Category: Soul Posts

Is it possible that the easier that life gets for humans or any species, the more likely their intelligence is to decrease?

Dogs are not very smart compared to humans obviously. They are playful and friendly. This could come from the fact that their lives have become very easy. At least most of the dogs that I mostly see, which are pets, do not have to fight for their survival, or work to get food or shelter.

If my theory is correct, then it would be unlikely that dogs which are pets would improve their intelligence, but are basically getting less intelligent as they are currently evolving. They have no need to increase their intelligence. All of their needs are taken care of. Maybe an easier life generally means that a species or animal gets friendlier and less intelligent. A harder life overall could force a species or animal to become more intelligent to survive.

I would think humans currently have an easier life now than at any time in history. I believe we also have an easier life by far than any wild animals that we don't keep as pets or keep captive for our food or other reasons. Maybe us humans as a whole could have a tough time continuing to improve our intelligence because our lives have become easier. We are possibly becoming more playful and friendly like pet dogs.

I don't think our intelligence is decreasing right now overall compared to the history of the world. It is absolutely amazing what humans have accomplished and learned in the last 200 years. I think our intelligence has increased dramatically in that time. I wonder if that will continue and if the world will keep giving us new challenges to overcome to force us to increase our intelligence.

February 13th, 2014

Maybe I don't value law as much as most people do or understand how and why patent or other laws work. But all I can think about after hearing of the $1 billion verdict awarded to Apple is that I don't think Apple should have chose to sue Samsung in the first place.

It may help them to survive and prosper over the short term and allow them to feel justified that it was proven that someone copied their design. But in the end it just doesn't feel right to me how they handled it, and regardless of the law, I don't think it was the right thing to do.

They come across as a big company that is greedy and willing to criticize other companies and people who are trying to compete and create companies and products that allow people outside of Apple to earn a living. Even if everyone is stealing from them, I just don't feel that going to the extent they have will be rewarding in the long haul for them or for others. I guess, really what I'm saying is that the patent system is flawed. But even though Apple is playing by those rules, suing other companies may not be the best strategy.

You can now bet that other companies will go after Apple whenever they can. It will turn other companies and people against them and create more of a 'It's everyone against Apple' attitude. It may make other companies more likely to partner with competitors like Microsoft or Google, just when Microsoft needs a boost. It may make it harder for Apple to work with companies and get good prices on hardware.

Some good advice that I've read before is that you generally should never criticize, condemn, or complain about others, or about anything really. And even though they feel they are protecting themselves, all I can think about is it seems to me like Apple is criticizing and condemning Samsung. While that may be within the law it just doesn't feel like the way it should have been handled. And suing other companies may not be the best strategy or attitude to have for a company like Apple, or for any other company.

Samsung ordered to pay Apple $1-billion for patent violations

September 1st, 2012

Thanks Company Anonymous

Hey all you people from Company Anonymous. And to everyone else who might read this, hi Mom. I'll probably remove this post in a couple weeks so get it while it's still here. It has sure been a crazy, overwhelming, fun, exciting, monotonous, difficult, challenging, and rewarding experience moving to Town Anonymous and working here this past year. I really have learned a lot and I certainly didn't know what I was getting into. It was a great challenge to work here and I had a lot of great days and learned a lot of different things about people, consultant businesses, sales, GIS, and most importantly about software development. I think I probably listen and pick things up a lot more than people realize.

The most important thing I want to say to everyone is that when I was given something to do and really work on something with you or for you, I enjoyed it way more than you'd realize. I know I can seem like quite a curmudgeon sometimes, but I really am a person who likes doing things, and working together on things. I really like to try and focus on work and enjoy getting into it, whether it's working with someone or by myself. And I did have some difficulty trying to do that here sometimes with some different distractions. But honestly, the only thing I didn't like doing was when I was doing data entry and finding reports all by myself. Even making maps for a little bit was kind of fun as it felt like I was helping out, especially the one weekend to try and meet a deadline.

One thing that I enjoyed here that I haven't always had at jobs is that it was really fun working with such a good group of intelligent and thoughtful people. It was neat to work on things together where you know the other people are pretty capable and are able to work together to get things done. And whenever I was working on any project with people, especially anything to do with software development, I really enjoyed working on it and trying to do a great job. I certainly struggled when I was asked to do data entry and find reports all by myself because that is not what I wanted to do or felt I had been hired to do. I tried to make the best of it when I was asked to do that and still do a great job.

There were certainly a few reasons why I felt I needed to move on at this time, which I just couldn't ignore. I took a couple of unpaid weeks off on my own to think about them and then decided to resign after returning from that break. But even considering them, the most important reason I decided to leave is because I really want to work in software development and I want to make that happen even though it might not be easy. For different reasons that wasn't really happening here. Everything that happened there, good and bad, is just a part of working towards that and a part of things I have to overcome to make that happen. I would like to get a job with a specific and focused role as a software developer or quality assurance analyst. I have to continue to work towards that goal and to keep my energy positive. And ultimately to stay happy while working towards that, because I know I'm a great employee and will work hard to learn anything if given the opportunity.

I want to thank everyone involved in hiring and managing me here. I really appreciate the opportunity I was given, and I realize the lengths you go to at times to try and keep everyone happy, working, and use the abilities of different people to run a business and get different projects done. There are a lot of great people here, and I for one realize what a great job Bart, Tanya, Karl, and Jeff do and how difficult their position can be.

And to everyone, I hope you all continue to find people and things in your life that bring you happiness and not stress, because as far as I've been able to tell that's all that really matters in the end.

Thanks People

Now here's the part where it really gets even more boring and if I was giving an Oscar speech I'd be cut off long ago. But this is my blog so I can do whatever I wanna do. So, roughly in the order that I remember working with people or getting to know you a bit personally.

Amber - Wow you're awesome. I was lucky to get to sit by you and work with you a bit when I first got there. Your bubbly personality was definitely missed when you had to leave. I didn't get to hear you and James talk about all kinds of crazy things anymore and James started talking to himself sometimes 😉 jk. I really liked helping you out with some of the web development stuff and I can tell you now that I even actually enjoyed working on TVic stuff or anything else you had me do. Plus, it's also fun for a guy anytime they hear a girl say boobies, and I still remember the first day you making an important note while I was reading the harassment policy that I make sure that I don't touch anyone's. I was like, OK this place is going to be an interesting experience 🙂

Neil - You wanted to be buddies right away. I didn't get to know you too well, but I could tell right away that you have a kind soul. I was often like this I know, but definitely at that time I was way too busy working and focusing on what I had to do than to talk to you much.

Matt - I think you're probably a lot smarter and better at everything you do than you think. I'm sure you know this, but you should realize that a lot of other people don't really work like you or get as much work done as you do. It was neat to be working upstairs with someone like you for a bit and I don't know what you're doing but I hope you kick yourself in the butt enough at some point in your life to do crappy things like going to interviews or whatever else to get what you deserve.

Alex - Honestly, the biggest thing I remember about you when I started trying to do some work for you was probably how burned out you were at that time. I was really trying hard to do some work on my own and help with as much as I could as I learned Unity really quickly. I didn't expect to start off doing game development, but what a great challenge for me and that was so much fun. I still remember the day I got the sliders for the sun and shadows working and showed you. Felt good to show you I could actually figure things out and I might be able to help with some things you didn't know how to do. It was fun for me trying to work together with you though, and seemed a little odd to me to just stop cold turkey after I had started to learn that. As I've told you before, it's amazing how you have figured out how to get some things done and into the projects you are doing. You probably feel bored sometimes, but don't forget to take a look back and realize everything you've learned and how great a job you've done to figure all of this stuff out.

Rohit - This is going to sound a little weird, but I'm just being honest, and you honestly have a smile that lights up a room. Man, if everyone could smile and laugh half as much or half as big as you do, we'd all be happier people. I know that's one thing I should work on for sure. Thanks for inviting me to things even though I pretty much always said no. It was nice getting to know you a bit more just after we moved to the new office and you stopped in a bit more to see me and to chat about MapSocial or other things.

Rob - Thanks for being a person that didn't work around me but still realized I might not be a jerk or stupid just because I can be quiet around everyone. I really appreciated you coming to say hi all the time and check in on what I was working on. Thanks for bringing up with a couple different people at times some of the things I was doing, like making it possible to position and move the buildings in the 3D model app, when nobody else but Alex had a clue what I was working on or had done. You're a grade A guy.

Aaron - You were a really cool guy to chat with once in awhile. Kudos to you in a similar way as Amber. You did a great job with the move to the new office. But I know it's old hat to you, and that's the kind of stuff you deal with all the time. I remember being the first one in and coming in the first day that we had the new office. You hadn't slept and were like "Watch out I might not show any tact on this little sleep." My reply "That's why it's great to work at a place like this where you don't have to worry about that." Anyways, yay new office. It was a fun time and you got us all hooked up and ready to go with some prodding and a few stressful days. And I enjoyed a few chats we had at both the old place and the new place.

Cole - I really try to take my time to get to know people generally, but you were another person I met like Neil where I knew after talking just a few sentences what a great guy you are. Glad we had a few more chats at the new place and thanks for making a point to come and talk with me after you heard I was leaving.

James - You have that ability that I sadly don't have, to be friendly and talkative with anyone. Someone like you is so important to a team and so great to be around. Sitting here not sure what to say to you or about you. I guess more than anyone, I wish I'd gotten a chance to get to know you a bit more at times and made the effort to talk to you a bit more. To continue talking to you about tech and software. I guess looking back, that as soon as I was put on data entry I didn't feel I could fit in with you guys, especially since it was a little crazy and hard enough to begin with. It was fun trying to work on the software development side with you, Devon, and Amber while it lasted. But for many reasons it just didn't work out, which was certainly disappointing to me. Thanks for working with me as I was learning some different things like unit testing, Silverlight, and automated testing. All the work I did with you guys was fun and I appreciate your effort especially of trying to have a quiet guy like me fit in with you guys. You guys should really be proud of the work you've done to create Insight on Silverlight and it came together in the end better than I thought it was going to honestly. Not easy to make a piece of software like that with just two guys like you guys did. I truly was happy to be a part of that.

Devon - I envy your ability to have fun and enjoy your work. Just so you know, most people aren't having as much fun at work as you do. You are in like the .01 percent of people in the world who have a good job and can get into their work and enjoy it that much. That was the thing that struck me most about you and James and why I wanted to try to get in and work as a wingman in some way. I figured if I put my head down and actually worked I can learn anything and I might be able to help out but it didn't work out. I really enjoyed working for a few months with you and James, especially doing QA for you guys. You can bet I'll never forget working with you back and forth on bugs, because it was so much fun for me. And I appreciated the positive comments every once in awhile about the good work I was doing. Also, your attitude and the way you handled your wife's health problems really was inspiring to me at that time and made me think about some things in my own life a bit at the time. I like how you just continually dealt with it in a positive way as much as you could, and I know that your attitude towards something like that has made it much easier for her. My mom has MS and I have seen firsthand my father's support and how much he has helped her accept that even though it's not easy.

Bart - I can't explain how great it was to work for you. I got so much enjoyment out of trying to do a good job for you, even if I was a bit run down near the end. I felt good when I felt like I started showing you enough of what I was doing with Devon and James, where you felt you could just say hey Munro have a look at this. Thank you for everything, some of which I'm not even smart enough to understand or know, because I don't know what all you did for me. Like if you had to convince people it might be worth me doing some QA or whatever. But I appreciate a great deal your effort to try and work me into things. I'll never have the people skills or be quite smart enough to do what you do, but I learned a bit from the management side of things watching how you did things. We think a lot alike and I really know how difficult it's been in your position. I wish I could explain a bit better this note to you, but that will have to do. I often wished I was more capable for you as well where I could have found a way to do more. Obviously, you're just a great guy too. I was too busy either working hard when doing software development, or feeling like I didn't fit in doing data entry, to get to know you better. Good luck with everything.

Laura - It was really fun learning from you when I had to tackle that one project on my own, and also when everyone was makin' maps. I mean Devon, James, and Amber are great, but getting to work with someone else for a bit was a good change at that time since other people rarely came upstairs to the crazy world up there. You're just a great person all around. Glad I got to know you, and when I heard your laugh around the office I couldn't help but smile for some reason. Again, I really liked when I worked with you and had fun helping you hard working GIS crew out a little bit.

Amber - You are superwoman. You honestly deserved a trophy for everything you did to move the office downtown while you were pregnant. I saw a lot of people do a lot of good things there, but from my perspective nothing was amazing as that. You'll always be underappreciated and that's just the way it goes. People, including me, just don't realize how difficult your job is and all of the things you have to do to make the office run smoothly, and being asked to do so many different things. I'm just remembering things, and it sure was funny the day you told us about getting into the wrong side of your car to drive or something like that, while you had pregnant brain or whatever. I liked how you had the honesty to come in and tell that to everyone at the meeting. If you handle being a mom like everything else, you're a great one already. I hope it's all been going well for you guys.

Jeff - If more people like you were running businesses there would be a lot more happier people at their jobs. I often wondered if you creating a work atmosphere like that just happens naturally, or if you really were always working at or learning how to treat people. One thing I learned from listening to you is how you aren't afraid to not be the expert, and let other people sound like they are smart while you learn from them. Friendly, talkative, and still very humble; a pretty great combo. If I was a client, I know I couldn't resist that easy going charm of yours. It's really amazing to someone like me to see someone like you and how you treat everyone that comes into the office. That was something I got to see more at the new office that was really neat.

Tanya - You and I are nothing alike. You are awesome and fun. Oh crap, that makes me not awesome and boring. I can admit it. I remember thinking a couple times that you must be some mythical creature and I wasn't quite sure if you were real. I also remember in one of my first morning meetings where I said "I'm writing some scripts" and you said "What you're eating chicken strips?" I laughed every time I heard you do a similar thing in the meeting, sometimes just on the inside. The last one I heard, and definitely one of the funniest: "Panda application?!? We're getting a panda?" Thanks for kindly putting up with my boring update emails about what I was doing and how many reports I'd entered, where I tried to sound like I was doing something important. Also I'm obviously not a natural in meetings with clients and it was nice sitting in a few with you running the show and knowing you'd bring it all back to normalcy if I did something stupid or didn't know what the heck I was talking about.

Sarah - The funny thing about people who are quiet sometimes is that they sometimes never get to know other people who are quiet, for obvious reasons. I'm glad I finally got to know you a bit more. Thanks to the new office where I wasn't stuck upstairs working by myself, and a troll doll. Even though we crossed paths a bit at the old place too. I guess this is something I should say to everyone else and not you, but I think you're probably way smarter than people would realize. I think we are kind of similar in some ways and I envied you sometimes thinking about what different situations we were put in and how we were treated very differently simply because of our job titles and working in different parts of the office. We had two completely different experiences all in the same office and at times it would have been neat to swap places with you, or work with you guys maybe. Hope you enjoyed your vacation.

Brandon - I'm not really able to evaluate someone in your position like some other people there just because I don't know everything about what you do. But from everything I know, you are someone I'd recommend right now to any company. I don't really know what you've done before this, but you actually surprised me quite a bit and it was fun working with you. I like how you get focused and prepared for things. I like your attitude towards everyone. Keep your eye on whatever prize you want. You have good ideas, treat everyone well, and also follow through. I could not do your job and I don't know how you stay motivated like you do. For someone who's stuck to it and continued to work hard through some adversity, I have to give you big props. I liked the one day you sent an article about companies being more truthful or open about things. If I was to give you any advice it might be to focus in on what really matters and find people and situations that allow you to focus on those things. Find what works and really brings value and not just on appearances. Not just because that is what could really work best in the end, but maybe more so because that may be what will bring you more joy in your work. That's way too vague to be helpful, but anyway keep plugging along. You're a really cool dude in my books.

Brij - Just like working with Alex, Amber, Devon and James, I really had fun when I finally got a chance to work with you while I was testing and doing QA for MapSocial. Kudos to you for taking seriously every single suggestion or feedback I had. Man that was fun for a month or so. I guess I felt I found my role a bit there when I was working on QA yet again and really felt I was helping out more because of what I had learned doing for Devon, James, and then Alex a bit with testing. I have Bart to thank for that I know. There is a reason everyone likes you. You are flat out just a great guy. I wish I was a more well rounded and friendly person like you at times, and you were a really cool guy to get to know, mostly from afar as I was busy working.

Chris - Man you're a great guy. Maybe in some alternate universe I had a little more experience when I came to Company Anonymous and we somehow got together and were work pals. I don't think I ever became comfortable enough there where I could have been myself more and get to know you. But it was sure fun doing some testing and other suggestions for MapSocial while you were half way around the world. Just like Devon and James, I was surprised with how much of the suggestions I made that you respected and worked on. Especially when it was tough enough for you to be working on a project pretty much by yourself. It was fun to see MapSocial come together with you and Brij for that month or two. Sadly, I was too overwhelmed with different things at times and also just the way things worked out didn't get to know you a bit better. Here's another weird one to admit but right from early on I always looked forward to what you had to say you were working on in the morning meeting. I'd wish you luck in life if I thought you needed it, but I think you'll do ok.

Jeff - If you are anything like me you might wonder sometimes why people feel the need to talk about everything, and announce everything they do. Just do it! But we can both admit I'm sure that the office might be a little boring with just people like you and me. It's probably a tough call, but I'd have to say you are the hardest working person in the office if I had to guess. Not that I got to know you much, but I could also tell that you're a great listener, which probably makes you bring some peace and contentment to other people in the office and in your life at times more than you'd realize.

Nicole - I was glad I got a chance to work with you early on and maybe make you feel a little more comfortable in your first couple of weeks when you might have been a little nervous like anyone. Glad Bart had me help you out with that too. That week we worked on that Insight sales guide together a bit happened to be a very difficult week for me personally as well and you actually cheered me up quite a bit. I enjoyed it and it made that time easier working with you a bit since you appreciated me helping you out and I got to work on something with someone again. You're a pretty smart cookie though. I was really happy when I saw you get a little more comfortable and weren't as nervous. No more 4:00 breaks for you to look forward to and know that you are on the home stretch of the work day.

Hailey - Well you sure had a crazy first week. You are really a trooper. I enjoyed working with you for sure. Seemed almost easy for me to just work with you right off the bat and I liked how you weren't afraid to really get going and get something done. I'm sorry that project isn't as well together as it should be. I certainly struggled with it at times and didn't leave it in the best of shape for you in the end. I really wish you the best with all of the big changes in your life, like this new job.

Conclusion

I don't really expect people to read this post and I know that it's way overkill and a little weird. But it's more my way of saying thanks to everyone and looking back on the last year at work and remembering some of the good times and the positive qualities of different people I met there. You work towards things but you never know exactly what life is going to throw your way next, and working at Company Anonymous the last year was a journey I did my best to enjoy and it was a pretty good one a lot of the time.

Thanks everyone.

Call me a wuss, a wimp, or whatever you want. I don't think there should be any hitting allowed in the NHL, or any other level of hockey for that matter.

Being able to deliberately hit someone as hard as you can should be completely taken out of hockey at all levels. In fact I think this idea is way overdue. To me, it's almost like stating the obvious at this point. I'm surprised I haven't heard more people suggest that body checking should be completely removed from hockey. Here's why.

Outline

1. Hitting Is Barbaric
2. Hitting Is Unhealthy
3. If It's Bad For Kids It's Bad For Adults
4. More Protection Only Makes People Think They Can Hit Harder
5. Players Skate Way Faster Than They Used To
6. Intelligent And Talented Athletes Will Choose Not To Play Hockey
7. Hitting Causes More Injuries And Is As Harmful As Fighting
8. Fighting Would Not Be Needed If Hitting Was Removed
9. There Is More Talk About Concussions And Suspensions Than The Game
10. Hitting And Fighting Are Psychologically Unhealthy Too
11. Conclusion

1. Hitting Is Barbaric

Physically hitting someone else when you can hurt them is both barbaric and cruel. I just looked up the definition for cruel and the first definition said "willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others." To me, it's pretty clear that you are knowingly causing distress to someone when you hit them in any way. But I don't care what the definition is, it just doesn't seem right to me to hit someone else. I don't care if it's part of a sport, or if they've agreed as part of the game to let them hit you. It's just not civilized to hit someone else in my opinion. To me, it doesn't really matter if it's your wife, a co-worker, a friend, or someone you play a game against for money. Hitting people is bad. Boxing is barbaric. Football is barbaric. Hockey is barbaric. The more we can move to a society where hurting other people for sport is not accepted, the better off we are in my opinion. In boxing and football, it's hard to get around the idea that you have to hit someone, but hockey could completely remove hitting, and still keep the main part of the game as it is. There is no reason hitting can't be completely removed from NHL hockey.

2. Hitting Is Unhealthy

It's quite clear that hitting in hockey is unhealthy. It's just bad for our bodies. I don't think we needed all the talk and reports about concussions recently to realize this. Broken shoulders, broken legs, damaged internal organs, and various other serious injuries over the years should have been enough. But with more and more reports about concussions it has certainly been making the point better known. I'm actually writing this point last out of these 10 points, as I was thinking of what to say to make people realize how bad that hitting is in hockey. But I don't really want to go research to make as strong of a point as I should. But I do think it's pretty obvious that concussions are bad, and hitting is bad. Enough said hopefully as I think it's pretty obvious at this point how harmful hitting in hockey is, whether you are a kid or an adult.

3. If It's Bad For Kids It's Bad For Adults

The debate I've most often heard so far about hitting in hockey is at what age level body checking should be allowed for kids. Though I'm sure it's been brought up, I haven't heard that much about completely removing hitting from hockey. But while we may like harming our bodies or feel we need to relieve stress in certain harmful ways as adults, it doesn't mean it's healthy. And what is bad for kids is generally bad for adults. Of course this can turn into a much bigger topic about whether people should be able to do things to their bodies even if it's harmful. But hockey is a sport, not mainly a stress reliever like smoking, drinking, or doing drugs. It should be fun. Instead of trying to figure out what age we allow kids to harm themselves by hitting each other as part of a sport, we should take it out of the sport altogether. It solves the debate of what age kids should be allowed to hit, and instead admits that hitting is harmful for anyone at any age and has no place in a fun sport like hockey.

4. More Protection Only Makes People Think They Can Hit Harder

"Back in the day when I used to play hockey in the 1940s, we didn't hit as hard as the guys nowadays". I'm sure some smart old guy without a big ego has said that. And do you know why he's said it? Because he didn't wear a helmet or nearly as much equipment or protection as hockey players do now. If you didn't have a helmet then you have to protect your head. If you don't have on three inches thick of plastic and padding on, then you have to think about how hitting someone as hard as you can will affect your body as well. The problem is that even though players have more protection, the impact is still great on their bodies. Players are less likely to get cuts or small injuries, but even with all of the equipment they wear they are still very likely to suffer a concussion, a neck injury, a broken shoulder, or a broken leg by being hit hard. This can occur when they hit the other player, hit the ice, or get hit into the boards. And when an impact does make it through a chink in their armour it can cause horrible injuries because the plastic and metal protection for one guy turns into a brute force object hitting the other guy if it makes it through his equipment.

5. Players Skate Way Faster Than They Used To

Besides having more protection now, players are also in better physical shape. They can skate faster than they used to and are stronger physically. It's bad enough to run as fast as you can into someone and hit them, such as in football. But when you are skating you can go at even faster speeds than two linemen hitting each other in football. And because players are now skating at even faster speeds and are much stronger than they used to be the result it pretty damaging. When two players are skating as fast as they can now and hit each other as hard as they can, which is completely within the rules, the impact is very big. And the damage is way worse than in the past and worse than we could have realized when the sport was first created.

6. Intelligent And Talented Athletes Will Choose Not To Play Hockey

Athletes aren't all stupid, and athlete's parents aren't stupid either. Hockey was already a rough sport to play 20 years ago as fighting is pretty much allowed, and often encouraged. Plenty of parents kept their kids from playing hockey. But with all the attention given to concussions and how unhealthy it is in the last few years, more and more parents should and will stop their kids from playing hockey; at least from playing hockey at any level with body checking. And more and more kids may even realize in their teens that they should maybe choose soccer, or baseball, or basketball over hockey when all they see in the media is their favourite player sitting out again with a concussion.

6.1 Parents Of Athletes May Not Let Their Kids Play Hockey

I remember when I was young and living in a small town on the Canadian prairies, pretty much anyone who was good enough at sports and had enough money played hockey. There were kids who were good athletes whose parents wouldn't let them play hockey and I never really understood. I felt like playing hockey was just this inevitable thing you did if you were good enough. I thought parents concerns were probably just about fighting, but I always figured you could stay out of fights if you really wanted to. As I grew up, I began to realize many of the reasons people wouldn't play hockey and now I understand completely why people would choose not to play hockey, or why parents wouldn't want their kids involved in hockey. Just as they similarly might choose not to be a boxer, play football, or ram their head as hard as they can into other people when walking down the sidewalk.

7. Hitting Causes More Injuries And Is As Harmful As Fighting

I personally feel that taking hitting out of hockey is way more important than taking out fighting. If two guys want to fight, whether it's on the street or in a hockey rink they will. It can even be banned and it will still sometimes happen. But hitting probably causes more injuries and affects every single person that plays the game. You can't avoid it, as every time you are out on the ice five other guys are allowed to hit you as hard as they can to take the puck away from you. There has been so much talk about fighting in hockey in the past. But I think removing hitting from hockey is much more important as it causes more injuries and doesn't just happen once in awhile, but constantly as part of the game.

8. Fighting Would Not Be Needed If Hitting Was Removed

Fights can happen sometimes even in sports even when there is no physical contact. I mean, I'm sure we've all had one or two bowling games where things got out of hand. But I think the main reason fighting is popular in hockey is because there is hitting in hockey. Fighting is just a balancing act, mostly because hitting another person is allowed in the game. It's legal. I understand that people can jab someone with a stick and get away with it too. But that is against the rules, and the guy should get a penalty. Hitting is legal, so you are allowed to hit someone as hard as you can, even if it's the other teams best player. And you do it all the time. Because of this, the talented players have needed to be "protected". But if hitting was removed, I think the need and desire to fight in hockey would go down dramatically.

9. There Is More Talk About Concussions And Suspensions Than The Game

Unneeded media stories about player's personal lives and the finance and business side of hockey are inevitable. They detract from the game sometimes and there is too much talk about both of them in the media. I don't think that will ever change as the media needs any stories they can find. But the amount of media attention and talk about concussions recently has reached a pretty high level. The first story in the hockey news always seems to be about what great player is out because of a concussion whether it's Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, or Sidney Crosby. If it's not that, it's about showing the three big hits from five different angles where a guy got hurt. And if it's not about that, it's about a hit that they aren't sure should be legal or a talk about if the guy should be suspended, and how many games. What's the common theme with those three types of stories? It's all about hitting in hockey, and nothing to do with the score in the game, or the skillful plays in the game.

10. Hitting And Fighting Are Psychologically Unhealthy Too

Harming our bodies physically is unhealthy psychologically and causes us emotional and mental stress. I don't know that the previous sentence is a fact as I sit here and I never actually remember reading this specifically but I'm pretty sure it's true. Go look it up somewhere and I'm sure you'll find articles by doctors about how hurting our body physically isn't good for our minds either. Do a search for torture and mind, or cutting and emotions, or boxing and stress. In just one offseason, a number of hockey players who were known as enforcers committed suicide. This is one possible example of the mental stress that hitting and fighting can cause in hockey. I'm not going to look for more proof now, but I think we all just know naturally that hurting our bodies physically or having to do something that hurts our bodies physically can cause us quite a bit of stress and affect us poorly, mentally and psychologically. When you know you are going to be hit every day it can be tough on you psychologically, whether you are a boxer, a football player, or a hockey player.

Conclusion

I played hockey competitively until I was about 21 and enjoyed it. It's fun. But as I've grown older I've realized that the hitting and fighting parts of the game have just been accepted, but it doesn't mean that allowing them is right. Looking back at these points, I think I'd have to say that the first two points are certainly the most convincing in my mind and really all that needs to be said. Why do we think it's ok to hurt other people and to do something to our bodies that's completely unhealthy just because we call it a sport and people pay to watch it? Whether enough people would watch the game without hitting and fighting is another debate, and I've decided to focus this article not on that aspect of the debate at all and just think about what is right, healthy, and civilized. Hitting in hockey needs to go. I'm pretty sure that its part in the game will be questioned and debated more in the coming years.

May 13th, 2012

I expect that I am going to be writing posts to this blog more often. It's not that I have a whole bunch of more ideas that I want to post. I do have a pretty big list of ideas to write about which I have kept for a couple years even though I haven't written many posts yet. It's just that I've been thinking about writing on my blog a bit more and realized that the biggest reason I don't write on it is because it takes me too long to make a post. So I've decided if I actually want to use my blog a bit more, which I do, that I will have to make it simpler to make posts.

Ways I Will Make It Simpler To Post To My Blog

1. I Removed All The Pictures And Won't Be Using Pictures

Having pictures really makes a blog better for people who are reading it. But this blog is more for me to write down my ideas and thoughts anyway. Not having to deal with making pictures for all the posts will save me a bunch of time and will allow me to quickly make posts. When I removed the pictures I also went through my blog posts and formatted them all similarly and decided on how I would format my new posts. I won't have to think about adding pictures or formatting my posts anymore, but can just focus on what I want to write.

2. I Will Keep My Blog Online Only And Use The Built In Editor

I used to write blog posts offline in text files or word files and keep them on my computer. Then I would just copy what I had written and add a picture online. Editing offline has advantages but it's not nearly as simple as just posting online, and keeping it online only has other advantages too. I can also edit from any computer now obviously which is a plus. I deleted all the offline copies of my posts and will edit and keep my blog online only. This is the main change that will make it easier and quicker to make posts. I've given in to just keep my blog entries online only, just like when I switched to GMail for my mail a †few years†ago. I don't really know why I thought I needed a copy in text files offline. Writing this blog post was a lot easier to get done than my old system of editing offline and then posting after. To make this easier I also made a couple changes to the online editor such as adding more lines to it. Now it feels a bit more like editing offline.

3. I Installed The Wordpress App On My iPad

Just in case I want to edit on my iPad 2, which I got a couple months ago when it came out. I always thought the iPad would be good for journalling or blogging as long as you are writing smaller posts. I've made writing posts simpler by not having pictures and keeping my files online only, which allows me to make shorter posts using my iPad if I want.

Why I Made These Changes

Simply, doing all of the steps above will make it way easier for me to post to my blog. I'm excited and think I will do more writing on my blog now. Making this post took way less time than I used to take writing a post, so I'm sure that by storing my blog online only and not using pictures will make we want to post more. Like I've found with many things in life, simplifying down to what matters most makes it easier to get things done and makes you enjoy things more in the end. In this case, simplifying the process to post to my blog will make me want to write in it more often and enjoy doing it.

So as it turns out I haven't used this blog very much or made many posts. Honestly, it isn't very surprising. I knew I may not use it very much. One of the reasons I don't post too much to it is because I'm never sure exactly what types of things I should write on it or how much I should edit myself. But now I know that my main reason for originally making this blog isn't really going to work out.

My first post to this blog explained the reasons why I was creating this blog. My plan was to keep an online journal about my goals and I was going to keep it simple. I would make the format somewhere in between a Twitter log and a long format blog. I would post little updates about my goals often. However I realize that I don't really want to do that publicly. Of course it should be obvious because I never did post anything about my goals. Anyway, instead of writing about my goals on this blog I will be writing about my goals more often in a personal journal. Here are a few of the reasons why.

Reasons To Write About My Goals In A Personal Journal

1. I censor myself when writing about my goals on a public blog.
2. I prefer to write about my goals privately for the most part.
3. I can write more often about my goals and not worry about grammar in a personal success journal.
4. People don't want to read every detail about my personal goals and life.
5. I like to sound somewhat good on a public blog and edit what I say.
6. I want a place to write about my interests, thoughts, and ideas instead of my life.
7. I can still update people on my goals and life once in awhile on my blog.

I realize I don't really need to write a post about what my blog is for. But just writing about this sets it in my mind a bit. Now I know that my personal journal is for writing all the little details about what I'm doing to reach my goals and about my daily life. And this blog is for writing posts that I edit a bit more and put at least a bit more thought into. I may still write some posts about my goals but they will be more thought out than I was originally thinking. And all of the little updates and writing about my goals will go in my personal success journal. Just knowing what this blog is for and what my journal is for will make it easier for me to write more often in both of them.

I will still use this blog for pretty much all the reasons I originally planned except for writing short posts about my goals and journaling daily on it.

What I Will Use My Blog For

1. To write about my interests like entertainment, music, baseball, technology, health, and fitness.
2. To write about thoughts and ideas I have that I want to tell people about.
3. To write and respond to items in the news and write my thoughts on them.
4. I will still use it to write some more well written posts about my goals and my personal life.
5. To practice my writing and editing skills since my personal journal I won't be editing what I say.
6. I will still use it sometimes to tell people about my life and keep in touch.
7. To write reviews about books, movies, games, and things I buy.
8. To put myself out there a bit without worrying about writing about things that are too personal.

Hello World! Welcome to my blog. I've wanted to create one for quite awhile and I've finally done it. I have no idea how long I'll keep it going or how much I'll write in here. But here are some of my reasons for creating the blog. This first post will be a good reminder to myself of why I want to write in this blog and what kind of things to write about.

Reasons I Created My Own Blog

1. To Write About My Goals

This is my main reason for creating this blog. I'm very into being organized, setting goals, and creating habits. I've read books like "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and "Getting Things Done" that have helped me very much in my life. I've read a lot of articles on websites like Lifehack, Lifehacker, Zen Habits, and many others. I always keep lists and notes on my mobile computer, which used to be a Palm Z22 and is now an iPod Touch. I've reached some important goals in the last few years. Lately I've had a hard time getting motivated enough to work on an important goal. I keep reading about how one of the best habits you can get into besides creating the habit to spend time working towards the goal every day is to tell people about your goal or journal publicly about it. So I finally decided to make this blog so I can write publicly about my goals and the progress I'm making or not making. Hopefully writing about my goal will keep me thinking about it and motivated to achieve it.

2. Creating A Blog Was A Goal

I've kept a list of goals and projects in some form or another for years now. I change the goals on the list a lot, and take many goals off when I feel they aren't that important. But creating a blog has stayed on that list so I'm completing a goal just by creating this blog.

3. Make The Habit Of Journaling

Journaling every day is something that I want to get in the habit of doing. I've done it before, but I sometimes get lost in the details like whether I should do it in a paper notebook, or which software program I should use. I think that making a single public blog to write in will make this easier for me. I will also start writing in a personal journal too sometime hopefully. And between my private journal and my public blog, hopefully I can keep it simple and get in the habit of journaling about my goals and my life.

4. To Practice Writing

Besides journaling, I think it will also be very good for me to practice writing and to write more often. It's another habit that I've always wanted to get into doing more. And another habit that I read about as being something which can improve your life in many different ways.

5. To Write About My Interests, Thoughts, And Events

A few of the topics that I'm interested in and may write about are technology, computer programming, goal setting and productivity, health and fitness, baseball, reading, and music. And I could also write about general thoughts or ideas I have or about events I have gone to.

6. Telling People About My Life And Keeping In Touch

A blog is the perfect place to write letters or give updates to people about your life or to post a sort of online newsletter. I don't use Facebook much to keep people updated and I've also come to the conclusion recently that I don't particularly like Twitter, instant messaging, or online chatting. I prefer letters, email, or actually talking to someone in person or on the phone.

7. To Put Myself Out There

This isn't so much a goal of this blog as it is a consequence. I've stayed away from having an online identity quite a bit. I only got a Facebook account this year and I haven't posted to online forums much at all. I've been worried about putting things out on the internet that will always be there and I was aware of that early on when the internet began. Mostly I know that employers will find your blog or anything on the web about you. But I'm trying to relax a bit more about this and not stress over people finding out all about me. And as far as my blog, I can control anything put on my blog so if I want to remove something or take down my blog I can.

Taking The First Step

Most of my blog posts won't be nearly this long, structured, or well written. I'm not writing this blog to pursue a writing career or to market myself for a business or for my career. I'm not trying to create a blog about a specific topic and make money from ads or to bring something to the attention to a large audience of readers. I'm not even trying to create a blog that family and friends will necessarily read. I want this to be a place where I can quickly write about little things that I've done to work towards my goals. Or about little things that I've done in my life. And just having it be public and know that people could be reading it will give me some motivation to work towards my goals. But if it works out I might create some longer posts like this too if I get into the habit of writing and blogging.

Of course I'm all excited now and I don't know how often I'll post to this blog or for how long I'll keep it up. It's quite possible this could be my only post. But I certainly have a lot of reasons to write a blog. And taking the first step is often the hardest thing to do.