Lottery Amendment

I'd probably add an amendment that protects the free rights of the internet. For years, the internet has been a place for the freedom of speech without fear of retribution and I'd like to keep it like that. Some people within the government have been trying to find ways to strike down the pirates (someone who illegally seeds and leeches software, movies, games, etc.) online. However, the bills that were proposed were so vague on what pirating was that it would actually cut down a majority of innocent sites and users. It's for the purpose of stopping these attempts to censor the internet that I would propose an amendment that would give the internet the freedom of being managed and regulated by the users of the world rather than a few government officials. Pirates will always find ways to perform their duties no matter what stands in their way, and the internet is doing great without government regulation, so why not keep it like that?

Belief

Prepare for a jumbled mess of thoughts.

I honestly don't wish I could believe in anything I don't believe in now. When I did believe in whatever it was I believed in, I guess I could say that there was some comfort in it, but not now. To put it simply, there's a reason why I don't believe in it now. If anything else, I don't really care whether or not I believe in anything right now - just believing in something without any backbone to the belief isn't very wise, nor is it worth any significant amount of time. Just believing in something won't make much of a difference unless you act upon that belief (which most people don't do).

Internal vs. External Appearance: Do the two relate?

Stated differently: Does someone's personality relate to their external appearance? I feel that personality has nothing to do with external appearance besides a little bit of influence and that any relations are purely coincidence. For instance, when most people look at me for the first time, some find me scary while others find me weird until they get to know me (a big guy wearing dark-ish clothes and usually a tired frown on his face says something about that person). My own personality sort of contrasts with what I wear most of the time. Another thing I'd like to add is that even if personality related to outer appearances, then I'd still give everyone a chance even if they look like we'd hate each other.

Tribes

I know for a fact that I belong in the tribe known as the gamers, I have been for most of my life. I'm also a part of the few who are happy with where they live; the ones that get good grades without trying too hard; the ones that spend too much time with computers; the anime cultures, the cartoon cultures, the T.V. cultures; the procrastinators; the "little big kids".

This I Believe "Podcast"

Introvert or Extrovert?

I'm a mix of both due to the fact that spending time with friends is refreshing for me, while spending time alone is also a good time. People who are able to adapt to both lifestyles will lead much easier lives due to the diversity in their daily activities, making each day an adventure of sorts. If everyone in the world was an extrovert, I'd be slapping people in the face on a daily basis because they'd be too obnoxious for me to handle them rationally; on the flip-side, if everyone was an introvert, the world would just be a very boring and secluded place. I couldn't care less whether or not my friends are introverts or extroverts, just as long as we get along well enough. Whether you're an extrovert or an introvert, the natural talents that come with the choice are completely dependent on the person, not the social links they choose.

Thought For The Day (TFTD): Life Law 6: Perception

     Where to start... I guess I'll start off by agreeing that reality is based off of one's perception and opinion of the world rather than everyone seeing the world the same way. For instance, some may think the world is a dark, brooding place filled with horrible things around every corner, while others (like me) feel like the world is nothing more than a game that needs to be won. What I mean by that is that every day we're always getting up and getting ready to fight against the things that keep us down in life since the ultimate goal of every human being is to be at the very top of the world (much like a "leaderboard" in a video game). That was a bit off-topic, so here we go back on track; in response to the "tapes" section of Life Law Six, you should expect to see that some of them are true, but a few of them are usually off by a lot. The way I see it, such generalizations are a part of any game and should be expected by newbies and older players alike, so they still have time to learn some truths and change their minds in the future.

I know that this entire post is pretty out of order, but most of what I write comes from "spur-of-the-moment" moments, and given how much time I had, I didn't really want to filter through most of it (if any). They're good thoughts, nonetheless.

WalTman Poem

     First off, an explanation for the title; I keep thinking "WalTman" when thinking of Walt Whitman, so from now on I will call him "WalTman" in these blog posts. If any offense is taken, I will make changes accordingly.

     This time around I chose his poem "I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing" mainly because it sort of reminds me of myself. He mentions how lovely and healthy the oak looks despite having no other trees around, and that sort of reminds me of myself since I usually isolate myself from others and feel just dandy. Another reason is that it gives me a hot, comfortable atmosphere whenever I read it, so this is actually something I'd hang in a picture frame.

Walt Whitman

To start off, John Whitman was a fairly (in)famous poet/journalist/essayist from the early 1800's to the late 1800's. He was born in Long Island, New York in 1819 and died in the same location in 1892. Most of his literature was more in the realism area, but also touched base with humanism and transcendentalism. A lot of his work was considered very controversial due to his many sexual themes and references, most notably his work in Leaves of Grass. I'd say he's more of a realist than a romanticist since he would look at some of society's "features" and sort of "bring them into light" rather than make it seem more romantic and fantasy-like.

To be honest, I didn't have any favorites of his mainly because I'm one of the least poetic people I know. If I were to choose one of the poems, however, I'd choose Shut Not Your Doors.

Human Activity on the Earth: Helping or Harming?

[Topic #29; front page, 2nd column, 2nd to last from the bottom]

     There has always been discussion over whether or not our actions on this planet have had any significant impact on it. Are we damaging the planet; are we destroying the planet; are we helping the planet? These are just some of the questions posed by the people of Earth. In my honest and true opinion, I feel that we aren't doing a single thing to this planet that would severely cripple or ultimately destroy the planet. Why is that? Look at it this way: this planet has been here for billions of years for all we know and has survived every natural and artificial disaster that has occured throughout the substantially long time it has existed. What makes us think that we are impacting this great planet just from around a few hundred years or so of pollution and human intervention?


For now, I'll leave it at this with a quote from a person I think was pretty brilliant:
     "The planet has been through a lot worse than us. 'Been through earthquakes; volcanoes; plate tectonics; continental drift; solar flares; sunspots; magnetic storms; the magnetic reversal of the poles; hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment from comets and asteroids and meteors; worldwide floods; tidal waves; worldwide fires; erosion; cosmic rays; recurring ice ages; and we think some plastic bags and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet isn't going anywhere... We are!"- George Carlin

Homework - Intro Post

Hi there. I guess the first thing on the agenda would be an introduction, right?
I'm Zach Aufderheide and I suppose this is going to be my school blog from now on.
Now then, moving on to the important things:
    1. "How my year has been so far/Feelings about this year so far"
    2. "My expectations of Sophomore Year"
    3. "My goals I want to achieve this year"
1. My year has been... average, I should say. I don't find anything interesting or relevant to me most of the time, so it's pretty boring. Day in and day out I mostly just walk in, sit in for a few classes, (maybe) talk to other students, leave, and come back the next day for the same experience. Yup, exciting.

2. I sort of expect this year to be a challenge for my lazy, procrastinating mind, so this should be an interesting year for me. The older students claim that Sophomore and Junior years are the worst out of them all, so come on and bring the hurt already!

3. To tell the truth, I didn't set any goals this year because there's nothing for me to strive for. I know this answer won't satisfy you, so here's something that I guess I want to accomplish in my entire high school life: I want to learn pretty much everything I can about computers - components, coding, maintenance, all that good stuff. I've always been fascinated by technology since it's almost always there as a constant companion in today's lifestyles, so I really just want to delve deeper and learn what makes these things tick.

This is pretty much all I wanted to put into this first post so... Yeah... Insert the abrupt ending right about now.