They don't teach boys this kind of stuff!!

So Tikvah is now into wanting braids in her hair. Here's my first ever attempt. It actually held for most of the day, just some hair on both sides of her face came out. (of the braid, not out from all her hair! I didn't pull that tight!)


One of the older girls in the shul did a great job braiding her hair last week. Took about a half hour to do though. She actually made three separate braids, then braided those together. I don't think I have the patience for something like that.

Ahava seems to have inherited my curly hair. (drives me nuts! I think it was Rita Rudner who joked about wanting to iron her curly hair) I don't know if braids will ever be in the cards for her.

So anyone know of some good websites or other places where I can learn to do a better, neater job of a braid?

Traveler or Tourist?

Every morning when I boot up my computer at work, we get a splash screen with various daily information. Part of it is a "Quote for the Day." I first read the quote for today quickly, but something struck me, and I went back and read it more slowly.

"The traveler sees what he sees.
The tourist sees what he has come to see."
G.K. Chesterton

I'd like to be a traveler, but many times I just wind up being a tourist. When I was in Israel for my first (and so far only) visit while my sister-in-law was getting married, I wanted to travel, but my parents-in-law mostly took us to various places. Some were interesting, but some were just them going down memory lane. My biggest disappointment was at the Kotel. While I was there, I saw the stairs that go up into the old city of Jerusalem. My in-laws had other things they wanted to do, and wouldn't take me up there. Every time I tried to find a chance to go back, they'd have another place they wanted to take us to, or something else we needed to do (I admit, the wedding was important. ;-) ) Towards the end of the visit I finally got a chance to break away from them, and went back to the Kotel. I went up the stairs and saw the many shops and restaurants. It was amazing to behold. I walked around and even up onto some of the walls that surround the city. What a beautiful view! I spent a few hours wandering around, looking at everything. At one point I made a wrong turn and noticed the stores became all Arabic. Something my mother-in-law feared would happen, and would be the end of me. I just turned around and headed back where I came from. No one made any problems. Out of my entire two weeks in Israel, those 4 hours or so are what I remember best.

When I return to Israel again (we are planning a return trip to see my sister- and brother-in-law, plus my niece!) I do want to tour various places, but I hope I'll get some time alone to get into a traveler mode as well. It's a totally different view.

No, really, we aren't laughing at you!!

A friend of mine from college recently wrote to me. He bought a scooter to use for small trips (e.g. to the supermarket) to save on gas. I received this email from him a few days ago:

You know I got a scooter from China last year, I fart around town on its 150 CC glory. I just use it to go to Grade A Supermarket to get some food for dinner or whatever, because it makes no sense to fire up the pickup truck for a quick errand. Sometimes I pass by people on real motorcycles, they give me some kind of gang sign. They lower their right hand and stick out two fingers like a peace sign.

Does this mean "Right on, brother!" or more like "Get a real bike, you jerk!"? The bike looks dorky, I look dorky, I even wear a helmet because even though Connecticut law says you don't have to, you can't appeal Newton's Three Laws. I'm not sure if I should just give this sign back to say "Power to the people!" Or "Twice as much back to you, you loser!"

Inquiring minds want to know!

I answered back:

Motorcyclists tend to wave to each other. Some give a full wave, others just hold down their hand. Some won't wave to scooter riders. I, and many others do. You're on two wheels. You're in the wind. You're a brother.

Sometimes I think of getting a cheapie scooter. My motorcycle gets 30 mpg. I know I can do a lot better, especially for a 10 mile commute that's pretty much no highway.

KTRSD! (Keep the rubber side down!)

He proudly told me about what a piece of junk his scooter is... direct quote: "It's a piece of junk but a really fun piece of junk." (no-name type of brand, comes with assembly required, pieces come pre-broken to save you the hassle, trip odometer doesn't work, etc.)

With gas prices the way they are, I've seen more scooters out on the road, and to a lesser extent, mopeds. In fact my aunt recently emailed the family and asked our opinion of her going out and getting a scooter (I'm all for it! She used to ride a motorcycle). I've also seen some of the impact of these new riders. They fit a sort of gray area. Most of the smaller scooters really aren't motorcycles, so as my friend pointed out, a lot of times helmets aren't required. (even in states that require motorcyclists to wear helmets) However, in at least Virginia and Maryland (I'm sure there are other states as well) they recently revised the laws. Now if your scooter/moped goes over 35 miles an hour, it is considered a motorcycle, and requires things like helmet usage, insurance, registration/license plate, etc. There is also more training being offered for scooter riders. In the past their only option was to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course, which means learning to ride with a clutch. Scooters tend to be automatic drive vehicles (I'm not aware of any that are shiftable, but then again, my experiences with scooters is negligiable. But now the MSF offers a program called "ScooterSchool." I've heard of other training options for scooters as well. Some MSF classes will let you use a scooter in a regular class with motorcycles.

As I said to my friend, I have been thinking about getting a scooter for commutes to work. I can see several advantages to using them. Besides the gas advantages, scooters tend to use the side of the road more, nice during traffic backups. Of course, there are several disadvantages as well. They are mostly smaller than motorcycles, thus even harder to see. They aren't as quick as motorcycles, so might be harder to get out of the way if something should happen. And the lower powered ones definitely can't be used on the highways (nor would I want to!)

This is something I'll be thinking about for a while. But regardless, I still continue to wave to those riding scooters, mopeds, and of course motorcycles.

KTRSD!



A picture of the scooter my friend has. But as he puts it: "The bike in the picture looks much nicer than the reality of the one I own too. All the plastic parts fit together in the picture, and without all the gaps in mine. My turn signal stopped working right yesterday, it was always flashing left (turning it to right made both lights flash, like an hazard signal). I took out the switch, looked at it, found nothing wrong with it, put it back, and it worked fine. Go figure!"

AED - I didn't realize they were so simple

Recently my office installed a bunch of AEDs. (Automated External Defibrillator)

I've seen these around more and more at restaurants, airports, just about everywhere. But I always thought they were complicated things that required a lot of training. Our safety division started offering classes in CPR and AED use. I hoped I would never need the knowledge, but I figured I'd brush up on my CPR skills, as it has been a few years since I was last certified.

The course started with about 2 hours of CPR lessons. We had to relearn the sequence... now it's 30 compresses and 2 breaths. If we don't have a face mask, and don't know the person well, they say we don't even need to do the breaths, just keep pressing on the chest.

After that was completed, we started the AED training. To start us off, he had two people "walk in" and find a body on the ground. One started CPR, the other got the AED. That person, like me, never really saw or used an AED before. And he did the same thing I would have. He pulled out the manual. The instructor stopped everything and suggested they try again, this time, when they get the AED, the instructor said to just press the "Start" button. Turns out the AED talks to you and walks you through the entire process. When to hook up the pads (and the pads have diagrams to show exactly where they go), when to stop all contact with the person, when to press the button to shock (assuming all are clear), when to resume CPR, etc.

The AED doesn't do everything, you still need to pump the heart and breathe into the person, but now I know you don't need a lot of training or medical knowledge to use an AED. And I also know now that it doesn't replace CPR, but rather, supplements it. And according to our instructor, it increases the odds of survival from about 7% to around 95%!! Wow, I like those odds much better!!

Peer Pressure

I've heard of how easily kids succumb to peer pressure, but now I'm seeing it in Tikvah already (she turns 5 soon). She used to wear pants all the time. Then she started talking about how a few of the girls in her pre-school would always have a skirt or dress on, they never wore pants. (mostly the daughters of some of the Chabad rabbis). Now I've noticed in the last month or two that she hasn't worn pants at all, except for the few occasions she was told she needed them for a particular thing we were going to where skirts weren't a good idea (a playground if I remember right). Well, I guess there are worse things to have peer pressure about, but still, I'll keep an eye on her to make sure future changes are things that she really wants to do, and not just because "the other kids are doing it."

Oy...

Blogger outs himself

The first blog I ever read with any regularity, and that really showed me what a blog was all about, was "Waiter Rant." I've always tried to be a good tipper when eating out, but after reading the Waiter's writings, I made extra sure to do so. The Waiter fulfilled a dream that few bloggers dare hope for, his writing was so popular that he received a book offer. Today his book came out, and he exposed his true identity. I hope his books runs well (looks like it's off to a good start), and that he doesn't come across any disgruntled customers who figured out he was writing about them. :-)

Good luck Waiter!

Be careful how you ask G-d for things...

I was teaching a very basic motorcycle course last week. The weather forecast for that evening called for an 80% chance of thunderstorms. Before the class, I asked "Please, don't let it rain during class!" But I came prepared (ever the Boy Scout), I had my rain gear and my rain hat. I even bought a pack of extra strength dish washing gloves. You may laugh, but they keep my hands dry when teaching, which keeps me more comfortable.

Anyway, the class went off very well. We had 5 ladies in the class. We instructors know that the women tend to make better students. They usually listen better than the men do, and don't challenge us or try to show off quite as much as the guys do. (speaking on the average here) We finished up just ahead of schedule. By 8 pm, the bikes were loaded back in the trailer, the students received their stickers and were on their way back to their cars. I noticed the clouds were getting thicker, but nothing too threatening yet. I said I'd drop off the paperwork and give the keys (to the trailer) back to the police.

After dropping off the paperwork, I went into the building where the campus police are housed. The officer on duty was out on patrol, and said he'd be back in 10 minutes. When he came in, I noticed his shoulders were wet. Uh oh... When I walked out, it wasn't raining it was POURING. Drat, I had put all my rain gear back in the van, which was parked in the parking garage across the street. I made a mad dash to get there. My phone received an alert from the county, a funnel cloud was spotted about 20 miles west of where I was. Just what I need. I began the trip home. The rain just got heavier and heavier. One street was partially flooded (the water was up about 8-12 inches in the right lane). I emailed my wife to ask her to unlock the door so I could dash in the house. But would you know it... about 2 blocks from home, the rain let up! In fact, when I got in, my wife said it looked like it would rain soon, but nothing came yet. And there I was, dripping wet.

Next time I'll broaden my request... "Please don't let it rain until I get home from class!" :-)

Bystander behavior

Sorry for the quiet time... we recently had a family vacation for 2 weeks, then a medical issue that took up another week. Then after that my job issued some new computer policies which include not posting things on a website from the office, not even during breaks, when I tend to write to recharge my batteries.


The other day I came the following article in the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071503150_pf.html (I believe the Post removed requirements of having to register to read an article. Sorry if they haven't.)

The basic summary of it is that a lot of times, when people witness an event (a few are given in the article: a woman collapses in a hospital waiting room, and a man is hit by a car when crossing a street, both of these events were caught on video, as well as the bystanders doing nothing) they tend to do nothing, except maybe call 911. Other than that, they don't want to get involved or help. As I was reading the article, I thought "I wouldn't have done that, I would have at least gone over to check on the person." But then the article stated: "Although we might think otherwise, most of us would not have behaved much differently from the people we see in these recent videos." It goes on to quote various sociologists and psychologists, and discusses "Bystander Behavior."

That forced me to think back to events I witnessed and my behavior then. Once I was returning to college after a bad week of chicken pox. I was just cleared to return by my doctor, and still had marks all over me. I was in Grand Central Station, transferring trains pretty late at night. There was a beggar there, in a wheel chair. A group of tough looking guys in their late teens or early twenties came over and started abusing the man, pushing him around unwillingly, prying him off when he would grab on to a signpost or something. I looked around, but didn't see any police in the area. I wasn't familiar with the train station, and didn't have a clue of what to do. Finally the people left the man alone and went to find something else to do. Another time I was on the DC Metro Rail line. A woman standing near me suddenly collapsed on the floor. My brain didn't even seem to register what happened, I was just looking around trying to figure out what was going on. In the meanwhile another woman bent down to hold the first one's head, and someone else called the train operator. When we arrived at the next station, a few people got off with the woman, and I saw them as we pulled out, standing with her, making sure she was okay. Why didn't I think of any of that.

Then again, there were some times when I tried to do something. I was in a shopping mall, and it looked like two kids were fighting. They were throwing kicks and punches back and forth. I saw a security guard and told him. He checked it out. When he came back, he said the kids were just goofing around. I felt my face flush, maybe I shouldn't have said anything. But then there was another time, I was riding my motorcycle and saw a rider pulled over on the left shoulder with his bike. I was a few lanes over, and couldn't make it to him safely. I thought about it, and decided to backtrack. I rode back to a previous exit, turned around, and this time I made sure I was in the left lane, and was able to pull up to him in the shoulder. His bike had broken down, and he didn't have a cell phone. I asked if he'd like a ride to the next exit, I could drop him off at a gas station with a phone. He said he had a friend with a pickup truck two exits down, could I drop him off there? It wasn't far from where I was going anyway, so I took him on the back of my bike and he guided me to his friend's place.

So I don't know, I guess given a little time to think, I can break the bystander behavior. Then again, the article states that if people are alone, they are more likely to come to someone else's aid. It also states "Real heroes are the ones who break out of the group norm."

Still, I hope I remember some of this if I'm ever in a situation like this again, and maybe get off my tush and actually do something.

Where'd they hide it??

The other day I plugged something into my van's powerport. The power instantly went out of the port, and the radio died as well. Must have blown a fuse. I looked all throughout the dashboard, underneath, the sides, etc. No luck. I checked the manual, but it wasn't very clear either. Oh, come on, I have a drive to make the next day!

Finally, out of sheer frustration, I pulled into a Dodge dealership. At the service area, I explained my problem to the office manager. She sent out the head of the shop to help me out. He spent about 5 minutes looking over all the same places I did. Then he popped the hood. Right next to the battery was this black box. Popped the lid off of that, and there were the fuses. We looked at the map, and found the right fuse, and it was blown. I got two new fuses (the spare was missing) and installed one of them. Everything worked fine. (I tossed out the splitter that caused the fuse to pop. Never did that before, but don't want to take any chances.) The service manager wished me well (and no charge, except the fuse) and I was rolling again.

I guess I'm still used to older technology. I never would have thought to look under the hood for a car's fuse box!

One down... many to go

I just got back from Tikvah's pre-school graduation. Next year starts Kindergarten. They did a great job, the kids had little caps on and everything. They had a luncheon afterwards, and I sat down with the father of one of Tikvah's best friends. He said "This is the first of many graduations." My baby isn't even 5 years old yet, (she's very happy to remind me that it's coming up this summer though!) and I'm already thinking about grade school graduation, high school graduation, college graduation, etc. *sigh* Seems like a long way away, but then again, it seems like I was holding a crying, newborn Tikvah only yesterday.

What's in a name?

The bike I recently purchased is a 2007 Kawasaki Nomad. The Nomad is part of the Kawasaki Vulcan line. (essentially all their cruisers are Vulcans with varying engine sizes, configurations, bags, etc.)

Yesterday I needed to get a parking pass so that I could park the bike at work. I had to bring in my vehicle registration and insurance card. On the paperwork, I had written "Kawasaki Nomad." I saw the security guard looking at the various pieces of paper, slightly confused. I figured out what it was. On the state vehicle registration, the bike is called a VN1600D. (Kawasaki's internal body type name for the bike.) On the insurance paperwork, the bike is listed as a Vulcan 1600. Heck, on my warranty card it's listed as a VN1600D7FA.

I wonder if my brother had to go through this. He owns a 2007 Kawasaki Meanstreak. It's a Vulcan 1600 with a more customized look to it.

Anyway, I'll just stick with calling the bike a Nomad. On Sunday I'm teaching in the morning, then going to an Israeli festival in the afternoon. Hopefully after getting the little ones off to bed, I'll have a chance to post a picture or two. I did take a short ride yesterday and have to say, it's so nice to be able to back the bike up out of my parking space without having to get off of it. While I loved my old Concours I usually couldn't back her up, even on level ground, without getting off; I was on my tiptoes as it was.

Updates soon!

This past weekend has been extremely busy. I was in Omaha for the recent Ride to Remember with the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance. The experience was incredible; the way Omaha, Lincoln, and Nebraska in general welcomed us was astonishing, totally beating out DC, TN, and NY. I'm working on a write up, but it'll take a while. (I'll probably have to do it in a few chunks).

Then the day after I returned home, I got my new (to me) motorcycle. Whoo hoo. I just got it registered. I have to get it inspected (it's only 8 months old, shouldn't be a problem) and I'm ready to roll!

Back to my old haunts.

The other day I had to go up to Baltimore for a meeting. Great! While I'm up there, I figured I might as well try the new kosher Subway that recently opened up. I was talking about it with one of my (kosher keeping) neighbors who also ate at Subway before becoming more observant. We discussed whether or not we should have the (fake) cheese on meat based subs, and wondered how close the subs would taste like what we remember. Since I knew I would be going up, I offered to bring back some subs for them.

I also told Laya that I'd be bringing back subs from Subway. Now, unlike fast food places such as Burger King or McDonald's, Subway has a lot of flexibility. First you pick if you want 6 inches or 12. Then you decide what type of sub you want. (e.g. Meatball, Sweet Onion Chicken teryaki, etc.). You also pick what kind of bread you want (Italian, wheat, garlic, etc.), you then pick what veggies you want on top of the sub, and you also pick what (if any) sauces or dressing you want. Apparently the people in Baltimore who have never been in Subway before were having problems, because the Subway store sent out an email explaining step by step how to order. I went over the menu with Laya and we finally figured out what I would get for her and for the kids.

So by the time I went into Subway, I had 6 sandwiches to order. 2 for my neighbors, 3 to bring home, and one to eat there. I thought I ordered clearly, I went through one sandwich at a time, listing what I wanted, and what goes on what. But then the sandwich makers started switching the rolls around and it became hard to keep track of which was which. One thing I noticed is that one person was solely in charge of the Seafood Sensation (which had fish, which needs to remain separate from meat). Smart, I never would have thought of that. But of course he was in the back room when I ordered. *rolling eyes*.

It took a lot of explaining the order over again (3 or 4 times) but eventually we got all the subs made and figured out which was which. I caused a backup in line... oops. I also ordered chocolate chip cookies. Can't leave without that! ;-)

The sub I ate at the restaurant was a meatball sub. The taste was pretty similar to what I remember before. The only problem was they didn't make their meatballs firm enough, so they got mushed up when I was holding the sandwich tightly (not that it was a death grip!). After discussing it with my neighbor, I decided not to get it with the (fake) cheese. Then on the way home I ate some of my cookies. They were over done, but still pretty good.

When I arrived back home, I stopped at the neighbor's house first. We figured out which subs were theirs, and I took the rest home and stuck them in the refrigerator. We had them for dinner the next night. I had the Seafood Sensation. (formerly known as "Seafood and Crab", they have made some changes!) It was pretty good, close to what I remember it being like before. I forgot to order cheese for this one, and I did need to add a little more mayo, but overall, I enjoyed it. Laya had the Subway Club (Roast Beef, turkey and smoked turkey). She liked her sub. We split a cold cut combo (bologna, salami, smoked turkey) for the girls. Ahava really enjoyed the bread! She left meat on her plate, and asked for more bread. Oy. Tikvah liked her sandwich and had some more, plus the meat that Ahava left behind. Laya liked her club. Laya had "The works" for toppings, which means everything. One thing they had on there was sweet peppers. Laya never had them before, and she wound up liking them. Tikvah asked to try them, and she liked them as well. The hardest thing I had to figure out when getting the subs was what veggies to get on the kids' subs. Tikvah doesn't like black olives. Ahava doesn't like lettuce. Tikvah doesn't like sliced tomatoes, neither like onions, etc. I finally settled on cucumbers and pickles only. The girls seemed fine with it. *grin*

So an overall verdict, thumbs up. (My neighbors liked it too, they give it a B+) The decor in the store was just like in the regular Subway restaurants (the updated ones, with bricks), and the food was very similar. Unfortunately I missed Jared by a week. I wonder if they had Subway kippahs when he came?

When I decided to keep strictly kosher, Subway was one of the restaurants I was going to miss. They have a nice variety, and it's not a hamburger based place. Granted, it's over an hour away, but it's nice to know it's an occasional option now.

More ways to torment mom...

I mentioned before that I tormented my mother in various ways when growing up. Here's another.

During Sunday School one day (I don't remember the exact year, I was probably somewhere between 10-12 years old) I was kind of bored. The teacher was talking about the destruction of the first Temple, and the construction of the second Temple. At one point she mentioned that the temple was mostly made of wood. I piped up "But what if the Big Bad Wolf comes and blows it down??" That earned me the first and only time I've ever been kicked out of a class.

While sitting down outside the door to the classroom, several other teachers walked by and they were all shocked to see me sitting there. The worse part was the drive home. You see, I left out one small detail. The teacher happened to be my mother. It was a very quiet drive.

When we got home, I was told to go into the dinning room, sit down, and wait for my father to come home. I don't remember how long I sat there, and I don't remember what my dad said to me, but I never mouthed off to mom in the classroom again (nor any other teacher as well).

Sorry Ma!

From an orange to a full kosher meal

I donate blood and platelets at a local blood donor center. The type of donation I do takes longer than your average blood donation. Once I'm hooked on the machine, it usually takes about 90 minutes until completion. But with the extra time, they not only take regular "whole blood" but also take platelets and plasma if they need it. They can also do a double red donation through this process. Every time they hook me up to the machine, they ask if they can take X, Y and/or Z. I always tell them, I'm here, just take what you need.

So for the past few years, I've been getting an invitation to their annual donor dinner. I usually had conflicts. This year it was an open night, and I really wanted to see what goes on at these events. The dinner choices were Chicken, Steak, or Veggie. I called to make a reservation (it's an answering machine that takes it) and said that I keep kosher, so I wouldn't be eating, I just wanted to hear the presentations.

So late yesterday afternoon, I ate some left over spaghetti, then headed on over. It was being held at the local Marriott. When I checked in, they didn't have my reservation for some reason (seemed to happen to a lot of people, maybe using an answering machine to take reservations isn't a hot idea). Anyway, they wrote out a name tag and asked me what I wanted to eat. I explained that I keep strictly kosher, and wouldn't be eating there. The woman started fussing and kept trying to convince me to take the veggie meal, or else wanted to call down to the kitchen and have them make me something else. Another volunteer there was Jewish, and she understood the situation and explained to the first why that wouldn't work. I told them that really, I was fine, I just wanted to hear the presentations and see what the event was like.

After that, I was wandering around a bit, checking out the hotel. I decided to buy a Snickers bar to eat during the dinner. At the desk, they also had a bowl of oranges. I asked if I could have one, they said "Sure." I then said that would be my dinner for tonight. The hotel worker looked me over (I wear a kippah). He then said "You know, they keep kosher food on hand in the kitchen." I looked at him and asked for more information. He said they have wrapped kosher food set aside for when they had people staying who required kosher food, and they could provide it at the dinner. Well, SURE, I'll agree to that!

I was a little late in the seating, but found an open table near the front of the room. Turned out I sat next to another Jewish woman, and also at the table were two people from the JCC! (they sponsored blood drives there). The Jewish woman who helped me before came up to me and said that they did have the kosher food, and I would be getting it soon.

First they came out with a roll and plasticware. The plasticware was wrapped up REALLY tight. I needed a knife just to open it up! Everything was wrapped and sealed with the name of a kosher restaurant that I know (and trust) plus the local Vaad oversight.



Then came out the main course, chicken, potatoes, and green beans. Okay, granted this was a reheated meal, and a tad dry, but still, considering that I thought I was only going to have an orange and a Snickers bar for dinner, it was pretty darn good!


I had the orange for dessert, and saved the Snickers bar for another day.

After the dinner, they had several people come up and speak. The most heart wrenching one was the mother of two children, 3 and 5 years old. (Instantly hit me, as Tikva will be 5 this summer, and Ahava just turned 3). Her 3 year old son came down with a very bad fever (106 degrees), then had pneumonia, and then they found he had a rare disease (I can't remember the name), but basically resulted in him having almost 0 platelets. He was in and out of surgery and the OR, tubes everywhere, and at one point actually died and had to be resuscitated. Without the donated blood products, he absolutely would not have survived. He needed to be pushed around in a wheel chair for months, and needed to have his head supported, but eventually he relearned to walk, talk, eat, etc. And his mother said he's almost back to normal, running around, playing, etc. They then showed a picture show, before, during, and after his ordeal. I admit, I had to wipe my tears to see the pictures clearly. From now on, whenever I hear negative comments about the time I spend donating blood/platelets, etc. ("Maybe bad people will get it," "They make money off your blood," "There are other people who can donate, why do you have to?" etc.) I'll see the face of that 3 year old boy and know that without donors, he would not be alive today.

Oh, and I got a nice mug for my 20th ABC (Automated Blood Collection) Donation. They had people there who had their 100th, 200th, and even 300th donation (you can donate this way every two weeks). I have a lot of catching up to do!