tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91171065875527325572024-03-13T13:33:20.356-04:00Son Of A PosekThe Ramblings of a Son of a PosekAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-1491579057650362932013-08-12T22:27:00.001-04:002013-08-12T22:28:43.782-04:00The Ultimate Internet Filter<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">Shocker alert: Pornography usage has skyrocketed with the advent of technology. You don’t need a study to prove it, although there are many studies out there that do. Many within Orthodox Judaism have come together to fight this new bane, while others continue to mock the struggle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">The Jewish world has been fighting the use of pornography within the community through the promotion of filters or outright removal of the source of the issue: i.e. the internet. In focusing on the minutia of filters and accountability technology, I fear that we are missing the forest for the trees. Realistically, even with the use of promoted solutions, the problem is worse than ever and it seems obvious that there is something missing in the discussion. Here’s what I think is the bigger picture:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">There has always been pornography; nothing has significantly changed over the last 500 years. One of the earliest times in history that pornography was documented was in 1524, when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcantonio_Raimondi" target="_blank">Marcantonio Raimondi</a> was imprisoned for creating erotic engravings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">The only real change between 1913 and 2013, and for that matter between 1993 and 2013, is <b>accessibility</b>. With the invention of each new form of media, the pornography industry has become larger and more available to the average user. From the printing press to cinema, to television to the internet, and most recently to mobile devices, if there is a visual medium, it will be used by the pornography industry to expand its reach.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">While twenty years ago pornography was only relatively easily accessible if a person knew where to get it, today practically every person in America has a hand held device that can access pornography. There is no need to go out and actively buy a magazine or movie because a much better and wider range of material awaits in a person’s pocket.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">This “small” change, however, has been the catalyst for the enormous permeation of the use of pornography within the Orthodox Jewish community. No community has ever been free from pornography, but there is no question that the pornography issues that the Orthodox community deals with today are far worse than they were twenty years ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">In my opinion, the real problem is inherent in the way the desire for pornography works. Most people, when fully logical and non-impulsive, don’t want to look at porn, be it for health, religious or moral reasons. (For the purpose of this blog post I’m referring to a male who is not addicted to porn. While most of what I write applies to those addicted to pornography as well, my focus is for those not addicted.) Like all impulses, people succumb to pornography when they are aroused and therefore weak. Even people who don’t inherently want to look at pornography will many times succumb to their impulses if all the ingredients are right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">While saying there are three factors that must be present for an ordinary person to commit fraud, Donald Cressey, a noted criminologist, explains a general rule regarding impulses. A person needs motive, rationalization, and opportunity to commit a crime. To deter fraud, a person must break the triangle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">A person will only commit a crime and/or sin if he or she is motivated, can rationalize why it’s okay, and have the opportunity to act on the idea. Knock out one ingredient, and a person’s chances of a person resisting impulse greatly increase. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">This applies to the problem of pornography today. Having all three of these ingredients is a recipe for disaster. The third ingredient of opportunity that did not exist before is the third leg of this trifecta. This is the accessibility wildcard that changed over the last twenty years. Of course there were ways to get pornography twenty years ago, it just wasn't always readily accessible.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">(Before we continue it’s important to note that in regard to motive, sexual desires are human nature and are meant to be used in the right ways. Hashem created us with these desires and it would be harmful to shut them off. However, it is our job to channel them properly.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">The natural reaction to the completed triangle is to dispose of what has changed in the past two decades. Knock out the opportunity: don’t have internet (at least at home), and if you need it, use a filter. It seems that simple. We would go back to only having motive and rationalization but no opportunity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">However, let’s be realistic. In today’s internet driven society, it’s practically impossible to completely knock out opportunity. Most homes need and will have internet. Even homes that don’t have a direct connection can very often access WiFi very close to the home. It’s getting harder and harder to get a cell phone plan without internet, let alone a cell phone that’s not internet capable. Filters and accountability barely work and have more holes that the Mexican border. Mobile devices change and get updated so often that software makers simply can’t keep up. <b>There simply is no way to make your device “safe”.</b> Unfortunately, when the filter is put to the test, it fails very often. It’s simply not something we can rely on. The fight against opportunity in 2013 is pretty much lost before we start.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">I want to be clear: I’m not <b>for one second</b> suggesting that one should not have a filter. Filters are a required tool to use the internet. It’s your first line of defense and a basic level of protection. But relying on filters alone is setting yourself up to fail.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">So if we can’t knock out opportunity, we need to fight the battle the rationalization front.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Rationalization is essentially the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination). The Yetzer Hara tries to get a person to rationalize his or her behavior. Although in normal conditions one won’t rationalize that pornography is OK one’s decision making when aroused is severely hampered. Arousal gives a huge advantage to the Yetzer Hora. Dan Ariely, in Chapter 6 of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0061353248/" target="_blank">Predictably Irrational</a>, tests and proves that when sexually aroused, young men are more likely to undergo an action that they would not normally consider when not aroused.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">To fight rationalization, we need to strengthen our fight against our Yetzer Hara. We must teach ourselves and our children that the ultimate filter for the internet is ourselves. There is no way to live in today’s world without relying heavily on our own brain to filter out what we look at and what we don’t. We can and should use “3rd party” filters and the like to help us succeed, but the key word is help us. The opportunity to do bad will always be there. There is nothing we can do about that. What is in our power is that we can attempt to limit opportunity, and we should do everything we can to do that. But at the end of the day the buck stops with us. There will always be ways around whatever filter we choose to use. It’s our responsibility to try not to find out about them. There will always be a way to get pornography, and it is our responsibility to fight our Yetzer Hara.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">Rabbi Dr. Avraham Twerski <a href="http://guardyoureyes.com/articles/rabbi-twerski/item/correspondence-with-rabbi-twerski" target="_blank">writes</a>, “While restricting access to the internet would appear to be a logical solution, it is simply not realistic…. Filters can be effective to prevent accidental exposure to improper scenes, and can be helpful for people who sincerely want to stop. But the Satan has become overpowering and is claiming victims, destroying spiritual lives, marriages and families.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">It’s brought down in many places that Yiras Shamayim (fear of G-D) is what helps us fight our Yetzer Hara. Strengthen Yiras Shamayim, and a person will have an easier time fighting the Yetzer Hara.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">It’s beyond the scope of this blog post (and the author’s field of knowledge) to delve deeply into how to strengthen Yiras Shamayim, but there are many resources that can help a person do that, starting with, if not most importantly, your Rabbi. Rabbi Dr. Twerski <a href="http://guardureyes.com/GUE/RTwerski/CancerInternet.asp" target="_blank">deals extensively</a> with these topics, and I highly suggest taking a look at his material.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">While the integral fight against opportunity rages on through filters, accountability software, and decreasing access, it’s important to not lose focus and realize that equally as important, if not more important, is the fight against the Yetzer Hara’s rationalization. Our self control is the first line of defense. We need to strengthen our Yiras Shamayim. We need to teach ourselves and our children that we can’t let our guard down for a second and mistakenly think we are adequately protected, for it is you that is the ultimate filter.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-33216927878278044442013-06-06T21:59:00.000-04:002013-06-06T21:59:52.671-04:00Are you ready?"Don't go out until you know you are ready to get married."<br />
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Probably the worst advice I ever received in my life. But yet everyone says it and (almost) nobody follows it.<br />
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People asked me when I started going out, "So, you ready to get married?" I used to answer "No. But I'm as ready as I'll ever be."<br />
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Despite the fact that "it's the biggest decision you'll ever make in your life," how am I supposed to know if I'm ready for something when realistically I don't know what that something is?<br />
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The advice should be "Don't go out until you think you are ready to face whatever marriage may throw at you - despite having absolutely no clue what that may be until you commit." Now <i>that</i> is good (and totally useless) advice.<br />
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An at-the-time-newly-married friend of mine once said to me, "I don't know what to answer people when they ask 'How's married life?' If they are married, they know already. If they are single, they have no frame of reference for which to compare it to."<br />
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There are some things in life that you will have no clue what they really are until you experience them. If you are going to wait until you know you are ready for it, you'll be waiting forever.<br />
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Shortly before my wedding day, one of the many people who felt compelled to give my free life advice said to me, "Getting married is the second to most life-changing event you will ever experience." It took me by surprise. "What is <i>the</i> most?" I asked, taking the bait. "The day your first child is born," he responded. "Going from single to having to care about constantly keep in mind another adult <i>is</i> life changing. But add worrying about a baby, now that's completely changes your life." Good chance that piece of advice was actually accurate.<br />
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Was I ready to be a parent when my daughter was born? Ha! Am I ready to be a parent now 2 1/2 years later? Double ha!<br />
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A few weeks ago someone told me "While the first child changes your life, when you go from having one child to having multiple children, your life changes all over again." (Can someone please coordinate all these sayings and get them straight?)<br />
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A father of six once told me, "There is no such thing as an experienced parent. Every child is different and no previous experience can ever prepare you for the needs of any child." Touché<br />
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On Monday, my wife gave birth to our second child; a baby boy. Am I ready? No way, but I can't wait!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-7281893935794018442013-05-01T10:09:00.001-04:002013-05-01T11:04:26.744-04:00Re: Check out these Documents!!!<br />
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Recently, at work, a number of employees and friends of employees have <span style="line-height: 1.45em;">had their email accounts compromised and send out fraudulent emails on their behalf. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Once a user receives said fraudulent email, he is often fooled into thinking that the email is real, and blindly follows the directions. The email requests the user to click a link and enter their email passwords so they can see an important Google Document. The link opens a page that is designed to look like a Google sign-in page; however, in truth, it is not. Once you enter your username and password, the spammer</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> has your account credentials. He then sends the same fraudulent email to </span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">all your contacts, asking them</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> to click on the link. </span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">If and when they do, the cycle continues.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.45em;">The variant of spam being used here is called </span><strong style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.45em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">phishing</strong><span style="line-height: 1.45em;">. Phishing is typically carried out by email spoofing and often directs users to enter details at a fake website, the look and feel of which are almost identical to the legitimate one.</span></div>
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People generally don't think about clicking on links in emails that were sent from an email address they know and trust. However, you should always be suspicious, if not paranoid, that an email is not legitimate.</div>
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I sent out an email to all the staff explaining to people what was going on and how to avoid falling into this.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.45em;">Below are 12 things that may have tipped one off that this email wasn't real.</span></div>
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1 - The subject starts with Re:. Re stands for regarding and almost always is in response to an email you sent them.</div>
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2 - Very generic subject not referring to anything. Usually the sender will include information in the subject as to what the email is about rather than the actions you must take.</div>
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3 - Three exclamation marks makes it look like this was written by a 13-year-old girl rather than a work email in a professional setting.</div>
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4 - This email wasn't sent to you specifically. You were bcc'd and you can't see anyone that it was sent to - a telltale sign that this was a mass email not meant specifically for you.</div>
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5 - Many times (as in this case), the email was sent at an odd hour. (Fun fact: It's easier for spammers to send emails at night than it is during the day.) In this case in particular, it was sent after 10:00 pm on a Friday night from an Orthodox Jew.</div>
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6 - The email didn't address you (or anyone) by name. This is very coarse way of sending emails, and not usually done by people who know you.</div>
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7 - Other than the fact that this is not the way most people would write this sentence, it doesn't indicate the topic of the document at all. (This sentence in a legitimate email is more likely to read: "I created a document regarding next year's lesson plans using Google docs.")</div>
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8 - Emails linking you to Google Docs are generally sent from Google Docs itself, or will show a Google Docs icon. While someone can link to the document themselves, it's not at all common.</div>
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</span> <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">9 - Hovering over the link will allow you to see where the link will take you. Looking at the site, you will see that it's clearly not going to a Google sign-in page.</span></div>
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10 - Most people don't include tech instructions in their email - unless it's sent from me :)</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.45em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.45em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
11 - Total lack of proper punctuation and spelling (i.e. there should be a period after document, a capital I and an apostrophe in "its"...)</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.45em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div style="line-height: 1.45em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.45em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
12 - Another vague attempt at making this email sound important for you to quickly open it without actually giving you any details as to what it is.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.45em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.45em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
13 - No signature. Most people will include their name at the bottom of their emails - especially important ones.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-33996726423978929372011-12-09T15:28:00.000-05:002011-12-09T15:29:24.720-05:00Why Men and Women Cant be FriendsI know I haven't posted in a while, but I wanted to share this video. I think it was extremley well executed and makes his point clear (even if he did have to edit out the people who had different answers).<br />
<br />
I may follow up with a more in-depth post about this next week, so be forewarned and leave your comments.<br />
<br />
<br />
<center><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T_lh5fR4DMA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T_lh5fR4DMA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="560" height="345"></object></center>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-15852502897948926532011-05-01T21:48:00.002-04:002011-05-01T21:58:50.387-04:00It's Yom HaShoah - But Do We Really Care?<div style="text-align: justify;">Today is Yom HaShoah. Or at least a whole bunch of people I'm friends with on Facebook told me so. I read the following status about 10 times today:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>It's Yom HaShoah, the day we commemorate the 6 million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. Jews with names, families, and stories that were mercilessly cut short. But after all these years, the Nazis still did not fulfill their goal: we are still here, standing strong. Remember the horrors of the Holocaust. WE MUST NEVER FORGET. Please, take 6 seconds and make this your status, to honor the 6 million lost souls.</i> (Some change "lost" to "holy" and yet others just cut off at "6 million", must've been a machlokes.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I'm not against what Yom HaShoah stands for, and I'm certainly not against honoring and remembering the victims of the Holocaust. However, does making those few sentences your status really honor the victims? Do you think the murdered families find peace and feel honored from that fact that you changed your Facebook status? The status even prides itself that the whole thing only takes 6 seconds. Wow! What an honor! It must take such dedication to spend a second of your time for each million Jews killed. (Not only that, it's not just a regular 6 seconds, it's 6 precious seconds taken away from using Facebook. Now <i>that's</i> dedication.) Who are we fooling? Of course if you were one of the disgusting people that didn't change your Facebook status, you must be a right-wing hater. It must be incumbent upon any self respecting Jew to immediately go change his or her Facebook status before it's too late.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The thing is that we fool only ourselves. We fool ourselves to think that we care - when we really don't want to admit to ourselves that it's difficult for us to relate. We should care and we want to care, but we can't because we are too busy with other important things. Other things like spending time on Facebook. We console ourselves with the fact that we are doing something (albeit nothing meaningful) by changing our Facebook status. "See," we tell ourselves, "I do care; and my Facebook status proves it."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now many people reading this will be all mad by this point. You're probably screaming at me in your mind: "Speak for yourself. You're the one that doesn't care. You're the one who doesn't feel bad." You know what? You may be right. I have a very hard time caring and feeling bad about something from which I'm so distant; it happened so long ago and I have a hard time relating. We have grown numb over the past seventy five years. Almost everyone who lived to tell the story is dead by now. The ones still alive, are living in nursing homes. I've been to the holocaust museums, but frankly it felt like a movie. It all doesn't seem real. We are so distant from it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But I will never try to convince my conscience that I am doing my part when I'm not. I will never try to convince myself that I care and feel bad when I have such a hard time trying to relate. Stop fooling yourself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But you know what I do feel bad about? You know what I <i>do</i> care about? I feel bad about the fact that I'm too distant to feel the pain and I care about the fact that it's becoming lost to my generation. That's why I wrote this post, and trust me, it took more than 6 seconds.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-3961639826756649672011-03-16T22:34:00.001-04:002011-03-16T22:35:01.864-04:00Everything a Teenager Person Should Know about Purim Drinking<div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<b>I haven't posted in a while, but I feel I need to re-post this post before every Purim. As I get older and experiance more Purims, I get more and more convinced that if people would be educated in the affects of alcohol, it would not only be a safer Purim but a much more enjoyable one.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">Being that Purim is around the corner, I decided to write about what bothers me every year around this time. That is: the way anti-drinking campaigns are run.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one for free open drinking on Purim. I’m not into kids (or adults) getting carried away on stretchers or lifted and carried off of people’s couches and front lawns. And I’m definitely not into people destroying their Purim by drinking too much and not remembering anything (besides for the side effects). However, I am against the way the yeshiva world tries to stop it. </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">Every year we all see the posters from Hatzaloh – Don’t get carried away this Purim. Every year we see the Kol Korai in the Yated, and every year we see the letter to the editor in the Hamodia from some innocent 17 year old who wanted to have an awesome time the previous year and instead ended up in the hospital who writes, “it’s mamesh a nes nigleh that I am alive to write this letter today.” We see letter after letter, sign after sign and fact after fact of the dangers of drinking on Purim. The facts are enough to scare anyone, and they do, except for one group of people – teenagers.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">You see, the <b>Just Say No</b> style campaigns that (just about) every yeshiva, shul, community and school use have very little effect on what and how much teenagers want to drink on Purim. It may affect how easy it is to get the alcohol, as adults are more cautious about dispensing alcohol to minors, but it has a much smaller affect on the group that needs it the most. The reason this approach does not work on teenagers is that most people who get drunk on Purim don’t end up in the hospital or have their stomachs pumped, and their friends certainly know it. To quote the authors of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Buzzed-Straight-Abused-Alcohol-Ecstasy/dp/0393329852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267119913&sr=8-1" style="color: black;"><u>Buzzed – The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy</u></a>, “when horror stories are used as the principal tools in drug education, people soon recognize that such stories do not represent the whole truth. The educator then loses credibility.” Basically, when teenagers see their friends and a lot of other people get drunk on Purim without crazy horror stories, they start ignoring all the people telling them not to drink because they might end up in the hospital. (Ironically, while typing this post, I got an email from a Shul near me telling everyone that Rav Shmuel Kaminetzky reportedly said that getting drunk on Purim is an Aveira. While it may be true, that won’t stop most people.)</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, the ones who ignore the message are the key audience that we need to reach to help prevent the true dangers of drinking on Purim. To do this, we must switch <b>Just Say No</b> to <b>Just Say Know</b>. When a person knows the facts regarding how alcohol will affect his (or her) body, that knowledge can lead to safer drinking and help avoid excess. Will it get teenagers to stop drinking on Purim? Absolutely not. But it may help reduce the incidents of hospital visits.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, with that I present – <b>Everything a Teenager Should Know about Purim Drinking.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">First off, you should know that every person’s body will react differently to alcohol. Body size, history of drinking and gender all play a major role in how the alcohol will affect your body. One thing that is important to know is that even if having a higher <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">tolerance means you may not feel the same effects of alcohol on your body as other people who drank the same amount, <b>you still have the same amount of alcohol in your blood and therefore the effects are still there whether you feel them or not</b>.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">Next, let’s talk about BAC – Blood Alcohol Content (or Concentration). BAC <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">is the amount of alcohol present in the blood after consuming alcohol</span></span>. Below you will see how your body reacts to different level BAC’s. After we will discuss how alcohol affects your BAC. Remember: The effects of alcohol intoxication are greatly influenced by individual variations among users. Some users may become intoxicated at a much lower Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level than is shown.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.02-0.03 BAC</i></b><i>: No loss of coordination, slight euphoria and loss of shyness. Depressant effects are not apparent. You might feel mildly relaxed and maybe a little lightheaded.</i></div></span><span style="color: black;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.04-0.06 BAC</i></b><i>: There is a feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, and a sensation of warmth along with euphoria. There will be some minor impairment of reasoning and memory, and lowering of caution. Your behavior may become exaggerated and emotions intensified (Good emotions are better, bad emotions are worse)</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.07-0.09 BAC</i></b><i>: Slight impairment of balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing. Euphoria. Judgment and self-control are reduced, and caution, reason and memory are impaired, .08 is legally impaired and it is illegal to drive at this level. You will probably believe that you are functioning better than you really are.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.10-0.125 BAC</i></b><i>: Significant impairment of motor coordination and loss of good judgment. Speech may be slurred; balance, vision, reaction time and hearing will be impaired. Euphoria.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.13-0.15 BAC</i></b><i>: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria (anxiety, restlessness) is beginning to appear. Judgment and perception are severely impaired.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.16-0.19 BAC</i></b><i>: Dysphoria predominates, nausea may appear. The drinker has the appearance of a "sloppy drunk."</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><b><i>0.20 BAC</i></b><i>: Felling dazed, confused or otherwise disoriented. May need help to stand or walk. If you injure yourself you may not feel the pain. Some people experience nausea and vomiting at this level. The gag reflex is impaired and you can choke if you do vomit. Blackouts are likely at this level so you may not remember what has happened.<br />
</i></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.25 BAC</i></b><i>: All mental, physical and sensory functions are severely impaired. Increased risk of asphyxiation from choking on vomit and of seriously injuring yourself by falls or other accidents.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.30 BAC</i></b><i>: STUPOR. You have little comprehension of where you are. You may pass out suddenly and be difficult to awaken.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><b><i>0.35 BAC:</i></b><i> Coma is possible. This is the level of surgical anesthesia. </i><br />
<br />
<b>0.40 BAC and up</b>: Onset of coma, and possible death due to respiratory arrest. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">One thing that you may have noticed - <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">BAC's in excess of 0.125% will NOT increase the pleasure, only the discomfort.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span> At 0.125% you reach the level of euphoria. Once you pass that level, euphoria is reduced. So if you are drinking and you want to have a good time, you probably want to be close to 0.125% and not higher.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;">The real question is: how much alcohol do I need to drink to get to that level? First, let’s first define a “drink”. </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">One drink is 1.25 oz. of 40% liquor, 12 oz. of beer,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">or 5 oz. of table wine.</span></span> The chart below shows you how many drinks affect your BAC by body weight. Time plays a factor as well so subtract .01% for each 40 minutes of drinking.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 97%;"><tbody>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 12.06%;" width="12%"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div></td> <td colspan="9" style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;">Approximate Blood Alcohol Percentage</span></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;">Drinks</span></b></div></td> <td colspan="8" style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;">Body Weight in Pounds</span></b></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 22.94%;" width="22%"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><br />
</div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 9.02%;" width="9%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">100</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 9%;" width="9%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">120</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">140</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">160</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">180</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">200</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 7%;" width="7%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">220</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">240</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">0</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% black; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Only Safe<br />
Driving Limit</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">0</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Only Safe Driving Limit</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">1</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.04</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.03</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.03</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02</span></div></td> <td rowspan="5" style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Driving<br />
Skills<br />
Significantly<br />
Affected</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><hr align="center" size="2" width="50%" /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Possible<br />
Criminal<br />
Penalties</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">2</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.06</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.05</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.05</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.04</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.04</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.03</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.03</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">3</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.07</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.06</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.06</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.05</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.05</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">4</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.15</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.12</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.07</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(204, 255, 255); padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.06</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">5</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.16</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.13</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.12</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">6</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.23</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.16</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.14</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.13</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.10</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09</span></div></td> <td rowspan="4" style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Legally<br />
Intoxicated</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><hr align="center" size="2" width="50%" /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Criminal<br />
Penalties</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">7</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.26</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.22</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.16</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.15</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.13</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.12</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">8</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% red; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.30</span></b></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.25</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.21</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.17</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.15</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.14</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.13</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">9</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% red; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.34</span></b></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.28</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.24</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.21</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.17</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.15</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.14</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">10</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% red; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.38</span></b></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% red; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.31</span></b></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% red; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.27</span></b></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.23</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.21</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.17</span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.16</span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% red; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">Death Possible</span></b></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"> So, for your average teenager weighing 160 lbs., after about 6 drinks over a 2 hour period, you will reach the highest level of enjoyment you can attain by drinking alcohol. After that amount, your enjoyment will start to go downhill. 10 drinks over that same period of time can cause you to blackout.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Some</span> other points to keep in mind:</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Plan ahead – if you just have a bottle of scotch and keep pouring from it repeatedly, there is no way you will know how much you’re drinking. What I used to do was pour off the amount I wanted to drink into a small ginger ale bottle before Purim. That way, I didn’t drink more then I wanted to.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Not drinking too much is for your own enjoyment. You don’t want to be the guy in the corner crying who is probably in the 0.16%-0.19% range.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b>Little known fact - If you are under 21, it is illegal to drive after drinking even if you are under 0.08%. It is only after 21 that the 0.08 rule comes into effect. (See what court ordered driving school teaches you?)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">Keep active. Don't just sit down and watch everyone dance. If you keep active, you will drink less and will be more aware of your level of intoxication.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">Keep track of how much you are drinking. Know how much alcohol is poured into every glass.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">Pace your drinking, allow time between drinks.</span></span></div><br />
If you are going out with friends and you are afraid you will be pressured to drink more then you want to, dilute your alcohol before you leave. That way you can keep up with the drinkers while enjoying yourself more.<br />
<br />
Have other suggestions? Write them in the comments and I will add them.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">I hope that with this knowledge, people who will be drinking this Purim will know and understand how they are affecting their body. With that knowledge they will better be able to decide how much to drink and hopefully drink responsibly.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b>Have a safe enjoyable Purim.</b></div><div style="border: medium none; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; line-height: normal; padding: 0in;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">*******************************************************</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 9pt;">Disclaimer: I am not condoning drinking. I just feel that people should be aware of what they are doing to themselves.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 9pt;">A lot of the information in this post is from <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;"><a href="http://www.brad21.org/">B.R.A.D.</a></span></span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;">(Be Responsible About Drinking, Inc)</span>.</span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-39443764742219282432010-12-08T08:19:00.002-05:002010-12-08T08:21:28.072-05:00Device Evolution - By Philipp Lenssen of Blogoscoped.comI'm not really the type of person that takes other blog posts and posts them on my blog, but <a href="http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2010-12-08-n69.html">this post</a> from Philipp Lenssen of <a href="http://Blogoscoped.com">Blogoscoped.com</a> is just to good not to share. I wish this was my own.<br />
<br />
<b>***GEEK WARNING***</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2010-12-08-n69.html">Device Evolution - By Philipp Lenssen</a><br />
<br />
Watching evolution is fun, especially when it happens right around you, and happens so fast. A mutation we saw yesterday was a new animal scientists gave the name “Chrome OS Notebook”, but it’s surrounded by other smart animals of all kinds and shapes. What do they fight for? Their nature are our offices, living rooms, cafes and parks; their food are our individual interests.<br />
<br />
Computing devices: the more we have, the less we notice them. Sneaky things, changing the color of their skin on different backgrounds... we don’t even know they’re computers anymore! The sneakier they fade in, the more likely they’ll hunt down our interest when it appears.<br />
<br />
You’re in your room, and you just had the idea of going to a cafe to read a newspaper, and perhaps chat with some friends. You can now hear small leafs crack, the surrounding grass rustle, and there’s even some dramatic discovery channel music starting to play. You’re surrounded by smart devices, large and small, elegant and clunky. Some with big screens, some with speakers, some accepting cable of type one, some accepting cable of type two. Some will know when you throw and turn them. Some have a touch screen, others offer a special typing device to please your fingers. Some devices have been put to their desktop drawer grave already because they were starving and never found any of your interests. This is nature... diverse, sometimes cruel.<br />
<br />
The device with the smallest screen makes its first move, jumping towards your pocket. It fits right in, is small to carry, can play some casual games! It went by many names in the past, from telephone to phone to mobile phone. But it mutated over the years, growing hair and legs and eyes suited to hunt down all kinds of our interests. “No,” you say, “You’re great for playing games and chatting with friends, but I really want to read a newspaper. Your screen is much too small to comfortably read.”<br />
<br />
As you push away the last device – its group status in your room device hierarchy permanently lowered, with giggles all around – a new one comes forth. It’s of much larger size and can be conveniently opened and closed as you carry it. It has a hardware keyboard that allows for a lot of fast typing. It’s connected to the internet, like the rest of the devices, but it can also download programs that please you with super fast graphics. “Notebook PC, you’re great when I want to get work done, I know you the longest, you know I love you even though you transmit all kind of diseases, but you know, I don’t want to work in that cafe I’m going to, and reading newspapers is not really what you excel at.”<br />
<br />
The desktop PC at this very moment ponders to also come forward, but then retreats to a darker corner of your desk with a nervous cough. The clunkiest of the beasts, this device realizes its days in evolution might be numbered. It blames it on the Notebook and quietly schemes to kick it off the table one of these nights.<br />
<br />
There’s a semi-large-screen device animal jumping up and down begging for your attention, trying to grab that tasty use case of cafe-newspaper-reading-and-perhaps-some-chatting. “Don’t be so desperate my friend,” you’re saying, “I’ll hear you out.” The device introduces itself as “Android OS Tablet” and says its parents were a Tablet PC and a Smart Phone. It claims it has thousands of games, apps, lots of gadgety entertainment, and it can also surf the web. It even offers you books to read on it. Hearing that, the Kindle from up in the book shelf breaks out in laughter and starts to chant “E-Ink! E-Ink! E-Ink” in annoyingly loud voice. The Android device can’t take it anymore and is climbing upwards to shut the Kindle down for good.<br />
<br />
“OK,” you say, “that was fun you guys, but let me just pick the iPad here, and fine, I’ll grab the phone for my pocket. The tablet can read newspaper subscriptions, surf the web, there’s some books already downloaded in case I get bored and the connection breaks down, and if I want to chat to someone, I’ll make a phone call.” As you pack your things, the door to your room opens. The light goes out, a spot gets turned on, and someone loops the “sci fi” sound on the synthesizer.<br />
<br />
“You know who I am, don’t you.” the device says.<br />
<br />
The room goes very quiet. The Kindle and Android device stop in mid-brawl. The Windows Mobile phone temporarily rolls in its grave. The PlayStation Portable jumps on top of the Kinect to get a better view. Even the coffee making device in the next room goes silent.<br />
<br />
“I’M CHROME.”<br />
<br />
Silence. The Android OS is quietly pondering to use the time for a surprise punch in the Kindle face, but looking around figures it would be inappropriate. More silence.<br />
<br />
“Care to explain?”, you say. In slow monotonous voice, the Chrome OS Notebook tells you its long story. How its grandfather, a browser, had to go through rough times in the war. How his father, a browser himself, met his mother, a traditional PC, and how granddad used to frown upon the relationship. We browsers should stick to our kind, granddad said, and how you two had to meet in dark corners... nothing could stop your love. How he eventually fell out with his cousin Android OS – same family and all, but brought up totally differently – and how the two didn’t call each other for years. Some of the devices are crying by now. The desktop PC even moved closer to the MacBook Air, despite their generation gap.<br />
<br />
“To make a long story short, I’m Chrome OS Notebook. You can check your email with me, surf the web, read newspapers online, stream movies, grab casual web apps and simpler games. You can set me up in under a minute and I boot in seconds.” (The Windows Notebook puts on a terrified grimace and suddenly feels very, very sick.) “I can’t do a whole lot offline and can’t play your DVD but online, I’ll be damned if I’m not the very best thing there is.”<br />
<br />
You want to take Chrome for a longer test ride one of these days, but you really need to go now, and you grab your newspaper device and your chat device and off you go. On your way to the cafe you ponder who will survive in the wild animal kingdom of your room. And you suspect an answer: whatever device will be versatile enough to grab the largest amount of your interests, whatever device will be the best to fit in to any environment, whatever device will be smartest to adjust to new living circumstances, whatever device can specialize if needed but takes a general approach, whatever device can beat the others by emulating and incorporating their strengths through learning, a device that can blow up its size when required and become really small when not, a device that is perfectly easy to use, a device that rules over the whole ecosystem due to its strength, yet is still lean enough to move quickly.<br />
<br />
Yesterday’s mutation wasn’t the last we’ve seen. Watching evolution is fun, and it happens right around us, and right through us.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-61853559408406723192010-11-30T21:03:00.007-05:002010-11-30T21:11:43.144-05:00Chanukah 2010Below are two videos that are done completely in A Capella for Chanukah.<br />
<br />
The first one is done by <a href="http://www.six13.com/">Six13</a> in conjunction with NCSY. I've included the lyrics below the second video.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
The next is done by <a href="http://www.maccabeats.com/">The Macabeats </a><br />
<br />
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Dreidel<br />
<br />
You know I love it, when you spin<br />
But I love you better, when I win<br />
My heart is twirling, like a top<br />
I hope it’s never ever ever gonna stop<br />
<br />
You’ve got four letters, that tell the story<br />
Of how my people survived and fought for glory<br />
You know I made you, out of clay<br />
And when you’re dry and ready dreidel I will play<br />
<br />
I’ll be like dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, oh (3x)<br />
Twirlin’ around and around<br />
Keep on spinnin’ dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, oh (3x)<br />
Come on and show me that gimmel now<br />
<br />
Latkes<br />
<br />
It was December, I was hangin’ with my meidel<br />
Eating gelt and spinnin’ up some dreidel<br />
Tryin’ to win but I was not so nimble<br />
I got the nuns and she got all the gimmels<br />
It was Ma’oz Tzur that I was hearin’<br />
As my coins continued disappearin’<br />
Suddenly my nose starts to twitchin’<br />
From the aroma comin’ from the kitchen<br />
<br />
So we’re playin’ this game, just like I told ya<br />
By the light of the Chanukah menorah<br />
We had to finish the round, I couldn’t wait though –<br />
I knew my mom was fryin’ up potatoes<br />
They were latkes, fresh and delicious<br />
My girl got up and I got suspicious<br />
She said “relax, now don’t be a hater,<br />
I’m just gon’ help her put away the grater”<br />
<br />
In the night, we lit the lights<br />
Like maccabees of days of old<br />
But I can’t believe my girl has gone and stole… all my Chanukah latkes<br />
How could she eat those latkes<br />
All my Chanukah latkes<br />
<br />
I Light It<br />
<br />
Maccabees, excuse me if I’m lighting this too fast<br />
I get so excited thinking how you got that oil to last<br />
The candles melting down, burning low, low, low<br />
It’s a Chanukah tradition that is never getting old, no-oh-oh… oh-oh…<br />
It’s not a fire hazard, just a healthy Jewish glow, oh-oh-oh… oh-oh…<br />
Light the lights, left to right, eat sufganiyot <br />
<br />
Baby, I light it -- the Chanukah menorah<br />
Baby, I light it -- the candles in my Chanukiah<br />
Oh yes, I light it -- new one on every night<br />
Baby, I light it, I-I-I light it<br />
<br />
I’m lighting… the shamash… it’s kislev, my chevra…<br />
<br />
Go Rabbi, that’s my Rabbi<br />
The man who gave the d'var torah at NCSY<br />
I spun a dreidel like a thousand times and I<br />
Got some gelt, so good… now I’m flyin’ high<br />
With all my friends at the Shabbaton<br />
Singin’ z’mirot so loud, everyone knows that it's on<br />
Wish I could do this every day<br />
And soon, summer, Kollel and TJJ<br />
Sayin’ what’s your chapter? What’s your region?<br />
While other people singin’ “tis the season”<br />
We're feelin' warm while the weather gets colder<br />
‘Cause we're gettin’ presents eight times over<br />
Six13, getting lyrical<br />
We're lightin’ candles and we celebratin’ miracles<br />
So Chag Sameach, chaverim<br />
From NCSY and Six13Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-60830164720330974252010-11-03T17:49:00.016-04:002010-11-03T22:58:21.806-04:00The Need to Feel Judaism - UPDATED<div style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div id="internal-source-marker_0.6916175102815032" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I grew up in a Yeshiva setting. I went to an all boys elementary school, followed by an all boys Ultra-Orthodox High School. In High School, we got out at 6:30 on the early days and at 8:15 on late days when we had Mishmar. Upon finishing my stay in High School I went to Bais Medrash where the day started at 7:30 AM with Shacharis, and finished with the completion of Maariv at 10:45 PM. Needless to say, the days were packed with learning. On top of all that learning, there was a strong push to learn during breaks. The average boy (while in Bais Medrash) learned anywhere between 13 and 16 hours a day, with the top boys learning even more at times.</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the years I noticed a common theme. The amount of boys in this environment that read from the Torah (lain) or volunteer and enjoy davening from the amud are few and far in between.</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On an average out-shabbos in Bais Medrash, coming on time to Kabllas Shabbos (Friday night davening) at a random Shul in the community was a dreaded activity. That’s because we knew that the gabbia would see black hats and say “OK, which one of you yeshiva boys want to daven?” Heads start turning, and if you are lucky you have some sucker there who will actually go up. Other times, after no one volunteers, the gabbai will say, “OK, we have 2 minutes before we start anyways, so you guys figure it out in the meantime.” </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I never understood that. Why is it our job to appoint someone to daven? That’s the gabbai’s job. Just because we are wearing black hats doesn’t mean that we want or frankly have the ability to daven from the amud. But the out-shabbos moment that boggles my mind the most is when Mincha comes around and the baal koreah is late. The gabbai comes up to the group of black hatters and says “which one of you wants to lain?” Which one of us? How about none of us? Did it even occur to him that we don’t know how to lain because most of us haven’t even thought about laining since our Bar-Mitzvah? And even if we did, do we just know every parsha off the cuff without practicing? There is a reason people charge for laining. When the gabbai finally figures out that he’s not getting anywhere, you’ll hear him mumble under his breath, “If these guys can’t lain and can’t daven, what are they doing in Yeshiva?” Or the age old classic, “What does the Yeshiva teach you already if not for laining?” I remember one guy telling me how he feels that a person shouldn’t be able to be admitted into Yeshiva unless he can lain fluently. Comments like that make me wonder what they think actually goes on in Yeshiva. Does he also think baseball players shouldn’t be allowed to play ball unless they can hit the high-note in the star spangled banner?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not so long ago, I was in the Young Israel of North Miami Beach. It was time for Kabbalas Shabbos. Friday night was an out-meal at the Yeshiva here, and there were a bunch of Bais Medrash guys davening at shul. The gabbai walked up to the group to try to find a baal-tefila. After completely striking out (no pun intended) with all the guys, he then walked over to a local high school kid who goes to the Hebrew Academy (the local co-ed day school) and asks him if he would like to daven. He immediately takes the tallis and walks up to the Amud. I was standing and talking to a Rebbe, and we both watched this take place. He turned to me and said, “It’s such a shame. We have ten or fifteen Yeshiva guys here and the only person that will daven is the Hebrew Academy kid?” </span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This got me thinking. Why was it that the Hebrew Academy kid was so eager to daven and the Yeshiva guys weren’t? It then hit me that this isn’t an uncommon theme, and thinking about it, I see this happen time and time again. Many times in Yeshiva, it’s the kids with the more modern backgrounds who are much more eager to daven for the Amud. Not only that, how many times have you seen a Yeshiva teen Minyan actually work out with the teens laining? I don’t really know of any, but I can tell you I know of a few that failed. The yeshiva that I work for has a teen Minyan (a.k.a the High School Minyan) where they even resorted to paying the students to lain. Yet, regardless, it’s still impossible to find someone to lain Yeshiva. However, the teen Minyan that I sometimes frequent in Hollywood (which is a much more modern community) has no problem finding guys to lain. All they do is get up after laining and ask who is available for an aliyah for the following week. Within minutes the entire parsha is taken. At the (now nonexistent) teen Minyan in Miami Beach, which was a mix of Yeshiva kids and more modern kids, it was a little harder. But it was always the non-Yeshiva kids who took the majority of the parsha. Why is that the case?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think I may have the answer. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not sure if it’s true</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and it may offend some, but I’m going to throw it out there anyways. When a person is in a “sub-par” Judaism environment, or at least feels deep down that he is in a sub-par Judaism environment, he naturally will want to do more outwardly and publicly for Judaism. We know the concept of a Pintele Yid- that little spark inside every Jew that will pull him or her back to the source through a yearning for spirituality only fulfilled by Judaism, even when he or she is the furthest away. I believe the concept can be true even when a person is religious and not in a “sub-par” Judaism environment. If the person feels deep down that although he is religious he could be doing more, he has that pintele yid that’s driving him to practice more Judaism. The mere fact that he is an Orthodox Jew doesn’t fill that need, as he feels deep down he should be doing more. This leads to participating in public Jewish activities like davening and laining. It fills the void. By going up and davening from the amud or laining from the Torah, he feeds that inherent hunger for Judaism and it makes him feel that he is more spiritual due to this public form of practicing Judaism. </span></span></span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The concept of proving one’s Judaism through public display to justify the lack of internal feeling might explain why non-religious Jews occasionally throw lavish Bar or Bat Mitzvah parties, or their need to tell Orthodox Jews about the traditions they actually follow. That is the extent of their Judaism and they need to show (mostly to themselves) that they really are Jewish. This might also explain why the Hebrew Academy kid was so quick to say yes in front of a large group of Yeshiva guys.</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the other hand, someone who is in Yeshiva all day doesn’t feel any need to increase his level of spirituality by going down those paths and participating in public forms of Judiasm. He is swimming in Judaism and constantly growing through learning all day. That’s more than enough to make him satisfied with his Judiasm. He doesn’t need to look for outward manifestations of his religiosity to make himself feel better about what he does not have. When the opportunity to daven for the amud or to lain arises, he shuns it because he doesn’t feel the pull towards it.</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s the same reason that Young Israels can get away with 3 hour davening on Shabbos but if Yeshivos go over two hours, the daveners rebel. Yeshiva guys don’t feel the importance of a long davening and don’t get the satisfaction out of it that a non-yeshiva person would. He would rather have a faster shabbos davening and sit down to learn afterwards.</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing; it’s just something I noticed.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>**UPDATE**</b> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A number of people pointed out that there are many yeshiva guys who like davening and laining and asked if I was implying that they were doing it because they also needed to fill a gap in their Judiasm. Obviously there are many Yeshiva guys who lain and daven. I in no sense of the matter mean to say that this is the only reason why someone would in his right mind want to daven or lain. It just seemed odd too me that the numbers were </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">disproportionate</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> when it came to Yeshiva guys vs. non-yeshiva guys. I think my reason can help us understand why </span></span><b style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">some</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the daveners and lainers want to lain; and why it's more common for a Hebrew Academy student to want to lain and daven than for a Yeshiva guy.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my family members was </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">insulted</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for my father's sake. For those that don't know my father, he is a big lainer and davener. On the side he is a posek (should be fairly obvious by the title of this blog). I told them that my father is actually a poster child for this post. He didn't grow up a posek. He was in a coed school through eight grade (past his bar mitzvah). He grew up in a small, not at all yeshivish, modern community. He was looking for something more so he started laining right after his bar mitzvah (he ended up a posek). While not necessarily true, it's very possible that this post details the exact reason my father picked up laining and davening. The fact that he still does it isn't a question, because it's become a part of his life. Just because he doesn't NEED it anymore doesn't mean he will just drop it.</span></span></span></span></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-55454849341851885802010-10-06T19:20:00.002-04:002010-10-11T21:27:00.639-04:00Help me lose weight! Join me in my Pound-A-Thon and help raise money for poor people who need food!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am (once again) going on a Pound-A-Thon. (To lose pounds – not gain them.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My goal is to lose <b>40 lbs.</b> over the next <b>6 months</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">However this cannot be done without YOU!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am asking you to sponsor me per pound that I lose. The money will be given to (a non-profit that give money to) poor individuals who need money to buy food (as well as other basic necessities). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some of you may remember my Pound-A-Thon from May-Sept of 2008. In those 5 months, I lost 30 pounds and in the process raised about $4,500 for this charity. My thinking was that if I can’t eat at least let someone else eat!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My goal is to raise $4,000</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. That would require getting $100 total per pound, and losing 40 pounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Suggested donation is $1 per pound.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Facts:<br />
Start Date: Midnight on the night of October 9<sup>th</sup> 2010 (This Saturday night)<br />
End Date: Midnight on the night of April 7<sup>th</sup> 2011<br />
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I plan on losing around 40 lbs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">****Please Note: **** This is not a minimum or maximum; just a rough estimate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am starting off at around <b>225 lbs</b><br />
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I NEED ALL THE SUPPORT I CAN GET!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Please respond with the amount you can sponsor or fill out the online form <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFBLd0E3RkE5dEpNclJtRVZXeEtNMHc6MQ">here</a>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Once the P</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">ound-A-Thon gets started I will update </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://sonofaposek.com/pounathon.php" target="blank">sonofaposek.com/pounathon.php</a> with current weight totals and sponsorship totals.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-43851768304025435092010-08-15T15:03:00.000-04:002010-08-15T15:03:19.187-04:00A Summer Away From Home<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>(This post is what I wrote for the 2010 Mogen Av Yearbook.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Please ignore the sappy camp stuff.)</i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sigh. It’s been a long hot summer. I always wondered why the locals complained so much about summer in Miami. I’ve been through hot weather before, but nothing like this. Every day, in and out, it’s hot. If it’s not hot, it’s dark. Oh, or it’s raining. It does that too here. But don’t think that rain breaks the heat. No siree. It just brings humidity. Yay! So much fun!*</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But who am I kidding. I shouldn’t be complaining about this. I have much bigger things to complain about- camp for example. I know what you’re saying; there goes Friedman again complaining about camp. You complained before you came to camp. You complained in camp. And now you’re complaining out of camp? My answer to that, my friends, is yes. For summer this year is a Summer Away From Home.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ok, ok, it’s not so bad. I am sitting in a nice cool air conditioned room typing on my laptop on Friday afternoon. (Almost sounds like the dog house.) Not to mention the big (now empty) plate of nachos that my wife made for me sitting on my side<i>. [Wife interjection: Just for your information: I do NOT pamper him like this all the time. It’s just the times he gets all sad about camp that I feel semi-bad for him, just enough to make him nachos.]</i> I have no bunk that’s waiting for me to scream at them that they aren’t showered, no line up to be on time to and no hill to get my suit dirty while walking down to the meal tonight. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Truth is, it hurts. It really does. Spending so many years in Mogen Av (save for one said year) really took a toll on me. In a good way. Really. I have a hard time getting up every morning only to go outside and see that everybody is at camp and I’m on my way to work. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span></span> I wish it didn’t have to be this way.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I did have an opportunity, however, to come to camp at once this summer. Ahh, the good times came rushing back; the feeling is indescribable. It’s like when the music comes on after the 3 weeks. Or when you won field day, but more importantly that it’s over. It’s like when you just finished cleaning your bunk and now you can go outside to play with your friends who were waiting for you. It’s that feeling of relief that you know just won’t last and you don’t want it to ever end.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I never really appreciated camp so much. That is until this summer. When the school year was out, I kept on thinking that the fun part of the year was here. It was time to go home to camp. But it didn’t happen. Coming to camp for one day just isn’t enough. I need at least one month. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">OK campers – this is where you come in. You need to call, email and write to Chini to have him give me a bungalow next summer. I don’t mean you should bug him or annoy him. Don’t call him more than once a day, but let it be clear that this is what you want. Because next year, I don’t want to spend my Summer Away From Home.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">*I actually love the hot weather. I thought the summer heat would be much worse and honestly I have no problem having this weather all year round. But for purposes of making this article interesting, I used my artistic license to stretch the lie, errrrr, truth.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-45221035243590421852010-06-17T10:21:00.000-04:002010-06-17T10:21:40.644-04:00BP Spills CoffeeI know almost everybody saw this already, but I thought it was cute so I decided to post it.<br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2AAa0gd7ClM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2AAa0gd7ClM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="345"></embed></object><br />
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I also thought the following new logo was cute for BP. Stolen from <a href="http://despair.com/">Despair.com</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVqdACSo4DrqmTaKnTzR8_ed_iMkO43XOa6yMtA08DoDtGLysM-75h6QkPZZfCivPpd0ZTL4Iug79MNuec6xtVu4HtF36YWH3K47rcEV5MZpH6MGl4PpGe_GlRuL8L0xKYfwqRedV-RQ/s1600/BPspill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVqdACSo4DrqmTaKnTzR8_ed_iMkO43XOa6yMtA08DoDtGLysM-75h6QkPZZfCivPpd0ZTL4Iug79MNuec6xtVu4HtF36YWH3K47rcEV5MZpH6MGl4PpGe_GlRuL8L0xKYfwqRedV-RQ/s400/BPspill.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-85189869126658522232010-05-09T12:22:00.007-04:002010-05-09T14:15:44.377-04:00The Tochachah (May Offend Some)<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;">A number of years ago (September 2005) when I was still in Bais Medrash in Miami, there was a hurricane warning over Shabbos. It turned out to be nothing, but we weren't allowed to go outside from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning. On motzei Shabbos we were getting a little antsy, so a friend of mine and I decided to write a song about the Parsha. That week we lained the tochachah. In honor of laining the tochachah this past Shabbos, I decided to actually make the song public. (While this song may offend some, we felt it was more productive then prank calling the radio stations to hear your voice on the radio.)</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b>TTTO: The Middos Song from The Marvelous Middos Machine by Abie Rotenburg.</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;">(The original song can be listened to or downloaded <a href="http://www.sonofaposek.com/The_Middos_Song.mp3">here</a>.)</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;">You'll get boils on your knees<br />The worms will eat your trees<br />You'll bar-b-que your children; you'll use their flesh as meat<br />The rain it will not come<br />You'll chew your only son<br />A Jew that messes with Hashem simply will be beat<br /><br />The tochachah warns you what you get when you are bad<br />Hashem tells us just what he will do<br />So if you want to do what's wrong and really have some fun<br />You'll have to take the consequences too<br /><br />Your eyes they will go blind<br />You'll lose your peace of mind<br />Your carcass will be food for every bird beneath the sky<br />Your flesh will wear away<br />You'll be frightened night and day<br />A Jew that messes with Hashem simply will be fried<br /><br />The tochachah warns you what you get when you are bad<br />Hashem tells us just what he will do<br />So if you want to do what's wrong and really have some fun<br />You'll have to take the consequences too</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size:13px;"><b>UPDATE: </b>Apparently I'm embarrassing my wife. Sorry dear!</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-14460815076217483322010-02-24T23:58:00.011-05:002010-02-26T09:42:18.307-05:00Everything a Teenager Should Know about Purim Drinking<div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;"></span></b></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">Being that Purim is around the corner, I decided to write about what bothers me every year around this time. That is: the way anti-drinking campaigns are run.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one for free open drinking on Purim. I’m not into kids (or adults) getting carried away on stretchers or lifted and carried off of people’s couches and front lawns. And I’m definitely not into people destroying their Purim by drinking too much and not remembering anything (besides for the side effects). However, I am against the way the yeshiva world tries to stop it. </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">Every year we all see the posters from Hatzaloh – Don’t get carried away this Purim. Every year we see the Kol Korai in the Yated, and every year we see the letter to the editor in the Hamodia from some innocent 17 year old who wanted to have an awesome time the previous year and instead ended up in the hospital who writes, “it’s mamesh a nes nigleh that I am alive to write this letter today.” We see letter after letter, sign after sign and fact after fact of the dangers of drinking on Purim. The facts are enough to scare anyone, and they do, except for one group of people – teenagers.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">You see, the <b>Just Say No</b> style campaigns that (just about) every yeshiva, shul, community and school use have very little effect on what and how much teenagers want to drink on Purim. It may affect how easy it is to get the alcohol, as adults are more cautious about dispensing alcohol to minors, but it has a much smaller affect on the group that needs it the most. The reason this approach does not work on teenagers is that most people who get drunk on Purim don’t end up in the hospital or have their stomachs pumped, and their friends certainly know it. To quote the authors of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Buzzed-Straight-Abused-Alcohol-Ecstasy/dp/0393329852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267119913&sr=8-1" style="color: black;"><u>Buzzed – The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy</u></a>, “when horror stories are used as the principal tools in drug education, people soon recognize that such stories do not represent the whole truth. The educator then loses credibility.” Basically, when teenagers see their friends and a lot of other people get drunk on Purim without crazy horror stories, they start ignoring all the people telling them not to drink because they might end up in the hospital. (Ironically, while typing this post, I got an email from a Shul near me telling everyone that Rav Shmuel Kaminetzky reportedly said that getting drunk on Purim is an Aveira. While it may be true, that won’t stop most people.)</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, the ones who ignore the message are the key audience that we need to reach to help prevent the true dangers of drinking on Purim. To do this, we must switch <b>Just Say No</b> to <b>Just Say Know</b>. When a person knows the facts regarding how alcohol will affect his (or her) body, that knowledge can lead to safer drinking and help avoid excess. Will it get teenagers to stop drinking on Purim? Absolutely not. But it may help reduce the incidents of hospital visits.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, with that I present – <b>Everything a Teenager Should Know about Purim Drinking.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">First off, you should know that every person’s body will react differently to alcohol. Body size, history of drinking and gender all play a major role in how the alcohol will affect your body. One thing that is important to know is that even if having a higher <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">tolerance means you may not feel the same effects of alcohol on your body as other people who drank the same amount, <b>you still have the same amount of alcohol in your blood and therefore the effects are still there whether you feel them or not</b>.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">Next, let’s talk about BAC – Blood Alcohol Content (or Concentration). BAC <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">is the amount of alcohol present in the blood after consuming alcohol</span></span>. Below you will see how your body reacts to different level BAC’s. After we will discuss how alcohol affects your BAC. Remember: The effects of alcohol intoxication are greatly influenced by individual variations among users. Some users may become intoxicated at a much lower Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level than is shown.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.02-0.03 BAC</i></b><i>: No loss of coordination, slight euphoria and loss of shyness. Depressant effects are not apparent. You might feel mildly relaxed and maybe a little lightheaded.</i></div></span><span style="color: black;"><b><i><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.04-0.06 BAC</i></b><i>: There is a feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, and a sensation of warmth along with euphoria. There will be some minor impairment of reasoning and memory, and lowering of caution. Your behavior may become exaggerated and emotions intensified (Good emotions are better, bad emotions are worse)</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.07-0.09 BAC</i></b><i>: Slight impairment of balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing. Euphoria. Judgment and self-control are reduced, and caution, reason and memory are impaired, .08 is legally impaired and it is illegal to drive at this level. You will probably believe that you are functioning better than you really are.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.10-0.125 BAC</i></b><i>: Significant impairment of motor coordination and loss of good judgment. Speech may be slurred; balance, vision, reaction time and hearing will be impaired. Euphoria.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.13-0.15 BAC</i></b><i>: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria (anxiety, restlessness) is beginning to appear. Judgment and perception are severely impaired.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.16-0.19 BAC</i></b><i>: Dysphoria predominates, nausea may appear. The drinker has the appearance of a "sloppy drunk."</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><b><i>0.20 BAC</i></b><i>: Felling dazed, confused or otherwise disoriented. May need help to stand or walk. If you injure yourself you may not feel the pain. Some people experience nausea and vomiting at this level. The gag reflex is impaired and you can choke if you do vomit. Blackouts are likely at this level so you may not remember what has happened.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.25 BAC</i></b><i>: All mental, physical and sensory functions are severely impaired. Increased risk of asphyxiation from choking on vomit and of seriously injuring yourself by falls or other accidents.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>0.30 BAC</i></b><i>: STUPOR. You have little comprehension of where you are. You may pass out suddenly and be difficult to awaken.</i></div><span style="color: black;"> <b><i><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><b><i>0.35 BAC:</i></b><i> Coma is possible. This is the level of surgical anesthesia. </i><br />
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<b>0.40 BAC and up</b>: Onset of coma, and possible death due to respiratory arrest. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;">One thing that you may have noticed - <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">BAC's in excess of 0.125% will NOT increase the pleasure, only the discomfort.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span> At 0.125% you reach the level of euphoria. Once you pass that level, euphoria is reduced. So if you are drinking and you want to have a good time, you probably want to be close to 0.125% and not higher.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;">The real question is: how much alcohol do I need to drink to get to that level? First, let’s first define a “drink”. </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">One drink is 1.25 oz. of 40% liquor, 12 oz. of beer,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">or 5 oz. of table wine.</span></span> The chart below shows you how many drinks affect your BAC by body weight. Time plays a factor as well so subtract .01% for each 40 minutes of drinking.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 97%;"><tbody>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 12.06%;" width="12%"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div></td> <td colspan="9" style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;">Approximate Blood Alcohol Percentage</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;">Drinks</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td colspan="8" style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;">Body Weight in Pounds</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 22.94%;" width="22%"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><br />
</div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 9.02%;" width="9%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">100<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 9%;" width="9%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">120<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">140<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">160<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">180<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">200<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 7%;" width="7%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">220<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 8%;" width="8%"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">240<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: black none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Only Safe<br />
Driving Limit<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.00<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Only Safe Driving Limit<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.04<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.03<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.03<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.02<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td rowspan="5" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Driving<br />
Skills<br />
Significantly<br />
Affected<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><hr align="center" size="2" width="50%" /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Possible<br />
Criminal<br />
Penalties<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">2<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.06<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.05<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.05<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.04<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.04<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.03<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.03<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.07<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.06<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.06<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.05<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.05<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.15<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.12<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.07<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.06<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">5<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.16<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.13<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.12<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.08<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">6<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.23<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.16<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.14<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.13<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.10<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.09<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td rowspan="4" style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Legally<br />
Intoxicated<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><hr align="center" size="2" width="50%" /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Criminal<br />
Penalties<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">7<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.26<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.22<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.16<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.15<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.13<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.12<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.11<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">8<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: red none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.30</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.25<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.21<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.17<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.15<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.14<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.13<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">9<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: red none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.34</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.28<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.24<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.21<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.17<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.15<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.14<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">10<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: red none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.38</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: red none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.31</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: red none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">.27</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.23<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.21<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.19<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.17<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black;">.16<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: red none repeat scroll 0% 0%; padding: 1.5pt;"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black;">Death Possible</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"> So, for your average teenager weighing 160 lbs., after about 6 drinks over a 2 hour period, you will reach the highest level of enjoyment you can attain by drinking alcohol. After that amount, your enjoyment will start to go downhill. 10 drinks over that same period of time can cause you to blackout.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Some</span> other points to keep in mind:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Plan ahead – if you just have a bottle of scotch and keep pouring from it repeatedly, there is no way you will know how much you’re drinking. What I used to do was pour off the amount I wanted to drink into a small ginger ale bottle before Purim. That way, I didn’t drink more then I wanted to.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Not drinking too much is for your own enjoyment. You don’t want to be the guy in the corner crying who is probably in the 0.16%-0.19% range.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b>Little known fact - If you are under 21, it is illegal to drive after drinking even if you are under 0.08%. It is only after 21 that the 0.08 rule comes into effect. (See what court ordered driving school teaches you?)<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">Keep active. Don't just sit down and watch everyone dance. If you keep active, you will drink less and will be more aware of your level of intoxication.</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">Keep track of how much you are drinking. Know how much alcohol is poured into every glass.</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">Pace your drinking, allow time between drinks.</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
If you are going out with friends and you are afraid you will be pressured to drink more then you want to, dilute your alcohol before you leave. That way you can keep up with the drinkers while enjoying yourself more.<br />
<br />
Have other suggestions? Write them in the comments and I will add them.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">I hope that with this knowledge, people who will be drinking this Purim will know and understand how they are affecting their body. With that knowledge they will better be able to decide how much to drink and hopefully drink responsibly.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b>Have a safe enjoyable Purim.</b><o:p></o:p></div><div style="border: medium none; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; line-height: normal; padding: 0in;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">*******************************************************</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 9pt;">Disclaimer: I am not condoning drinking. I just feel that people should be aware of what they are doing to themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 9pt;">A lot of the information in this post is from <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;"><a href="http://www.brad21.org/">B.R.A.D.</a></span></span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;">(Be Responsible About Drinking, Inc)</span>.</span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-30652952761363055792010-02-18T21:09:00.001-05:002010-02-25T11:30:01.523-05:00Shana Rishobia<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">After being married for an entire month I can now officially say I am over the hill. Gone are the days of staying up late with the guys partying. No more is the late Purim Video filming. (And by late I don’t mean until 11:30 when I say that I have to go before my wife will come to get me.) No more are the antisocial meals where I hold the fork in one hand and the blackberry in the other (well sorta). Now I actually have to care about someone. Be concerned about someone’s feelings other then myself. Go out of my way to do things I never would have done before. (Dear, we’ve only been on the road for 5 minutes, do we really have to stop? I know there is an outlet mall, but still. I don’t mind the price difference. OK FINE!) I now even start preparing for Shabbos more than 10 minutes before Mincha! (Although I didn’t vacuum this week because I pushed it off for too long. Vacuum?? Did I say vacuum? Oy, how low have the mighty fallen! Vacuuming is for janitors.)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">But don’t worry. I’m not complaining. I knew about this before. I’ve seen what happened to my friends that got married before me. How they go from glory to obscurity with one little ring. OK, that’s not true. It’s a sad and slow decay from the day he pops the question. It starts with the giddiness of being unable to stand still or think straight. Then comes the all night pacing back and forth on the phone. The “date” to go pick out jewelry, silver, an apartment and who knows what else. He never returns your calls or texts, let alone answers the phone. You’ll be lucky if he listens to your voicemail, so on the odd chance you bump into him taking a shower at 3 o’clock in the morning he can mutter a response to you before he collapses on the couch. Then the wedding comes and now it’s really over. His appearances are few and far in between, and all he can talk about is his wedding, his wife and his sad old pathetic hen-pecked life. NO ONE CARES! REALLY!!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">So I knew it was going to happen to me. I wasn’t dumb enough to be one of those people who says, I’m not going to be like that. I was one of those people who said “when I get engaged, watch out, because I’m going to be a jerk.” I can’t tell you whether I was or wasn’t – that’s for my friends to decide. I’m sure they’ll all have different answers. No, that’s not what I learned from 1 month of marriage.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">The thing that took me by surprise which I wasn’t prepared for is something I coined Shana Rishobia. Write that down- it’s gonna be a common phrase one day. (I know, I know. I was kidding.) In short, Shana Rishobia is the fear that you will say or do something that your spouse of less than a year will misinterpret due to the fact that they don’t know you so well and think you meant something bad, so you feel the need to go out of your way to explain yourself excessively and end up digging yourself in a hole when you were never in one to begin with. (Shew – yes that was in short.) It goes from the understandable to the extreme. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">“Dear, the chicken you made tonight is delicious…. Not that the kugel was bad, that was good also…. No, really, the reason why I specified chicken is because that was the last thing I ate and I still had the taste in my mouth…. I should’ve mentioned that the kugel was good as well, but I was so enthralled by the aroma of the chicken I guess I got caught up in it… Not that I wasn’t enthralled by the aroma of the Kugel- I was, but I didn’t mention it. I’m sorry for being uncaring.” “I see. So you don’t like the Challah.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><i>[Interjection from wife person and pro-bono editor of said blogpost: in regard to the above example, I would like to spill a secret that many women would wish I keep to myself. Women only do this to their husbands out of their own insecurity that their first foray into true cooking has been unsuccessful. I, on the other hand, never had to resort to such underhanded tactics to get compliments on MY cooking. (Hey, and I’m modest too!)<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><i>Women are shana rishobia offenders too, just less obviously, and when they do fall into the trap, it’s usually because they comment on something negative that has a marginal reference to their husbands and they must defend their husbands’ honor. It’s about feeling good regarding themselves and who they chose to marry, not the dignity of the husband himself. So, husbands of the world, don’t feel too good about yourselves. She’s not trying to massage your ego; she’s trying to convince herself she didn’t marry a complete neb.]<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">To better illustrate my point, look at the following comic from Baby Blues.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arcamax.com/newspics/11/1101/110187.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="http://www.arcamax.com/newspics/11/1101/110187.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">The reason why this comic is funny, is because that is clearly not what husband meant, yet his wife decided to take it absolutely the wrong way. The Baby Blues experts out there, will confirm to you that said husband and wife are not in their Shana Rishona, and therefore he didn’t have Shana Rishobia to protect him from this awful mess. Had it been within the Shana Rishona the conversation would have went something like this. “I’m going to start working out.” “Good idea, sweetie….. Not that you need to. It’s just that it’s always good to stay healthy…. And I just think this idea of yours is a good one…. Not that your other ideas are bad…. They are also good…. Like the idea to get me these red with black polka dots boxers for our anniversary. Brilliant.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">It’s reasonable when you think about it, but how far will you let it take you?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">“Hey honey, you need help bringing in the groceries?” “No it’s only a few bags.” “I could help you anyways.” “No, really, it’s OK, I could handle it.” “Well yeah I know you could handle it, I just thought I would offer…. Not because I didn’t think you can do it… I’m sure you can I was trying to be nice….. It’s not that you look weak or anything I just thought it would be polite if….. Why are you throwing tomatoes at me?”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">OK, so that’s a little more far-fetched. But then you have your classic example.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">“Oh wow, you look gorgeous tonight…” “Thank you.” (Awkward pause as she soaks in and revels in the fact that she was just complimented by her husband. He takes the silence as a scolding for not saying the words – “like always”.) “…..Uh, not that you didn’t look beautiful yesterday, you did. Really….. In fact even earlier today you looked great. I’m sorry, it was inconsiderate of me. Please don’t slap me?”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><i>[I would never! Plus, he always compliments me, so it’s no shocker there. Yes, I know, I married a good one (don’t let it go to your head, dear), at least it seems to be after one month, so in a year we might have to have an update on this one.]<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">All in all, it’s not a big deal. And especially with me. I have made the whole thing into a big joke. Starting a few days after the sheva brachos were over I made it my business that every time I said something suspicious, I would go out of my way to enumerate all the possibilities of things that I didn’t mean to imply. My wife hates it, but hey, I can’t say anything wrong!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;"><i>[Oh boy, oh boy, does he have a lot to learn….]</i></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-58263699728440088042009-12-22T01:32:00.000-05:002009-12-22T10:22:28.664-05:00Hello Charlotte! Got any Hotels?<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">***WARNING***</span></b><br />
<b> This is really more of a vent then a blog post. Please feel free not to read this</b><br />
<b>or to stop when you get bored. Thank you and enjoy the ride.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am in middle of writing a post on travel, but I’m going to put that one on hold for a little so I can write about my adventures the past 15 hours. <br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I had a really nice weekend in Columbus Ohio. I went in to spend some time with my Kallah and her family for Shabbos and the last couple days of Chanukah. My parents drove in from Chicago as well. It was the first time that my parent s met her parents and it was really nice. B”H. (We even got legally married on Sunday!) Friday night we walked outside to a gorgeous display of snowflakes falling from the sky, beautifully covering the streets and sidewalks. Now, I happen not to like snow. Growing up in Chicago, I learnt to deal with it, but being in Miami for the past 7 ½ years made me appreciate not having it. But despite the fact that I don’t like snow, it is a site to see when the night is black and the snow is calmly and peacefully making its way down softly untouched covering the blacktop with a thin sheet of heaven. Then you walk outside feel the cold and the euphoria is over. Meanwhile, while I was soaking in the flurries, the northeast was getting hammered by a foot of snow or more. Schools were being cancelled, flights were getting delayed, people were stuck inside their homes, but we knew not of anything of the sort as Shabbos in Columbus was beautiful. Sunday night came so quickly but before I knew it we were on the way back to the airport to all go our own ways. My parents had pulled out just a few hours before to start their drive back to Chicago. While Leah’s flight was delayed as Baltimore was still trying to dig out, my flight read on time all day. When I arrived at the airport and looked at the monitor, it said delayed, no specific time. My flight was going to take me through Charlotte, NC on my way to Fort Lauderdale. Being the fact that the weather was great and it wasn’t snowing in Columbus, Charlotte or Fort Lauderdale, hoped for the best. My flight was scheduled to depart at 7:50 and arrive a little after 9. I then had about 1 hour to make my connection in Charlotte at depart at 10:10 to fort Lauderdale. When I got to the gate they said that the plane was late arriving and is scheduled to land at 8:30. Being that it was a small load the turnaround would be really quick and we should hopefully arrive in Charlotte at 9:50, a mere 20 minutes before my next flight. The plane connection was in the same concourse as the landing flight so it wasn’t so crazy far. The lady went as far as switching my seat to the front row so I can get off as fast as possible. I asked her what would happen if I get stuck in Charlotte, she said they would put me up in a Hotel. Well, we hit the ground in Charlotte at about 9:45. I was ready to jump grab my stuff and go as soon as that fasten seatbelt sign turned off. The plane then stopped on the tarmac and the Captain got on and said that there was a plane at our gate, but don’t worry, ground ops said it should be gone in about 15 min. Uh, my plane leaves in 13 minutes. At this point I just started to laugh. The guy next to me had a connection at 10:15 he wasn’t going to make it either. That is unless the flights were delayed. When the plane finally pulled out of our gate at about 10:12 we started to pull up to the gate. We were pulling into gate C3 and my Fort Lauderdale flight was at C17. As we pulled by C17 I saw my plane pull out of the gate. <sigh> To add insult to injury, the crew that backed the previous plane out, left and we had to wait for a crew to come over and pull the Jet way up to the plane. After I got off the plane to confirm, yes, that was indeed the Fort Lauderdale flight that had pulled out of the gate just a few minutes ago. I went over to an agent to see what he can do and was informed that the entire next day was booked up solid to Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach. Not a single seat available. The can rebook me for Tuesday morning at 8:00 and put me on standby for Monday at 8:00. I then asked about the hotel and was informed that they don’t give hotels for weather and that the supervisor never put it in my notes and I would have to go to the Customer Service desk to see what they can do. I went over there and probably don’t need to describe to you the scene. Mayhem and madness. We’ve all seem to have been through it at least once. There were hundreds of people that just had no place to go. I waited patiently for my turn in line and when it was my turn I walked up to the desk and smiled. She asked me my name and I said “How’s your day going? I’m sure it’s been rough. I know you are really busy and I don’t want to take up to much of your time, I am sorry but I hope you can help me. I then proceeded to tell her my story how I’m stuck until possible Tuesday and the lady in Columbus said I would get a Hotel room but apparently didn’t put it in the notes. She didn’t say anything, punched a few things into her computer and said, here is your Hotel voucher. Be here by 7:30 tomorrow morning, hopefully you can make it on standby. Have a good night. Wow! Thanks a ton! I proceeded to my room for the night and sat and my bed and pointed out a few things to myself.<br />
</sigh><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">1. Thank G-D for the peanut butter and Jelly sandwich that my Mother-In-Law (remember, we are legally married) made and packed for me.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
2. When people are mad and screaming, try extra hard to be nice, you’ll stand out and get a lot further.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
3. Jelly Bellys aren’t nearly as good when you’re not fighting anybody for the good ones.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
4. There is nothing on TV at 1:00 on the morning.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
5. Being nice and making people smile goes a long way. (The lady next to me from the same flight was screaming and yelling for a room and they didn’t give her one. I left with my room ticket while they went to get a manager brought over.)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
6. Technology, when used properly, can be a really great and helpful tool. (Like I didn’t know that already.) I had sent out a text message to around 15 people as well as updated my Facebook and Twitter page saying the following: “Hello Charlotte, NC. Got any Hotels?” By the time I got to my room I had a few different places to stay at; the local Chabad, someone’s cousin, and a friend of a relative to name a few. I also had people offering to make phone calls to find a place for me for the night.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
7. The Jewish community is really nice and extensive.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
8. Thank G-D I have a Kallah that I can call to talk to her about my travels. It’s so great to know that you have loved ones who are concerned and care for you.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
9. I was really tired. Zzzzzzzzz……….<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I woke up a little after six this morning to get dressed, daven, pack up, eat some free oatmeal and take the 7:00 Shuttle back to the airport. I arrived back to mayhem and madness to a security line that was a good 30-40 minutes long. The monitors in the airport told me that the second flight out to fort Lauderdale had already been cancelled, but the first one was on time. I NEEDED to make this first flight. I was told the night before that my chances of making standby for the first flight were not really that bad as many people are missing connecting flights so there would potentially be seats that open up due to no-shows. The only problem was that it was 7:25 and with a security line like this there was a large chance I wouldn’t be able to get through security on time. I quickly walked down to the next concourse and saw the security line was quite a bit smaller, confirmed that I can get to my gate from here and proceeded through security in a mere 15 minutes. (Of course they needed to run a bag check to make sure those windshield wipers were legitimally windshield wipers. They were.) I ran over to gate D1 where they were boarding. I was informed I was number 8 on standby with only 2 seats open before no-shows. Baruch Hashem there were a lot of no-shows and I got on the plane without incident save for the massive verbal fight that the gate agent had with a traveler. I’m just happy that I made it back to Miami without a really crazy story. Thanks for letting me vent. I’m impressed you are still reading.<br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-70970667552036456892009-12-10T22:47:00.000-05:002009-12-14T14:11:31.519-05:00It's That Time of Year Again Part 3OK OK. Before there is a APB out for me for <a href="http://blog.sonofaposek.com/2009/12/its-that-time-of-year-again-part-2.html">posting</a> a Christmas video {gasp}, I want to rebut with a Chanukah video. (Although, this has its own controversy.) The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY9ImWxjiug">official YouTube posting </a>of this song has embedding disabled so I couldn't use it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<center><br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wcHFukECvMo&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wcHFukECvMo&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></center>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-35949023156992056862009-12-10T22:14:00.000-05:002009-12-10T22:20:25.768-05:00It's That Time of Year Again Part 2This video speaks for itself - watch the whole thing. (This is a Christmas song but it's part Jewish so I can post it! And if it wasn't, I probably still would post it.)<br />
<center><br />
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Fe11OlMiz8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Fe11OlMiz8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></center>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-61173255561142374842009-12-10T15:08:00.001-05:002017-01-01T18:58:39.604-05:00It's That Time of Year Again Part 1<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's that time of year again. The time where people see to be in a more upbeat mood because of the songs they play on the radio. Or because they are about to get a lot of presents. Either way, Christmas is that holiday that makes people happy, give presents and maybe smile at a stranger. (Is that taking it too far?) Christmas starts getting celebrated roughly around the same time that the metamucil wipes your system from all that cranberry soaked turkey. <br />
<br />
But the real amazing thing about Christmas (whether it's a good thing or not is for another time), is the fact that it takes over the holidays around it. For example, it is very rare to have a store put up a sign in April that says Happy Passover or in October Happy Succos. But it definitely isn't rare to see a store hang up a Happy Hanukkah. Only because people coucldn't have Merry Christmas signs without a Happy Hanukkah sign. Then the blacks got insulted that there was no Holiday for them, so they made their own.<br />
<br />
One of the things I love is that there are a lot of great songs and videos out there that were made for the Seasons Holidays that could always put you in a great mood. So in honor of the holiday season, I will post some of my favorite holiday related songs and videos that I like. Feel free to send me and if I like it enough I will post it. We are going to first start off with Chanukah so I won't feel so guilty. Today I'm going to start with some old <a href="http://www.woot.com/">Woot</a> Podcasts about Chanukah. <br />
<br />
The first one is from the day before Chanukah in 2006. There is a line or two in there that is not appropriate so use your own judgment when listening to it. The second one is from 2007 and the third is from 2008.<br />
<br />
Enjoy!</div>
<br />
<b>2006</b><br />
<br />
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<b>2007</b><br />
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<b>2008</b><br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>2009</b><br />
<br />
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<source src="http://files.woot.com/20091214-sy9fjb.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
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<!-- <embed allowscriptaccess="never" bgcolor="#ffffff" flashvars="playerMode=embedded" height="27" quality="best" src="http://www.google.com/reader/ui/3247397568-audio-player.swf?audioUrl=http://files.woot.com/20091214-sy9fjb.mp3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" wmode="window"></embed> -->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-71044633104454261722009-12-02T11:04:00.001-05:002009-12-02T18:35:40.241-05:00World Aids Day<div style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday as we all know was <a href="http://www.worldaidsday.org/">World Aids Day</a>. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_AIDS_Day">Wikipedia</a> it's <br />
</div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">...dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection.<br />
</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I posted on my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/AEFreedy">Facebook page</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/aefreedy">Twitter Feed</a> and Google Talk status the following: <br />
</div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Today is World AIDS Day. I think it should be called World Abstinence Awareness Day. #RED<br />
</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apparently some people had problems with that. So I will try to explain what I meant.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One person wrote: <br />
</div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">"World AIDS Day" defines the problem, for which there are multiple<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">solutions. Calling it "World Abstinence Awareness Day" defines Aids<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">only in terms of a single solution. And "World Abstinence Awareness<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Day" has other meanings too, which extend far beyond the scope of the<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aids issue<br />
</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My response:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">You say that calling it "World Abstinence Awareness Day" defines AIDS in terms of a single solution, forgetting about the other solutions. I disagree. "World Abstinence Awareness Day" is not one solution. It is <b>not a "solution" at all</b>. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">It's prevention</span>. While the people who have AIDS need help, I strongly believe that the larger issue at hand is the main cause of AIDS. When a person has frequent nose bleeds, of course he goes over and grabs a tissue. However his big concern will be why it's happening and how to get it to stop. I truly believe that the world should work more on prevention then they do.</span> (More on that later.)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He then mentioned: <br />
</div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Many people get Aids who are not promiscuous. Married people who<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">have a spouse that was not monogamous, drug abusers, and babies born<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">with Aids. They would directly benefit from other solutions than<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">abstinence, and deserve to be helped.<br />
</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My response:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">I never said that ANYONE with AIDS doesn't "deserve to be helped". For no matter what reason they have AIDS, the bottom line is that they have it and are sick and need help. Just because people make mistakes, or had people make mistakes for them, doesn't mean that they don't "deserve to be helped". However, all the types of people could have saved from prevention and I think that's the much bigger issue.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another person asked: <br />
</div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">What about all the people that have contracted AIDS through blood transfusions? Should we all abstain from giving and receiving blood?<br />
</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My response:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">If people only got AIDS from blood transfusions, trust me they wouldn't make a big deal about it. They have </span><a href="http://www.aminumber12.org/"><span style="color: black;">World Hepatitis Day</span></a><span style="color: red;"> and </span><a href="http://worldpneumoniaday.org/"><span style="color: black;">World Pneumonia Day</span></a><span style="color: red;">. They even </span><a href="http://www.worldmalariaday.org/"><span style="color: black;">World Malaria Day</span></a><span style="color: red;">. But almost no one heard of them nor does anyone make a big deal about it. The reason why World AIDS Day is so huge is directly due to a lack of abstinence - and not abstinence of blood transfusions.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I want to add that I don't think a "World Abstinence Awareness Day" will do ANYTHING and "World AIDS Day" brings awareness to the problem. I am in no way or form against World Aids Day. However it bothers me that we are ignoring the elephant in the room. This all can be avoided in the future yet we don't say anything about it. I don't really think it should be called "World Abstinence Awareness Day", I do however feel that a part of it should be dedicated to stressing abstinence. Now the truth is, that I don't even think that will do anything, because todays society is so filthy and morally corrupt that you could scream abstinence from today until tomorrow and it will barley do anything about it. But once again, I think you can't ignore the elephant in the room and not say anything. It sort of becomes like they are approving it.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hope that helps explain. Looking forward to hearing your comments.<br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-86181541477037121222009-12-01T09:49:00.000-05:002009-12-01T09:53:08.509-05:00The Goverment Can by Tim Hawkins<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The following YouTube video is great. But its great because the song is good. While its a good song (even maybe a very good song), its not a awesome song. Its your standard right wing media type song that you would hear on <a href="http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/">Rush Limbaugh</a>, <a href="http://www.glennbeck.com/">Glenn Beck</a>, <a href="http://www.schnittshow.com/">The Schnitt Show</a>, etc etc. However what makes this video great is <a href="http://www.timhawkins.net/">Tim Hawkins</a>. He is the guy in the video. His acting in the video is phenomenal. At first it looks a bit childish with cheesy green screen tricks, but all in all its fabulous. The key thing that I think is so unbelievable is the incredible facial expressions that Tim has. </span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;">What I noticed in my experience of doing plays and videos is that no one really knows what makes a person laugh. You can have it all on paper and it's hilarious, but then when you show it it's a dead brick. To find that nitch that actually makes people laugh is a real talent. After seeing this video, I really believe that Tim Hawkins has some extraordinary talent. (Now whether or not he will choose to use it properly is a whole different ballgame.)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
</div><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LO2eh6f5Go0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LO2eh6f5Go0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Lyrics:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px;">(Hey everybody! Gather 'round! I'm here to give you anything you like! You want a car, money, mortages?! Whatever you like! You have come to the right place! Why? I'll tell you why!)<br />
<br />
Who can take your money? (Who can take your money?)<br />
With a twinkle in their eye? (With a twinkle in their eye?)<br />
Take it all away and<br />
Give it to some other guy<br />
<br />
[Chorus]<br />
The Government (the Government)<br />
The Government can! (The Government can!)<br />
<br />
Who can tax the Sun rise? (Who can watch the Sun rise?)<br />
Who can tax the trees? (Who can touch the trees?)<br />
Let you run a business and<br />
Collect up all the fees<br />
<br />
[Chorus]<br />
<br />
The Government can 'cause<br />
They mix it up with lies and<br />
Make it all taste good! (Make it all taste good!)<br />
<br />
The Government takes<br />
Everything we make<br />
To pay for all of their "sollutions"<br />
Healthcare, Climate Change, Pollution<br />
(Throw away the Constitution)<br />
<br />
Who can give a bailout? (Who can give a bailout?)<br />
Tell us to behave? (Tell us to behave?)<br />
Make the Founding Fathers<br />
Roll over in their graves<br />
<br />
[Chorus]<br />
<br />
The Government takes<br />
Everything we make<br />
They're power hungry<br />
And malicious<br />
<br />
The economics are fictitious<br />
Soon we'll have to eat our dishes<br />
Mmm! Delicious!<br />
<br />
Who can be a failure? (Who can be a failure?)<br />
In so many ways? (In so many ways?)<br />
Instead of getting fired, HEY!<br />
We'll give ourselves a raise!<br />
<br />
[Chorus]<br />
<br />
The Government can 'cause<br />
He mix it up with lies and<br />
Make it all taste good! (Make it all taste good!)<br />
And your Uncle Sam can 'cause<br />
He mixes it with lies and<br />
Makes it all taste good! (Makes it all taste good!)<br />
<br />
And I feel so good<br />
Because the Government<br />
Says I should! Oh!...</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-6672174126925302392009-10-29T22:31:00.001-04:002009-10-29T22:32:13.508-04:00"Problems"<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Many times people forget to look around and see what they have. They are too busy caught up complaining about everything that is going wrong, they have no time to see what is going right. This is expounded when the “problems” they are complaining about are really blessings but they fail to seeor notice it. The most common example is when people have a simcha. Some people will complain how everything is so hard to do and there is so much to take care of and yada yada yada. They are so caught up in complaining that they fail to see the people standing on the sidelines davening to Hashem that they should have such “problems”. People who don’t have many simchos in their life don’t have to worry about where to put up the guests, or how to pay for the expenses. There are many people that would love to have to figure out ways to deal with these “problems”. As I prepare for my wedding on January 18<sup>th</sup>, there will be many times that I will encounter “problems” along the way. It’s very easy to just complain about how it is so hard to have to work on all these things. Hopefully, I will be able to remind myself that there are plenty of people out there who can’t find a shidduch and would love to be planning for their wedding. I want to thank Hashem for giving me these “problems” and look forward to more “problems” that come from good things.<br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117106587552732557.post-74514002250191181742009-10-01T15:58:00.000-04:002010-02-23T09:22:19.855-05:00About Me<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI83sdnduohTWf5uimQizK7D-4KFUnfkSwyM4V0BCPnuheSBG2aomHiy3gzjlXAFUOloNwKw5unjX4fY7jRuYfsoXmFekAvNfFIo47rKUC_qVkFoNJp_wYQX114Z6gN_2JxQcwO1IZzAw/s1600/Leah-AvrohomEliezer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI83sdnduohTWf5uimQizK7D-4KFUnfkSwyM4V0BCPnuheSBG2aomHiy3gzjlXAFUOloNwKw5unjX4fY7jRuYfsoXmFekAvNfFIo47rKUC_qVkFoNJp_wYQX114Z6gN_2JxQcwO1IZzAw/s200/Leah-AvrohomEliezer.jpg" /></a>My name is <a href="http://www.google.com/profiles/101864397410913978896">Avrohom Eliezer Friedman</a>.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was born on January 11th 1986 in New York City. My family moved to Chicago, IL, where I grew up, when I was around 2 years old. I went to <a href="http://jdbyytt.org/">Yeshiva Tifferes Tzvi</a> and <a href="http://www.ariecrown.org/">Arie Crown</a> in Elementary School in Chicago. I then went to Mesivta Chofetz Chaim/Rabbinical Seminary of America, then located in Forest Hills New York, for 9th 10th and 11th grade in High School. I boarded at my grandparents who lived in Rego Park when I was in 9th and 10th Grade, and then moved wioth them to Kew Gardens Hills for 11th. After 11th Grade, at the suggestion of my principal Rabbi Shlomo Yonasan Harris, I then went down to <a href="http://www.ytcteam.org/">Yeshiva Toras Chaim</a> in Miami where I started learning in Bais Medrash. In my 5th year in Miami, I started working for the Yeshiva part time in the morning in their Financial Office as their Alumni Coordinator. The following year I continued working for them but now in a full time role. I took over their IT Department as well as started working on some fundraising projects. I currently still work there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECdalP-OSvsV-MUsz_aXjznWOdni3m4YOf9wA0-sl1XtqN6iBlHPQm_KGEdJD528UZ31BQZ_ZyUJkVcKXITEB35-AsaIM4KTo0tsAcDL1TyiWdvKy-cpDR1H59vHP5CtV5vISfRziyEI/s1600-h/Rabbi-Friedman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECdalP-OSvsV-MUsz_aXjznWOdni3m4YOf9wA0-sl1XtqN6iBlHPQm_KGEdJD528UZ31BQZ_ZyUJkVcKXITEB35-AsaIM4KTo0tsAcDL1TyiWdvKy-cpDR1H59vHP5CtV5vISfRziyEI/s200/Rabbi-Friedman.jpg" /></a>My father is Rabbi Ephraim Friedman. My father also went to Mesivta Chofetz Chaim/Rabbinical Seminary of America for High School. After he graduated, he then learned for two years in the Yeshivas' Israel branch. He then returned to the Rabbinical Seminary of America and joined their Bais Medrash program. My father has multiple jobs in the Chicago community. He moved to Chicago around 1988 to join the <a href="http://www.cckollel.org/">Chicago Community Kollel</a>, where he learnt for close to 20 years. In the summer of 2000 he was hired by Beis Hamedrash Mikor Hachaim where he joined their staff as a Rebbe and Morah Hora'ah. Over the years he has gotten more involved in the Beis Medrash where he now gives weekly Shiurim and is available to talk to memebers of the Beis Medrash upon request. Additionally, he teaches a 11th grade girls Halacha Shiur in Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School. A few years ago he started working for the <a href="http://www.crcweb.org/">Chicago Rabbinical Council</a>, as a Dayan on their <a href="http://www.crcweb.org/bethdin.php">Beth Din</a>. Recently he increased his role there and now is available to <a href="http://www.crcweb.org/answers_to_shaalos.php">answer sha'alos</a> on weekday afternoons. He also learns in the mornings in the Choshen Mishpat Kollel under the leadership of Rabbi Zev Cohen located in <a href="http://adasyeshurun.com/">Adas Yeshurun</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My mother is Mrs. Yitty Friedman. She currently teaches a full day in <a href="http://jdbyytt.org/">Yeshiva Tifferes Tzvi</a>. In the mornings she works in the Remedial Room and in the afternoon she teaches 4th Grade boys. She also gives numerous shiurim around the community and is involved with many Chessed programs in Chicago.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10tGvCMhxjAsueAtah6xnH29hoK40Xlbg_Nd5Mmjmo15ouKVQXb58irsR8lnkmADVN5zQEjXtE81mU4mH2OyCjPhAjhthYLeEAOvFmlt4Wt-b4Sx0b-lw7g8xbs75RVZ-obEEHEenawI/s1600-h/IMG_2153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10tGvCMhxjAsueAtah6xnH29hoK40Xlbg_Nd5Mmjmo15ouKVQXb58irsR8lnkmADVN5zQEjXtE81mU4mH2OyCjPhAjhthYLeEAOvFmlt4Wt-b4Sx0b-lw7g8xbs75RVZ-obEEHEenawI/s200/IMG_2153.jpg" /></a>My sister, Sima Rochel, was born on December 29th 1984. She <a href="http://www.onlysimchas.com/v4/index.cfm/fuseaction:simcha.view/simchaid:46192">married</a> Moshe Hollander on Febuary 23rd 2006 and they currently live in Kew Gardens Hills, NY. They are the proud parents of twins, Miriam and Avraham Yitzchak.<br />
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<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On October 23rd 2009, I became <a href="http://www.onlysimchas.com/v4/index.cfm/fuseaction:simcha.view/simchaid:88329">engaged</a> to Miss Leah Hauser from Columbus Ohio. We got married on January 18th 2010. We live in North Miami Beach, Florida. My wife is the inspiration of this blog. Once while we were dating, I mentioned that I was thinking of starting a blog so I'll have an excuse to write every now and then. She pushed me to start it so here you have it. Enjoy!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17183819843187188574noreply@blogger.com1