Biggest Pet Peeve

My biggest pet peeve is probably indecisiveness. I can’t stand it when people are indecisive. It’s even worse when someone has decided on something, but then they decide to change their mind about 50 times before making their final decision. If it was on a serious issue, it’s understandable. If it’s regarding where to go for lunch, i’ll probably flip out if you don’t make up your mind in 10 minutes. My girlfriend has yet to understand this about me. Actually, she probably does understand, but just enjoys driving me completely insane.

I think I picked this up from my father. He is extremely impatient and has what seems to be, his entire life planned out to a t. He gets pretty upset if I tell him I don’t know what i’m doing over the course of the day, or for the next three days for that matter. I hate this trait due to the fact that I understand how annoying it is but it would be almost impossible for me to change it. I wish I could fix it but I don’t know how. I guess I could try doing some crazy breathing exercises or something of that nature, but I don’t think that would fly too well. My room mate is also pretty indecisive but it’s all good because we get along well, and I just tell him he’s driving me crazy, and then I usually throw things at him. I guess you could call it a love-hate relationship. If anyone has any ideas on how they think they might be able to get me over peeve, let me know. Then again, I don’t know anyone that likes indecisive people right? it’s pretty annoying.

Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

Whenever I’ve read texts on slavery it has generally been the same plot. The author plainly spoke of the slaves being ordered around, mal nourished and beaten when misbehaving. As soon as I started reading The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass I knew it was going to be different. The introduction beginning with his family, and the structure of a plantation and the roles people play keep you interested, and wanting to know more and read on.

The graphic description of the torturous beatings that the slaves received really intensified my interest in the story. I have never read such in depth detail of the beatings that slaves received, but it really makes you fully understand how horrible it was to be a slave. Many people underestimate how horrible the life of a slave was. I could never imagine surviving through one day. Aside from the beatings, they had no link to any member of their family, and if they happened to, they wouldn’t know they were of relation. The perseverance of these slaves is something to acknowledge and honor by itself. Waking up day after day knowing that you will be beaten, dehydrated, malnourished, and potentially raped yet still doing what needs to get done is something that I would rather be killed over.

Love Letters

Love Letters really solidified something that I’ve believed in ever since I had gotten into high school. Never judge someone based upon their race, class, what they’ve been through or where they are going in life. I truly believe every person has some type of quality about them, it is only up to them if they decide to utilize those qualities.

There is a large amount of gang activity in the city of Albany, much of that diffuses off of the streets and into the high school. I have always looked at it as not something to be afraid of, but a way of life. There isn’t anything you can do to stop it, so you must live with it. Throughout my 4 years in high school I became friends with many kids that were affiliated with some type of gang within the city. Many of these kids are very intelligent; and enlisted in honors classes at the high. Of course this is not all of them, but definitely a decent amount. They’re all nice kids, and alot of them enjoy making people laugh. Half of the reason these kids are in gangs is due to the fact that their family life is broken, so they turn to their friends to cling to, and feel that type of love, support, and belonging.

In no way am I trying to advocate gang activity. I’m just trying to explain it as I know it based upon my own experiences. Yeah, alot of these kids are pretty good kids, they’re just going down the wrong path at this time in their life, but honestly, who doesn’t go down the wrong path at one time or another? Some of them are able to come out of it and lead successful lives, some are not, like the three friends i’ve lost due to gang activity. I suppose I’m saying life has its ups and downs, and no matter where a person is in life, whether it be an up or a down, you should always treat someone with respect and as much as I don’t want to say it, don’t judge a book by its cover.

Microsoft is taking over the world.

Microsoft releases details about ZuneMusic player will include wireless technology to let people share music

Microsoft releases details about Zune – Tech News & Reviews – MSNBC.com

        It really seems as though Bill Gates is trying to take over the world. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Microsoft or Bill Gates. The new mp3 player doesn’t even sound like anything amazing and it certainly doesn’t seem to have society overly anxious for its release as Xbox did. It just seems to be a portable version of itunes, but as of right now, you can’t even purchase the mp3s until you plug it into your nearest computer. It just seems like they’re trying to venture into every technological field out there. First computers, then video games, now music? I don’t think Microsoft kitchen supplies will be such a good idea, but they’re on pace for it. Maybe I’m just blowing this a little  out of  proportion because  I’m bored and I have nothing better to talk about, but I doubt it. I’m not even positive that  Zune will be successful and I think many other people feel the same way. It isn’t extraordinary, it doesn’t stand out, there really isn’t anything to look forward to. You get to spend money to buy a product that you can carry around to spend  even more money on, buying songs.

        This Zune music player is being put out onto the market to compete with apple’s ipod. This is going to be extremely difficult due to the fact that apple offers an extensive line up of various mp3 players in different styles and sizes. Zune is a single product that offers no variations, as of yet. I’m not trying to be completely cynical about the release of Zune, but I am. It’s due out around christmas time, so we’ll see how things go.

Live From Death Row

“All death rows share a central goal: “human storage” in an “austere world in which condemned prisoners are treated as bodies kept alive to be killed”

I could never imagine residing in such a place that falls under the description of quote above me for a few days let alone the rest of your life. To live life under complete control, being constantly monitored every second, minute, and hour of the day, and having absolutely no freedom completely takes everything out of life. It seems as though the only thing that you are left with is your soul, your heart, and your brain. If you let your surroundings consume the most intricate things in life, you are left with nothing.

This quote, and this story immediately reminded me of my father.He worked as a Lieutenant in corrections for 25 years. He never worked on a death row, but he had worked at almost every state correctional facility in New York state. He said his co-workers referred to the prisons as a sweatbox for dead men walking. He would always tell me about how horrible the physical conditions were, but how much you could learn from all of the inmates and their experiences. Watching the inmates change over the years from when they arrived until the day he, or they left, was also something he wouldn’t forget. Some men are indeed changed men after their terms have been spent, some never change at all. I’ve been to various prisons that he has worked at, and I’ve met a few inmates. I remember one of them gave me a beautiful wooden sign with our last name engraved into it. It was sanded and smoothed, painted white with black lettering. He was able to make this in a woodworking shop that was offered to the inmates, they commonly made signs for state parks and whatnot, but were allowed to make things for themselves at times. This was offered only in minimum security prisions. I was impressed to say the least. It hangs outside of my house to this very day. Don’t get me wrong with the message that I’m trying to convey. I’m not saying all inmates are good people who make pretty little wooden signs for all of the correctional officers. Many of them are sick, twisted people. Some of them also recognize what they have done wrong, turn to religion to save them and come out completely changed.

I believe Mumia Abu-Jamal was wrongfully convicted of his crime, but if he did indeed shoot Daniel Faulkner, he falls into this category of being a changed man. Mumia has gained international fame since his imprisonment. I had learned of Mumia and his story since 7th grade. Many people have “Free Mumia” bumper stickers, some of you may have seen them. For more info on Mumia, you can visit http://www.freemumia.com/index.html

Is this for real?

More Deadbeat Granddads Failing To Make Birthday Payments

More Deadbeat Granddads Failing To Make Birthday Payments | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source

I initially didn’t believe that this was a true story. This is why I love going on theonion.com. The fact that grandfathers can actually be punished by law because they have failed to give their grandchildren birthday money is pretty hilarious. A fact that is even more funny is that grandfathers across the nation are 23 million dollars in debt to their grandchildren. However in
all seriousness, it’s somewhat depressing that there is a large amount of grandfathers across the nation that do not support nor embrace the celebration of their grandchild’s lives. I do not believe that not providing your
grandchildren with money for their birthday should be punishable by law. Yes it is wrong, but if the grandfather cannot make ends meet, exceptions should be made. My grandparents had always done a good job of giving me a present, or money on my birthday. My only living grandparent, my grandmother, has been living with us ever since I was born. She has yet to miss a birthday. Even my aunts and uncles do a good job. That brings me to my next question. If grandfathers are obligated to give their grandchildren money, what about the grandmothers? I don’t understand how the grandmothers cannot be held accountable for the lack of funds, while the grandfather can. In the article it states

“Without adequate support from their grandfathers, the burden of
children’s birthday spending money is unfairly placed on parents, aunts and
uncles, and even the kids themselves”

notice grandmothers are not mentioned until the end of the article, where they are simply asked to help out and chip in some money, but are not held accountable when they don’t.

This article really sort of made me think about why not
only grandparents, but relatives in general, give us money for our birthdays. Is it because they truly want to give us money to spend it on whatever it is that we want and to show us they care?, or do they feel obligated to do something because they share the same blood as us? I’m shooting for the fact that they care about us, but it does make you think…

surfing the web

Finding a blog I liked was alot harder than I thought it was going to be. After about 30 minutes I finally found one I enjoyed. It covers all current events in the sports world along with odd stories with a humorous twist. The URL is www.themightymjd.com I suggest it to anyone that is interested in what’s going on in both college and professional sports.

The news link that I am adding is www.theonion.com. I was introduced to the onion newspaper by a former teacher of mine in highschool and I’ve been following it online ever since. They have many extensive articles on a vast array of different issues, many of them being out of the ordinary.

Footprints

We have our secrets and our needs to confess. We may remember how, in childhood, adults were able to at first look right through us, and into us, and what an accomplishment it was when we, in fear and trembling, could tell our first lie, and make, for ourselves, the discovery that we are irredeemably alone in certain respects, and know that within the territory of ourselves, there can be only our footprints. –R.D. Laing

I’ve always been pretty honest with my parents, for the most part I guess, Maybe not. I’ll never forget the first time I was caught lying. It was a life changing experience that I am very thankful for. It was not just one, but a series of lies that had spawned from an incident that I had gotten myself into. It was about two years ago, I want to say October 13th, but I can’t be certain. It was probably one of the worst days of my entire life. I had to explain to them the initial lie, and then a few other lies that were connected to that lie. Wow, this blog makes me sound like a really trustworthy person thus far. After all was said and done, for the three days there after, my parents didn’t speak to me unless it was necessary. R.D. Laing’s quote can almost replicate my exact emotions during this time. It had felt like the entire world had come crashing down on me, and there was no one to turn to. I was completely alone, even some of my closest friends were not mad, but disappointed in me. Over some time, the entire incident blew over and I had gained my parents respect back. They said I had never lost their trust nor would I ever be able to, but their respect due to the fact that I had gone to such a low level to lie to them. This situation along with any other memorable situation that anyone has been involved in creates a mental footprint that is to be stored in our minds. We will be able to recollect on this very moment and feel the emotions that we felt that day at any time for the rest of our lives. I am now about to look back not only on these footprints, but others that I have made and decide when it is best for me to follow these footprints or create new ones in life’s travels.

Blogging

We’re supposed to have two posts on our page, one being a test post and another citing a current event. I deleted my test post so I’m throwing this one up there to fill up some space.

The Croc Hunter

Steve Irwin has passed away. Me and my roomate Collin are still in shock. Initially, we could not believe the news. We immediatley started watching all of the major news channels and surfing the web to see if it was true and we soon discovered the rumors were true. Rest In Peace Steve Irwin, you will be missed.

Irwin’s manager relives attack moment-Steve Irwin’s manager, John Stainton, has spoken about the stingray attack that killed the popular television star.Stainton told reporters yesterday that video footage shows Irwin swimming above the stingray on the Great Barrier Reef when it lashed out and speared him through the chest with its barb.He said: “It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest).”"He pulled it out and the next minute he’s gone. The cameraman had to shut down,” Stainton said.”It’s a very hard thing to watch because you’re actually witnessing somebody die… it’s terrible.”"There’s been a million occasions where both of us held our breath and thought we were lucky to get out of that one,” Stainton said. “But he just seemed to have a charmed life.”Australian Prime Minister John Howard paid tribute to Irwin yesterday, saying: “He was a genuine, one-off, remarkable Australian individual and I am distressed at his death.”"We mourn his loss, we’re devastated by the tragic circumstances in which he has been taken from us and we send our love and prayers to his grieving family.”Actor Russell Crowe said that Irwin was the “ultimate wildlife warrior”.”He was the Australian we all aspire to be. He touched my heart. I believed in him. I’ll miss him,” Crowe said.

RTE.ie Entertainment – Irwin’s manager relives attack moment