The General Chat Thread (2016-2022)

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My brother is complaining the UK is cold in winter (parents had -4½°C, brother is claiming his car said -7°C). I'd like to point out that it was -3°C just down the road from me this morning and I'm in an Australian summer.
Long pj bottoms and long sleeved top are on again tonight and the woolly blanket is back out (more environmentally friendly than 'fleece' made from plastics and petroleum products)
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
My brother is complaining the UK is cold in winter (parents had -4½°C, brother is claiming his car said -7°C). I'd like to point out that it was -3°C just down the road from me this morning and I'm in an Australian summer.
Long pj bottoms and long sleeved top are on again tonight and the woolly blanket is back out (more environmentally friendly than 'fleece' made from plastics and petroleum products)
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It is winter here, and it is 62F/17C... and the sun isn't up yet.

BTW, since they don't kill the sheep to get the wool, it seems like that should be okay with vegans. It is certainly better for the planet than more fossil fuel derived synthetics.

CD
 
caseydog said:
Of course, TastyR will probably be checking out flights to Dallas when he reads this. :facepalm:
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No need, it’s the same here! :laugh:

The Velvet Curtain said:
today is forecast not to get above 0 C, and it's the day I have chosen to put my Christmas lights up outside.
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Now you know why I put them up in October! :wink:

LissaC said:
After a Summer of severe draught, we now have more rain than we can handle
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The last picture is a tunnel leading to the train station closest to my home. It was completely submerged and it's now closed indefinitely as all the ticket machines, ATMs etc were completely damaged.
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I saw that on the news here! :eek:
 
TastyReuben said:
No need, it’s the same here! :laugh:


Now you know why I put them up in October! :wink:


I saw that on the news here! :eek:
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You needed to break that up with the reply to Lissa's post in a separate reply from the others. I wanted to click the LOL button, but that would make it look like I think flooding is funny.

First two replies... :laugh:

Third reply... :(

CD
 
PabloLerntKochen said:
They're still many vegans who believe it's like bullying, when you take something from animals, no matter how much it benefits you
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We humans have messed with sheep so much that their wool can kill them if they don't get sheared every six months, so I think indeed even a vegan can see why wool would be OK to use. It's of course a whole other story when it comes to the ethics of why we made sheep become like this.. which I think is awful.
 
Windigo said:
so I think indeed even a vegan can see why wool would be OK to use
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Most don't. And I can understand to a point. Living on a sheep ranch I see what happens. Sick sheep don't get to see a vet. They get "given a chance" and I am quoting. This translates to a vet is too expensive, so we'll leave it to see if it survives and not worry if it dies in the night (and yes, I've seen the outcome with sheep having their eyes pecked out by crows, magpies and ravens before they are dead. We quietly intervene now and say nothing).

But some I know don't seem to appreciate the balance between the environment and veganism. And that is why I've left several vegan groups and forums. There are those out there who advocate that the moment you turn vegan you should throw out, (aka destroy) anything woollen, containing wool, leather, suede, containing duck feathers or feathers in general, bees wax furniture, cosmetics, and so on. They won't donate it because someone else can continue to benefit from the death of that animal/insect/fish. My view is that I need to strike a balance between veganism and environmentalism and care of the planet. Destroying something that others could use is just wrong in my view and something only a vegan in a first world country without any regard for others would do. For me, continuing to use something such as a woollen jumper until it wears out is completely fine. Plus I'd rather use what's biodegradable in a sensible time scale have why I have no issues knitting with wool but I do source it and ensure it comes from countries with a good animal welfare background.

A lot of sheep are dual purpose, such as those on the farm I live on. Despite being merino sheep/lambs, they are grown for their meat, not their wool. Their wool is sheared twice a year so that they put extra weight on by eating more because they are cold. Their wool is low quality and way too short to be used in the woollen industry. You need a long staple with a measure diameter less than 20micron to get anything like a reasonable price. 16 micron is preferred by those who knit by hand. You also need to keep such sheep indoors in barns or with coats over their fleece to prevent ingress of dust, dirt and more importantly vegetable matter as it is known, if you want even a vaguely break even price for the fleece. Plus there is a lot of issues over mulesing and docking of tails. (Mulesing is the removal of strips of wool-bearing skin from around the breech of a sheep to prevent the parasitic infection flystrike. It's legal in most countries sadly. It's not done with anaesthetic and often not by a vet. I don't agree with it, there are other ways of dealing with flystrike.)

Best not to get me started on the vegans who will happily rescue a pure breed dog or cat from a shelter (thus indirectly supporting the breeders) and in the same breath have a go at me for (only) eating the eggs of the chooks I've rescued. Apparently it's fine to rescue cats and dogs, but not chickens. Go figure. I've been told repeatedly by some that I should smash the eggs they lay and let them eat them. :o_o:. Most of the eggs my chooks lay go to the food bank and get distributed to those in need. I'm repeatedly told I'm wrong and supporting the egg industry because I rescue chickens (I've stopped rescuing roosters, it was causing too many issues). Hence why I'm only a dietary vegan at best. (I'm not happy with the use of leather and suede though for obvious reasons.)
 
I try to respect vegans but I my priorities are different, 1. Watch after yourself. 2. If you're alright help other people. 3. When they're OK, I would help animals, what will probably never happen, because there're endless people in need.
I've to admit, I like the willpower of many vegans, to build up farms working without any animals and to obey the general view on food and the whole economy around it. To go further, it amazes me, how much potential we as a society just loose to super bad quality food.
 
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Somehow, this Australian summer has snow forecast yet again for this week, along with temperatures down to 1°C (in the text, which is usually the rural temp, rather than the city temp)...

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If it carries on like this, we'll be eating hot, cooked food on Christmas day instead of a salad lunch :eek:
 
Four days straight of overcast skies and intermittent rain. i get out of bed, look out of the window, and just want to crawl back in bed.

On the plus side, all the wetness shorted out my neighbor's Christmas lights. :giggle:

CD
 
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