Category: What’s Important?

The casino, a maniacal overlord that no one can ever hope to beat. Due to my love of risk and chance, along with quite a lot of good luck, I plan to spend at least a bit of time in Vegas when I’m 21, I mean c’mon it basically a rite of passage. Now, I know what you guys are all saying, “MATAS THE CASINO IS A LIE YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE ALL YOUR MONEY.” If you are thinking this, I appreciate it a lot actually thanks for looking out for me, but I’m sorry to say, that you’re wrong. Here’s where another one of my favorite things in life comes in, doing things that are highly frowned upon, yet not illegal.

Of course, the idea that I’m talking about it Counting cards, using statistics in order to beat one of the most popular games in the world, Blackjack. Now for those who don’t know, Blackjack is a table card game played at the casino, where it is you vs. the dealer. You are never up against another casino goer like yourself. The nature of the game is to have the dealer hand you hard, and you can either hit or stand (Numbered cards are their number, Face is 10, Ace is 11 or 1 depending on what you want). The goal is to attempt to get your cards as close to 21 as possible, without going over. If you go over, you bust. Now you see, the trick for the casino lies in the fact that you have to do everything before the dealer, because of this, even if you play perfectly (there is a guide on wiki for what to do when you get any card) you are guaranteed only a 49% edge against the casino. Meaning if you put in 100 dollars, the casino will end up with 1, and you will end with 99. You should always lose money, that’s how casinos work.

Yet remember, this is cards, cards have probabilities, probabilities can be abused. In order for people to not revolt against the casino, there is one rule put into place for the dealer, if they get equal to or over a 17, they must stand, and stop. Meaning if you get anything from a 17-21, you have good chances. Along with this, the dealer must hit until they reach 17, putting them in a good position to go over 21. The very last rule I must mention is that getting a perfect 21, usually with an ace card and a face card, gives you 2.5 times payout, rather than the regular 2x. And this is why magic can happen.

Card counting is the numerical tracking of the cards used in a deck when playing blackjack, in order to maximize your chances of getting a 21. The basic premise is, if you know all the low number cards are out of the deck, then the cards you get are much higher and have a significantly higher chance of netting you a solid 21. This system can actually increase the odds of gaining money to 55%, in reality, Blackjack is THE ONLY game that you can guarantee an edge over the casino.

YET I MUST MENTION A LOT OF THINGS.

1. Guys, this is gambling, there’s no guarantee in anything, don’t go too crazy, don’t get too drunk, this is a corporation trying to steal your money, they know what you’re doing, don’t let your guard down.

2.None of us are 21, remember that you gotta be of age to gamble, so use these years to master card counting at home rather than wasting your time with something like a job, or education. (Tis a joke feel free to get an education)

3.Although card counting is not illegal, it is HIGHLY frowned upon. Imagine having the audacity to use your brain while gambling, in order to actually have an edge over the casino. You can’t go to prison, but beatings from the casino after getting caught, although rare, are not unheard of, and they can also ban you from the casino permanently.

Now, the reason for writing this blog is not so that you guys will go to a casino and card count, I just find the topic fascinating. Movies like 21, and The Hangover have popularized card counting, and to be honest, I think casinos are terrifying as a corporation. If you do have an interest in a systematic way to beat a casino, there are a lot of videos that explain everything much better than I do. Along with this, there are more rules to Blackjack, and I simply am not experienced enough to explain them all. If things like playing a risky game to make some money and beat the casino get your blood boiling as they do for me, I suggest doing some research, but other than that, there is no real point to my blog. I just like card counting!

For those who don’t know, a Sauna is a heated room found mostly in north-eastern Europe, which people have used for millennia for social events (Although this was the old use for it) and nowadays for POTENTIAL health benefits. But first! A brief history

The sauna was first used as a type of heated home for Finish people to survive through the winter. Saunas kept many families alive through the cold Northern climate, and are a very integral part of Finish culture. Anecdotally, almost every house in Finland has a sauna in it, though I can’t bring myself to believe that. After that, during the world wars, the Finns quite literally built saunas on the frontlines, and the Germans and English found this to be such a fantastic idea, that they brought saunas back to their own country. As we all know, all good things can only come from war. A picture of an old finish sauna, and a WWII sauna can be seen below.

Nowadays saunas are everywhere, most gyms, certain people’s homes, and various other locations, but what exactly is the appeal of saunas?

Scientifically speaking, there may be health benefits to spending time in the sauna. Entering a sauna increases your body temperature, and because of that, your body will attempt to cool down. This causes a large increase in heart rate and a dilation of the red blood cells. This can be healthy for you, and reduce the risk of various heart diseases because it has a similar effect to exercise. Along with this the heat causes the body to relax, and release chemicals that decrease stress. On the other hand, 2% of randoms deaths in Finland occurred because of drunk use of a sauna. Dehydration is common, and various conditions can be worsened by the use of it. Yet all of the science behind saunas is one large question mark because the reality is, it depends on the person, and not enough research has been conducted.

Now before I talk about my experience, I must emphasize that there are two different types of saunas, that use different amounts of heat. A dry sauna will reach temperatures up to 200 degrees, because of the low humidity present. On the other hand steam saunas only need to reach 110 degrees, keep this in mind before you step into a sauna and attempt to crank up the heat.

Now for my experience in the sauna, the sauna that I randomly have in my basement has actually become an extremely key aspect of my life. I dedicate 30 minutes almost every day, to laying in the sauna, blasting music, attempting to forget about the stresses of life, and in my experience, this has helped me immensely. People say that dedicating time to yourself is important, and the sauna is a great way to do it, as your phone will be destroyed if you keep it in the heat for too long, and that it usually is a quiet box that you can rest in. So I laid down, and just spend 30 minutes doing absolutely nothing, and this has been an immense help to my overall wellbeing.

In conclusion, I would recommend trying a sauna for everyone, just for the experience. As long as you’re careful about it, it can be quite enjoyable and helpful in life. But before you do attempt it, here are some tips to avoid injury. Do not crank the heat up to the max, you will be surprised how easy it is to overheat the body. Do not go anywhere near the heating elements (People seem to forget that the hot rocks are hot). And most important of all, do not spend too much time in there, don’t set a specific max time to spend, if you feel bad, leave immediately and cool down slowly.

In reality, the process is easy, find a sauna, heat it up, spend 15 minutes in it, and see if it suits you. That’s all I have for this week, imma go hit the sauna!

NUMBER 5: Cold Borscht… I am not going to lie to you, the only reason this food is on the list at all is because Lithuanians aren’t original enough. This food all but terrible in the best of cases. The only appealing part of this food item is the potatoes that come on the side, but every single Lithuanian food is either made out of potatoes, or has potatoes on the side, so overall it places very low. For one, why is the soup cold, soup is supposed to be warm, that’s just how it is. Along with this, the ingredients are so weird, that they make an unnatural pink color, after all the soup is famous for its bright pink shade. Overall, I would not suggest this food item, even though it is a classic Lithuanian meal.

NUMBER 4: Kibinai… This is a traditional pastry dish that has a large variety of options of what to be placed inside. Usually the two food items placed inside is Mutton and onions, and is overall a very satisfying food to eat. The crunchy outside of the pastry, the softer inside, combined with the well cooked meal on the inside makes this a great portable snack usually eaten for lunch. It can also be made into a desert item, pretty versatile if a say so myself.

NUMBER 3: Potato Pancakes… This is a perfect representation of the Lithuanian food world. It’s a pancake, made solely out of potatoes, with a binding agent such as eggs. As far as pancakes go, this is both unique, and delicious. The food goes with basically any sauce, and or sour cream (Another Lithuanian Staple) and just sorta tastes like potato. Overall, very good, and can be made from leftover mashed potatoes, quite convenient, and very tasty.

NUMBER 2: Gira… This is a fermented soft drink, that’s made out of rye bread. Which more commonly in Europe and Asia is called “Black Bread”. This is an extremely biased list, based off of my own taste buds, and I say this only because the general reception of my friends to Gira has been… Subpar. Of the eight or nine people that I have seen attempt the drink, who were not Lithuanian, they had three reactions. 1. Flinching Immediately, 2. Telling me its terrible, 3. Pretending it tastes good to them, yet not ever wanting to drink more ever again (I know when they lie). So overall, though I do believe people should attempt it, I doubt you would enjoy it much. Too bad for the people reading this because its my list!

NUMBER 1: Cepelinai…. Pronounced kind of like zeppelin, this is easily my favorite Lithuanian food. This is apparently a type of dumpling, something I just learned from google.In which the outside is potato based, and then theres is a ball of ground meat on the inside. Along with this a special sauce is served with it, otherwise sour cream and bacon can replace the sauce.

Now. You may be wondering why this list in any way would prove useful to you, and I have one answer for you. A new Lithuanian restaurant opened called Grand Dukes and I would highly recommend it, after all it’s a good representations of eastern European food, and everything there is done extremely authentically. So if you do go, let this serve as a guide for what to order. On the other hand, if you don’t, you just chose to read a blog about food that you will never choose to eat, and for that I have one question. Why?

David Krawzyk. What a guy. I’ve been friends with this man for a solid 5 years, and still he never ceases to amaze me (Remember that stupidity can also amaze). In this blog, I will be going over many things to delve deeper into the mastermind that is David Krawszyck. Lets begin with a few simple facts about David

Height: 6 foot or something I don’t know (Every guy is 6 foot change my mind)

Age: 18 I think

Certifications: Many

• Life guarding
• Belaying
• Blood borne Pathogens…which is not as cool as it sounds
• Skiing Instruction
• Others that I have forgotten

Skills: More than certifications

• League Team… David plays for the varsity league team at our school, GO DAVID!
• Poker because he watched a lot of highlight videos
• Stocks because he does his research
• Kayaking because he has in fact Eskimo Rolled (the one where you flip all the way around)
• Comedy
• Magic Card Tricks
• Etc.

Nicknames: David

All Right now let’s get to the important part of the blog… why you should read David’s blog.

Davids’ About Me Page

Let’s start off with his About Me page, truly a work of art. The first thing you read is him trying to convince you to not read, truly a masterful plan. By telling you to turn around, he entices you to keep going, daring you to unravel what secrets he holds among the pages of writing he has done. He explains how he is a normal guy, and that his opinions may be flawed… truly an act of the utmost humility. He cracks a joke about becoming an engineer, for those who don’t know, even David’s brother failed in not becoming an engineer, so David shows true intelligence by giving up on his dreams.

Now you can read the interests on your own, but what I would love for you to understand, is the meaning behind the title of the entire blog. You see, David is such a smart being of this generation, that he did what all intelligent people do in this day and age… He made a pod-cast. Now you see, the title is actually almost the same as the title of his podcast, yet he changed one word to make it school appropriate (The poop word). He wants to cater towards all ages of audience, and does not want his brilliance to limited to one specific age group. How kind.

Davids’ “NO BLOG THIS WEEK: SORRY (THIS IS THE BLOG PLEASE DON’T DOC ME POINTS)”

Action, Mystery, Sci-fi, these are all elements that David incorporates into this thrilling story. Even the intro speaks to you on such a spiritual level. The man is a comedic genius. He starts the title off, by saying he’s not making a blog, and then for those who do not understand his overwhelming comedic wit, he states that this is actually the blog. Masterful work.

He starts the intro off by relating to his audience, building Ethos by stating he too does not want to work on the blog. He then proceeds to his multiple reason for not writing a blog, when in reality, he is writing a blog… Truly a genius writer.

I will not analyze further, as I want you to read his blog and become the best of friends with him, but know the rest of the work is just as riveting as the intro paragraph, and much worth the read.

Disclaimer: Most of what was said is satirical in nature, in reality I believe David can be quite average at times, but the man can also be quite smart and I truly do recommend reading his blog. At the very least the sporadic nature of his ideas allows for easy commenting. There were many true things stated in this blog, but there were also many lies, stated for the sake of comedy. Thank you for understanding.

“War. War never changes”, this is the very first line in the popular video game Fallout 4, and although some people may pass it off as just a simple opening, the line rings true. Wars have been fought for millennia, all for the purpose of accomplishing a task or a goal. Dethrone a king, take over some land, get a more advantageous position in a country. Yet what happens when weapons of war, surpass the limits of which humans are willing to face.

The cold war. Though this war did not hold the most casualties, it without a doubt can be considered one of the most dangerous wars mankind has ever experienced. There are two things that must be considered when it comes to the cold war. What happened, and what could have been.

My first source, will be Kurt Vonnegut, who was sent off into WWII at the ripe age of 20, was captured as a POW, and witnessed firsthand the bombings that America ordered. Vonnegut had seen war, saw its ugly rearing face up close and personal, and lived to tell the tale. Yet he wanted to tell it different from history textbooks. 

My second source, though unconventional, will be the popular video game franchise, Fallout along with the thrilling alternate history that It had to offer. In this universe, Russia bombed America during the cold war, nukes were sent around the world, and every world government collapsed, leading to a post apocalyptic world flooded with dangers. Although I’m pretty sure this never occurred, this alternate story can prove to be a good source, to view what effect the cold war could have had.

What Occurred

Kurt Vonnegut explores the true events of the cold war, in his short story, All the King’s Horses. The basic premise of the story is that a high ranking military official must play chess against a Chinese leader. The catch being that his men were his pieces, and he the king. Right from the beginning, Vonnegut sets up real stakes that mimic what problems the cold war caused.

The antagonist is a communist guerrilla leader, who has a large Russian official at his side at all times. This character was added in order to display the casualties that the cold war was causing. When the Colonel’s wife asks Pi Ying (the communist leader) how he could do this to women and children, and starts to exclaim “For the love of god” but is quickly cut off. Pi Ying retorts with “Is it for the love of God that Americans make bombs and jet planes and tanks?” This character proves that the cold war has a lot of casualties, just none when it comes to the American and Russian troops.

Vonnegut spins a thrilling tale, filled with high stakes, and effective allusions to the cold war. The short story took a simple 15 minute read, but was capable of shifting my view of the cold war, and American Russian relations.

What Could have Occurred

Although Fallout is a video game, and quite literally has no historical stance because it is a fictional world. I still believe that it can be viewed as a source of information about the cold war. The fallout universe occurs in a world where Russia sent missiles to America, and destroyed modern civilization. The entire world is in disarray, people are no longer unified, and everyone must fight for their own survival.

This world offers a view into what could have happened during the cold war. If any nuclear missiles had been sent, it could have had a disastrous impact on society and the environment. With an arsenal of weapons that Russia and America held, destroying the earth would have been child’s play. Yet the game explores this alternate universe, in order to make people appreciate the facade of a lack of violence during the cold war.

Both sources create a compelling story about the cold war, but Vonnegut’s short story is a bit more accessible to most people. War is a common practice for humans, yet no matter what you call it, war will always have the same effects.