Profile for Ash Lael

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Displayed name	Ash Lael
Member number	5491
Title	E Equals MC What!!!!
Postcount	1861
Homepage	http://www.onewayfm.com.au
Registered	Friday, February 11 2005 08:00

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Author	Recent posts
Rebellion in Blades of Avernum
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Thursday, April 28 2005 16:10 Profile Homepage #13 What? I just can't see the Hill Runners keeping an economy together in any way, and their approach to law and order would be worse. Sure, the Empire's bad, but I think it's the lesser of the two evils. -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
Rebellion in Blades of Avernum
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Thursday, April 28 2005 15:05 Profile Homepage #11 When I played the BoE version, it was a tough moral decision, and I ended up siding with the Empire. For one thing, at least the Empire provides some sort of order, whereas with the Hill Runners in charge, there would just be chaos. For another, with Volpe dead, there was hope that the Empire might take a less harsh approach in the future. In the BoA version, I just didn't care. -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
New Scenarios in Blades of Exile
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Wednesday, April 27 2005 14:14 Profile Homepage #1 Genre doesn't bother me half as much as quality. Action would probably be the most popular genre, though. And by action I mean a lot of stuff happening very quickly, not lots of fighting. -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
my grang-grandfather died in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Wednesday, April 27 2005 14:10 Profile Homepage #43 My Catholic relatives all believe in purgatory still. -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Wednesday, April 27 2005 13:59 Profile Homepage #93 quote: Originally written by Dolphin: How does this work where you are? Well, this debate seems to have moved onto more relevant subjects, but I might as well answer the question anyway. The dairy I worked on, we would occasionally give the cows a b12 injection and drench them. They ate mostly grass - kept growing throughout the year by centre pivot irrigation. Depending on the time of year, this was supplemented with hay/silage. At one point we even mixed that with lollies (not kidding). We fed crushed grain in the bails when they came in to be milked, with some supplements thrown in there as well. After milking, we sprayed their teats with an iodine/water mixture. Our main use of antibiotics was penicillin, whenever a cow got mastitis. The milk, obviously, was excluded. EDIT: Regarding domesticated cows, not every cow is a Friesan or a Hereford. Brahmans could survive quite well in the wild, for example. [ Wednesday, April 27, 2005 14:01: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
Scenarios in Development in Blades of Avernum
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Tuesday, April 26 2005 20:21 Profile Homepage #81 Bandits II actually has a quest list, but it's not very necessary. :P -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Tuesday, April 26 2005 16:30 Profile Homepage #53 What, serious? Freak me out. -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
Scenarios in Development in Blades of Avernum
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Tuesday, April 26 2005 16:18 Profile Homepage #78 AtG is bad that way. :P There are tons of linear scenarios - no aimlessness at all. Revenge and An Apology would probably be too difficult for an inexperienced player. NTH and Echoes: Assault are very linear. You enjoyed Canopy if I recall correctly, so the TM-ness of those scenarios shouldn't bother you too much. Yeah. Start with Nebolous Times Hence. -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Tuesday, April 26 2005 15:58 Profile Homepage #51 Yes, but it could be that after a certain withholding period, the antibiotics are determined to have left the cow's system and it's okay to sell her milk again. Not that it makes any sort of difference to us or this topic, I'm just vaguely curious what those farms do when they get a sick cow. -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
Scenarios in Development in Blades of Avernum
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Tuesday, April 26 2005 14:43 Profile Homepage #76 I prefer the interface of BoE, personally. Regardless, I think it's well worth making the effort to try and get used to it. Maybe you could even start with Demon Island II or Redemption, which mess about with perspective a bit. :P -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Tuesday, April 26 2005 13:55 Profile Homepage #49 Dolphin - I'm sure those dairies are indeed organic and their milk is clean and of high quality. I'm just curious about the definition of 'organic' under American regulations. It could well be that American dairies are allowed to treat their cows with antibiotics and still qualify as 'organic'. I personally wouldn't see anything wrong with it - milk should be withheld during and for a while following any treatment (as is common practice), but afterwards I see no problems with continuing to use that cow. I was trying to point out as much with the breastfeeding analogy. It's all irrelevant, of course. quote: Their life-span is short, and their consciousness is very limited. Mind, I wouldn't say cows have very limited consciousness. They aren't terribly smart, but they are conscious. And some animals have very long life spans. Ostriches can live to be 70. But I still think it's fine to kill them. :P And back to Dolphin: quote: They may be somewhat less mobile that some other farm animals, but that doesn't make it any more right to pack them into holding pens. How do you know it bothers them? As I've explained, they show no signs of distress when they get locked up. [ Tuesday, April 26, 2005 14:31: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
Scenarios in Development in Blades of Avernum
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 22:09 Profile Homepage #70 Well, it won't match for a good 6/7 years at least (probably more). I'd suggest trying to get used to BoE. Even if it's not as appealling to you, if you can learn to enjoy it, it's very worthwhile. -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 21:59 Profile Homepage #44 Uh... ...er... Damn, that's my brain letting me down something awful. I remembered injecting them with stuff, and completely forgot what it was. How incredibly embarassing. I attribute it to my attempts to forget everything about dairy life. :P The point stands, of course, even if that particular example was faulty. Edit: I'm not talking about recently. I'm talking about ever. Cows who have been treated recently go through a withholding period before their milk is allowed back in the vats, for obvious reasons. [ Monday, April 25, 2005 22:04: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 21:38 Profile Homepage #42 Checked those two links (which I should have done earlier, sorry). I noticed that while they talked a lot about what they did (or rather, didn't do) to the milk, they didn't seem to mention what they do to the cows. It's possible they still give their cows antibiotics, though that would seem to be going against the spirit of the thing. They also use Jerseys which may or may not have the same problems as Friesan cows, but don't produce as much. Anyway, point taken. clearly enough of a market exists over in America for such things. Edit: Out of idle curiosity, do you see any problems with a woman who has had antibiotics at some point breastfeeding her baby? [ Monday, April 25, 2005 21:48: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 21:07 Profile Homepage #40 Utters (sic) wouldn't abscess if they were kept clean? Yep, you sure know what you're talking about. Yes, preventative measures are taken. Cows are expensive, dairy farmers do everything they can to keep them healthy. No, it doesn't always work, and it's naive to think it does (or that it can). Cows get mastitis (which isn't the same as abscesses anyway). They get milk fever. And without treatment, they die. You can't prevent it all, at some point you have to decide what you're going to do about it. Organic meat (still a niche market) is a lot easier to produce than organic milk. In fact, I don't believe I've ever heard of organic milk. It's just not cost-effective, even if there is a market for it. I'll not go into the differences between beef production and milk production, because that's just bogging things down. Though I'm forced to wonder why we're even discussing this, as it has less to do with animal rights than human health. I don't think I'll bother trying to find evidence that hormones don't affect people. I could make some argument about burden of proof, but more importantly, I just don't care. :P Edit: Regarding those links, fair enough. I'm not well-versed enough on the subject to dispute them. I know that the EU does have very stringent controls on the meat it imports. Standards for other countries are somewhat lower. I doubt that there are serious dangers involved, either way. I'm forced to wonder what about naturally occuring hormones, and why they aren't considered just as much of a health risk. But then, you probably don't know enough to answer that. [ Monday, April 25, 2005 21:19: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 20:28 Profile Homepage #38 I know that's what PETA and other animal rights organizations claim. Is there any actual medical research on the subject? As for antibiotics, what do you suggest we should do when a cow gets mastitis? Let her udder rot? Put her down (unnecessarily) and lose 700 bucks of cow? Neither of those alternatives are cost-effective or humane. Can't send her to the meatworks either - she's unfit for human consumption. -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
Scenarios in Development in Blades of Avernum
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 19:53 Profile Homepage #68 BoE has lots and lots of scenarios... -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
Kelandon and *i, you have PMs in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 19:50 Profile Homepage #14 After a couple of experiences finding a PM that was left ignored for ages, I've disabled them. People can get in touch with me some other way. -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 19:43 Profile Homepage #36 Alec - read the post at the top of this page again. We're just doing a bit of friendly sparring while Stugie heals. :P TM - The third link doesn't work for me. The other two are written in a very emotive style that makes things sound a lot worse than they are. They may (or may not) even be exaggerated. The first one is fine by me. Once you get past all the outrage and accusations of sadism, it's a guy unloading a bunch of calves, and shooting them. Big deal. I've done plenty worse. The second one, I don't really know anything about growth hormones. And yes, those large udders look awfully unnatural (and this is simply the result of selecting for milk production - not GM hormones), but the picture on the far right is an unfair representation. That cow is just a freak. Its udder is too large to be milkable - no farmer would want something like that. It also looks like an old photo. As I said before, I don't trust PETA, but assuming their figures are accurate, they show that the internal organs of cows given a growth hormone grow - what a suprise! But this is no way means that these cows experience pain from it, or that they are 'exploding from the inside' as they claim. They extrapolate too much from too little. The FDA determined that it was painless and safe - not that it doesn't affect them in any way. I haven't seen anything to contradict that. Dolphin - Those photos don't give a very clear look, and I don't have any personal experience with 'factory farming'. I don't think it even happens in Australia, aside from battery hens. But assuming it's all true, yes, I concede that it isn't very nice for the animal. Now, why should that matter? -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 17:42 Profile Homepage #33 quote: Originally written by Dolphin: Antibiotics = dirtier conditions and less nutrition being expectable. Steroids = faster growth = more meat = more money. Why would they need to give the animals antibiotics and supplemental vitamins as part of their regular diet if the animals lived in natural conditions? You seem to be under the illusion that 'natural' conditions are automatically better. In natural conditions, animals tend to be less healthy and die a lot more. Disease goes untreated. They eat what they can get, not a carefully planned diet to give them the best health possible. Haven't seen steroids being used (aside from teasers, but don't ask about those :P ), but I don't see anything wrong with it. As far as I'm aware, they only cause health problems in the later stages of life, while beef cattle are killed at their prime. Could be wrong there, as I said I don't know a lot about steroids. What is it that makes them an issue for you? quote: I'm probably the wrong person to offer exact details on this, as I have not been involved in inorganic companies in some time. It is difficult to list examples without references. I'll look it to about bit. I buy form companies such as Organic Pastures and Claravale, and their meat equivalent. Righto. Let me know when you have something. [ Monday, April 25, 2005 17:43: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 16:32 Profile Homepage #29 quote: Originally written by Dolphin: Forgive me for the habit of not clarifying terms. Commercial as in non-organic, very large companies who's concern is money not animals. Fast-food companies are probably some of the worst. Well, I haven't had anything to do with those. But it strikes me as silly to say that their concern is money, not animals. Of course it is. It's the same on any farm of any size - they're businesses. But, in the interest of making money, it's just plain good business to take proper care of the animals. Good health = more and better meat/milk/whatever. What do they do that is so horrible? [quote]Yes, they are indoors, but most of them don't have much room to move around. I'm sure cows like to walk around.[/quote]I'm not actually sure. They don't love running around the way that dogs and horses do, that's about all I'm certain of. They'll plod about to the trough for a bit of water, they'll plod over to where there's some better grass, they'll even do a bit of running when someone feeds some grain out. Do they actually enjoy walking around for the sake of it? I dunno. It's quite possible, but there aren't any obvious outward signs that they do (as there is with a dog). There aren't any obvious signs that they mind being locked in small yards, either. I don't think it's a big deal. Whatever stress this causes them, it's probably outweighed by the fact that they're out of the elements and being fed grain every day. [quote]I never advocated Peta's ethics, just a place where there are pictures of conditions. They are against milk, and any other animal product (meat, eggs) I don't personally agree with such things.[/quote]I'm not talking about their ethics, I'm talking about their facts, though both are pretty screwy. I poked around the website a bit, didn't see anything ghastly. What horrible conditions in particular are you talking about? [ Monday, April 25, 2005 16:34: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 15:02 Profile Homepage #27 quote: Originally written by Dolphin: Okay, perhaps the animals diet isn't a very strong argument. Cow are kept indoors in very poor conditions. Anyone who says commercial animals are treated well has not visited a commercial farm. I'm sure Peta would have some more accurate pictures. I'm not against eating meat, just the way industrialized farming operates. What do you mean by 'commercial farms'? Aren't all farms commercial? I've worked and lived on a few farms and visited a whole bunch of others. By and large, the animals are treated pretty well. Pampered? Heck no. But they are kept in good health (which is of course in the farmer's best interest). I'm not sure what you mean by 'very poor conditions'. Admittedly, I've never had much to do with lotfeeding, but they're being kept out of the wind and rain at least. They might not get much space to run around, but most cattle aren't very excitable anyway (having been bred for temperment) - the trade off isn't so bad. I wouldn't trust any info from PETA, personally. Their disconnect from reality is pretty severe. I think I've seen them claiming that milk is bad for your health. :rolleyes: -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
Bonjour tout le monde ! in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 13:43 Profile Homepage #8 Je comprends un peu de la Francais. Un tres peu. Aussi, je pense j'ai dit la tres, tres malais. Go on, laugh. I suck at French, I know. [ Monday, April 25, 2005 14:34: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
Artsy peoples! in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 13:37 Profile Homepage #11 Gizmo, Imban? :P -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00
THE GREAT DEBATE in General
Ash Lael E Equals MC What!!!! Member # 5491	written Monday, April 25 2005 13:19 Profile Homepage #24 Stugie - That's teach you to teetotal! :P spy.there - Checked the link. Big deal. Animals get slaughtered. We all knew that. What point were you trying to make? Dolphin - By and large I agree with you. All else being equal, animals should be treated humanely and they generally are. But really, that's a poor comparison. They like grain better than grass, and I doubt they could care less whether it was GMO or pesticide-sprayed. (I know this is supposed to be just me and Stug, but we might as well get some sort of discourse happening while we're waiting for all the king's horses and all the king's men to put him together again) Edit: Mind, while I haven't been in an abbatoir, I don't think they use bullets. I think (but could be wrong) it's more common practice to have a hydraulic ram that comes down and conks them on the head. Pretty much the same effect, though. They don't see it coming, no fear or stress, and BAM, they're dead. It's a more painless death then they would suffer in nature. That may be just for sheep, though. I'm not sure how they kill cattle. [ Monday, April 25, 2005 13:31: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- Sex is easier than love. Posts: 1861 \| Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00

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