A Gentleman's View of Life

A Blogger's Duty (AKA: there is nothing interesting to write about)

2013-05-30T12:30:00.000-05:00

In short, boredom has taken over my home life from college. I complain not because I do not like to relax, as I have wished for the past year, but from the lack of writable material I now have. Aside from three weeks worth of gossip (thank you mom), this is all I have:

Sadly it is also the best picture my phone has taken

Yes, dear readers, a broken street light hanging precariously overhead. A true low and the reason for my absence last Thursday and this current Tuesday. Now a "low traffic lifestyle" is no reason for this so my apologies and I really did want to write! So I have found my solution which many fellow bloggers seem to utilize. I have seen it called many things (e.g. LinkSTORM) but I will refer to it as the title states, A Blogger's Duty. As important as creating original content is, a blogger must not forget the reason for the creation of a blog is to share many ideas. This includes sharing others' ideas or topics of interest. Now bear with me here dear readers, this is another experiment of mine. It will improve and form over time and, as always, thank you for taking part and would love to hear your thoughts on what I share! Without further ado then:

Thanks to this amazing blog which inspired this style of listing (Yes it is mainly a women's blog but I do have a girlfriend and an interest in what she likes).

Another thanks to this website which helped me properly use e.g.

A web comic I discovered while in college (perfect timing too).

Interesting image on Finland Education compared to American Education.

My inner gamer's new favorite way to get cool stuff.

And, finally, a famous duo showcasing their improv skills and seller techniques.

Some of these links do contain strong language so you have been advised (the first link and Finland one are probably the safest). Do enjoy the rest of your week and the weekend. If everything goes as planned, there will be an interesting post for Tuesday!

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

Home Sweet Home

2013-05-21T14:58:00.001-05:00

I greatly apologize for missing last week's blog posts; settling in back home was a bit harder than I thought! Moving in general is a pretty hard task to accomplish and losing things (like I did, RIP wireless mouse) is practically a given. But now I am back in order and ready to show some pictures I found in my phone in regards to college!

Promise I do not take "selfies", these are pictures of things other than what I wore to "the party".(Source)

To say the least, my first year of college was one heck of a ride. I rediscovered my love of writing (as an engineering major), strengthen my relationship with my girlfriend, truly learned the consequences of under-funded education as an alumni of a failing high-school, and had many, many, MANY experiences. You, dear reader, got to hear some of the many that happened but not every single one can be blogged. Here is a tribute to all the little ones which occurred my freshman year of college.

First Engineering Project

Making a rubber band powered car is no easy feat and only becomes even more difficult when your supplies are limited, testing is not allowed, and you have one week of build time. Oh yes, and counts for 25% of your grade. Despite this, my team and I managed to complete a very capable rubber band powered car looking like something out of a hunting catalog:

For the curious, the car helped me earn a B in the course.

The Art of Studying

A year out of college and this is one art I still have yet to peg down. While a simple Google search could result in many styles and forms, it ultimately lies on the student to figure one out for them self. I believe I got a study rhythm by spring finals week and will have to test it out more come fall. Wish me luck!

Dorm Living

When I was handed my own little, golden key I had no idea what was in store behind the door it unlocked. Good and bad moments, yes, but the most notable: lack of space and comfort:

Ah, freshman dorms

I will admit, living in a dorm was a wonderful and life-learning experience but it was so gosh darn small! If you noticed a black fridge at the bottom left corner, congratulations: you found where my side of the dorm ends and my roommate's began.

And, of course, a lovey picture

Awwww

Proclaiming our love on the wall of a local restaurant. Yes, we're dorks. In love dorks!

As fun as Freshman Year was, I am certainly glad to be back home. Very boring but good to be back with my family. I also have free time to actually write blog posts! Hopefully this summer I can call upon more dear readers to my blog. If not, then it makes no difference to me. To the few who do take the time to read my humble blog (and the 5 or 6 spam bots who also do), thank you always!

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it!

Your Broadcast will resume

2013-05-06T22:05:00.002-05:00

Sorry for no update last week or probably this week. It is finals/move out time for me and my head is quite busy trying to figure out the velocity of a bullet as it hits a block attached to a spring. "Regular Schedule" resumes next week. Thank you for your patience!

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

Future Plans

2013-04-23T12:30:00.000-05:00

I suppose it was a bad idea to start a blogging schedule in the midst of Finals Season here at Texas A&M. If I cannot post two times a week dear readers, then I will try for one. As more and more readers find this blog and summer vacation gets closer and closer, things will defiantly liven up a bit! Let us get back to today's topic shall we?

First off, I would like to start with this:

A dirty dorm room? Worst background ever!

This interesting little device I recently got my hands on is called "Raspberry Pi". It is essentially a $35 dollar computer (a cheaper $25 model exists) which allows anyone from a grade school kid to an engineering student the ability to learn how to code and the internal workings of a basic computer. Its cheap price allows the user to not worry on cost in case your learning experience shorts out the motherboard. (For more information I would suggest going to the Raspberry Pi's official blog here).

With this credit card sized computer, along with a computer manual, I will be attempting to learn a type of computer language called "Python" (hence the "Pi" part of the computer's name). This interest language is a easier to learn than "C" and open-source! A bit of trivia on Python: I kid you not, a computer language used by search engines such as Yahoo! and Google gets its name from the comedy group Monty Python!

"I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper!"--Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Bad grammar aside, I would suggest watching some of their movies/sketches. A bit of dirty humor here and there but worth the resulting laughs!

Anyways, my recent decision to acquire the Raspberry Pi and learn Python actually affects you dear reader! You see, the Raspberry Pi may be cheap but holds almost limitless potential in terms of use. One of this uses is becoming a server; a server for a growing blog. You heard right, one day I want this blog to be hosted on its own server and graduate from Blogger to Wordpress. I have learned so much from writing here and see this as becoming another way to expand my views and learn new talents. Granted, I may not completely abandon Blogger. I just want to experiment with the idea and get some experience by doing so. Wordpress is also not without flaw and has had a history of bad bugs in security. My choices are not restricted and I do plan on trying each option out. If in the end I do stay on Blogger, I would not have done so empty handed or, rather, empty minded. I cannot wait to experience this all with you dear readers. The future is so full of promise and I do hope you will enjoy it too. Summer is always full of opportunity in the land of higher education after all!

PS: I also wrote this blog post yesterday and is officially my first "Schedule Release" post!

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

Flashback to the Eighties

2013-04-16T15:49:00.004-05:00

Before I begin today's post, I would like to take a moment of silence for the Boston Marathon Explosion and provide you with a quote from the greatest Gentleman who ever lived:

May this tragic event only bring us closer and wiser.

In lighter news, Savannah and I got to experience something amazing last Wednesday: our first live concert! We had seen comedians before and always wanted to see a live musical performance by a well known band/individual. And we saw the greatest one of them all.

As a Texas Aggie, this is only person who looks good in a Longhorn jersey

Yes, we saw Mr. John Bon Jovi himself on his current tour "Because We Can". Savannah and I had to travel two hours and wait in traffic for another but boy was it worth it. For those who can tell by his jersey, he played in Austin, Texas. The stadium there is large enough to hold close to 100K and from our nose-bleed section seats we could see the entire perimeter.

Nice stage, bad picture

Bon Jovi's show was scheduled to start at 7:30PM but, like any good rock star, started an hour later. Again, the wait was worth it as Savannah and I were treated to two and a half hours of good rock music. Bon Jovi did play most of the tracks from his most recent album, for which the tour was named after, but classics like Bad Medicine and It's My Life were also included to the fans delight. And for you dear readers, I also got a wonderful, low quality recording of one of the songs he sang. Enjoy:

A Gentleman's View of Life: Bringing Low Quality Videos to You in 2013

Yes that was shot using my phone but it brings the quality of 80's videos to an 80's band! How's that for vintage! Savannah and I had a blast and left about an hour early since we had class the next day. Before leaving though, we had to get Concert T-Shirts. Little did we know, any shirt with "Bon Jovi" on it gives the shirt the right to cost 45 dang dollars!

With our wallets lighter and our spirits higher, Savannah and I set off back home. All and in all, I'm glad my first concert experience was with Bon Jovi. It's a bit of an odd feeling to see one of the greats of the eighties right in front of you. Not to mention seeing a 50 year-old man who moves quicker and cooler than any 20 year-old today! Wednesday night will be one that I'll remember forever as the concert which started my interest in seeing more performers live.

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

Tales of a Gent and a Lady (Final Part)

2013-04-14T00:14:00.001-05:00

Hello again dear readers! Sorry for the delay but many a test had to be taken first! Now that the dust of college life has settled for me, let us begin where I left off:

Soda Shop

After a long day of walking through a land of soda pop, it was time to try some our self! Integrated into the museum was an actual soda shop that made soda the old fashioned way! Savannah and I were quick to try some

Savannah, looking suave with her Dr Pepper

And myself, hyper from a cup of Big Red

After we finished our drinks (and I calmed down), we headed outside the museum and found a nice, light blue truck which seemed to be used for delivering sodas to stores around the country

Converse are always classy

We also found a little hidden treasure nearby the truck. You see, since the museum was an actual bottling plant for Dr Pepper it could be expected to find evidence of this around the area. Savannah and I found this evidence in the form of an old advertisement mural:

Here we have Savannah, a picture done by me

Savannah shot this one of me...

Ending on a high note, Savannah and I left Waco, Texas in search of a curious little shop in Austin, Texas.

Waco to Austin

About 164 km

We began our travel to Austin for one reason: an Internet shop. To be specific, The Burlap Bag. I would seriously suggest visiting their website by the way. At the time of this writing, they have a suggesting about how to keep sponges dry (Thrilling stuff, I know)! Anyways, after a grueling 2 hours (thanks traffic), Savannah and I made to to The Burlap Bag's brick and mortar store...only to find out the store was closed for Easter!! In our misery, we forgot to take a picture. Once we got in the car, we began to raise our spirits up again as we promised to one day go to The Burlap Bag when it is open. For now, it was family time.

Austin to San Marcos

About 50 km

Here, I met up with my mom and stayed at a hotel for the night along with Savannah. The next day, we spent some time at a local outlet mall trying out new things.

Like whatever the heck this thing was!

We then ate lunch at a restaurant themed to be "Americana". In other words, like this:

A Gentleman's mother

Savannah and I then said our heartfelt goodbyes to my family as we made the final leg of our journey: home

San Marcos to College Station

About 198 km

After a grand total of 346 miles (About 557 kilometers), two days, $75, and one new dent on my car we finally saw this:

Savannah's best shot of the entire trip

The greatest part of any journey is when you finally come back home. The best first vacation ever was complete and my feet were glad it was. Savannah and I grew as a couple and we had so many stories to tell to our loved ones. As for you dear reader, thank you for listening in on our grand adventure through Central Texas. I think I have settled on trying to put up a blog post every Tuesday and Thursday starting the upcoming Tuesday. Hopefully I can keep this in check as finals season begins here in College Station. Again, thank you for your time and patience!

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

We interrupt your broadcast to bring you this message

2013-04-02T16:54:00.002-05:00

For those of you who may not know, I am a freshman engineering Student at Texas A&M University. As fun as learning and studying to become an engineer is, time is something I have little of and I have to put priorities in order. This means that today, dear readers, I cannot put the final part of the current "Tales of a Gent and a Lady" until hopefully tomorrow. I hope you can forgive this interruption and wait just a little longer! Thank you all for your time and patience in advance.

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it.

Tales of a Gent and a Lady: The First Experience (Pt. 2)

2013-04-01T17:54:00.000-05:00

The Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute

Ta da!

After such a wonderful drive, Savannah and I were even more excited to enter the museum. As we learned later on inside, the building had a different purpose in the past as an old bottling plant for Dr Pepper and other soft drinks! After buying our tickets (at student price), we immediately entered a dimly lit room with an animatronic man behind a glass window.

He insisted on his picture be taken badly

Turns out this machine was modeled after Charles Alderton, the credited creator of Dr Pepper.

He worked in a drug store in Waco, Texas at around the 1880s when he created what was known at the time as a "Waco". In these early years of America, it was often the case that one could buy cigars at the same store that sold ice cream and soda. Of course, back then, soda came not from soda dispensers but soda fountains

Photo from JunkFoodCritic

The above photo is actually from the Dr Pepper Museum but in my excitement I forgot to photograph it! Anyways, the little gold faucet on the marble counter would shoot out carbonated water. The soda syrup would be added to a cup of ice first and then with the help of some pressure, be mixed with the carbonated water to make true soda! Modern soda dispensers work the same way but factor out the need for someone to operate the faucet.

The animatronic of Dr. Alderton made a little speech about how the "old days" of Waco then said goodbye. I thought he was cool but he scared Savannah! To be fair, the museum did make him extremely detailed.

Again, he does not like to have good pictures of him!

After our experience with uncanny valley, Savannah and I headed to the back of the first floor. This is where the heart of the bottling plant was. There, we found this:

You are looking at what is called an "Artisan Well". The well was created inside the factory as a way for the bottling plant to be able to extract the "Artisan Water" from the ground. This type of water was deemed to be much more healthy than whatever else was available at the time. As the years went by, the well was forgotten as renovations covered it in brick and concrete. Once the old bottling plant was decided to be turned into a museum, construction workers along with students/professors from the local University rediscovered the well! Now its horrifying depth can be seen by all.

Something that I found to be interesting was a type of bottle on display.

Those familiar with a type of Japanese drink, Ramune, may have noticed what I noticed. Here is a picture of the drink that I got off of a wikiHow:

Ramune is unique in the fact it has not a plastic or metal cap to encase the drink, but a ball! Turns out, the Dr Pepper bottles I have pictured have to same structure! I found this to be rather surprising and tried to find a date of manufacturing for the bottles at the museum but came up empty. I will forever be plagued without knowing who manufactured this structure of bottle first!

Savannah and I soon headed towards the second level of the museum. We were immediately faced with this sign:

After reading the last line, I had little to no time before Savannah found the kid in her again. This is what I found behind me:

If you actually read the entire sign, you realize how creepy I found her happiness

We also found a horse made out of Big Red bottle caps, another drink made in Texas. Savannah, again, was overjoyed.

To put the horse in its place, I made sure to let it know who the boss was around here.

Put out your dukes!

The second floor of the museum was devoted mostly towards other drink brands. There was also a section filled with soda-related merchandise; even a few dresses!

Nothing says "Fancy" like 7up

Savannah and I then headed up to the third and final floor. This floor was where the "Free Enterprise Institution" part of the museum's name came from. The entire floor was dedicated to a man nicknamed "Foots" who began his career as a simple deliveryman for Dr Pepper then quickly climbed up the corporate ladder as he became a President of the company. They also had a few games around which allowed you to test your knowledge about good business practice. Guess who found these first?

Yup

We still had one last stop to visit in the Dr Pepper Museum but, for now, I will leave you with a single picture and the promise of "Tales of a Gent and a Lady: The First Experience (Final Part)"!

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

Tales of a Gent and a Lady: The First Experience (Pt. 1)

2013-03-31T17:50:00.000-05:00

One of the most intimate experiences I can think of is sharing a car ride with someone for over an hour. With nothing but open roads you will have no choice but to talk to the other passengers in the vehicle while time ticks on. I learned this from my Easter weekend trip with my girlfriend and it only added fun to an overall awesome experience.

We began to pack the Thursday night before and we already felt happy. It took us about two hours to pack two days worth of clothes though I blame the bubbles Savannah just received in preventing a quick packing.

Why yes, that is a Companion Cube!

Do excuse the mess in the above picture dear readers, we were packing after all!We ended our Thursday on a high note then went to bed; ready for the fun ahead of us.

College Station, Texas to Waco, Texas

About 148 km

We awoke at around 9AM and filled my car with gas for the trip. Our first stop was in College Station at a wonderful restaurant called "Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q"

Rudy's restaurants follow an indoor picnic theme and serve very tasty BBQ (something Texans love). In the mornings though they also serve breakfast tacos which Savannah and I had and are equally delicious as the regular food. Our hunger held over, we began our trip to Waco, Texas.

With about a 1.5 hours of open road on our hands, Savannah and I talked, sang, and laughed during every single minute. Our range of topics went from how awesome Freddie Mercury is to why manufactures still insist on making vehicles run on fossil fuels.

The answer is always aliens

Then, before our conversation got too crazy, we saw our first true destination in front of us: The Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute.

My love, Savannah, who I gave time to pose

And, of course, The LoneGentleman before getting a chance to pose

Now a museum based solely on one carbonated drink may sound extremely boring and unnecessary to travel to but the inside gave quite a different view. A view which, dear readers, you will get a chance to see tomorrow in "Tales of a Gent and a Lady: The First Experience (Pt. 2)"!

So how was my post? An experiment with good results or one whose steps must be revised to ensure a better outcome? As a growing and learning writer, I would love to hear the views of those who read my blog. Either way, I hope you come back tomorrow to see what Savannah and I found inside this not so ordinary museum!

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

Stay Tuned for your Scheduled Broadcast

2013-03-26T22:28:00.000-05:00

Dear readers, this is one of my first experiments. Now that I have entered college, I find myself in a lot of different experiences and doing many different things. The products of these experiences are wonderful stories in which I would love to tell. So. without further ado, I have planned the first of what I call: "Tales of a Gent and a Lady". This weekend my girlfriend and I will be off on a bit of an adventure to three different locations: a small store in the heart of Texas, a museum for a world-wide known soda, and a relative's house for Easter. Stay tuned for the corresponding post this upcoming Sunday!

Ta ta for now...

Updates and a link

2013-03-25T17:26:00.001-05:00

Dear readers, life is so grand at the moment. Due to certain, shall we say opportunities, I will try my best to have a more regular schedule. I will also begin to truly think about my blog and what I want it to be. To make an analogy of it, this blog is a child just beginning to learn how to walk. A child whose views were limited to the ground and only wherever someone took it. Now with its new found ability, the child can finally get a good grasp of the world and become its own individual. And I am so glad to have you, dear reader, out there to join me in what I know will be a crazy and wonderful experience. Even if this opportunity does not work out, I will become more dedicated to making this blog the best it can be!

Oh yes, I also promised a link!

http://soundsjustlike.com/

So science decided to stick its nose in music and found that there is technically a finite number of melodies that can be played though this number has over 100 digits so no fears! The story does not end there though as the study also showed that human beings only like a certain range of melodies and complex-ness in music. This somewhat disappointing find has resulted in many musicians, conscious of it or not, repeating famous melodies written decades ago in their music. The above link is a database of songs that fall prey to this. You even get a sample of the music to compare for yourself! Give the link a click and see just how much "Star Wars" sounds like "Mary Poppins"!

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

Guess Who?

2013-03-03T00:43:00.001-06:00

A long time ago in a land with varying distances to my readers, a man had a dream. A dream to produce some of the most visually stunning and creative movies ever to be thought of. He got his chance by chance eventually and soon after set the standards for what "good" is in his genres. His breakthrough motion pictures had captivated many hearts and did for one man in particular who would change everything. These two men soon worked together to bring these films to everyone thus launching a man and his studio to greater heights. For the next decade, this man's simple dream became a world-wide phenomenon.

Who is this man? Have you guessed yet dear reader? I'll give you a hint: Studio Ghibli.

The answer: Mr. Hayao Miyazaki. His wonderful anime films such as My Neighbor Totoro delighted audiences in Japan but never quite reached the West. It wasn't until legendary Pixar film director John Lasseter put quality time into translating the excellent Spirited Away for us Americans that he became truly known world-wide. Since then, almost every one of his films since My Neighbor Totoro has been translated into English as well as many others.

I mentioned Mr. Miyazaki in today's post because this year marks Totoro's 25th anniversary (April 16, 1988 ). I do not consider myself a crazy fan of anime but I do enjoy watching it and especially love the fan-made art work posted on DeviantArt. Another one of Miyazaki's films, Kiki's Delivery Service, that sparked my interest in anime as a kid. To be honest though, after that I had never seen another of his movies. I would always see the commercials or see people cosplay as certain characters. I knew the names of the movies but never got the chance to see any of them.....until I got into college! My girlfriend and I have officially begun the hunt for Miyazaki's movies. Each one of his movies is a classic but you would not believe how hard it is to get one! Bookstore chains, electronic stores, and finally the internet have been our hunting ground and I'm proud to say we have claimed three classics to our collection:

Next we are hoping to get Kiki! It is amazing to see how much imagination this grown man has; truly a grown up who never grew up. Do you have a personal favorite of Miyazaki's movies? Have you ever seen one? (I highly encourage you do!) I would love to hear your voice in the comments! Well I'm off to watch Howl's Moving Castle and finally find out who "Calcifer" is. Have an excellent upcoming week!

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

2/2 is the new 2/14

2013-02-05T01:39:00.001-06:00

As an engineering student in one of the finest colleges in the country, I do not have a lot of free time. So you can imagine how saddening this is for my girlfriend who also attends the same university. We only get to spend quality time every blue moon it seems so when I found out I would be entirely free for a weekend I took the chance to do something awesome with her. Since Valentine's Day is extremely full on my schedule, I proposed to her a grand idea: February 2 will be our February 14! Once she said yes, our Saturday could begin.

It all started at 10AM in Wellborn, Texas. There lay one of the oddest stories in Central Texas: Hullabaloo Diner.

It may be difficult to read out on the picture I took from the diner's menu but long story short: a vintage diner from Albany, New York made the 1,850 MILE (about 2977 km) trip to Central Texas in order to bring an amazing restaurant to the people of Wellborn. It was actually featured on The Food Network and I just so happen to have a link to the episode it was featured on here. Anyways, time to get back to the date. With such a hype for a little diner you can imagine it gets pretty crowed. My girlfriend and I had to wait for about an hour outside on a porch. Lucky and thankfully, Hullabaloo Diner provided us with some live entertainment playing country music (of course).

Our very Entertaining Musician

Once we got in I felt like we had traveled back in time. Records and other vintage memorabilia dotted the walls of the diner. It was crazy to see how well the owners had managed to keep everything looking good in a 70-year-old diner. We had breakfast and I had the biggest and best stack of pancakes I had ever had before. Seriously, there was about three pounds of pancakes on my plate! My girlfriend and I left Hullabaloo Diner well treated and well fed.

My girlfriend (Savannah) and I outside of the diner. I couldn't finished those gosh darn pancakes!

Next I took Savannah to the local mall and gave her an "allowance" of $40 to spend. She spent it wisely on a brand new and good looking purse. Seeing her happy made the purchase feel a little less straining on my wallet!

I had planned a nice outdoor picnic for lunch but did not plan on the over-filling food from Hullabaloo Diner so we skipped that and headed out to the movies where I purchased two tickets to a rather interesting one.

To make up for the picnic to my girlfriend, I bought the tickets about an hour away and gave her the chance to prove herself in the grand art of pinball! In what seemed to be the last public pinball machine in Texas, we spent the majority of the hour playing the living daylights out of the poor thing.

Ah, the hobby of two lovers

After a grand pinball play, we headed out to see our motion picture. I have to say, for another movie about undead romance this one was pretty good. I disliked the whole Twilight series (apologies to fans but I do) and my views for "Warm Bodies" felt like I was going to follow the same path. Never the less, a gentleman always gives everyone a fair shot and I'm glad I did. Apart from being the perfect date movie for Savannah and I, it kept me interested the entire time. The book isn't so bad either but the two have great differences. Not in quality but in actual story (spoilers aside, the ending has a few revisions).

Our wonderful date then winded down back to my dorm where Savannah and I busted through an entire cartoon series (Legend of Korra) over the course of the weekend. Needless to say, it was the grandest Saturday that had ever been had.

On an end note, I would like to mention a little something:

There are moments in our life where we can feel so alone in the world. Almost as if blending into a crowd is all we are meant to do. I can promise you though if you can tough it out and look towards life with a positive attitude, people with notice you. Nothing is more attractive than such a personality! I am proof of this truth as there was once a time of my life where I felt like I was the last single person left and no one wanted me. One day I had enough and wanted to changed the way I looked at love. I became a happier person when I realized that I didn't need to be in a relationship to feel positive. Little did I know someone took note of my change in views and wanted to change them one more time. This someone was Savannah and she became my special someone for over two years now. I had already felt happy with myself but I would have never imagined how amazing it feels to be happy with someone else.

This upcoming Valentine's Day, I beg of you dear reader to see it not as "another day" but a day of change. If you are single, make a promise to be happy about it. I guarantee you'll make more friends that way and maybe even a friend like I did in Savannah.

If you are lucky enough to have found someone to be happy with, treat them out to something special that day. I don't mean go out and spend money on them; that isn't always the answer. Make them a hand-made card, write a poem, or just spend time with your special someone!

I wanted to share my "Valentine's Day" date with you dear reader because I am tired of seeing such negative comments about the fourteen off this month. It doesn't just have to be a day to gloom around if you are single, its more of a day about change. Maybe you can treat yourself out with a nice meal or go out with friends to have fun. All in all, it's a good day to make an excuse to go and do something fun you wouldn't do on a normal day.

By making yourself happy, maybe one day a person will come into your life and want to share that with you too. Crazier things have happened before and to be honest, Savannah and I were friends for five years before I asked her out and look at us now! Life is full of surprises and always will be if you go out looking for them

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it.

Unexpected indeed

2012-12-03T23:22:00.000-06:00

It's rather hard to be an artist of any medium. Whether it be paint, computers, or a simple pen you are bound to come across problems. Take myself, for example, a writer. A writer must paint the pictures a brush would using only what you see on screen: words. Writers like Shakespeare had to turn your mind into a theater with all the actors on cue. In other words, it is an artist's job to make sure his or her audience think.

Now with that opener, let me say it feels so good to be back writing on the Internet. I really do not care about the amount of viewers or "watchers" I currently have. As long as there is one, this gentleman has a reason to write. I have also decided on pausing my quest for finding the perfect advertiser on my blog. Google rejected me oh so long ago and I found the stress out-weighing the benefit of finding a new advertiser. This allows more focus on my writing then on the profit it could bring; which I now believe is the way art should be treated.

I also decided each blog post should have a "feature" of some sort. This will be in the form of a link, picture, or video and I promise it will not lead you to a site riddled with maliciousness. Since these new beginnings of mine have brought me great joy, I will lead you to a site of great laughter. A fellow but much greater blogger, pleated-jeans is a wonderful site to visit if you have the winter downs. His greatest posts are his "Funny Pic Dump" which I have linked here.

Well that is all for today. This Aggie writer has much rest to catch up on if I want to score well on upcoming finals. Did I mention I am currently attending a wonderful University called Texas A&M? Maybe I'll mention it next time.

Ta Ta for now, see you again when the times call for it.

Holiday

2011-12-10T13:11:00.001-06:00

Hello viewing world, the LoneGentleman is broadcasting straight from McAllen, Texas. My absence on blogger can be attributed to a well needed mental break. A writer cannot, much like a visual artist, be constantly be pumping out work without some form of rest. Our creativaty needs a break or else our work will lose quality. In modern society, people often choose quantity over quality but an artist must not follow this path. We must always remember fellow artists that good art is not mass produced, but created with love and care in every pen/brush stroke we do.

I have to depart for now but my writing will resume as scheduled. Thank you for waiting for my return.

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

Holiday

2011-11-25T14:30:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone enjoyed yesterday, Thanksgiving, and is enjoying today, Leftovers Day. As much as potatoes and turkey are a part of the American Holiday, we must not forget the most important ingrediant is family. For my own, I had grandparents travel all the way from Mexico. They traveled through a war-torn land just to be with the family for two days. The valor and courage my grandparents show every get together is one which inspires me to be close to family as much as I can. Modern society often loses sight among gifts, food, and fun that the whole reason holidays exists is because of family. I like to say if I ever attended a family reunion I will always talk to the older folks first before I see people my age. The reason being is for the knowledge one can gain from a conversation. The older generation has seen and lived times we as a race will never experience again. They have witnessed the world's past mistakes and therefore know what we can do to prevent them from arising ever again. We have to cherish and talk to grandparents and the elderly for they are unrecorded libraries of information

To you masses I hope you see the real reason for our holidays. It is time to wise up, wind up, and converse with anyone older than you next holiday season. You may just learn how to change your life or the world for the better.

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it.

Today's Post Brought To You In Part By Procrastination.

2011-11-21T22:47:00.001-06:00

*clicks open my browser, types in www.blogger.com, clicks posting*

Jolly good, I shall begin the day's blog. Now then....to start typing...hmm. I'm not quite sure what to do here. Maybe I should not have neglected my duties and pre-written today's post. Guess the holidays got me. Well this is awkward. I cannot let my growing audience down, I must find a source! A source of inspiration, hope, and creativity. A place where this gentleman can find a thought process. I place where I can call: thinking...

Well that did not work. Now I am all energy and no idea. This is just floating flug flakes! Oops, even without a source I still must watch my tongue less I make a habit of it. In times of dire need all a gentleman has is his morals and values. Obviously, I can not find any values for the process of writing! Good Grief, where did my mind go??? I seem to have lost all strength in swimming out of the ocean of writer's block. Despair and no blogging is destined to meet me at the bottom. Oh woe is me......at least I still have my sense of humor.

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it.

Happy Birthday to A Rather Photogenic Gentleman

2011-11-18T13:35:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday to the late louis daguerre whom would have turned 224 today had he not died at the age of 63. He invented the earliest process of creating photographs. I choose to make today's post about him not only because google is honoring him with a doodle but because I believe him to have invented one of the most important processes of our day. This man may not have invented the camera but he is a father of human culture progression. Photographs, as best used by Time magazine, can show us magnificent moments of human nature and history. A picture really does say a thousand words and can express every single human emotion possible. Everyone has heard of the nurse/solider photo from the 1920's, the fireman pulling the little girl out of the bombed Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, and really any picture of Woodstock taken show us what it was like to be in a certain moment in time. It could have been a happy or sad moment but for that split second we, the photograph viewer, get to feel just how the people did or what it was like to be in that location. I have always said humanity has already built a time machine and it can be found in almost every phone: the camera. Photographs are the result of the time travel. We are also brought together closer as a species when we view a powerful picture. Propaganda and advertisements are a more modern form of this artistic expression but can none the less move mountains of human souls. To tie this all off masses, do not view Louis Daguerre as just the man who was featured today on google. See him as the french gentleman who is responsible for starting the most important process, later device, of bringing humanity together and closer to understanding one another.

Ta ta for now, see you again when times call for it.

It Happens Every Day

2011-11-15T11:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday in my first morning class, I was asked a very unique writing prompt. School has been active for about 12 weeks now and I was to write about what I have learned in that particular class over this period of time. It was a government class so I thought about something simple, like who John Locke was, but my mind faced it self with a much greater question: What have I learned over the past 12 weeks not only in government, but over the course of my Senior Year? The Answer? So much to the point where life changed over night. Doing college/scholarship has taught me how to be responsible and on time, the triple load of homework has taught me how to manage studying and social life successfully, writing online has (funny enough) taught me how to be more social and accepting of criticisms, and most of all turning 18 gave me a taste of the adult life that is to come. Applying for the SSS taught me how to handle stress and showed me that there will be worse to come. If anything, knowing that has made me a more positive person for I can see it will be needed to help get through hard times. I am proud to blog happiness and the lessons I have been learning on this strange trip called life. To me, it does not matter what age you are. An 18 year old is just as lost as an 80 year old but that's what keeps life interesting. We are all searching the answers to living and find our mistakes to be the best part. Like I've said before, I cannot wait to get old. The stories of how I learned to live and the path I am still taking to find that answer will be wonderful for me to tell. I do not care if the answer does not exist. The mistake of me believing it certainly isn't hurting my life, it's actually improving. So to answer the question of what I have learned over the first 12 weeks of my Senior Year would be how to experience life with small mistakes. They really are what is worth living for in life. Perfection is boring; I'd always rather be accident prone.

Ta Ta for now, see you again when the times call for it.

RIP

2011-11-11T09:55:00.001-06:00

When we first met
It was nothing special

We were never friends
Never once did we become buddies

Not even are we family
For our blood runs different

Yet there is one thing about you
That made me feel as if you were

You fought for my future
And battled for our country

Your courage on that fateful day
Is what will keep my children safe one day

RIP PFC Ira B. Laningham
Your community and country loved you

Mother Nature Wanted a Visit

2011-11-09T17:15:00.000-06:00

Sometimes hopeless is hopeful and I certainly learned that yesterday
.
I was returning from an evening of studying when I found myself with no ride home. I pondered my fate and came across a blessing called my girlfriend's truck. She managed to get me home in one piece, we kissed, then departed. I strolled to my front door and reached my front pockets for my keys....and found it to be empty. I scramble through every possible opening in my jeans and backpack with the same result. I plopped my self in a chair outside and tried to think where my keys could have ended up. A few minutes later, the answer came to me in the form of a phone call from my girlfriend: I left them at her house.

So their I was, trapped outside in 95 degree weather with very few options. I as I do in stressful situations, I pulled out a book and began reading it. This strange sensation came over me when I began the book and it made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Thinking it was the heat, I hooked up my iPod to a portable speaker I have to distract myself from it. Once the music started I felt it. It was the feeling from before. It was a feeling I had not felt for so long. It was relaxation and not just any ol' relaxation; it was relaxation from being with nature. I read and hear music all the time inside the comfort of a modern home but being outside brought out a different feel. The calm breeze, smell of trees, and beautiful color of the sky brought me back to Mother Nature herself. I actually wanted to be outside. I felt like I was in a world all of my own free of stress despite the situation I was in. When help finally came, I frowned at the thought of leaving this comfort zone. I learned something from it though.

Modern life has it wonderful comforts but with it comes quite a lot of stress. Work, school, and just life can sometimes bring one down. Yet we forget that the greatest stress reliever exists just right outside your door. Nature's beauty will open it's arms out to you and relax every last nerve you have. Reading, writing, constructing a machine, or just simply sitting become much more enjoyable when you place your being in Nature. I am actually typing this outside and have it enjoyed it more than any other post I have done to this day. I highly suggest to you masses to let Mother Nature spoil you for a bit. You certainly will not regret it.

Ta Ta for now, see you again when times call for it

Not Everyone Can Be Marty McFly

2011-11-06T14:45:00.001-06:00

It is about this time of the year when schools, parents, and friends often give the pressure of completing or starting any forms you may have that relate to a certain word which will be glued to my mind for the next four years: college. Needless to say, I have been on top of my applications to the point where I have already been accepted! This does sound like good news to the average ear but the reality of it is actually bad and I realized this before it was too late.

It all started on September 23, 2011. I was attending the band (7 years on the trumpet) bus headed back home and enjoying it with 3 great friends. We were having the time of our lives telling stories, trading advice, and generally causing a ruckus for everyone. Not my most mannered moment but remember, all gentleman have a wild moment here and there. Anyways, once we got home I was hit with sadness. I did not know why and had to think for about a day until I got an answer.

Since the beginning of my Senior Year I have been occupying all of my time with nothing but applications of all sorts. To this day I can remember nothing else. I did not create a single Senior Year memory until that day. I sacrificed memories for planning towards the future. A future where I would be missing some of my past because I forgot the present.

Thankfully I learned then before it was too late. I believe being on time to turn in college applications is good, even gentlemanly, but you can not let it take over your life. I may have noticed it now but I will regret missing making memories with friends I may no longer see next year. Do not be the fool who misses the present for the future.

Ta ta for now, see you again when times call for it

Losing = Learning

2011-11-03T22:27:00.000-05:00

I learned an important lesson today and felt in today's world of competition, the rest of you should as well.

For some time now, I have had pride in my test scores. A gentleman can not survive without intelligence and having something to prove that is helpful. As of today, I can no longer hold that pride for someone blew my scores straight out the water. This person succeeded where I had failed and my pride did feel a sting of pain. Then it hit me: jealousy, a gentleman's worst enemy. I disliked feeling like this as it shows weakness in a man and I needed to find sanity in literature. Instead of opting for Jules Vern, I went for a different classic. He is a man who we have all grown up with and have even ridden our first trolley thanks to his life lessons. His name is Fred Rogers but we mostly know him as THE Mr. Rogers. I purchased a biography about him titled "The World According to Mr. Rogers". In it, I found an inspirational story. It stated, and I quote:

"A young apprentice applied to a master carpenter for a job. The older man asked him, “Do you know your trade?” “Yes, sir!” the young man replied proudly. “Have you ever made a mistake?” the older man inquired. “No, sir!” the young man answered, feeling certain he would get the job. “Then there’s no way I’m going to hire you,” said the master carpenter, “because when you make one, you won’t know how to fix it.”

I instantly felt inspired and changed. I didn't need to feel jealous towards a loss or mistake I made but instead had to learn. Take it like this. You and another are taking a test. You get a 70 and the other passes with a perfect paper. The other person has learned nothing from this test taking experience and will leave the room with an ego. You, on the other hand, will have learned from the wrong choices you picked and will leave the room with a higher level of knowledge. You will remember these mistakes for the rest of your life, improve off of them, and become a better person; all from a low grade! How dare I, the LoneGentleman, pass up such an amazing opportunity to learn! This person obviously knows something I do not and I can learn from them just by asking. Instead of moping like some sort of sloth, I can go ask questions on how they earned this score. We could even share methods and refine each other. To you masses, I say jealousy is not only a sign of weakness but a loss for yourself in personal refinement. 2nd place needs to ask 1st what they did to get there. Knowledge is meant to be shared not blocked by silly childish rivalry. Maybe I need to go out and make a new friend now.

Ta ta for now, see you again when times call for it.

The Rules Of Hallow's Eve

2011-10-31T09:41:00.001-05:00

What to do on Hallow's Eve, A Gentleman's Guide

1. Never dress up on the intent of scaring a small child. Instead, opt for a simple "Boo" if in want of a little fright

2. If you are passing out candy, do not hold back. Give out good, tasteful candy. After all, you will give the child happiness and not have to deal with the rush of sugar later

3. Let your own costume be tasteful. Never wear anything sold in a super market as the manual-labor glue will not hold through out the night.

4. Drunk = loss of gentmanly sense. Due to the invention of cameras, taperecorders, video recorders, facebook, college, etc, your wasted night of "fun" will last for more than one night

5. Have fun but, as stated before, hold your sense of manners. Just because it is a holiday, does not mean you should "howl all day" like some sort of animal

6. If you must trick someone, look up a group of fellows named "The Three Stoogies". This is not how you should trick. Instead, just a light tap on the head will do

7. Make your candy last. Do not eat it all in one night as the resulting crash will insure you do not wake the next morning

8. Know your way around a computer. This will be needed as you will not follow any of the above rules and will need to delete any source of your "fun in a thousand definitions" night before it becomes "facebook offical"

All in all, it does not matter how you act tonight as long as the traces of it do not exist. Every gentleman has his wild nights; he just knows how to clean up properly afterwards

Stay safe and Happy Holloween

Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it

*The LoneGentleman does not endorse any of the above information and is not to be held responsible for any reputation damaging events*

Birthdays

2011-10-27T23:13:00.000-05:00

To start this party off, I say "Happy Birthday" to my wonderful girlfriend (yes, the lonegentleman is taken) who just turned 18. I hope you have a wonderful day and continue having trillions more. Now, as many things do, this has caused me to think of something: parties in relation to your age. I can clear as day remember my fifth birthday. It was Harry Potter themed with party ballons, games, and the lot. Now, at 18, I only went to the local pizza parlor and did not do much. The strange thing is I am perfectly fine with this except I did not know why until my girlfriend's birthday party. We only attended a resturant and I relized we had a lot of fun just being together. Now this could be just because we are a couple but then I see this with everyone else around me. I think the reason for this is as youngsters, we believe our birthday parties happen because we think we are the center of the world. Now, as adults, we realize just how many others are out there. This can be taken bad as you can see yourself as little or you can take it the right way: positive. By finding we are not the center of the universe, we can find the possibly of friendship instead of attention. We don't need people shouting our names in praise of living and can instead find happiness in companionship while living. Needless to say there are some people who never get to learn this and sell their personalities for attention. We view these people as annoying because of their lack of maturity but one day they have to grow up. If they do not, they will never live for themselves but always for others. It is sad to see people like this but I hope to anyone out there reading you will take the lesson. As a gentleman, it is my duty to make sure I can better society in anyway. Funny what a simple birthday can make someone think.
Ta ta for now, see you again when the times call for it.