posted on February 26, 2006 08:29:49 PM new
classic: They lose a million, but their average sheep population is about 110 million..so it's < 1% of total population.
pi, you're correct, good scrutiny. Only if I were raising Alpacas, I wouldn't call them sheep, as they aren't sheep, they're camelids. I raise sheep, real sheep.Navajo Churro sheep to be precise. Our herd's ancestors came here with my ancestors. In those days they were called Churras, which they are still called in Spain. They were once quite prevalent here, but now the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy lists them as endangered, with less than 5000 registered individuals left. Their wool brings Alpaca- like prices, and their offspring bring premium prices to others who are establishing herds or who want to own a few for the wool and hair they produce. Every individual save the excess males who are sold for meat is registered with the Navajo-Churro Breeder's association. In order to be registered, each animal must be individually inspected for breed correctness. I also raise Spanish Barb horses. My small herd is descended from the original Barbs that came here in the 1600's, and they are all the origin point for the Western American Mustang horse, the original cowboy mount.
agitprop, you're right, this discussion should be moved, but it's kind of clear to me that you're of the opinion that there is only one way to raise sheep. I live in a place that receives less than 10 inches of rainfall a year. I can carry 2 head of cattle or 4head of sheep per acre on my land, and that's when it actually rains. It ain't exactly all cool, purty and green hereabouts like it is in your neck of the woods. My sheep are descended from North African desert animals who are little changed from their wild counterparts. I've attached a picture for you. As you can see, they look a lot more like wild life that livestock. They can survive the harshest environments in the world. Raising them is not the same as raising New Zealand, Australian or English types like Leicesters, Dorsets, Suffolks, Hampshires or Freisians, by the thousands at a time. They don't do well being factory farmed, and shearing them is a contest with an essentially wild and crafty animal. Look behind the eyes of a modern sheep breed, and it's about like looking John C. Dvorak in the eyes... there just isn't a whole lot going on in there. Not so with Churras. Our businesses, if you are a sheep farmer, are apples and oranges I'm afraid.
posted on February 26, 2006 10:38:15 PM new
Just a few observations that I made about your posts when you made brief references about your sheep herd. You used terminology that suggested to me that your sheep herd was not of the everyday garden variety. Not saying it's good, bad or otherwise.
posted on February 27, 2006 01:39:55 AM new10 inches of rainfall a year
Chuckle... we get more than that 25cm in a bad week. Over on the West Coast (of NZ's South Island)they probably get that in a good day. We basically have grass (non-herb kind folks) growing everywhere you look. One huge golf course green from the tip to toe of the country... and it's summer.
There are bespoke sheep farmers here that sell exclusively to top Italian and British suit designers, and smaller farms that sell wool from a sheep to spiners. Most are heavily invested in latest technology including microchips to keep track of bloodlines and wool, lamb and meat production. It's changed a lot over the past few decades after all the government handouts stopped back in 1984.
Loads of Kiwi farmers & scientists use Macs since certain applications aren't available on Windows. Same goes in other professions. I used to contract Mac tech support in Asia for a number of Fortune 500 corps and foreign governments so I get around.
posted on February 28, 2006 12:43:43 PM new
John C. Dvorak strikes out again. New Apple Mac minis released yesterday run on Mac OS X 10.4 not on Windoze XP. Guess he goofed again.
I've already had orders for several from a couple of former clients. I'll buy them and pre-configure them for their home setups. Some more cool toys for me to play with
posted on February 28, 2006 03:51:17 PM new
I love it when people say "he was right about the intel switch!!" No kidding, even a busted clock is right twice a day. Besides, anybody with half an ounce of sense could have seen that one coming. IBM couldn't get it's act together to make a cool running laptop G5, something had to give somewhere with portables being the fastest growing market segment. I think I'm going to wait a year or two and see if Jobs dumps Intel for AMD, then buy.
I haven't had time to look at the Tuesday revelations yet, is the Mini now Intel?
When you look at all the modder sites there are on the internet, either giving away or selling ways for XP users to make their desktops look and feel like OS X, then go looking for sites that help Mac users make their desktops look and function like XP and don't find any, you have to wonder if all these silly predictions aren't just envy, plain and simple.
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