Hebrew books

Nehora.com seems the only site for purchasing "Simanim" tikkun online. We ordered one for Yossi's bar mitsvah gift.

Pulp Non Fiction

Pulp Non Fiction is a website obsessed with conspiracies, sort of like David Irving's Action Report online. Some of it's pretty intriguing, though (like Irving) the rhetoric slides regularly into paranoid anti-semitic rants.

PDAs

2004-12-31]
PalmAddicts

Categories: Palm, PDAs, Handspring, Visor, Edge, Sony_PEG_NX73V,

Click these links for information on latest Sony handhelds: CLIE PEG-TH55; Various CLIE models Here's the model I like most. On sale at Circuit City for $270: SONY PEGTG50 - Sony CLIÉ™ Handheld PDA Here's a direct link to Sony's PEGA-CA60; And here's the PEGA-CA62/B; and the PEGTJ37

As much as I love the CLIÉs, though, I also love the Palm Tungsten E I saw at Staples. I prefer not having the built in keyboard, which most of the CLIÉs have, since this adds too much bulk. Here's the same Tungsten E, offered at Circuit City; and here's the same model offered directly from Palm One

11/30/03: Stopped by Circuit City, and admired the Sony Clie PDAs. Beautifully designed machines, some with digital cameras, but the ones without cameras are less bulky. We need to find a way to support Japanese character processing. For Palm O.S., consider shareware application from DYTS

10/5/04: Here's a possible solution to HotSync problem opening Date Book database.

10/8/04: This new Tungsten T5 model from PalmOne looks great. 256 MB flash memory, 320 x 480 display, Palm OS 5.4, weighs 5.1 oz. Includes USB cradle. Expensive though. $400. Meanwhile, I'm bidding on eBay for replacement of Visor Edge.

Europe 2004

Europe 2004 album on Sony Image Station


Earlier posts:
Here's a Universal Currency Converter Found a handy list of Telephone country codes. Germany is "49". "To call using your current long distance carrier please dial as follows: 011 + Country Code + City (if applicable) + Local number" Rail Europe seems like the best website for reserving rail trips in the EU. Impossible to reserve either direction on Frankfurt to Marburg route, so we need to do this with Die Bahn instead.Eurail Selectpass Saver allows travel in 3 countries for 6 days in 2 months. 1st Class travel would be $336.00 per adult. For 8 day pass, it would be 400. For 10 days, 460 dollars. Compare this to purchasing each ticket separately. Checking Marburg to Heidelberg stretch on Die Bahn website for May 20th. Only 24 (?) Euros per person if we leave at 1:30pm (arriving ca. 4:30, so 1 hour longer than earlier departure). "Kundennummer lautet 1426416." Looks like 40 more Euros to get from Heidelberg to Strasbourg on the 22nd; and from there to Paris on the 24th is not available online through Deutche Bahn. The Europeonrail site looks interesting, but really specializes in multi-day rail passes. Has some quotes for point-to-point tickets, but doesn't include Strasbourg. According to europeanvacation.com, Strasbourg to Paris 2nd class seats one-way would be 57 dollars, and the trip would last 4 hours. First class would be 75 dollars each way. I found this out from their user-friendly ticket price search engine. They also have a nice rail map of France, with which to plot out one's trip. It looks like one can book trips on line, but they also say "Should you wish to book point-to-point tickets or reservations please call EuropeanVacation toll-free 1.800.722.7151 directly."

[2004 04 18]

Reserved room at the "Tourisme Hotel" in Paris. Short walk to Eifel Tower, and accross street from Metro Station and "Monoprix" department store.

Here's a list of Paris hotels generated by Expedia.com

The hotel in Paris recommended by Dad is L'hotel du Tourisme, located at 66 Avenue la Motte Pique. Here's the closest view I could obtain through MapQuest.com

L'hotel du Tourisme, 66 Avenue la Motte Pique (great location). 10 years ago the cost was $50/night. Really small rooms but clean with bathroom and tv. Tel. [011-33-1] 47-342-801.

Arrive May 24th; Depart May 29th

[2004 03 11]
EuroTrip Discussion Boards: "The Elite: Bunsenstr. 15 (06221 25 734). I think we payed about 35 bucks each for a double bed, private shower, TV, and breakfast, which was wonderful. When we checked in, we were wet and sick, and the woman there made us coco. That speaks for the hotel. I just hope it was the Elite we stayed at and I'm not remembering incorrectly! It was almost 3 years ago. -alt"

[2004 03 13]
Searching for hotels in Heidelberg . Took a look at Hotel Perkeo which is located at Hauptstr. 75, 69117. Phone number (for NetHotels.com?) is 011 49 30 814 783 20. No mention of bath. Hauptsrasse goes directly from Bismarkplatz past Kurpfaelslsches Museum to Marktplatz and the Rathaus, so could be a great location. Kind of expensive, though, starting at $106.31 (with bath). Here's a review of Hotel Perkeo from wguides.com. And here's TripAdvisor's review of Heidelberg's Anlage Hotel. And here's a review of Hotel Zum Pfalzgrafen, from tripadvisor.com

[2004 03 14]
Strasbourg: Hotel des Francs Bourgeois. "5 minutes from the Cathedral and the 'Petite France'".

Perusing list of Strasbourg hotels on the Web, considered booking a room at Hotel Cathedrale in Strasbourg, with "rooms in rear" i.e., not facing cathedral, starting at 75 euros, but ended up making reservation at "Hotel des Francs Bourgeois" (see 3/14/04 posting above)

BBC Hard Talk

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Hardtalk

Weddings

David Ottenstein of New Haven has some nice examples of wedding photos; but he charges between $2,700 and $3,700 which is far beyond our budget, but then again, he claims to shoot somewhere between 500 and 750 pictures, which is much more than average. David White will charge us $1,500 all expenses included (i.e., ca. 200 prints, negatives, and 8 hours of his time). Need to call Michael Doolittle back. He had proposed $1,400 package (including negatives).

Per Katy, Michael Doolittle knows Alice, and has done photography at SML. Per Google search on "(203) 562-1752": 119 Everit St, New Haven, CT 06511

Amazon Wedding Registry

Here's an example of a winery which allows you to set up your own private label. Chateau Chantal is located in Traverse City, Michigan, and was found in the Wine Spectator database. But here's the one recommended by Ben and Sarah: Windsor Vineyards. Order placed online 3/29/04, Confirmation Number is 2175215.

Colony Hotel is probably most sensible place to stay in New Haven. They offer "Yale-related" rates for $89.00 Single Occupancy. $99.00 Double Occupancy"

[6/30/04]
Ofoto has wedding pictures posted by Terri and Stewart. Buy 21 prints?


Josh and Sam's wedding is taking place at Lost Mountain Ranch in Sequim, Washington.

We'll stay the first night at Josh's house in Seattle, the second night at Sequim West Inn, which is close to the ranch, and the third night we'll be back in Seattle at the Rodeside Motel, a short distance from the airport.

Contact information for the Sequim West Inn: 740 W. Washington, Sequim, WA 98382;(360) 683-4144;(800) 528-4527

Back-up hotels near their wedding site: Sequim Econo Lodge, Juan de Fuca Cottages, Sequim Vacation Rental Cabins

Computer Security

[2005-03-20]
Webroot Spy Sweeper picked up MoM Web monitor, now in quarantine. Apparently a commercial application for monitoring surfing habits of children and employees, but not freely distributed, so I'm not sure how it got on my machine.

Ben's Blog

Here's Ben's Blog. Not much going on there though.

Reading List

[2004-12-11]
Many interested titles reviewed recently, e.g., "Earth: an Intimate History." By Richard Fortey, rev. by Simon Lamb. History of the planet as narrated, so to speak, through the rocks. "This enticing book deserves to be read many times over," writes Fortey, presenting our planet to a wide audience in a way that they may never have imagined in their wildest dreams, and yet all this is the unavoidable message in the rocks."

"Tiger in a Trance" by Max Ludington. (Paperback Row, p. 30), novel set among followers of Grateful Dead touring circuit, per Bruce Barcott, "a merry romp through a wholly American subculture."

Kenneth Pollack's "The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America", reviewer ernest R. May writes, "For a background understanding of U.S.-Iranian relations, "The Persian Puzzle is matchless"; Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan's "De Gooning: An American Master", reviewered by Red Grooms, on the Rotterdam native who sailed as stowaway to U.S. in 1926, settled among other "Abstract Expressionists" in Greenwich Village (the hangouts of which, e.g., Waldorf Cafeteria, Cedar Tavern, "looks like a cockpit where visoionaries fight for the world's soul.

Editor's of NYTBR list "10 best books of 2004", inluding Colm Tibin's "The Master," which it describes as a "Novel about Henry James, his life and art--beautfilly written, deeply pondered, startingly un-Jamesian", Roth's "The Plot Against America, and "ingenious anti-historical novel." Chernow's Alexander Hamilton", an "exemplary biography"; David Hackett Fischer's "Washinton's Crossing," which is "impresseively researched" and "highlights the Battle of Trenton." Stephen Greenblattt's "Will in the World: How Shakespeare became Shakespeare," where "scholarship, speculation, and close reading combine in a lively study that gives shape to the life and context to the work."

Amoz Oz's "A Tale of Love and Darkness"John Leonard review's Nicholas de Lange's translation of Amos Oz's memoir. Oz's mother Fania Klausner, of Ukrainian bourgeoisie, philosophy student in Prague, leaving for Haifa in 1934, predicted that son would become man who is "quiet and full and closed like a well in a village that has been abondoned by all its inhabintants. Like me." She killed herself in 1952 in overdose of sedatives. Father diesd 20 yeawrs later. THis memoir mourns death of parents, but also death of socialist zionist dream. Oz writes, "Living memory, like ripples in water or the nervous quivering of a gazelle's skin in the moment before it takes flight, comes suddenly and trembles ina single instant in several rhythms or various focuses, before being frozen and immobilized into the memory of a memory." Fania met and married Arieh Klausner, "nephew of smugly famous right-wing scholar Joseph Klausner, so slysly satirized in S. Y. Agnon's novel 'Shirah'". This translation is "rendered from hebrew into supple, acrobatic English by Oz's longtime trnalator, Nicholas de Lange."

[2004-12-06]
Yale Bookstore offering 20% discount from Dec. 6-11.

[2004-10-01]
Perused entire "gifts" category of Signals Catalog . Nothing too exciting. Might be worth checking later though.


[2004-12-11]
New York Times reviews: Best Classical CDs of 2004, 2 of particular interest to me (out of 25 listed):

"Bolcom: 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience', UYniversity of Michigan School of Music Orchestra and Choruses, Leonard Slatkin (Naxos) william Bolcom worked on his settings for [these 46 Blake poems] for 25 years. Leonard Slatkin conducts a gripping live performance of this ambitious masterpiece, over two hours of music for orchestra, multiple choruses and solits that audaciously synthesizes wildly diverse musical styles" --Anthony Tommasini

"Zippo Songs: Airs of War and Lunacy: Theo Bleckmann vocalist; Phil Kline, guitarist; others (Cantaloupe) from the words American G.I.'s in Vietnam etched on their Zippo lighters, Phil Kline has fashioned brilliant amerciian lieder fotr 21st century. Tinged with elements of the psychadelic 60's , as in an elegaic fugue on a Doors song, they communicate with a direct vernacular eloquence." -- Anne Midgette

Archives & Manuscript Collections

1995 recommendation from Judy Schiff, I believe, on locating Archives & Manuscript Collections via directory maintained by Columbia.

Yale Judaica

This exhibit by Nanette was designed for Yale's Tercentennial celebration, and gives a lot of interesting historical information on how the collectino developed over time. Also, lots of great illustrations.Tercentennial Page 1

Hal Draper

Hal Draper's "Ms. Fnd in a Lbry" (1961)

As information and its surrogates become microscopically small, the tools for retrieval, such as catalogs, indexes, and bibliographies, become macroscopically huge.

Bks disappeared after being reduced to micros, then supermicros, then vowels eliminated to reduce bulk by 33%, then streamline multiple copies (consolidate all supermicros into single storage facility), then into a single drawer. Anyone could access any text by means of a farraginous ("composed of a variety of substances" --Am Her. D.) diffuser.

Facility planted in ocean to save space. Then dispensed with "representational records" in favor of "punched supermicros" heralding new era of "abstract recs" or "Rx". Then "notched electron". Then "chipped quantum" Then "nudged quantum".

Then pizzicated ("plucked"?) quanta, where Rx's subsist in hyperbolic tensor systems sharing same spatial and temporal coordinates, in the empty space freed up between electrons and nucleus.

Thus could Rxs be placed in a single drawer. Eventually, a circular cross reference requires Bibliothecal Excellency Mlvl Dwy Smth to locate an actual bx or at least Rx in order to straighten out the refs. It simply can't be found, it turns out, which causes the entire system, and entire civilization, to collapse.

I thought there was a full-text version of this available somewhere on the Internet, but I can't seem to find it.

Home Improvement

Crashed through table I was standing on, while trying to install new fixtures on lighting track. Need to be more careful, since I also broke a class bowl yesterday while vacuuming.

Didn't think it would be so complicated, but clearly one needs to research compatibility. The fixtures we inherited are "Classics Flatback 30's" 9430WH Matte White. Maybe order replacements from Lightolier website?

[2004 09 27]
Garage remote control

Films

Watched Ken Loach's "Sweet Sixteen" last night.

Martin Compston is great as delinquent Liam, waiting desperately for the release of his mother Jean (Michelle Coulter) from prison, maintaining good opinion of her despite much evidence to the contrary.

Locale: Greenock in Scotland, overun by junkies, but still in beautiful area overlooking North Atlantic coast.

Liam often on verge of redeeming himself, but circumstances keep dragging him down.

Thought it was a great film. Not exactly uplifting, but inspiring in depicting innocence that endures in miserable hopeless world.

Touches similar issue to Tim Blake Nelson's "The Grey Zone." Some times there are only choices between bad options. Hard to judge someone, when you haven't been in their place.

In "Grey Zone," Sonderkommandos are forced to operate Auschwitz gas chambers and crematoria, and they like Liam are trying to survive with their innocence intact.

Watched Andrej Wajda's Korczak Sunday night. Story of doctor who ran Jewish orphanage, even after all its children were transported to Warsaw Ghetto and then to death camp. Well acted. Depressing.

On his website, Wajda writes that the initial reaction to his film in 1990 at Cannes was a standing ovation.

"By the next morning," he writes, "the review in Le Monde had tranformed me into an anti-Semite, and none of the major film distributors would agree to circulate the film outside Poland. My good intentions were useless."

In any case, Best Video has the New Yorker Films video release.

Chai Society

This is an interesting article about Shmully and Ben, written by Paul Bass of the New Haven Advocate. New Haven Advocate: Ben & Shmully Talk