Well It has been quite a while since I have posted a blog here but I hope this does reach a few folk and I hope that all of you out there are doing well. Lets blame the lapse in writing on winter shall we...it sure is hard to get motivated to do much when the weather is bad. However as the days get longer and warmer we are all beginning to to feel that annual anticipation of summer coming on. I think this must be the definition of spring fever.
For me spring fever usually comes with symptoms of wanting to spend more time outside, feeling anxious at work knowing that another beautiful day is ticking by as I sit at my desk and type or file or whatever else I would rather not be doing when the sun is shining and the temperature is rising.
Another recurring symptom of spring fever that I have been suffering from for a few years is the compulsion to buy and ride a motorcycle. I have has a few during my life and I do thoroughly enjoy riding, however one of my riding seasons was cut short a few years ago due to an accident in which the bike was hurt worse than I was. Even though my knee was badly injured in the accident I was raring to go again as soon as I could stand with out the assistance of crutches. Sadly the motorcycle, which was a 60's vintage Triumph chopper, was not up to the task after taking the spill.
Now as the winter months again yield to spring I am again beginning to feel that familiar old yearning for the road on a two wheeled machine. I have recently been musing as to why this is. After all it is quite a dangerous pastime, and no matter how many ways I rationalize it (it will be better on gas than my Jeep, it will get through traffic better, it will be a great addition to my other summer pastimes with my girlfriend, etc...) I have to realize and recognize the inherent risks that accompany such a recreation.
When we are living our lives we are hopefully, constantly struggling to find a balance between long life and enjoyable life. As the news and doctors report almost anything in this world can be bad for you, too much sunshine, too much fresh air, too much of this food or that food, too many drinks and on and on. However if you are listening closely you will also hear that if you are not partaking enough in these things you may also be harming your health. Sunshine gives us vitamin D, fresh air is good for your heart and lungs when taken in during a walk or run, some fatty foods are good for you there is even good cholesterol (who knew), even drinking alcohol in moderation is recommended by some doctors.
So for me, the decision becomes; Is riding a motorcycle beneficial enough for me mentally, physically, and spiritually, (yes spiritually, if you don't understand I doubt I can explain it to you) to take on the risk of permanent injury or even death be it my own undoing or at the hands of another person?
I think the answer now is yes. I trust myself enough to make good decisions about when to ride, where to ride and how to ride. I trust myself enough to be wary while on the road and be the definition of a defensive rider when riding next to that 17 year old who is on the phone while eating and drinking their healthy dose of fast food cholesterol, or behind the bar goer who has had their healthy dose of alcohol.
I also think, that that is a decision that you make each and every time you climb on the back of a motorcycle, whether it be a conscious choice or not. The same goes for all of us and most everything we do, when you get into your car in the morning and begin your drive to work you are saying the you trust yourself (and others) enough to risk that drive to work.
If I say anything today that makes any sense and doesn't sound like mindless babble let it be this...As you live your life be unafraid, be conscious be intelligent, but be unafraid, live your live as if you know you will die soon. Because you will, we all will.
That sounds terribly heavy, but let it be not heavy, let it just be what it is, a fact and let us all enjoy life without fear.
Thanks for following me down that rabbit hole. I will post again soon.
Be well, all of you!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Death of a Newspaper
Last week the Denver post went on sale. When I heard that I was thinking to my self "really a whole newspaper for sale?". Even more interesting is that in 2002 the Post merged with the Rocky Mountain News so that they were not competing for readership.
So really the question here is what is happening to these news papers that they can no longer stay afloat let alone thrive as they once did? The obvious answer is that people are getting their news from more convenient sources; TV, and the Internet. But TV has been around for a while now and papers were still doing well, I guess readers wanted something TV couldn't offer, like more in depth coverage of local news, human interest stories, classifieds even. But now the Internet can do all that and more in far less time, since readers can search exactly what they want to read, and for no extra charge above what they already pay for Internet service.
What does this mean for us as consumers of news in the future? I think the printed news will eventually be extinct. And if we are not careful so will the printed word all together.
Just think of how we take pictures and share them with our families and friends now. Most of us have digital cameras, we snap our pics, upload them to our computers and email away. This is so much more convenient than buying film and then going to the store to get our pictures developed and because of that convenience we all do it. But what is the down side here? Well what about the physical archive the printed pictures represent. How many times have each of us been visiting a relative or been helping mom or grandma clean out a closet or attic and ran across a box full of old photos? And sure to follow are stories that would have been long forgotten if not for that physical archive, there forgotten in a box just waiting to jar a memory to life. How will that happen now? Will our grandkids be going through our old thumb drives, flash drives, hard drives? Will they stumble upon our myspace in 40 years? Are we losing something here?
And what about other physical archives? Printing books costs a lot of money but publishing on the Internet is virtually free, I didn't pay for this blog and neither are you paying to read my drivel. How long will it be until paper publishing is extinct? And then since reading is so bothersome we will just wait until an audio book of the material is published and just listen our way to knowledge and entertainment. What will that mean for our civilization? Will we eventually become illiterate? Will we stop seeing a need to teach our children to read?
Makes one think doesn't it?
So really the question here is what is happening to these news papers that they can no longer stay afloat let alone thrive as they once did? The obvious answer is that people are getting their news from more convenient sources; TV, and the Internet. But TV has been around for a while now and papers were still doing well, I guess readers wanted something TV couldn't offer, like more in depth coverage of local news, human interest stories, classifieds even. But now the Internet can do all that and more in far less time, since readers can search exactly what they want to read, and for no extra charge above what they already pay for Internet service.
What does this mean for us as consumers of news in the future? I think the printed news will eventually be extinct. And if we are not careful so will the printed word all together.
Just think of how we take pictures and share them with our families and friends now. Most of us have digital cameras, we snap our pics, upload them to our computers and email away. This is so much more convenient than buying film and then going to the store to get our pictures developed and because of that convenience we all do it. But what is the down side here? Well what about the physical archive the printed pictures represent. How many times have each of us been visiting a relative or been helping mom or grandma clean out a closet or attic and ran across a box full of old photos? And sure to follow are stories that would have been long forgotten if not for that physical archive, there forgotten in a box just waiting to jar a memory to life. How will that happen now? Will our grandkids be going through our old thumb drives, flash drives, hard drives? Will they stumble upon our myspace in 40 years? Are we losing something here?
And what about other physical archives? Printing books costs a lot of money but publishing on the Internet is virtually free, I didn't pay for this blog and neither are you paying to read my drivel. How long will it be until paper publishing is extinct? And then since reading is so bothersome we will just wait until an audio book of the material is published and just listen our way to knowledge and entertainment. What will that mean for our civilization? Will we eventually become illiterate? Will we stop seeing a need to teach our children to read?
Makes one think doesn't it?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Job Hunting In Denver
I just moved to Denver about 2 weeks ago, but I am eagerly searching for a job.
I decided on a degree on sociology so that when I entered the work force I could help people by working in social services. After considering who I would like to help, out of all those in need, I am continually drawn to teens and adolescences. I admit I am a biased party, since I have a brother that has been in contact with the authorities since he was 14 years old, who is now serving a life sentence (for a crime that I believe he did not commit). What draws me though is not that I have sympathy for my brother and his plight of being wrongly convicted and imprisoned(however sympathetic I may be). The draw for me is that I believe that if given the right tools, and skills to use them he could have moved away from the path that took him close enough to a murder to be accused of it in the first place.
Now the challenge, I am applying to the state of Colorado for a job as a youth security officer, not exactly a helping hand kind of job I know, but its a job that will give me experience and a chance to make a difference on a more personal level with the individuals that are affected by the harsh laws that send them to these facilities where they are given little or no instruction on how to cope with the situation that they are in, that is well beyond their maturity level.
What I hope to gain is insight. Insight as to how the system works and how it fails and what might be done about it. What I hope to accomplish, is a restructuring of my character from student of the social sciences to a worker in the social field. I also hope to form some relationships that will help guide me through my career, not only with co-workers and supervisors but also with the inmates/clients.
In the longer run my hope is that through whatever work I can do, small or big, I can help to bring about change that will ensure that our young people, who find themselves on the wrong side of the law when they are too young to fully realize the consequences of their actions, to ensure that they are given the second chance they deserve to re-enter society without stigma or label and to ensure that they are given the right tools and the skills to use them so that they can succeed.
I decided on a degree on sociology so that when I entered the work force I could help people by working in social services. After considering who I would like to help, out of all those in need, I am continually drawn to teens and adolescences. I admit I am a biased party, since I have a brother that has been in contact with the authorities since he was 14 years old, who is now serving a life sentence (for a crime that I believe he did not commit). What draws me though is not that I have sympathy for my brother and his plight of being wrongly convicted and imprisoned(however sympathetic I may be). The draw for me is that I believe that if given the right tools, and skills to use them he could have moved away from the path that took him close enough to a murder to be accused of it in the first place.
Now the challenge, I am applying to the state of Colorado for a job as a youth security officer, not exactly a helping hand kind of job I know, but its a job that will give me experience and a chance to make a difference on a more personal level with the individuals that are affected by the harsh laws that send them to these facilities where they are given little or no instruction on how to cope with the situation that they are in, that is well beyond their maturity level.
What I hope to gain is insight. Insight as to how the system works and how it fails and what might be done about it. What I hope to accomplish, is a restructuring of my character from student of the social sciences to a worker in the social field. I also hope to form some relationships that will help guide me through my career, not only with co-workers and supervisors but also with the inmates/clients.
In the longer run my hope is that through whatever work I can do, small or big, I can help to bring about change that will ensure that our young people, who find themselves on the wrong side of the law when they are too young to fully realize the consequences of their actions, to ensure that they are given the second chance they deserve to re-enter society without stigma or label and to ensure that they are given the right tools and the skills to use them so that they can succeed.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Blog numero uno
So I've been hearing about this blogging thing for a few years now and never really looked into it, never subscribed to any blog or read one with any consistence. So, of course I'm a shoe in for having the next hot blog. Or maybe I can just use this space to exercise some demons, and give you a little insight into the twisted way that I see this twisted world. It would be nice if some of you out there got some sort of inspiration or enlightenment from reading the word put to page here but if you don't I'm just going to keep writing anyway in hopes that one day I really can get Unlost.
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