saloe

I think he has a point that fixing the US is somewhat hopeless. There are many pieces that go into the puzzle that is the United States and its citizens and together they create such a hostile and undesirable place that is adamantly resistent to change. Not only were our cities literally demolished to make way for the car, the whole idea of driving and what that means is deeply engrained in our culture and identity.

This isn't just about removing stroads and designing some cutesy livable spaces and parks in cities. This is about changing the identity of what it means to be an American. Do you think you could convince even a portion of Americans that the European old way of living is better than the American way?

It has sort of been said already, but I didn't find a reply stating my exact criticism so I'll chime in. Lemmy and the fediverse is confusing. Instances, federation, de-federating, and all the other techno-garble is not something most internet users have any frame of reference for and I imagine it is very off-putting to a vast majority of potential users.

I'm not usually one to harp on user experience but it's just a mess trying to get into this whole thing. I was driven by a hatred for reddit to figure it out and I'm a software developer by trade, but still was scratching my head at wtf all these terms were and how it all works. Lemmy and the fediverse desperately needs some onboarding/marketing work and to ditch this sentiment of "if you can't figure it out then we don't want you here."

We are growing sunflowers this year so that's perfect. Also spinach. Also basil. I should learn how to make pesto

What's the recipe, if you don't mind sharing? I haven't really tried pesto many times, and when I did they didn't turn out well

Good point! I just wish they lasted longer. Seems every time I buy avocados I can eat them 1-2 days after or they are rock hard for a week and then when you try one it is already gone bad lol. I must be doing something wrong

I'll have to try that one of these days. I still eat cheese on occasion, but have definitely noticed I miss it less the longer I don't eat any

I've heard the best way to to replace cheese (as a vegan or someone going non-diary) is to just not. The vegan cheese substitutes don't taste good if you are used to dairy and cheese in general doesn't really provide much nutrition

I really wish there was some ethical way of farming dairy cows, but have come to the conclusion that it just isn't with current methods and knowledge. I have some land and love cows so considered getting one or two for hobby-farming and just so I could have my own "cruelty free" dairy. Here are some things to consider about dairy farming:

• Only female cows produce milk.
• Female cows only produce milk for a brief period of time after giving birth.
• Every single cow requires at least one acre of grazing.
• You only need one bull on a dairy farm to provide sperm.
• Baby calves want to be near their mothers and will drink their milk.

The only way to fit these pieces together in any economical way is to: (a) forcefully impregnate cows as often as possible, (b) limit the amount of time calves can be with their mothers so they don't drink all the milk, and (c) slaughter male calves for veal. This is cruel no matter how you slice it. If you are born a cow you are taken away from your mother and given food you don't like and isn't as good for you as the milk that was produced specifically for you. If you are unlucky enough to be a female cow you will spend the next several years of your life being forcefully impregnated and having your own children taken away from you every year. If you are a male cow you'll only know life on earth for a short while before being put out of your misery. In the end, regardless of gender or age, you'll be sent into a long line of other confused and panicked cows to be slaughtered for your meat and organs at a factory staffed by strangers in scary masks you've never seen before with the smell of death and terror all around you. There is no such thing as ethical dairy and any company proclaiming otherwise is not being honest with you or themselves.

Edit: I should say that there are better ways of doing most of the steps in dairy farming that aren't as cruel. But unless consumers are okay paying something along the lines of $20 for a gallon of milk, capitalism will never permit those practices to actually happen.

Also wanted to say that I'm not necessarily against animal products. I have chickens. They are as happy as can be and give us delicious eggs every day. I feed them well and treat them like family and they don't mind me taking their eggs. I really don't see an issue with this exchange because there is no cruelty and both parties benefit. There are numerous examples of this with animals and animal products. However, I believe that dairy is one of those cases where there isn't really an ethical solution. Even if you take the unnecessary cruelty out of the process, you are still left with at least a little cruelty. Where do you draw the line?

I went from north to south on my trip originally and I think I encountered exactly one German local who didn't speak at least decent English the whole time. Also good to know about the accents! We thought we had learned how to say excuse me quite well but tried it in the south and got weird looks lol

Adding this place to the list then, thank you!

We stayed in Freiburg for a week and loved every minute of it. It was our first choice until someone started me on this idea of the south being conservative. I understand cities in general are more liberal, especially university towns, but I don't want to live in a haven surrounded by bigotry once you leave the city proper

Edit: Im not saying that's what Freiburg is, I hope it isn't.

It's much the same here, although some cities are more welcoming than others. The hard part is finding a rural or semi rural area that is also accepting but near to a city that isn't also white suburbia