"Rain Man" after the fast

Today is known as the Fast of the Tenth of Tevet, and for perhaps the first time I can remember, the day went by like its name implies: fast. We had a long break in the afternoon, since many people went to a speech in Jerusalem I did not feel like attending. I played a few rounds of Settlers of Catan, read some of my book "A Million Little Pieces," and broke the fast on a dinner of schnitzel, rice, and mixed vegetables. "Crises Anonymous," a subsection of ALEPH DELTA MAO, discussed issues with which we are struggling while writing words with the wrappers of glow-in-the-dark M&Mini Bars. Today was also foggy, rainy, and sunny, with a heavy odor of cow due to a strong northerly wind.

I also did some learning and studying today, make no mistake. I learned that the Tenth of Tevet is a fast day for three catastrophic events that took place around this time. On the eighth of Tevet, the Torah was translated by seventy sages, known as "The Translation of the Seventy." A miracle occured in that, despite the translators being separated, submitted identical translations. On the ninth of Tevet, Ezra and Nechemiah died, ending an era of leadership of the Jewish people. And on the tenth of Tevet, the siege of the Temple began.

I also learned in gmara the repercussions of the following likely scenarios (Bava Kama 26b):
I. A rock is placed on a sleeping man's chest; when the man wakes, the stone goes flying and kills a man. For what damages/payments is he liable? II. A man intends to throw a rock two amot, but he accidentally throws it four amot, a distance which constitutes moving an object from domain to domain on shabbat. Is he liable for shabbat damages? III. A naked man falls off a roof, lands on a woman, and happens to have sex with her.
That's as far as I got.


I also just finished watching a great movie, "Rain Man." Some quotes, since I am about to go to bed:

Sally: Good Morning! Coffee?
Raymond: [looks at her nametag] Sally Dibbs, Dibbs Sally. 461-0192.
Sally: How did you know my phone number?
Charlie: How did you know that?
Raymond:You said read the telephone book last night. Dibbs Sally. 461-0192.
Charlie: He, uh, remembers things. Little things sometimes.

Doctor: Ray, do you know how much a candy bar costs?
Raymond: 'Bout a hundred dollars.
Doctor: Do you know how much one of those new compact cars costs?
Raymond: 'Bout a hundred dollars.

Raymond: 82, 82, 82.
Charlie: 82 what?
Raymond: Toothpicks.
Charlie: There's a lot more than 82 toothpicks, Ray.
Raymond: 246 total.
Charlie: How many?
Sally: 250.
Charlie: Pretty close.
Sally: There's four left in the box.