Blog/January 2008/Jan 11th - Revision history

Ron at 09:30, 18 January 2008

2008-01-18T09:30:06Z

Ron at 11:29, 11 January 2008

2008-01-11T11:29:56Z

Ron at 07:46, 11 January 2008

2008-01-11T07:46:06Z

Ron at 07:39, 11 January 2008

2008-01-11T07:39:08Z

Ron at 07:30, 11 January 2008

2008-01-11T07:30:56Z

Ron at 07:00, 11 January 2008

2008-01-11T07:00:03Z

Ron at 06:58, 11 January 2008

2008-01-11T06:58:27Z

Ron at 06:46, 11 January 2008

2008-01-11T06:46:30Z

Ron at 20:23, 10 January 2008

2008-01-10T20:23:37Z

Ron at 20:19, 10 January 2008

2008-01-10T20:19:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:30, 18 January 2008
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	Shabbat shalom!		Shabbat shalom!

−	{{nav\|Blog\|Blog\|Blog/January 2008/Jan 4th\|Jan 4th\|\|}}	+	{{nav\|Blog\|Blog\|Blog/January 2008/Jan 4th\|Jan 4th\|Blog/January 2008/Jan 18th\|Jan 18th}}

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 Even [http://www.maale-adummim.muni.il/ our humble town] got in the act.  Not only were we specifically mentioned by the Court Jester (I mean, our Prime Minister) in one of his performances before the King -- but the city stuck [[Media:bush-traffic.jpg|these notices]] in all the cars parked around town, the day before His Highness came to visit.  The translation is: "Attention, residents of the city!  Due to the visit of the President of the USA to Israel, there will be traffic problems, rerouting of traffic, road blockages and careful  examinations at roadblocks."   That's just the part in black background at the top!  As it turns out, traffic wasn't so bad for me; in fact, it was better than usual since people were frightened into skipping work because they feared sitting in traffic jams.  However, Esther got stuck for 45 minutes in the tunnel leading from Maaleh Adummim to Jerusalem, because the King changed his route.
-Esther went to the [http://ilmuseums.com/museum_eng.asp?id=209 Menachem Begin Heritage Center Museum], which is sort of a presidential library.  Of course, due to the Imperial vistation, she was late getting to the tour.  Like him or not, Menachem Begin was a ''mensch''.  He certainly wouldn't consider splitting Jerusalem.  I wonder if the Court Jester is aware that the [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517333555&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull vast majority of Israelis] are not interested in "negotiations" on Jerusalem?
+Esther went to the [http://ilmuseums.com/museum_eng.asp?id=209 Menachem Begin Heritage Center Museum], which is sort of a presidential library.  Of course, due to the Imperial visitation, she was late getting to the tour.  Like him or not, Menachem Begin was a ''mensch''.  He certainly wouldn't consider splitting Jerusalem.  I wonder if the Court Jester is aware that the [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517333555&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull vast majority of Israelis] are not interested in "negotiations" on Jerusalem?
 This week Sarah got her mid-term grades.  We were very pleased to see she's getting good marks - despite the difficulties with being uprooted from the familiar and having to contend with a new language.  We're proud of how well she's adapting.  I just have to make sure she doesn't get [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124817 arrested for being an enemy of the state].  Daniela is also doing well, but she's so busy we're afraid to bother her.

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:46, 11 January 2008
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	Shabbat shalom!		Shabbat shalom!

−	{{nav\|Blog\|Blog\|Blog/January 2008/Jan ~~11th~~\|Jan ~~11th~~\|\|}}	+	{{nav\|Blog\|Blog\|Blog/January 2008/Jan 4th\|Jan 4th\|\|}}

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 This week Sarah got her mid-term grades.  We were very pleased to see she's getting good marks - despite the difficulties with being uprooted from the familiar and having to contend with a new language.  We're proud of how well she's adapting.  I just have to make sure she doesn't get [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124817 arrested for being an enemy of the state].  Daniela is also doing well, but she's so busy we're afraid to bother her.
-As I've mentioned before, we've purchased a place here - or rather, we are in the process of purchasing it.  We have signed the contract and paid a down payment.  Now we are working through the process of getting a mortgage.  When we went to 'sign papers' at the bank, I thought it would take twenty minutes.  I was wrong.  It took well over an hour, and my hand is still sore from signing so many papers.  Not only did we spend an hour actually signing, but we have all kinds of 'homework' to do - getting various forms and insurance policies and who knows what... it's a real eye-opener.  Of course nothing in Israel is simple. There's also the halachic questions to be considered, e.g.  whether taking a mortgage runs afoul the prohibition of taking a loan at interest!  Nothing's simple ...
+I know, I know -- I was complaining about heat... but that was back in August and September.  Now we're freezing: the forecast is for freezing lows (1-2C, just over freezing) in Jerusalem.  Here in the desert it is just as cold at night.  Unfortunately, our defective air-conditioners don't heat the house very well (the one in our bedroom doesn't heat at all).  The good thing is that we can use sweaters.  Back in August, we didn't even give a second thought to being ''too cold''.  It didn't seem like a possibility.  Well, it is, believe me!
 Shabbat shalom!
 {{nav|Blog|Blog|Blog/January 2008/Jan 11th|Jan 11th||}}

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 Of course, the big news this week is the visit of King George II.  Well, given the extreme security measures (key avenues in central [http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/ Jerusalem] shut down; over 10,000 police deployed to protect him; all 237 rooms of the King David hotel bought out to prevent "outsiders" getting close to him) it ''seemed'' like he should be called "King".  Some in the Looney Left in Israel seemed to think we need a [http://web.israelinsider.com/views/12538.htm much more intimate relationship] with the US, while our "partners for peace" didn't hesitate [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124878 to bomb the American school] in Gaza.  They also sent gift-wrapped [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124866 Qassam rockets] to Sderot in his honor.
-Even [http://www.maale-adummim.muni.il/ our humble town] got in the act.  Not only were we specifically mentioned by the Court Jester (I mean, our Prime Minister) in one of his performances before the King -- but the city stuck [[Media:bush-traffic.jpg|these notices]] in all the cars parked around town, the day before His Highness came to visit.  The translation is: "Attention, residents of the city!  Due to the visit of the President of the USA to Israel, there will be traffic problems, rerouting of traffic, road blockages and careful  examinations at roadblocks."   That's just the part in black background at the top!  As it turns out, traffic wasn't so bad for me; in fact, it was better than usual since people were frightened into skipping work because they feared sitting in traffic jams.  I wonder if the Court Jester is aware that the [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517333555&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull vast majority of Israelis] are not interested in "negotiations" on Jerusalem?
+Even [http://www.maale-adummim.muni.il/ our humble town] got in the act.  Not only were we specifically mentioned by the Court Jester (I mean, our Prime Minister) in one of his performances before the King -- but the city stuck [[Media:bush-traffic.jpg|these notices]] in all the cars parked around town, the day before His Highness came to visit.  The translation is: "Attention, residents of the city!  Due to the visit of the President of the USA to Israel, there will be traffic problems, rerouting of traffic, road blockages and careful  examinations at roadblocks."   That's just the part in black background at the top!  As it turns out, traffic wasn't so bad for me; in fact, it was better than usual since people were frightened into skipping work because they feared sitting in traffic jams.  However, Esther got stuck for 45 minutes in the tunnel leading from Maaleh Adummim to Jerusalem, because the King changed his route.
 This week Sarah got her mid-term grades.  We were very pleased to see she's getting good marks - despite the difficulties with being uprooted from the familiar and having to contend with a new language.  We're proud of how well she's adapting.  I just have to make sure she doesn't get [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124817 arrested for being an enemy of the state].  Daniela is also doing well, but she's so busy we're afraid to bother her.
 As I've mentioned before, we've purchased a place here - or rather, we are in the process of purchasing it.  We have signed the contract and paid a down payment.  Now we are working through the process of getting a mortgage.  When we went to 'sign papers' at the bank, I thought it would take twenty minutes.  I was wrong.  It took well over an hour, and my hand is still sore from signing so many papers.  Not only did we spend an hour actually signing, but we have all kinds of 'homework' to do - getting various forms and insurance policies and who knows what... it's a real eye-opener.  Of course nothing in Israel is simple. There's also the halachic questions to be considered, e.g.  whether taking a mortgage runs afoul the prohibition of taking a loan at interest!  Nothing's simple ...

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 Realizing that our cellphones are more expensive than they need to be, we decided to get different ones.  That should be simple, right?  Go to the store, get information on the plans and phones, make a choice and sign up.  What could be easier?  Well, we went to the [http://www.cellcom.co.il/cultures/he-il Cellcom store] in the mall here, because their plans are less expensive than the main rival [http://www.orange.co.il/ Orange]'s plans.  The man behind the counter explained the plans - after ten minutes we finally understood what he was saying.  Then we asked which phones were in the plan, and he pointed to the entire display case.  So we looked for a while and picked phones we liked.  He then told us, "Sorry, that phone isn't in-stock".  OK, so when will it be in stock?  "We haven't had it for two months...".  OK... so which phones do you have?  "All the phones on this side, besides those two."   So we looked and looked, and finally made our choices.  He said, "That phone isn't in stock, I'll have to order it for you."  We spent an hour of our time, and ended up with nothing.  Now I ask you, does this sound like a person who is interested in selling phones?  Doesn't Cellcom care they have nitwits selling their plans?  Moral of the story: be ''very'' specific in your questions!  We should have asked, "Which of these phones do you have here in the store, for sale now?"
-Of course, the big news this week is the visit of King George II.  Well, given the extreme security measures (key avenues in central [http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/ Jerusalem] shut down; over 10,000 police deployed to protect him; all 237 rooms of the King David hotel bought out to prevent "outsiders" getting close to him) it ''seemed'' like he should be called "King".  Some in the Looney Left in Israel seemed to think we need a [http://web.israelinsider.com/views/12538.htm much more intimate relationship] with the US, while our "partners for peace" didn't hesitate [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124878 to bomb the American school] in Gaza.  Nice.
+Of course, the big news this week is the visit of King George II.  Well, given the extreme security measures (key avenues in central [http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/ Jerusalem] shut down; over 10,000 police deployed to protect him; all 237 rooms of the King David hotel bought out to prevent "outsiders" getting close to him) it ''seemed'' like he should be called "King".  Some in the Looney Left in Israel seemed to think we need a [http://web.israelinsider.com/views/12538.htm much more intimate relationship] with the US, while our "partners for peace" didn't hesitate [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124878 to bomb the American school] in Gaza.  They also sent gift-wrapped [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124866 Qassam rockets] to Sderot in his honor.
 Even [http://www.maale-adummim.muni.il/ our humble town] got in the act.  Not only were we specifically mentioned by the Court Jester (e.g. our Prime Minister) in one of his performances before the King -- but the city stuck [[Media:bush-traffic.jpg|these notices]] in all the cars parked around town, the day before His Highness came to visit.  The translation is: "Attention, residents of the city!  Due to the visit of the President of the USA to Israel, there will be traffic problems, rerouting of traffic, road blockages and careful  examinations at roadblocks."   That's just the part in black background at the top!  As it turns out, traffic wasn't so bad for me; in fact, it was better than usual since people were frightened into skipping work because they feared sitting in traffic jams.  I wonder if the Court Jester is aware that the [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517333555&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull vast majority of Israelis] are not interested in "negotiations" on Jerusalem?

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 Realizing that our cellphones are more expensive than they need to be, we decided to get different ones.  That should be simple, right?  Go to the store, get information on the plans and phones, make a choice and sign up.  What could be easier?  Well, we went to the [http://www.cellcom.co.il/cultures/he-il Cellcom store] in the mall here, because their plans are less expensive than the main rival [http://www.orange.co.il/ Orange]'s plans.  The man behind the counter explained the plans - after ten minutes we finally understood what he was saying.  Then we asked which phones were in the plan, and he pointed to the entire display case.  So we looked for a while and picked phones we liked.  He then told us, "Sorry, that phone isn't in-stock".  OK, so when will it be in stock?  "We haven't had it for two months...".  OK... so which phones do you have?  "All the phones on this side, besides those two."   So we looked and looked, and finally made our choices.  He said, "That phone isn't in stock, I'll have to order it for you."  We spent an hour of our time, and ended up with nothing.  Now I ask you, does this sound like a person who is interested in selling phones?  Doesn't Cellcom care they have nitwits selling their plans?
-Of course, the big news this week is the visit of King George II.  Well, given the extreme security measures (key avenues in central Jerusalem shut down; over 10,000 police deployed to protect him; all 237 rooms of the King David hotel bought out to prevent "outsiders" getting close to him) it ''seemed'' like he should be called "King".  Some in the Looney Left in Israel seemed to think a, well, [http://web.israelinsider.com/views/12538.htm much more intimate] relationship with the US is desired.  Then again, our whacky [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124878 "partners for peace"] could scarcely contain their joy.
+Of course, the big news this week is the visit of King George II.  Well, given the extreme security measures (key avenues in central [http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/ Jerusalem] shut down; over 10,000 police deployed to protect him; all 237 rooms of the King David hotel bought out to prevent "outsiders" getting close to him) it ''seemed'' like he should be called "King".  Some in the Looney Left in Israel seemed to think a, well, [http://web.israelinsider.com/views/12538.htm much more intimate] relationship with the US is desired.  Then again, our whacky [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124878 "partners for peace"] could scarcely contain their joy.
-Even our humble town got in the act.  Not only did we get specifically mentioned by the Court Jester -- eh, I mean our Prime Minister -- but the city stuck [[Media:bush-traffic.jpg|these notices]] in all the cars parked around town, the day before His Highness came to visit.  The translation is: "Attention, residents of the city!  Due to the visit of the President of the USA to Israel, there will be traffic problems, rerouting of traffic, road blockages and exacting examinations at roadblocks."   That's just the part in black background at the top!  As it turns out, traffic for me wasn't so bad; in fact, it was better than usual since people were frightened into skipping work because they feared sitting in traffic jams.
+Even [http://www.maale-adummim.muni.il/ our humble town] got in the act.  Not only did we get specifically mentioned by the Court Jester -- eh, I mean our Prime Minister -- but the city stuck [[Media:bush-traffic.jpg|these notices]] in all the cars parked around town, the day before His Highness came to visit.  The translation is: "Attention, residents of the city!  Due to the visit of the President of the USA to Israel, there will be traffic problems, rerouting of traffic, road blockages and exacting examinations at roadblocks."   That's just the part in black background at the top!  As it turns out, traffic for me wasn't so bad; in fact, it was better than usual since people were frightened into skipping work because they feared sitting in traffic jams.

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 Realizing that our cellphones are more expensive than they need to be, we decided to get different ones.  That should be simple, right?  Go to the store, get information on the plans and phones, make a choice and sign up.  What could be easier?  Well, we went to the [http://www.cellcom.co.il/cultures/he-il Cellcom store] in the mall here, because their plans are less expensive than the main rival [http://www.orange.co.il/ Orange]'s plans.  The man behind the counter explained the plans - after ten minutes we finally understood what he was saying.  Then we asked which phones were in the plan, and he pointed to the entire display case.  So we looked for a while and picked phones we liked.  He then told us, "Sorry, that phone isn't in-stock".  OK, so when will it be in stock?  "We haven't had it for two months...".  OK... so which phones do you have?  "All the phones on this side, besides those two."   So we looked and looked, and finally made our choices.  He said, "That phone isn't in stock, I'll have to order it for you."  We spent an hour of our time, and ended up with nothing.  Now I ask you, does this sound like a person who is interested in selling phones?  Doesn't Cellcom care they have nitwits selling their plans?
-* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517290433&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Hail the conquering hero!]
+Of course, the big news this week is the visit of King George II.  Well, given the extreme security measures (key avenues in central Jerusalem shut down; over 10,000 police deployed to protect him; all 237 rooms of the King David hotel bought out to prevent "outsiders" getting close to him) it ''seemed'' like he should be called "King".  Some in the Looney Left in Israel seemed to think a, well, [http://web.israelinsider.com/views/12538.htm much more intimate] relationship with the US is desired.  Then again, our whacky [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124878 "partners for peace"] could scarcely contain their joy.
-* [http://web.israelinsider.com/views/12538.htm rape us?]
-* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517309772&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull won't meet the opposition]
+Even our humble town got in the act.  Not only did we get specifically mentioned by the Court Jester -- eh, I mean our Prime Minister -- but the city stuck [[Media:bush-traffic.jpg|these notices]] in all the cars parked around town, the day before His Highness came to visit.  The translation is: "Attention, residents of the city!  Due to the visit of the President of the USA to Israel, there will be traffic problems, rerouting of traffic, road blockages and exacting examinations at roadblocks."   That's just the part in black background at the top!  As it turns out, traffic for me wasn't so bad; in fact, it was better than usual since people were frightened into skipping work because they feared sitting in traffic jams.
-* The ''real'' enemy is [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124817 teenaged girls]
-* [[Media:bush-traffic.jpg|Traffic notice]]
+The city of Jerusalem put special information on their [http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/ web site].  I'm sorry, but that has got to be the most poorly designed site I've seen in years.  Who designed it, the mayor's five-year old nephew?  It doesn't work in IE or Firefox... just who is supposed to look at it?  Compare it with [http://www.maale-adummim.muni.il/ the Maaleh Adummim] site, which is ugly but at least it loads properly...
-* The worst [http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/ web site in Israel].  Who designed it, the mayor's five-year old nephew?  It doesn't work in IE or Firefox... just who is supposed to look at it?  Compare with [http://www.maale-adummim.muni.il/ the Maaleh Adummim] site, which is ugly but at least it loads properly...
 * [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1198517328280&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull religious discrimination]
 * [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517333555&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull]
-* [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124878 Welcome, USA!]
+* The ''real'' enemy is [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124817 teenaged girls]
 Shabbat shalom!
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