azlan
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Posts posted by azlan
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for me, I'm a smoker, though I don't believe that I am addicted to the niccotine, as I do not get cravings for cigarettes, even when I go several days (or weeks) without, for me its a social/habitual thing, and the only time I smoke heavily tends to be at work, as it gets to be a very stressful/fustrating place at times, plus a lot of my workmates smoke, so its a difficult environment to quit in.
I used to be fairly addicted to caffeine too, drinking two or three cans of relentless/monster a day, but I made a conscious effort to stop having so much, and went cold turkey on anything with a high caffeine content (including things like diet coke), and although I felt like crap for about a week, I found that I could work the same hours (10+hour days 5/6 days a week) without the energy drinks and without getting tired, and felt much better as a result, so now whilst I occasionally do still have energy drinks, the reliance of caffeine is much reduced.
I also drink quite a lot of alcohol, although again, I do not feel that I am addicted to it, as I don't feel the 'need' to drink to function, its usually just a social thing, although, we do have a tendency to always go for a pint or two after work, and there are times after a shift where it feels like you 'need' a drink, so so it could be argued that there is some kind of low level addiction there.
It's interesting to note that, according to some scientists (I believe they were UN scientists, but I cannot remember the source) that around the world, more than 1/3 of all adults can be classified as addicted to caffeine
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Spoken Word
in Music
you might wanna have a listen to the newest album by 'the king blues' (I can't remember what its called) but that has some spoken word/poetry pieces on it that you might enjoy
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I think that some drugs should be decriminalized, however, others definitely should not be.
Milder things like Marijuana (weed) and 'Magic Mushrooms' should be able to be sold over the counter like tobacco (although I do not agree that they should be stocked on shelves where younger people can access them, and they should be subject to the same 18+ age restriction that cigarettes and alcohol are. There's a few reasons for this
- In the eyes of the law, once a person reaches the age of 18, they are considered an adult, and able to make there own choices and decisions, so they should be able to choose to use or not use a drug
- It cuts out the criminal element from use, so weakens organised crime's grip on the trade, and stops people being pushed onto harder substances by dealers
- If regulated and taxed, the extra income would more than make up for any increase in NHS costs etc..
- Removing dealers from the equation would help lower the amount of drug related theft, as prices are fixed and not liable to spiral
Harder substances (that is, anything that is chemically addictive, rather than habitually addictive) like crack cocaine, heroin and crystal meth should definitely remain illegal, although, I personally believe that users should be given treatment rather than punishment, and that dealers, suppliers, mules etc.. should face much tougher sentences (10 year minimum I think would be a good place to start)
- In the eyes of the law, once a person reaches the age of 18, they are considered an adult, and able to make there own choices and decisions, so they should be able to choose to use or not use a drug
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more or less what I expected, I don't believe in socialism as I cannot see how it makes economic sense, and believe that different jobs deserve different remuneration, and I also do not agree with intruding on personal freedoms or privacy...
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I have an android rather than a BB, but loads of my friends do have them, they seem like nice handsets, especially if you need to do lots of email etc.. work with them
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I play guitar and bass, and a little bit of keyboard, plus I used to play violin
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God forbid waterstones goes under because if that does i really don't know what i would do lol
I hate to say it, but Waterstones are in trouble too, until recently they were owned by HMV, who are struggling to compete with online sales/piracy, although they are now under new ownership, so there is a chance they will pull through
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I play guitar and bass, and sometimes a little bit of keyboard, used to play violin too years ago
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Bookstores in general are in trouble at the moment, people do read less, and with the rise of devices like the kindle, many people are buying ebooks (or pirating them, but that is a whole different discussion), or using library or second hand bookshops more, especially as many books are written now to be read once and then moved on from, rather than to be kept and cherished, this problem is then further exacerbated by what many perceive to be high prices for new books (virtually all bookstores sell at the RRP) and the high availability of competing (and often cheap/free) media, such as TV and music.
It is a shame to hear of a book chain going bust, but at the end of the day, book retailers need to find something new and compelling to attract buisnes, and make the experience worth the extra cost/hassle of a real store than online sales, like some stores in the UK have coffee shops on the premises and have book clubs etc..
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all signs point to lauderdale - a day to remember
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STFUppercut - the blackout
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mine would be freelance sound engineering, which is hopefully what I'm gonna do
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another song about the weekend - a day to remember
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injection - rise against
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filling in application forms and sending off CV's
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the place I work doesn't sell ginger beer, but I'm not a massive fan of it, its got too much of a burning sensation for my taste, and again, has a tendency to make you feel a bit hyperactive rather than chilled, I don't drink lager either, usually cider/perry or some ales.
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Just to try and explain why we have a pint rather than a soft drink (at least myself, and most the people I work with) is quite simple, if you have a pint of a soft drink (coke, diet coke, lemonade...) it tends to make you go a bit hyperactive, which isn't what you want at 4 in the morning when you just want to go to bed, whereas a pint is still cold (often actually colder than soft drinks) and extremely refreshing, but gives you a calm, relaxed feeling rather than being hyped up, and after the amount of water/soft drinks we get through during a night anyway (its a hot venue and we work long hours), more coke is the last thing you want
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Just to put a little bit of perspective on it, people have been saying this sort of thing for a long time, and especially so since the end of the first world war, although it is about teenagers rather than younger children, the BBC/open university show 'James May's 20th Century' has an episode called 'inventing the teenager' which takes a look at the sort of things that changed socially/economically that enabled these changes to take place.
What I am about to say is mostly based on the UK, but I am sure the same principles apply in most places
It should be remembered, that up until relatively recently, many people left school at age 14, if they even went in the first place, and would then get a full time job at a factory or similar, so there was an expectation for people to be ready for life before then, so the increase in compulsory eduction, and the increase of in time people are considered 'young' (its not uncommon to start a 'career' until 25-30 nowadays) mean that there is less pressure put on children to get actual responsibility and act like adults in the real sense)
The root cause of children 'growing up too fast' is much more complicated than simply the media/parents, and actually has a lot to do with the economy and the rise of socialist ideologies and economic development in non-gold backed economies (most of the world).
Inflation has increased the cost of living for many, whilst pay-rises are often far below inflation, especially for people already on lower incomes, meaning that people are working more hours than they would like, and combined with the rise of feminism, it is no longer expected that a woman will give up a career to raise children, parents have less time to spend with there children, meaning that some parents are forced to rely on childcare whilst they work (which is expensive and further increases the need to work, which is quite a paradox) or give there children responsibility from a relatively young age (even small things like walking to and from school on there own, and being alone in the house for an hour or two after school before the parents get home) which gives children more freedom than they are used to. Parents also often rely on older siblings to look after younger siblings, and put pressure on children to act maturely.
Since the 'cabbage patch dolls', product makers and retailers have known that children are a potentially hugely lucrative market, and as a result, a lot of effort is put into trying to make them into 'good little consumers' that will spend there parents money, and part of the way they do this is to create ways of making children feel 'grown up' by emulating products, fashion and culture from teenagers, and parents feel pressured to give children everything they want as there is a large social stigma placed on kids that don't have whatever the latest trend is, from the other children, as well as on the parents by other parents, forcing relative conformity into the modern liberal 'cool parent' philosophy,
The rise of mobile phones and the Internet have obviously also had a huge influence, mobile phones in particular are often bought for young children by parents with emergency contact in mind, but social pressure on the kids means they will often push for a 'cooler' smart-phone rather than just a basic phone (and phone retailers hardly sell any basic phones any more), meaning that children are bypassing the parents ability to monitor who they are in contact with.
The Internet too has had a similar effect, with many parents not really understanding how computers work, kids often have unfettered access to the web, and all its less-than-savoury corners, and with parents leaving children alone more and more, there is also less supervision of this taking place.
to summarise, to change the current situation, the solution is not as simple as telling parents to step up, but would require massive changes in the socio-economic makeup of the western world, and would likely be impossible to implement, not to mention the human nature of trying to act grown up, and for parents to want to give everything they can to children, and for companies to target children with advertising whilst they are too young to properly understand what they are experiencing.
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after working in a pub for 7-8 hours a day with no break, you bloody need a pint or 2.
I work in live music/clubs and I can totally agree with that, nothing like a pint (of strongbow in my case usually) after work, especially when it's free
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another song about the weekend - a day to remember
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Lack of Sleep
in Food & Health
Posted
I've had trouble sleeping for years (although my lifestyle isn't exactly conducive to a good pattern). The most important thing is to try and keep a regular pattern of when you go to bed (even if not sleep) and if at all possible, leave your window slightly open (on the latch or with a vent open, just to keep some fresh air in the room during the night)
something else that is important is to make sure you eat relatively early in the evening, and don't snack before bed (or ideally for several hours before sleep). It is also worth trying to exercise after your evening meal, and to only drink water for a few hours before bed too, as sugars/caffeine in most other drinks will keep you awake.