Quick Updates (18)

There hasn’t been too much going on other than work. Lately, there seems to be plenty of that, though there doesn’t seem to be enough money to pay well for the work. That’s another subject that we might touch on later in the future, just not today. I am satisfied that I at least have money to pay the bills and get some extra fun stuff… including my new system.

Yes, I finally have my new system in my car. I bit the bullet and rather than having my car semi-intact, I decided that I should start finishing my trunk. In order to save a little time (and we all know that time is money), I took my car to a local audio dealer to start the trunk. This is one of the very few times that I have taken my car anywhere to get work done. Most work has been done by me, but for the sake of the best sound possible, I figured it would be best to let the professionals deal with it. As far as sound goes, I was right. They did a very good job on the box and the entire system sounds superb. However, the show quality is lacking. This is something that I have discussed with them, and now that we are both on the same page, this aspect will be fixed when I take the car next time. Once the car is finished, I’ll post pictures.

In other news, I took my AFAST. It was a long and boring day, that not only led to the news that I passed my test (118, with only a 90 required), but the further annoyance of Mr. Liar. I swear that guy likes to piss me off. To explain what happened in the shortest way possible – I waited FIVE hours for a ride home! That’s ridiculous! What makes this whole thing worse is that I called Mr. Liar as soon as I finished my test, 2 hours later when no one had shown up, and again at an additional 2 hours to find out where the driver was. Two of the three times Mr. Liar lived up to his name and lied to me. Oh well. I passed. I’m home. I’m onto the next phase – physical. I’ll keep you posted.

Since I mentioned pictures earlier, I guess it’s time that I posted a new Picture Worthy pic. It has been a while since the last pic was posted. This pic is of the old mental hospital located near Groton, CT… and yes, it’s just as spooky in real life.

 

Cards Anyone? (17)

Have you ever wondered where things come from? Where the computer idea originated, where the TV’s life as we know it started, who the first person to conjure up the idea of the dresser was? I do all the time and with the help of my trusty friend Google, the answers are never too far away… most of the time.

There are some things that the origin just seems to be too elusive to find. Among these things are the dresser (or chest of drawers), the mattress and playing cards. Why yes, I did get all of these ideas while laying on my bed in my room, but that’s irrelevant. If you search these items you may find an estimated time of invention, (dresser = “before 1649″, mattress = Neolithic period), but nothing concrete. However, the answers for origin of the dresser and mattress are far more concrete than that of playing cards.

Some argue that playing cards originated in China. Others argue that they were started in India. To be honest, China, India, Italy, Germany, England and France, just to name a few, can all lay claims to the invention of playing cards. The fact of the matter is that no one really knows where and when playing cards originated.

The view on playing cards does range a bit. Some, like myself, see cards as a great invention and a great way to pass the time and have fun. Others see cards as evil due to the fact that they are used to tell the future, make curses, show magic and simply take your money or other worldly belonging when you lose at a game such as “blackjack”. While I’m at it, I can’t forget to mention that you may even throw up because you drank too much by playing a drinking game such as “up and down the river”. Nonetheless, playing cards are used by millions across the globe for a number of a reasons making them, in my book, nothing less than great.

I was recently asked on how to play a certain card game, and since I have started to write about cards, I see this as a great opportunity to explain said game. For those of you who have never played the game, you should try it. For those of you who have played it before, play it again. The game is “Asshole”.

I had originally tried to write the rules as part of this blog, but it made the blog entirely too long. So, I wrote them on a separate page. If you would care to see them the click here.

 

Discrimination (16)

First, let me apologize for my lack of posting. Since I have passed my tests, I have been thrown threw the ringer to see how well I can actually handle the job. This has consisted of 4 jobs totaling more than 8 full days (that’s right, about 192 hours if I am doing my math correctly). It’s just too bad I am a salary paid employee.

During these jobs, I have had quite a bit of time to actually talk to and get to know some of my coworkers. This “bonding time” has made me quite aware of something that I have known about for years, but until recently, have pushed to the back of my mind – discrimination.

Discrimination: Unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice; the cognitive process whereby two or more stimuli are distinguished.

Wikipedia describes discrimination as “a sociological term referring to treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group that is taken in consideration based on class or category.” This discrimination comes in many forms – age, gender, disability, etc… The biggest discrimination factor is the one in which this blog refers to. This is of course discrimination towards race.

If you are keeping up with the news, then you have most likely heard about the recent unfortunate event involving a US Army major down at Fort Hood. Major Nidal Malik Hasan is the man accused of this act, and after doing a little research, I have come across an article that has stated that he began having second thoughts about being in the military when soldiers were harassing him for his religious beliefs (read more here). When talking to my coworkers about this, I was shocked when several colorful words were used to describe this man that these people had never met, including “towel head” (excluding vulgarities). They then preceded towards describing other races. Needless-to-say, those words were just as colorful.

I am not one to stop people from believing what they are set to believe, so I didn’t say anything when these phrases of disapproval were used. But it got me thinking “what makes you and your Anglo-saxon brethren any better than this man?”, aside from the obvious (no remarks from the peanut crowd required).

I am so baffled at how someone can not like another person merely based on their skin color or country of origin. How someone can think less of a person simply because their parents were born and raised in Mexico, Africa or Japan, regardless if their children were born and raised in the states. What makes this such a deciding factor of likeness?

To make matters worse, many people that have been discriminated against act as if there is something that others owe them, or that they have to teach the world a lesson. This can be seen in every day life – for example: a group of black men walking down the middle of the street, refusing to move despite the 2 ton truck honking the horn behind them. Or in the worst case possible, a man wielding a FN Hertsal, 5.7 millimeter pistol to mow down some bystanders trying to prove a point.

Why is this? What can be done about it? When are people going to realize that color of skin does not make a person better or worse? Hell, the President of the United States is black man! This might go to show you that we have come a long way since the discrimination acts of 1871 or 1865, and even further since freeing of slaves in 1863. However, it seems that 146 years is not enough time for people to get over a grudge.

I have a personal belief that everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt upon first meeting. I try not to base an opinion of a person I do not know solely off appearance as I don’t know what that person’s day job is. There are many times first impressions are not the best, but this does not mean that that person is a bad person or is trying, or even willing to offend or hurt me. I do not see them as a better or worse person than I but rather, the same until proven otherwise. However, I can see why it’s easy for people to keep on discriminating, and for others to keep on hating it. It’s a vicious cycle that seems to be never ending. Maybe it will in another 150 years.

What’s your stance on racial discrimination? Post a comment and let me know what you think.

 

My New Addiction (15)

Hello, My name is Scott and I have an addiction

(You, the reader replies) “Hello, Scott”

There are only a handful of people in the world today who are immune to the frustrations and worries that life doles out to us. Many people may have a hard time dealing with problems and may become stressed, depressed or worse. When trying to look for help, these people are often advised to take some sort of medication or seek therapy.

As you are aware, I have been studying for multiple fields of opportunity. This study time was partially forced, and partially stress related. I have, over the years, accumulated quite a large amount of stress. Some of this is due to the recent economic endeavors making it hard for me to see the way out of any debt that I may have. Some of it is related to simply trying to find what I would be most happy with. No matter how the stress has been incurred, it’s still stress and has called for some remedy.

My remedy? My new addiction.

My new addiction calls for my full attention, little money and is self fulfilling and very soothing. When participating in my new addiction, I feel knowledgeable, caring and alive. I feel that though things may have gotten to me in the past due to the lack of answers, I can prevent the same from happening to others. Allow me to usher in (triumphant music plays), Yahoo! Answers!

Yahoo! Answers is not a new thing; it’s actually been around for quite a while. But I never realized how useful it really is. When searching for answers, search engines such as Google often retrieve previous questions asked by Yahoo! members. Until recently, I was always quick to skip these sites because I felt that those answering the questions were simply ordinary people and, unless I was looking for an opinion, the answers were most likely not to the caliber that I was requiring. Many cases prove this to be true; people answering foolish questions or, as the case may be, foolishly answering a question. However, when I was unable to find the answers to my simple question, I decided that I would try and poll the audience using Yahoo! Answers.

The result and speed of the answers were astonishing. One link, led to two. Two links unveiled user questions. User questions led to the thought, “I know that”. And before I knew it, I was hooked on answering questions.

Feeling good about yourself by helping others is not a new phenomenon. In fact, according to new studies the age-old principle of “Help others to help yourself” may be part of both the prevention and the cure of stress. Another study suggests that helping others may be biochemical, whereas helping others activates the mesolimbic system and brain’s subgenual area, the part of the brain that produces feel-good chemicals, like oxytocin, that promote social bonding.

Others ideas state that since depression, anxiety, and stress involve a high degree of focus on the self, focusing on the needs of others literally helps shift our thinking. Even better, feeling good and doing good can combine to create a positive feedback loop, where doing good helps us to feel good and feeling good also makes us more likely to do good. Not to mention the saying “One good deed deserves another” where helping others may give a helpful nudge in your favor when you need the help.

This raises the question, “How do I help?” The best answer that I have found to this question also relates back to a previous post of mine (Beliefs)- “In order to help somebody, don’t try to convert people to your dogma, but just encourage them”. The main point is definitely not to get others to join your side but to help them be good human beings in their own way.

Sure, this may not apply to all questions asked nor all answers given. After all, how does answering the question “Hair Brushes?! Best answer 10 points!!!?” make you or the asker any better of a person? In all actuality, the answer to this opinionated question probably does not, while answering a much more difficult questions may have a serious effect on the asker. When answering those difficult questions, it’s impossible to give a truthful and wholehearted best possible answer if you do not put yourself in the askers shoes, which in turn makes your answers more personable. It’s questions like these that I feel best benefit both the asker and answerer and it’s questions like these that I am addicted to answering.

You may be thinking that simply answering someones question does not really help anyone and in part, you may be correct. It’s been argued that simply answering a question online is not worthy of activating those biochemical mechanisms because it’s not personal and it’s directed for millions to see. Well, when a homeless person on the side of the road is holding up a sign for thousands to see saying “I need money, God bless you”, and you roll your window down to give that person a dollar, does it not make you feel a little better knowing that you may have just helped that person get a hot cup of coffee during the freezing weather? It took no more effort for you to reach in your wallet, roll that window down and give your money away than it would take for you to actually think of a answer and share with the world.

Granted, helping someone where they cannot see your face and you do not have to give an honest answer is not quite the same as helping an old woman cross the street. Therefore, I am in no way saying that Yahoo! Answers is going to take the part of my “Good deed of the day”. When I see someone in need, I will still try to help… regardless of location or effort it takes to give. In my eyes, helping is helping and a little can go a long way.

 

Updates (14)

There are a couple of things that I would like to update you, my faithful readers, on.

First – I passed my controls test (the one for my employer in which I was studying for all this time). Over all score was about a B-, which I guess is pretty good seeing how they claim to never give out an A. Needless-to-say, I was pretty excited about that. So excited that I celebrated with some sushi and bowling. I am not sure they go to well together seeing how my bowling score was definitely on the lacking side, but I do love me some sushi.

Next – Mr. Liar finally appears to be back on track. I had previously gotten numbers to schedule the physical on my own, but when I finally got a hold of the guy, I was told that I was never entered in the system. So a simple reschedule was not possible and that Mr. Liar would have to do it (meaning that I apparently never had a real appointment). With this new information I set out to find other means of being lied to, when I was informed that I was too far out in the middle of nowhere. Therefore, Mr Liar’s office is the only office I can go through. Not the best of news for me. On the other hand, I was given the right numbers to the right people to get things back on track. About five minutes after I talked to the “King of All Liars”, I was contacted by Mr. Liar with the statement, “I was given further guidance from my 1st Sargent on how to get this things rolling”. I like that… “further guidance”. I am going to have to remember that one.

Mr. Liar gave me some reasons of why things had been so out of whack, and knowing this information, I am more lenient on giving him another chance. I am not sure that the things I’ve been told are true seeing how this guy seems to have some issues with telling the truth (hence the name), but that’s okay. I don’t see any harm in giving him one more try at this. Besides, it’s not like I have an over abundance of choices.

I now have my AFAST scheduled for Nov 17th, and yes, I checked this date. There is nothing of government importance on this day, though Thanksgiving is quite close. My physical should be sometime between the 24th and 30th. But with turkey day so close, I am betting that it will most likely be sometime in December. At least the ball is rolling again.

Last but not least, the Mrs. and I have decided to add to our little family. We picked her up from the orphanage (AKA, the pound) today and have started the hard work of potty training and shoe protection. She’s a very cute little lab / something else(s). No pictures as of yet, but there will be soon. Instead, please enjoy the newest addition to the “picture worthy” vault. This is a lighthouse located in Crete, Greece. The light house is actually pretty well known and images of it can be found all over the interweb. But don’t be fooled, this picture was actually taken by me… I do love my camera.