Seeing that Easter is rapidly approaching, I'd like to devote this blog to purchasing a bunny. I'm hoping to dissuade anyone from making an impulse buy and purchasing a rabbit for their child. Many of these rabbits that are purchased end up in shelters, injured, released into the wild or dead. They are a long term commitment that requires a lot of attention. Depending on the breed, they can live ten year or longer. They are not as hardy as a dog or cat and if they do become injured or ill the situation can worsen much more quickly than other animals. Rabbits are considered exotic pets. This means that the average veterinarian that deals with dogs and cats doesn’t have the expertise to properly treat a rabbit.
Rabbits have very special dietary, exercise and handling needs that differ from other animals. They are much more fragile than a dog or cat. When picking a bunny up, make sure to always support their hind legs. Their hind legs are strong enough that if not supported and they panic, they have the capability of breaking their own back. A rabbits dietary needs will change throughout the course of their lives. They will need plenty of water, timothy hay, pellets and a proper living quarters (cage, hutch, spare bunny-proof room, etc…). They will need some alfalfa hay in addition to the timothy hay, when younger. As they get older, this needs to be eliminated from their diet. They also need at least a couple of hours a day outside of the cage for exercise. This means that the area that they are released into must be rabbit-proofed and they must be watched, at all times. It’s like having a two year old with a hacksaw running around the house. They can be destructive to molding, furniture, wires, etc
If you do decide to get a bunny, I recommend that you get them spayed or neutered. Bucks (male rabbits) will spray and can be aggressive. Fixing them helps with this issue. Does (females) have high rates of uterine cancer. Having them spayed will prevent this. Also remember that rabbits' teeth grow continuously. They need something to chew on constantly. This will either be toys that you provide or your furniture. You decide which is less expensive. :-) Another concern is the pets that you already have. Dogs and cats are predators. Rabbits are prey animals. In the wild, rabbits are a source of food for dogs. I’m not saying that they can’t coexist. But, it can be a very dangerous and stressful situation for the bunny. Also, domestic rabbits are not the same as wild rabbits. They can't be discarded into the wild, if you become bored with them or are unable to care for them, any longer.
This was just an extremely brief and abbreviated blog. There is actually a lot more that you need to know. For more information please visit one of the links below:
Today, I'd like to talk about trolling,
cyber-bullying and negative people in general. Before I do that, I'd
like to talk a little bit about why I started this channel. I
started this channel as a creative outlet for myself. I have always
been a creative and artistic person. Growing up, I always drew,
painted, wrote and thoroughly enjoyed music. These creative outlets
have been an invaluable means for me to express myself and those
activities have gotten me through some really rough times. I've
always been an introverted, shy and socially awkward person.
Unfortunately, I'm very empathic and sensitive to the people around
me. I view this as a tremendous strength and a weakness. I despise
hurting people. That's why I tend to stay away from controversial
and sensitive subjects. I've grown up surrounded by some intensely
negative people. This has shaped my outlet on many things. I've made
a promise to myself not to be like those people. Unfortunately, it's
taken me a lot of years to come to terms with the attitudes of these
people. It's taken me a long time to separate the useful
criticism/remarks from the useless chatter. I'm now 40 years old and
I'm just finally getting to the point where I can recognize harmful
individuals that hold you back from accomplishing your full
potential. These emotional parasites project their fears and
shortcomings onto you because they can't do the things you do or are
too afraid to do the things that you can do. Unfortunately, these
people have done substantial damage, in my life because I allowed
them to. I followed much of their advice/critiques. Recently, I've
had to distance myself from many of these people to stop them from
dragging me down with them.
Several years ago, I stopped doing
anything artistically. I stopped writing fiction, I stopped writing
music. I stopped writing poetry. I stopped painting, drawing,
etc... There are a myriad of reasons why I did this. I have been
in the IT field for close to 17 years, now. I chose this field
because it's something that I have a natural aptitude for anything
computer related. I wrote my first line of code when I was in fifth
grade. I do enjoy working within the IT industry. Based on the
advice of well-meaning but ill-advised, I made the decision to pursue
this as a career. However, it was never my first love. I always
thought that I could pursue other avenues on the side. Due to time
constraints, this hasn't been the case. It got to a point where I
just gave up on anything creatively... and I was miserable. It's
hard to tell this, but I am a very passionate person. On the
outside, I appear stoic and restrained. But, I do take things very
seriously and personally. I don't like to half-heartedly do things
and to not do so, a certain amount of time is required. I didn't
have the time necessary, so rather than be in constant state of
frustration, I gave up.
I gave you this long-winded background
to allow you to understand my point of view concerning this topic.
Because of my personality, I had reservations about creating my
Youtube channel. I've been watching videos on youtube for a long time
and I've seen the comments that get left in response to videos.
I've made it a habit to check out the account associated with the
negative comments. 9 times out of ten, these people haven't even
uploaded any videos. On the extremely slim chance that they have,
the videos are often of inferior quality to the videos that they
criticized. This makes me question the motives that caused this
person to comment the way that they did. Is it their own
insecurities and jealousy that caused them to leave the comments? Do
these individuals feel like they are doing the world a favor by
reprimanding this person for having the audacity to express
themselves? Does it give them some momentary feeling of satisfaction
that they feel like they brought another person down so that they can
be just as miserable as they are? What these trolls don't realize is
that by leaving a comment, they have actually helped the original
poster gather more views. They inspire people that might not have
commented on or liked a video to do so. They can even cause a chain
reaction that can cause a video to go viral. By spewing their venom,
they have assisted the poster of the video generate more revenue.
That's the beauty of social media. It has a domino effect. Another
side effect of posting negative comments is that many prospective
employers will Google your name and/or check out your facebook
account. By posting anything on the internet, you have basically
posted a mini press statement about yourself that is viewable by
billions of people. This could hamper future employment endeavors
and just future relationships, in general. Think twice before you
post something.
I guess I'm struggling to find an
explanation because I don't see anything positive for the troll
coming from these actions. I was brought up with the belief that if
you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. If
you don't enjoy someone's work, don't watch their video. Don't
purchase their music. Let your dollar be your voice. Many of the
Youtube contributors make very little if anything from their pursuit.
I have a friend that is very negative
and I've watched Youtube videos with him and I've heard his reactions
to videos. This is an individual that is very ignorant when it comes
to music, film and art. Yet, he feels the need to constantly judge
people that have chosen the creative path. The very few avenues of
artistic express that he does seem to enjoy are very simplistic and
have to fit a certain pattern. He is also a programmer and he seems
to be of the opinion that music and art aren't serious jobs like his.
I heard him justify his ridiculing of videos by saying that these
people get payed to do what they do. To that I reply, so far, I've
earned less than a dollar from my channel. Yet, I've put in hours
upon hours of work. My return on investment has been nonexistent.
If this was a stock, I would get rid of it from my portfolio,
immediately. But, from a spiritual and emotional standpoint, it's
been invaluable. By the way, this is the same person that has never
supported me in any of my ventures outside of work whether that be
paintball or any artistic venture. But, I digress. I can devote an
entire video/blog to just that and probably will.
Now, I've seen some more popular
Youtubers respond to their critics in some creative ways. Two of my
favorites are listed, below. Do you confront these individuals? Are
they looking for a response? Do you ignore them. Sometimes, apathy
and disinterest can be even more damaging than responding to someone
like this. These people have always existed. Unfortunately, thanks
to the internet, they have a much bigger platform and can affect more
people, now than ever before. From my experience working retail and
tech support, I can tell you that the majority of people that I have
come across are really cool. Unfortunately, it only takes that one
or two people to really ruin your day. With the current state of the
world, I think it's imperative that we treat each other with respect
and help each other. Let's emphasize the positive and play down the
negative. Things are tough. We don't need to be putting unnecessary
obstacles in each other's way. Life is going to do that for us.
God bless and be good to each other.
Here is the corresponding vlog to this
blog:
Here are a couple of my favorite video
responses to haters/trolls:
