into flat-bottomed tupperware or other containers - then putting that directly on the bottom of your FC.  Directly on the bottom ensures water/vapor will be released as the heat transfers up through the container. 

If your perlite gets contaminated you can just toss the tupperware container (and perlite) and replace it instead of trying to rebuild your FC during the fruiting process. 

I know it's not standard practice, but but it helps to modularize the FC so cleaning it up is easier.  You can still put your cakes (on foil) on top of the perlite if you're short on space.  Just my 2 cents.

Flipped upside-down and tapped as suggested.  Looks like I'm getting a bit more colonization at the tops (bottoms) of the jars.  I'll give it another day or two.  Thanks for the suggestion!

Cold and dry...  I would suggest "borrowing" your FC and making it into a temporary incubator.  Put an electric blanket under it, and put in a bowl of wet perlite.  It's easy to keep the temp just below 80f, and RH at 40% or so.  EQ seems to like it warm, and the added RH will help to ensure the moisture in your jars is not evaporating into the air.

I would also suggest putting something between the floor of the incubator/tote and the bottom of the jars.  Heat can transfer quickly through solids, and your jars might get too warm to colonize.

I've read a couple different ways to re-sterilize syringes, most of the steps can be found here:

http://www.shroomtalk.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=35136

Other info I've read says to fill and empty the syringe with alcohol a couple times after the boiling water.  I'm guessing you'd have to re-flush with boiling water then to get the alcohol out. 

Let me know what works for you.  I have some empties I want to use again later.

They usually suggest using an "inoculation loop" with distilled water to gently "scrub" the spores from the print and pour the water with spores into something you can then fill the new syringe from.  (I agree FOIL is the best surface to print upon BTW)

I've found that you can take a plastic straw (like you drink from at Mcdonalds) and use a hole-punch to cut-away part of it near the tip.  That leaves you with a fairly soft "loop" at the end, so you can scrub off the spores without damaging them.  Single use of course, but heck, they are free at Micky-D's.

about $1 each here:

http://everythingmushrooms.com/shop/Culturing-Tools/

and no one to give you funny looks.

You can also sterilize and reuse syringes. 

try sporeworks.com - they will send you whatever you want - pretty cheap really.

thanks!  i'll occupy my time growing bean-sprouts - overnight results!

i have a 5-foot red-oak log with 100 shitake plugs in it.  3 to 6 months before i'll see anything.

i guess i better learn to wait!

i have a batch of jars inoculated on MLK Day, another inoculated right after the playoffs.  both colonized quickly, but have come to a halt for the last two weeks.  the bottoms of the jars are not colonized, and the mycelium is pulling away from the sides of the jars.

my incubator has been running about 80 degrees F, and 40% to 60% RH.  I thought the heat from the bottom of the incubator might be transferring into the bottom of the jars = too hot for the myc to spread down. 

over a week ago i put the jars up on plates to diffuse the heat transfer into the bottom of the jars, but they still have not finished colonizing.  i also birthed a couple cakes, and there is no contamination to be found.

Do I keep waiting to see IF the jars will colonize?  or am i better off birthing all the cakes, washing away the uncolonized substrate, and getting them into the FC?

any suggestions are appreciated!

iknow this is a late response - but in regards to the aluminum from the pan...

...if you read stamets Mycelium Running - you'll see that myc is one of the best FILTERS there is - including metals.

your grow might very well eat your pan - but the fungus itself will filter out the elements from the metal.