BEING an avid but ambivalent carnivore, Feedback was pleased to see a conscience-salving report in 鈥測our journal of meat culture鈥� on animals you can eat without adding to the woes of climate change.
Some people have space in their gardens for pigs, goats or sheep, but apparently the most carbon-neutral, sustainable, edible backyard livestock would be a few bunnies 鈥� great news for those of us with a space big enough only for a bike and a recycling bin.
Rabbits eat any scraps you throw out for them, keep the grass at a reasonable height (no need for a fuel-guzzling, climate-destroying lawn mower) and they fertilise your patch as they go, so no need for any more environment-wrecking car trips to the garden centre for a bag of overly peat-rich compost.
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The drawback? Well, rabbits are awfully cute, and if you want your home farming to be truly sustainable you鈥檒l need to butcher them yourself. Which leads to the dilemma of whether you should name your bunnies before you boil them. Californian urban farmer is bluntly dismissive. 鈥淭he animal doesn鈥檛 give a shit if it has a name or not,鈥� she says.
鈥淪potted by Chris Strakosch at a car dealer in Brisbane, Australia: 鈥淐ooper Tyres 鈥� Guaranteed to last for up to 80,000 km鈥�. Sounds impressive 鈥� but what, exactly, does that 鈥渦p to鈥� mean?鈥�
READER Ed Chipperfield has spent many a long hour 鈥� most of them presumably post-midnight and pre-dawn 鈥� pondering the usefulness of the UK鈥檚 . Any desperate soul seeking support from the council鈥檚 website in the small hours is met with the following message: 鈥淭he insomnia helpline aims to advise and reassure those who are having trouble sleeping. Don鈥檛 be alone 鈥� phone the helpline鈥� Monday to Friday, 6pm to 8pm.鈥� One can only hope the free market throws up a nocturnal alternative. Surely, there must be fellow sufferers with little else to do at night who might be prepared to lend an ear.
Nigerian scammers join social networks
AFTER some hesitation, one of Feedback鈥檚 colleagues joined the social networking site LinkedIn, aimed mainly at maintaining business connections. He has wound up with the expected list of business contacts, former colleagues and college classmates, but has lately also received several requests from a stranger.
His first thought was that they were opportunistic marketing pitches, or the odd mistaken identity, but then he looked a little more closely. The requests come from an oddly familiar name that reveals a new dimension in business networking. It鈥檚 Barrister Dudu, who says he is a lawyer acting for a bank in the judiciary industry of Ghana. His page shows a fuzzy image of what appears to be an ID card showing a mustachioed gentleman wearing a barrister鈥檚 wig. All is now clear. Yes, it鈥檚 Feedback鈥檚 old friends from the Nigerian banking scam, otherwise known as the send-us-a-wad-of-cash-and-we鈥檒l-promise-to-make-you-rich fraudsters.
It seems our Nigerian scammers have moved on from simple phishing and are now building social networks. More worryingly, it seems to be working. When Feedback鈥檚 colleague checked back after half an hour, the barrister鈥檚 network of friends had increased from seven connections to eight.
Clearly the suckers are still out there, though at least they are showing up more slowly than showman P. T. Barnum鈥檚 oft-quoted one a minute.
FINALLY, it鈥檚 clear that the pedlars of fruitloopery aren鈥檛 regular readers of Feedback. If they were, as reader Edward Martin points out, they鈥檇 surely be too embarrassed to admit to having made the claim that follows.
According to a page on the ReallyWell site () 鈥渢here is insufficient oxygen in our atmosphere to provide all that is necessary for the body to accomplish all it needs oxygen to do鈥�. This, apparently, causes all manner of ailments.
Solutions are offered. One is a trip to a hyperbaric oxygen chamber where 鈥減ressurized oxygen is forced into the body through the skin鈥�. Another is 鈥淰itamin O Oxygen Supplement鈥�. Put a few drops in a glass of water, or spray it into your face, and hey presto! We are told that people suffering from stress, along with 鈥渃olds, flu, infections, Candida, chronic fatigue, headaches鈥� will LOVE the extra oxygen! Many times results are immediate!鈥�
Feedback is reminded of a childhood animated favourite , in which the eponymous protagonist chewed 鈥渙xy-gum鈥� to allow him to breathe under water. Even at such a tender age Feedback鈥檚 school friends knew this was cartoon codswallop.
Maybe the makers of Vitamin O Oxygen pills have realised this too. The product carries the disclaimer: 鈥淭his product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease鈥�.
Edward personally recommends just breathing a bit faster.