Acronyms

There are just way too many acronyms out there it just really becomes annoying. There are also abbreviations which are also so plentiful they are beginning to put me on the edge. As you may know I am currently completing a Recruit course for the CFA. You may also know that the CFA really love their acronyms. So in the theory portion of the course there is a lot of acronyms to get used to. Also, in school, I am currently doing Game Design as an elective. This means a lot of programming, which is fun, but also means a lot of abbreviations. Seriously, where will it end?

As I was saying the CFA have a number of acronyms they love to use. For one, they have their name (CFA = Country Fire Authority) but then you also have the sub-organisations such as VFBV (Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria). They also use a lot of acronyms for equipment like BA (Breathing Apparatus). Even in the theory there is a lot to look out for like SPADRA (Safe Person Approach and Dynamic Risk Assessment), WATCHOUT (Weather, Actions, Try-out, Communicate, Hazards, Observe, Understand, Think), and LACES (I'm not even going to explain what that one is) just to name a few. In programming there is a lot of abbreviations just to make it quicker and easier to code. For example lbl (label), btn (button) and many more. Where is our English language going? We'll probably wake up one day and be speaking entirely in acronyms.

Don't ruin our English, see you tomorrow!

Annoying

Is it just me or is there a lot of things in our lives that are annoying? Some of these things happen rarely while others happen quite often. Sometimes it involves other people or just yourself. There are many things I find that can be very annoying and come with varying degrees of occurrences. One of the most annoying things I find is getting a song stuck in my head and only knowing half the words. After seeing The Great Gatsby I had A Little Party Never Killed Nobody stuck in my head for days and I only ever knew the words that made up the title. In the end I just downloaded the song to put my mind at rest but then that did not help because I found myself listening to it so much that it got stuck in my head. Even more annoying than this however is when you are trying to fall asleep but you can not because you have a song stuck in your head. This happens to me so many times it stopped being amusing a long time ago. Sometimes I just really wish songs were not so catchy or at least did not get stuck in my head.

Image Source: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/songs-stuck-in-head.htm

There are also the times when people say stuff to you that does not make any sense and when you try to tell them you have no idea what they are on about they treat you like an idiot. Just because they have trouble clearly explaining something does not mean I, or anyone else, is an idiot and it just really annoys me. Then there are those hypocrites which also annoy me. One minute they are telling you not to do something or how stupid it is to be doing that and then a week later you see them doing the exact same thing. The worst part is you can not say anything or else they will go on a long spiel on how they are not being hypocritical etcetera etcetera etcetera. Then there are the times when you ask someone to help you and suddenly they get it in their heads that they are way better than you just because you needed help with one question. Seriously, I mean no matter how many times they ask you questions if you ask just once suddenly your the idiot and they are the genius. Basically, it is pretty annoying when you are with someone who has a superiority complex or epitomises narcissism. It just really annoys me when someone does that. Then you have all the spoilt, screaming children you see wherever you go always complaining because their parents will not buy them something expensive that they will probably use once and then never again. Sometimes I think the parents just need to take them aside and tell them to stop it instead of giving in and buying them what they want. Of course you can never tell them this though because people get very protective when it comes to their children and struggle seeing their faults. What about all the people who give a group of people a stereotype. It really annoys me how some arrogant (cue annoyed adjectives), antisocial idiotic teenagers can do stupid things and give everyone else a bad name. It really pisses me off (if you'll excuse my outburst) how some people think they are above the law and feel no guilt in ruining something for every other person. I better stop now or else my language will continue to digress and there could be some swearing. I already had to backspace a few times with some of my descriptions.

Don't let the annoying things bring you down, see you tomorrow!

Facebook Games

Alright, I'll admit it. I have a bit of an addiction to Facebook Games when I am out of other things to do. Basically, when I get bored I tend to go on Facebook and when I get bored on Facebook I tend to click on the games. I used to stick to just The Hunger Games Adventures but once the Holidays started I found myself with so much more free time and you only have limited energy to use in The Hunger Games Adventures that slowly refills by one energy every five minutes. This means I finish what I am doing in that game and have nothing else to do. Then I decided I would just look through some of the other games that Facebook has and that is when it all started.

Image Source: http://www.androidauthority.com/facebook-gaming-shows-first-signs-of-weakness-95018/

At first I was just searching for some fun games and then the games I actually did find I stopped playing pretty quickly. I only really began to 'enjoy' the games I was playing when they were the recommended ones on the top-right corner of the screen when you are playing another game. From there I found a game called Airport City: Free to Fly which I still play today. Then I found another game I played a while ago and then came back to the other day. This one was The Price is Right which would be alright except I am horrible at guessing those American prices. Most of the time it is luck if I actually win anything but I think I am starting to get the knack of it. See what I mean? It sounds like I have been addicted to these games doesn't it? From there I found Car Town and another game called Fitness City which is basically just building and managing a gym as well as completing missions along the way. So these holidays have been great for the people who own these games but not for me. I have only mentioned a few of the games I actually went through but the only games I play now are The Hunger Games Adventures (obviously) and Car Town (just because I can). So as you can see I was addicted to these games as a release for me to get through my boredom but I have had to cut back because, well, I am becoming bored again. I have some really weird addictions but I am pretty sure that Facebook Games have become a part of it.

Facebook Games are a great way to combat boredom but be careful not to become addicted, see you tomorrow!

YouTube

YouTube, the video sharing site, has become a normal part of my day-to-day life. It's become as normal to go on YouTube a few times a day as it is to writing this Blog (Hooray for the 73rd post by the way). YouTube has over 4 million channels, with other 72 hours of video being uploaded every minute! It's no wonder it has become a part of my everyday life. Sometimes I think I go on YouTube a little too much but then I think I'm crazy because you can never have too much of something, right? Right?!

YouTube has become a place of many vibrant communities. You have the Beauty Gurus who somehow come up with some amazing video ideas each week. Then there are the Comedians (I mean, who can't laugh at at least one of Barely Political's videos) who make us laugh every week through song, movie or just pure spontaneity. The Vloggers are also a growing community to be reckoned with. There are so many Vloggers (Video Bloggers) on YouTube today and I must say that it is fascinating to watch someone go about their everyday lives. I wish life was like this (and in 3D [just kidding]). Also the Gamers always manage to find an ordinary game and turn it into the funniest ten minutes of your day. I have seen a YouTuber turn Sims and Minecraft into something absolutely hilarious, it really is amazing. Then there are also the smaller, but not to be underestimated, communities of Short Film, News, Gossip and much more which just add yet another few layers onto an already vibrant community. It is no wonder YouTube has become such a big part of my life because it has so many new videos and topics everyday, it is very hard to get bored.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Sport

Sport is a very important part of any community and can do many good things. Although sport is often associated with Fitness it is not the only thing Sport is good for. Sport can bring people together and can be the rallying point of any community. Sport can really lift a person's morale and is a great place to make friends. So Sport is not only good for improving fitness but also for many other things.

Sport is a great way to bring people together, it can even become something a community rallies around. A great example of a sport bringing millions people together would be AFL and sports like it. AFL is Australia's sport and boy are we proud of it. Americans may find it confusing but how can they talk, how is NFL any less confusing than AFL (so many acronyms). AFL brings families together and the whole country is on a break during the Grand Final. It is one of those sports you can't go a week without hearing about (when it's playing). People make an effort to come together to watch a game on the television or live at the MCG or Etihad Stadium or wherever they are playing. Australia's passion for AFL has captured the attention of some other countries around the world and has provided Australians a network to connect with others around the world. AFL, and sports like it, really do create a vibrant global culture and really does bring people together.

Sport is also a great method of making people feel happier. Even the saddest day can be fixed with some fun sport games. Of course, some people are just set out to not have a good time and so they won't. Just remember, if you think you're not going to have fun, you won't. I know yesterday it was pouring and we had sport at the end of the day. We would normally break up into the groups for sport but because it was raining we broke up into two groups of 50. One group went bowling while the other did minor games. I chose minor games because I had done bowling the year before for sport and I got a little tired of it. Minor games was actually very fun and nearly everyone really enjoyed it. The only person who didn't enjoy it was one who was complaining the whole time and did not expect themselves to have a good time. Consequentially they didn't enjoy themselves and really started to annoy me because all they did was complain. Anyway, my point is that sport can really make the darkest (or wettest) days into ones full of happiness and sunshine (metaphorical sunshine, it won't actually change the weather. Unless you live in Melbourne where we have 4 seasons in 1 day, then the weather could actually change). Sport is really a wonderful thing and causes so much happiness and community.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Addictions

Addictions can vary from person to person. Throughout our lives we will all encounter some form of it, whether it be through ourselves or those around us. Addictions are often associated with drugs and alcohol but can also include gaming, school, work or socialising. All have their own issues which can be devastating to the person themselves and those around them. Addictions are serious and come in many shapes and forms.

The most common thing people think of when it comes to addiction is drugs and alcohol. These are the addictions that we learn about in school, they can affect our health and those around us. Some of these addictions can also get us mixed up with dangerous people and can get us into dangerous situations. Sometimes with addictions such as these it is essential that they receive help and some people actively seek this out while others don't. It is sometimes the responsibility of those around the person that should help them seek help. However, some people don't accept the help and won't even acknowledge they have a problem. People just need to be a bit more patient with these people but if they begin to affect the people who are helping then they need to get away before their lives become as much a mess as the person's who they are helping. So drugs and alcohol are commonly associated with addiction and can affect both the affected and those around them.

Addictions do not have to be related to drugs and alcohol. People can be addicted to movies (except for The Hunger Games, that's understandable. Right? Right?!), television shows (I'm looking at you Joshua [even though you don't read this and probably never will]), games (looking at you Mum) and sports (Matthew, need I say more?). These can have just as big an impact as drugs and alcohol as it can take over their lives and override their inhibitions. They may soon lose interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and could soon waste away. Their relationships would suffer as the addiction would come first every time and those around them would feel powerless to do something. These people need help just as much as the alcoholics and the drug addicts. They won't accept they have a problem and it is up to those around them to persuade them (or even trick them) into seeking professional help for their problems. Some addictions are not as severe as others and some won't affect a person's life. There is, however, a fine line between a healthy addiction (if there are any) and an unhealthy addiction and sometimes it is the people around us that can tell which sort of addiction it is as they sometimes feel the effects more than those who are addicted do.

Addictions come in many shapes and forms and the severity depends on the person themselves. Addictions should not be taken lightly and are very serious.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Google Plus

I have to come clean about something, I love to use Google Plus! I said it, come at me. I like to use Google Plus and I really like it! By the way, do you know if you type in Google with a lower case 'g' Google chrome spell-check says it is wrong. Just saying, I think there is some connection between Google and Google Chrome I just haven't worked it out yet. Maybe its the colour scheme...

Anyway, so I really like to use Google Plus and part of the reason behind that is that it isn't blocked by those annoying Internet blockers from school and work because it is Google! So that means we can socialise during class, after we've finished our work of course (I'm a good student), and the teacher has no idea what we are doing. It also helps because Google Plus has this thing called 'Hangouts' which is sort of like Skype in that you use your webcam to talk to other people through the internet. This helps because you can change it so that it shows what is on your screen which really helped us during Humanities recently when we were working as a group and we could just show each other what we had done rather than having to discuss it several times. It also helped when searching for data (plus if the teacher was helping one of the students we could follow along) because it was really hard to find what we were looking for. So I find Google Plus hangouts a great way to share work (and socialise outside of school) without having to download a program (such as Skype) and having to create some other account because we can just use our Google account. Did you know you can also create a live YouTube broadcast through Google Plus Hangouts?

I also like Google Plus because you can play games on it even though I don't use this feature that much. It's just good to know its there. There is also a chat option too (like on Facebook) which we use sometimes in school to share information we typed instead of dictating it and repeating each sentence five times. It's quicker to copy and paste. It really is a great site and I just can't see why others don't like it as much, at least it isn't like MySpace or something, it's Google. There are also other people that are on here (friends, celebrities, pages for shows and other stuff) and you can make pages like on Facebook and you can add pages and people into Circles (or groups) such as Friends, Art, School, Work, Family, Celebrities etcetera. So I like Google Plus and I am not afraid to say it.