Exciting times
The other day, I mentioned how elated I was that my new venture was coming up #1 in Yahoo Search... Well, over the weekend, the same search came up #1 on Google as well (still #1 on Yahoo). A further search on more obscure search sites shows me on their radar as well, though nowhere near the top spot. This bodes well for future success. So, I'll keep plugging away.
Also today, I celebrated the (hebrew calendar) anniversary of my father's burial. Thankfully, enough men from the general community showed up at morning prayers to allow me to pay proper homeage to my dad's memory. Afterward, a small contingent visited the cemetery for further memorial services. Dad would have been proud.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Which six
When you're a senior, moving out of your home of 43 years to go to a new place is traumatic. Besides the horrors of unpacking untold numbers of boxes, there's the new place itself, with a different layout and different keys than those to which you've become accustomed. The new building has a secure entrance, where guests enter your apartment number, causing the phone in the apartment to ring. When I buzzed the apartment today, she answered the phone, then, thinking I was phoning from home, began to complain about all manner of things. After about a minute of talking non-stop, the security system cut off the call. I buzzed again.
"Why did you hang up on me?" came her immediate response to the ringing phone. When I explained that I was calling from the lobby, and asked to be let in, she couldn't remember how to do it.
I reminded her she needed to press the number "6" on her keypad. I waited perhaps 10 seconds, and when the door still didn't open, I asked her again to press the 6. Her response?.... [see title of post]
When you're a senior, moving out of your home of 43 years to go to a new place is traumatic. Besides the horrors of unpacking untold numbers of boxes, there's the new place itself, with a different layout and different keys than those to which you've become accustomed. The new building has a secure entrance, where guests enter your apartment number, causing the phone in the apartment to ring. When I buzzed the apartment today, she answered the phone, then, thinking I was phoning from home, began to complain about all manner of things. After about a minute of talking non-stop, the security system cut off the call. I buzzed again.
"Why did you hang up on me?" came her immediate response to the ringing phone. When I explained that I was calling from the lobby, and asked to be let in, she couldn't remember how to do it.
I reminded her she needed to press the number "6" on her keypad. I waited perhaps 10 seconds, and when the door still didn't open, I asked her again to press the 6. Her response?.... [see title of post]
Woohoo
What a day! My mom's move is complete. I didn't kill her. And I got my first customer for my new service, less than a week after creating a website. I asked how they found me (I can't find the site using Google search). They told me my site came up as the #1 MATCH ON PAGE 1 of results using Yahoo Search!
I'll have more to say on that matter later, but first, I need to find me some "professional" graphics for the website and link exchanges. Anybody want to work on their portfolio by offering very inexpensive (a.k.a. "barter") artwork to enhance the site?
What a day! My mom's move is complete. I didn't kill her. And I got my first customer for my new service, less than a week after creating a website. I asked how they found me (I can't find the site using Google search). They told me my site came up as the #1 MATCH ON PAGE 1 of results using Yahoo Search!
I'll have more to say on that matter later, but first, I need to find me some "professional" graphics for the website and link exchanges. Anybody want to work on their portfolio by offering very inexpensive (a.k.a. "barter") artwork to enhance the site?
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Coming soon to a screen near you
Over three years in the making, and soon to be released to the public. Read about it here.
Over three years in the making, and soon to be released to the public. Read about it here.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Ticked off
I've been reading ongoing news coverage of the London terrorist bombings. It ticks me off to see articles where the journalist says in effect: "these guys are really amateur. If they wanted to inflict the most damage, they should have exploded their device in the open, where shrapnel would affect the most people - not in the confined space of a subway car, where only a relatively few people absorb the entire effects of the blast".
So what comes next... probably a similarly inexperienced bomber will improve on the death toll by following the reporter's advice. Gee, thanks alot!
I've been reading ongoing news coverage of the London terrorist bombings. It ticks me off to see articles where the journalist says in effect: "these guys are really amateur. If they wanted to inflict the most damage, they should have exploded their device in the open, where shrapnel would affect the most people - not in the confined space of a subway car, where only a relatively few people absorb the entire effects of the blast".
So what comes next... probably a similarly inexperienced bomber will improve on the death toll by following the reporter's advice. Gee, thanks alot!
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Shocked and dismayed
I often wonder whether I have false memories of my youth. There are events I remember vividly despite being assured they never happened. Some of these I know with my brain cannot be true - like being able to float across my living room from one couch to another without touching the floor... even if I had used one couch as a trampoline, I doubt it would have been possible to accomplish this feat. Yet even today, I have vivid memories of doing it. There have been other examples of this through the years. Today, I was confronted by disturbing evidence related to one such incident.
Forty years ago last June, I celebrated my Bar Mitzvah. It was a lavish affair, with a guest list that included more of my parents' friends and business associates than people I knew personally. Thankfully, my parents had hired photographers and a camera crew to take photographs and 8mm silent-movie footage of the event. Some years later, the 8mm film was transfered to VHS tape, with a dubbing of my Haftorah as background. That film contained staged sequences where I pretended to be drunk, losing the envelopes containing the monetary gifts - and then my younger sister appeared on the scene to scoop up the dropped envelopes, disappearing into the sunset as she counted her ill-gotten gains.
From that moment on, I have no recollection of ever seeing those envelopes again. I remember discussing it with my dad - and clearly remember being chastised for misplacing those envelopes. I never saw a penny of my Bar Mitzvah gelt.
Fast forward to this afternoon. My father died almost a year ago, and my mother is in the midst of preparing to move from her home. She's trying to get rid of as much stuff as she can, and today, she dropped off a box of Bar Mitzvah trinkets. Unused place cards, napkins, matchbooks, invitations, and reply cards had been lovingly preserved by my father, and were presented to me to do as I wish. And then I saw the envelopes. Those missing envelopes from forty years ago. Each one bore the name of the donor, and the amount of the enclosed gift - the notations made in my father's distinctive handwriting. There were also telegrams from those that could not attend, as well as the bills from the caterers, and the hand-written to-the-penny accounting of expenses that my father was famous for.
It is now painfully obvious to me that the envelopes were never actually lost. But I now have to wonder whether I received the money and just forgot (would you, as a thirteen year old forget receiving what amounted to 10-year's worth of allowance in a single day?) or whether my father chose to keep this money from me so that I wouldn't just fritter it away.
I guess I'll never know for sure.
I often wonder whether I have false memories of my youth. There are events I remember vividly despite being assured they never happened. Some of these I know with my brain cannot be true - like being able to float across my living room from one couch to another without touching the floor... even if I had used one couch as a trampoline, I doubt it would have been possible to accomplish this feat. Yet even today, I have vivid memories of doing it. There have been other examples of this through the years. Today, I was confronted by disturbing evidence related to one such incident.
Forty years ago last June, I celebrated my Bar Mitzvah. It was a lavish affair, with a guest list that included more of my parents' friends and business associates than people I knew personally. Thankfully, my parents had hired photographers and a camera crew to take photographs and 8mm silent-movie footage of the event. Some years later, the 8mm film was transfered to VHS tape, with a dubbing of my Haftorah as background. That film contained staged sequences where I pretended to be drunk, losing the envelopes containing the monetary gifts - and then my younger sister appeared on the scene to scoop up the dropped envelopes, disappearing into the sunset as she counted her ill-gotten gains.
From that moment on, I have no recollection of ever seeing those envelopes again. I remember discussing it with my dad - and clearly remember being chastised for misplacing those envelopes. I never saw a penny of my Bar Mitzvah gelt.
Fast forward to this afternoon. My father died almost a year ago, and my mother is in the midst of preparing to move from her home. She's trying to get rid of as much stuff as she can, and today, she dropped off a box of Bar Mitzvah trinkets. Unused place cards, napkins, matchbooks, invitations, and reply cards had been lovingly preserved by my father, and were presented to me to do as I wish. And then I saw the envelopes. Those missing envelopes from forty years ago. Each one bore the name of the donor, and the amount of the enclosed gift - the notations made in my father's distinctive handwriting. There were also telegrams from those that could not attend, as well as the bills from the caterers, and the hand-written to-the-penny accounting of expenses that my father was famous for.
It is now painfully obvious to me that the envelopes were never actually lost. But I now have to wonder whether I received the money and just forgot (would you, as a thirteen year old forget receiving what amounted to 10-year's worth of allowance in a single day?) or whether my father chose to keep this money from me so that I wouldn't just fritter it away.
I guess I'll never know for sure.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Mourning is over
July 3rd would normally be celebrated as my parents' anniversary. Instead, by sheer coincidence of the Jewish calendar, today marks the end of the official mourning period for my father. By the Jewish calendar, the anniversary of his death will come on Tamuz 25 - which is one month from today. The official mourning period for a father/mother is one-month shy of a full year. Normally, that entails eleven months, but because of the Jewish leap year (which adds an entire month to the calendar), I've actually been mourning for twelve months on the Jewish calendar.
As a commemoration, I will be visiting the grave site this morning. Though the official mourning period ends today, my father will not soon be forgotten.
July 3rd would normally be celebrated as my parents' anniversary. Instead, by sheer coincidence of the Jewish calendar, today marks the end of the official mourning period for my father. By the Jewish calendar, the anniversary of his death will come on Tamuz 25 - which is one month from today. The official mourning period for a father/mother is one-month shy of a full year. Normally, that entails eleven months, but because of the Jewish leap year (which adds an entire month to the calendar), I've actually been mourning for twelve months on the Jewish calendar.
As a commemoration, I will be visiting the grave site this morning. Though the official mourning period ends today, my father will not soon be forgotten.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
I've been really busy
Some may have noticed I'm not posting much lately. It's because I've been very busy finalizing my pet project, and have started negotiating with web-hosting and site design firms to get me online as soon as I give the final go-ahead for my new product. A number of factors have been conspiring lately to slow me down, not the least of which was a car accident that made sitting at my computer a very uncomfortable proposition. With my lower back pain more or less gone, I can once again put a full-day's work into this project without feeling like I need to get up and lie down for awhile. There have been other technical complications, but I have been steadily working through them one-by-one.
I'm finding that the data entry requirements associated with this project are far more time-consuming that I had imagined they would be. I am now working on some sort of mechanism that will allow potential "customers" to earn credits by helping with data entry.
Some may have noticed I'm not posting much lately. It's because I've been very busy finalizing my pet project, and have started negotiating with web-hosting and site design firms to get me online as soon as I give the final go-ahead for my new product. A number of factors have been conspiring lately to slow me down, not the least of which was a car accident that made sitting at my computer a very uncomfortable proposition. With my lower back pain more or less gone, I can once again put a full-day's work into this project without feeling like I need to get up and lie down for awhile. There have been other technical complications, but I have been steadily working through them one-by-one.
I'm finding that the data entry requirements associated with this project are far more time-consuming that I had imagined they would be. I am now working on some sort of mechanism that will allow potential "customers" to earn credits by helping with data entry.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Another blog
Anne's blog recently linked to a new one that I find fascinating. I'm taking the liberty to link to it as well. It's called Flight Level 390. Enjoy!
Anne's blog recently linked to a new one that I find fascinating. I'm taking the liberty to link to it as well. It's called Flight Level 390. Enjoy!
I can see the future
A lady in Pennsylvania probably has a great future in tarot card reading, after this.
A lady in Pennsylvania probably has a great future in tarot card reading, after this.
What a shame
As the anniversary of my father's death approaches, I draw parallels to a story reported yesterday. Two weeks ago, Florence and Percy Arrowsmith celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary. They didn't marry particularly young, for the time... he being 25 and she 20. Yesterday, Percy decided to let go.
When my father became ill, he first thought he'd pull through and be around for his 85th birthday. Then, as things became more bleak, his only remaining goal was to make it to the day of his anniversary. He died less than two weeks later. At age 105, Percy must have sensed he didn't have that much time left. Still, for the love of his Florence, he hung on until his anniversary. I'm happy to report that at the time of his death, Florence was by his side.
As the anniversary of my father's death approaches, I draw parallels to a story reported yesterday. Two weeks ago, Florence and Percy Arrowsmith celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary. They didn't marry particularly young, for the time... he being 25 and she 20. Yesterday, Percy decided to let go.
When my father became ill, he first thought he'd pull through and be around for his 85th birthday. Then, as things became more bleak, his only remaining goal was to make it to the day of his anniversary. He died less than two weeks later. At age 105, Percy must have sensed he didn't have that much time left. Still, for the love of his Florence, he hung on until his anniversary. I'm happy to report that at the time of his death, Florence was by his side.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Super-sensitive
I'm ultra-sensitive to cigarette smoke. I instantly get watery eyes when I come into contact with it, even if I can't see where it's coming from. I also have trouble with Indian food, having gotten food poisoning on three separate occasions shortly after dining in on Indian food (these attacks were serious enough to land me in the hospital). So I can understand how Elizabeth Hurley feels. Under the circumstances, I don't give this relationship much chance of working.
I'm ultra-sensitive to cigarette smoke. I instantly get watery eyes when I come into contact with it, even if I can't see where it's coming from. I also have trouble with Indian food, having gotten food poisoning on three separate occasions shortly after dining in on Indian food (these attacks were serious enough to land me in the hospital). So I can understand how Elizabeth Hurley feels. Under the circumstances, I don't give this relationship much chance of working.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Toothless Tiger
During all of Tiger's bad times over the past couple of years, I never doubted that he was still the "best" golfer out there. His mental toughness was beyond anything I had ever witnessed. Today, I think he's lost his edge. Now playing his first tournament since having his consecutive tournaments without missing the cut string broken, he looks unsure - out of place.
After the second round of the current tournament (in which he is the defending champion), he was one stroke out of the lead. Yesterday, he shot a one-under par round. Not spectacular, but at least it was under par. In the process, thirteen other golfers shot well enough to either pass him, or tie him. He went from second place to a tie for tenth, and I believe he's now out of contention for a repeat title. When was the last time you can recall thirteen players catching up on Tiger while he played an under par round of golf?
Right now, Tiger is poised to add to his overall point score (with Vijay missing the cut). Still, he's not having what I would call a great tournament.
During all of Tiger's bad times over the past couple of years, I never doubted that he was still the "best" golfer out there. His mental toughness was beyond anything I had ever witnessed. Today, I think he's lost his edge. Now playing his first tournament since having his consecutive tournaments without missing the cut string broken, he looks unsure - out of place.
After the second round of the current tournament (in which he is the defending champion), he was one stroke out of the lead. Yesterday, he shot a one-under par round. Not spectacular, but at least it was under par. In the process, thirteen other golfers shot well enough to either pass him, or tie him. He went from second place to a tie for tenth, and I believe he's now out of contention for a repeat title. When was the last time you can recall thirteen players catching up on Tiger while he played an under par round of golf?
Right now, Tiger is poised to add to his overall point score (with Vijay missing the cut). Still, he's not having what I would call a great tournament.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
It's not that I have nothing to say...
It's just covered by the censorship guidelines I've recently adopted. You can bet I'm busting at the seams to let the details all hang out.
For those who are wondering, I did allow myself a few minutes to enjoy my birthday on Tuesday. Weird day though... was the sole eyewitness to a rear-ender car accident in the afternoon, then got rammed from behind while stopped at a red light that same evening. Karma!
It's just covered by the censorship guidelines I've recently adopted. You can bet I'm busting at the seams to let the details all hang out.
For those who are wondering, I did allow myself a few minutes to enjoy my birthday on Tuesday. Weird day though... was the sole eyewitness to a rear-ender car accident in the afternoon, then got rammed from behind while stopped at a red light that same evening. Karma!
Friday, May 13, 2005
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Gotcha!
I've wanted to post this entry for a long time. But to do so would have ruined the surprise. I think I was a part of the best Mother's Day celebration my wife has ever had. For a couple of weeks now, I've been scheming to secretly bring our daughter into town for Mother's Day without anyone finding out about it. I'll spare the details (which would take several paragraphs to explain), but just say the secret was well-kept, and my wife didn't know our daughter would be in town until she looked out of the car window and saw her at the curb at the train station.
The entire weekend went absolutely perfectly. I'm so grateful to my daughter for deciding to come down for the weekend, and for the secrecy we were able to maintain.
Happy Mother's Day, honey!
I've wanted to post this entry for a long time. But to do so would have ruined the surprise. I think I was a part of the best Mother's Day celebration my wife has ever had. For a couple of weeks now, I've been scheming to secretly bring our daughter into town for Mother's Day without anyone finding out about it. I'll spare the details (which would take several paragraphs to explain), but just say the secret was well-kept, and my wife didn't know our daughter would be in town until she looked out of the car window and saw her at the curb at the train station.
The entire weekend went absolutely perfectly. I'm so grateful to my daughter for deciding to come down for the weekend, and for the secrecy we were able to maintain.
Happy Mother's Day, honey!
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Birthday wishes
Happy Birthday, dad. Though I continue to go to twice-daily prayer sessions in your honour, I try as much as I can to get on with my life. Still, on what would have been your 85th birthday, it's the first time I haven't gotten you a card, or visited you at home for your special day. I don't cry about you very often - probably only twice since you passed away, because all the memories I have of you are happy, and I smile when others might cry. Today, though, I miss you alot, and hope you're happy.
Happy Birthday, dad. Though I continue to go to twice-daily prayer sessions in your honour, I try as much as I can to get on with my life. Still, on what would have been your 85th birthday, it's the first time I haven't gotten you a card, or visited you at home for your special day. I don't cry about you very often - probably only twice since you passed away, because all the memories I have of you are happy, and I smile when others might cry. Today, though, I miss you alot, and hope you're happy.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Those three little words
At times like this, when I'm feeling a bit stressed about my job situation, it takes very little in the way of a positive message to raise my spirits. So it made me feel really good tonight, while I was wading through stacks of email to get one that made me smile. The message was short, sweet, and music to my ears. You've got cash! True to his word, the buyer of my second piece of eBay merchandise sent his payment tonight. The minute I know that it's cleared the international paypal bank and is safely in my local account, I'll begin preparations for sending the receiver on its way.
At times like this, when I'm feeling a bit stressed about my job situation, it takes very little in the way of a positive message to raise my spirits. So it made me feel really good tonight, while I was wading through stacks of email to get one that made me smile. The message was short, sweet, and music to my ears. You've got cash! True to his word, the buyer of my second piece of eBay merchandise sent his payment tonight. The minute I know that it's cleared the international paypal bank and is safely in my local account, I'll begin preparations for sending the receiver on its way.
Finally - it's official
I'm unemployed (well, not quite yet, but I've received my termination notice). I've taken note for some time that the queue of pending assignments was shrinking. There were times when I had to beg for work to keep me busy. And then there were those assignments that looked like they'd be a piece of cake, only to turn into quagmires. The combination of inefficiencies and lack of work were my ultimate undoing. My boss still wants me to work on a piece-work basis (translation: work when we need you, with no benefits). I may keep that option alive, but only until I can find something more stable.
I'm not ruling out a more entrepreneurial direction, but right now, money's really tight - so I have to find a position with a regular paycheque. I think I was a lot more depressed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Having had some time for the shock to hit me, I'm a bit calmer. But only a bit.
I'm unemployed (well, not quite yet, but I've received my termination notice). I've taken note for some time that the queue of pending assignments was shrinking. There were times when I had to beg for work to keep me busy. And then there were those assignments that looked like they'd be a piece of cake, only to turn into quagmires. The combination of inefficiencies and lack of work were my ultimate undoing. My boss still wants me to work on a piece-work basis (translation: work when we need you, with no benefits). I may keep that option alive, but only until I can find something more stable.
I'm not ruling out a more entrepreneurial direction, but right now, money's really tight - so I have to find a position with a regular paycheque. I think I was a lot more depressed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Having had some time for the shock to hit me, I'm a bit calmer. But only a bit.