Archive for March, 2009
Legalize Marijuana, save the economy?
Posted by Snowy in Economy/Business on March 31st, 2009
Let me first get this out of the way: I have never, nor intend to smoke pot, marijuana, cigarettes, or any other substance that is smoked.
There is currently a big push among younger people to legalize drugs. While they may be right when they say that prohibition doesn’t work, and medical marijuana is useful, their latest argument that legalizing marijuana so you can tax it will save the economy. This is just downright silly. If you think that one product is going to save the economy, you’re insane.
Making marijuana legal would have some good effects: you can tax it, you spend less money on cops to enforce it, etc. While it would have a few positive affects, what would you do with those that have already been convicted with possession of illegal substances like marijuana? Would you just let them go? Hardened by prison, do you think it’s safe to just let them out of jail? How do you think they would feel towards law enforcement after they were released?
In a lot of ways it makes sense to legalize marijuana, but in a lot of ways it makes sense to keep prohibition active. I don’t support the use of narcotics, I think it’s a waste of time and money, but I’ll leave the decision on whether to legalize it or not up to those who have done more research on it.
How I got the nickname “Snowy”
Posted by Snowy in Uncategorized on March 17th, 2009
When people find out that my nickname is Snowy, they often find it interesting and ask how I got that nickname. Well, the answer is simple really. Back when I was in 6th grade I was really into the sport of airsoft (it’s like paintball for those who don’t know). The guns for airsoft were a bit more than I could afford so I had to make some money in order to afford it. Since we had a local snow cone place in town, and I thought selling lemonade was boring, I decided to go for snow cones. My brother and I built a road-side stand and parked it at our neighborhood’s enterance. Naturally, we needed to name out little shop, so I came up with the name "Snowy’s Snow Cones". Eventually after a few weeks of selling, my brother started calling me "Snowy", since I was the official manager of our little entrepreneurship. And so after that, the nickname just stuck.
And now you know.
A Post about Music, Rock and Rap
I recently attended the AC/DC concert when they came to Dallas last week, when I realized something. This generation of music has no "classic" songs. And when I say that, I don’t mean classic rock, I mean genuinely classic, or original songs. No, really, think about it. Most people in my school listen to rap. White, Black, Asian, or Hispanic, you probably listen to rap if you’re in my area. But every week, there’s a new "great" or "popular" song. But after it has had its two-three months of popularity, you probably rarely hear the song again. Songs you hear now, do you ever expect, in 25 years to turn on the radio to a "classic rap" station and hear that song you heard in high school? I can guarantee it will be a no. And you’ll understand why after I explain classic rock. You see, when I attended AC/DC a few weeks ago, I saw all sorts of people. But what stood out to me the most, was the 45 and 50 year olds, the ones who use to rock to AC/DC back when they were in high school. And the reason why we have classic rock and rock songs we all know is because rock is always evolving. The Beatles sound nothing like AC/DC, who sound nothing like Guns N’ Roses, who sound nothing like The Answer. But you see, rap doesn’t evolve. That is why every other week we need another "good" rap song to come along. Because (and let’s be honest here) it’s essentially all the same. This is why I listen to classic rock. It was "in style" in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and now, I’m listening to the stuff my parents were listening to when they were my age. It’s timeless, it’s classic. And I betcha my kid will be rockin’ to AC/DC when he’s in high school, too. My peer’s kids will not be listening to what their parents listened to in high school. Their kid will be listening to the newest, "latest and greatest" rap song. Rap isn’t classic, can’t be classic, and never will be classic.
For those about to rock, we salute you. -AC/DC