Happy Friday! – Pictures

It's another fun day Friday. I wrote something really long so I don't mind throwing up some pictures for you guys today. Here are some of the pictures Jen and I have been taking with the new camera.

It’s another fun day Friday. Yesterday, I wrote something really long so I don’t mind throwing up some pictures for you guys today. Here are some of the pictures Jen and I have been taking with the new camera. Also, I started using my flickr account again to have a place to throw photos I have taken. There isn’t much there yet but go check it out anyway.

If you click on the images it will take you to a larger version. If you click on that larger version it will take you to the next one in the gallery.

A Dad’s Response To #YesAllWomen

As a dad there are certain things that I need to teach my daughters before they are old enough to be on their own.

For those of you that don’t follow the crazy Internet news, there is a new hashtag trending called #YesAllWomen.

To quickly explain, #YesAllWomen is a way for women to tag their posts, updates, tweets letting people know what all women have to deal with. It started in response to Elliot Rodger’s killing spree where he posted a YouTube video blaming the “cruelness of women” for his actions. He basically said that because girls wouldn’t give him a chance he was a going to have a “day of retribution”. You can read more about it on this CNN article.

As a dad there are certain things that I need to teach my daughters before they are old enough to be on their own. I use the word daughters because the only children I have are girls but this would apply to any boy as well.

Respect

There are many things that can be solved by showing everyone the level of respect that you demand back. Always say yes ma’am and yes sir. Always look a person in the eyes when you shake their hand. It doesn’t matter if they are twice your age or half your age.

Be Aware of What Around You.

Bad things happen in bad places. That is just how the world works. That doesn’t mean they can’t happen in good places but statically the chances are smaller. I will always drop everything to come get you no matter where you are.

Trust Your Gut

If you get a bad feeling about somebody, get away from that person. If you have a bad feeling about a situation, get out of the situation.

Never Leave Your Drink

It doesn’t matter if you are at a Bar, Frat Party or hanging out with friends. If you set your drink down and walk away from it, get a new one.

Stereotypes Exist For A Reason

You will be judged based upon how the world sees you. It sucks I know but it is how the world works. If a girl walks around dressed like a Hooker, people are going to say she’s a hooker. If a guy works out all the time and makes himself look like he does steroids people are going to say you are on steroids. That is how the world works. Deal with it.

Always Have an Exit

The very few people that know I do this make fun of me for it. When I am somewhere I have never been before I am always scanning the area for the exits. When I get to a restaurant I have never been to the first thing I do after getting seated is go to the bathroom. When I walk to the bathroom I scan the area. I see what food looks good. I notice where the two or three extra emergency exits are. I know this sounds silly but it has saved me multiple times and not just from ordering garbage. This doesn’t apply just to physical exits either. On a first date, have a polite way to leave if you are uncomfortable.

I think #YesAllWomen is a great way for women to bring to focus what they have to go through. I don’t want my daughters to have to deal with any of the things I have read on Twitter or Facebook. I also would’t want my son to have to put up with a lot of the things guys do on an everyday basis either. #YesAllWomen brings both of these out into the open and if it can even help make a single person rethink what they say or do in the future then I am all for it.

Some people suck, some people were not raised based off the “Golden Rule”. It is something we have to deal with as a society. Just because one guy treated a girl like trash doesn’t mean all guys are that way. Just because one girl treated a guy like trash doesn’t mean that all girls are that way. That is just the way the world works.

The Road Less Traveled

Pinpoint a moment in your past where you had to make a big decision. Write about that other alternate life that could have unfolded.

I have been having trouble figuring out what to write about. I found a site that lists out a bunch of topics for posts. As soon as I saw this one I knew it was the one I needed to write about. I may not follow it exactly but it will give me a good start.

Pinpoint a moment in your past where you had to make a big decision. Write about that other alternate life that could have unfolded.

One of the hardest decisions I ever made in my life was when I decided to leave the Navel Academy Prep School. I loved the military side of things but I wasn’t mature enough at that point in my life to make the grades that I needed. The worst part about it was that about half of the school was failing. I was doing fairly well in most of my classes except for one. The teacher was failing everybody. I learned later that at the end of the trimester the teacher ended up curving the entire course almost 40 points. When I found that out it really pissed me off. One of the things I had wanted to do since I was a little kid was fly planes and I let something like that teacher get in the way of that dream.

I have had 2 extremely difficult phone calls to my parents in my life. The first one was calling them sitting in my Explorer Sport, at the pier on the Newport, Rhode Island Navel Base staring at the bridge home (header picture, sorry it’s so grainy). The second one was trying to tell my mom that Isabel was having to be life-flighted to Denver because they were not sure if she would make it if she stayed in Gunnison.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day to remember the men and women that have died fighting for our country.

I wish I would have gotten to know either of my grand-fathers better. Both of them died before I got a chance to really know them. My paternal grand-father was in the Navy, I believe, and fought in World War 2. He died when I was very young and I have a few memories of him but not much. My maternal grand-father died when I was a freshmen in college. I regret not making it to his funeral. He also fought in World War 2. When I was little he would tell my brother and I small stories about the war. I wish I would have been able to spend more time with both of them.

I remember the first time I got a call letting me know that a friend of mine had died while in Afghanistan. It was the summer after my first year of college. We had just spent some time together a few weeks before I got the call. The men and women of our armed forces lay down their lives every day for us to have all the rights we exercise every day.

I just want to say thank you to all the men and women that are serving or have served our great nation.

A Slow Sunday

I have a hard time thinking about thinks to write about. Normally when I am having trouble figuring out what to write about I go through my Facebook feed and see if there is anything that catches my eye. After spending about 30 minutes looking at posts, I still couldn’t find anything that I wanted to write about. I have a few ideas for my next posts but nothing that I could write about today.

It was an unusual day today. It rained all day and there were even a few snow flakes up on the mountain. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day so we can fire up the grill and have a great Memorial Day.