On gun control and violence

It’s been a few weeks since the shooting on the Oregon community college campus, but I figure I would take the time, given the incident, to write down my stance on gun control. Additionally, the topic is especially relevant at MY University, as the recent law allows those with a permit to bring their guns on campus (Concealed of course). The law spurred many protests on campus, all demanding guns not be allowed in ANY of the buildings, effectively removing the effect of the law altogether. The later scenario raises a question about gun violence and what some recommend being the solution, the solution being the popular term “gun control”. The former raises a question about laws around the ownership of guns, and how those affect gun owners. I will offer my views on both of these topics and my opinion of the best solution.

Here we go. 

First, let's tackle gun control.  There’s a movement, popular with the Democratic Party, where removing guns from the public is the solution to gun violence. And by guns I’m specifically referring to automatic weapons. If it were up to many people I’ve talked to, guns would just be flat outlawed in general, because “guns are evil and we don’t have to mean.” To anyone who believes that guns are the problem to gun violence and removing them from the American people is the solution, you are wrong. Guns are not the problem. People are quick to place blame for tragedies like the Oregon shooting, and rightfully so. The blame, however, gets placed on the gun, and that’s the fundamental fallacy of the gun control argument. The gun gets blamed for shooting up a school, and committing murder, not the person wielding it. The murderer instead gets a pass by pleading insanity, as is the case for James Holmes. Well I have news; guns do not have the ability to shoot someone.  

Now I need to back-up for a minute and say that I’m not arguing automatic weapons aren’t PART of the problem. Sure, you throw guns at everyone, murder is probably going to go up, but guns aren’t the entire problem. So here’s my definition of the problem - the people are the problem. Now, I mean that in the nicest way possible. When you look at the history of mass public shootings, the killers usually have one thing in common. They’re insane. After the shootings we learn that they had serious issues at home or they had some mental illness. So again, I go back to the main issue, why do the guns get the blame? A better solution to ending gun violence is to educate people on the mental health of these killers and how recognize them. Find some way to learn how the brain triggers these people to commit such heinous crimes. I know that’s a tall order and isn’t full proof, but it would get to the heart of the problem much faster than just taking guns away. Here’s why. Guns are inanimate objects incapable of doing anything without a person to shoot it. Also, gun technology has remained roughly the same for 100+ years, but now all of a sudden they’re the cause for all gun violence. Well, there are people in the Middle East killing each other with AK-47s and those guns were made in the 40s. I find it hard to believe that after 80 years after the invention of the AK-47, automatic weapons are just now becoming the cause of gun violence.  

This rolls into the next topic nicely. What can we do about guns since they’re here? Well, I’m not against gun restrictions and policing. I’m for the law that requires the seller to hold the weapon for 24-48 hours after purchase. All vendors must be licensed, and record the selling of the weapon and to whom. These are common sense things that I’m totally for. Also, along the lines of mental health, maybe require all buyers to pass a mental health test before they can legally purchase a firearm. Just as long as the right to buy and bear arms is not infringed. All that being said, while I don’t necessarily want people to walk around with guns on campus, I would feel much safer knowing that sane people have guns at the same time the insane ones do.

Just to close. Let me say that the second amendment is NEVER going away. It would take an extraordinary amount of effort to take that away from the people, not to mention the social effects it would have. There would be people rioting in the streets. Also, before you place the blame on the weapon, think about the person behind the weapon. All it takes is one person with a gun to commit a terrible crime, that doesn’t mean the weapon is the one to blame. And lastly, there will always be guns out there whether you like it or not. Bad guys are going to do bad things regardless with what they have to do it with. By enforcing strict gun laws and controlling the use of guns of the law abiding citizens, all you re doing is hurting them. Guns are not the problem.  

Apple has grown to big to innovate

It’s impossible to imagine the world unshaped by Apple. The company ushered in an era of home computing in the late 70s with the release of the Apple II and would eventually change the way we use our personal devices with the release of the iPhone, and later the iPad. Nowadays their products set a market standard in quality and user experience around the world - but that's ALL they do. The apple of today is nothing like the company that it used to be. Their products lack the innovation and creativity that Apple is more than capable of providing. Apple has left the innovation to its competitors, instead opting to take the safe approach, and only entering the market where one already exists. Apple has grown comfortable being the big boy on the block and taking-for-granted the inventive history that got them where they are today.

While controversial in its origin, the Macintosh, which was released in 1984, was the computer that introduced graphical user interfaces to the mass market. In 2001, Apple release iTunes, which would change the way people consumed music, later that year it introduced the iPod. In 2007 the company released the iPhone, and in 2010 it would release the iPad. All of these devices set the standard in their respective classes, driving other companies completely out of the market, or in some cases, creating a market where none existed. However, in the past 5 years, Apple has ceased to be the innovative company it used to be, and it may never be again. In the company’s recent history, their products have only mimicked what other devices are offering. 

Let’s look at Apples recent release of products. Apple’s crack at the smart watch market was met with middling reviews and success. The watch arguably only did was well as it did because of the name attached to it. The new iPad Pro is Apple just saying, “Hey we can make a tablet/laptop thingy too.” The MacBook Air become even lighter, the MacBook Pro got a new processor, the iPhone is now pink, and iTunes music is now Spotify. The BEST thing apple has done in recent history is redesign the Mac Pro. Apple allowed their engineering team to completely redesigned the conventional PC layout, and that’s a really awesome feat.

All of these products and changes are just reactions to the changing market, rather than apple leading the charge. The growth of smart watches can be attributed to Samsung’s galaxy gear and new companies like Pebble. The iPad Pro coming in the wake of Microsoft’s increasingly popular Surface tablets is no surprise. It’s even boasting a stylus, something the company previously said it would never do. iTunes Music was the natural next step for the service because $9.99 for unlimited music is just too good a deal to pass up when it costs $1.29 (+ tax) for ONE song. Thanks to a competing music service, Apple finally gave in. 

Apple has grown comfortable in the ecosystem they've built. The Apple environment is an amazing user experience, and the reason they're one of the most profitable companies in the world. Apple, however, now has the attitude of, “you’ll buy it because it’s apple.” Rather than being the industry leaders, they're comfortable being the expensive alternative to everyone else. After 30 years of innovation, they have now apparently grown too big to continue innovating. 

I haven't seen a fellow classmate use iTunes in months, just Spotify. Even though iTunes Music is out, they're time and money is already in Spotify, why would they go back, especially when iTunes has nothing special to offer. I’ve also seen an incredible increase of Surface tablets around, but only time will tell how many of those will be replaced with giant iPads. My guess is not many. Apple has priced itself into the high-end of the market, rather than the must-have end of the market. 

have a dream

I had an unsettling discussion with one of my co-workers yesterday that I haven't quite be able to wrap my head around yet, so I'm writing about it. This guy is the same age as me, and is about to start his second year of college, and we both have a bright future ahead of us.

I grew up in a small town (population about 2000) and had about 100 people in my graduating class. We all knew that the town we grew up in had given us a good life, but if order for us to continue growing, we had to leave. Neither of us had any intention of ever coming back. Some went on to be track stars at A&M and UTSA, one got accepted to Baylor on a scholarship and will soon be traveling the world, another is about to launch her own business, but we are all trying to live our dream. We're all trying to be successful. 

I didn't go to school with this co-worker, but I just assumed that everyone wanted something more. After having our conversation it was clear to me, he didn't want anything more than to just go back home after he graduated. I tried explaining to him that I am willing to go to extreme lengths to make my dream come true so that I can leave my home town and be successful, and all he did was laugh and say to me, "that's what they all say." It's as if he was submitting to the fight, before the fight had even begun. That's just baffling to me.

Now I don't want to dis his future. Some people are simple and don't need extravagant lives to be happy, but he's an incredibly smart guy and a very hard worker and I just feel like he's capable of so much more. 

Wait, I got it.

Everyone my age needs to have a dream. If you can figure out what you want to do early on, you can start to build a life that is full and meaningful. I guess it doesn't matter what that dream is, as long as you're happy with the life that comes with it, then you'll be successful. 

BL 1034: Intro into Blogging

Here we go

First off I would like to say that I'm amazed that the name for this .blogspot account wasn't already taken. I figured I would have to name this thing LLcoolJ1825 by the end of all this. Secondly, and more importantly, I would like to apologize to the next guy who wants to name his blog "shits and grins", finds out its taken, then searches it in fury to see if the person who stole his brilliant idea is actually doing something with it. To that person I assure you, I will. 

Even though I never thought it would happen to me, I had one of those "discover yourself moments" everyone says people around my age have. It's a scary thing. It was scary because for the first time in my life I was unsure. I was unsure and nobody could help me; but me. I still remember the day it happened to, which is the crazy part. I was sitting in my dorm room, studying for a math test while constantly being distracted by my phone and the tv show I had on. I "studied" for a while until finally I couldn't handle the distractions anymore and decided to try and find a quieter place to go. So I grabbed my penny board, threw my laptop into my backpack and took off. When I made it out of the building, the view I was confronted with was breathtaking and I remember stopping and thinking to myself, "While I've been sitting inside, watching tv, texting, and just BS-ing around, I've been missing this." That was when I decided that I was going to do something different. 

I want to entertain. Not entertain in the acting sense, but in the media sense. With the rise of the internet, so came the rise of internet entertainment companies. Shoutout to the people that inspire me; Burnie Burns from rooster teeth, Colin Moriarty from kinda funny games, Will Smith from Tested, Adam Savage from Tested, Patrick Klepek from otaku, and all of the guys from Giantbomb. These guys, and people like them, are personalities. They write articles, produce videos, record podcasts, all to entertain. They are out experiencing the world, so that they can share it with everyone else who can't. THAT'S what I want. I've heard these people say countless times, not everyone can do what they do. They say the way to get into that kind of work is to set yourself apart; to give yourself an internet presence. Teach yourself to write, to act, to film, to edit, to public speak. Teach yourself to be a personality. So I guess this blog is the start of my attempt to do that. 

Being able to write is a wonderful skill in todays society, and the only way to get better is to just write, right? Thats what this blog will be. Just a huge dump of posts about me attempting to write. It might be about politics, it might be about war, it might be about movies, it might be about love, it might be about video games, it might be about pizza, or it might being about none of those things. The one thing I  know for certain is, it will probably be bad. I have so many things pent up in my mind just waiting, and I have to put them somewhere. The end goal however is to get comfortable writing, and to have digital proof of all the writing I've ever done.

Before I went to college I thought I had it all figured out, but now that i'm here, i've never been more sure about anything in my life. I'm going to give it my best shot, and thats more than most people can attest to. Hopefully, in three years, I will writing an article viewed by thousands of people.