People who hear the opposite of what is said...

I'm sure I'm not the only one that this has happened to, but I have had people online or offline completely miss my point.  This... needs to stop.  A little background to show an example of what I mean.  I had attempted to defend someone's right to mention or talk just a little bit on a religious belief they were in.  I know I'm not the best at words at times, but what I really said boiled down to "Stop being intolerant and let the person believe what they do or did.  Don't  judge.  Just keep certain negative comments yo yourself."

I can't say exactly what I typed.  I don't have record of it.  But this person went off and left, saying I was an intolerant atheist to which I had no idea what she was talking about.  I too am a believer.  This person clearly wasn't a troll.  They just were so mad that they didn't bother to read it and understand it.  I could only guess that they skimmed it and clearly didn't comprehend it, because they missed so much just by seeing a few words.  

Really this person and another just let their anger keep them from even trying to understand.  

So here's what ypu SHOULD do to avoid being unnecessarily angry.

1) Do NOT react immediately.  Biggest mistake.

Doing this causes a lot of friction.  Whether or not something bad was intended you start or continue an argument.  You can't just assume the other person is going to get the point.  The other person is going to fight back.  Right or wrong.  The other thing is that if you're angry then you can't think clearly anyway.

2) Read and reread (or listen).  Try to understand the other person's point of view.

3). Ask questions, if you're confused.  Even if you don't think you are, ask anyway.  

Anyway, my point is that it just disturbs me that people flat out react or do that while beleiving they heard or read the opposite of what's said.

Try to understand before you go nuclear.

Rules/Laws and Common Sense

Are rules and laws and the like being used unnessarily against people more often now?  What is a rule or law, if you can't just use a little commons sense and reasoning?  In today's world people are either in trouble or let out of trouble for technical reasons.  This happens because authority figures in various forms follow their little rules or laws to the letter as it is written.  I suppose one could say that if they were to let something slide, because of common sense or if they gave someone trouble, because some rule or law said something can or shouldn't be done, then it's a slippery slope.  Nonononono... I beg to differ.  You state the case and why you decided that even though a certain rule or law says something, that you chose to disregard written rule or law.

Rules are stuctured and are there to make things safe for people.  It is there to help keep things in line, but if you choose to go by the book sometimes good people are hurt for actions they shouldn't get hurt for.

Years ago an elderly woman put a hot cup of McDonald's coffee between her legs and when she drove, it spilled onto her lap.  She sued McDonald's and won.  A lot of people shook their heads that day.  Let me make this clear.  Coffee is hot.  Coffee is a hot drink.  It comes out of a coffee maker that steams and steams.  Have you made coffee before?  What if she made her own coffee and burned her legs?  Is she going to sue the maker of the person who made her coffee maker?  It is in my opinion that she was sue happy.  She blamed McDonald's for her mistake.  She put the coffee there.  She spilled it on herself.  What did she expect?  If I was the judge, I'd use a little common sense.  Or I would just throw away the case.  What exactly is the point?  It is a waste of time and money.  She wasted McDonald's time.  She wasted her own time.  And worst of all she wasted the time of the court room.  She wasted the time of her lawyers.  She wasted the time of McDonald's lawyers.  Lawyers wasted their own time.  The judge wasted his time.  Okay, so the lawyers were paid and so was the judge.  Maybe they went ahead and did the case to get paid.  Of course then one could say that the judge could have just ruled in McDonald's favor saying that the old lady did what she did, because of lack of common sense. But no, the judge went by the book or something.  I don't understand anyway, but somehow he came to the stupid conclusion that it was McDonald's fault.

This next one is a little more recent, but not very.  A young man saved the life of a girl.  They both had asthma and they both used the same type of drug in their inhalers.  They both knew this.  The girl was having an asthma attack and she didn't have hers.  The boy, KNOWING she used the same thing let her use his inhaler and this saved her life.  The school suspended him, because the rules state that you don't give others your own medicine.  Admittedly the reasoning behind this rule is very sound.  One could accidently kill someone if they took or gave the wrong medicine.  So, a sound rule was used.  Okay, so that I see nothing wrong with, but because there was nothing in the rules making reasonable exceptions, he was suspended.  Slippery slope?  Is that why they had to suspend him?  To make an example?  Or was it just because he read the rule out of the book and had to do accordingly?  Both students took the SAME inhaler.  Both KNEW this.  The girl's life was in danger.  The boy rescued her.  And for that he is punished?  What is the point of a rule, if you can't use a little common sense?  So something states that one is to be punished for something even if this something saved someone?

In a way I'm sorry I had to write a very negative blog post today, but I think we need to be aware of the fact that rules and laws are being misused even more now than before.  A bit of leniancy is in order.  I think it's oly fair, actually not only fair, but it is right and just to start using one's head to make a judgement call.  We can't just make a judgement call, because a rule or law says we have to.  Where are people's heads at that we follow things to the letter just because a rule or law says so?  We've lost our ability to think things through and are blindly following rules and laws.  Are we so stupid that we don't know what to do in certain situations anymore?  Are we afraid we'll get backlash if we don't follow things to the letter?  There could be a lot of reasons, but I think it needs to be pointed out everywhere that common sense is more important than any rule or law is.  And to just follow one without the other is just foolish.

What Is War?

What is war, but a pointless struggle for power?  I get the idea that it's good for fighting to keep your rights, but that's more or less defense, there.  But, you see, I don't see the whole struggle to control from the other side.  People all over are now trying to struggle and fight for their rights against their governments and that's because their governments want too much control over what they do?  Live and let live.  Why don't they have these rights?  Our government is far from perfect and it really is all complicated, trying to decide what;s good for the people or not, but I love where I live.  I don't agree with our government on a lot of things, but I do realize what we have and we have it better than some people.  I'd like to think that if you're happy with your country, then good for you.

But back in 2001 when we had those planes hijacked.  Terrorism.  What do they want?  Power.  They wanted to control our beliefs.  They want to put all this Mohammed and Alah crap on us.  I don't care what they believe.  That's perfectly okay,as far as I'm concerned.  If they want to believe that, that's great for them, but I don't understand this whole thing of controling the lives of others.  Why the hell do you give two craps what others think?  Why all this need for control.

Ok, so in a sense I do get the idea of control.  I have a few beliefs that I'm rather firm on and have the urge to yell my point or to convince other people of what I consider facts, but all in all, if their beliefs aren't infringing on other people, why should I care?  So I keep my mouth shut.  I mean, it's okay to state my point of view without force, but being forceful just brings them to pushing you back.  You push them and they push you back.  It's nothing but a pointless power struggle.  Everyday, people try to do the impossible.  They push and shove their stuff on someone else with no need and then they push back.  And it goes on and on and on...  I guess what I don't understand is why people don't find the time to sit down in a comfortable chair at the end of the day to reflect.  Maybe keep a blog or private journal.

Religious people.  Some of them are acting on this pointless power struggle.  Politians.  Yeah, they're trying to make a better nation, but they need to reflect on what their position is.  Is it infringing on people's rights?  Daily struggles of some neighbors.  Their values.  Swearing.  Hey, I say as long as the person isn't using a word against you or someone else, then why worry about this supposed taboo word?  I have strong feelings against abortion, but in a way I back down, because they're going to do what they're going to do, but I always come back to myself wondering about the rights of the baby inside a woman whose body is no longer her own.  That's probably my only real issue.  I understand most of the arguements, so that's part of why I back down.  I just assume stay out of it and if was to go out with someone I'd prefer someone that wouldn't do it, if things came to it.  If I was a woman, I just wouldn't have one, if it came down to it, like if I was a woman who was raped.  But I just wouldn't bother telling others.

So, when I vote I would try to choose someone who supports rights of who matter most.  So, what needs to happen is a blance of power among all.  I guess that's what war or more rather struggle, is all about.  Trying to balance that power, but really most of what I started talking about were governments and people in gneral that just won't let people live with the rights they have that don't harm anyone.  If they aren't harming you, then buzz off.  That's what I say.

Moving Forward With Life

So it's been a long time coming.  I finally made my move on April 1st.  I am now living on my own independently.  I've been doing well for the past week for the most part.  My first night had me wanting to cry once in a while, but I was so distracted that it went away.  On top of that I was a little more on the excited part of what's to come next.

So I'm getting my cable.  I've got my internet.  I can broadcast live, if I want to.  Especially from my Playstation 4.  I've tried doing some from a PC game.  I've watched a couple movies.  I've cooked.  I've cleaned.  But I am slacking a little more on cleaning the dishes.  That's partly due to the way I've felt the last two afternoons.  Things just weren't going right.  I messed up and bought something on eBay without realizing what I was getting into.  That will be resolved, thankfully.  But I worried about it all last night.  I ended up not wanting much to eat, so I just made a couple of hot dogs.  This afternoon I decided to put in the new ink cartridge for the used printer I got.  That failed.  The Magenta color wasn't coming out and the black ink that was already in it seemed to have dried up anyways.  It streaks just like the one I'm replacing.  That's a big bummer, but if it comes to it, it's a lot cheaper to buy a new head for this one than the last one.  I'm going to try to clean the head with some alcohol and a q-tip some time.  But at least that will be resolved, too, somehow.  Unfortunately before that I had plugged it into a USB port in the back of my computer.  All of the available ones in the back give power, but do not recognize anything is plugged in.  (4 are used already and work.)  And it seems all the ports in the front top don't work either and do the same thing.  The one on the card reader works, though.  So I can't wrap my head around that.  I can't imagine that it's a hardware problem, because of it is, that's some weird coincidence.

But I'm kind of over that crap for now.  It's just a bad couple of afternoons.

So there is one other thing that I am worried about, but for whatever reason I worry much less about my health, but at least I do something about it.  So I've had dry mouth for months now and it's just getting worse and I'm drinking a lot of fluids and peeing a lot.  I've got various pains in my body.  I'm sleepy all the time.  I walk and all that.  I don't let it get me down, but if I sit still long enough, quietly and comfortably, I can be out like a light.  I've tried to watch a couple things on tv and I ended up rewinding things a few times to get what I missed.  I even rewound that last half hour of a movie.  I have felt a little dizzy once in a while and this seems to happen when I skip breakfast.  I don't always eat breakfast anyway.  I usually live without it.  But I can't just do that anymore or I get really really weak.

So I do have a Bipap machine I wear at night for Sleep Apnea and I no longer have Sleep Apnea while I'm on it.  So that isn't the problem.  I get plenty of sleep.  On average it's been seven to eight hours a night.  I had a blood sugar test after twelve hours of fasting.  The results show I'm fine, but I'm not convinced, so I'm talking with my new doctor Thursday.  You see, people with Sleep Apnea have a good chance of becoming Diabetic.  And those who are Diabetic have a good chance of having Sleep Apnea.  Well, isn't that a low blow.  So I'm convinced that I am at least pre-diabetic.  Pre-diabetes is reversible from what I understand, but whether I can or will reverse it, I don't know.

So this is a mixed bag, moving and all.  I have more freedom.  I have more opportunities.  But unfortunately I feel kind of stuck now, because I am feeling some jealousy of one person, because he is able to get closer to people than I am.  I think I might be a little choosy, too, but that's not all of it.  I'm jealous, because the personal contact I make is not on a level that I wish to have.  One person I could do that with is also an aspie and that can make things a little more difficult, because with me the person has to talk more about who they are and how they are and in person.  I made a connection on a van ride home a week before I went out on my own.  But these things just don't stick.  I lack the ability to keep things going.  Hopefully I an get my head out of my ass.  I mean when there are times that I can talk to people outside of the group during breaks, I either distract myself with my phone or a computer.  And if I want to choose to talk to any one of them they're are usually talking to someone else.

So anyway, more progress needs to be made.

Step Up to the Plate, Schools!

I have two friends that I used to go to school with back till when I graduated in the mid-90s.  Now, I don't have any kids myself, but these two do and off and on I have heard from them as having problems with their kid being bullied in school.  Physical and verbal.  Given that this school is rural, I can say that they probably don't have as many resources as many of these others that talk about having anti-bullying programs.  Well, to some of my knowledge there are some resources they can tap into and it is in my opinion, not necessarily about not having the money to spend on such programs, but more about the reluctance to even look into such things, because this is the way it has been for a long time.

But bullying has gotten worse over the years.  More and more you are hearing about physical fights and suicides.  Now we have the Internet and now kids are being bullied there.  Now I had been a victim of cyberbulling before and now that doesn't bother me anymore, because I can see that it really isn't as threatening as it looks.  Anyways, cyberbullying is quite easy to over blow and when you are young, cyberbullying seems to be very difficult to deal with on the psychological side.  Users can be given anonymity, while they carry out their devious plots.  The fear comes from the unknown.  The bully can hide quite easily there and that makes it very very scary for young people.

As our society progresses, the ways in which one bullies someone else changes and progresses.  Unfortunately the way in which schools deal with it, in many cases, has not.  Underfunded and rural schools miss out on programs to deal with such things, leaving it up to the parents on what to do.  Should they bring in the police, if it gets too bad?  Take it up with a lawyer and press charges?  Some have sued schools as well.  Personally, I don't think suing a school is such a good idea.  You're taking the money they could use to help improve themselves and keeping it for yourself to spend on your kid's help.  Don't get me wrong.  Some people need that money, but when you take money from the school, that makes the problem worse, because then they have more difficulties doing what needs to be done.

And I know I've stated that they may not have the money for such programs, but to me that is sort of a cop out as well.  Surely they can have board meetings.  They can come up with more policies.  They can even talk to other people who have these programs and see what they did about it.  This is kind of a thing where the Internet can really help.  A school can make connections to any school and see what they did.  They can even research how to solve these problems.  But what I'm seeing is that the schools in this area and many others around the country that aren't taking any active rolls in stopping the problem is just not bothering to take the time to make the changes.  I'm sure they care, so I'm not about to take it as "it's our paycheck."  But the fact is that they're not taking the problem seriously enough and they are not taking the extra time it takes to figure out what to do.  If you are part of a school, be you a teacher, principal or even a Secretary, you owe it to the school you work for to take this extra time.  You owe it to the students.  Parents put them there to learn what needs to be known before they become an adult.  But because the parents stay home, it is now the school's responsibility to take care of the child or teenager.

So, what happens if the bully graduates or quits school?  What happens when they become an adult and they go out in the world.  Research has shown that these bullies end up in jail for later offenses.  This doesn't happen all the time, mind you, but when the bully feels they have gotten away with it, they can do whatever they want.  Then they learn the hard way that it is not.

I think schools should be responsible for the welfare, not just of the victims, but all of the students.  They are helping to raise kids just as parents are to do.  Some parents don't even care that much, so maybe the schools should take over.  I realize that it is mostly up to the parents, but if the parent doesn't care enough to raise the child right, then someone needs to do the job.  It has to be someone.  Honestly, I just think people should care more about these children and teenagers growing up.  Don't leave any of them out in the cold.  As a school, the people working there have to take stake in the people of our future.  Knowledge is one thing, but it's just as important to teach respect.  Sure that is part of schools and always has been, but we need to see much more of this.  Schools need to start stepping up to the plate.  I have always felt that they don't do what they should be doing and with these anti-bullying programs just beginning, I see no reason not to jump into this subject no matter what your funding or resources.  Find these things and just take charge.  It may take extra effort for a school to do so, but it is something that can be done and should not be put aside.

My PS4 Unboxing

I'm sorry about the audio problems.  My camera's mic no longer works as it should, but you see what you see anyways.  And to redo the whole thing would seem to be pointless.  Also, I could have sworn I had the camera set up straight when pointing to the tv.  Weird.  Really really weird.

Anyways, You know what's in the box.  One thing should point out is that when I go into "The Playroom" you'll notice that the screen blinks a couple times and reads "No Signal."  I thought I had one of the bad PS4s at that point.  =/  But the light on the PS4 was white and not blue as many articles would point out.  I was putting it through an HDMI switch, because I only have two HDMI ports on my tv.  Satellite receiver, PS3, and now this.  So, I plug it directly in and now it's fine.  This has to do with HDCP (High Definition Copy Protection).

Coming Soon: Playstation 4 unboxing and more...

Yes, I know the Playstation 4 is already out.  I realized much too late that I would have the money for the new system.  I was going to hold off, but I sold a lot of things that I realized that I had no more use for and combined it with a little extra.  Anyways, lucky for me, Walmart's website allowed me to order the Playstation 4 as a bundled item that came with any game of my choosing.  I chose Assassin's Creed IV:  Black Flag.  The game arrived, however the system is on "hug demand" as they called it.  It will not ship to me till December 11th or 12th.  I could get it the following Saturday the 14th or Monday the 16th.  Until then, I hope to start blogging again.