Ask you no forgiveness
Hope I've done you no wrong
Pray God feel the same way
When the gavel sings its song.
So many people say
I'm Sorry.
They beg forgiveness too,
Empty words
They do cry.
Sin again
again they do.
I forgive all,
not needing to be asked.
You should all do the same
so in brazenness you don't ask:
God please forgive me
for all my sins.
Though, I will do them again
In action, mind, body,
and heart.
Here's to you God,
Praying you're not too smart.
But God sees all
He knows all too
Forgiveness
A gift he bestows on you.
Act like Hashem
Act like God
For though he knows
you'll do it again
Quick to forgive
all of our sin.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Moving beyond guilt...
(And onto the path of Teshuvah.)
Jewish Guilt, we have all heard the term at one time or another. It is usually meant in a derogatory way to show how the Jewish people have so many obligations that they are choosing to ignore but still feeling guilty for doing so.
It is hard to be a Jew, these same people bemoan. How can I be Jewish when there is so much asked of me? I would rather be doing something different, alas I was born Jewish. It's hard, but what can I do? I can't choose who my parents happened to be.
It is at this point that there is a choice. Stay with the faith of birth, or choose another less demanding faith to believe in. These are the two extremes. There are many other choices in between, various levels of observance, various levels of belief.
There is however another choice, one that has nothing to do with faith, nothing to do with observance, and everything to do with the Jewish community as a whole. Jewish guilt is not a personal thing that Jews go through. It is hard to be a Jew is not something an individual Jew actually feels in his heart. They are statements about the community as a whole, and not something that has to weigh on the individual in his path to greatness.
Jewish Guilt is not something that individual Jews feel for their sins. It is the collective guilt we all feel for the fact that so many of us have been lost to the ages, lost to sin, lost to death, and lost to history. It is the guilt we all feel for the fact that we have not lived up to God's promise to Avraham that we would be a great nation. We have been like the stars, but we have lost our sparkle; we have been like the sand, but we have lost our fine grain.
It is hard to be a Jew is not the cry of backbreaking labor. The hardship of being Jewish is a fallacy. It is not hard to be Jewish anymore than it is hard to embrace any community. When you accept yourself as part of a community, and the community accepts you in return, you become a member of an organization. The organization becomes a part of you. It is only hard to be a Jew when you are part of the organization and you don't really want to be a part. It is only hard to be Jewish when you are not willing to let the community shoulder some of your personal guilt. It is only hard to be a Jew when the community feels that your personal guilt is too much to bear.
On Yom Kippur the confession that we say is not a personal confession. We do not go into a little booth in the back and tell the Rabbi all the things we have done wrong in the past year. Just the opposite, everything in the Teffilah (Prayer) is plural. We are speaking with one voice, one person, one heart. We are asking God to forgive Us. Each one of us stands before Hashem and asks him for forgiveness as part of the whole nation of Israel. We each do not stand alone, however, we all stand as One.
On your own there is worry, guilt, angst, and desperation. You worry that you are not doing things correctly, you feel guilt when something goes wrong, angst and desperation when you think nothing you do will ever be correct. As part of a group, while there may be group pressure for you to act in a certain way, in the end you get certainty. You get a subjective experience that is rooted in something more than your own brain. You get comfort, belonging, and an existence where your brothers and sisters help shoulder the guilt in an all encompassing One.
Jewish Guilt, we have all heard the term at one time or another. It is usually meant in a derogatory way to show how the Jewish people have so many obligations that they are choosing to ignore but still feeling guilty for doing so.
It is hard to be a Jew, these same people bemoan. How can I be Jewish when there is so much asked of me? I would rather be doing something different, alas I was born Jewish. It's hard, but what can I do? I can't choose who my parents happened to be.
It is at this point that there is a choice. Stay with the faith of birth, or choose another less demanding faith to believe in. These are the two extremes. There are many other choices in between, various levels of observance, various levels of belief.
There is however another choice, one that has nothing to do with faith, nothing to do with observance, and everything to do with the Jewish community as a whole. Jewish guilt is not a personal thing that Jews go through. It is hard to be a Jew is not something an individual Jew actually feels in his heart. They are statements about the community as a whole, and not something that has to weigh on the individual in his path to greatness.
Jewish Guilt is not something that individual Jews feel for their sins. It is the collective guilt we all feel for the fact that so many of us have been lost to the ages, lost to sin, lost to death, and lost to history. It is the guilt we all feel for the fact that we have not lived up to God's promise to Avraham that we would be a great nation. We have been like the stars, but we have lost our sparkle; we have been like the sand, but we have lost our fine grain.
It is hard to be a Jew is not the cry of backbreaking labor. The hardship of being Jewish is a fallacy. It is not hard to be Jewish anymore than it is hard to embrace any community. When you accept yourself as part of a community, and the community accepts you in return, you become a member of an organization. The organization becomes a part of you. It is only hard to be a Jew when you are part of the organization and you don't really want to be a part. It is only hard to be Jewish when you are not willing to let the community shoulder some of your personal guilt. It is only hard to be a Jew when the community feels that your personal guilt is too much to bear.
On Yom Kippur the confession that we say is not a personal confession. We do not go into a little booth in the back and tell the Rabbi all the things we have done wrong in the past year. Just the opposite, everything in the Teffilah (Prayer) is plural. We are speaking with one voice, one person, one heart. We are asking God to forgive Us. Each one of us stands before Hashem and asks him for forgiveness as part of the whole nation of Israel. We each do not stand alone, however, we all stand as One.
On your own there is worry, guilt, angst, and desperation. You worry that you are not doing things correctly, you feel guilt when something goes wrong, angst and desperation when you think nothing you do will ever be correct. As part of a group, while there may be group pressure for you to act in a certain way, in the end you get certainty. You get a subjective experience that is rooted in something more than your own brain. You get comfort, belonging, and an existence where your brothers and sisters help shoulder the guilt in an all encompassing One.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Looking the Fool or acting as God? (To Talk or not to Talk)
There is always a risk, a risk of saying something wrong and looking like a fool in front of everyone. Every time I open my mouth I feel this risk. The risk is that people will raise their eyebrow in a weird sense disgust. The rewards though, are unlimitedly satisfying. Every word out in the world, like a hammer knocking into a wall and chipping away some of the plaster. My words make an impact. The waves that reverberate from my vocal cords do not end at the ears of the listener. They are digested, accepted, or rejected. They have impact.
When God created the world with the words, "Let it be!", did he look over at the angels looking for their approval. Did he give a sidelong glance hoping for a nod from another? NO, he did nothing of the sort. He saw that it was good. He looked at the world and approved of the ripples his actions had created. But God is One, there is no other for him to look for approval from. To teach us humility God says to the angels, "let us make man." In man there must be some sort of society of approval.
There is always the question when acting and speaking, to act like God creating the world or God creating man. Do you look for approval, even if it is only an allusion? Do you say what you want and find it good no matter what the consequences happen to turn out to be?
Different people have different natural tendencies when it comes to answering this question. Some people think so long they end up impacting nothing outside of themselves. Others don't think at all, blurting out everything that comes to mind, they too have no impact outside of themselves; their voice gets relegated to the white noise that exists all around us. What type of person are you?
I know for myself, in real life, I come very close to the white noise type of person. Creating so much I create nothing, all acts of creation turned to random chance, and every word ignored by the people around me. I let the fact that I want to get the words out over power the fact that sometimes the people listening don't really have their ears open. Conversations end in long pauses, long drawn out Yes', and people walking off having gained nothing from what I have said. Do I care? I suppose the goal for this year is to let my ears do more of the talking.
For the rest of you who have trouble talking, the world wants to hear from you. The world want's to hear what you have to say. You may risk looking like a fool if you say something stupid, but isn't the risk worth it? You can create worlds just like God, waves just like the moon, and thunder like the roar of a lion.
"Better to keep your mouth shut and have people wonder if you are a fool than give people the satisfaction of certainty at your stupidity." I say- have the certainty, as well as any food for thought you happen to be mocking.
-This is dedicated to all the people who ignore what I have to say, and all the people who give me their ear as I talk it off, but most of all it is dedicated to all you regular people named Joe, Frank, Yankel, Susan, Tisha, and of course the greatest one of them all- The Rabbi who keeps us all late to tell us something we all heard so many times before, knowing full well it will go in one ear and out the other, but hoping that just this once he can make a difference.
When God created the world with the words, "Let it be!", did he look over at the angels looking for their approval. Did he give a sidelong glance hoping for a nod from another? NO, he did nothing of the sort. He saw that it was good. He looked at the world and approved of the ripples his actions had created. But God is One, there is no other for him to look for approval from. To teach us humility God says to the angels, "let us make man." In man there must be some sort of society of approval.
There is always the question when acting and speaking, to act like God creating the world or God creating man. Do you look for approval, even if it is only an allusion? Do you say what you want and find it good no matter what the consequences happen to turn out to be?
Different people have different natural tendencies when it comes to answering this question. Some people think so long they end up impacting nothing outside of themselves. Others don't think at all, blurting out everything that comes to mind, they too have no impact outside of themselves; their voice gets relegated to the white noise that exists all around us. What type of person are you?
I know for myself, in real life, I come very close to the white noise type of person. Creating so much I create nothing, all acts of creation turned to random chance, and every word ignored by the people around me. I let the fact that I want to get the words out over power the fact that sometimes the people listening don't really have their ears open. Conversations end in long pauses, long drawn out Yes', and people walking off having gained nothing from what I have said. Do I care? I suppose the goal for this year is to let my ears do more of the talking.
For the rest of you who have trouble talking, the world wants to hear from you. The world want's to hear what you have to say. You may risk looking like a fool if you say something stupid, but isn't the risk worth it? You can create worlds just like God, waves just like the moon, and thunder like the roar of a lion.
"Better to keep your mouth shut and have people wonder if you are a fool than give people the satisfaction of certainty at your stupidity." I say- have the certainty, as well as any food for thought you happen to be mocking.
-This is dedicated to all the people who ignore what I have to say, and all the people who give me their ear as I talk it off, but most of all it is dedicated to all you regular people named Joe, Frank, Yankel, Susan, Tisha, and of course the greatest one of them all- The Rabbi who keeps us all late to tell us something we all heard so many times before, knowing full well it will go in one ear and out the other, but hoping that just this once he can make a difference.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
My Grandmother has passed: Baruch Dayan Emes
Grandma is gone. She is dead. Yesterday she was alive and not feeling well, today she is dead and feeling nothing. Is there sadness, is there joy? Sadness for what we all lost, joy for her no longer living in pain and suffering, or is there just pain?
For the past year Grandma has not been feeling well. She has had back problems, diabetes, and a few other things I probably don't even know about. When I last spoke to her she lamented the fact that she did not live a more healthy lifestyle. She was sick with diabetes for a large portion of her senior years. She enjoyed eating and that enjoyment caught up with her in the end. I told her she should not be sad, she lived a happy life, an enjoyable life, full of life. What reason was there to regret, to feel sad that you had some fun as a young person? She accepted what I said, it comforted her, and when my father went down to Florida to see her she expressed similar sentiments.
For years my grandparents used to come over to visit for a few hours. My parents would make a nice spread of milchigs and we would all eat together. When it was time to leave us kids would always chase the car down the street, we never wanted them to leave. Grandpa, strong stable and opinionated; Grandma, warm and caring. Then they moved down to Florida and stopped coming to visit. We all expressed a desire to go down there and see them, but they said it would be too much for all of us to come down at once, and we never did.
A while after moving down to Florida they got into a car accident. A kid rear-ended them and caused my grandma a lot of time in the hospital. She would not press charges. He was just a kid who would learn his lesson next time. She had compassion, even for the kid who accidentally ran a car into her.
Every time I would get on the phone she would always want to hear how I was doing. She used to Shep Nachas from the littlest things that went on in my life, praising me for things that I didn't even know were worthy of praise. Like only a grandma can do, my voice sounded fantastic, I looked very hansom, and I was destined to do great things, no matter what those things happened to be.
It is hard to find unconditional love. The love of a parent is many times very conditional of following the wishes of the parent. The love of a brother is conditional on not beating him up that often. But the love of a grandparent is something that can not be beaten. It is truly unconditional. Now that my grandma is gone, I feel that lack of love in the world.
My mother told me, the conversation she had with my grandma was about the fact that I had just passed a big test. Grandma was so proud, and when I hear that I cried. There was something missing in the world that will never be replaced.
While the world and myself has lost some of the love that was there, I am not all sad. In the end of her life she was in a lot of pain and suffering. She lost tons of weight, unhealthful, and was confined to a bed all day. When speaking to her for the last time she sounded very weak and frail, I just could not stand being on the phone. It was so sad. She knew the end of life was near. She gave the doctors a do not resuscitate order when she went into the ICU, and a few days later she was gone. God gives life at birth, and takes life at death.
Last Rosh Hashanah we all all asked the question, “who will live and who will die?” We all wondered what our fate would be for this coming year. Tomorrow night is Rosh Hashanah again, and again we will ask the same question. For my grandmother the answer was that this past year was her last. She did not make it to the next Rosh Hashanah. The thought just makes tears come to my eyes.
When I woke up this morning the first thing my mother told me was that my grandmother had passed a few hours ago. All I could think about was the Halachik ramifications of a person dying before a holiday and not being able to be buried until after. She lived in Florida and would be buried in New York. My father would have to spend the whole Yom Tov in a state of limbo, the body unburied, the funeral undone, imagining that all is right with the world. Just when everything starts to make sense, the funeral would come Monday morning, and a whole seven days of mourning to follow. The reality of the situation only hit me about an hour later listening to my father on the phone arranging for a shmira for the body of the whole Yom Tov. My grandmother was truly no longer living, and for a moment I cried.
May all of us who bring so many happiness have long and healthy lives. May we live to do good deeds, bringing joy to the world by our presence. May this year be one of life for those that are living, and peace for those that are not. May we all be written in the Book of Good Life.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Mike's Superpower MeMe
Over at MikeInMidwood Mike has decided to tag me in a MeMe that seems very interesting. What superpower would I choose if given the choice. To prepare a response to this wonderful question I went to my DVD collection and re-watched all the DVDs that discussed superpowers and superheros. I re-watched Jumper to learn about teleportation; Superman to learn about super-strength; True Blood to learn about mind-reading and shape-shifting;rapping it up with every season of Heroes ever aired. I was finally ready to choose a superpower. When it came to making my final choice, I couldn't choose.
Instead of choosing a superpower, I decided to let the superpower choose me. I got myself some radioactive spiders and had them bite me in the hopes that I would turn into Spiderman. I bombarded myself with high doses of radiation in the hopes of turning into Atom-man. I even ate a whole bottle of ginkgo biloba praying that I would get the super-smart superpower. Instead of getting any sort of superpower I ended up read sick with radiation poisoning.
There had to be a better way to get super without resorting to pseudo-scientific means. I put on my thinking cap. Everyone knows that when a person gets a superpower it is a manifestation of their own inner desire and personality. In order to get my superpower I would have to find out who I really am. I went to Israel, the Jewish Tibet. It was there that I found out what my superpower really was.
I was meant to learn in Kollel for the rest of my life. I would be the super Yeshiva Guy, always on time for learning, always learning the same sugya in Brachos about time. It was then that God decided to grant me the power to hear other's thoughts. Would you believe what all those people were thinking when they were throwing those rocks on Shabbos? Would you believe me if I told you they were all thinking about the bad Chulent they just ate?
You don't know what a burden it was to be able to read everyone's thoughts. I handled it pretty well though. For a person that doesn't get social cues very well mind-reading was a godsend. It litterally was a Godsend. Then one morning, it was gone, and I was back to my regular self.
(Thanks Mike for starting me on this train of thought. Good Meme.)
and now for tagging others....
I tag Mak of Frum in South Florida. I do so for one reason, I think her choice of superpower will be very cool. (Perhaps Dragon related, though I may be surprised) :)
I tag Harry-er than them all because, well just because.
I tag Rachel at Shavua Tov! because I want to know what kind of superpower it takes to convert to another religion.
The next tag goes to Jacob Da Jew just because I want to see if he picks Superdad as his superpower. (and because I'm just curious to see if he will do one of these things.)
Edit: Since loosing my power to read minds, I have been unable to discern who would and would not like to do the MeMe. It seems I have missed the obvious choice. I tag SuperRaisy because she is already super. I wonder what powers go along with that superness?
Lastly, anyone else with the name Frum in their name is also hereby tagged. Does being Frum make you have superpowers?
Instead of choosing a superpower, I decided to let the superpower choose me. I got myself some radioactive spiders and had them bite me in the hopes that I would turn into Spiderman. I bombarded myself with high doses of radiation in the hopes of turning into Atom-man. I even ate a whole bottle of ginkgo biloba praying that I would get the super-smart superpower. Instead of getting any sort of superpower I ended up read sick with radiation poisoning.
There had to be a better way to get super without resorting to pseudo-scientific means. I put on my thinking cap. Everyone knows that when a person gets a superpower it is a manifestation of their own inner desire and personality. In order to get my superpower I would have to find out who I really am. I went to Israel, the Jewish Tibet. It was there that I found out what my superpower really was.
I was meant to learn in Kollel for the rest of my life. I would be the super Yeshiva Guy, always on time for learning, always learning the same sugya in Brachos about time. It was then that God decided to grant me the power to hear other's thoughts. Would you believe what all those people were thinking when they were throwing those rocks on Shabbos? Would you believe me if I told you they were all thinking about the bad Chulent they just ate?
You don't know what a burden it was to be able to read everyone's thoughts. I handled it pretty well though. For a person that doesn't get social cues very well mind-reading was a godsend. It litterally was a Godsend. Then one morning, it was gone, and I was back to my regular self.
(Thanks Mike for starting me on this train of thought. Good Meme.)
and now for tagging others....
I tag Mak of Frum in South Florida. I do so for one reason, I think her choice of superpower will be very cool. (Perhaps Dragon related, though I may be surprised) :)
I tag Harry-er than them all because, well just because.
I tag Rachel at Shavua Tov! because I want to know what kind of superpower it takes to convert to another religion.
The next tag goes to Jacob Da Jew just because I want to see if he picks Superdad as his superpower. (and because I'm just curious to see if he will do one of these things.)
Edit: Since loosing my power to read minds, I have been unable to discern who would and would not like to do the MeMe. It seems I have missed the obvious choice. I tag SuperRaisy because she is already super. I wonder what powers go along with that superness?
Lastly, anyone else with the name Frum in their name is also hereby tagged. Does being Frum make you have superpowers?
Monday, September 14, 2009
Live Every Moment
It is easy to thoughtlessly move though life on autopilot. You get up, you do your thing, you go to work, come home and go back to sleep again. It is easy to get caught up in living the day to day and lose sight of the big picture, Life.
In all of our lives there are things that can be wake up calls for us to break the everyday monotony and do something different for a change. You can probably list on one hand the things that have happened to you personally that could have been used as a springboard for inspiration. You can probably list on that same hand the amount of times you have ignored that inspiration. The day to day catches you and draws you into it's web of comfort.
Eventually you wake up one day and realize, "what have I been doing with my life?" You have been letting the everyday humdrum guide your existence. You have lost your spontaneity of youth. At this point there is a crisis. It can happen in a person's "midlife", or it can happen at anytime in a person's short existence. At this point you probably do something extravagant like buy a real fancy car and get into a cat accident just to prove that you are still living. But this doesn't have to be how it goes.
A person can live there life in a constant state of New, where everyday is a new day, and every action has meaning. There is no routine, no idea of-because I did this yesterday I will do the same today. Everyday's actions are consciously considered on their own merits. Everyday is a real choice.
Some people see value in mindless action. Even mindless action brings some sort of reward. In the religious spectrum it is called, "From acting without intent comes actions with intent." This means that rote action will eventually lead to some benefit in the long run. In the secular world a person in a horrible job gets paid the same amount whether he is "into it" or not; all that counts is the eventual results and not the meaning behind the actions. However, there is always a price to pay. It is true that rote can eventually turn into something meaningful; and you get paid for a job well done, whether you liked doing the job or not. But, this is not always the case. Rote usually turns to rot and boredom. And unfulfilling work eventually costs a person his sanity.
There is only one moment in life, that moment is Now. Death is all the time you have spent, and will spend, doing things you don't really want to be doing. Every moment in agony is a moment in hell that you can never get back. There is a heaven and there is a hell; they are one in the same, they are a constant eternal rerun of your life. Live life and live eternally, live death and face and eternity repeating that death over and over again.
Live Life, Choose life, and may this coming year be one of life for all of us.
In all of our lives there are things that can be wake up calls for us to break the everyday monotony and do something different for a change. You can probably list on one hand the things that have happened to you personally that could have been used as a springboard for inspiration. You can probably list on that same hand the amount of times you have ignored that inspiration. The day to day catches you and draws you into it's web of comfort.
Eventually you wake up one day and realize, "what have I been doing with my life?" You have been letting the everyday humdrum guide your existence. You have lost your spontaneity of youth. At this point there is a crisis. It can happen in a person's "midlife", or it can happen at anytime in a person's short existence. At this point you probably do something extravagant like buy a real fancy car and get into a cat accident just to prove that you are still living. But this doesn't have to be how it goes.
A person can live there life in a constant state of New, where everyday is a new day, and every action has meaning. There is no routine, no idea of-because I did this yesterday I will do the same today. Everyday's actions are consciously considered on their own merits. Everyday is a real choice.
Some people see value in mindless action. Even mindless action brings some sort of reward. In the religious spectrum it is called, "From acting without intent comes actions with intent." This means that rote action will eventually lead to some benefit in the long run. In the secular world a person in a horrible job gets paid the same amount whether he is "into it" or not; all that counts is the eventual results and not the meaning behind the actions. However, there is always a price to pay. It is true that rote can eventually turn into something meaningful; and you get paid for a job well done, whether you liked doing the job or not. But, this is not always the case. Rote usually turns to rot and boredom. And unfulfilling work eventually costs a person his sanity.
There is only one moment in life, that moment is Now. Death is all the time you have spent, and will spend, doing things you don't really want to be doing. Every moment in agony is a moment in hell that you can never get back. There is a heaven and there is a hell; they are one in the same, they are a constant eternal rerun of your life. Live life and live eternally, live death and face and eternity repeating that death over and over again.
Live Life, Choose life, and may this coming year be one of life for all of us.
Get rid of Traffic Cops...
Have you ever been going down the highway at a speed way over the speed limit? You were probably cruising down the road without a care in the world, your foot firmly planted on the gas pedal. All of the sudden in the distance you can see the flashing lights of what looks like a police car in the distance.
What is your knee-jerk reaction?
Do you slow down and hope that by the time you are under the speed limit the cop will notice you and pass you by for some other more reckless speeder?
Probably not.
The more likely scenario is that you will slam on the breaks in the hopes that you can get down below the speed limit so as not to be noticed by the police car.
Is this safe?
Probably not.
I wonder how many accidents were caused just by police trying to catch people in the act of speeding. I wonder how many accidents could be prevented a year if they would just let the speeders go as fast as they want?
The world would be so much better off without traffic enforcement.
What is your knee-jerk reaction?
Do you slow down and hope that by the time you are under the speed limit the cop will notice you and pass you by for some other more reckless speeder?
Probably not.
The more likely scenario is that you will slam on the breaks in the hopes that you can get down below the speed limit so as not to be noticed by the police car.
Is this safe?
Probably not.
I wonder how many accidents were caused just by police trying to catch people in the act of speeding. I wonder how many accidents could be prevented a year if they would just let the speeders go as fast as they want?
The world would be so much better off without traffic enforcement.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Broken Computer,Expensive replacement, it should be an atonement
Yesterday,while sitting at my computer, I heard the distinct sound of my hard drive on it's last legs. I could hear the spinning of the disk inside the drive and the little arm inside just trying to read and write the data, failing miserably. I pressed the power button and turned the computer off, hoping that maybe once I turned it back on there would be enough time for me to backup all the data I foolishly forgot to backup. I was not so lucky.
I turned the computer on only to be told that there was no hard drive available to turn on, and a nice noise that sounded like a click, click, clicking sound of the arm trying and failing to read the disk. My disk was dead, my data was lost, and all I could think of doing was throwing the computer on the floor and stepping on it a few time to see if perhaps that would do the trick.
After considering punishing the computer for it's infraction I suddenly got a brilliant idea. Why dispair when I can just buy a new hard-drive tomorrow? This time I can get one that is guaranteed not to break from falling on the floor a few times. That is exactly what I did.
I bought a new SSD (solid state drive) which has no moving parts to break, is much faster, and 5x as expensive. I went to J&R in Manhattan and bought the Imation 27511 2.5" 128GB M-Class SATA SSD for $380 after tax. I got home slipped it into my computer, and an hour later I am back up and running again.
The drive is super quiet since there are no moving parts inside. The time it takes to transfer files is much faster than any regular hard disk. My laptop feels lighter now since the disk is much lighter than the one I had before. Overall, while I don't wish a dead computer on anyone, if your computer has to go make sure you take backups, and make sure you get a SSD as a replacement.
I turned the computer on only to be told that there was no hard drive available to turn on, and a nice noise that sounded like a click, click, clicking sound of the arm trying and failing to read the disk. My disk was dead, my data was lost, and all I could think of doing was throwing the computer on the floor and stepping on it a few time to see if perhaps that would do the trick.
After considering punishing the computer for it's infraction I suddenly got a brilliant idea. Why dispair when I can just buy a new hard-drive tomorrow? This time I can get one that is guaranteed not to break from falling on the floor a few times. That is exactly what I did.
I bought a new SSD (solid state drive) which has no moving parts to break, is much faster, and 5x as expensive. I went to J&R in Manhattan and bought the Imation 27511 2.5" 128GB M-Class SATA SSD for $380 after tax. I got home slipped it into my computer, and an hour later I am back up and running again.
The drive is super quiet since there are no moving parts inside. The time it takes to transfer files is much faster than any regular hard disk. My laptop feels lighter now since the disk is much lighter than the one I had before. Overall, while I don't wish a dead computer on anyone, if your computer has to go make sure you take backups, and make sure you get a SSD as a replacement.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Why don't we learn from history?
History repeats itself, I was told in a high school history class. History repeats itself and we have to learn from the mistakes already make so that we don’t make the same mistakes again. This was the reason we had to learn history. If you don’t learn about what happened before, you are doomed to do the same stupid things over and over again. A fool is someone who does the same thing over and over again expecting different results each time.
The problem is that history keeps repeating itself no matter how many history classes are taught in High School and College. People continue to make the same mistakes over and over again, as if they are doomed to repeat them and never learn any lesson. Why don’t we learn from history and improve on the future instead of making the same mistakes over and over again?
When we look at history, what do we see? Do we see a string of mistakes that need correcting in the future? Or do we see a string of successes that have contributed to the progress in technological and human innovation?
In my mind it is the latter, we see the good things that have happened to bring us to the current point in time. We see all the wonderful things that have expanded the human lifespan, grew our food supply to sustain such a big population, and gave all the amenities that the kings of old would look on in envy. We don’t see all the so called mistakes that we are supposed to learn from, because all the good things that have happened have over powered the little mistakes that we have made along the way.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that the little mistakes are an inevitable part of humanity striving to better its condition. If allowed freedom of action, freedom to pursue its happiness, humanity will undoubtedly make mistakes along the way. Even in a controlled environment, it is impossible to calculate all the variables necessary to rule out all “bad” consequences of actions that bring about progress.
The history professors of the world would have you believe that learning about mistakes will prevent their repetition. People will get wiser from the knowledge they have gained by learning the stories of the past. In truth, this is not the case at all; people make the same mistakes over and over again for one simple reason: these same mistakes lead to good things for humanity in the long run. After so many years of death and destruction, war still exists and is a thriving industry. Even after looking at all the miserable people taking drugs, people continue to indulge. Staying up all night, a person vowed never to do such a thing again, yet the next time he does it anyway. The list is endless; there are so many follies that people have done and continue to do. Even knowing all the lessons of history, people still say, “the ends justify the means” and “you have to break a few eggs to get an omelet.”
Humanity is a risk taking species. While some individuals would like to hide from risks; as a community, people like taking risks. Corporations were developed with the goal of taking on risks to get large rewards. Countries were developed to pool the risk over large amounts of people for protection and war. However, there are always two sides to risk. There is the possible loss as well as the possible gain. When you spread the risk over many people the perceived gains always override the possible losses. So long as humanity remains humanity, history will continue to repeat itself. People will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. In the risky roll of the dice you don’t always win. In the end though, it’s all worth it. Look how far we have come.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Human Alliance Against Stress
As part of our charter we the Human Alliance Against Stress, hereby known as HAAS, do commit to these following 10 principles so that we can live a stress free existence.
- Stay in bed for as long as possible. Don't force yourself to stay in bed, do what comes natural, and get out of bed only when you feel truly well rested.
- Move as little as possible throughout the day. When a task needs to get done, don't do it very fast. Move in a lackadaisical fashion that will get the task done Eventually.
- Live life with the motto that "It's all small stuff," and you don't want to stress the small stuff.
- When you need to get anywhere, Take a Taxi. Let the taxi driver deal with the stress of getting from point A to point B so that you don't have to worry.
- Throw out your alarm clock, watch, and day planner. When ever you happen to get there has to be fine with who ever it is you are going to meet. If it isn't, the person is probably someone who will cause you unneeded stress and should probably be avoided.
- Avoid commitments, responsibility, and goals that require deadlines.
- Throw out all your "stuff." Get rid of your car, house, and credit cards. Get rid of any other "things" that can possibly cause you stress. The more things you have, the more stress you have to deal with.
- Stay away from "The News." If the story is not happening directly to you, you don't need to know anything about it. All the news does is depress and stress.
- Only read non-involving fiction. Stay away from books that contain real knowledge of the world. Stay away from fiction that may possibly make you think. Knowledge and thinking cause lots of stress because they make you realize anything beyond your own little bubble.
- If all else fails, drink lots of Booze. Alcohol numbs the brain, senses, and nerves. What better way to stay away from stress than with a little bit to drink every couple of hours?
Friday, September 4, 2009
Good Shabbos Ki Tavo
Don't get down
by all the rebuke
Things look brighter
in new light
2000 years
survived
no land
pursued
tears denied
people cried.
A new day dawns
on planet Earth
Peace
Happiness
Prosperity
above the dirt
Land returned
Freedom to listen
O God,
Pour down Sweet Blessin'
by all the rebuke
Things look brighter
in new light
2000 years
survived
no land
pursued
tears denied
people cried.
A new day dawns
on planet Earth
Peace
Happiness
Prosperity
above the dirt
Land returned
Freedom to listen
O God,
Pour down Sweet Blessin'
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