For those just entering...

For anyone who has just found this page through the announcement I posted approximately 6 minutes ago on Myspace, you may wonder why you're here, what's going on, and such. I will probably not answer any of those questions with my answers.

This, for lack of a better way of describing it, is where I will rant. I talk about what I see through everyday life, and what I think about. They'll usually be long, and hopefully thought-provoking. At least, that's my idea. I'd like to get whatever people I can get to read this stuff to discuss it, to further both my and their knowledge and opinions on whatever subject I may have written on.

You may say that I have no right to write some of the stuff I do or have some of the opinions I do. You might be right, but I write and have them just the same... discuss it with me, I have an open mind to anyone that has an open mind.

In all, welcome, the 1 or possibly 2 people who are here! Enjoy reading, if you haven't already left!

Beginning of a new year...

As of midnight last night, the year is no longer 2006, but 2007.

I could go into a "year in review," but that wouldn't make much sense as it wouldn't be all that interesting to read. The short version's much better and easier to write/read. Well, last year was a year of awakening, perhaps. A year of thought, definitely. I did a bunch of stupid things, and a bunch of smart things. I learned things, forgot things, and such. All in all, it was 365.25 days.

At this point, I could say that I hope 2007 will be a better year, or that it will bring new things, but that wouldn't make much sense either. First of all, nothing really changes today except for the ones place in our year. One could make "New Year's resolutions," but all it turns out to be is a nice gesture. Today is just another day, and you'll do the same things you do any other day. It just happens that today marks the point that begins approximately 4 weeks of accidentally writing 2006 for the year and then hastily correcting yourself. As for new things, it will most definitely bring them. College is coming, as well as many other things. But, you could also make the argument that every day brings new things. So, I come into 2007 with only the hope that this time next year I will be able to say that 2007 was 365.25 days.

So, welcome, 2007. Things may change within you, but not because of you. We'll shape our own lives regardless of what four numbers reside at the end of our date. Things may get better, and things may get worse. We'll find out soon enough... we have a big blank book stamped "2007" to fill up with things that will happen.

...I don't think I'm making a bit of sense. But that's OK, because I don't really think I set out to make sense in the first place. I think I'll shut up now.

Oooh...

Shiny new designage done because I was bored. How do you like it? It looks slightly better to me, and I like the right-hand post display better. It somehow draws your eye to it more. :)

Le Châtelier was a pretty smart guy...

Who is Le Châtelier, you ask? Well, if you're well-learned in Chemistry, or have taken it in school, you might know that he created/discovered/found out a principle about systems, conveniently named Le Châtelier's Principle. The principle, directly from my Chemistry textbook, states that when any system at equilibrium is disturbed by an application of stress, it attains a new equilibrium that minimizes the stress. In other words, when something happens to stress a system, it does something to alleviate that stress. Now, this was only meant to be used in chemical systems (to the best of my knowledge, which is admittedly slim on Mr. Châtelier here), but when you think about it, it could be used in just about any part of life.

What? You don't think about stuff like this on your own time? What's wrong with you? :) OK, OK, I get the point... it's a little weird, but when you've got a brain the size of a planet you need to do something to pass the time. *puts on Marvin the Paranoid Android T-shirt*

First, before moving on to some of the deep stuff, I'll start my analysis with a jar of peanut butter. Imagine, if you will, a glass jar of peanut butter. And now, imagine dropping it onto a hard floor of some type. For the clumsier people among us (including me!), this should not be that hard. When the jar hits the floor, an immense amount of stress is being placed on it. To relieve the stress, the jar breaks into pieces. Now, the peanut butter is under stress. The jar holding it in is now gone, and now outside forces are able to act on it. Such as gravity, for instance. To relieve the stress, the peanut butter 'goes with the flow' and gravitates onto the floor and makes a sticky mess.

If you want to take this slightly further, you are now under stress for breaking the jar. There are tons of pieces of glass, and a big mess of peanut butter all over the floor. At some point, someone is going to be angry with you for this mess, even if you live alone. To relieve this stress on yourself, you can do a few things. The easiest thing would be to deny any knowledge of the event, and run away quickly before anyone catches you near it. But, that isn't very nice, and could get you into even more trouble. The better thing to do to alleviate your stress would be to find some way to clean the mess up.

...wow, that analogy worked better than I had hoped... All righty then, on to the deeper stuff.

There are many stressing elements in the average person's life. Some are small, like getting chewed out by the boss for something stupid that they've done. Some are large, like the death of a family member, or getting sentenced to life in prison. Or possibly dying, that's a pretty big stress. But when the stress of being dead appears, you're already dead so you don't really care about it. Moving on... Let's take the first stress of getting yelled at by your boss for doing something stupid, like putting decaf coffee in his coffee maker. That's fairly stressing. And because you are stressed, you will find some way to relieve it, and attain your equilibrium. In this case, it would probably be something you do internally, like imagining your boss getting hit by a small nuclear bomb while spontaneously combusting and getting whacked in the kneecaps by small Keebler elves. In his underpants.

Now, let's move on to a larger stress, such as the death of a close friend or family member. Obviously, this is a large stressor. Some may say in this case that there is no equilibrium, that life is completely and utterly thrown out of balance forever after this. This is not true. It may feel like it, but it is not true. And if it is true, it shouldn't be. If life was forever thrown out of equilibrium, we would not be able to live. For a while, life is completely out of equilibrium, as you begin to death with the death and the absence of the person. But, eventually, your life continues on. Your equilibrium may be wildly different than it was before, but it is still at an equilibrium. I may not be an expert on this part, as I have not yet had to deal with the death of a close family member, but I know the time may be coming soon. In fact, I have been thinking about something like this for many years. I may not have had an actual death, but my mind has been preparing me for it for years...

I think that's the general idea... of course, this could be used in almost any situation, but I have neither the time nor the will to type out any more examples. So, comment if you will, don't if you won't, and keep your mind as sharp as your wit. Until next time!

My views on: Teenage Drama and Angst

(This first rant, originally posted on MySpace, has now been transplanted over here to begin the new era of rants. Enjoy it!)

The years between 13 and 19 are most commonly known as the "teenage years." What goes on in the mind of teenagers (including my own mind, I'm still in those years :) ) is only known to stuck-up psychologists who think they know everything and the teenagers themselves. Usually, this time is rife with drama, stress, and all matter of weird stuff. I personally try to stay above the drama as often as possible, and maintain a happy life, but sometimes it's just not possible.

Why?

Because of other teens. Almost every place I look, I see "Oh, my life is so awful, no one likes me" or some variation on the same theme. Bleh. Give me a break!

(This thing is probably not making sense to some, as I kind of have a cold and all I can focus on is my inability to breathe. But I continue on!!!)

Sure, your life may be bad. Sure, maybe you have good reason to be all mopey and sulk around all day cursing everyone you know and life in general. But I doubt it. Already, I can here thousands of angsty teenagers shouting in unison, "You don't know me! You can't see how ruined my life is! Nobody understands me!!!!!!!" Cry me a river, guys. I've been there and back, and have kept both my sanity (or what I call sanity... most would call it insanity) and most of my cheerful disposition. How? Becuase I recognize a few things that some don't:

1. No one cares. Most of the "Waaah everyone hates me" stuff is just a desperate cry for attention. But, in the world at large, and on a larger scale the galaxy, nobody cares about your problems. Or at least, so few that when things average out it comes out so close to 0 that it's not worth counting. Once you can realize that fact, you can move on with your life. If nobody cares, there's really no reason to act sad to get attention, so you might as well be happy.

2. Being happy is a lot more fun than being sad. This goes without saying, and I don't really know why I'm typing it.

3. This may be a stretch for some, but... I believe that there's more worlds out there. Worlds where all our fantasy creatures like dragons and the like exist and thrive. Some day, we'll find them. So, as bad as this world may be, and most of the time it's pretty rotten, there's another one waiting just around the corner. Hang on to optimism, that's all we've got at times.

4. Life's not fair. Deal with it.

...Yeah, that's a few of the things that I've come to terms with in life, and I feel that I'm happier and a better person because of it. I hope that some of the angsty bloggers who hate their lives out there (you know who I'm talking to...) read this and possibly start thinking optimistically. If I can change at least one person's life around from "Waaaaah, everything is awful and I hate everything" to "Yeah, everything is awful, so what? Let's write stupid random stories and laugh at the world in general until the dragons come to burn us all to crispy bits!", I'll feel like I've done my job.

That's my views... what about yours? I'd love some comments on it... an argument would even be welcome... SOMEBODY GIVE ME ATTENTION!!!!! Hardyhardyhar...

Until next time, keep your brain functioning well and a clean pair of underwear on your buttocks. Farewell.

It begins...

Welcome, welcome, one and all...


You have reached The Ranter's Guide to the Galaxy, a new... *sigh*... "blog" that is for, well... ranting. And whatever else I feel like putting on here.


Stay tuned, the rants will be coming soon. Very soon.