Abel Gancsos
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They did what?!?
2019-09-18 22:03:33
So it’s been a while since my last post and due to recent events in our government, I feel obligated to share my thoughts. As some of you may know, our current Present for certain reasons wants to ban vaping completing and has already recruited such governors as Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, as well as others. Currently, they don’t plan on completing banning it, just flavored liquids, which personally I think is stupid and pointless. First off, if you’re only banning flavored liquids, what exactly are you trying to ban? Good tasting air, since our government does such a good job of caring for the environment (ie real issues)? You keep unflavored liquids to appease those that already vape, but in my honest opinion all you’re doing is losing votes for elections that are quickly approaching. So what really triggered this ban? According to the FDC, there were 6 reported deaths as well as over 200 cases of lung issues. First off, the 6 deaths were due to illegal or black market vape liquids, 4 of which contained THC (pot). For your information, not all vape liquid contains THC and in fact is made up of 2 ingredients, with nicotine actually being an option. The two other portions of vape liquid are VEGETABLE glycerin (comes from soy) and propylene glycol. First off, let me stop and say that if you’re going to ban something that contains VG, you mind as well also ban vegetable oil or vegetables themselves, since VG is made of similar components and most vegetables are sprayed with pesticides (stuff that are meant to kill bugs and germs). Now, when these components are heated up, they create water vapor (vape) that you inhale to enjoy the flavors of the vape (and in some cases to get a nicotine fix). So health-wise, if the liquid is purchase from a licensed vape shop, I think this is a dumb move and in fact the FDC says that they don’t have enough information on vape as a substance, so we ban it? <sarcasm>Makes sense….</sarcasm>. We have no problems with carbon monoxide and whatever else the tobacco companies put in real cigarettes or the complications brought on by alcohol (liver disease, mental illness since it’s a depressant), but when it comes to water vapor, it’s almost as bad as other heavy drugs. Stupid…. Not to mention that who does the government think they are to tell me what’s good for my body? They don’t know my body so they don’t know how certain things affect it. Everyone’s body reacts different to certain molecules, we’re not in a socialist society (yet), so stay out of my medicine cabinet. I also should mention that for those of us with social anxiety, this should be considered a safe a legal alternative to what doctors usually prescribe (pot), keep in mind that 4/6 of the deaths have been acknowledged were due to THC, which is what again…? One more realistic reason for the ban in my honest opinion is fear from the tobacco lobbyist losing money. That’s actually similar to what happened with the GM EV1 and the oil companies, but I guess Elon Musk had the last laugh…. Like the EV1 introducing the world to the phenomenon of electric cars via the Prius, I believe even tobacco companies can profit from the sale of all different types of vape liquids and devices. Would they still complain if it was taxed the same way? Maybe they should jump on the progress wagon too and come up with vape solutions too. Oh but wait, that would actually require thinking and not depending on getting smokers hooked on chemicals like arsenic (poison), ammonia (toilet cleaner), radon (radioactive matter), butane (lighter fluid), etc. And you seriously think water vapor is less safe than that? What kind of science do our government officials read or listen to? Now, another angle at which this can be seen at is is underaged vaping. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think this should be addressed, but I’m simply appalled by those parents that themselves buy their own kids a Juul and then want to sue because their kids got addicted. First off, you’re the moron for buying a 14 year old kid something that on the label says “contains nicotine, which is an addictive substance” and then wants to sue the company. The warning is clearly written on the label, so either didn’t read it or you didn’t look into it and just bought the device because your child is spoiled to begin with. Anyway, long story short, we should treat vape as regular tobacco, after all it’s classified as a tobacco substance, which would address the underaged smokers issue. But under no circumstances should you ban it for all adults. Plus, this will also help our friends over in the tobacco industry too since vape will now cost the same as a pack of Newports. All we really ask for is a safe alternative, which was working up to this point. That being said, I strongly believe that those that signed this bill made a horrible decision. It was not helpful in any way as it removes a safe alternative to all the chemicals listed before. It also hurts their position in the polls for the upcoming election year, which is what they’re really after at the end of the day. Instead of putting more effort to helping those that are less fortunate, they decide to mess with something that was already working. “Don’t touch what’s not broken”. So my challenge to all those that agreed to this ridiculous ban is, how do you plan on fixing it for us? Resources: * https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/cdc-investigating-215-possible-cases-of-vaping-related-severe-lung-disease.html * https://onvaping.com/guide/beginners-guide-to-vaping/ch-6-e-juice-and-you/ * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 * https://www.cancer.ie/reduce-your-risk/smoking/health-risks/whats-in-cigarettes#sthash.rjzWU0h1.dpbs * https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vegetable-glycerin
Dream Come True
2019-05-06 16:30:00
Today started as any normal day. I went in, had breakfast, and started my work tasks. I then get a meeting invitation from my director and the two team leads for near the end of the day. All day, I kept thinking that it was a meeting to go over the feedback I gave about Support, but then 4 PM came and here’s what actually happened. At first, the meeting ran late and I went back to my seat, but a few minutes later, my team lead came over to start the meeting. We went into the director’s office and we all sat down. The director started to explain how well I was doing and how the department was shifting, I then knew, what was about to happen. I lost my breathe as my director started to explain my shift in responsibilities as I was finally moving towards a Software Engineer role, that’s right, I no longer have the Test in my title. Now, the reason I wanted to document this moment in time is because it might sound like just a title change, but it’s so much more. Ever since I wrote my first line of HTML and even more when I wrote my first crappy iPhone app, I knew with all of my heart I wanted to be a coder. I applied to so many developer positions and the first role I applied for at my current job was a developer position, but I wasn’t given the chance at the time. I don’t say that to complain, but just to show you how long I waited for this change and the emotions that are behind it. I also wanted to document this moment because this dream come true could not have happened without my director, all my team leads, and all those people that stuck their name out for me, including Michael Mihalik, Joseph Pietrzak, Robert Arblaster, and so much more. Granted I worked hard, but if it wasn’t for these individuals, the right people wouldn’t have looked this direction. Thank you all those who really helped me get to where I am today. I hope to keep applying all the things I learned from all these amazing individuals. I’m super excited, but I’m also anxious because I want to put a positive mark on the product. I really do want to put more good changes than negative, but at the end of the day, I know I’ll continue to learn. At this point, I’m just waiting for the starting day, while continuing my current tasks. The time is finally here, I just hope I continue to do my best. The next day after I got the news, I saw a post on LinkedIn where someone was essentially asking for a developer position. The thought I had at the moment was, “how dare you” because in my mind, you’re basically asking for the benefits without putting in the time. My point is that it means so much more to do the time and have perseverance than just ask for the position. Dreams do come true, it just might take some extra time and you should never stop believing.
Bye Bye 2018 Hello 2019
2019-01-01 12:31:05
Movies: +--------------------------------------+------------+---------------------+-------+------+-----------------------------+ | title | movie_year | last_updated_date | liked | 3d | guest | +--------------------------------------+------------+---------------------+-------+------+-----------------------------+ | Avengers: Infinity War | 2018 | 2018-05-03 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Friends | | BlackKKlasnsman | 2018 | 2018-08-31 00:00:00 | 0 | 0 | Alone | | Bohemian Rhapasody | 2018 | 2018-12-21 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | GT (Heart) | | Disney's Christopher Robin | 2018 | 2018-08-24 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Alone | | Dr. Seus The Grinch | 2018 | 2018-11-16 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Alone | | First Man | 2018 | 2018-10-26 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Alone | | Halloween | 2018 | 2018-10-19 00:00:00 | 0 | 0 | Alone | | Instant Family | 2018 | 2018-12-07 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Alone | | Life of the Party | 2018 | 2018-05-11 00:00:00 | 0 | 0 | Alone | | Mission Impossible: Fallout | 2018 | 2018-09-07 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Alone | | Nutcracker and the Four Realms | 2018 | 2018-11-02 00:00:00 | 1 | 1 | Alone | | Overlord | 2018 | 2018-11-09 00:00:00 | 0 | 0 | Alone | | Ready Player One | 2018 | 2018-03-30 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Alone | | Robin Hood | 2018 | 2018-11-30 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Alone | | The House with a Clock in it's Walls | 2018 | 2018-09-21 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Alone | | Truth or Dare | 2018 | 2018-04-13 00:00:00 | 0 | 0 | Alone | | Venom | 2018 | 2018-10-12 00:00:00 | 1 | 0 | Alone | +--------------------------------------+------------+---------------------+-------+------+-----------------------------+ Accomplishments: 1) Finished masters 2) Grew as an engineer since moving to my new department 3) Strengthened by C++ skills Good News: 1) Started the process of buying a condo 2) Gift of third nephew Lessons: 1) Every gift or blessing has a cost 2) There’s really only one gift that you never have to pay back 3) Love never fails, even when it’s lost Goals for 2019: 1) Go out more 2) Learn to build up a house 3) Become a Software Engineer 4) Pay back dad ($15K) Wishes: If I told you, they wouldn't come true.... There is; however, one wish worth mentioning, but because of the weight of it, I will bring up in my next post….
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