Macrobioticality

I met my friend Sara at lunch today at a macrobiotic place in Union Square. I like macrobiotic food because there are usually no limitations for me (and other semi-kosher eaters) on the menu. However, I always get a kick out of the circular explanations of what macrobiotics really is. This place was classic in that respect. The description was actually presented in a circular format! The food was good though and despite the plethora of spelling errors, I'd go back.

The MIAgic Kingdom

The Palm Beach Post reports that Miami International Airport has hired Walt Disney to train employees:

In an effort to improve customer service, Miami International Airport has
hired the Walt Disney Co. to train airport employees. A national survey
of customer satisfaction this year ranked Miami 14th among the
country's 18 busiest airports.

Which prompts the very important question: WHAT WERE THE OTHER FOUR?!

Massad State of Affairs at Columbia

According to this sharp article by The New Republic's James Kirchick, Columbia professor Joseph Massad goes along with Ahmadinejad's, "We don't have [homosexuals] in our country ... We do not have this phenomenon."

Clinton to Speak at Brandeis

That's Bill, if you're curious. According to The Justice via JTA, Bill will be speaking in honor of a new fellowship named for the late Eli Segal, a Brandeis graduate and former Clinton adviser who died in February.

It's on December 3rd. Get in line, snitches!

Pita Express Downtown

My new work friend Dan and I sauntered up Broadway today to try Pita Express, a kosher middle eastern place near J&R.
The good: Pita was fresh, food was hot, zchug was very strong and flavorful, placed was full, friendly and lively
The bad: Like nearly all kosher middle eastern places, the service was poor. We waited a long time for our food and then were the recipients of numerous dirty or frustrated looks from the waitress.

Anyhow, for kosher keepers downtown, it's a good option and I'll definitely be back...hopefully they will have better service next time, but I guess that's why kosher places get away with it...people like me go back in spite of it!

News.com on 70s PCs

Here's a phun photo essay of 70s PCs. Seeing the Apple II and Atari 800 brought a little tear to my eye. Here's my favorite example of 70s era PC glamaliciousness, the Vector 1:

In 1976, Vector Graphic designed and sold static RAM and other expansion cards for S-100 computers. The company was run by two women--Lore Harp (founder and chair) and Carole Ely. Bob Harp, Lore's husband, was the design engineer. Eventually they released an entire computer based on their technology--this
Vector 1.
Credit: Steven Stengel, Oldcomputers.net

Not quite eleventy billion, but close

Oracle is putting up some nice dough for BEA: CNET article on the $6.7B offer

BEA on the block even moreso

A big part of my jobs at IBM usually involved tracking BEA. I've always felt they were an acquisition target, but it seems that possibility may be increasing. According to this CNET article, Carl Icahn's influence may be a key factor in the potential sale of the second-best portal and application server provider.

I have long felt HP, once it realizes that systems management is not enough, would look to expand its software infrastructure portfolio with a BEA buy but Oracle and its A&A mentality might have a say. What do you think?

Tie, no jacket

With the new show, "Chuck" a seeming hit and Best Buy's integration of and thus spreading of the GeekSquad brand, geek chic is definitely hitting a fever pitch. Yes, I'm talking about wearing a button down shirt with a tie, without a jacket. Riding the train in this AM--and new phenomenon as many of you know--I noticed more than a few folks sporting this look. My hunch is that most were in IT.

Unified Messaging

I'm shocked my new company--with its mostly virtual and traveling workforce--doesn't offer UM. That is, I have a voice mailbox and an associated number (but no desk/phone) that does not alert me if I get a new message! I could be at a client site and I have to dial in to check my VM. It's unconscionable to me. We have it at home. Do you have UM at home? Work?

Give me a rug, I'm oriented

Phew. Three days of orientation in the books. I'm pooped, but mostly because I've developed a little cold--well, I finally caught it is better put--and haven't slept well. Today was consulting-specific and located in my new office building so it was much more informative than the past two HR/IT-focused days.

New glasses...finally!

After one major failed start and about 30 visits to opticians in the past year or so, I have finally got my new frames on my face...right now!



I'm really enjoying them so far. What do you think?

Thanks to our neighbor--and fellow MJC member--Cindy for her help!

Day 2 is in the books and I'm back online

Finally got a laptop again. It's an HP, which is fine, I guess. Widescreen is nice, but the imbalanced keyboard is an oddity. The trackpad is also not centered. Weird.

Other notes on the orientation so far:

• Partnership America is just as red-tape heavy as Corporate America
• Wearing real shoes is as tiring as I feared
• Wearing grown-up clothes is still fun
• The WTC area is still borderline dreadful

Yankee/Seinfeld/Jewish Programming Note

Tomorrow at 11PM, Larry David will be on centerStage on YES Network. Set those DVRs!

Mixed Emotions

Well, it's finally here. Tomorrow is my last day at Big Blue. I'm sad to leave as my experiences at IBM have almost always been great--except for bonus day just about every year. :-)

I've never left one job for another so that's a new experience for me, plus it's not as if I'm leaving for a competitor or a very similar job. I'm not sure how to feel, aside from gratitude to the people I've learned so much from and sadness for the inevitable lost friendships.

Blackberry, Treo or Other?

Coincidentally, I'm coming on two years with my current phone at the same time that I'm starting my new job. I'm thinking the timing is perfect to finally dip my toes into the Blackberry waters. I am waiting to hear what the policies, etc. are, but I'm leaning towards the Blackberry World 8800ish. Anyone have that? How about a comparable Treo?

How was your fast?

Mine wasn't bad at all. In the last 3-4 years, I've really gotten a good handle on how to make it through unscathed. I find Tisha B'av to be harder because it's longer and in the summer, but these tips help there too:

• Begin heavy water consumption the day before erev YK
• Consume slightly more sodium than usual on day before erev YK
• Light lunch on erev YK
• Limit salt intake on erev YK but not entirely
• Chew parsely after you're done eating erev YK dinner
• Force glass of water down after erev YK dinner
• Gargle very well with Listerine after erev YK dinner

Hope you find this helpful next time around. A zissen yur!

I Love Samantha Brown

Well, maybe love is a strong word but she sure is adorable. For those of you who don't know who this charmer is, check her out on The Travel Channel website. She's witty and cute and gets to do cool things in cool places. What more could one want from a TV fantasy crush?!

The Business Uniform

I guess it's my prep schooling, but I've always been partial to the light blue shirt, tan or gray slacks and blazer look. I just came from an IBM event where Steve Mills, the master of this look, was once again decked out in this combo. My question is this: does he have like 10 or 15 blazers or just 1?

Relatedly, what should my new wardrobe consist of? Now that I'm switching jobs to one where my clothes are more important--how could they not be?!--I'm thinking I need to clear out some of my old stuff and really work on my basics.

Social Bookmarking

Caught this cool clip from my friend Jeremy Epstein's blog and I wanted to share: Social Bookmarking rocks

iPod Video?

Do you have an iPod with video? Do you enjoy watching videos on a 1.5" screen?

I was riding the NJT back home yesterday evening on a SRO train. There was a guy standing in front of me watching The Office on his iPod. I loved the theory of video on an iPod from the day it was announced, but I watched for about 45 seconds and it became apparent to me that it was not that great in practice. I'd like to hear some feedback from any folks out there who watch video on their iPod regularly.

Lev Leviev in NYT Mag

Sunday's NYT Mag had a profile of Bukharan-Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, who is among the biggest Jewish philanthropists in the world. It was an interesting piece in general, highlighting some of Leviev's quirks and vague contradictions and also shedding light on his upbringing and business acumen.

One aspect of the piece that struck me as odd was its treatment of the Chabad movement. As some of you who know me know, I am a big fan of Chabad, so I would be remiss to admit that it's hard for me to be unbiased, but I will try.

First of all, the author (or editor?) likely mischaracterized Rabbi Eliezer Shach's (zt"l) feelings about Chabad. While I am not familiar with the exact quote, I find it highly unlikely that a Chabad critic like Shach would call it the sect closest to Judaism...Christianity perhaps, but not Judaism--note that this is not my feeling but my understanding of the misnagdic Shach's thoughts.

My bigger issue with Chafetz's piece was the following:

Most of the 300 rabbis are Chabadniks, adherents of the Brooklyn-based Hasidic group Chabad — fundamentalist, missionizing, worldly and centered on the personality and teachings of the late Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher rebbe. Chabad is anti-abortion, regards homosexuality as a sexual perversion and generally finds itself aligned with other fundamentalist religious groups on American domestic issues.

It seems to me that the writer--knowing the typical NYT Mag reader is left-leaning--is trying to unfairly paint Chabad. Yes, Chabad may be officially anti-abortion--like nearly all of traditional Judaism--but in the US at least, it almost completely avoids politicizing the issue. Furthermore, regarding homosexuality, Chabad, again like all of traditional Judaism, regards male homosexual acts as abominations, but the choice of the word, "perversion," creates an unfair bias in the reader's mind, in my opinion. Chabad is generally considered to be the most moderate of all haredi and hasidic groups, especially in the US and Leviev's association with them is tainted by the choices of words and phrases to describe Chabad.