Andrea,
I'm sorry. I wasn't implying that you said eating meat was wrong. I was just stating my distaste for a particular subgroup of vegetarians. I meant no direct offense or attack on you.
However, I still disagree regarding the "All or Nothing" attitude. My reasoning even applies to vegetables. Do I want Iceberg Lettuce, Romaine or Spinach? I may prefer one or the other which will take precedence over the price assuming the price isn't too extreme.
Another example: I like hot dogs, but you can't substitute hot dogs for steak. They aren't in the same category of meat. Sure, hot dogs are much less expensive, but the quality of meat is apples and oranges. Same applies to different types of meat. Do cow balls taste as good as a decent steak? Maybe (honestly, I haven't tried). Personally, I don't think liver tastes as good as Top Sirloin.
Heck, if price was the only factor in purchasing food, I'd live on Top Ramen. I would probably die of malnutrition after a few months but hey, I'd save TONS of money.
Another example: I like fruit, but I'm not going to eat an orange peel or a watermelon peel just because I shouldn't let anything go to waste. I'm not going to eat the greens on the top of a carrot.
It's not that I disagree with a vegetarian lifestyle. Meat definitely isn't for everyone, but I believe this type of logic is flawed. You can't just apply it to people who eat meat and not to everyone else.
No mater where you live (as long as its not tundra or bare desert) there's something that'll grow easily and produce huge amounts of food for little effort.
One of the things that VISFI is emphasizing is permanent crops, such as fruit trees, that produce food even in years when you're too busy to tend them or too poor to buy fertilizer. Another thing that they're working on is planting multiple crops in the same space--crops that, because of their differing sizes and differing needs for sun and nutrients, can grow in a shared space and provide almost as much yield as they would have if they'd been given their own space.
But you're right--the first thing a gardener needs to learn is what the easy-to-grown, high-yield foods are for their area. (It's also something a non-gardener should learn, because those tend to be the foods that your neighbors have more of than they can use, and are therefore pleased to share.)
...but GunBroker sells thousands of guns every day. They do have to be shipped to a licensed firearms dealer who does a background check on you. But saying that, guns are way easier to get in the country than they should be (speaking as a Brit who was shocked when he came to this country and saw shotguns in Wal-Mart!)
What a great idea! I think that that would make things a little fairer. The system isn't awful right now, but I do get outbid frequently, and I don't want to use snipes for everything.
BTW, when I started reading this, I was thinking that there was a 15-minute waiting period before you were allowed to buy a gun online. And that freaked me out a bit. Actually, the fact that you can buy a gun online freaks me out a bit.
In my experience, almost all items there sell based on the 'buy it now' option. However, a game auction system is used fairly differently from a site like ebay, both because people are not using real money (some take it just as seriously, some don't), and because it is the *only* way to exchange many goods. As such, it may have more in common with a commodities exchange than an auction house. A lot of people just want their stuff, and lots of it, and aren't interested in playing bidding games.
Who said it was wrong to eat animals? I just said I'd rather not. But if you're going to, I think you should go all the way. I understand preferring one cut over another, but if you're trying to save money, I'd recommend looking at less-preferred pieces.
I disagree with this idea on one main counter: preference.
I prefer certain cuts of steak over others because certain cuts taste better. Certain are more tender or have better flavor. I'm all for not letting things go to waste, but really, most things don't go to waste. If nothing else, lots of random parts get mashed up together to make sausage or hot dogs, and I love me a good hot dog.
As for the chest beating, I think that's just silly. I know of many vegetarians (my own sister included) who are so due to health reasons. That's fine. I even know some who are vegetarians because they don't really like the taste of meat or the thought of eating a dead animal grosses them out. That's fine too.
I do, however, disagree with the idea that it's "wrong" to eat animals. The reason I state that is purely because it's found all throughout nature. Just the fact that we have canine teeth shows that we should be able to eat meat. If we are wrong for eating a cow, than we should exterminate all lions from the world. If you don't think we should eliminate the lions from the world, then it's hypocrisy. Either eating another animal is fine or it's not. There's no middle ground of "well it's find for the coyote, but not for a human".
I tried cow tripe once and almost gagged. Pork tripe OTOH is more tender and actually quite tasty. Pork kidneys are really good too, but my wife won't let me eat them too often because they're high in cholesterol. I also had a snake gall bladder once. I draw the line at fish head soup.
Good point- I'll try any part of an animal once (I may not go back for seconds though!)
Coming from Ireland, black pudding, kidney, liver, tongue, pork cheek were all regular items on the menu and all tasty.
It gets sold cheaply and people buy it and eat it. It's not like I'm suggesting that these pieces are thrown out or anything. Mind you, some of them (especially brain and spinal columns) are supposed to be disposed of, but instead are used to make bone meal, which is fed back to the cows in a startling display of forced cannibalism.
Beat your chest all you want. I'll just sit here rolling my eyes at the overcompensating tactics. Real men eat balls!
Actually, I just kind of grossed MYSELF out saying that. But seriously - they're good.
Uh, mostly musculutarian here (although in the past I've eaten blood pudding, tongue, ox tail, kidney, and probably a few other things nobody told me about; and I still like liver and bone marrow).
I think Bizarre Foods is worth watching to see some of that in practice. I've eaten Menudo, and turtle flipper, beef knuckle, tongue, black pudding (which is mainly blood and fat) and I'm a big fan of kidney and liver. I come from a working class background, you eat the cheap cuts and offal because most people won't touch 'em.
I live in an area with tons of Latin American markets--LOVE IT, but we don't have many other ethnic markets. I found that World Market has a lot of pre-made sauces (think Ragu)--Masala, Korma, Jerk--from around the world. So if you are stuck in suburbia with no ethnic markets, check out World Market. ;)
Don't knock Costco. Although not good for food for a lot of single people, Costco, Sam's, and the others are good for toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, tooth brushes, bottled beverages (please recycle), and other products that don't go bad immediately; and buying them there saves you money.
Also, why is everyone so offended by the comment "white-ass"? My black-ass saw it as the author adding humor to her post. Andrea, I get it...
I made a simple human error on my 1040 when I did not check box 6a "Yourself" under exemptions when I should have in fact done that. I read too quickly and assumed if someone could claim me as a dependent, I should then check the box. Big mistake, as I am now out the $600 that is rightfully mine. The IRS has informed me they are making exceptions for senior citizens only!? If anyone is aware of how I can still obtain my $600 check in 2008, please let me know. Thank You!
I guess I fall into the "love" camp, but not because I'm obsessed with it or knowing what it can buy allows me to tolerate a job I can’t stand - but rather because it's a means to an end.
In order for my wife and I to meet our life goals and even fulfill some of the sense of purpose we have - having more money rather than less provides greater freedom, flexibility and "safety" to take some risks and to try things that we might not be able to afford if we didn't have enough money. To this end, it just doesn't feel practical to hate the means to an end...
I was surprised to find out how easy it is to grow squash. My dad likes to garden, and I remember him spending hours every day working the garden when I was a kid, so I assumed that gardening takes a long time. I guess for a large garden, it does.
However, this year my wife and I decided to plant some yellow crookneck squash. We only have about 5 plants, and every night for the past 3 weeks we have enough squash for dinner (family of 4). Lots of new blossoms still on the plants, too, so I guess they'll last for a couple more weeks at least. Since we're on a water meter, we planted them around the base of our cherry tree so they don't require too much extra watering.
Once a month we get a few DVDs at the library (each kid picks one, and we get one for after the kids are in bed) and I make homemade pizzas. It is a huge deal for the kids because I usually don't allow much tv in our house, and since the DVDs are free and the pizzas are super cheap (I use my breadmaker to make the crust, and then just add sauce and cheese) the whole night ends up being a lot of fun, but not that expensive.
We also like to go tent camping a lot, and once you spend the money on the initial equipment it is pretty cheap to go camping for the weekend.
Andrea,
I'm sorry. I wasn't implying that you said eating meat was wrong. I was just stating my distaste for a particular subgroup of vegetarians. I meant no direct offense or attack on you.
However, I still disagree regarding the "All or Nothing" attitude. My reasoning even applies to vegetables. Do I want Iceberg Lettuce, Romaine or Spinach? I may prefer one or the other which will take precedence over the price assuming the price isn't too extreme.
Another example: I like hot dogs, but you can't substitute hot dogs for steak. They aren't in the same category of meat. Sure, hot dogs are much less expensive, but the quality of meat is apples and oranges. Same applies to different types of meat. Do cow balls taste as good as a decent steak? Maybe (honestly, I haven't tried). Personally, I don't think liver tastes as good as Top Sirloin.
Heck, if price was the only factor in purchasing food, I'd live on Top Ramen. I would probably die of malnutrition after a few months but hey, I'd save TONS of money.
Another example: I like fruit, but I'm not going to eat an orange peel or a watermelon peel just because I shouldn't let anything go to waste. I'm not going to eat the greens on the top of a carrot.
It's not that I disagree with a vegetarian lifestyle. Meat definitely isn't for everyone, but I believe this type of logic is flawed. You can't just apply it to people who eat meat and not to everyone else.
No mater where you live (as long as its not tundra or bare desert) there's something that'll grow easily and produce huge amounts of food for little effort.
One of the things that VISFI is emphasizing is permanent crops, such as fruit trees, that produce food even in years when you're too busy to tend them or too poor to buy fertilizer. Another thing that they're working on is planting multiple crops in the same space--crops that, because of their differing sizes and differing needs for sun and nutrients, can grow in a shared space and provide almost as much yield as they would have if they'd been given their own space.
But you're right--the first thing a gardener needs to learn is what the easy-to-grown, high-yield foods are for their area. (It's also something a non-gardener should learn, because those tend to be the foods that your neighbors have more of than they can use, and are therefore pleased to share.)
was one of my nan's favs, and I looked forward to it every time I went over to see her. But I'd eat curried anything.
...but GunBroker sells thousands of guns every day. They do have to be shipped to a licensed firearms dealer who does a background check on you. But saying that, guns are way easier to get in the country than they should be (speaking as a Brit who was shocked when he came to this country and saw shotguns in Wal-Mart!)
What a great idea! I think that that would make things a little fairer. The system isn't awful right now, but I do get outbid frequently, and I don't want to use snipes for everything.
BTW, when I started reading this, I was thinking that there was a 15-minute waiting period before you were allowed to buy a gun online. And that freaked me out a bit. Actually, the fact that you can buy a gun online freaks me out a bit.
The auction systems in some MMOs work like this.
In my experience, almost all items there sell based on the 'buy it now' option. However, a game auction system is used fairly differently from a site like ebay, both because people are not using real money (some take it just as seriously, some don't), and because it is the *only* way to exchange many goods. As such, it may have more in common with a commodities exchange than an auction house. A lot of people just want their stuff, and lots of it, and aren't interested in playing bidding games.
This would be good for many. The non-sniping buyers, the sellers, Ebay, and the affiliates.
Bring on the changes. How can it be made to happen?
Who said it was wrong to eat animals? I just said I'd rather not. But if you're going to, I think you should go all the way. I understand preferring one cut over another, but if you're trying to save money, I'd recommend looking at less-preferred pieces.
be vegetarian.
I disagree with this idea on one main counter: preference.
I prefer certain cuts of steak over others because certain cuts taste better. Certain are more tender or have better flavor. I'm all for not letting things go to waste, but really, most things don't go to waste. If nothing else, lots of random parts get mashed up together to make sausage or hot dogs, and I love me a good hot dog.
As for the chest beating, I think that's just silly. I know of many vegetarians (my own sister included) who are so due to health reasons. That's fine. I even know some who are vegetarians because they don't really like the taste of meat or the thought of eating a dead animal grosses them out. That's fine too.
I do, however, disagree with the idea that it's "wrong" to eat animals. The reason I state that is purely because it's found all throughout nature. Just the fact that we have canine teeth shows that we should be able to eat meat. If we are wrong for eating a cow, than we should exterminate all lions from the world. If you don't think we should eliminate the lions from the world, then it's hypocrisy. Either eating another animal is fine or it's not. There's no middle ground of "well it's find for the coyote, but not for a human".
That's my 2 cents on the topic.
I tried cow tripe once and almost gagged. Pork tripe OTOH is more tender and actually quite tasty. Pork kidneys are really good too, but my wife won't let me eat them too often because they're high in cholesterol. I also had a snake gall bladder once. I draw the line at fish head soup.
Cheers,
Ken
Good point- I'll try any part of an animal once (I may not go back for seconds though!)
Coming from Ireland, black pudding, kidney, liver, tongue, pork cheek were all regular items on the menu and all tasty.
It gets sold cheaply and people buy it and eat it. It's not like I'm suggesting that these pieces are thrown out or anything. Mind you, some of them (especially brain and spinal columns) are supposed to be disposed of, but instead are used to make bone meal, which is fed back to the cows in a startling display of forced cannibalism.
Beat your chest all you want. I'll just sit here rolling my eyes at the overcompensating tactics. Real men eat balls!
Actually, I just kind of grossed MYSELF out saying that. But seriously - they're good.
All of the stuff you listed gets used by someone somewhere. It's not like we go buy whole cows and slaughter them.
I'll take the tenderloin, you can have the cow balls all to yourself. I am still beating my chest like King Kong.
Uh, mostly musculutarian here (although in the past I've eaten blood pudding, tongue, ox tail, kidney, and probably a few other things nobody told me about; and I still like liver and bone marrow).
I think Bizarre Foods is worth watching to see some of that in practice. I've eaten Menudo, and turtle flipper, beef knuckle, tongue, black pudding (which is mainly blood and fat) and I'm a big fan of kidney and liver. I come from a working class background, you eat the cheap cuts and offal because most people won't touch 'em.
Got the last one in Frisco, Texas. Yee Ha!
I live in an area with tons of Latin American markets--LOVE IT, but we don't have many other ethnic markets. I found that World Market has a lot of pre-made sauces (think Ragu)--Masala, Korma, Jerk--from around the world. So if you are stuck in suburbia with no ethnic markets, check out World Market. ;)
Don't knock Costco. Although not good for food for a lot of single people, Costco, Sam's, and the others are good for toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, tooth brushes, bottled beverages (please recycle), and other products that don't go bad immediately; and buying them there saves you money.
Also, why is everyone so offended by the comment "white-ass"? My black-ass saw it as the author adding humor to her post. Andrea, I get it...
Oh, c'mon. Don't you remember a couple winters ago when it rained for 90 days straight? It's rainy here. Love it, live with it, embrace it.
I made a simple human error on my 1040 when I did not check box 6a "Yourself" under exemptions when I should have in fact done that. I read too quickly and assumed if someone could claim me as a dependent, I should then check the box. Big mistake, as I am now out the $600 that is rightfully mine. The IRS has informed me they are making exceptions for senior citizens only!? If anyone is aware of how I can still obtain my $600 check in 2008, please let me know. Thank You!
Toothpaste can also polish silver and rid wood (with a good varnish) of water stains :).
I guess I fall into the "love" camp, but not because I'm obsessed with it or knowing what it can buy allows me to tolerate a job I can’t stand - but rather because it's a means to an end.
In order for my wife and I to meet our life goals and even fulfill some of the sense of purpose we have - having more money rather than less provides greater freedom, flexibility and "safety" to take some risks and to try things that we might not be able to afford if we didn't have enough money. To this end, it just doesn't feel practical to hate the means to an end...
I was surprised to find out how easy it is to grow squash. My dad likes to garden, and I remember him spending hours every day working the garden when I was a kid, so I assumed that gardening takes a long time. I guess for a large garden, it does.
However, this year my wife and I decided to plant some yellow crookneck squash. We only have about 5 plants, and every night for the past 3 weeks we have enough squash for dinner (family of 4). Lots of new blossoms still on the plants, too, so I guess they'll last for a couple more weeks at least. Since we're on a water meter, we planted them around the base of our cherry tree so they don't require too much extra watering.
Cheers,
Ken
Thanks Paul..I'm all over this one!
Once a month we get a few DVDs at the library (each kid picks one, and we get one for after the kids are in bed) and I make homemade pizzas. It is a huge deal for the kids because I usually don't allow much tv in our house, and since the DVDs are free and the pizzas are super cheap (I use my breadmaker to make the crust, and then just add sauce and cheese) the whole night ends up being a lot of fun, but not that expensive.
We also like to go tent camping a lot, and once you spend the money on the initial equipment it is pretty cheap to go camping for the weekend.