Monday, July 21, 2008
NBN TV
If anyone is interested, Nefesh B' Nefesh will be broadcasting the landing on their website at http://www.nbn.org.il/index.php . The plane lands at about 1am EST, so if you're up and are interested, go ahead and enjoy.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Episode 1: Baltimore ===> New York
I’ve been pondering something. A deep question of the universe.
Can you get Listerine in Israel?
I’ve been pondering something else.
I’M MOVING TO ISRAEL TOMMOROW!!
So after about 3 days of packing, I’m sitting here in Far Rockaway, NY about 20 min from JFK so I can take off in the morning.
(Now that you have the setting we will continue with post #1)
Before I start this post I want to thank a few individuals (and teams):
My parents for being very supportive of my Aliyah and for everything they’ve done for me over the years
Lenny & Glenna (Glenny) Ross for helping me convince other people that I really am working very hard, and for all of the incredible work that they do.
Rabbi & Rebbetzin Goldberger for their guidance throughout the years
The Baltimore Aliyah experts/motivators/coordinators who just do incredible work-Rabbi & Rebbetzin Adler as well as our incredible Shaliach Neil Gillman
I think that’s it...oh and the Shamroth’s, Eastman’s, and Bolthouser’s for allowing me grace their homes for my first 3 Shabbosim in Israel.
Now I am aware that there are some people reading this who may not be aware of the terminology that I use. You can just ask, or Google it, if you have a question on anything,.
Of course the past 72 hours haven’t been without its share of enjoyable moments. Like discovering that after weighting one of my bags, the scale said 120lbs (the limit’s 70). I do have reason to believe that the scale was toying with me (as I’ve been told scales sometimes do).
Or when we pulled into driveway of the house we’re staying at here in Far Rockaway, a certain unnamed person discovered that they had misplaced the keys to the house (gender-specific terms have been obscured to protect the guil- I mean innocent)
Anyways, I’ve been asked if I’m scared, nervous etc about tomorrow, and I’m still feeling really calm about it. It’s not everyday one decides to leave suburbia America to move to the Middle East.
So for any of those who don’t know (read: have not asked me sometime in the last 6 days-seems like EVERYONE’S done that) I’m going to be staying for my first month with a friend who lives in the coastal city of Ramat Gan, and goes to Bar Ilan University. After about a month or so I’ll be moving to Ramat Shilo, a new community located near Beit Shemesh, and will be working at Yeshivat Lev Hatorah.
So this first post will be short, I just wanted to get something out today because I promised some people that I would. Tomorrow bright and early (11am) gotta be at JFK for check-in, I’ll write more about it on the plane and hopefully the next time you hear from me I’ll be in the Holy/Homeland.
Can you get Listerine in Israel?
I’ve been pondering something else.
I’M MOVING TO ISRAEL TOMMOROW!!
So after about 3 days of packing, I’m sitting here in Far Rockaway, NY about 20 min from JFK so I can take off in the morning.
(Now that you have the setting we will continue with post #1)
Before I start this post I want to thank a few individuals (and teams):
My parents for being very supportive of my Aliyah and for everything they’ve done for me over the years
Lenny & Glenna (Glenny) Ross for helping me convince other people that I really am working very hard, and for all of the incredible work that they do.
Rabbi & Rebbetzin Goldberger for their guidance throughout the years
The Baltimore Aliyah experts/motivators/coordinators who just do incredible work-Rabbi & Rebbetzin Adler as well as our incredible Shaliach Neil Gillman
I think that’s it...oh and the Shamroth’s, Eastman’s, and Bolthouser’s for allowing me grace their homes for my first 3 Shabbosim in Israel.
Now I am aware that there are some people reading this who may not be aware of the terminology that I use. You can just ask, or Google it, if you have a question on anything,.
Of course the past 72 hours haven’t been without its share of enjoyable moments. Like discovering that after weighting one of my bags, the scale said 120lbs (the limit’s 70). I do have reason to believe that the scale was toying with me (as I’ve been told scales sometimes do).
Or when we pulled into driveway of the house we’re staying at here in Far Rockaway, a certain unnamed person discovered that they had misplaced the keys to the house (gender-specific terms have been obscured to protect the guil- I mean innocent)
Anyways, I’ve been asked if I’m scared, nervous etc about tomorrow, and I’m still feeling really calm about it. It’s not everyday one decides to leave suburbia America to move to the Middle East.
So for any of those who don’t know (read: have not asked me sometime in the last 6 days-seems like EVERYONE’S done that) I’m going to be staying for my first month with a friend who lives in the coastal city of Ramat Gan, and goes to Bar Ilan University. After about a month or so I’ll be moving to Ramat Shilo, a new community located near Beit Shemesh, and will be working at Yeshivat Lev Hatorah.
So this first post will be short, I just wanted to get something out today because I promised some people that I would. Tomorrow bright and early (11am) gotta be at JFK for check-in, I’ll write more about it on the plane and hopefully the next time you hear from me I’ll be in the Holy/Homeland.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Update: This Blog
For those of you who have been following this blog you may have noticed that I've been posting less and less over the past few months. This is not due to my lack of interest in this blog, but more that I've just been really busy (you can imagine as one plans to move their life to another country).
Anyways, after I land in Israel next week I will be starting a new blog, dedicated exclusively with life in the Land of Israel.
Don't worry, Trying to Fix the World will still be around, and I will even be posting all of the posts in the new blog to this one as well. This blog will turn more into my rant blog (big surprise there, as that was it's purpose to begin with), as well as other things that I feel like writting about (you may have noticed some tech related things) and the new blog will be (objective!) about my life in Israel.
It will not include political issues, it will deal purely with my day to day life.
I want to do this for a few reasons
1) I want to be able to document my first few years (and beyond)
2) I want to create a non-threatening forum so that people from across the political, religious, and cultural spectrum will be able to appreciate what life in Israel is really like
3) I want to do what ever I can to encourage Jews in America to, at the very least, appreciate Aliyah (and at the most, come to Israel themselves)
The first post will go up sometime next week, I will be writing on the plane and whenever I get a chance after I land.
Anyways, after I land in Israel next week I will be starting a new blog, dedicated exclusively with life in the Land of Israel.
Don't worry, Trying to Fix the World will still be around, and I will even be posting all of the posts in the new blog to this one as well. This blog will turn more into my rant blog (big surprise there, as that was it's purpose to begin with), as well as other things that I feel like writting about (you may have noticed some tech related things) and the new blog will be (objective!) about my life in Israel.
It will not include political issues, it will deal purely with my day to day life.
I want to do this for a few reasons
1) I want to be able to document my first few years (and beyond)
2) I want to create a non-threatening forum so that people from across the political, religious, and cultural spectrum will be able to appreciate what life in Israel is really like
3) I want to do what ever I can to encourage Jews in America to, at the very least, appreciate Aliyah (and at the most, come to Israel themselves)
The first post will go up sometime next week, I will be writing on the plane and whenever I get a chance after I land.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
First thoughts on iPod Classic
Yes I did it, I went and bought a new iPod. I figure that I now have a fresh battery which will hopefully keep me running for a few years. The other issue was that I ran out of space on my old iPod (a 30gb 5G Video iPod).
My former iPod was still running perfectly fine after using it heavily for just over 2 years (I got it in June 2006). But like most lithium ion batteries, they loose their charge as they are used, and the 14 hour playback time that was advertised when I bought was probably around 6 hours 2 years later (I don't know exactly as I never tested it, but that would be a generous estimate).
So I got the 80gb iPod Classic. Something that can give me everything I own in my pocket. What's really interesting is that I don't have a lot of music on my iPod, less then 2,000 songs. The bulk of what I keep in there are shiurim. Shiurim from yeshiva and shiurim I've downloaded from the web. I have so many shiurim on my iPod I don't think I have enough time left in my left to listen to them all (all right I'm exaggerating, I probably only have about 600 hours worth, but still that's a lot).
Anyways, a quick look at those who are looking to buy one, or replace an existing iPod.
The new iPod has a new user interface that the old one did not have. Apple revolutionized easy user interfaces in portable music players, with it's click wheel, and extremely simple menu system. Since it was first announced in late 2001, the iPod interface was very straight forward, choose music, selevt by Artist, Album etc. When video was added in late 2005 the same thing Videos>movies/music videos etc.
One thing about this simple interface was that the text for it were always located in the left side of the screen, which usually left a gapping white hole on the right half of the screen.
Deciding to take a card of the Micorsoft's Zune, with it's very colorful user interface, Apple decided to utilize this space on the right side of the screen. Now when you click over say Music, the right side of the screen will display you're album art. same with movies, screen shot's of your videos will appear on the right side of the screen.
That's mainly the major change, there are some other graphical changes, like when you're music is playing it will display the album art in 3-D, as well as the iPod now having support for 3-D ganes.
Now the thing that I noticed that was different from the previous iPod I had, was that I felt the click wheel was much less responsive. You now need to get an entire flat section of your finger on the click wheen in order for it to respond. My old iPod (and my 2G iPod Nano) have very delicate touches, you can actually scroll with your finger slightly above the wheel (it picks up your body heat).
I have a feelin that one of the reasons that Apple did this was to keep users from scrolling and overshooting their target. Then play a little back and forth before they can actually select the file that they want. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the full finger thing down, you do have more control using the click wheel.
Anyways, I know that this product came out almost a year ago butI thought I'd put my 2 cents in. If you have any questions let me know.
My former iPod was still running perfectly fine after using it heavily for just over 2 years (I got it in June 2006). But like most lithium ion batteries, they loose their charge as they are used, and the 14 hour playback time that was advertised when I bought was probably around 6 hours 2 years later (I don't know exactly as I never tested it, but that would be a generous estimate).
So I got the 80gb iPod Classic. Something that can give me everything I own in my pocket. What's really interesting is that I don't have a lot of music on my iPod, less then 2,000 songs. The bulk of what I keep in there are shiurim. Shiurim from yeshiva and shiurim I've downloaded from the web. I have so many shiurim on my iPod I don't think I have enough time left in my left to listen to them all (all right I'm exaggerating, I probably only have about 600 hours worth, but still that's a lot).
Anyways, a quick look at those who are looking to buy one, or replace an existing iPod.
The new iPod has a new user interface that the old one did not have. Apple revolutionized easy user interfaces in portable music players, with it's click wheel, and extremely simple menu system. Since it was first announced in late 2001, the iPod interface was very straight forward, choose music, selevt by Artist, Album etc. When video was added in late 2005 the same thing Videos>movies/music videos etc.
One thing about this simple interface was that the text for it were always located in the left side of the screen, which usually left a gapping white hole on the right half of the screen.
Deciding to take a card of the Micorsoft's Zune, with it's very colorful user interface, Apple decided to utilize this space on the right side of the screen. Now when you click over say Music, the right side of the screen will display you're album art. same with movies, screen shot's of your videos will appear on the right side of the screen.
That's mainly the major change, there are some other graphical changes, like when you're music is playing it will display the album art in 3-D, as well as the iPod now having support for 3-D ganes.
Now the thing that I noticed that was different from the previous iPod I had, was that I felt the click wheel was much less responsive. You now need to get an entire flat section of your finger on the click wheen in order for it to respond. My old iPod (and my 2G iPod Nano) have very delicate touches, you can actually scroll with your finger slightly above the wheel (it picks up your body heat).
I have a feelin that one of the reasons that Apple did this was to keep users from scrolling and overshooting their target. Then play a little back and forth before they can actually select the file that they want. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the full finger thing down, you do have more control using the click wheel.
Anyways, I know that this product came out almost a year ago butI thought I'd put my 2 cents in. If you have any questions let me know.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Update: 2 Weeks to Go!
Yes, I am well aware that the posts are starting to become fewer in number, not that I don't have material to write about, just sheer lack of time to write. But I wanted to document my Aliyah process, not only for other people to hear about it and hopefully be inspired by it, but also for me so that I can look back and see how I felt about this upcoming move, which is probably the biggest decision of my life that I've completely chosen for myself.
So...the packing...Yeah, it's kind of happening. After about a month of procrastination, I took the first big step, I found two boxes and pulled up the suitcase I'm taking with me...and they've sat in my room for the past week collecting dust. I'm not sure why it is, but I have this thing about pushing stuff off to the last minute, kind of like I think that something will change as the day gets closer and the job will be somehow easier.
So I know have two weeks and a day until that plane takes off, a plane I've been waiting for for two years. And what's funny is that I'm not excited at all. Well that's not true, of course I'm excited, but I don't have that butterfly anticipations in my stomach, the "Oh wow, I'm leaving" feeling. Other people are getting excited about it "So when are you leaving?" in a very hopeful kind of way (no, they're not, I'm joking) but I have notices myself saying that's this is the last time I'll be able to do 'X'.
I wrote a few weeks ago about a bike ride I did up Greenspring in the Baltimore area. I went about 12 miles or so up that road before I turned back. I had been planning to go last week and this week as well, but I was recovering for the accident last week, and this week it looks like rain's going to hit the Baltimore area (besides I should get a start on packing). But on Tuesday, I went to drop my sister off somewhere and found that I had a free hour. An hour that I could just take to myself, without having to worry about schedules, pickups, deadlines, and other slave masters that can run our lives.
So I decided to just drive, drive up Greenspiring. Now for those of you in the Baltimore area who have never done this I highly recommend it, for those of you outised the area, you'll have to use your imagination. I don't know what it is about this road, but it seems the further you go up it the more beautiful it gets. You cross over the beltway and find yourself in a stretch of woods and a country road. I saw a dear on my way back, which reminded me of a time about 4 years ago when biking had to stop as a family of dear crossed the road.
After this winding conntry road through the woods, which kind of act like a portal into literally another world, you're really in the country passing this incredible colonial style house sitting in enormas corn fields.
This stretchs for about a mile before you're back in the woods climbing a steep hill up to this incredible vista that overlooks more farmland. It's incredible to think that this is really what America is about these rolling hills and open areas, we like to live where the action is but sometines it makes us forget about this other side of the hill. Where people live on large plots of land really touch it and appreciate what it means to be walking on grass most of the time instead of concrete.
Anyways I drove about 20 miles out and was just thinking, this will be the last time I do this, because it is. I am moving to Israel, a country where the inhabitants REALLY love their land. These farms out in the backwoods of Baltimore, don't have to worry that their land will be given away to people who want to kill them. They may take it for granted but they have a gift, Jews in Israel, Jews in general, whether they want to believe it or not, will never have that luxery of feeling that they have finished. Because we won't, not until the Beit Hamikdash is standing on the Temple Mount and the world is begging us to be their moral compass. We ourselves need to work on heading in the right direction, part of which is not just coming home to Israel, but also to do what we can to bring Torah into our lives. I heard an interesting point made, the Torah is not a book about about how we can make G-d happy, the Torah is a book on how to become a better person, and how to change the world into a positive place.
Rant done: I'm moving to Israel in 2 weeks and I can't wait!
So...the packing...Yeah, it's kind of happening. After about a month of procrastination, I took the first big step, I found two boxes and pulled up the suitcase I'm taking with me...and they've sat in my room for the past week collecting dust. I'm not sure why it is, but I have this thing about pushing stuff off to the last minute, kind of like I think that something will change as the day gets closer and the job will be somehow easier.
So I know have two weeks and a day until that plane takes off, a plane I've been waiting for for two years. And what's funny is that I'm not excited at all. Well that's not true, of course I'm excited, but I don't have that butterfly anticipations in my stomach, the "Oh wow, I'm leaving" feeling. Other people are getting excited about it "So when are you leaving?" in a very hopeful kind of way (no, they're not, I'm joking) but I have notices myself saying that's this is the last time I'll be able to do 'X'.
I wrote a few weeks ago about a bike ride I did up Greenspring in the Baltimore area. I went about 12 miles or so up that road before I turned back. I had been planning to go last week and this week as well, but I was recovering for the accident last week, and this week it looks like rain's going to hit the Baltimore area (besides I should get a start on packing). But on Tuesday, I went to drop my sister off somewhere and found that I had a free hour. An hour that I could just take to myself, without having to worry about schedules, pickups, deadlines, and other slave masters that can run our lives.
So I decided to just drive, drive up Greenspiring. Now for those of you in the Baltimore area who have never done this I highly recommend it, for those of you outised the area, you'll have to use your imagination. I don't know what it is about this road, but it seems the further you go up it the more beautiful it gets. You cross over the beltway and find yourself in a stretch of woods and a country road. I saw a dear on my way back, which reminded me of a time about 4 years ago when biking had to stop as a family of dear crossed the road.
After this winding conntry road through the woods, which kind of act like a portal into literally another world, you're really in the country passing this incredible colonial style house sitting in enormas corn fields.
This stretchs for about a mile before you're back in the woods climbing a steep hill up to this incredible vista that overlooks more farmland. It's incredible to think that this is really what America is about these rolling hills and open areas, we like to live where the action is but sometines it makes us forget about this other side of the hill. Where people live on large plots of land really touch it and appreciate what it means to be walking on grass most of the time instead of concrete.
Anyways I drove about 20 miles out and was just thinking, this will be the last time I do this, because it is. I am moving to Israel, a country where the inhabitants REALLY love their land. These farms out in the backwoods of Baltimore, don't have to worry that their land will be given away to people who want to kill them. They may take it for granted but they have a gift, Jews in Israel, Jews in general, whether they want to believe it or not, will never have that luxery of feeling that they have finished. Because we won't, not until the Beit Hamikdash is standing on the Temple Mount and the world is begging us to be their moral compass. We ourselves need to work on heading in the right direction, part of which is not just coming home to Israel, but also to do what we can to bring Torah into our lives. I heard an interesting point made, the Torah is not a book about about how we can make G-d happy, the Torah is a book on how to become a better person, and how to change the world into a positive place.
Rant done: I'm moving to Israel in 2 weeks and I can't wait!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
UNBELIEVABLE!!! Modin PALESTINE!!!
All right this one got me really angry. Of course I probabaly brought it on my self. I saw an interesting headline in the Gmail header that said "TIME Pictures of the Week." I'm always interesting in how the secular media prtrays Israel and I KNEW that there would be a picture about Israel relating to the "conflict."
This picture was taken at some protest to Israel's ecurity fence by the Arabs and to keep them from rioting the IDF threw tear gas at them. But that's not the part that got me all riled up. Take a good look at the text for the picture, particulary the last line.
What right does Time Magazine have to make this claim. I want someone to PLEASE SHOW AND PROVE TO ME THAT THIS PLACE EXISTS IN ANY RELM OF THE PYSICAL WORLD!!! There was NEVER a country called Palestine. Before the 1948 "Palestinians" were what the JEWS were called! The Arabs did not hold Palestinians ID cards because they held cards from their home countries.
And no matter what some would believe the United Nations STILL does not recognize a state or country by that name!!!
All right I think I'm done ranting now. Oh and if you want to see unbiased pictures of the event listed above click here to see the gallary taken by my friend Yehuda
This picture was taken at some protest to Israel's ecurity fence by the Arabs and to keep them from rioting the IDF threw tear gas at them. But that's not the part that got me all riled up. Take a good look at the text for the picture, particulary the last line.
"near Modin, Palestine. "Since when is Modin Palestine?!!!
What right does Time Magazine have to make this claim. I want someone to PLEASE SHOW AND PROVE TO ME THAT THIS PLACE EXISTS IN ANY RELM OF THE PYSICAL WORLD!!! There was NEVER a country called Palestine. Before the 1948 "Palestinians" were what the JEWS were called! The Arabs did not hold Palestinians ID cards because they held cards from their home countries.
And no matter what some would believe the United Nations STILL does not recognize a state or country by that name!!!
All right I think I'm done ranting now. Oh and if you want to see unbiased pictures of the event listed above click here to see the gallary taken by my friend Yehuda
Update: Car Accident
So today I was out in Catonsville, MD selling some music equipment that I will most likely never use again, and to go to my college to pick up my transcripts.
I may have timed it wrong, and I didn't realize it until it was too late, but the time I was coming back was during rush hour. Lot's of Stop-and-Go traffic.
So there I was in the "Stop" portion of this highway traffic pattern, when a woman behind me, (who was not playing the right rules, forgot to "stop."
My car was forced 180 degrees and I was taking up 2 lanes in traffic, and it's an incredible miracle that I wasn't hit again by and on coming car in that lane (who would have hit me a lot harder than the woman behind me).
So after I checked my barrings, making sure that nothing was broken, and tested that car to see if it would still run, not knowing what condition the car was in, I managed to make my way to the shoulder of the highway.
Baruch Hashem no one was hurt. The driver of the other car was a pregnant woman with her two year old son in the back seat.
I got another dose of reminder of how G-d's hand plays in this world. The front of this woman's car was completely smashed in, with coolant leaking out from unerneath it, and the back of my car had, literally, a two inch long scratch.
We exchanged our information, and she insisted that I could leave, but I was not going to leave a pregnant woman with a two year old by herself on the side of the highway on a 95 degree day. Forger the legal aspects of it, it was just common curtisy. (Never mind the fact that she was being very emotional and I don't think would have been able to cope without someone there.)
So we got to talking, and I kind of had to laugh, because I'm moving to Israel in just over 3 weeks, and here I was on the side of 695 waiting out to see how this whole situation would turn out.
They had been planing to go to Laurel Farms, a farm in Pennsylvania where you can pick your own cherries. I kinda felt bad that I'd ruined their trip. But, as I had to remind myself, this is something that is completly out of our hands. She was frusterated about not being able to take her kid there, and (her being a Christian) I had to remind her of that.
So I'm actually waiting to hear baclk from the Rabbi about whether I have to say Birchas HaGomel or not, but I'm fine (I always wondered if and when my first accident would be) and still charging forward for that July 21st flight!
I may have timed it wrong, and I didn't realize it until it was too late, but the time I was coming back was during rush hour. Lot's of Stop-and-Go traffic.
So there I was in the "Stop" portion of this highway traffic pattern, when a woman behind me, (who was not playing the right rules, forgot to "stop."
My car was forced 180 degrees and I was taking up 2 lanes in traffic, and it's an incredible miracle that I wasn't hit again by and on coming car in that lane (who would have hit me a lot harder than the woman behind me).
So after I checked my barrings, making sure that nothing was broken, and tested that car to see if it would still run, not knowing what condition the car was in, I managed to make my way to the shoulder of the highway.
Baruch Hashem no one was hurt. The driver of the other car was a pregnant woman with her two year old son in the back seat.
I got another dose of reminder of how G-d's hand plays in this world. The front of this woman's car was completely smashed in, with coolant leaking out from unerneath it, and the back of my car had, literally, a two inch long scratch.
We exchanged our information, and she insisted that I could leave, but I was not going to leave a pregnant woman with a two year old by herself on the side of the highway on a 95 degree day. Forger the legal aspects of it, it was just common curtisy. (Never mind the fact that she was being very emotional and I don't think would have been able to cope without someone there.)
So we got to talking, and I kind of had to laugh, because I'm moving to Israel in just over 3 weeks, and here I was on the side of 695 waiting out to see how this whole situation would turn out.
They had been planing to go to Laurel Farms, a farm in Pennsylvania where you can pick your own cherries. I kinda felt bad that I'd ruined their trip. But, as I had to remind myself, this is something that is completly out of our hands. She was frusterated about not being able to take her kid there, and (her being a Christian) I had to remind her of that.
So I'm actually waiting to hear baclk from the Rabbi about whether I have to say Birchas HaGomel or not, but I'm fine (I always wondered if and when my first accident would be) and still charging forward for that July 21st flight!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
My Apple Adventure
Well for all the Apple fanboys out there (that would include me) just want to tell a little story about my adventure with my Macbook Pro.
I got the machine at the end of January, and I must say that this machine is absolutely incredible. All of the headaches I used to have Windows...just gone. No more waiting for the computer to "decide" to start working, I actually have a computer that works on my time.
But that's not what I want to talk about.
Because for the past 2 weeks I havn't had the Mac.
It was the Motzei Shabbos before Shavous, and I went to boot up the computer and was greeted with the nomal Apple signon screen, and grey background with a 2 second introduction clip.
The Apple logo appeared and the little swirly thing that show that is' working (the same thing is on the Ipod in the upper left corner when it's being synced).
Then the thing stopped moving, and the computer appeared to freeze. Not something that happens often with Macs.
So I rebooted the machine and was greeted with stark, straight darkenss. Nothing on the screen, just...black.
So I called Apple Care (ALWAYS buy a servace plan when buying a computer!! That's the only piece of technology I recommend to do this for.) and we deduced that I had a faulty Logic Board, nothing that I did, it was just a faulty model of it so I had to take it to the Apple store to drop off so they could ship it off to, I later found out, Houston.
I had Shavous to work around and wasn't able to drop if off until last Thursday at the store.
I then waited patiently for 3 business days, following the statues of the repair on the Apple Repair website.
And finally got it back yesterday morning.
Now after I got it back I noticed that they had replaced my Logic Board and hard drive. And luckily for an Apple feature that has saved I know more that one person besides me. They have a backup program called Time Machine, and the way it works is that you set it up with an external hard drive, and not only will it completly back up the contents of your entire computer and continually backup aything new that happens in your system automatically, it will save things you've deleted, inculding say text of a document.
Let's say you're working on a project for school, and you realize that you had written something the previous week, that had been edited out. Deleted. Gone.
Activate Time Machine and "go back in time" and open up the document the way it was the week before.
So I plugged in my Time Machine hard drive and waited for it to load. And hour and a half later, the hard drive which had been completly empty when I recieved it, had exactly the same contents that I had had on my comouter before. I had to download a few updates and I was good to go.
The only snag that I ran into was Garageband and Windows on Parallels. I'm a musician and use GB to record all the time. I had to re-insall the program (took about 15 minutes) and I was good to go.
Windows wouldn't load in Parallels when I booted, but I just had to do some tweaking of the settings and I was back on there as well.
All I must say I was happy with the experience. Not that I was happy I had to send my computer in, but if I had been running a Windows Machine, I would have lost so much data and spent a long time re-installing programs, and customizing it to my specification again. Way to go Apple!
As someone told me "Hardware is cheap, data is priceless." And I was able to have the computer backed up to withing 24 hours of when it stopped working and didn't loose anything at all.
I got the machine at the end of January, and I must say that this machine is absolutely incredible. All of the headaches I used to have Windows...just gone. No more waiting for the computer to "decide" to start working, I actually have a computer that works on my time.
But that's not what I want to talk about.
Because for the past 2 weeks I havn't had the Mac.
It was the Motzei Shabbos before Shavous, and I went to boot up the computer and was greeted with the nomal Apple signon screen, and grey background with a 2 second introduction clip.
The Apple logo appeared and the little swirly thing that show that is' working (the same thing is on the Ipod in the upper left corner when it's being synced).
Then the thing stopped moving, and the computer appeared to freeze. Not something that happens often with Macs.
So I rebooted the machine and was greeted with stark, straight darkenss. Nothing on the screen, just...black.
So I called Apple Care (ALWAYS buy a servace plan when buying a computer!! That's the only piece of technology I recommend to do this for.) and we deduced that I had a faulty Logic Board, nothing that I did, it was just a faulty model of it so I had to take it to the Apple store to drop off so they could ship it off to, I later found out, Houston.
I had Shavous to work around and wasn't able to drop if off until last Thursday at the store.
I then waited patiently for 3 business days, following the statues of the repair on the Apple Repair website.
And finally got it back yesterday morning.
Now after I got it back I noticed that they had replaced my Logic Board and hard drive. And luckily for an Apple feature that has saved I know more that one person besides me. They have a backup program called Time Machine, and the way it works is that you set it up with an external hard drive, and not only will it completly back up the contents of your entire computer and continually backup aything new that happens in your system automatically, it will save things you've deleted, inculding say text of a document.
Let's say you're working on a project for school, and you realize that you had written something the previous week, that had been edited out. Deleted. Gone.
Activate Time Machine and "go back in time" and open up the document the way it was the week before.
So I plugged in my Time Machine hard drive and waited for it to load. And hour and a half later, the hard drive which had been completly empty when I recieved it, had exactly the same contents that I had had on my comouter before. I had to download a few updates and I was good to go.
The only snag that I ran into was Garageband and Windows on Parallels. I'm a musician and use GB to record all the time. I had to re-insall the program (took about 15 minutes) and I was good to go.
Windows wouldn't load in Parallels when I booted, but I just had to do some tweaking of the settings and I was back on there as well.
All I must say I was happy with the experience. Not that I was happy I had to send my computer in, but if I had been running a Windows Machine, I would have lost so much data and spent a long time re-installing programs, and customizing it to my specification again. Way to go Apple!
As someone told me "Hardware is cheap, data is priceless." And I was able to have the computer backed up to withing 24 hours of when it stopped working and didn't loose anything at all.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Interesting Quote from Al Jazeera
Jurors at the award ceremony on Thursday singled out Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's Gaza correspondent, for particular praise for her bravery in reporting from the occupied territory. (emphasis added)Gaza's "occupied?" I thought the Arabs ran it. Thank you Al Jazeera for speaking the truth, that the Arabs are occupying Jewish Land!
In Defense of Jerusalem and Israel
A few weeks ago on Yom Yerushalayim Dr. Mordechai Kedar of Bar-Ilan University was on Al Jazeera's Arabic TV station, being confronted with the normal Arab issues, West Bank, Jerusalem, and I felt Dr. Kedar responded very well.
Of course the one critique I have is related to one line he said regarding the future of the "West Bank" and the creation of a PA state there.
Now I will admit that he did come of very strongly, not the typical apologetic Jew that we see in the media these days (click here for an example). But there still is an idea that the Jews don't belong in YESHA.
I was speaking to someone last year about this issue, and they told me that Israel was violating "international law."
Now I'm not a law student, but I have learned enough that when someone tells me something I'm not aware of to ask what their source is. So I asked them which law they were referring to.
They explained to me that Israel was an occupying entity that came into that land, started colonizing it, and started cleansing the locals from their places of birth. This was the crime they were committing.
I of course wouldn't have it, told them that I found that either they had an incredible bias for ignoring all of atrocities committed against the Jews by Arab countries in the early part of the 1900's, or they were simply ignorant of them and victims of other people who had these biases.
But furthermore, if you go by that rational that if a foreign entity (which the Jews most certainly are not) drives natives of their land and then starts colonizing that land and claiming it as their own, then you have just displaced at least 50 Million people on the East Coast of America, and even more if you branch further out west.
Because America WAS founded on this idea of colonizing the land and driving the natives out, yet I don't think that Left-Wing academics will say that the United States is occuping the natives of America (IE Native Americans), of course they probably will claim their occuping other countries, but it is certainly not for colonization. Israel, albeit with secular motivation which might be a topic for a different post, were not invading they were returning. The fact that the Jews lived previously in the land of Israel, is only in debate by anti-Semites. Anyone with an open mind who is presented with un-biased information, will find archaeological evidence of the Jews previous reign over the land everywhere. One of the reasons the Arabs will not allow archaeological research teams onto the Temple Mount is because it would disprove their claim that the Jewish Temple never existed..
Here's the Al Jazeera interview with Dr. Mordechai Kedar (in Arabic with subtitles):
Of course the one critique I have is related to one line he said regarding the future of the "West Bank" and the creation of a PA state there.
Now I will admit that he did come of very strongly, not the typical apologetic Jew that we see in the media these days (click here for an example). But there still is an idea that the Jews don't belong in YESHA.
I was speaking to someone last year about this issue, and they told me that Israel was violating "international law."
Now I'm not a law student, but I have learned enough that when someone tells me something I'm not aware of to ask what their source is. So I asked them which law they were referring to.
They explained to me that Israel was an occupying entity that came into that land, started colonizing it, and started cleansing the locals from their places of birth. This was the crime they were committing.
I of course wouldn't have it, told them that I found that either they had an incredible bias for ignoring all of atrocities committed against the Jews by Arab countries in the early part of the 1900's, or they were simply ignorant of them and victims of other people who had these biases.
But furthermore, if you go by that rational that if a foreign entity (which the Jews most certainly are not) drives natives of their land and then starts colonizing that land and claiming it as their own, then you have just displaced at least 50 Million people on the East Coast of America, and even more if you branch further out west.
Because America WAS founded on this idea of colonizing the land and driving the natives out, yet I don't think that Left-Wing academics will say that the United States is occuping the natives of America (IE Native Americans), of course they probably will claim their occuping other countries, but it is certainly not for colonization. Israel, albeit with secular motivation which might be a topic for a different post, were not invading they were returning. The fact that the Jews lived previously in the land of Israel, is only in debate by anti-Semites. Anyone with an open mind who is presented with un-biased information, will find archaeological evidence of the Jews previous reign over the land everywhere. One of the reasons the Arabs will not allow archaeological research teams onto the Temple Mount is because it would disprove their claim that the Jewish Temple never existed..
Here's the Al Jazeera interview with Dr. Mordechai Kedar (in Arabic with subtitles):
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