Thursday, March 26, 2015

Speak Your Mind!

This is Robert Downy Jr.
You wanna know what I like about RDJ? He's Tony Stark! I'm pretty sure he will always be Tony Stark. If ever there is another Iron Man, they will not fill the roll as well as RDJ.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, one thing I like about Tony Stark, is that he speaks his mind. There isn't much you don't know about him as a character. His opinions are right on his sleeves, and those opinions are usually blunt, honest, and to the point. I like that!

I was reading a comment thread the other day on Facebook. The topic of this thread was the BBC dropping Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear. Now, that's not important, to me at least. The part that struck me was that the OP of the thread had a dilemma. Short sweet and to the point, he felt one way about the firing of Jeremy Clarkson and his friends felt another way. He was almost disgusted that his friends could feel so passionately about an opinion that was contrary to his. He wasn't quite sure what to do.

My advice to my children will to be always speak your mind. Some might disagree with me on that, with the assumption that peoples feelings might get hurt, or that speaking your mind may affect you negatively sometimes, but hear me out on this one before jumping to conclusions. In my relationship with the people of this world I have found more likely than not, that when I have a problem with someone, it's because of a lack of communication. Thoughts weren't properly expressed leaving me and the other party to fill in the gap with our own assumptions. This is why I always try to express my opinion, I don't want people guessing which side I am on.

So what should you do when others have opinions different from yours? Accept them. Opinions make us who we are. We are all comprised of different opinions, that were constructed through different experiences, trials, joys, and other things we have lived through. They are formed by what we watch, who we associate with, where we live. Think about it, not one person in this world is exactly the same as you. Difference in opinion should be celebrated, not frowned upon. Expressing what is in your mind is like sharing a part of who you are. We should never be against sharing opinions. 

Now, going back to where you may disagree with me. It's all about presentation. There are times to share your opinions and there are times to hold you tongue. But you should never leave a situation thinking "I should have said" or "I wish I would have". You shouldn't push your opinions on others, and you should be accepting of opinions that differ from yours. That is how in fact we makes our opinions stronger.

A person cannot grow if he or she constantly places themselves is "safe" situations. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I cannot shun myself away from those with different beliefs. One, that isn't what God would want, two, how would I grow if I only surround myself with things that were comfortable to me. 

Your opinions need to be challenged, they need to be expressed, and you yourself sometimes need to hear your own voice solidifying what you believe. So share you mind. It's what makes you, you. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Should I Own a Gun?


 This is a pretty cool video. When I went through my CCW (Concealed carry or carrying a concealed weapon) class the first time, my instructor taught us the responsibilities of owning and carrying a firearm. He taught us how we are held to a higher standard of safety, and that we would be responsible for not only our lives but those who live around us. Not just by protecting them with a gun, but by protecting them from the gun.

I didn't get my CCW my first time around. I chose not to. It was a lot of weight on my shoulders, all of that responsibility. But as time went on and I heard more stories of people being killed by those with guns, I realized that I would be defenseless if I ever ended up in any of those situations. I went back, took the course again, and got my CCW.

I don't think all people are meant to have gun. Just like, not all people should drive. Not all people should own a credit card. You see all of these things require something, RESPONSIBILITY. You have to be responsible if you are going to own a gun. You have to educate yourself, take the proper precautions, teach your children the do's and don'ts of gun ownershipe, and if you can't do that, you shouldn't own a gun.

The people in this video were caught off guard. The were shown all of the horrible things that guns can do but weren't given the option of being positively persuaded to know that guns also save lives. The news doesn't report on the situations where a registered CCW holder saves the lives of those around them. Google "CCW saves lives" you will find plenty of cases where someone saves their own or others lives. Of course no one wants to own a gun who has killed someone. Even as a gun owner, I would feel really weird owning a gun that has taken innocent lives. People using guns kill people. The gun doesn't shoot itself.

These are all thoughts and ideas that have been said before, I don't claim to be revolutionary to them. But my thoughts on the subject of guns are this. If you want to own a gun, you need to feel ready to own a gun. Guns should always scare you, they are dangerous if not handled with care. So that is the question, are you ready to handle to responsibility of gun ownership? We you make sure you gun is safe at all times? Will you teach those around you about gun safety? If you feel responsible enough to own a gun, I would recommend it, not just for your safety but for the safety of others as well. If you don't then my advice to you is this, do not buy a gun. Take your time and wait until you can handle the responsibility of owning a gun.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

New Job, technically the same, but new...

So I got a job. It's the same company, just a different position. I guess that's called a promotion. Either way, it's new and it's not what I was doing before! Here's the scoop. I moved into the office of Alias the Bugman. Alias the Bugman is my parents company, they've been around for about 27 years as a small family owned and operated company. Blah blah blah, advertisement blah blah blah. Regardless my job is to market Alias the Bugman. Me ... a marketer. HA! I also have to learn how to create websites and update the current one we have. It's pretty ancient. When you open it up dust literally comes out of your monitor. With said new position I have had to learn how to use Photoshop to help create the website and advertisements. I wanted to post a few of the pictures I have been working on. I also have a Spikeball club that I run here in Vegas. I've been creating stuff for it too, so it's included.