2010-01-26 08:33:22
natges: I’ve arrived home. It sure would have been nice if I’d been
informed of the scaffolding and construction on my building.

2010-01-26 08:05:49
natges: Cab driver is listening to radio in Russian. All I want to hear is
Hebrew!

2010-01-26 08:00:47
natges: I made it through Customs with no trouble and I’m in a NIS 135 taxi
to Tel Aviv.

2010-01-26 07:25:10
natges: I’m on the ground in Israel!

2010-01-25 20:50:55
natges: @huangm777 they just paged a “passenger Mike Huang” on my flight.
Visiting Israel?

2010-01-25 20:30:05
natges: Aside from them, the flight is not close to full. Awesome!

2010-01-25 20:29:02
natges: There’s a Xtian tour group on my plane. I love their enthusiasm!

2010-01-25 20:20:07
natges: Goodbye America! I won’t take off for a while, but I’m done with
you for now.

2010-01-25 20:18:53
natges: I’m on the plane – Continental CO84. Who wants to pick me up at the
airport?

2010-01-25 17:22:12
natges: There’s nothing like some awful airport food to make me crave
airplane food.

2010-01-25 17:20:54
natges: @elliotreed no direct flights from any DC airport to Israel; I like
Continental’s 777s.

2010-01-25 16:36:08
natges: Just kidding. Atlanta to Newark is cancelled. Newark to Israel is
on time. It’s all one flight number.

2010-01-25 16:21:10
natges: The board says my flight is cancelled. http://twitpic.com/zprtl

But the people say it’s on time.

2010-01-25 16:07:29
natges: It’s outrageous that both Reagan and Liberty have Dunkin’ Donuts
instead of Krispy Kreme.

2010-01-25 15:59:58
natges: Hurry up and wait! Now I have to find a way to burn some time.

2010-01-25 15:53:13
natges: Letting me transfer from domestic to international terminals with
my shoes on is about the most I can ask from an American airport.

2010-01-25 15:26:07
natges: @fadetheory maybe I should look into getting a child…

2010-01-25 15:25:20
natges: I’m on the ground at Liberty. That’s the airport formerly known as
Newark, for those who don’t know.

2010-01-25 13:41:33
natges: Thank you @fadetheory!

2010-01-25 13:40:54
natges: My flight to Liberty is delayed due to an electrical problem on
board. I don’t like the sound of that.

2010-01-25 13:09:59
natges: I’m now waiting at Reagan to board a plane to Liberty.

2010-01-25 13:08:14
natges: I wasn’t spared the normal indignities of American airport
security.

2010-01-25 13:07:09
natges: I did some hardcore luggage adjusting at check-in and each bag was
exactly 50 pounds.

2010-01-25 11:53:34
natges: I think all the people missing from the Metro last night are on
the Beltway this morning.

2010-01-25 06:18:31
natges: Did Infinite Jest REALLY have to be that long? I won’t know for a
while, because it’s getting left behind. Sorry DFW.

2010-01-25 06:17:41
natges: Preliminary weigh-in results: first bag is six pounds overweight,
second bag is half a pound overweight. Time to toss some books.

2010-01-25 06:06:55
natges: Natan is packing to go home.: is packing to go home.
http://bit.ly/8MCU9R (via the Facebook)

2010-01-25 05:52:37
natges: Good thing my parents have Code Red!

2010-01-25 05:52:21
natges: That’s an hour earlier than I’d anticipated. It’s now almost 1 am
and I still have a lot of packing and arranging to get done.

2010-01-25 05:51:57
natges: Continental called to let us know that my flight to Newark is
cancelled. I got on an earlier flight. I’m leaving the house at 6:30 am.

2010-01-25 04:05:13
natges: Alex B. and Craig live in a building called The Gatsby.

2010-01-25 02:42:40
natges: I’m at Open City cafe with Katy and Craig!

2010-01-25 01:19:31
natges: The Metro is almost empty at 8 pm on a Sunday.

2010-01-24 23:12:45
natges: Last supper: Red, Hot & Blue.

2010-01-24 23:11:55
natges: I am mostly packed.

2010-01-24 22:33:49
natges: @xgess the bathroom is free, so you can take a bath if you want
now. Then a shower. Then you’ll be clean.

2010-01-24 22:32:44
natges: So sorry I missed my cousins Cindy, Brian, Stevie & Avery on this
trip, and friends Kenny & Yvonne. Next year – or sooner?

2010-01-24 22:32:08
natges: My parents had a wonderful gathering so I could see a lot of
people. It was so terrific to see everyone and I expect visitors in Israel!

2010-01-24 19:08:20
natges: Is it just me or are there a lot of vets / animal hospitals in
Montgomery County?

2010-01-24 18:18:11
natges: Last supermarket run is underway.

2010-01-24 17:31:02
natges: Clean!

2010-01-24 17:30:28
natges: @MemphisSeth they killed off some attractive looking females in
season two – what about them?

2010-01-24 17:29:28
natges: @vboykis 21 emails left is not bad for any day.

2010-01-24 17:18:47
natges: ps. Now I’m showering so I can actually get clean.

2010-01-23 22:44:35
natges: It’s been a very, very, very long time since I went to a
conservative synagogue on shabbat. This morning’s experience was quite
church-like.

2010-01-23 22:43:37
natges: @MemphisSeth her character is the worst on the whole show.

2010-01-23 17:40:33
natges: My brother and I are on the way to Chipotle for visit #4.

2010-01-23 17:38:47
natges: Of all the things I don’t have in my life, the one I miss the least
is radio.

2010-01-23 14:30:10
natges: I’m going to a bat mitzvah. This is the first time I’m wearing a
suit and tie since 2005.

2010-01-23 13:13:22
natges: I am almost done with my pre- season six LOST rewatch!

2010-01-23 11:37:46
natges: @simonepress great interview with Snooki. I can not wait to watch
the rest of the season.

2010-01-23 01:49:55
natges: The Patagonia Critical Mass messenger-style bag I ordered is, alas,
too big for me. I think I’ll have to ask my parents to return it.

2010-01-23 01:49:06
natges: @lettersapp Many congratulations on beginning the sorely needed
project. And where/how can I volunteer to help???

2010-01-23 00:04:40
natges: The best thing about Tripper Bus, by the way, is that I don’t have
to set foot in The District.

2010-01-22 23:15:02
natges: We made great time on the bus (considerig rush hour) and now I’m on
the Metro back to my parents’.

2010-01-22 22:59:18
natges: The Tripper Bus driver kept calling Bethesda “Bethesla.”

2010-01-22 19:29:06
natges: Natan is on his way back to Maryland.: is on his way back to
Maryland. http://bit.ly/5zavQr (via the Facebook)

2010-01-22 19:08:22
natges: We have another impeccably polite Tripper driver and mostly empty
bus – I did have a bit of a scare when my outlet didn’t work at first…

2010-01-22 19:07:39
natges: Thanks for the hospitality: Leeor and Marie, Karen and Akilesh,
Adam and John.

2010-01-22 19:07:08
natges: I’m on the Tripper Bus back to Maryland. This was an unbelievably
awesome trip to New York, perfect in almost EVERY way.

2010-01-22 16:57:58
natges: Last meal in New York = first time trying Korean. Sorry Sharav!

2010-01-22 16:57:18
natges: There are more password protected networks every year in New York.
Fortunately I can usually find one called linksys.

2010-01-22 16:56:18
natges: RT @fmanjoo: That’s it, I’m not voting anymore. What’s the point? I
should really get into sports or something.

2010-01-22 16:09:36
natges: Places I regret that I’ll not have visited on this trip: Shake
Shack, Di Fara’s.

2010-01-22 16:07:46
natges: Most ridiculous flyer on the board at Think Coffee: Holistic Pet
Healer.

2010-01-22 16:06:06
natges: Seriously, Think Coffee should just install some Israeli shaped
electrical outlets for all their Israeli customers.

2010-01-22 15:57:45
natges: I haven’t heard so much Hebrew on this trip to New York‚Ķ but
Israelis seem to have taken over Think Coffee on Bleecker.

2010-01-22 15:56:13
natges: Imagine THIS sign on a cash register in Israel:

http://twitpic.com/z7rvb

2010-01-22 15:02:59
natges: Washington Mews: my old favorite street. http://twitpic.com/z7kke

2010-01-22 15:01:08
natges: Good morning New York! Last day here. Just had another awesome
Bagel Bob’s bagel with @occisraeli.

2010-01-22 06:23:23
natges: I’m sleeping in Manhattan tonight.

2010-01-22 02:36:31
natges: Food Bazaar is probably the second best supermarket I’ve ever seen.
After Fairway.

2010-01-22 02:29:05
natges: Karen: Grand Concourse used to be a really nice neighborhood. Me:
And then you moved here?

2010-01-22 02:16:16
natges: Karen asks: What are you going to tweet next?

2010-01-22 02:14:40
natges: Pepe’s of Yonkers is almost as good as the original Pepe’s.

2010-01-22 00:48:55
natges: You know what the plural of “anecdote” is? DATA! (a joke by Bernard
Tenenbaum, told by Karen)

2010-01-22 00:30:51
natges: One word: Pepe’s. Of Yonkers. http://twitpic.com/z4u1x

2010-01-21 04:06:32
natges: Karen talking about her grandmother Ruth: http://twitpic.com/z0r0s

2010-01-21 04:04:18
natges: Karen’s roommate Akilesh: http://twitpic.com/z0qn0

2010-01-21 04:02:51
natges: Karen has a coop in the Bronx. It’s pretty fancy!

2010-01-21 02:18:58
natges: Dinner: Corner Bistro with John, Adam, Leeor and Karen!

2010-01-21 01:03:05
natges: I’m waiting in line at Corner Bistro. How long have I waited for
this?

2010-01-21 00:58:45
natges: I saw a Kindle on the subway (first time) and now I know why apple
is going to release a tablet device.

2010-01-21 22:49:29
natges: Natanel, two and a half years: http://twitpic.com/z4djt

2010-01-21 22:31:04
natges: @3zrahal3v1 is showing me pictures and videos from his recent
vacation. Wow. Wow.

2010-01-21 21:11:17
natges: Another new experience for me: the Willis Avenue Bridge.

2010-01-21 21:07:53
natges: @simonepress Shame on Harlem! Make your Popeye’s friendly like
Bushwick’s.

2010-01-21 21:06:15
natges: RT @xgess: @natges tell ezra i say hello @3zrahal3v1

2010-01-21 21:04:46
natges: WELCOME TO THE TWITTER @xgess!!!!

2010-01-21 21:03:41
natges: Wait a minute. They renamed Triboro Bridge after some dude who’s
been dead more than 40 years?

2010-01-21 20:39:36
natges: I am in Ezra’s sister’s pimped out Volvo! She’s in Israel – Ezra is
driving.

2010-01-21 19:56:40
natges: Popeye’s of Harlem is encased in bullet-proof plastic. In Bushwick
they are much more welcoming.

2010-01-21 19:55:11
natges: @phriedman Nice!!! I have been a devoted Corner Bistro fan for a
really long time!

2010-01-21 19:53:59
natges: Going from Yankee Stadium to Bushwick today was the first time I
EVER went from outer borough to outer borough without going above ground.

2010-01-21 19:52:03
natges: I don’t know why that Kindle thing got tweeted again. It wasn’t me!

2010-01-21 19:41:48
natges: Just had Popeyes with Randy in “Bushwick”!!!!!!!

2010-01-21 19:40:46
natges: I saw a Kindle on the subway (first time) and now I know why apple
is going to release a tablet device.

2010-01-20 05:55:46
natges: @occisraeli and I just spent 20 minutes laughing at
http://bit.ly/8xYv0X. Check it out!

2010-01-20 02:10:42
natges: Dan’s phone can’t decide what it wants to be.

http://twitpic.com/yvhtx

2010-01-20 02:03:15
natges: Dinner at Lombardi’s was phenomenal! Best pizza in the five
boroughs!

2010-01-20 01:17:23
natges: One Pomerantz and one Mendelsohn for dinner!

http://twitpic.com/yv9r7

2010-01-20 21:10:59
natges: Natan is having a blast in New York!!!!!!!! 240-264-7264.: is
having a blast in New York!!!!!!!!… http://bit.ly/4yEJZS (via the
Facebook)

2010-01-20 18:53:05
natges: The menu of the Indian restaurant where I ate lunch proclaimed that
the managment reserved the right to enforce certain standards of decency

2010-01-20 16:43:49
natges: The Washington Square fountain is now centered with the arch and
Fifth Ave. And it’s renamed after Tisch. Was that REALLY necessary?

2010-01-20 16:36:59
natges: NYU students have definitely gotten dumber since I left (nothing to
do with me – I’m just saying‚Ķ).

2010-01-20 16:35:49
natges: I can’t wait until the construction is done in Washington Square.
And I’m here in spring, so I can see Garibaldi for more than a minute.

2010-01-20 16:29:22
natges: Note to groceries: to attract a higher class clientele, hang wicker
baskets from your ceilings.

2010-01-20 16:26:26
natges: It is a BEAUTIFUL day in New York today, by the way. I wouldn’t
mind if it were a little warmer, though.

2010-01-20 16:25:07
natges: I think I’m using more chapstick on this trip to New York than in
any other time period of comparable lengh ever.

2010-01-20 14:43:57
natges: … and I’m now in Apple of Midtown where I’m planning out my day.

2010-01-20 14:43:32
natges: I had a bagel this morning from Bagel Hole in Park Slope. It was a
little on the chewy side for my taste, but still excellent.

2010-01-19 23:41:36
natges: @phriedman of course Code Red is my favorite. It’s a shirley temple
in a can.

2010-01-19 23:38:31
natges: Dessert before dinner (and lunch): chocolate truffle cake at
Ferrara! http://twitpic.com/yutkf

2010-01-19 22:55:02
natges: On that note, returning the overpriced one I bought from Apple
could not have been easier.

2010-01-19 22:53:58
natges: I love you Apple, but your $29 mini display port to DVI adapter is
EXACTLY the same as Tekserve’s $20 model. Explain that.

2010-01-19 22:39:39
natges: Barbershop quartet in the subway. They weren’t bad, but who wants
to hear a barbershop quartet?

2010-01-19 22:26:12
natges: I just spent WAY too much time in Apple of soho. Going to Tekserve
now will not make up for it.

2010-01-19 19:35:30
natges: It looked like rain was coming, so I ducked in the Apple Store of
SoHo. To shop. Really.

2010-01-19 19:13:19
natges: There are few things in life I love to do more than THE Dew. Even
at $1.75 for 20 oz.

2010-01-19 19:00:12
natges: @simonepress America is a very interesting place.

2010-01-19 18:58:38
natges: On my first day in New York more than 10 years ago, I sat and
watched the chess players in Washington Square. And it’s still cool.

2010-01-19 18:25:34
natges: Downtown, there are “pedestrian safety” officers holding a chain
across the street to block us from crossing while cars go by.

2010-01-19 18:17:36
natges: I’m still looking for an inexpensive mini display port to DVI
adapter.

2010-01-19 18:17:03
natges: I think I just went to about ten stores in a row, all called J&R;.

2010-01-19 18:04:07
natges: $7?!? You got ripped off, @simonepress.

2010-01-19 17:44:55
natges: Fact: Wearing a keffiyeh in New York causes people to address me
first in French, then in Arabic.

2010-01-19 17:23:36
natges: Here’s where I tried to take cover immediately after the World
Trade Center fell: http://twitpic.com/yt9de

2010-01-19 05:09:15
natges: @elliotreed Celcius is fake. Why can’t everyone just accept that
the English imperial system is the true system of weights and measures?

2010-01-19 03:46:09
natges: @simonepress those are some nice eyebrows you have, but threading
still sounds frightening. What’s the matter with tweezing?

2010-01-19 03:05:33
natges: @occisraeli and Mrs occisraeli have an awesome apartment with a
great view of the city!

2010-01-19 02:53:40
natges: Away from the subway station, this neighborhood is so cute and
quaint. It’s just as I expected Brooklyn to be.

2010-01-19 02:31:43
natges: First impression of Park Slope: it’s so hip and trendy! Almost like
NYC!

2010-01-19 02:10:26
natges: Grimaldi’s made a very fine pie. Very fine.

2010-01-19 00:57:12
natges: http://twitpic.com/yq9ha
Oven at Grimaldi’s.

2010-01-19 00:53:07
natges: http://twitpic.com/yq8y4
Grimaldi’s chef.

2010-01-19 00:45:07
natges: We are seated.

2010-01-19 00:34:17
natges: Hey Israelis! The temperature in Brooklyn is 7 in fake degrees.

2010-01-19 00:21:51
natges: Brooklyn isn’t so bad.

2010-01-19 00:16:22
natges: @occisraeli and I are standing in line at Grimaldi’s!

2010-01-18 23:45:20
natges: @occisraeli in Aroma just observed that the lampshades have Israeli
product designs.

2010-01-18 22:19:22
natges: I’m here with Geoff and he’s great.

2010-01-18 22:18:54
natges: Aroma of SoHo! It’s not really that Israeli, though.

2010-01-18 04:00:13
natges: ps. My brother was TREMENDOUSLY helpful in my monitor purchase over
the past week. He’s joining the twitter soon, so I’ll thank him again…

2010-01-18 22:01:57
natges: Washington Square!

2010-01-18 03:59:24
natges: I’m packing for New York now! I think I’ll bring warm sweaters but
only a light rain jacket.

2010-01-18 21:58:15
natges: My first home in New York: http://twitpic.com/ypeva

2010-01-18 03:53:14
natges: Thanks @elliotreed! It really shouldn’t be a problem since it’s a
single monitor that’s for personal use, not resale. But you never know…

2010-01-18 21:42:24
natges: The Flatiron Building is still one of my top few favorite buildings
in the world.

2010-01-18 02:05:58
natges: Big Love is on! I’m watching with @wadijoh on the huge screen.

2010-01-18 21:41:47
natges: @wadijoh, do you need a door?

http://twitpic.com/ypbww

http://twitpic.com/ypc15

2010-01-18 02:04:20
natges: Announcement: I will be in New York tomorrow (Monday) through
Friday. If I know you, get in touch and we’ll meet up!

2010-01-18 21:37:02
natges: Would you pay $6 for something called “eyebrow threading”? Don’t
think I would, either.

2010-01-18 02:02:48
natges: Dinner tonight was chicken and pasta again, like when I was a kid.

2010-01-17 03:12:30
natges: My parents and grandmother are watching SVU. I wonder what this
episode’s sermon will be‚Ķ

2010-01-17 01:58:19
natges: @elliotreed I’m content with the Disney cartoon Robin Hood where
he’s a fox and Little John is a bear.

2010-01-17 01:57:29
natges: That was a fantastic roast for dinner. @wadijoh: “From now on, I’m
only buying grass-fed.”

2010-01-17 00:09:14
natges: @wadijoh on his pizza’s dough: “This is the closest dough I’ve ever
made to Pepe’s‚Ķ This is perfect.”

2010-01-17 23:58:30
natges: Natan is going to New York tomorrow. 240-264-7264.: is going to New
York tomorrow. 240-264-7264. http://bit.ly/6MtEPG (via the Facebook)

2010-01-17 22:54:13
natges: I’m waiting LOST on my new monitor and it’s AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-17 22:53:53
natges: @elliotreed I’ll pack it in a couple suitcases and hope the customs
authority people don’t see it!

2010-01-17 21:14:53
natges: My brother: “I’ve never spent so much time in a supermarket without
buying anything.” Because you’ve never been to one as a tourist‚Ķ

2010-01-17 20:17:48
natges: Third trip to Chipotle was grrreat.

2010-01-17 19:39:07
natges: Monitor bought. Next stop: Chipotle.

2010-01-17 19:33:10
natges: Looks like I’m going with a Samsung 23″ monitor for $200 – it comes
in the smallest box!

2010-01-17 18:08:19
natges: Broadway Diner has become Hollywood Diner – and it didn’t change
one bit.

2010-01-17 17:45:10
natges: Ok, my brother and I are going back to Micro Center so I can try to
find a computer monitor / television.

2010-01-17 17:45:05
natges: My grandmother just left to return to Philadelphia. It was great to
see her!

2010-01-17 16:59:59
natges: I just realized that LivePerson stock has gone up. My grandmother
could actually sell now for a profit.

2010-01-17 16:58:35
natges: Batch #4 of cookies is being made now.

2010-01-17 16:09:00
natges: My parents and grandmother got their bagels “scooped” (with the
insides removed). I am appalled.

2010-01-17 15:37:01
natges: Brooklyn Deli has no lumberjack breakfast. Sad.

2010-01-16 23:55:08
natges: Unfortunately I ended up not getting he monitor from Best Buy
because they wouldn’t price match. I’ll go to Micro Center tomorrow.

2010-01-16 23:48:51
natges: I’m leaning very strongly toward a 23″ LG monitor for $180.

2010-01-16 23:23:19
natges: I almost got a television but it was only 110 volts.

2010-01-16 22:11:20
natges: The quest for a monitor (or television) continues at Best Buy.

2010-01-16 21:28:00
natges: Little hot dogs are served. This means it’s a party.

2010-01-16 16:50:15
natges: Here’s something depressing – a New Jersey mall is trying to
convince people to become “mall walkers” for exercise -

http://bit.ly/61yguy

2010-01-16 16:02:30
natges: @gillush It’s true – you’re not very good at the twitter.

2010-01-16 14:55:41
natges: I just ate 12 of my dad’s awesome pancakes. I think there were
12…

2010-01-16 02:44:38
natges: My grandmother is telling all sorts of great stories about my
grandfather’s family.

2010-01-16 02:13:41
natges: My brother’s birthday dinner was at an Italian restaurant called
The Baronessa. I had the gnocchi (with aurora sauce).

2010-01-16 00:45:56
natges: Is aurora sauce tomato and cream, like a rose?

2010-01-15 18:37:06
natges: @MemphisSeth nah… sounds kind of nasty.

2010-01-15 18:36:17
natges: ps. @elliotreed I mean I’m using “google apps for your domain,” not
just their apps.

2010-01-15 18:01:07
natges: It is 52 DEGREES in Maryland. I come here in the winter time to see
SNOW, damn it!

2010-01-15 18:00:36
natges: @MemphisSeth Cool Ranch sounds so exotic. I am a very traditional
guy.

2010-01-15 17:59:53
natges: @elliotreed of course Google Docs isn’t great. It doesn’t have to
be: http://bit.ly/4W2EQL

2010-01-15 17:13:44
natges: On second thought, Nacho Cheese is probably better than Nacho
Cheesey.

2010-01-15 17:13:20
natges: WTF Frito-lay? These Doritos used to be Nacho Cheesier, and now
they are just Nacho Cheese, not even Nacho Cheesey. I want Nacho Cheesiest!

2010-01-15 17:12:22
natges: Corned beef and Doritos: this is what my childhood tasted like.

2010-01-15 17:11:53
natges: @elliotreed Google apps probably sucks for enterprise. But just to
manage my personal email, it’s 100 times better than the alternative.

2010-01-15 16:19:39
natges: Happy birthday Alexander “Do I Have To Write The -Ander” Gessner!

2010-01-15 16:18:54
natges: How is Google apps so cool and how did I never realize it until
now?

2010-01-15 16:18:27
natges: @phriedman on my next trip to America, I’m going to try eating
Chipotle FOUR MEALS IN A ROW instead of just four times on the trip.

2010-01-15 03:07:08
natges: Zappos identified the shoes I wanted from the pictures I posted
online! But unfortunately they’re out of production and unavailable!

2010-01-15 01:16:41
natges: My mom is now making her THIRD batch of
the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies-in-the-world since I’ve been back.

2010-01-15 01:15:57
natges: That’s right – after lunch at Chipotle, we ended up having tacos
with our parents for dinner. I should find my sombrero…

2010-01-15 22:47:52
natges: While they get their nails done, my brother is berating everyone on
the necessity of implementing the progressive program.

2010-01-15 22:46:15
natges: My mother and grandmother are bonding by getting their nails done.

2010-01-15 21:17:27
natges: My grandmother has not been here very long, and she’s already
drinking hard.

2010-01-15 20:44:03
natges: My grandmother has arrived on a visit to Maryland. I don’t know how
this will affect my tweeting over the next couple days…

2010-01-15 19:59:25
natges: @fadetheory I will keep Estonia in mind…

2010-01-14 22:38:03
natges: Snider the Volvo guy now does Hondas and other kinds of cars!

2010-01-14 22:06:03
natges: I SWORE I wouldn’t buy any more books. But I did anyway.

2010-01-14 20:28:59
natges: Krispy Kreme is done, and I am happy: http://twitpic.com/y32uf

2010-01-14 20:14:13
natges: There are doughnuts and then there is Krispy Kreme.

2010-01-14 20:06:54
natges: A concept that’s alien to business in Israel:

http://twitpic.com/y2zkw

2010-01-14 20:02:28
natges: For all who don’t know, Krispy Kreme = heaven.

http://twitpic.com/y2ywq

2010-01-14 19:31:19
natges: I’m doing Chipotle visit number two with my brother:

http://twitpic.com/y2ubm

2010-01-14 19:20:58
natges: http://twitpic.com/y2sm8
But what about those of us who LIKE trans
fats?

2010-01-14 15:05:59
natges: It’s funny @mordechailehrer – I hadn’t even thought of it at all on
this trip. By now it just feels natural to me that I live in Israel.

2010-01-14 15:04:56
natges: My brother is making the NASTIEST omelet. There’s not even any meat
in it!

2010-01-14 08:46:05
natges: I had flank steak for dinner. Then I hibernated. Now I am awake.

2010-01-14 00:17:20
natges: Maybe I’ll get a television instead of just a monitor?

2010-01-13 22:21:44
natges: My brother just told me that Pizza Hut is changig its name to “The
Hut.”

2010-01-13 22:02:43
natges: Montrose Parkway is so disorienting.

2010-01-13 21:56:31
natges: Neil at Micro Center on the Pike is very knowledgeable about
computer monitors.

2010-01-13 21:38:47
natges: Monitor shopping is so confusing.

2010-01-13 19:42:17
natges: The line at the post office in America is so orderly. It keeps
great hours, too.

2010-01-13 19:37:45
natges: Every time I drive (a few times a year when I’m back in Maryland)
I’m amazed that I haven’t forgotten how to do it in the past year.

2010-01-13 17:40:01
natges: I just checked the mail and eight books were delivered for me.
That’s 10 so far. I’m about halfway there…

2010-01-13 17:09:42
natges: 32 degrees fahrenheit. This is the warmest it’s been since I got to
America.

2010-01-13 16:48:05
natges: And… Pizza Hut is consumed.

2010-01-13 16:26:15
natges: Pizza Hut is served!

2010-01-13 15:49:55
natges: Pizza Hut charges $2 for delivery on all orders, phone and online.
Bastards!!!!!

2010-01-13 13:49:38
natges: …I could take pictures of the shoes, put them online and email a
link, and they’d try to find out if they carry them. Nice!

2010-01-13 13:49:06
natges: I just talked with Techa, a CSR at Zappos. I’m having trouble
finding out if they sell shoes I like in a slightly larger size. She
said…

2010-01-13 03:57:39
natges: Who can recommend a 2TB external hard drive with USB 2 and
FireWire?

2010-01-12 20:52:43
natges: My suit is back from the cleaners and it looks great.

2010-01-12 20:40:12
natges: The Goodwill yield: four shirts and a burgundy light wool sweater
(MADE IN ISRAEL): $24.

2010-01-12 20:20:41
natges: In Goodwill all the store announcements are in spanish first, then
English.

2010-01-12 20:05:59
natges: I want one of these for the office: http://twitpic.com/xtqo0

2010-01-12 20:02:03
natges: I just let a woman cut my hair!

2010-01-12 19:46:56
natges: Noe this is a real barber: http://twitpic.com/xtnxg

2010-01-12 19:39:41
natges: To get your voice on WTOP, you can record an mp3 of yourself
talking and email it in.

2010-01-12 19:18:16
natges: I’m in Chicken Out while @wadijoh gets something. Too bad I’m still
full from brunch.

2010-01-12 19:16:19
natges: Nordstrom Rack just isn’t as fun as thrifting.

2010-01-12 18:55:18
natges: @elliotreed no way, I don’t smoke. My dad was getting them for my
brother.

2010-01-12 18:54:37
natges: Best Buy has changed so much. The music section is much smaller
now.

2010-01-12 18:17:42
natges: At the cigar store, @wadijoh just expressed surprise that it’s
still possible to buy rolling papers. What?

2010-01-12 17:59:58
natges: @wadijoh and I completed a Salvation Army visit. Yield: six shirts
& sweaters for me, a heavy shopping bag, shovel & rake (for him). $33.

2010-01-12 16:39:18
natges: The International House Of Pancakes: my lumberjack breakfast is
quite cosmopolitan.

2010-01-12 16:34:30
natges: Pizza Hut in downtown ghettosburg is closed?!?! Who is responsible
for this?

2010-01-12 16:02:29
natges: My brother would love this: http://twitpic.com/xsubp (he has an
anti- garlic salt facebook group).

2010-01-12 15:54:18
natges: Dead Sea products in costco: http://twitpic.com/xstg0

2010-01-12 15:42:25
natges: Oh, how I love to do the Dew: http://twitpic.com/xss1o

2010-01-12 15:39:05
natges: Falafel, explained: http://twitpic.com/xsrln

2010-01-12 15:35:06
natges: Let them eat cake: http://twitpic.com/xsr4z

2010-01-12 15:10:26
natges: Costco: a temple of American bigness.

2010-01-12 15:04:52
natges: The costco line: http://twitpic.com/xsnni

2010-01-12 15:00:29
natges: It amazes me how many people get to costco before it opens on a
freezing cold Tuesday morning and wait in line to enter.

2010-01-12 14:57:41
natges: I SEE SNOW FLURRIES!

2010-01-12 14:51:21
natges: I’m in the costco parking lot at they open in TEN MINUTES!!!!

2010-01-12 14:49:56
natges: Banking in this country is SO pleasant. The tellers are courteous,
helpful, friendly. And everything is free.

2010-01-12 14:25:56
natges: We’re looking for a Chevy Chase Bank in Montgomery Village.

2010-01-12 14:24:56
natges: I just started the day with a trip to the dentist. No cavities and
he even told me: “very good.”

2010-01-12 14:24:02
natges: P

2010-01-12 12:34:13
natges: It doesn’t seem to have snowed overnight. Lame.

2010-01-12 03:18:02
natges: Dinner: salmon fillet and a bowl of pasta exactly the way I used to
eat it when I lived here. Dessert: cookie dough. And fresh cookies.

2010-01-12 00:20:10
natges: I’m chatting online with a Patagonia customer service
representative named Elle who’s using LivePerson software.

2010-01-12 00:13:37
natges: Snow is in the weather forecast tonight! Come on, snow!

2010-01-11 23:54:39
natges: @emjohn @elliotreed Hey guys! Turns out that BB&B; doesn’t carry
Advil Cold & Sinus for that exact reason. But I managed to stock up at CVS.

2010-01-11 23:52:43
natges: I do believe this is the most shopping I’ve ever done in a single
day.

2010-01-11 23:52:18
natges: … Pike Center, Federal Plaza, Congressional Village, the one with
Penzey’s, and Saah Plaza. And there are still a lot more on the Pike!

2010-01-11 23:51:21
natges: Shopping centers visited today: Wintergreen, Talbott, Congressional
North, Mid Pike Plaza, the one with DSW on OGR, Montrose Crossing, …

2010-01-11 23:50:22
natges: @phriedman I’m glad you asked! You can use the Rapture Index to see
how close we’re getting: http://raptureready.com/rap2.html

2010-01-11 23:14:07
natges: Who sells turducken in Montgomery County, Maryland?

2010-01-11 23:11:15
natges: In case you need any assistance in your preparation for the
Rapture: http://twitpic.com/xpxsq

2010-01-11 23:09:16
natges: This hat is the coolest thing for sale in Ranger Surplus (except
the machetes): http://twitpic.com/xpxjk

2010-01-11 22:52:52
natges: Penzey’s has made me see spice-shopping in a whole new way.

2010-01-11 22:26:13
natges: At Penzey’s Spices, they really know what they’re doing.

http://twitpic.com/xpr7r

I bet they sell twice as much.

2010-01-11 21:59:13
natges: Why do manufacturers of enclosures for external hard drives
discriminate against FireWire?

2010-01-11 21:27:35
natges: A woman in Micro Center just asked if her new iPod would come
loaded with songs.

2010-01-11 21:04:12
natges: Ian at Hudson Trail Outfitters on the Pike gives such great
customer service, he must have been trained by Shannon Sullivan.

2010-01-11 20:33:54
natges: I RAN INTO JON BIRD IN HUDSON
TRAIL!!!!!!!!!

http://twitpic.com/xpahk

2010-01-11 19:46:07
natges: Traffic lights are out on Old Georgetown Road. This could get
hectic.

2010-01-11 19:43:51
natges: If I can’t go barefoot or in sandals, I prefer Born shoes.

2010-01-11 19:41:00
natges: Twitter unavailable!

2010-01-11 19:31:49
natges: Why doesn’t Zappo’s have an iPhone app? It’s 2010, guys.

2010-01-11 19:08:08
natges: DSW: the SW stands for shoe warehouse, right? What is the D?

2010-01-11 18:58:30
natges: In Israel, I love the groceries with specialty imported foods. In
America, that’s what World Market is for.

2010-01-11 18:45:50
natges: My mother is standing in line for me to get a harmless cold
medication because this country is scared to death that I’ll use it for
meth.

2010-01-11 18:22:39
natges: Ahhhhhhhhh, Chipotle.

2010-01-11 18:06:30
natges: Chipotle visit number one is underway.

2010-01-11 17:19:16
natges: @thachenster, this is what I meant: http://twitpic.com/xojbt

2010-01-11 17:16:17
natges: The Container Store: they tell me to contain myself, but really,
how realistic is that?

2010-01-11 17:05:30
natges: I haven’t had this much fun at Bed, Bath & Beyond in many years.

2010-01-11 16:35:14
natges: I’d live to get a new crock pot with some very clever features, but
they are all American voltage only.

2010-01-11 16:19:31
natges: Snuggie for dogs!

http://twitpic.com/xob0m

2010-01-11 16:17:24
natges: Alcohol breath checker comes on a keychain:

http://twitpic.com/xoapm

2010-01-11 16:03:37
natges: Why can’t I find Advil cold and sinus?

2010-01-11 16:01:34
natges: Israelis in BB&B;!

2010-01-11 15:36:06
natges: http://twitpic.com/xo5bp
Team pride for dogs. Is this going too
far?

2010-01-11 15:31:51
natges: Petco! Sharav, wish you were here!

2010-01-11 15:29:31
natges: Is Bed, Bath & Beyond going out of business?

2010-01-11 15:25:54
natges: Upscale Resale is moving and won’t reopen until next week. This is
bad for my thrifting.

2010-01-11 15:20:44
natges: I’m doing this week in Maryland and DC @fadetheory, then New York
next week.

2010-01-11 15:17:37
natges: The new Richard Montgomery High School is HUGE.

2010-01-11 15:00:12
natges: On today’s shopping agenda: a trip down Rockville Pike / memory
lane.

2010-01-11 14:22:21
natges: (c) 1980 Miles Laboratories. Here’s a picture:

http://twitpic.com/xnx4c

2010-01-11 14:21:15
natges: looking in the medicine cabinet in a renovated bathroom and found
the very same Bactine can that was around when I was a child. It even says

2010-01-11 14:19:36
natges: When I was very young, if I fell and scraped my knee or something,
my mom would spray some foamy stuff on it called Bactine. Just now, I was

2010-01-11 12:33:37
natges: Dear Adium,
Unless you fix the serious and annoying stability
issues, you might lose me one day to iChat.
Sincerely,
Natan

2010-01-11 12:32:42
natges: Dear iChat,
I will never consider switching to you until you find
a way to incorporate Facebook chat.
Sincerely,
Natan

2010-01-11 12:31:54
natges: RT @phriedman: apple customer service ftw. iphone replaced with no
questions (under warranty) due to crappy battery

2010-01-11 03:09:30
natges: New Big Love season does not seem so good. This program has lost a
lot of its charm.

2010-01-11 01:21:09
natges: …same screen, all at the same time.

2010-01-11 01:20:12
natges: In a little while I’ll watch the Big Love season premier with
my
parents. It’s weird to think that we used to gather around and watch the‚Ķ

2010-01-11 01:10:15
natges: Sony headphones now come with an operating manual. I could write
one:

“Put in ear. Turn on music. Not too loud.”

2010-01-11 00:45:41
natges: Grande mocha with extra espresso and no whipped cream: that is what
my brother gets at Starbucks.

2010-01-10 23:33:07
natges: I love that the pulled pork at Gordon Biersch comes, according to
the menu, on a challah bun.

2010-01-10 23:26:30
natges: Rockville Towne Center: the Kentlands on steroids.

2010-01-10 21:59:41
natges: Today’s shopping yield: a great American Eagle sweater. @wadijoh
will remove the logo from it for me so I don’t have to feel like a shill.

2010-01-10 21:40:02
natges: I saw a great Briggs & Riley brief case / messenger bag in the
luggage store, but $200 is not going to happen.

2010-01-10 20:46:54
natges: Snow: beautiful. Week-old nasty gray snow that hasn’t gone away:
ugly.

2010-01-10 20:35:38
natges: There’s a whole store just for legos?!?

2010-01-10 20:34:25
natges: Found the Israelis, but they were selling steamers, not Dead Sea
crap.

2010-01-10 20:27:35
natges: Americans have great escalator etiquette.

2010-01-10 20:14:10
natges: Here I am with an obnoxious hat in American Eagle:

http://twitpic.com/xk6j2

2010-01-10 19:43:56
natges: Is there a place on earth better than a Brookstone store?

2010-01-10 19:31:13
natges: My favorite American shopping mall game: locate the Israeli Dead
Sea product sales kiosk.

2010-01-10 19:27:27
natges: Sorry, it’s unnerving that this mall is full of people who didn’t
go through any security checks at all.

2010-01-10 19:07:21
natges: …unnerving.

2010-01-10 18:56:14
natges: L.L. Bean store is great!

2010-01-10 18:50:40
natges: @elliotreed it’s like Montgomery Mall, but bigger.

2010-01-10 18:49:50
natges: Standing at the entrance to a mall in Israel: security guard.
Standing at the entrance to a mall in America: valet!

2010-01-10 18:47:41
natges: If I remove a Western Digital mybook hard drive from its enclosure,
can I put it in a RAID array?

2010-01-10 18:46:37
natges: How can I remove a Western Digital mybook hard drive from its
enclosure?

2010-01-10 18:33:43
natges: I spoke on the phone this morning with service rep Laurie from L.L.
Bean and she was exceptionally helpful.

2010-01-10 18:31:02
natges: I’m on my way to Tyson’s Corner for the VERY FIRST TIME.

2010-01-10 18:16:45
natges: Do the Dew! Mountain Dew Code Red: shirley temples in a can!

2010-01-10 17:48:32
natges: You have something against skee-ball, @MemphisSeth?

2010-01-10 16:29:19
natges: @wojiatankao Thank you so much! I finally got it all smoothed out
overnight!

2010-01-10 16:28:41
natges: My father’s wireless network keeps dropping the internet
connection. Router is called D-link EBR-2310. Any ideas how I can fix this?

2010-01-10 14:39:59
natges: Some pancakes:

http://twitpic.com/xiu6k

2010-01-10 14:38:11
natges: Dear world, you think you love pancakes, but you don’t know what
they are until you’ve tasted my dad’s.

2010-01-10 03:03:40
natges: I am so proud that I made it to 10 pm. Jet lag is so lame.

2010-01-10 01:08:53
natges: @Meereeum Maryland!

2010-01-10 01:08:30
natges: @elliotreed None that I’d wear.

2010-01-10 00:13:46
natges: My dad’s famous chicken tenders (ie, shnitzelonim):

http://twitpic.com/xfows

2010-01-09 21:43:35
natges: My new toothbrush arrived. My teeth are going to be sooooooo clean.

2010-01-09 20:17:55
natges: Kohl’s was basically a success: socks, underwear, undershirts,
jeans x 2, slippers.

2010-01-09 19:55:12
natges: … http://twitpic.com/xedm9

2010-01-09 19:53:30
natges: My mom sanitizes a customer service telephone in Kohl’s before
touching it.

2010-01-09 19:36:18
natges: @elliotreed It’s not terrible if I get 31×32, but still, pants that
fit better look better and last longer.

2010-01-09 19:25:52
natges: My brother displays a “Canadian tuxedo” –

http://twitpic.com/xe83c

2010-01-09 19:20:54
natges: WHY DOESN’T LEVIS MAKE 501 JEANS IN SIZE 31×31???????????????????

2010-01-09 19:09:13
natges: Somehow Kohl’s doesn’t have the undershirts I like.

2010-01-09 18:56:46
natges: Kevin is returning early to Minnesota, so I won’t get to see him on
this trip. That really sucks!

2010-01-09 18:42:12
natges: @elliotreed No, but it goes right by my old neighborhood, between
Redland and Shady Grove Roads.

2010-01-09 18:40:49
natges: I-270, did you miss me?

2010-01-09 18:29:08
natges: @elliotreed I’m not against it or for it‚Ķ it’s pretty shocking,
though.

2010-01-09 18:13:18
natges: Love. That. Chicken. From. Popeye’s.

2010-01-09 17:51:00
natges: Popeye’s: two spicy chicken breasts, two biscuits, small cherry
coke.

http://twitpic.com/xdrjy

2010-01-09 17:46:26
natges: Love that chicken from Popeye’s!

2010-01-09 17:36:44
natges: Damn, ICC.

2010-01-09 16:47:30
natges: Meanwhile, Apple makes it EXTREMELY difficult to transfer an iTunes
library.

2010-01-09 16:46:26
natges: So. We’re thinking I’ll take a shower, put on my only other clean
clothes, then visit Popeye’s and then Kohl’s.

2010-01-09 15:48:29
natges: http://twitpic.com/xd7fe
My mom’s chocolate chip cookies: a taste
of freshly baked heaven.

2010-01-09 15:30:27
natges: Let the unboxing commence.

2010-01-09 15:19:42
natges: New computer:

http://twitpic.com/xd36j

2010-01-09 15:08:03
natges: NOTHING has changed in the neighborhood where I grew up. But just
outside it…

2010-01-09 14:57:27
natges: Pizza Hut: there’s an app for that.

2010-01-09 14:43:25
natges: Horse blankets?

2010-01-09 14:29:41
natges: There is snow on the ground in Maryland.

2010-01-09 14:20:25
natges: Breakfast or lunch??? (the first of many questions)

2010-01-09 14:09:01
natges: http://twitpic.com/xctsa
My parents at the baggage claim.

2010-01-09 14:07:40
natges: My father is following my tweets.

2010-01-09 13:52:44
natges: I have now reached Baltimore: A City That Reads.

2010-01-09 12:54:15
natges: These little planes are so awesome.

2010-01-09 12:45:59
natges: Once again, I’ve forgotten just how cold it is in America.

2010-01-09 11:00:06
natges: There are still Xmas decorations in the airport in Newark. I guess
early January is too early in the year for me to visit the USA.

2010-01-09 10:45:37
natges: Now I’m at Liberty waiting for a connectig flight to BWI.

2010-01-09 10:44:45
natges: My flight was uneventful and all the scary rumors about new
security regulations in the final hour were false.

2010-01-09 10:43:54
natges: Thanks Shawn at tmobile tech support for helping memconnect to the
tmobile edge cellular data network!

2010-01-08 21:08:01
natges: Yeah, I’ve already boarded and someone near me just asked if this
is the flight to Newark. Didn’t she need a boarding pass to get this far?

2010-01-08 21:00:10
natges: Let’s hear it for row 28!

2010-01-08 20:07:23
natges: Federal Reserve Notes: the currency formerly known as greenbacks.

2010-01-08 19:53:28
natges: @RAWagman I’m always suspicious.

2010-01-08 19:52:47
natges: @elliotreed All the flights here are international, so three hours
is normal. Plus we get to keep our shoes on.

2010-01-08 19:08:57
natges: @elliotreed Three hours. Our security goes quite fast – because
they’re allowed to profile.

2010-01-08 19:07:19
natges: Israelis are behaving themselves in line to check in. American
behind me is talking VERY loud on the telephone.

2010-01-08 18:51:26
natges: Israeli airport security is so sensible. I love ethnic profiling.

2010-01-08 18:24:37
natges: Taxi driver says I’m not Israeli because I actually waited for the
taxi that I called to order.

2010-01-08 18:19:24
natges: Airport taxi, now would be a good time to show up.

2010-01-08 12:55:52
natges: Dear Sharav,
In honor of your third birthday, I’m taking you to
stay with someone else while I visit America for a couple weeks.
Natan

2010-01-08 12:16:11
natges: Welcome @thachenster.

2010-01-08 10:33:24
natges: The quiche hunt continues at Roladin after a lovely stroll down
Chen Boulevard.

2010-01-08 10:18:58
natges: I’ve been dragged to Boutique Central to buy a quiche.

2010-01-08 09:58:22
natges: Happy birthday Sharav! Three years – it’s like you’re all grown up
or something!

2010-01-08 09:52:34
natges: Deaf dude just distributed begging cards in the restaurant.
Outrageous! Deaf people can work.

2010-01-08 09:19:18
natges: Shakshuka for breakfast! http://twitpic.com/x6gxl

2010-01-08 09:06:40
natges: Lilush doesn’t have ◊ê◊ô◊ô◊° ◊ß◊§◊î in the winter? Dude, it’s 70
degrees and sunny today.

2010-01-08 09:04:49
natges: One kilo of strawberries: purchased.

2010-01-08 06:22:25
natges: Continental allows paperless early check-in by PDA/smartphone in
some airports. Israel is not included. Can’t say I’m surprised.

2010-01-08 05:55:26
natges: My washing machine was leaking, but now it’s flooding. What’s the
most likely reason?

2010-01-07 21:48:50
natges: @ffidler That’s exactly where it was. I need it for a bat mitzvah
in a few weeks and then won’t think about it for another five years.

2010-01-07 21:47:52
natges: I just set up my G3 iMac as a server to share 1 TB of downloaded
movies and television shows! I am so proud of myself!

2010-01-07 21:12:05
natges: Where is my suit?

2010-01-07 20:41:49
natges: Sharav Gesher is the cleanest dog in Tel Aviv, thanks to Chen Stern
and me.

2010-01-07 18:15:00
natges: Twitterrific doesn’t rotate? Lame.

2010-01-07 17:59:45
natges: Thanks to Continental letting me choose my seat online, I’ll be in
28L tomorrow. It’s a window seat.

2010-01-07 17:54:07
natges: 51 minutes until I’ve backed up 1tb of movies and television.

2010-01-07 17:10:04
natges: Who wants to trade currency? My shekels for your federal reserve
notes.

2010-01-07 16:57:22
natges: Vacation 2010 has begun!

America in 140 characters or fewer is a post from Lines Writing Lines.

Actually, it’s less a confession and more a declaration: quite a few years ago, I invented visual voicemail.

I didn’t write about it in my blog at the time because I thought it was such a good idea that I didn’t want anyone to steal it before I could cash in. Also, I wasn’t sure that somebody else hadn’t thought of it first, and I was reluctant to make a fool of myself by trying to take out a patent on someone else’s idea. So I brought my concept for a website where individual voicemail messages could be downloaded as MP3s to some technical and business-minded people, but I had a difficult time explaining its value and ingenuity, so I never got anywhere with it.

For those who don’t know, Apple and AT&T included visual voicemail in the first iPhones several years later. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t be bitter even if I could know with certainty that I was the first person in the world to think of that idea. I’m sure almost everyone of average intelligence has had the experience of coming up with an idea, only to discover that someone else is already making money from it, or soon will. No hard feelings.

That being said, I want to be totally clear about a new idea that I’ve had for how mobile phones could be improved: if you’re aware of any phone that has this feature, please alert me to it. If you aren’t, and decide to implement it, please pay me some royalties that you consider fair.

Here is the (ridiculously simple) concept … I should be able to program my mobile phone to switch to silent/vibrate mode according to a schedule. The implications will be quite evident – I’ll program mine to be silent during working hours according to the times I’m in the office, as well as between midnight and 6 am, and also for individual occasions when I’ve arranged to eat in a restaurant, meet a doctor or see a movie. It should be easy to do this through a phone’s built-in calendar, but I should also be able to tap into my phone’s alarm or settings area to tell it not to make a noise at all for the next three hours or so.

My invention to improve the world is a post from Lines Writing Lines.

Everyone with a Mac and a digital camera, which by now probably includes most of the people I know, should look into PictureSync. It’s really a great program and I’ll be happy to continue using it in the future. And thanks to the PictureSync people for coming through for me.

PictureSync help has arrived! is a post from Lines Writing Lines.

For travel between Israel and America: I endorse Continental airlines, specifically the CO84/CO85 flights. I traveled this time with Delta on a 767 via JFK because it was about $400 cheaper than the comparable Continental flights, and it wasn’t anywhere near as good as my experience with Continental in the past. This is mainly because Delta uses JFK, a crappy airport, and Continental uses Liberty, a wonderful and lovely airport that’s accessible by Amtrak and also makes me want to take out my pocket Constitution/Declaration and wave it around at people; also, Delta’s flights have no in flight entertainment, while Continental’s have the screens in front of every seat with about 1000 movies and television programs to watch, far more than I could ever hope to consume in 10 or 11 hours. Fortunately, because of the snow and skilled negotiating with Delta, I convinced them to book me on the Continental flight for my trip home!

For inexpensive eyewear: I endorse 39dollarglasses. I bought my last pair of glasses on Thanksgiving weekend in 2000, after Abbey Wilson picked out the frames for me at Lenscrafters of Lakeforest Mall. That they lasted this long is a testament to the quality frames that Lenscrafters offers, and that my eyes have stopped getting worse and worse, no longer requiring stronger and stronger prescriptions all the time. Abbey’s taste in frames was perfect and I wanted to get the exact same pair, but when I tried to find a replacement pair, I was completely and totally unable to find them anywhere. Then I read Farhad Manjoo’s article in Slate about buying glasses online and from it discovered the Glassy Eyes community. 39dollarglasses had frames for sale that were almost exactly like my eight year old designer frames. With an updated prescription from the optometrist in Lenscrafters of White Flint Mall, I got them, with the ultra-thin and super-coated lenses. The total cost, including expedited shipping, came to just over $100. Note: the glasses did arrive bent out of shape, requiring a trip to Lenscrafters of the Upper East Side for some adjustments.

For an American SIM card: I endorse T-Mobile. I first tried using an AT&T SIM, even though I didn’t think it would work, because my father has a relationship with AT&T and because AT&T has a relationship with the company that made my iPhone. The long and the short of it is that AT&T doesn’t want you to use any kind of temporary or prepaid plan with an iPhone because they negotiated with Apple to have all of the iPhone users in America locked into long contracts and paying them exclusively. Even though I did have a data plan, AT&T charged me some extreme amount for using the data, like a dollar per small unit of bandwidth. This necessitated an astonishing number of trips to the local AT&T and T-Mobile branches before switching to a one-month T-Mobile plan for calls, SMS and data. It wasn’t cheap, but it was reasonable, and it’s hard to ask for more.

America, part 2: endorsements is a post from Lines Writing Lines.

Day 1: JFK, Reagan, AT&T, T-Mobile, Chipotle, Costco, CVS, Lenscrafters, chicken tenders, cookies, Benny Lava

Day 2: pancakes, online glasses shopping, Kohl’s, Popeye’s, Goodwill, AT&T, Buca di Beppo

Day 3: Costco, Pizza Hut, At&t, T-Mobile, Grandmart, Metro, Leeor, Cosi, Salmon

Day 4: Upscale Resale, Chipotle, Filene’s Basement, World Market, Heidi & Liza, Bed/Bath/Beyond, Petco, The Container Store, REI, Giant, Craig, lamb stew, pumpkin pie, Wii bowling, Mountain Dew Code Red, bar in Dupont, Alex, Scott, Ted, Brooklyn Lager

Day 5: post office, Hobby Place, Hard Times Cafe, Lezzet Turkish grocery, Home Depot, dentist, Hmart, Target, Kramerbooks, Leeor, Ronen, cafe mocha, beer, chicken, white pizza, Lost

Day 6: 12 Monkeys, International House Of Pancakes, Micro Center, Dollar Tree, Trader Joe’s, DSW, Barnes & Noble, Ranger Surplus, Book Alcove, Animal Rescue League thrift store, Nordstrom Rack, Best Buy, Chicken Out, cookie dough & cookies

Day 7: cookies, Sleeper Cell, packing, Chipotle, Alex driving to Baltimore, Carma’s, cafe mocha, Stephanie, Alex driving to Philadelphia, Shannondell, Longhorn, steak, beer, fries, apples, Shannondell tour, hotel with Alex

Day 8: not the hotel breakfast, Christine’s for brunch, billiards, bocce, shuffleboard, hotel, drinks, photos, dinner with Howard, Matt, Alex, Drew, Marc, Mike, Jeff, Barry & Effie, Annie & Barry, mom & dad, Bubbie

Day 9: Christine’s for breakfast, photos, laundry, New York by car -> SEPTA -> NJTransit, subway, Karen’s apartment in East Harlem, Patsy’s, laundry, Lost, couch

Day 10: The Strand, Bagel Bob’s, Gallatin, Apple Store, Aroma, Lombardi’s, Crops For Girls, Economy Candy, Essex Market -& Roni Sue’s candy, Lower East Side Tenement Museum store, Laboratorio gelato, Orchard Corsets, walking around my old neighborhood, back to Karen’s, Lenscrafters, Fairway, Dinosaur BBQ carryout, Lost

Day 11: Duane Reade, Best Buy, Circuit City, Best Buy Mobile, Shoe Mania, DSW, The Strand, Washington Square, gourmet deli on La Guardia, Baluchi’s with Eric, Best Buy, Puck building, Ferrara, Apple Store, Gristede’s, Company with Margot and Amanda, Geoff’s apartment & meeting Grace

Day 12: B15 bus, meeting Rachel’s mom, Columbia, Amy Ruth’s with Geoff & Grace, getting thrown out of the Columbia Business School library, City College, coffee with Abbey, Metro North to White Plains, Natanel & Ezra & Miriam, shnitzel dinner, back to the city with Karen, second gipsy cab

Day 13: self-guided pedestrian tour of East Harlem, John’s Pizza of Bleecker Street (“no slices”), reading in Washington Square, back to Karen’s, Seaman’s car service, back to Geoff’s, Corner Bistro with Margot & Liza, ‘Snice cafe, Abigail’s dorm at Columbia with Abigail & J.D., back to Geoff’s

Day 14: brunch at Chelsea Square Restaurant with Geoff & Marc & David, back to Geoff’s, lunch at Patsy’s with Adam, cab to Penn Station with Coptic driver who’s becoming a US citizen, Tripper bus to Bethesda, flank steak

Day 15: cookie dough, Chipotle, Safeway, Ritz camera, cookies, pictures, Pines of Rome (should be called: Pines New Roman)

Day 16: broken camera, Ritz camera, Krispy Kreme, Brooklyn Deli, Leane, pick up Craig, party featuring Cindy, Brian, Stevie, Avery, Phyllis, Marc, Abbey, Ari, Judy, Marty, Caryn, Bruce, Karen, Scott, Kenny, Bob, Jackie, Sally, Eric, Norma, Michael, Leeor, Marie, Craig, Bombay Bistro, Big Love

Day 17: SNOW!!!!!!!, pancakes, Airborne, packing, CVS, linguine fini & meatballs, flight rerouted through Atlanta and delayed, Reagan, flight delayed & missed, hours spent fighting to get on another flight, Popeye’s, sleeping at my parents’ for one more night

BONUS Day 18: back to Reagan super early for a different flight, Liberty, Pizzeria Uno and on the plane to come HOME!

America, part 1: at a glance is a post from Lines Writing Lines.

There are situations, however, when honking is very, very underused. For example: at an intersection near my parents’ home, there’s a right turn-only lane that, after the light, is continued by a left-merge lane. The idea is that one lane of traffic only will line up and go straight through the intersection. During rush hour, this situation is regularly abused by a small group of assholes who go straight in the right-only lane, cutting in front of the civilized people who played fair and followed the rules. Then they get into the left-merge lane and easily pass by 50 people waiting in line. The worst part is that the maneuver is only visible to very few drivers at the front of the line; almost everyone who’s been victimized is way too far back to see it. Whenever, from the back of the line, I used to see someone pull into the right-only lane and pull this sneaky trick, I would honk. But I’d not only honk, I’d do it loud and hard, and most importantly, I’d point a finger directly at the offender, so that all the other drivers could see who was getting chastised. I like to believe I helped to slow the decivilizing trend of traffic abuses in this way, and wished that other drivers had joined me in socially ostracizing the cheaters. Unfortunately, very few did.

Part of this, and part of the reason why a lot of people don’t honk when they should, is that honking is actually neutral. There are a lot of different causes for honking: honking to prevent a collision; honking to express general dissatisfaction that traffic isn’t moving; honking to express direct dissatisfaction with a particular driver’s behavior; honking to thank another driver for a favor; honking at friends in another car; and rhythmic honking.

What, you may ask, is rhythmic honking? It’s my name for this: honk, honk, honk-honk-honk, honk-honk-honk-honk, honk-honk. This practice is usually done immediately after a major sporting event, by men in their 20s or 30s who are too drunk or too stupid to be driving anyway, in a vain attempt to extend to the street the great feeling they experienced in the stadium while their team was winning. Rhythmic honking is so annoying, and the people who do it are so antisocial, that I think rhythmic honkers should all probably be castrated.

Anyway, back to the inherent neutrality of the honk. Honking isn’t always good or always bad. It’s almost always impossible to tell right away who honked at whom, and why. Moreover, a honk lasts less than a second, so a driver who’s just cut off 30 people and gotten honked at 30 times for it only has to drive another block to escape the unpleasant feeling of everyone else’s angry glares. That’s why, even though I think a car horn is a good evolutionary step away from actual violence and towards solving problems nonviolently, I think cars should have their horns removed and replaced with paint ball guns.

How would paint ball guns be better than horns? Mostly for two reasons:

1. A paint ball stain lasts far longer than the sound of a horn. So if you’ve been paint balled for being a bad driver, everyone is going to know it for at least as long as it takes for you to apply a new paint job.
2. A hit with a paint ball causes actual cosmetic damage to a car, which translates to money. This means that, if you want to keep a nice paint job on your mobile investment, you’d be wise not to treat other drivers poorly.

Obviously there are plenty of reasons why paint ball would be problematic, but I’m confident that they could be deployed safely and fairly, and that they’d be far more effective than horns.

Of course, all of the above should be applied only to societies that are basically civilized and not to a place where, perversely, drivers actually want to be honked at. What? Is there such a place? Yes, and I live in it. Here in Israel, the main aim of every person, at all times, is not to be made into a frayer. Because the only way to be sure that you’re not the frayer is to make sure that someone else is the frayer, it’s customary for average people to treat each other like trash and not to feel bad about it at all. This is why, as Ari, my first roommate in Jerusalem, explained to me, honking in Israel is never a good idea: bad drivers who elicit honks from other people are proud of it instead of ashamed. This is also why replacing horns with paint ball guns would be an even worse idea here. And … I have no solution for this problem.

On Honking is a post from Lines Writing Lines.

I’ve found it difficult trying to review this year, not because nothing happened or because too much happened, but because what happened doesn’t really apply itself to review.

The company for which I worked was sold to another company and my job got moved in January to the Ra’anana industrial zone. I really, really, really did not want to join the company in the move. I looked for a new job, but didn’t find one on acceptable terms, and then decided to de-prioritize finding a new job and continue at least for a while commuting to Ra’anana. But the management of the new company had very little use for me, and I was asked several times over the course of a few months to quit. Finally I did quit, but I tried to do so in a way that reflected positively on me. It wasn’t easy, but I’m proud of it.

My new job – actually my first step toward a real career – involves internet marketing. And it’s in central Tel Aviv, which means I can walk to and from work whenever I want (I usually walk home). It’s a small internet startup. I like it and I’m happy.

Sharav is doing swell. I have worked really hard to train him. He still has a lot to learn, but even now I think he’s probably one of the best-trained dogs in Tel Aviv. All the time I get compliments from other dog owners and from random passersby about how well he behaves without a leash in public. People are always asking me if I trained him myself and if I’m a professional dog-trainer. Also, he’s exceptionally friendly and never barks!

Of course, I also get negative comments. Sometimes Sharav does something wrong and I’ll need to yell at him or pin him to the ground (establishing physical dominance is absolutely the first step toward teaching a dog anything, and there’s no reason it can’t be done safely and painlessly), and someone will come up to me and accuse me of having a violent temper, which is manifestly false. Or I’ll not let him tug when we’re walking with his choker collar, and some jerk will try to explain to me that I shouldn’t use a choker because because because because because because because. Approximately ten times out of ten, these people own dogs with terrible behavior problems caused by total lack of discipline because they saw on television that you should surround a dog with positivity and let him make sense out of life by himself. Go figure.

I’m in the middle of my third year living in the same apartment, which is longer than I’ve ever lived anywhere, except my parents’ house where I grew up. At this point I very much hoped to be living without a roommate, and for a time that seemed very possible, but in the end it didn’t work out financially and I’m now living not only with a roommate, but with two (they’re in the military and share a bedroom). I’m friends with both of them, and they are good roommates so far, so I’m happy with it. They also bring a lot of people over, and that’s a nice thing, because this is a fantastic apartment and it’s worth enjoying it.

I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, but stay tuned for more news about my long saga with NYU.

Finally, for anyone who was ever being kept updated on my health, it’s pretty much the same now as it was, except that I’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea and am getting fitted for a C-PAP next month. I can’t wait.

I try to get to Jerusalem about once a month, but maybe I’ll be able to go more frequently now that my job is in central Tel Aviv and I have roommates who are willing and able to help with Sharav.

Oh yeah, four years without a television and I’m finally getting one soon. I am psyched!

It’s been an interesting year. In a way, it’s been successful – the more time I live here, the more comfortable I come, the deeper my roots grow into the Tel Aviv pavement, and the easier it is to see my future unfolding here. But I’ve also had some roots ripped up – some very dear friends, people on whom I depended and who were like extended family to me, have left Israel recently and over the course of the past year for more promising or more fruitful lives in North America. Whether they stay in America temporarily or permanently, it will not be easy to adjust to an Israel without them.

Year Four in Review is a post from Lines Writing Lines.

As many people know, my job moved to Ra’anana last January, and as some people know, I’ve given notice to my employer that I’ll be leaving, at the end of next week, for a new job in Tel Aviv. The new job is also in the internet industry, and I’ll be working in internet marketing. I’m very excited for the opportunity and finally to be rid of this accursed daily commute.

Sharav is almost a year and a half old! Last week he switched from puppy food to adult dog food and seems to be enjoying it a lot – so for everyone who was concerned that he looked emaciated, maybe he’ll put on some weight now. He also has a new pillow for his crate and is going to be moving soon from my bedroom to the laundry room / dining room / second balcony area, as soon as I manage to stack my newish washing machine and new dryer on top of one another to free up some space.

I’ve been re-watching the entire Sopranos series, episode by episode as I acquire each one. It’s my third time watching most of it, and it doesn’t seem to have gotten stale or even remotely less interesting than it was the first time around. I even have found myself excitedly noticing more details now than I did before, plus I’m keeping much, much better track of all the characters’ arcs. Right now I’m in the beginning of the second half of season six, the episode where Tony and Paulie go down to Florida.

My roommate Cori had to move out, so now I am sans roommate and looking for one: non-smoking, long- or short-term, preferably female, dog-friendly, between 20 and 30.

I’ve recently finished Crime and Punishment, The Plague, and the second volume of The Gulag Archipelago. I’ve started a few others but left them unfinished. Right now I’m reading Heart of Darkness.

On my long commutes to and from Ra’anana, I’ve turned to podcasts, since I have a difficult time reading while hurdling down the highway. Slate’s gabfests have been fantastic, as have Philosophy Bites, 12 Byzantine Emperors, and Hardball with Chris Matthews.

Actually, I’m able now to listen to podcasts because I picked up a new iPod the last time I was in America, thanks either to the weak dollar or to the strong shekel, one or the other. It’s 160 gigs , which means I can say with some certainty that the battery will probably die before I run out of space on the drive. In the mean time, I’m using the extra space as backup for essential files from my computer (and I might even partition the iPod and put a bootable copy of my computer’s hard drive right on it). Also thanks in part to the currency exchange issue, I have an iPhone now, which kicks ass, notwithstanding all the ways that it doesn’t (at least it’s the best phone I’ve ever used). And I have a new camera, finally DSLR, a Canon Digital Rebel. It wasn’t love at first sight, but I’m slowly getting to know and understand using it more and more. I’ll eventually/soon put some of my pictures back online in a gallery.

In the nearly four years I’ve been living in Israel, my family has visited four times (once without my father and once without my brother), plus many friends have come here and stayed with me. But no friends came to Israel specifically to visit me until last month, when Margot came for almost two weeks. I took five days off of work and we rented a car and traveled around the country. It was awesome to see and taste Israel as new, with someone who never had done so before. To everyone in America who hasn’t visited me yet, I invite you to submit your plans for my approval.

That is all.

Where I be (at) is a post from Lines Writing Lines.

Castro Resigned! is a post from Lines Writing Lines.

Breakfast

‘Nuff said.

Bagel Bob’s

Every time I go there, I get two plain bagels with butter, one toasted and one not; it’s been that way since 1999 and it will be that way forever. I love Bagel Bob’s, notwithstanding their circa 2002 yuppie makeover and Libyan employee who once addressed me as a Muslim Brother because he mistook my Abe Lincoln beard for something a little different.

Corner Bistro (x2)

Possibly best burger in New York. Excellent fries. Cheap. Great ambience any time other than Friday and Saturday nights. Difficult enough to find by any approach except West Fourth that it has caused me to walk the length of West Fourth unnecessarily dozens of times. Small enough menu (posted on the wall and unchanged for generations) that vegetarians feel left out. What’s not to like?

Chipotle (x4)

Strangely addictive.

Lombardi’s

The only leg of my 2006 Pizza Pilgrimage situated in New York – around the corner from my old house. It’s the sauce the makes the pizza in this case, really special and nuanced sauce, sweet and unique. Too bad about the yuppie makeover, but I always insist on sitting in the old section, and one time I will make sure to reserve the table in the kitchen.

Krispy Kreme

Back in the day, I used to get a half dozen Krispy Kremes delivered with a 24 oz bottle of Mountain Dew (for breakfast) via kozmo.com and sometimes I’d follow that with a package of Oreos and a half gallon of apple cider (for lunch). But I don’t do that any more. Krispy Kreme, though, is so radically different and superior to every other doughnut on the planet, I can’t understand how anyone can eat another doughnut after trying Krispy Kreme. Really, I don’t.

Corned beef

The corned beef in Israel is nasty. The corned beef in America is good.

Popeye’s (x2)

The fast food version of fried chicken that I grew up eating was Roy Rogers’, which is very good and has sort of a hint of honey taste. I made the switch to Popeye’s in college and haven’t looked back. They have the spicy kind and it’s sort of New Orleansy in there, though I’ve got to admit it’s a hell of a lot more like New Orleans in the 125th and Saint Nicholas branch than the Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road branch.

Barbecue

‘Nuff said.

Home cookin’

My dad’s chicken tenders, my mom’s chocolate chip cookies, my dad’s pancakes, etc, etc (note: all of these foods were prepared especially for me, because my parents don’t even eat them). These are the foods I grew up eating, true, but I honestly believe that they are objectively superior. Well, I can’t quantify the objective superiority of one pancake or another, but I can say that I’ve shared the cookies with scores of friends in Maryland, New York and Israel, and everyone has made some comment to the effect that they are amazing. Yeah, I know.

Bonus: Mountain Dew Code Red

On my last two trips to America, I couldn’t find this product anywhere. I also asked about ten people in a row who were visiting America, or visiting Israel from America, to buy some of this and bring it to me here; ten out of ten people failed to do so. I searched for it everywhere in New York, even in the bodegas that were sure to carry it and even in this humongous supermarket called Fairway that really should have carried it … with no success. Then I found it in Maryland. Not only did I find it, but I found it in six packs of 24 oz bottles in the supermarket nearest to my parents’ home! And then I proceeded to find it again at Target on the Pike and at the Giant in the same shopping center (the one with Hudson Trail and Barnes & Noble). That’s right, Code Red is taking the MGC by storm!

Creepy: my brother’s breakfast drink of choice

Before I left Israel for New York, my grandmother called me to ask which foods she should buy in preparation for my visit to Florida, ten days away. Since the major activity when we go to visit her is going out to eat in restaurants (and the Clubhouse), this seemed kind of silly and superfluous, but I did ask for Life cereal. When she asked which kind of milk I’d like with the cereal, I told her, “milk,” which I believe accurately conveyed that I preferred the commercially available dairy product most closely resembling the stuff that adult cows lactate. Because she grew up consuming this product and also raised three kids on it, she approved. My brother, however, when given the choice of any breakfast drink, selected chocolate milk flavored soy beverage, which is so comically nasty that I don’t even know which it is more, comic or nasty. Even better, he poured it into his cereal for breakfast. Even better, he blended it with protein powder to produce a shake, which he consumed as part of his workout routine. Shudder.

Bonus novelty: Israeli restaurants in New York

Aroma and Max Brenner are both great in Tel Aviv, if ordinary, but I don’t really know how to describe the experience of going to them in New York. First of all, I was only very slightly tempted to order in Hebrew. Second, it was just weird to be surrounded by Americans in those places: two Americans on a date sitting next to us in Max Brenner, Americans on either side of me typing on their laptops in Aroma on Houston Street while we look out at the NYU Coles Center. Third, they both translated a little too easily to America. Each place kept sort of the same feel and design as their Israeli branches, but in New York that just felt New Yorky. Maybe this says something about New York being cosmopolitan or maybe it says something very cool or uncool about Israel, I’m not sure.

Wholesome delight: Indian food

I’d kind of eaten Indian food before but not really liked it (at all): way too vegetarian, way too much curry, way too enjoyed by pretentious people. But I more than kind of enjoyed it when a friend suggested we meet at an Indian restaurant for lunch in Midtown. I ate delicious lamb and chicken but didn’t get too pretentious (I hope).

Missed: Ferrara’s

Ferrara’s is a fantastic Italian dessert / pastry / cafe place, and by the time we got there at the end of my time in New York, they had closed for their annual renovation, or cleaning, something like that. This really irks me because we would have been able to enter, and I would have enjoyed the traditional Death By Chocolate cake, if I’d just insisted on going at the beginning of my trip. But hey, there’s always next year.

Not quite as missed: Bereket

Turkish fast food was a staple of my final year in New York, but it’s not quite so urgent now that I live in a city with at least one good and inexpensive Turkish restaurant nearby.

Forgotten: Pizza Hut

I’ve never been to Chicago and tried the authentic version, but I try to make a point every once in a while to eat the national chain version of a deep dish (viz, pan) pizza. Best part – they let me place my order on the web in advance.

Forgotten: International House Of Pancakes

Going with Craig to the one near RM is not quite the same experience as going with Kevin to the one in Gaitherstown Plaza, nor will Craig try to order the same meal as I and compel me to change my order just to make sure we’re not two guys at a restaurant ordering the same thing. Nor does the air conditioner drip steadily onto the waffles of the woman seated at the table next to us. But IHOP has always been and will always be an otherworldly experience.

Grade: A+

Grading America: Culinary Highlights is a post from Lines Writing Lines.