Random Subject Saturday - The Oddball Dialect

Hello and welcome to Random Subject Saturday; the day where I tell you about the extremely strange words that myself and friends use, and then try to teach it to you for laughs.

There are occasionally times when I really have no idea what to use for a header image, and just look for something vaguely relevant. Today was one of them.

Odds are, you have friends. Odds are even better, you've been friends with said friends for long enough that you've developed an understanding of the way they think and speak. If I'm correct, then Odds are good that you'll be able to relate to "The Oddball Dialect". (As I so named it 3 seconds ago and nobody has agreed to refer to it as.) That magical language that apparently only I and my friends speak. It's weird.

You may have noticed a fairly common trope on the internet where people poke humor at everything from languages, to accents, to slang, and everything in between. (Here's looking at you, YouTube.) So here's the fun, it occurred to me the other day that the people I spend a fair bit of time with, (and myself), seem to speak somewhat differently than others.

The difference isn't English to Japanese obviously, but there are occasionally times where even the most open minded individuals have difficulty following precisely what we're talking about. Even more interestingly, is that the words we use weren't made by us, but are simply an amalgamated jumble of slang, jargon, game terms and 1337 speak from such a wide variety of locations that it's weird to hear. (Seriously, where have you ever heard a bunch of people talking about an "APC ganking a nub tank for lulz?" And that's just mainly League of Legends jargon.)

As such, just for "lulz", I'm going to put a list of some of the strange words and terms we use, just for the laughs to be honest. Perhaps the words catch on, perhaps they don't. It'll be funny to see either way. So without further ado:

• APC: Usually means Armored Personnel Carrier, APC is also League of Legends jargon for an Ability Power Carry, which is character that uses their abilities to deal immense damage and let their team win. 
• ADC: like APC, but stands for Attack Damage Carry.
• Lulz: A word that came up, literally, because it sounds funnier than "lol" (laugh out loud, not to be confused with the abbreviation of League of Legends.)
• Teh Lulz: This is about as internet as it gets, teh lulz is basically "the laughs" and is often used as the reason when you don't actually have a good reason or just to be funny. "I did it for teh lulz."
• Gank: Some military folks would probably understand that to "gank" someone means to kill someone. Again, the term was appropriated to LoL (League of Legends) as a term for when several people gang up on a single enemy.
• Ossim: Like "Lulz" but for the word Awesome.
• Tank: A large, motorized military vehicle normally, a tank in gamer speak is a character with an immense amount of health whose purpose is simply to stand "soak damage" while other character deal it.
• Fanks: A funnier way to say "thanks".
• Facedesk: This one is somewhat common on the internet, but since I use it so often on this blog, here's a link to help you figure it out. (Teehee)
• BSOD: IT guy's term for Blue screen of death. 
• PICNIC: IT guy's term for Problem in chair, not in computer.
• Dakka: A fun term from the orcs of Warhammer40K, this is a general term for anything guns, ammunition and explosive.
• Nub: "None-useful body". It's about as insulting as you can get for some people for obvious reasons.
• Noob: Considered rather offensive among gamers, a noob is someone who is not new to something, but is bad enough at it that they could be compared to a Newbie.
• Newbie: Often shortened to Newb, someone who is new to something. Not to be confused with the offensive Noob.
• Sexy: An adjective to describe good things, strangely, this term has ended up being part of a greeting just to make people feel awkward. (Possibly, we say "Hey Sexy" because we're describing good things when we greet each other. But I could be wrong.)

Strangely, I feel like this isn't even half of the strange words and terms we use, but it's hard to remember this stuff off the top of my head. Perhaps I'll make a list of more for "teh lulz" at some point. If you would like me to do so, please tell me so down in the comments below. Also, don't forget to share this with your friends if you think that they also talk funny. (Or maybe just for lulz.) If you found this entertaining for some strange reason, or perhaps just like the way I write, perhaps consider liking my Facebook page and/or following me on Twitter using the associated button on the bar to your right. Regardless of what you do, "fanks" for reading, I hope you have/had an "ossim" day and I will see you tomorrow.

Go well my friends.

Philosophy Friday - Hard Work And Perseverance

Hello and welcome to Philosophy Friday; that day of the week where I discuss the importance of hard work, and why parents are stopping their kids from learning why.

Anvil, hammer and blacksmith, because nothing hammers out the stereotype of hard work like a burly man beating metal until it has a use.

If you've ever accomplished something of note in your life, you've likely had to do one of two things. To learn the value of hard work and perseverance, or be pretty damn lucky. As obvious an idea, (and ideal), as it seems, it is not actually as readily apparent to everyone as you would expect. Lets talk about why that is.

Some people think life is easy, which, admittedly, is understandable in our modern era. You may be wondering why I say that and, to be honest, the answer is fairly typical of much that I blog about. Personal experience. Having grown up in the ideals and social climate of our times, it comes as little surprise to me how undervalued hard work and perseverance is. In terms of those moving through the education system, as I had been until only just a year ago, everything is done for the children up to that point. There's no need to learn to persevere when you're required by law to go to school. There's no reason to work hard when the reason for effort is not immediately apparent.

Something the older generations often appear to forget is the difference in perceptions between generations. Those who run the education system understand it's necessity and value, as well as it's importance for getting into university, having been through those experiences. Those who have known nothing but school their entire life, don't have that understanding nor the maturity to understand that things cannot remain stagnant. By the time I realized that if I didn't work hard at school, I wouldn't get into university; it was late enough to become a MASSIVE stress in my life, to the point of having heart palpitations. (I suspect I'm not the only one that happened to either.)

Effectively, children are so forced into what they are doing and largely thought for, that they lack the actual skills to properly survive once the education system spits them out on the other side. A common phrase I heard from my peers usually was that "School teaches you so many things, except for everything you actually need to know." Which is not at all an inaccurate statement. Lessons such as how to pay taxes, the dangers of credit, and why hard work is necessary are something that no school teaches and parents oft refrain from as well, stating that their "children need to be shielded from the world."

As nice as that sounds, it's not helping your kids. Think in terms of the calluses on your skin. They develop because the skin is hurt frequently, and stop the skin from being hurt as a result of their growth. So if hard work hurts your kid, how are they supposed to ever grow to deal with it when the parent is no longer there to shield them? Simply: they can't. Some life lessons can only be learnt through experience, and the unfortunate reality is that social norms are making it too difficult for children to learn them and thereby grow into productive members of society. (And that is sad as all hell. *facedesk*)

Anyone who has ever achieved anything can understand that the only way anything of true value is obtained is through hard work and perseverance. Rome was not built in a day, but it was built off the daily labor of those seeking to eventually see the beautiful city in it's finished state. That doesn't happen with people that have never known anything that hasn't been done for them.

I fear for the future generations of children who grow in vacuums of safety, only to be unceremoniously dumped into the harsh realities of the world. You really want to entrust the planets future to slackers? *shivers* I sincerely believe that change needs to happen to help people to help themselves; and that can only happen, ironically, through education. Much as I loathe the idea, parenting classes in schools, (and maybe life classes for doing things like paying taxes), would be an exceedingly good idea in terms of improving the general work ethics and morals of future generations, and make life not so difficult once we have to think for ourselves. 

In any case, change can only happen once people understand the need for it; thought it might not happen any time soon. Thank you for taking the time to read today's blog post and don't forget to leave a comment if you have anything to add about the development of children in today's world, or anything in general. If you think that this is a fair argument and believe more people should become aware of this as an emerging social issue, then please share this with those you think should know as well. If you would like to see more interesting social discussions like this, then don't forget to like my Facebook page and/or follow me on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to your right. Regardless of what you do, I hope that you have/had an FANTASTIC day, and I will see you tomorrow.

Farewell my friends.