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MMSA story - Razor's Strapping
Razor's Strappingby WilvalkirMy son, Max, is a good kid. He's intelligent, well mannered, and has a sense of personal responsibility that is rare in young people these days. Of course, he's always been promptly corrected for any instances of wrongdoing -- generally in the form of my hand being applied to his bare bottom. Max is sixteen now, and has just started his junior year of high school. I'm proud of his excellent grades and his impressive computer skills. The boy has a real future in the field of technology. Typically, I arrive home from work to find my son at the dining room table getting his homework out of the way before he dashes to his computer for an evening of online gaming. But one day, I heard voices as I walked into in the front door. Max was hanging out in the kitchen with another teenager -- certainly not unheard of -- but I sure had never seen this kid in my house before! He was dressed like one of those gangster rappers that I'm always seeing on TV. This alone would have been bad enough, but the kid also had about six rings in his face (and God only knows where else) and his hair was cut all spiky and died orange at the tips. "Dad, this is my friend, Razor," Max introduced. "Razor?" I asked, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah, dude," the odd-looking teen muttered, with no further explanation. "Ah," I said. "Do you go to my son's school?" Razor had to think about this one for a minute. Finally, he said," Yeah, I guess." "You guess? Tell me, do you ever see Max when you're walking in the hallways between classes?" Razor just shrugged. I turned my son and asked, "Where did you two meet?" "We're in the same US history class." "Hmm, that must mean that you DO go to the same school," I commented, trying not to sound too sarcastic. Max shot me look that said he wished that would leave him and his friend alone, but was too respectful of me to demand it. I respected my son in return, so excused myself from the room with a cheery goodbye. There were no reciprocated pleasantries from the pin cushion who went by the name of "Razor". Naturally, I would have preferred for my son to hang out with someone more mainstream, but I sure wasn't presumptious enough to openly criticize his friend. However, I did relate my encounter with the boy to a friend at my health club... who happened to be a cop. When Officer Daniels recognized the description and clued me in on the length of Razor's rap sheet, I went home and had little talk with Max. My son assured me that everything was cool, and that Razor was an okay guy once you got to know him. I was dubious, but I trusted my boy and therefore gave the friendship the benefit of the doubt. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It wasn't long after, when I came home from an evening out and stepped into a house reeking of a mixture of Glade air freshener and marijuana smoke. When Max saw that his attempt to mask the distinctive odor of drug use had failed, he began stammering out apologies. He said that Razor had come over with a couple of his friends, and the joint was being passed around before he had a chance to stop it. "I didn't even know what it was, Dad!" Max told me, with his best wide-eyed look of innocence. "I thought it was just a normal cigarette." "Bullshit," I replied. "Honest, Dad. I'm a computer geek -- I never get invited to the kind of parties where people smoke pot!" "I suppose," I relented. "Did you smoke any of it yourself?" "Well, yeah," Max admitted. "I took a puff, but --" "You didn't inhale," I finished for him. "Right," Max confirmed. "Am I in trouble?" "Not this time; I can't punish you for being curious. But I definitely don't want you hanging out with that "Razor" anymore," I continued. "Say whatever you have to, blame me if you want, but stay the hell away from him." "What? Why?" Max demanded. "Because that kid is trouble," I explained. "Duh! -- as Razor would probably say, if he were me." "I'm not going to let Razor get me into any trouble. Don't you trust me, Dad?" "Sure, I trust YOU. I just don't trust your friend, Razor, any further than I could drop kick him. So it's over between you two. Understand me?" Max nodded, but there was a look in his eye that told me he had no intention of obeying. Oh well - I would see them together, then I would bust Max's butt for it. He'd learn his lesson, and the problem would be behind us. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Unfortunately, the next time that I saw Max and Razor together was at the county police station, after they were caught in an attempt to rob an electronics store. I collected my son, punched the date of his juvenile court hearing into my Palm Pilot, and took him straight home. I won't bother to repeat the lecture that my repentant son received while seated in my study, but rest assured it was a good, long one. It concluded with me opening the door to my closet and taking out an item that I thought I had stored away for good more than a year earlier. "I never imagined that I would need this again," I sadly informed Max. "I figured I'd just hang onto it, so I could pass it along to you if you ever have a son -- providing its use is still legal by then." Max went white when he saw that I was holding my grandfather's well-worn razor strap. It was an heirloom that had kept the boys of our family on the straight and narrow for four generations. It had seen miraculously little use on my own son -- especially compared to the many lickings it had dished out to my younger brothers and me -- but Max gone through a rough patch around the age of fourteen, during which his butt had become acquainted with the ancient strap on several occasions. Terrified as he was, Max cooperated with his punishment without protest. He cried out at each of the twenty licks across his naked ass, and he began to sob almost instantly as I put him over my knee for an old-fashioned bare-hand-to-bare-bottom spanking. I rubbed my son's back as he regained his composure, then went on to inform him about his remaining punishment: "You are grounded from your computer for the entire month and a half until your court date. Also, one week from today, you will be getting another spanking for continuing to associate with Razor after I told you that he was off-limits. And you will be getting a third licking on the morning of your appearance before the judge, so that you will be reminded of the consequences of unlawfulness the entire time you that you are sitting on the hard courtroom bench." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * One week later, I reminded Max than he was to come straight home from school, where I would be waiting to administer his second whipping. "You haven't been talking to Razor at school, have you?" I inquired. "No, Dad," Max assured me. "I haven't seen him at all." I had the day off, so I went to the health club, where I happened to run into my buddy, Officer Daniels. My friend was not above making a few good-natured jokes about my delinquent son. I pretended to be insulted, and shot back that the whole thing was Razor's fault entirely. "No kidding," Officer Daniels said with a sigh. "We've still got that punk locked up in our jail. Don't know what were going to do with him." "What do you mean?" I asked. "Well, it took us three days to locate his drug addicted mother, and when we finally did, she said she'd be right over to pick up her son. That was four days ago, and not a word from her since." "Can't he be sent to a foster home, or something? Does he have to stay in the jail?" "We have to release the kid into the care of SOMEBODY," Officer Daniels said. "We can't let just let him go free. Yes, a foster home is a possibility. We've got Social Services trying to locate one, but the odds of success are not good. Really, since his mother isn't taking responsibility for Razor's upbringing, he ought to be admitted to some sort of juvenile detention center until it's time for his hearing. But we can't do that." "Why not?" "Because he turns 18 in about two weeks," my friend explained. "The institution would have to discharge him back to us, and we could legally hold him in the jail until the hearing - unless he could raise the bail money. But no facility for troubled teens wants to take Razor for such a short time frame. Too much paperwork involved." "You said that he has to be released to a responsible adult?" I ventured. "Could you release him into my care?" "Technically, no. It's supposed to be a family member. But if you claim that he's your son's friend, and spends a lot of time at your house, the chief would probably go for it." "That's a really good idea, in fact," Officer Daniels continued. "You could sign Razor out, he would run away from you the first time that your car slowed down for a stoplight, probably, then the punk would be out of everyone's hair." "Would I be responsible if he commits another felony before he turns 18?" "No," Officer Daniels replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We wouldn't be able to blame you anymore than we can blame the kid's actual parents." "OK," I said, making a spontaneous and likely foolhardy decision. "Let's swim a few laps, then head over to the station. I don't much like that Razor kid, but I hate the thought of anyone stuck alone in jail." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Razor sat slouched in the passenger seat of my car. Desperate to be free, he left the police station in my company without a word of argument. He still wasn't protesting against my guardianship rights . . . he wasn't saying much at all, actually. I decided to get the ball rolling. "So, tell me, what was the deal with Max and the electronics store heist, anyway?" My son and the police had already filled me in on the details, of course, but I was eager to hear Razor's version. The teen gave me an apathetic shrug. "Talk to me," I said, in a no nonsense tone. "OK, dude, chill," Razor said, with a roll of his eyes. "Here's the story: I have this friend who works at the store. He could get us in at night, but he didn't know how to turn off the alarm system. We needed Max to hack into the store computer. The plan didn't totally work. "Yes, I noticed that." Silence fell over as, until Razor spoke up again -- with no prompting from me this time: "I hope you weren't too pissed at Max. It wasn't his fault, you know." I was touched a little at this first sign that Razor gave a shit about anyone other than himself. "Max is being punished, and all is forgiven," I said in reply. "That's cool." A few minutes later, Razor startled me with a question: "So you're really going to let me stay your house until I turn eighteen? Am I going to sleep in Max's room, or what?" I didn't know what to say. I had never expected that Razor would actually remain in my care, so I had not worked out the logistics of having a house guest. "Sure," I said, recovering quickly. "You can sleep with him, or on the pull-out sofa in the living room." Razor nodded his head and asked, "Do you guys have good food?" "Mostly TV dinners. But we order take-out a lot." I paused for a moment, then added, "If you expect to stay with us, Razor, I'm going to treat you as if you were my own son. And that means you'll have to be punished for getting in trouble with the law." "Yeah? Like, how?" The boys seemed more curious than intimidated by the prospect. "Just like Max is being punished," I said. "First, you'll be grounded until the day of your hearing." "Until I turn eighteen, you mean," Razor corrected. "OK, I can live with that." I didn't now how the punk kid was going to react to my next revelation -- but it seemed like a win-win situation for me. When I told him that Max had gotten a butt warming, and that he would be expected to suffer through the same, Razor was either going to sullenly submit or run for the hills. That left me either free of my commitment to him, or I would get the opportunity to beat the disrespectful brat. "Max also got his butt spanked," I informed Razor with a sly smile. "No shit? Like he was a little kid, or something?" "Pretty much," I replied. "But I'd say that Max was spanked more like a big kid who acted like little kid -- which means really, really hard." It took several long minutes for Razor to digest this fact. "Are you telling me," he finally began, "that if I want to live with you, I gotta take a whuppin' first?" "That's right," I confirmed smugly. "And after that, I get a bed and all the food I can eat?" "Until you turn eighteen, you bet." "I'll do it, then . . . as long as it doesn't hurt too bad," Razor quickly added. "Well, I can't make any guarantee about THAT, but I can promise you that you'll live through it." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The second that we stepped through the front door of my house, I turned to Razor and said, "Max will be home in just over an hour, so you'd better take your punishment now if you don't want an audience." Razor looked a little nauseated as he nodded his head in agreement. "OK, come with me up to my study," I commanded. Once we were inside, and I had closed the door, Razor asked, "So, what do I do?" "First," I replied, "you tell me your real name. I don't feel comfortable lecturing someone named 'Razor'." "Aw, come on, dude," Razor protested. But I was insistent. "The only way that this little arrangement of ours is going to work, is if you treat me with respect and gratitude. And part of that is doing exactly what I tell you, when I tell you to. Now, I want to know the first name that is printed on your birth certificate." "Um, it's Lawrence," Razor muttered. "Thank you, Lawrence," I said. "Now we can take care of business." I treated Razor to the same lengthy lecture that Max had been forced to endure, and the little punk ground his teeth in aggravation through every minute of it. "You seem to be bored," I said at last. "So let's move to a more interesting - and probably more effective - segment of your punishment." Razor's cocky expression grew concerned as I withdrew the leather strap from the closet. "You said a spanking," he accused. "You never said nothin' about no beatin'." "I'm not going to beat you, Lawrence," I said firmly. "I am going to spank you with this strap, just like I spanked Max with it." "You're serious? You hit the poor kid with THAT?" "Yes. And when he'd had enough of it, I put him over my knee and spanked him a bit more with my hand . . . but I figure you're too 'cool' to be treated like a little kid, so I'll skip the hand spanking and give you ten extra with the strap instead." "Whatever, dude. But let me see the fuckin' thing first, huh?" Razor reached out his hand for the strap. I passed it over, and the teen examined the implement with a guarded apprehension, while running his fingers over the stiff leather. "Hey, it's got my name on it!" I squinted to where the boy was pointing, and, indeed, emblazoned along the top of the strap were the words: "Bradford Razor Strop Co." "See? Fate intended all along for you to be punished with this strap." "Yeah, right," Razor scoffed. "But I guess I'll go ahead and let you do it. If a little wuss like Max can take it, I guess I can to." I didn't bother mentioning to the self-proclaimed tough guy that Max had not taken his spanking very bravely. "Here's what I want you to do: bend over with your hands planted on the seat of that couch." I took the strap back from Razor and gestured with it toward the short sofa set against one wall of my study. Razor gave me one last surly smirk, then obeyed with as much attitude as the submissive action would allow. I had previously decided against asking the boy to lower his pants. The last thing I needed was to be accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with a kid just on the verge of turning eighteen. But as I surveyed the target before me, I realized that whipping Razor through his jeans would be an impossibility. The back pockets of Razor's gangster pants -- the general area where I intended to land the strap -- were practically hanging around his knees. "You're going to have to lose the pants," I said. "Your clothes are so ridiculously baggy, that I can't even tell where your butt is located." "No fair," Razor answered, shooting a disgruntled look over his shoulder. "I bet Max didn't have to pull down his pants!" "Wanna bet?" I challenged. "Max always gets his spankings right on his bare ass." This bit of information seemed to satisfy Razor enough that he reached for the snap on his jeans. He pushed the pants down to his knees, and before I could stop him, his boxer shorts had followed. I had actually intended to whip him on his underpants, but since the kid had essentially volunteered to take his punishment bare, I wasn't about to complain. I laid an experimental lick across Razor's smooth backside, and he stood bolt upright. "Oww! Wait! That was too hard!" the young man complained. "Bend back over, Lawrence," I ordered. "That was NOT too hard. In fact, that was just a warm-up spank -- the rest will be even harder." "Fuck this!" Razor stooped to pull up his pants. "I'm outta here." "OK, it's your choice," I shrugged. "Tonight, we're going out for dinner at Applebee's . . . but I'm sure that your mom left plenty of food back at your place before she disappeared." My comment was cruel on so many levels, but it had the desired effect as Razor paused to consider my words. Whatever I had to do or say, it was ultimately in the boy's best interest to remain here with Max and me, so the ends justified the means, I figured. "Fine, go ahead and beat me then," Razor said at last. "The food in jail really sucked." The kid bent over, and once again presented me with his skinny ass. I began strapping Razor with the self-satisfied determination of a man doing a good service for his country. Naturally, it was very different from spanking Max. When I punished my own son, I experienced a mixture of sadness and sympathy for the boy's pain that made the operation entirely unpleasant. I had no emotional attachment to Razor, and I was quite miffed at the young man over the legal trouble that he had brought upon our household, which caused me to swing the strap with a good deal more vigor than I typically used when dealing with Max. But as Razor jerked and cried out under the lash, that kid reminded me less of a smartass thug, and more of a repentant little boy who was sorry for his misbehavior. As the 14th stroke landed, Razor turned his tear-streaked face toward me and said, "Please, dude, I've changed my mind. I'll go over your knee now." I didn't have the heart to point out to the kid that he had received less spanks with the strap than Max had endured before he was allowed to assume that time honored position. Razor didn't deserve it, but I gave him a break anyway. Razor looked relieved when I folded the strap and placed on my desk. He stood up and waited patiently as I seated myself on the sofa. The punk went over my knee without any protest, but that is where his cooperation ended. He must have imagined that my hand wouldn't hurt much at all, because he yelped in surprise at the first connection of my palm to his sore and striped bottom. Razor tried hard to get away as I continued the spanking, but I was holding him nice and tight. The kid's true colors again showed themselves, as he began cussing me out venomously. I responded to Razor's maliciousness by spanking him even faster, bringing my hand down so hard that I, too, winced in pain with every smack. The boy continued to kick, struggle, and swear until he finally collapsed into a sobbing heap over my knee. Satisfied that the little punk had learned his lesson, I lowered my hand and released my grip around his waist. Razor sprang to his feet immediately, but he did not bother to pull his baggy gangster jeans up over his red-hot bottom. Instead, he flopped himself, stomach down, on the couch and continued to cry. Normally, this was the time when I would hug and comfort Max, but since I figured Razor would not appreciate that type of attention, I was at a loss as to what to do with myself. Surprisingly, I was feeling a fatherly affection toward Razor, so I knelt down beside him and rubbed his back while he cried. After several minutes, the kid finally calmed down. I helped him to his feet, and watched as he raised his boxers and buttoned his pants. Razor's wiped at his eyes one last time with the back of his hand, gave me an embarrassed look, and asked, "Now what?" "I don't know," I replied. "Would you like to take a nap until Max gets home from school?" Razor nodded mutely, so I placed a hand on his shoulder and steered him across the hall to Max's room. As I tucked the boy into bed, I commented, "You know, 'Lawrence' isn't such a bad name." "Sure, it is. When I use my real name, people are always saying that I'm from the country of Arabia." "Arabia is an archaic term which was once used to describe a general region of the Middle East. Whenever anybody makes that stupid accusation, you just tell them that there is no such country," I advised. "Then hand them a five dollar bill and tell 'em to go buy a map of the world." Razor chuckled. "That sounds great ... except for the part about the five dollars. I never have five dollars." I pulled out my wallet and tossed a fiver onto the bedspread. "There you go. Problem solved." I said. "Keep it in a safe place until you need it." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Max came home from school wearing the hang dog expression of a teenager who knows he's got a good spanking coming. I immediately eased the poor kid's mind. "I've got some good news for you, son," I informed him. "We are going to forget about your spanking for associating with Razor." "Cool!" Max replied, delighted. "But why?" "Because it would be hypocritical of me to continue enforcing that rule. I was wrong about Razor -- he is actually a good kid underneath it all." "You really think so? Does this mean I'm allowed to be friends with him again?" "Yes, Max, you and Razor are friends again," I assured my son. "I insist upon it. In fact, I've even invited him to live with us for a while." "You're kidding." "Nope, I'm not. He's upstairs asleep in your bed." "That's sweet!" Max said, as he broke into a huge grin. "I've always wanted a brother." Time had yet to tell how "sweet" it would be to live alongside of Razor. |
GeekList Item Added to Free Computer Artificial Intelligence Opponents for Abstract Games |
GeekList Item Added to Free Computer Artificial Intelligence Opponents for Abstract Games |
GeekList Item Added to Free Computer Artificial Intelligence Opponents for Abstract Games |
GeekList Item Added to Free Computer Artificial Intelligence Opponents for Abstract Games |
 Back in January there was a lot of talk, here, on Russell Beattie's weblog, and elsewhere, about mobile media in general, and about, specifically, Nokia and Sony and Microsoft and what each of them was (or wasn't) doing to facilitate media downloads for mobile devices. In fact, in an entry called Microsoft's Consumer Electronics Endgame, Russ pointed out that Microsoft was essentially stealing a march on its competitors with its strategy in this area. I distinctly remember posting a comment on that entry: "I was sure that Sony had seen this coming and sought to circumvent it by spending billions over the years to become a content provider for its own devices. It appears, however, that this isn't the case, since they've done nothing to utilize their media vault or integrate their entertainment and hardware divisions. How difficult would it be, to encode movies and TV episodes and offer them up at little cost for download to various Sony products, especially phones and handhelds? Or, failing that (because bandwidth is maybe still not there), offer them for purchase on flash media (MMC or Memory stick)? Something exactly like iTunes for the iPod, but in this case a broader media offering for Sony mobiles. They own a treasure vault of movies." Or words to that effect. I've since searched that entry and can't find my comment. Maybe I wrote it elsewhere. Whatever. In any case, later that month (January), Sony announced that they were in fact planning something. No details were available at the time, but in a ZD Net article yesterday, the plan was made clear. Apparently Sony execs were thinking along exactly the lines I suggested. And the whole thing is pretty exciting. According to the ZD Net article, Michael Arrieta, senior vice president of Sony Pictures, announced the details at a conference yesterday. Here is some of what he had to say. "We want to set business models, pricing models, distribution models like (Apple Computer CEO Steve) Jobs did for music, but for the film industry," [said Arrieta], "I'm trying to create the new 'anti-Napster."Clearly, then, Sony execs are getting back into the game. Perhaps the new CEO, Howard Stringer, has the broad picture vision many of us assumed he'd lack. Thebusiness about creating the "anti-Napster" sounds kind of scary. And we've no reason not to take him at his word. On the other hand, it is an obligatory statement for a Hollywood exec to make. And perhaps Sony realizes that the best way to re-route developing download habits (read: defeat so-called piracy), is to offer high-quality content at extremely low prices. If I had access to over 500 films, perfectly encoded for use on my (former) Nokia 3650, and if each of them cost, say, five dollars: I wouldn't really care if they were DRMed. Especially if I could transfer them to a limited number of other devices. I can imagine having a whole library of films, and renting those I don't want to buy. It's the video sales/rental business, all over again. Will it stop the free exchange of content across the Internet? No. But it will make Sony devices an attractive portal for good, cheap, easy-to-acquire media. And that will go a long way toward forming people's habits. |
March Statistics - you freaks! Its one of my favourite parts of writing my blog, detailing the odd and unusual search terms that people used to arrive here on my blog. This month however it has been quite the bumper month for both hits, revenue and search terms, hits saw a 231% increase this month over february’s and the search terms, google actually made money although not enough to cover costs and well march had 696 search terms the top 25 being: sims 2 sex 63 4.8 % The obsession with either the sims and sex, delta goodrem or with nipple slips is disturbing. As for the rest of the key phrases please read on … |
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A Wired article, Keyboard is Mightier than Sword, notes: ...despite advances in video technology, text-based games, both online and off, have maintained a following. [continue] Now that's nice to hear. I've never understood the appeal of today's glitzy computer games. The only computer game I ever loved was a completely text-based thing called Zork, and I only stopped playing it because it was far too addictive. Do any of you remember the text-based version of Zork? You can play it online now, for free. Just imagine: You are facing the north side of a white house. There is no door... |
A Wired article, Keyboard is Mightier than Sword, notes:
Now that's nice to hear. I've never understood the appeal of today's glitzy computer games. The only computer game I ever loved was a completely text-based thing called Zork, and I only stopped playing it because it was far too addictive. Do any of you remember the text-based version of Zork? You can play it online now, for free. Just imagine: You are facing the north side of a white house. There is no door here, and all the windows are barred. And so it all begins. |
The interview meme is back. If you want me to ask you questions, post and say so (and then you answer them in your journal). 1. Your four favorite blogging topics are food, gaming, Judaism, and work. Does this represent a fair division of your life? Would you change the relative proportions, if you could? Heh. I hadn't actually noticed that that's how my entries have played out. I sort of stopped at "I talk about Judaism a lot, and oh some other stuff too". But by post-count it's not that unbalanced, actually. Ok, let's see. Judaism consumes a fair bit of my attention, and it infuses everything else about my life. How much time do I spend on it? That's not a question that can be answered, because it's not an hours-per-week kind of thing, any more than one could ask someone "how much time do you spend being a vegetarian" or "how much time do you spend being a geek" or some such. It's just a state of being. Judaism comes to bear on many decisions. Someone proposed going to such-and-such restaurant; is there food I can eat there? We'd like to have people over for gaming; how does it interact with Shabbat? I'm considering a business transaction; does it fit with Jewish ethics? And on and on and on. I like writing (and reading) about food, because I'm always on the lookout for new things to try. I like to be able to feed my friends well, and because I experiment sometimes it seems useful to record what I did and how well it worked -- and I enjoy such entries from other people, so maybe others benefit from those posts from me too. Food entries also, often, generate discussion, giving me more ideas for future meals. Lately, I guess gaming has become a bigger hobby than the SCA by time spent. It's not that the SCA isn't important, but there's just a lot less going on than there used to be (for me, yes, and absolutely as well, locally). The last weekly-or-better SCA commitment I had was to a choir that I dropped out of in the fall. Some of that time went to Jewish things (e.g. classes); some went to gaming; some went to electronic communication. Gaming-wise, the big thing going on is a D&D game that meets every couple weeks on average. This game, in fact, was the initial prod to my signing up with LiveJournal; the GM had proposed a game journal. We do in fact have a game journal, mostly filled with my work, but I'm glad I started my own journal too. I enjoy many other games in somewhat limited doses; a big games day every couple months is cool, a random evening playing shorter games is fun, and I think I would really really hate going to a convention like Origins where you have four straight days of gaming. Work is, well, work -- the single biggest chunk of my week not counting sleep (or maybe counting sleep, now that I think about it), but often not comment-worthy. I have recently found myself thinking about career as opposed to work, because the company I work for has been growing and I have kind of an unusual job. Oh, and in the spring one's thoughts turn to interns. :-) (I'm looking for an intern who groks Java and can write English. I wonder if I'll succeed.) So overall, I guess you're right that Judaism, work, gaming, and food are the things in my life that get the most attention right now, probably in that order. I'm pretty happy with that. I'd like to be doing more music; some of that falls under "Judaism", actually, but not all of it. (In another interview that's queued up, I'll talk more about music.)
Not only do I like this analogy, but I used it in my application to the para-rabbinic program last year. :-) Here are the essay and resume I submitted. (The essay was a reply to a specific set of questions, which I probably have archived somewhere. They also required a resume showing both professional and religious background.)
I started to think about things that would make the world in general a better place, but I ended up thinking about things that would specifically make my life easier. I think the latter was the intent of the question. Ok, I have something that I believe is physically possible, but my knowledge of the domain is pretty limited, so if I'm wrong about that someone please tell me and I'll choose something else. First, let me lay out some problems I face in daily life:
I'm not looking for Geordie LeForge's tech here; while I imagine that it would also be possible to pile on weird stuff like infra-red vision, I really don't care. I don't know enough about optics and plastics, so I don't know if what I've described could be done and, if so, at what price. I would certainly pay a four-digit number of dollars for that solution, though, and possibly more. (This would, for instance, bring me more quality of life than a new car does.) Hell, I'd pay that even for one that didn't do the light-adjusting thing; I only threw that in because I expect it to be easy.
Long-term (decades), I think it's the vision thing. I am doing everything reasonable to protect my vision, of course, but these things do change over time. How well will I see when I'm 70, compared to now? I don't know. But so much of my life is bound up in visual things that I would feel a real loss if I could no longer, say, read for extended periods or use a computer or drive. Yeah, there are things that can be done to mitigate, but for some things audio just sucks, ok? I write differently than I speak, and I absorb differently from written and aural sources. Now I don't think real problems are likely here; I have the convenience of access to someone who's a quarter-century ahead of me on this particular track and he's doing ok so far. (All my vision problems are inherited.) But it's a risk and thus a potential threat. I just now realized that you might have been asking me for the most likely threat to my continued happiness, rather than the most devastating. I don't have a good answer there; I'm blessed with good interpersonal relations, a financial safety net, and overall health, and natural disasters and major accidents are pretty rare.
That's an excellent question, and it's not going to boil down to a number. The purpose of a fence is to prevent accidental transgression. So, speaking personally, I have to weigh the likelihood of the transgression that's being protected as part of the evaluation, and also the severity. I'm not sure that turning on an electric light on Shabbat is really forbidden, but turning on lights is habitual and if it is a transgression it's a pretty serious one, so I have trained myself to not do that, just in case. On the other hand, I don't in general pay attention to the laws of muktzah, which say that, for example, you don't handle a lamp lest you accidentally use it in a way counter to Shabbat. (Or any electrical device. Or a pencil. Or money.) If the thing is in my way I have no problem picking it up and moving it; I don't think I'll get distracted and use it in the process. Kashrut has a whole set of practical concerns, which is why I didn't address that one directly. In addition to what I consider to be right or wrong for myself, I have to consider the impact of my decisions on other people. I would like to be able to cook for friends who care about certain details that I don't, personally, care about, for example. There can be societal reasons for observing a fence. In some cases, an observer would conclude that I'm keeping a fence but, actually, I'm doing something else. Deep in my heart I do not really believe that I need separate (non-porous) utensils for meat and milk, but I find that paying attention to that helps me be more mindful of food and kashrut in general. So I do it, and I make my husband honor it as a condition of doing stuff in the kitchen. And I suppose it might be required, but that's not the only consideration. The farther away from the original goal you get, the more skeptical I get of fences. But as I said, probability and severity can enter into the decision too. I don't know if I really answered your question, but I'm going to stop and post this now because otherwise it won't happen before Shabbat is over. Please feel free to ask clarifying questions.
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MSN Video Downloads Delivers Food Network, FOX Sports, Children's Programming, News and More for Portable Media Centers and Select Smartphones and Pocket PCs Microsoft Corp. announced the launch of MSN® Video Downloads, which will provide daily television programming, including video content from MSNBC.com, Food Network, FOX Sports and IFILM Corp., for download to Windows Mobile (TM) -based devices such as Portable Media Centers and select Smartphones and Pocket PCs. Since the launch of the Microsoft® Windows Mobile-based Portable Media Center last fall, more than 20 new content partners, including CinemaNow Inc., MLB.com, MSNBC.com, MSN Music, MTV Networks Music, Napster Inc., SnapStream Media Inc. and TiVo Inc., have agreed to make video available online specifically formatted for Windows Mobile-based multimedia devices. "The launch of Portable Media Centers in 2004 began a new era of portable entertainment, and today's announcement solidifies the continued momentum we've seen for portable video," said John Pollard, director of Windows Mobile Applications and Services Marketing at Microsoft. "With content from some of the most recognized brands in entertainment, MSN Video Downloads helps bring this vision to life, allowing people to take their favorite television shows with them whether they are on the train, waiting for a doctor's appointment, or keeping the kids occupied in the back seat of the car." "Readily available digital video content remains a key driver for the portable multimedia player market," said Josh Martin, associate research analyst at IDC. "The proliferation and growth of video service providers will serve to fill the existing video content void and increase adoption of portable multimedia players such as Windows Mobile-based devices." MSN Video Downloads: Keeping People Informed and Entertained Anywhere MSN Video Downloads is available in the United States today at http://www.msnvideodownloads.com . A one-year premium membership to the MSN Video Downloads service with access to all available videos is $19.95 (U.S.). In addition, people can access a limited amount of free content without a paid membership. The MSN Video Downloads service is designed to keep people better entertained and informed, wherever and whenever they want. With great content provided daily, such as sports highlights, news headlines, children's programming, music videos, independent films and comedy shows, MSN Video Downloads is one of the first online video download services dedicated to portable entertainment. In its debut, the MSN Video Downloads service was previewed at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show in January. People subscribing to the premium service will be able to select the content they want to receive from the Web site. Digital videos are downloaded daily to a Windows Media® Player 10 library, ready to be synchronized with Portable Media Centers and other devices. The video content is compliant with PlaysForSure (TM) devices that play video, and is optimized for Portable Media Centers and compatible with Smartphones and Pocket PCs that support Windows Media Player 10 Mobile. New with the final launch of the service is the ability to select the specific content downloaded to the subscriber's Windows® XP-based PC each day. Subscribers can also activate a new automatic deleting feature that specifies how long video from the MSN Video Downloads directory will remain on their PC, thus avoiding a large backlog of clips. The following programming will be available on MSN Video Downloads: MSNBC.com. News and business headlines updated throughout the day, as well as segments from "Today" BreakTV. Behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive interviews with television's hottest celebrities COOKIE JAR Entertainment Inc. , a global producer and marketer of children's entertainment, offering children's programs such as "Paddington Bear," "Animal Crackers" and many other popular kids' television series DIY Network. Videos about home improvement, crafts, hobbies, indoor-outdoor living, and kitchen and bath remodeling FINE LIVING TV Network. Inspiring programs featuring travel destinations, mind and body enrichment, ideas for entertaining and home design as well as videos for automobile enthusiasts FOX Sports. In-depth news, analysis and unparalleled national and regional coverage of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, the National Basketball Association, and select college basketball and football highlights, as well as FOX Sports Net original programming including "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" and "Beyond the Glory" Food Network. Fun and interesting videos featuring grilling tips, ideas for entertaining, healthy eating, quick-and-easy recipes and pop-culture food specials Fun Little Movies. Specializing in original, live-action comedy content; new "Fun Funny Phone Films" including the following series: humorous headlines in "Comedy USA," sci-fi parody "Spacey Movie," and the "Mini-Bikers," where little people on little motorcycles fight crime, a little at a time Headliners Entertainment Group Inc. (OTCBB:HLEG) , the operator of Rascals Comedy Clubs, presenting a selection of comedy clips from Rascals Comedy Classics, including performances from popular stars such as Tim Allen, Rosie O'Donnell, Drew Carey and Ray Romano; only Rascals can bring viewers comedy superstars, before they were stars, and the breaking stars of tomorrow, today Home & Garden Television (HGTV). Selected programs featuring remodeling, home-building, design and decorating, kitchen and bath to enhance a home's curb appeal IFILM. Movie trailers, viral videos, short films and other IFILM-exclusive content TotalVid. Deep selection of action sports clips including surfing, snowboarding, skiing, windsurfing, street racing, kiteboarding, skateboarding, climbing, kayaking, off-road, Moto X, mountain biking, inline skating, BMX and more Want Media. Music videos, live concerts, Broadway shows, extreme sports and motor sports programs, full-length films from independent filmmakers and underground cinema The following are content partners for Windows Mobile-based devices: ATI Technologies BreakTV* CinemaNow Inc. COOKIE JAR* DIY Network FINE LIVING TV Network* Food Network* FOX Sports* Hauppauge Computer Works Inc. Headliner Entertainment Group* HGTV* IFILM* MediaPass Network LLC MLB.com MSN Music MSNBC.com* MTV Networks Napster NVIDIA Pinnacle Systems Inc. SnapStream Media Inc. TiVo Inc. TotalVid* Want Media* watchmusichere.com About Windows Mobile Windows Mobile software for Pocket PCs, Smartphones and Portable Media Centers reduces the complexity and constraints that hobble the flow of personal and business communications while also enabling people to enjoy rich media experiences. With Windows Mobile, individuals and organizations are empowered to achieve their productivity goals and also realize the excitement of the digital lifestyle -- from music and memories to television, movies, gaming and communication. More information can be found at http://www.windowsmobile.com . About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft, MSN, Windows Mobile, Windows Media, PlaysForSure and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. |
There was a previous post today about the nightmare of having loud office breeders taking their family in heart and mind to work, but has anyone worked in an office or work place that doesn't cater to children (not like toy stores or childcare) where someone is allowed to, and brings there kids all the time? |