Ever wish you could just disappear for a few weeks and go where you want to go and just do whatever you wanted? I definitely do. I would travel to Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Peru to see Machu Picchu, China to hike the old Great Wall of China (not the rebuilt tourist section), and hike the Glaciers in Alaska.
Yellowstone fascinates me because it's an active super volcano. Not active in the sense that it's erupting, but the caldera is filling and is shifting the land to the point where the lakes in Yellowstone are shifting. I'd love to see Old Faithful just get a sense of the volcanic activity around me. The wild life is also something I really want to see in Yellowstone and hopefully I would be able to get a photograph or two of them. Seeing pictures that someone else took just doesn't do it for me, as it doesn't for most people.
Yosemite is something I would love to see because of all of the geologic beauty and wildlife. The area was formed by glaciers and from pictures it just looks amazing. Just like Yellowstone, Yosemite has a lot of wildlife throughout the park and I would definitely like to get some pictures there too.
Machu Picchu is a Wonder of the World for a reason. Built by the Incas high up in the mountains, the architecture has stood the test of time. The stones are cut with such precision, that you can't even fit a piece of paper between the stones. Some think it was built by aliens because the stone cutting is so precise. It's a large city where they also farmed their food on stepped terraces. I just want to hike all around Machu Picchu and also head into Lima, Peru to get a taste of the people, food, and culture of Peru. Since I don't speak Spanish, luckily a lot of the people in Peru do speak English fluently, so I won't be too lost.
The Great Wall of China is another Wonder of the World. The pictures you see of it on TV where it is completely built and tourists are walking on the way is a section that was actually rebuilt by the Chinese government to bring tourists in. I have very little interest in this section of the wall because I am not a fan of touristy areas. I want to hike the ruins of the Great Wall through the Chinese country side. I don't feel the need to hike the entire distance, but I would like to hike a large section while looking at the ruins, seeing villages near the wall, and just experiencing the Chinese country side. This of course would take a lot of planning, but I think it would be so worth it in the end.
Hiking the Glaciers in Alaska is a dream of mine. Now, you're probably thinking that I'm crazy for wanting to go into such a cold harsh environment. I LOVE the cold!!! I'd much rather be cold than hot, so Alaska is my cup of tea. Hiking the glaciers would be like walking on another planet to me. It dangerous, it's exciting, it's beautiful, and it would be one hell of an experience for me. Glaciers slowly diminishing by melting and breaking off at a fast rate, so the earlier I could hike the glaciers, the better.
That's my short list of what I would like to do if I could just disappear and do whatever for a few weeks. I'm not much of a party guy, so I won't be disappearing to Vegas and drinking myself to oblivion. Now, I could do this alone or take my boys. I'm not sure my wife would want to do this at all because she's not an outdoors girl, especially when it comes to hiking, but I think my boys would have a great time and would be in complete awe. It would also show them how big the world is and just how small they are. There is a saying that I've heard that I truly believe in, "The more one travels, the more one realizes how little they actually know and how insignificant they are." I have no idea who originally said this, but I think it's a 100% true as long as you're truly taking in everything around you.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Reading Warnings on Personal Computers
OK... I'm an IT guy and I read warnings that come up on my PC. Most of them tell you what you need to do to fix the issue or avoid an issue, hence the reason they are called warnings. But why is it so many people are afraid of READING these warnings and doing what it says? And it's not just warnings... People won't do simple setup of Internet Explorer and then they get all mad that the setup comes up every time they open Internet Explorer. It has a wizard, so all you have to do is READ and go through the steps. Now, I realize that I'm computer inclined and a lot of people aren't, but really I just read everything that is in front of me. I think people would be amazed how simple computers are if they just read what is in front of them. It's not like the old days where you have enter DOS code to get the machine running. Everything is made very simple for people in software.
Is it laziness? Is it stupidity? Do they just have a PC phobia? Computers aren't going to blow up on you, especially if you read everything in front of you. If you read what is in front of you on your PC, you'll learn a lot about software and your PC, you won't kill your machine, people will begin to think you're really intelligent because you know what's going on with your PC. If you don't understand something your reading that your computer is trying to tell you, then Google it... Guess what! That's what us IT guys do if we don't understand or don't know something. All the information you need is out there on the web. Be resourceful and go look it up... You'll save yourself a ton of money by not having to call IT support for simple things.
Retailers with IT support make a ton of money off of people who are just too lazy to read and fix the machine themselves. I overheard what a big retailer IT support guy was telling a customer at the counter once and I just shook my head. The problem was a 2 minute fix, but the big retailer IT support guy was giving the poor woman this long BS explanation and it was going to cost her $50 to fix it. Save your money people... READ! Computers aren't these scary things that are going to blow up if you click the wrong button. The worst thing that could happen is that you may have to uninstall a piece of software and then install it again. That's better than spending a ridiculous amount of money.
I know sometimes you can have a problem and you get frustrated and you just want to throw your machine out the window. I have those days too. That's when I get up, walk away, get my mind back in a more stable place, then I'll go back and look at the error. I'll research it by Googling the exact error message and I'll usually find the answer. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and relax and then go back and figure it out slowly.
Bottom line is that you don't need to be a computer expert to fix most software issues, you just need to take the time to read everything that is in front of you and if you don't understand, look it up. Laziness drives most people to call their IT support and let me tell you from personal experience, that is the best way to get on your IT support person's nerves. And be sure that after you hang up, that IT support person has you labeled as an idiot. If you don't want that to happen to you, do your homework and look up the issue and try a resolution or 2 before calling. If those don't work and you need to call your IT support, tell your IT support person what you have tried and they will think highly of you for reading and making a valiant attempt to troubleshoot your own machine. Oh, and remember that details are very important to your IT support person when you call.
Is it laziness? Is it stupidity? Do they just have a PC phobia? Computers aren't going to blow up on you, especially if you read everything in front of you. If you read what is in front of you on your PC, you'll learn a lot about software and your PC, you won't kill your machine, people will begin to think you're really intelligent because you know what's going on with your PC. If you don't understand something your reading that your computer is trying to tell you, then Google it... Guess what! That's what us IT guys do if we don't understand or don't know something. All the information you need is out there on the web. Be resourceful and go look it up... You'll save yourself a ton of money by not having to call IT support for simple things.
Retailers with IT support make a ton of money off of people who are just too lazy to read and fix the machine themselves. I overheard what a big retailer IT support guy was telling a customer at the counter once and I just shook my head. The problem was a 2 minute fix, but the big retailer IT support guy was giving the poor woman this long BS explanation and it was going to cost her $50 to fix it. Save your money people... READ! Computers aren't these scary things that are going to blow up if you click the wrong button. The worst thing that could happen is that you may have to uninstall a piece of software and then install it again. That's better than spending a ridiculous amount of money.
I know sometimes you can have a problem and you get frustrated and you just want to throw your machine out the window. I have those days too. That's when I get up, walk away, get my mind back in a more stable place, then I'll go back and look at the error. I'll research it by Googling the exact error message and I'll usually find the answer. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and relax and then go back and figure it out slowly.
Bottom line is that you don't need to be a computer expert to fix most software issues, you just need to take the time to read everything that is in front of you and if you don't understand, look it up. Laziness drives most people to call their IT support and let me tell you from personal experience, that is the best way to get on your IT support person's nerves. And be sure that after you hang up, that IT support person has you labeled as an idiot. If you don't want that to happen to you, do your homework and look up the issue and try a resolution or 2 before calling. If those don't work and you need to call your IT support, tell your IT support person what you have tried and they will think highly of you for reading and making a valiant attempt to troubleshoot your own machine. Oh, and remember that details are very important to your IT support person when you call.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Advocacy Groups and Freedoms
So, I read an article in USA Today about an anti-meat advocacy group calling a restaurant owner immoral because a customer had a heart attack while eating a 6,000 kcal burger in his restaurant. Here's my take on the article and what this advocacy group has to say:
These people are stupid... The man who had the heart attack already had a heart condition while he was eating the burger. It's not going to cause a heart attack as he is eating the burger, so the restaurant is not at fault. The man who had the heart attack is the person at fault here. No one forced him to go in there and try to eat a 6,000 kcal burger. I'm sure his eating habits were already poor to say the least.
Shutting the restaurant down isn't going to stop people from their bad eating habits over long periods of time which is what caused the man to have a heart attack. The restaurant owner expressed sorrow for the victim and was upset at the tourists for taking pictures, so I don't see the owner as being immoral, he's just making money off of people's stupidity, but hasn't that been done for centuries? Why doesn't this advocacy group go after hookers for being immoral or why don't they go after marathoners for abusing their bodies during long runs because they have heart attacks too. I just don't understand why groups like this have to make an issue out of everything.
These are people's choices that they make. We live in the United States of America and people have the right to do whatever they want to their bodies and business owners have a right to make money off of stupid people. This Anti-meat Advocacy Group has the right to say what they want about this, but calling the restaurant manager immoral is just stupid because they don't know the man and he's just making a living off of stupid people legally. It's not like he's out selling drugs which is illegal and, to me, is immoral.
That's my 2 cents on the issue.
These people are stupid... The man who had the heart attack already had a heart condition while he was eating the burger. It's not going to cause a heart attack as he is eating the burger, so the restaurant is not at fault. The man who had the heart attack is the person at fault here. No one forced him to go in there and try to eat a 6,000 kcal burger. I'm sure his eating habits were already poor to say the least.
Shutting the restaurant down isn't going to stop people from their bad eating habits over long periods of time which is what caused the man to have a heart attack. The restaurant owner expressed sorrow for the victim and was upset at the tourists for taking pictures, so I don't see the owner as being immoral, he's just making money off of people's stupidity, but hasn't that been done for centuries? Why doesn't this advocacy group go after hookers for being immoral or why don't they go after marathoners for abusing their bodies during long runs because they have heart attacks too. I just don't understand why groups like this have to make an issue out of everything.
These are people's choices that they make. We live in the United States of America and people have the right to do whatever they want to their bodies and business owners have a right to make money off of stupid people. This Anti-meat Advocacy Group has the right to say what they want about this, but calling the restaurant manager immoral is just stupid because they don't know the man and he's just making a living off of stupid people legally. It's not like he's out selling drugs which is illegal and, to me, is immoral.
That's my 2 cents on the issue.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
First Post - DC Area Drivers
Well, this will be my first blog posting. Be patient with me as they will get better over time, I'm sure. These blogs will be about my general observations as I go through my days. The observations will vary, but they are completely my opinion and I may be completely wrong, but it's just how I'm observing things, so I'm definitely not out to offend anyone.
Today, I just look at drivers in area and realize how clueless they are. Now, I live in the DC suburbs of VA and drivers in this area have never been good, but add a smartphone to that mix and the driving just gets dangerous. People will be driving at or above speed limit one second and then suddenly they slow down to 10 MPH below the posted speed limit in the left lane. Umm, I was always taught that the left lane was for passing and not for cruising at the speed limit, so cruising or slowing way down in the left lane is VERY irritating to me. Upon closer observation of the driver who is slowing down in the left lane, usually you can see the glow of a smartphone or the person's hand up to their ear.
I don't understand why people can't wait until they get to their destination to make a phone call or to send an email. Is work or your social life so important that you can't wait 20 or 30 minutes to make a phone call or send an email? I understand that things move fast around here, but putting your life and everyone's life around you in jeopardy because you need to make a phone call or send an email is just stupid! Just wait to make the call until you get to your destination. You'll get there faster and safer by being able to drive faster and paying more attention to the road.
I applaud the people that I see on the highways that pull over to make a phone call. If you need to make an emergency call or shoot off an important email, that's the way to do it!
Keep in mind, I'm not against technology by any means. I'm an IT Systems Engineer and I love my tech gadgets, but driving while using these gadgets is dangerous to the person using them and everyone around that person. I'm all for requiring hands free devices which works fairly well in the District of Columbia, but I do not support the use of smartphones without hands free devices.
Today, I just look at drivers in area and realize how clueless they are. Now, I live in the DC suburbs of VA and drivers in this area have never been good, but add a smartphone to that mix and the driving just gets dangerous. People will be driving at or above speed limit one second and then suddenly they slow down to 10 MPH below the posted speed limit in the left lane. Umm, I was always taught that the left lane was for passing and not for cruising at the speed limit, so cruising or slowing way down in the left lane is VERY irritating to me. Upon closer observation of the driver who is slowing down in the left lane, usually you can see the glow of a smartphone or the person's hand up to their ear.
I don't understand why people can't wait until they get to their destination to make a phone call or to send an email. Is work or your social life so important that you can't wait 20 or 30 minutes to make a phone call or send an email? I understand that things move fast around here, but putting your life and everyone's life around you in jeopardy because you need to make a phone call or send an email is just stupid! Just wait to make the call until you get to your destination. You'll get there faster and safer by being able to drive faster and paying more attention to the road.
I applaud the people that I see on the highways that pull over to make a phone call. If you need to make an emergency call or shoot off an important email, that's the way to do it!
Keep in mind, I'm not against technology by any means. I'm an IT Systems Engineer and I love my tech gadgets, but driving while using these gadgets is dangerous to the person using them and everyone around that person. I'm all for requiring hands free devices which works fairly well in the District of Columbia, but I do not support the use of smartphones without hands free devices.
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