The Lottery

    Today, I pulled into a parking space at Wawa and saw a woman in the car next to me scratching off her lottery ticket to see if she won. Did you know that you have better odds of dying on your way to buy a lottery ticket than you do actually winning the lottery? Personally, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why not save that money used to buy a lottery ticket every day and use it for something beneficial, like paying off debt or saving for a new computer or really anything that doesn't involve the you throwing away your cash on the off chance that you win big? Now I am certainly not condemning everyone who plays the lottery, that's not my place. While I see it as a foolish way to spend your money, the fact is it's YOUR money and I can't tell you what to do with it. But this mentality of mine is derived from my hesitance to bet. I like to be sure of things and if I cannot predict the outcome of something with certainty, often I will fold. Now there are many exceptions to this rule I naturally live by but in general, I prefer to stay on the safe end than roll the dice and hope for the best. This thought process has many pro's and con's. On one hand, I don't take many unnecessary risks but on the other, I might miss out on a handful of opportunities.

    This way of thinking stems far past my unwillingness to gamble and impacts even my college life. If you know me, you might be aware I thoroughly enjoy to make music (check it out on my soundcloud if you'd like, the links are on the left bar or below). Since I was maybe 7 or 8, I played piano, eventually taught myself guitar (a novice at best), drums (barely enough to hold a beat), and am now trying to improve my bass skills. I started to produce music on FL Studio in my senior year of high school and upon a recent desire to take it more seriously, I switched to Ableton (which is a far better program in my opinion). Of all activities I surround myself with, making music is undoubtedly my favorite and when I was faced with the decision to pick my major, I briefly considered music production (or perhaps audio engineering). However, due to my "play it safe" nature, I determined that Electrical Engineering was the best course of action. This decision was motivated by a realization that a job in the music production industry is very hard to attain and there will always be a need for Engineers. It also doesn't hurt that I enjoy Engineering and its difficulty (who doesn't love a challenge)? I like to problem solve and find many of my classes rewarding. But despite my affection of Physics or Programming, these classes could never compare to a course involving music.

    What I am getting at is this, while sometimes I wish I took more risks, I realize that it is not always the best decision. Deciding who is right, the heart or the mind, is one of the hardest things I have to do on a daily basis. Is it worth the possibility of not having a job, being thousands of dollars in debt, and putting my future family in jeopardy? Ultimately, I have decided that it isn't. I may grow to regret not taking a chance on something I am passionate about, but it is a choice I will have to live with. Do I take this mindset too far? Absolutely. Sometimes I will back out of situations where I do not feel 100% comfortable, it's almost cowardly at times. But the good thing is that I realize it's something I need to work on. "To improve is to change, to perfect is to change often" is one of my favorite quotes by Winston Churchill, and he is right. Sitting by and wishing for your life to turn around won't get you anywhere. Self improvement is a natural desire for man but the trick is actually getting up and doing something about it. Albert Einsteins definition of insanity is "doing the exact same thing over and over, expecting a different result each time." Many of us continue to repeat our daily routine but at the same time hope for things to get better. But I believe that "hope" is for someone without a plan and I do not intend on letting that someone be me.

If you care to check out the music I make, feel free to visit these sites below! Any and all feedback/criticism is welcome! New music will be coming very soon! Thanks for listening!

https://soundcloud.com/davidbyancey

https://soundcloud.com/lamp_music

The Modern Weatherman

    The position of weatherman (or woman, I suppose) dates about as far back as any ancient written records. The Babylonians, the Ancient Chinese, and perhaps most notably, Aristotle were all skilled in the art of predicting the weather. It was a "gift" some believed and was very highly regarded. Think about it, predicting the unknown in a time without computers, satellites, barometers and the like. Looking for patterns in the lunar phases and the movement of the winds to foresee what form upcoming weather would appear as. This advanced thinking helped many people of the past to do what was thought to be the impossible.

    Fast forwarding to today, the profession see's much less glamour. There is no need to gather around the television or radio to hear what the whether will be like tomorrow. All you need to do is remind Siri to tell you the forecast every morning and you're golden. Not only has the position of weatherman lost the sense of awe and amazement, but it has lost its practical purpose too! But whats even worse is that in recent years, the weathermen has build a steady reputation of being wrong! This once alluring and honorable occupation has become a small window in the broadcast were you have time to make a snack and go to the bathroom before the real news comes back on. However, when faced with all of this dissatisfaction and ridicule, the weathermen around the world didn't back down and give up. Did the Texan defenders of the Alamo just accept their imminent demise? No, they pulled together and fought fearlessly no matter the outcome. Now, it appears that the only clear difference between the modern weatherman and the Alamo, is that the weatherman are making an improbable come back.

    It seems that in the very recent past, not only are some forgetting that being a weatherman is nothing short of a joke, but their forecasts are actually turning out to be somewhat accurate! With the flood of snow storms these past few weeks, I have been well prepared due to my local weatherman and his predictions. Now, obviously you can give some credit to the new radar systems many stations have been switching to, but regardless, the weathermen are starting to prove those naysayers wrong, and fighting back when the odds are against you is an admirable move on their part.

   So lets recap: The weathermen were at one point glorified and the next they dissolved into a sham, but now are slowly are attempting to regain the trust of the people they betrayed time and time again. Many are accepting this cry of mercy, but not I. Personally, it will take a lot more than a few accurate predictions to persuade me because while they are showing promise, they crossed the line when screwing up on my birthday. Sure it was some 5 years ago, but I am still bitter. My birthday, April 7th (write that one down so you won't forget to send me a present this year), was the victim of the meteorologists incompetence, coupled with unusual circumstances.

    They called for a probability of rain in the AM and a low of 43 degrees (just ball parking it). This seemed like a typical forecast for early April, but yet again the weathermen underwhelmed. Now I don't remember the specifics of that day, but what I do remember that they were wrong, no rain. In stead I woke up to a cold day that included SNOW! I had a whole day planned out already as most teenagers do on one of the most important days of their adolescent lives. I wanted to play basketball across the street, go biking with my friends, so many different activities and expectations RUINED by the weatherman's horribly inaccurate claim of a slight "morning drizzle". I was crushed, the cold made my already sensitive ears unbearably frigid and destroyed any motivation to go outside. Now of course I was able to enjoy the bleak, grey weather with family and friends (indoors) to comfort me, but that day will always remain in the back of my mind. So go ahead and believe the new hype surrounding the weathermen if you wish, but personally, I am still a skeptic.

Welcome

    Within the past year or so, I have identified many of passions of mine, including my interest and affection for writing. I thoroughly enjoy sitting down and carefully drafting a paper (email response, Facebook status, etc) that I am proud of as it brings a unique satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment. For most, college ends up being a time packed with dreaded 10 page essays and other mandatory written assignments. However, having taken only one English/Writing class so far, this does not seem to be the case for me. Perhaps it is because my credit hours have consisted primarily of Math and Science (due to my Engineering major) rather than a liberal arts based curriculum or maybe it is simply due to the way my adviser has set up my recommended schedule. Either way, until I have another outlet to fulfill this craving of mine (to write), I will be sporadically posting any interesting idea, question, or encounter I may experience on this here blog and hope you all find it worth reading.

    *Note: The title of this blog, “I’m not a rapper”, was inspired by a funny YouTube video I have seen far too many times and the link is below if you wish to watch. Many of you may not like it because while I find it entertaining, I acknowledge that the humor is very immature, silly, and just not for everyone. So with that being said, enjoy.