Year: 2007

Oh, Internet, I love you so!

I just have to say that there are some really cool things out there and some really useful services that I am pretty impressed with.

To start off with, I am a big fan of Skype – especially since I got a nice webcam – the Microsoft VX-1000 Life Cam. The camera hangs nicely off the top of my LCD screen on my laptop, and in combination with Skype, I get to speak and be seen by people all over the planet. If I’m lucky (or if their brother brought them one back from the USA), they have a camera too, so we get to see each other. It’s great to be able to spend a minute or two – or more! – with people that aren’t around at the moment.

Another service which I use – which is a little Continue reading Oh, Internet, I love you so!

D00d, I’m in NYC!

OMG, where to start?

Well, this has sure been a fairly eventful week or so. OK – first things first.

Thursday night’s party was awesome – so thank you everyone for coming and partying with us! Over 60 people came through my door and I think just about everyone had a good time. Much booze was consumed, and thanks to Dan’s predictive abilities, we had exactly 2 bagels left over the next morning (which were promptly consumed).

Thanks a mil to Alter & Naomi for Friday night’s dinner (and also to Josh for organizing it, and Shawn & Yaffa for being there to tolerate me one last time).

Thanks a TON to Ruth, who got up in the middle of the night and drove me to the airport.

My flight was thankfully uneventful – I caught up on a few episodes of “The Inside”, slept some, ate some cookies that Batsheva had sent over on Friday afternoon (YUM!), slept some more, ate terrible airline food, and had some fun conversations with my seat-mates.

I got picked up from the airport by my aunt & cousin, and they drove me back to Manhattan. The traffic is horrible – I’m resolved to try and stay on public transport for as long as possible. I’m still unsure which is the more cost-effective MetroCard to get – the pay-per-ride for $2/each or a weekly/monthly? I guess it depends on whether or not I’m planning on more than two rides a day – any advice?

So I’ve spent a couple days recuperating and trying to get on track. Got most of my stuff folded & put away – still a little more to deal with before I have a clean living room.

Last night, I made it to “Avenue Q” on Broadway, and it was a hoot. Little advice: you can get Box Office tickets for about $48 in the Rear Mezzanine, or add another $10 over at TKTS and get much more superb seats. It was a lot of fun, and I’d go see it again anytime.

After I had gotten my ticket at the window, I kept hearing screaming from somewhere around the corner Continue reading D00d, I’m in NYC!

The News Bulletin

Hi y’all.

I know I was going to complete the history lesson, but things have been a little delayed, and events have begun to unfold.

Here’s the low-down:

  1. I have a new job in New York City – in the DUMBO neighborhood to be a little more precise.
  2. I will be moving to Manhattan in about two weeks – June 2nd or so.
  3. Most of my computer-related items are being claimed by Yehuda, but if you know of something specific that you want, let me know.
  4. I am planning a going-away party on Thursday, May 31st, in the evening, and an eVite will be sent out at some point. If you don’t get the eVite by may 27th, drop me an email/comment and I’ll send it to you.
  5. I am selling off my closed alcohol bottles – another post will detail what is up for grabs. The open bottles will hopefully be consumed during the party.

So there’s oodles and oodles more to go on about, but I don’t have the time right now.

Suffice it to say – go see “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” if you can. It came highly recommended, and was worth it. 🙂

Discount price? No problem.

So today I was out and about in Manhattan, and I met with the guy that sent me out on the quick fix-it job last week in Brooklyn.
He thinks that there is definitely something to develop with me and him. I am guessing that he is looking to finally start structuring the business part of his company and letting someone else deal with the day-to-day client/project/tech team management. We’ll see what develops, as tomorrow I’m meeting with some of his team at a client’s site to discuss some strategy.

After that, I moseyed on around and got lost at Penn Station looking on how to Continue reading Discount price? No problem.

Slight break from history lesson

So I’m taking a break from my history recap for a few quick updates.

To start off, I’m in Manhattan, new York City, new York, USA. Wow.

I flew out here on Tuesday, and it was a long day of flying. I was awake for almost 24 hours
At my stopover in London’s Heathrow, I picked up a laptop charger/adapter that allowed me to connect my laptop to the airplane I was flying in – and that kept me going for a good few hours.

Once we landed, I breezed through passport control and customs, and my uncle picked me up and drove me into Manhattan, where we did some basic food shopping and then got me into the apartment.

The next morning, Wednesday, after a fitful night of sleep, I had my first Continue reading Slight break from history lesson

Forgive me, blog, for I have sinned…

… it has been over a month since my last post.

It’s been a busy time period, lots of things have been happening, and I’m still catching my breath. So now I’m finally writing this post to put it all out there.

So some of you may know, and others may not, that I am looking for a new job.

This is mainly due to the fact that the company I work for has brought in someone to replace me, an “IT Manager”, someone is supposedly to have a much wider range of experience than myself, in order to take the reins.

Personally, I’m not impressed by the choice.

Anyways, I’ve broadened my search parameters to pretty much anywhere in the world, specifically Manhattan or elsewhere in new York City (where this post is being written right now).
Unfortunately, the job market in and around Jerusalem is pretty weak, so any decent job would be in the Gush Dan area, and require a massive commute and/or moving closer to Gush Dan. I’m not happy about moving to another city that is not Jerusalem, as I’ve loved and lived this city for quite a long time now, and am VERY reluctant to leave.

Rationale: If I have to get up and move, I might as well make it a big move that improves some other aspects – better financial situation, better work environment, and less day-to-day crap that is the people in the public eye in this country.

Some history:
I came to Israel in 1988, in the middle of the First Intifada. Not the best environs for raising kids, but my parents believed then (and probably still do) that Israel is the place for Jews on Earth, as handed down by the Lord to Abraham, etc etc.
We lived in an Absorption Center close to Jerusalem for seven months, and I commuted to school in Jerusalem, and then back to after-school tutoring, and finally made it home “under the cover of darkness”.
We then moved to Har Nof, an ultra-orthodox neighborhood with the “suburbs” of Jerusalem, and along came the Gulf War. Just a personal timeline – my Bar Mitzva was a few days before the start of the war, my eldest sister’s wedding was pretty much the day after it ended. Thanks, George Bush, Sr. I will forever associate two important dates in my life with a war.

Continue reading Forgive me, blog, for I have sinned…

Come on, blow us up! I dare you.

So yet again Israel’s doing something a little weird.

Saturday night, we were over at some friends and caught wind of something playing in the background on their computer. One of the other guests freaked outin happiness and started to sing along.

On further investigation, this is a song written by Israeli band “Teapacks“(a friend of mine actually shows up in one of their music videos). The song sounds a lot like their other songs, and is in three languages – English, French and Hebrew.

So I’m not really impressed by the song itself – but I have to consider the fact that Israel’s choice of song has caused a lot of ruckus in international news, as well as first being rejected from the Eurovision contest, and then allowed after appeal.

It’s pretty interesting – Israel’s history of the Eurovision. Joined the contest in 1973 – and got 4th place.

Then, only five years later, a first place win! And then another! The first, a somewhat gibberish song, the second “Haleluyah” – you may have heard it.
Then silence for almost 20 years – with few high-placing songs – and then we bring on a transsexual singing some weird song about a Diva or such.

And Israel wins.

Important to mention – Diva took a total of 172 points – higher than both other Israel wins. Last year, however, the Finnish heavy metal band Lordi with “Hard Rock Hallelujah” took a record-breaking 292 points (just for a scale!) in Finland’s first-ever Eurovision win.

Israel, the land of wholesome historical values and entire neighborhoods cordoned off for the Sabbath – Israel wins with a Diva. Good for us.

And then – silence yet again, with some pretty lame entries over the past few years, and then we come to this year. Brilliance.

So go ahead, enjoy the show – May 10th for those interested. It’s gone to hell and it ain’t coming back too soon.

In any case, if you really want to push a button, I suggest you do it in the safety of your own home, by clicking right here.

Watch the clip here.

Thanks for reading.

Ethel in the Nursing Home

I get so many jokes – I’m not a big fan of auto-forwarding something that you think is funny.

However, my big sister sent me a doozy. Read on.

Ethel was a bit of a demon in her wheelchair, and loved to charge around the nursing home, taking corners on one wheel and getting up to maximum speed on the long corridors.Because the poor woman was one sandwich short of a picnic the other residents tolerated her and some of them actually joined in.

One day Ethel was speeding up one corridor when a door opened and Kooky Clarence stepped out with his arm outstretched. “STOP!,” he shouted in a firm voice. “Have you got a license for that thing?” Ethel fished around in her handbag and pulled out a Kit Kat wrapper and held it up to him.
“OK” he said, and away Ethel sped down the hall.

As she took the corner near the TV lounge on one wheel, weird Harold popped out in front of her and shouted “STOP! Have you got proof of insurance?” Ethel dug into her handbag, pulled out a drink coaster and held it up to him.
Harold nodded and said “On your way, Ma’am.”

As Ethel neared the final corridor, Crazy Craig stepped out in front of her, butt-naked, and holding his “You-Know-What” in his hand.

Continue reading Ethel in the Nursing Home