Robert·ology

“If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?” goes the old joke. Hopefully those humanitarians are eating fruits and vegetables too as they are a great food for humans.

But this (bad) joke wants you to believe that the word vegetarian came out of the word vegetable when, in fact, it comes from the Latin word vegetus, meaning lively. “Vegetable” comes from the French and may have the same root but that’s debatable.

The word vegetarian was coined by the founders of the British Vegetarian Society in 1842. It was first formally used on 30 September 1847 at the inaugural meeting of the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom. Not that there weren’t people with vegetarian diets before then; they just didn’t have this nice, handy word for it.

The word vegan was coined in 1944 by Donald Watson who was not pleased with the fact that “vegetarianism” had come to include the eating of dairy products, where historically it had not. And so the UK Vegan Society was formed.

According to Mr. Watson, the word vegan was formed by taking the first and last letters of the word vegetarian because it “starts with vegetarianism and carries it through to its logical conclusion.”

As a side note, you may also see “veg*n” here and there. This is commonly used to include both words vegetarian and vegan. Handy when referencing a group comprised of both vegetarians and vegans.

What would you like to know?

This has been day two of my Vegetarian Awareness Month blog-a-thon. Come back tommorrow for more. And if there’s anything you’re curious about on the subject, ask away!

To start off this series of posts for Vegetarian Awareness Month I thought I’d give some basic definitions of different “stages” of vegetarianism as they are viewed today. Keep in mind these are simply the most common types of vegetarians you’ll meet. This isn’t meant to be a list of steps to follow, one after another, though you may find that to be the case for some.

Vegetarian

One who does not consume the flesh of animals. Pretty simple: no meat. This means cow, chicken, fish, horse, dog, pig, get it? - animals.

If you’re the type who’s a “vegetarian but I still eat chicken” it’s time to stop using that word. Just as you couldn’t be a “virgin except for those two times” or a “Christian but I haven’t accepted Christ as my savior”, a “vegetarian but I still eat animals” doesn’t exist. So cut it out.

Vegan

One who abstains from using any animal product. In addition to meat, there are eggs, dairy (milk, butter, cheese, etc.), leather, wool, honey, and so on. It is important to note here that this extends beyond diet.

And this is carried out as far as is reasonably possible. For example, there are animal products used in the manufacturing of rubber today. Would this mean a true vegan would have to walk everywhere? Barefoot? Anyone seeking “personal purity” here is facing a losing proposition. The aim of a vegan is to do as little harm as possible. I sometimes view it as a sort of grand boycott.

Raw Foodist

One who consumes food in an unheated, natural state. Most would be called “raw vegans” but some do consume raw animal products.

Theories out there suggest that heating foods above a certain temperature distorts them at the cellular level, and that enzymes are destroyed which are needed for digestion. Heat does alter living tissue - this much is true. Does it affect digestion and assimilation? I believe so. But the enzyme theory doesn’t seem to hold up as most or all enzymes found in fruits would be destroyed by stomach acid.

So that’s something to get you started. Be sure to come back. There will be more every day for the rest of the month.

P.S. The title of this post comes from the Simpsons episode, Lisa the Tree Hugger, where a character states “I’m a level 5 vegan; I won’t eat anything that casts a shadow.”

P.P.S. These are convenient labels. A vegan using leather gloves purchased years before should not be ashamed. Live according to your own beliefs.

P.P.P.S. No, I’m not Christian.

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month so I’ve decided to rev up my blogging habits (a lot) and have a post every day. It starts tomorrow (see, I’m not cheating and counting this as one) on World Vegetarian Day and ends right up next to World Vegan Day (Nov 1).

These will likely vary in length and content: facts, stories, history, ideas, who knows what. So come on by, subscribe, or follow me on Twitter for your fill of veg facts and trivia.

I’m seeing it all the time now. People are posting questions in online forums that could easily be answered with a little thinking or experimenting. But instead of exercising their cognition, the question is thrown to the world in hopes that the answer will effortlessly bounce back.

And that results in an answer but no knowledge.

This tends to come up in programming forums for one. Questions come up like “How do I do X? Will this work…” Well, did you try it? Did it work?

Just a few weeks ago, I saw another one of these. A question was posted, then the first reply twenty-two minutes later was from the original poster answering his own question. Twenty-two minutes. Some of that was waiting for a reply. Some of that was typing his own reply. Who knows what the rest was because it probably took two minutes to get his own answer.

If you want to know if something can be done, do it and find out. You’re bound to learn a lot more than just the answer.

Other times you’ll see a question posted and a quick reply of “Duh!” by the original poster. This is a case of asking yourself the right question.

Posting your question forces you to actually create the question. You may have been working for hours on a solution but didn’t truly know what the problem was. Next time this happens, go ahead and write it down or type it out, but don’t hit that submit button yet! Now that you have communicated your idea (to yourself) you might easily see the answer.

In another case of forum-pidity, we see someone asking the mass of world-wide internet users how his bank works. Why are you asking someone off the street? Did you forget where your bank is? Really, if you want to know if your U.S. bank can take a Canadian check (which in this case would be a cheque) - ASK YOUR BANK! I have a feeling they would know.

You’ll have to agree, some people online are just not as bright as others. We can’t all be above average - that’s not how “average” works. But I’m not saying these people cited above are indeed stupid. They could be heading that way, though. It’s a product of the times if you will. Relying on everyone else to figure things out for you will turn you into a useless bag of organs with typing skills.

So here’s a message to everyone using the internet, from everyone else using the internet:

We won’t do your homework. We won’t cut up your dinner. We won’t hold your hand all day. And you can thank us for it later.

Lately it seems that every other day there’s some new hurdle to get over, some new obstacle to overcome, some new patch of ice to slip on. Just when I feel good about the direction I’m heading, something comes along to slow me down or push me on a tangent. How do we keep going through all this? How can you run a business - or your life - when your momentum and spirit is constantly deflated?

Here’s something to remember: these things will happen. If your life is so easy that you never have any problems come up, you probably aren’t doing anything! And I’d rather be pushing my way through the problems than sitting on the ground while everything was going on around me.

So here are five things you need to know in order to overcome any obstacle:

Know where you’re going

If you don’t know your destination, you can’t get there. It’s just not possible. You need a clear definition of your goal. It needs to be something that you can describe to someone else - something definite. When you get there you can compare it to your description and say for certain that it is indeed your goal.

With this, first of all, you can plan a course for yourself. Have you ever planned a trip without knowing the end point? (get Google Map directions for “i don’t know” and see how that goes)

Secondly, if you get knocked off your course, you’ll be able to recognize that and adjust. It’s going to happen. Be ready for it.

Know why you’re going

When you get knocked down, it can be hard to get going again. You feel defeated. But you had a reason for doing what you were doing, right? This is when you need to remember that.

Start out with not only a destination, but also a reason for going there. Maybe you’re working on something that will save the world. Or maybe it’s something that will simply make it easier to find your shoes in the morning. You must have started out with some motivation. Keep that with you.

Write it down. When you start out, write down the reasons why you’re doing this. The times when you’re feeling down are not the times to be searching for motivation. Have it ready.

Know that you are right

On your journey, people will be thinking that you have a stupid idea or that it’s all pointless. They might tell you that you should stop and do something else. Of course they will. We don’t all think the same.

You are the only one that can decide your actions. If you know where you’re going and have a good reason to go there, keep going!

Know that you are wrong

None of us are perfect. We don’t make the best choices each and every time. So if you take a step and hit a brick wall, consider a different step next time.

Don’t just throw the whole thing away. A stumble from a decision on your part could lead to “I don’t know what I’m doing,” or “I should just give up.” But it was only one small step. Look around and find a different path to your goal. You will make mistakes, but walking into the same wall over and over won’t get you far.

Know who you are

Be true to yourself. Only make decisions you’ll be proud of. When you start doing things against your moral compass, you’re defeating yourself. Being proud of what you do makes it easy and pleasant to do more of it.

Question for you

What was your difficult time and how did you get through it?

I want to hear about your obstacles and what you did about them. Were you starting a business and found it tough to make it? Did your customers’ comments make you want to close up and go home? Post your answer to this in the comments.