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The Old MacDonald Hackathon
- Falling3 14y agoReally unhappy to see animals being given away as "prizes".
- jtchang 14y agoWhy? There is a long history of animals as gifts/prizes such as for dowrys in marriages.
- Falling3 14y agoThere is also a long history of parents arranging those marriages - doesn't make any of it a good idea.
- jtchang 14y agoBut I am wondering why you are unhappy with it being given away as prizes? I can see maybe it marginalizes the value of an animal's life and thus the prize is in bad taste (but then again this is Iowa and these are farmers).
- evan_ 14y ago> (but then again this is Iowa and these are farmers). It might be surprising to learn but Des Moines is actually a fairly populous city with office buildings and fast food restaurants and everything! Few of its citizens are farmers.
- zevyoura 14y agoYou didn't provide any reasons for your position. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but the reasons I can think of are: 1. You don't support domesticated animals and/or the farming of animals 2. You dislike the idea of living things being transferrable goods 3. You fear for the welfare of the animal after being given away Is it one of these or is there another reason? I think it's an interesting conversation to have.
- Falling3 14y agozevyoura, you actually did a great job of summarizing my positions (especially for someone I assume does not fully share them). This is just such an unnecessary combination of something I happen to love and something I happen to hate.
- evan_ 14y agoYou do realize that nobody's going to be keeping a live cow or pig in their apartment, right? It's most likely that they're going to give away a butchered cow. Not that it makes it better if you don't support raising animals for slaughter at all, but you shouldn't worry that it's going to be more cruel to the animal.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- zach 14y agoAnd indeed, an entire charitable organization dedicated to giving animals as gifts to developing communities. http://www.heifer.org/ http://www.heifer.org/
- VMG 14y agoThe antiquity argument has its problems. There has been a long history of many things that we don't do anymore. A better argument would be that the animal doesn't care (because it is an animal).
- Falling3 14y agoI'm sure the animal doesn't care about specifically being a prize. I'm sure he/she cares about the care that follows being treated as an object.
- mamoswined 14y agoHave you thought about the average factory-farmed animal gracing the average piece of pepperoni or sausage pizza at most hackathons? I don't see how this is worse. If anything, it forces people to think about how meat comes from animals far more than the kind of meat usually served at hackathons, which really doesn't even resemble an animal.
- VMG 14y agoIt most certainly isn't treated like an object, but as an animal. Probably better than most animals.
- dllthomas 14y agoFor a far less contentious example, how about winning a goldfish at the fair?
- harrisonweber 14y agoFYI: Dwolla says it will allow winners to accept their awards in the following formats: alive, meat, or cash equivalent.
- scottyallen 14y agoWho's up for a road trip from the Bay Area? Bonus points if you have a livestock trailer or something to tow it with. Somehow I don't think my Prius will cut it...
- mamoswined 14y agoIs it a live cow or meat?
- mschonfeld 14y agoThat's totally your up to you... We'll give it to you anyway you want it.
- mamoswined 14y agoWhat kind of cow? How was it raised?
- testing12341234 14y agoIs it local? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2LBICPEK6w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2LBICPEK6w
- jtchang 14y agoMaybe first prize can be a pardon for the cow. Something like what the president does for turkeys every Thanksgiving.
- danso 14y agoThis is a terrible idea and perpetuates outdated stereotypes of Iowans for a cheap laugh. Our specialty is pigs, not cows.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- harrisonweber 14y agoThey told me they're "a sucker for juxtaposing Iowa rural stereotypes with modern day technology."
- hammock 14y agoFor the curious: http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/quickfacts.asp http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/quickfacts.asp Corn value of production (2011 crop year) $14.5 billion Soybeans value of production (2011 crop year) $5.50 billion Cattle and calves, cash receipts (2011) $3.41 billion Hogs, cash receipts (2011) $6.70 billion
- smoyer 14y agoI had a friend from Iowa who told me it was actually an acronym ... is this true?
- mrkmcknz 14y agoThis has brightened my Monday up. One question... How do the logistics work out here? I can't think of anything more amusing than 4 neck-beard hackers winning a cow at a hack.
- JagMicker 14y agoAs someone born & raised in Iowa, I'm glad to see them embrace the startup culture. Iowa is a great place to live, and it could use some new sharp minds to help it grow. As for the people complaining about prizes --- why don't you donate something more enticing than cow, chicken, and rooster?
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- cwbrandsma 14y agoWait, what type of cow we talking here? Jersey, Guernsey, Holstein, Angus? Male or Female? How old? Sorry, former dairy kid OCD kicking in from a state that has more cows than there are Iowans. And a rooster? Can I get it processed (plucked, gutted, and in a bag ready for a pot)
- mamoswined 14y agoA rooster is an interesting choice of a prize. Few farmers, even the locavore/small kind, breed their own chickens anymore. And they tend to be banned in a lot of areas. The type of cooking they are perfect for (chicken soup from scratch)is not something the average person tends to do anymore. So not many people want roosters.
- tjr 14y agoThere has been a lot of commotion around the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area for the past few years, with a legal motion to allow a modest number of suburban chickens on residential personal property being repeatedly brought up for discussion. Thankfully, the motion has thus far been shot down in my immediate area, but I think it has passed somewhere. And there are still a few properties that have been owned by the same family for longer than the modern livestock laws have been on the books, and thus they are permitted to keep sundry animals. I rather enjoy the llamas. :-)
- JoeAltmaier 14y agoIowa City passed it.
- mamoswined 14y agoI have known people in NYC who kept chickens. It didn't seem like it caused a problem for anyone. But if they ended up with a rooster, that was a big issue because they are banned.
- JasonFruit 14y agoAs a coder who raises his own meat, I want to go to Des Moines --- but I have enough roosters to fill my freezer. That pig, though . . .
- littlegiantcap 14y agoJordan Lampe is a genius. This is exactly the sort of thing thay makes me miss Dwolla so much. I may actually head back to Des Moines for this. Also anyone know if butchering services are included?
- Ataub24 14y agoGenius he is
- littlegiantcap 14y agoI suspect you had a hand in this too :)
- joezhou 14y agoBRB... Waiting for an African Hackathon where I can get an elephant or zebra.
- ChuckMcM 14y agoI appreciate that they didn't go for the 'brogrammer' stereotype.