First Step In Making A Nomadic Fungus Cocktail

Going on the assumption that a key component to germinating healthy Nomadic Fungus spores is the incorporation of household waste products, the NFI Lab dispensed with sterilized beakers and replaced them with recycled peanut butter jars.

Into each jar a scale model automobile is placed and then filled with our specially prepared spore laden cocktail composed of a wide variety of household and industrial byproducts. (For public safety the exact ingredients and proportions of the spore cocktail are not being released at this time.) The lid is then screwed on tight.

The jars are placed on stainless steel oven racks we salvaged from a condemned barbecue restaurant. These racks are then placed inside the NFI incubator/toolshed. They will be monitored daily for the next four weeks.

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Out From The Shed Into The Lab

...If I every go looking for my hearts desire again, I shouldn't look any farther than my own backyard"  Dorothy, Wizard Of Oz

In June of 2014 NFI successfully sprouted Nomadic Fungus spores. Unfortunately this achievement was done under less than scientifically acceptable conditions... as in a bucket stored in the dilapidated toolshed behind the NFI offices.

So, this time around we are following the National Guidelines for Scientific Methodology which means we are recreating in a controlled laboratory setting our dilapidated toolshed, and then filling it with a hoarders bounty of rusty lawnmowers, paint cans, weed killers, sacks of fertilizer, plastic jugs of used motor oil, and of course several dented gasoline cans.

Somewhere in this mashup of decay, household chemicals and automotive refuse is the key to germinating and growing strong, healthy Nomadic Fungi. We succeeded once by mistake. Now, it is our task to discover the exact concoction for repeatable success.

We will be posting directly from the NFI lab so make sure you subscribe to the NFI blog so you don't miss any of the excitement.

www.WorldOfNomadicFungi.com

International Association of Consumer Based Technologies

In response to our inquirers, the International Association of Consumer Based Technologies (IACBT) has released the following statement.


In this world of rapid, unregulated advancements in the field of microbiological technology, driven by short sighted corporate profits and flamed by fickle consumer demands, it would seem inevitable that something as small as a fungus spore could eventually be manipulated, whether intentionally or unintentionally, into a rogue contagion with the ability to diversely impact the stability of humanity.


Although this statement is a far cry from publicly supporting the existence of Nomadic Fungi, NFI greatly appreciates that the IACBT has acknowledged the possibility that a phenomenon such as Nomadic Fungi could occur.

Testing With Mushrooms Vol. 3

Mushrooms are amazingly well designed to maximize the dispersal of spores. Like sand on the beach, each of the delicate gills are covered in spores waiting for that slight breeze to lift them off and into the wide open world...

...And the NFI newsletter will also be propagating like mushrooms just as soon as we get all these MailChimp boxes checked off correctly.

Continued Testing With Mushrooms

In the virtual world of checked or uncheck boxes it's a simple click that stops the wheels of progress and keeps the presses from rolling.

Our unpaid, volunteer, technical novices are working hard to get the NFI feed switched over to MailChimp as quickly and smoothly as possible. In the meantime please enjoy yet another slightly tweaked photo of a shiitake mushroom.

Technical Update For NFI Newsletter

Over this last month the NFI staff have been focused on bringing the NFI newsletter distribution platform up to the 21st century. This process began with the realization that our old subscription management program was not functioning on a professional, consistent nor reliable manner. The next step was realizing that none of us had a clue as to what to do about it. Thus a month of research and cursing ensued.

This posting of a slightly tweaked common commercial shiitake mushroom is a test to see if all that damnation has paid off.

Early Illustrations For The Wobblers Encyclopedia Of Parasitic Fungi

Published in 1956 at 6355 pages, the final edition of the Wobblers Encyclopedia of Parasitic Fungi is by far the most expansive treatise pertaining to all aspects of parasitic fungi. It is internationally recognized as the foremost resource for information pertaining to the world of parasitic fungi.

The author, Mr. Rotifer H. Wobbler began compiling information while still a youth at the Laramie Middle School. From those early days he envisioned an encyclopedia that would encompass all aspects of parasitic fungi. He spent the majority of his life obsessively researching, saving, organizing, editing, drafting, and revising his encyclopedia.

At one point the encyclopedia included a complete list of all known insect hosts of the fungus known as cordyceps. This list also included hundreds of illustrations. The publisher after calculating the staggering cost to print such a goliathan volume suggested that some editing was required, and that the list of insect hosts and associated illustrations should be the first things removed. Mr. Wobbler flatly refused which put the publishing of his encyclopedia on indefinite hold.

Months later while at a cocktail party the hostess asked Mr. Wobbler just how many kinds of bugs there are in the world? He boosted that there are roughly 3 million, but new research in the canopies of the tropical rain forests suggests that the number could climb as high as 30 million. Then with a faraway look on his face he said "Stupid, stupid, idiot!" He turned around and left the party. Misunderstanding his last utterance the hostess took great offense and never invited Mr. Wobbler to any future social gatherings.

Mr. Wobbler, upon reaching his home called his publisher and stated that a complete list of insect hosts was an impossibility and demanded that the list and associated illustrations be removed immediately. This first edit opened the doorway for additional revisions which twelve years later resulted in the publication we know today.

As for the illustrations, it was thought that they were all destroyed when Mr. Wobbler's home burned down shortly after his disappearance. But apparently Mr. Wobbler gave his Aunt Monkey several shoe boxes full of illustrations. Aunt Monkey was not known to be fond of entomology, nor a collector of art, but she was obviously fond of Mr. Wobbler and keep the shoe boxes in a trunk where they were recently found by her granddaughter.

For more information on the Mr. Wobbler and the Wobblers Encyclopedia Of Parasitic Fungi please follow this LINK.