Mentally Preparing for Rosh Hashanah

Most of us walk into Rosh Hashanah with last year's record in our hands, and the Yetzer Hara is happy to read it back to us. But Hashem judged Yishmael "ba'asher hu sham," where he is now, and the angels still argued. Why was there anything to argue about, when Hashem is the true judge? And why does the Ben Sorer U'Moreh get the death penalty before he has done anything deserving of it? Then there is Rosh Hashanah coming before Yom Kippur. A rider, a hungry horse and a treasure at the end of the road make the point about the Ten Days.