Category: journalism

Stuff having to do with the world of journalism.

Over the Bars on a Dirtbike

bartholomulethegreatLeave a comment

To start this was about four or five years ago, my family along with a couple of other families go out to the desert around three or four times a year. We generally go to the same spot but around new year the site we stay at is a little more contested. One of these trips we went out and around half way through the trip we decided to go on a ride that was around 100 miles. Trips that are 100 miles usually take around seven hours, this particular trip was to a place where people put memorials to riders that have died in the desert. The ride consisted of lots of hills and a large open dried up lake bed where we would ride really fast. Shockingly enough that isn’t where I fell.

On the way back we took a similar route to the way there but we were going into the sun so it was getting hard to see. We jumped onto a dirt road in the middle of nowhere to speed up the process of getting home to our camp. We rode for a long while and were just getting back to camp on the road and the sun had just gotten to the point where is was near impossible to see because of the angle that the sun is coming at. I remember feeling my bike just stop and me keep going, this was followed by a section of time that felt slow as I flew forward over the bars of the dirtbike. As I hit the ground head first landing on my visor and the impact sliding out through my body. After I hit the ground it took me a second to gather my senses and get up. When I did get up I realized that my visor on my helmet had broken at the base from the impact of the ground. As it turned out I had hit a rock that I couldn’t see because of the sun in my eyes and it launched me forward while nearly stopping my dirtbike in its tracks.

Image Credit: Dirt Bike Planet

Impulsivity

treefroggyLeave a comment

I have ADHD, and a symptom I experience is impulsivity.

I often do and say things without thinking about the consequences. It happens most when I’m in an emotionally unstable or vulnerable state.

For example, when I’m happy, I go out of my way to do kind things for my friends. I’ll bring them Starbucks or surprise them with presents just because the idea popped into my head. However, it goes the other way too. If I’m angry, I’m likely to say whatever comes into my mind, no matter how mean it is.

When it comes to impulse control, I have to be completely mentally present to stop myself from doing mean or potentially harmful things. I’ve trained myself to stay quiet and think when I’m upset so I don’t ruin a relationship because I wasn’t paying attention to the words I was saying.

I also will buy things off impulse. I have so many meaningless objects in my room that I saw, liked, and bought without a second thought. It’s a struggle to be financially stable while impulsive, which could cause trouble for me later in life if I don’t get a handle on it.

Impulsivity can be annoying at times, but please try to be understanding of people with ADHD. We try so hard every day, and it’s great when people acknowledge that.

I hope that this article helps people understand ADHD and its symptoms better. Remember to look out for your friends or family who have ADHD to make sure they’re taking care of themselves.

Impulsivity: Definition, Symptoms, Traits, Causes, Treatment

Westend61 / Getty Images

NFL Sunday’s in the Fall.

im6footLeave a comment

NFL Sundays are great, especially in the foggy/misty Fall.

Waking up on cloudy Sunday knowing football is on is truly of the best feelings in the world. And if you are an owner of NFL Network Red Zone that is 7 hours of commercial free football. I start my NFL Sundays with nice balanced breakfast(which is usually leftovers from dinner the night before). Then I’ll turn on a pregame show and read a couple articles or watch highlights of Saturday’s college football games.

10 o’clock hits and it kick off for the morning games. I’ll flip through the various 10am games that are broadcasted on CBS, FOX, and NBC. Following the completion of the morning games I’ll make my way to kitchen to find lunch. Lunch is either a sandwich of now that the Fall is upon us SOOOOOUUUUP! I’m a massive soup guy, chicken noodle, matzo ball, Italian wedding are some of favorites.

A generic view of a football before an NCAA game
Photo from USA TODAY Sports

Once I find a suitable meal I’ll head back to the couch to watch the afternoon games. Around this time is when I’ll make a deal with myself; the deal is I’ll start my homework during halftime of whatever game(s) I’m watching and I’ll finish it before dinner and Sunday Night Football. This deal fails 11 out of 10 times.

As the afternoon games wrap up I’ll set the table and eat dinner with my family. Following the end to dinner I’ll find myself back on the couch watching kickoff for that night’s SNF game. Once the games reality kicks in, with the sun being down and everyone in the house prepping for bedtime I once again realize that I’m in the same shorts and hoodie from the morning and still have a couple hours of homework to complete.

NFL Sunday’s in the Fall are amazing and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Gimme a Slice!

elephantlover2035Leave a comment

I would say I am more of a pie person over cake.

Cake is just too much. Too much frosting (I’m allergic), too much sugar, too much cake.

My mom makes the best apple pie, I might be biased. The Schuette family is definitely more of an apple pie family over pumpkin pie. I don’t mind pumpkin pie, but I will get up during dinner to get more than three helpings of apple pie.

We as a family are such big apple pie lovers that my younger sister wrote about the pie.

photo credit: Kristine’s Kitchen

`Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 recipe pastry for a 9″ double crust pie

1/2 cup unsalted or salted butter

3 tablespoons all- purpose flour

1/4 cup of water

1/2 cup white sugar (or slightly less)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (or slightly less)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon- to taste (optional)

8 apples; peeled, cored, sliced (4 granny smith, 4 envy or fuji)

1 lemon; squeeze juice (add sugar to taste, the lemon will go on top of the apples to stop from browning)

Directions:

  1. Preheat Oven to 425 degrees
  2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
  3. Drizzle some of the lemon juice and sugar liquid over apples; just enough to make sure the apples do not brown.
  4. Place the bottom crust in a pan or use the one that came in the package. Put apples in a mixing bowl and drizzle less than half of the sugar/ butter liquid on apples. Put the apples in the crust, mound it slightly.
  5. Cover the pie with a lattice and then pour sugar/ butter liquid over the crust. Brush to make the mixture cover the whole pie.
  6. Line a tray with tin foil and place pie on top. During baking the pie might bubble over, this is a preventative.
  7. Cover with tin foil and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees; and continue to bake for 35-45 minutes or until apples are soft. Take of foil and let it cool for 5 minutes.
  8. Enjoy! It tastes really good with ice cream.

Fidgeting

treefroggyLeave a comment

I have ADHD, and a stereotypical symptom I experience is fidgeting.

The earliest ADHD symptom I can remember is fidgeting. Ever since kindergarten, I’ve bounced my legs under my desk. Sometimes it’s accompanied by finger-tapping. I remember having trouble doing mindfulness activities because I felt like I needed to move somehow.

In the past four years, I’ve started cracking my fingers. Every joint in my hand can pop because of the countless hours I’ve spent absentmindedly pulling and pushing on my knuckles. Sometimes, I do it so much that my hands are in horrible pain and I can barely move them.

I’ve been told various times that it’s annoying, that it’s disrespectful, or that I need to stop doing it. If I had a nickel for every time someone’s told me I’m going to have arthritis when I’m older, I would be rich.

However, I’ve never stopped. It’s not because I lack the ability to break bad habits, or because I hold a grudge against people who commented on it. It’s because most of the time, it doesn’t hurt me, but rather comforts me.

For people with ADHD, fidgeting is a way to expel the energy that our brain exponentially puts out. Fidgeting, while sometimes annoying to other people, is not something that should be repressed. It helps people with ADHD to cope with what happens in their brains.

Not fidgeting can make people with ADHD feel overwhelmed, and it makes us more prone to meltdowns. Fidgeting, when done in a non-harmful way, is a healthy behavior for people with ADHD.

I hope that this article helps people understand ADHD and its symptoms better. Remember to look out for your friends or family who have ADHD to make sure they’re taking care of themselves.

3 Ways to Help Fidgety Kids Sit Still - wikiHow
https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/e/ef/Help-Fidgety-Kids-Sit-Still-Step-8-Version-2.jpg/v4-460px-Help-Fidgety-Kids-Sit-Still-Step-8-Version-2.jpg.webp

Running Thoughts

bartholomulethegreatLeave a comment

Ok lets go I got this,

there’s the start and go

c’mon lets go run fast fast fast

ok slow down its going more uphill

why is he having a conversation with that runner, never mind

Focus on me and my breathing

holy shit how is he that far ahead already

Ok just go at my own pace

Run past the office and little more till the downhill keep going

Ok mow the downhill ahhh I can chill out a little bit

don’t go slow though

lets go run run run im at the bottom getting closer

theres the trailer

and the driveway

and bear gate

ok 1.3 miles left

but there all uphill

pain

I’m gonna walk for a little I’m hurting a lot

Ok that’s enough of a break go

Aw shoot it still hurts

I just have to finish this

C’mon almost done last little bit no walking

Oh shit theres the gate lets goooooo

Dang they sprinted,

I did tell coach I would too so

At the gate go go go go go

oh wow I cant feel my legs like at all that’s fun

And done in 26:35

Not imma get myself a popsicle

yum

Image credit: depositphotos.com

I don’t suck at looking cool while golfing though.

navraj22Leave a comment

I’m really interested in golf clubs. Not new golf clubs, just random golf clubs. Obsolete technology, odd shapes, essentially the shit nobody wants. I’m not an old dude playing with anc collecting hickory (40’s) clubs because “this is how golf is supposed to be played”. I’m not one of the many high school golfers with a full new bag, to optimize performance. I like the 90’s and even some early 2000’s golf clubs. 

The only new club in my bag is my driver. I use a rusty blade putter from the 80’s, wedges from the 90’s, irons from before I was born, a novelty square fairway wood and a minuscule 5 wood that only serves to make me angry. My bag is like the closet of someone who only shops at a thrift store. 

Basically every other youth golfer or golfer period is interested in the newest clubs. These people also probably enjoy wearing dri-fit polos, cargo shorts, tennis racket belts. Nothing against these people, but I hate that type of attire. I typically wear t-shirts, shorts, and a visor or wide brim ‘aussie’ hat. I carry a bag without legs, old fashioned style, not because it makes golf easier, no no, all of the things I do make golf harder, i just like them *shrug emoji*.

I don’t really know what the point of this is, but I think appreciating old things and not always seeking the newest best thing is something that I think more people should try and do. 

Here are some retro golf clubs I think are really sick:

PC: Twirled Clubs: https://twirledclubs.com/

Hyperfixations

treefroggy1 Comment

I have ADHD, and one of the symptoms I experience most severely is known as hyperfixation.

A hyperfixation is when someone with ADHD finds something that interests them and becomes infatuated with it. For me, it’s usually fictional universes like Marvel or DC. Hyperfixations can last from weeks to months, or even stick around for years.

When I hyperfixate, the topic becomes my entire world. I have trouble eating enough, drinking enough water, sleeping for a healthy amount of time, and just taking care of myself in general. School becomes the second priority, and I have a hard time staying on top of – or even being able to finish – my work. I spend hours on end in my bedroom consuming my hyperfixation and transferring it into what I like to do. In my case, I like to write.

During the first few weeks of a hyperfixation, I will write obsessively about it. I have written essays about how good the object of my hyperfixation is, made presentations to explain the lesser known details about it to my family, and overall written over five hundred pages of fanfiction about my various hyperfixations.

It might sound silly for a teenager to become obsessed with children’s shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but at one point it was the only thing getting me through the school day.

Hyperfixations are no joke. They’re a symptom of neurodivergency and should be taken just as seriously as any other symptom. People in a state of hyperfixation sometimes mimic symptoms of depression and anxiety like irritability, lack of care for their future, and distancing themselves from other things they would usually like to do.

I hope that this article helps people understand ADHD and its symptoms better. Remember to look out for your friends or family who have ADHD to make sure they’re taking care of themselves.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/bc/11/a1bc11f74ce368e494d7f699e2585474.jpg

My Favorite Soup

elephantlover2035Leave a comment

I love soup.

I could eat it for every meal if I had the opportunity. I eat all kinds of soup, from ramen to loaded potato soup. Most mornings I love to make egg drop soup. This type of soup is originally from China.

Egg Drop Soup is really easy to make and very customizable. Different veggies and go in, as well as different forms of protein. You could make full of spinach and crab, or have it plain and add a bit of chili oil. The way I make the soup could feed up to four people, but I end up eating it all by myself.

photo credit: The Woks of Life

Ingredients:

six cups of chicken stock, or veggie stock.

cut 2-4 green onions

2-3 cloves of garlic

Some ginger

four eggs

chili pepper flakes

white pepper

salt

cornstarch

water

sesame oil

whatever veggies and proteins you want to add

chili oil, if wanted

How to make the soup:

Broth:

Boil the chicken or veggie stock in a pot

Mince the garlic and add it to the pot

Grate ginger into broth

Shake white pepper and salt into broth for taste

Egg mixture:

In medium bowl crack four eggs and stir

Dice up green onions, put half into eggs

Add white pepper, salt, chili pepper to taste

Cornstarch slurry:

Add two tbsp of cornstarch into a small bowl

Stir in two tbsp of water

Add chili pepper flakes to the slurry

Soup:

If you want to add any protein or veggies do it now

If the protein needs to be cooked ahead of time, cook it while the broth is boiling

Add the eggs to the boiling broth, let it sit for two minutes

Stir in cornstarch slurry and let sit for another minute

Finished project:

Put soup into the bowl and add green onions

Add some sesame oil and chili oil, if wanted

and ENJOY!

What is our purpose?

im6foot1 Comment

What is our purpose? Why are WE here today? Is it to create, design, or to construct? Or might it be to get, give, or keep? Why do we act the way we act? Or talk the way we talk? Is our purpose to love; or to hate? To build just then to destroy. Why are some of use active in the morning while others don’t start till noon? Why are no two people exactly alike(and is that bad)? Why am I writing this; and why are you reading it? Do you ever sit wonder on what the world will be in 100 years or what is was 100 ago? Is our purpose to restore? Why are some of us rich and others poor? What is my purpose, and what is yours?

Photo from ukedchat.com