May 23, 2008Pomona Shul is Coming SoonWe are working on putting up a website for my synagogue located in the woods of Pomona, NY 10970. Keep your eye out at: www.pomonashul.com. The site will feature shuls schedules, a community calendar, about the board, about the community, application and more. May 19, 2008Enhancing Matzah with Tomato SaladToday marks a special day in the Jewish calendar, Pesach Sheni. Literally, the second Passover, Jews have a custom to eat a piece of matzah. The standard rules of Passover do not apply today, so I decided to enhance my matzah with some yummy tomato salad that my wife made me. She's the best!My wife is a full-time mom. How she finds time for making the family dinner every night, I don't know. I can barely read a paragraph in a magazine when the kids are awake. Anyway, the story is that I love tomatoes (the magical fruit/veggie) and found my favorite salad at a wedding my wife and I attended a number of years ago. She, being the best, sought out to backward engineer the salad. After extensive research, she discovered the perfect salad is in the combination of small oval like tomatoes, not the ball-like variety out there, and a nice combination of Italian spices. Now, this salad is a very strong salad. It needs to be eaten with some sort of bread or cracker. That's when I got the idea for the best bread/cracker out there, matzah! 
Forging the tomato salad and the matzah put a whole new angle on my celebration of Pesach Sheni. I might just have to do this ritual every year now. I think it all comes down to how things are defined. Matzah can be seen as both bread and cracker. Tomato can be seen as both fruit and vegetable. Together, a unique scrumptious sandwich evolves.
May 8, 2008Super Mario Water Board Music is Best LullibyApril 10, 2008"Lastest" Microsoft Remote Desktop Running LateI've been beta testing Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection for the past couple of months. All of a sudden the following screen started to appear.
First response was to hit the return key, which brought me to Microsoft's Mac homepage. Clicking "Remote Desktop" from the navigation bar showed this message in the corner:
So far, pretty boring. I ignored the message until I noticed something.
I didn't even think this was blog-worthy I saw that misspelling. Even Microsoft thinks of their own software as "Lastest". January 8, 2008HMS Home Warranty is a ScamBought a new home. Inspector told us the boiler reached it lifetime but was I called them today to see if they got my cancellation request. They did. I asked them how much it was going to be and they told me a number that was almost 50 dollars less then I calculated. They charged a $25 cancellation fee, a 10% misc fee of the total purchase and the prorated amount for the days I used it. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and will definitely tag this cancellation garbage when they get back to me. BOTTOM LINE: Don't use HMS Home Warranties September 10, 2007Where is my Dinosaur?
We have lots of plans for Pleo. During the work week, we will be training him around the office. His schedule is as follows: 8:00 am - Make fresh coffee for all the programmers On the weekends, I plan on taking Pleo home with me so that he can babysit my daughter :) July 2, 2007Why I did not buy an iPhoneI am a long time Apple fanatic. So everyone thought I would be on line with everyone else. No, not for me... yet. First of all, I love Apple technology. But I always try to wait until the 2nd gen. It's always much cheaper, better designed and luxurious. So I renewed my contract on my Verizon account and am keeping my plain cell phone. I am still hoping Apple will release an iPhone sans Phone. May 15, 2007May 9, 2007I Can Live Without My iPod - How I Hooked up my V-Drums to my Mac via AppleScriptFor at least 15 years, I’ve been playing drums as a hobby. It is a good way for me to relax and unwind. To jam, sans band, I use a first generation iPod and connect it to my electric drum set (Roland V-Drums TD-6). Recently, I moved the set to my office because my daughter was attacking and my drums were scared of her. The move was real nice… I can now work and play! The problem was that my first gen iPod is only 5 gigs. My song collection is almost 50 gigs. Well, the solution hit me one day. My computer is only a few feet away from my drum set, why not connect the two and play directly through iTunes. I programmed an set of AppleScripts to change my settings on my mac to stop the screensaver, energy saver and change my audio settings to use my headphones jack for output. The other AppleScript undoes this. My mouse, a Logitech MX Revolution, conveniently doubles as a wireless playlist/volume controller. Also, so I can see from 5 feet away, I setup Synergy to present the song info on my 2nd monitor in as large as it can present it. I now live without my iPod! start.scpt
do shell script ("pmset dim 60") password ¬
"****" with administrator privileges
tell application "System Preferences" to activate
tell application "System Events"
get properties
tell process "System Preferences"
delay 1
click menu item "Sound" of menu "View" of menu bar 1
delay 1
set theRows to every row of table 1 of scroll area 1 of ¬
tab group 1 of window "sound"
set theOutputs to {} as list
repeat with aRow in theRows
if (value of text field 1 of aRow as text) ¬
is equal to "Internal speakers" then
set selected of aRow to true
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
click menu item "Desktop & Screen Saver" of menu "View" of menu bar 1
delay 1
set value of slider 1 of group 1 of tab group 1 of window "Desktop & Screen Saver" to 560
end tell
end tell
tell application "System Preferences" to quit
tell application "iTunes" to play
tell application "iTunes" to activate
stop.scpt
do shell script ("pmset dim 15") password ¬
"****" with administrator privileges
tell application "iTunes" to pause
tell application "System Preferences" to activate
tell application "System Events"
get properties
tell process "System Preferences"
delay 1
click menu item "Sound" of menu "View" of menu bar 1
delay 1
set theRows to every row of table 1 of scroll area 1 of ¬
tab group 1 of window "sound"
set theOutputs to {} as list
repeat with aRow in theRows
if (value of text field 1 of aRow as text) ¬
is equal to "Soundsticks" then
set selected of aRow to true
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
click menu item "Desktop & Screen Saver" of menu "View" of menu bar 1
delay 1
set value of slider 1 of group 1 of tab group 1 of window "Desktop & Screen Saver" to 50
end tell
end tell
tell application "System Preferences" to quit
tell application "iTunes" to quit
March 7, 2007The Citrus PeelerI love oranges. I do. For as long as I can remember, the most I've ever used to open an orange was a knife. Well, I am married and my wife introduces me to lots of new kitchen gadgetry. Today's kitchen gadget is the Citrus Peeler. Clearly, the person who invented this device is on par with the inventors of the mayonnaise knife and the apple corer. This tool is so handy, I won't eat an orange without it. For a neat demonstration of how it works, click here. If you buy one of these, please leave a comment and let me know. Where Wit & The Written Word Unite
Why write your own speech? Just have Stu write it for you! January 29, 2007Stay in Shape the Techie WayWho needs a Wii when you have a Xavix! Doing lots of research, as I often do with any purchases, I've checked out every review on the web and even the YouTube videos of people playing it. So I was convinced but I wanted to see one in person before buying one. I was in El Paso on a short vacation at my wife's parents and decided to go on a Xavix hunt. After exhaustingly visiting Kohl's (Xavix's website said that is where they sell it), Circuit City and Best Buy, my wife and I finally were directed to Toy ‘R Us which had a Xavix system for sale, but nothing on display. We looked at the box and liked what we saw, but still felt unsure of the whole process. Why is the Xavix so unheard of? We looked the Wii and felt that it has potential, but is not designed for fitness. The games can be played from the couch and I would likely wanted to play other non-fitness related things. So the Wii was out for us. The final decision to invest in the Xavix was due to Fry's awesome return policy. I purchased the Xavix Startup Kit with Tennis from Fry's Outpost.com for $100. In addition, to Tennis, I bought the Jackie Chan PowerBoxing and J-Mat titles. The total for the order was $250. They were ALL out of stock. Xavix Tennis Unpacking the kit revealed the Xavix console and two small plastic tennis rackets. Installation was a breeze. Wiring was a pain in the butt as usual. I always have all my plugs used up and always have to snake wires through my Seaman's entertainment unit. If you don't have lots of wires and things connected to your TV, this will be a breeze. I was up and playing in minutes. The graphics on the system are pretty bad. This does not bother me. How good do the graphics need to be to play tennis? What I do appreciate is that the tennis is played against someone that resembles a human player. You are not a cartoon player like in Wii Tennis. Game play is very easy except for one thing, timing. Once you get the hang of it though, it is a walk in the park. The physics are not 100% and you are most likely going to play very well compared to real tennis. Again, this is ok and I was actually fairly shocked how well the game reacted to various moves. Everything works just like real tennis. You can lob and you can cut, you can serve and you even run up to the net. Two-player mode is fun if you have the space. My wife is afraid I will whack her head and refuses to play with me in this mode. The practice modes are pretty much useless. I was expecting a ball machine contstantly serving and allowing me to play around. The practice modes basically allow you to practice something until someone messes up, then you need to go and restart it again. Not worth it. If you are looking for a workout, Xavix Tennis will get your upper body some tuning. However, I find that it is hard to break a sweat with it. The main exercise to tennis is the running and Xavix Tennis eliminates almost all of that. Bottom line is that Xavix Tennis is fun and great for the whole family, but cannot be replaced for an exercise routine. Xavix PowerBoxing
PowerBoxing comes with a special cartridge with special sensors on it and a pair of boxing gloves. The gloves are not full enclosure gloves, which enables your hands to breathe. The straps on the gloves make it a bit difficult to get one without help from someone else. I am able to do it, but the strap could use some better design. The game starts off with a demo that allows you to get right into it. I was dressed in a suit and tie when I first tried this out (no jacket). Boy was I sweating! The punching really is intense and definitely works out your arms and brings up your heart rate. In essence, PowerBoxing is designed for a well-rounded workout. First, I was asked to enter my name, gender and weight. I was then asked which mode I would like to participate in: Championship, Exhibition or Exercise. Championship mode puts you in the ring with contenders in order of difficulty. After you K.O. the opponent, you are put in front of someone a bit more challenging. There is also a practice mode that will weigh you in stars of skill. This is basically the same as the exercise mode but meant to be like the warm up to the big fight. Exhibition allows you fight any opponent you've already beaten. However, it does allow you to fight a couple without playing any championship matches. Exercise mode has four sub-games: All of the exercise routines are challenging and I am still trying to get certain goals met. The exercise modes are nothing compared to the activity you get from actually being in the ring. I definitely need to shower after a few matches. PowerBoxing is fun and I recommend it with one caveat: I am having issues with the responsiveness of the sensors. Sometimes the wrong hand triggers, the wrong move goes, or other oddities occur. Sometimes moving a different distance or holding your hands differently makes things better. It's just a bit flaky compared to the other games. Jackie Chan really takes a central role in this game. The game comes with a mat with 4 sections horizontally. To work out the arms a little, the game comes with two one-pound hand weights. After installing the batteries, the game is ready to play. Just like the PowerBoxing game, you are prompted to enter you name, gender and weight. This is used to calculate the amount of calories you burn and track progress over time. The following modes are available: The J-Mat is awesome. The senses worked almost flawlessly. The workout is amazing and a lot of fun too. I really thought I would not use it as much as the boxing because it seemed a little "girly." This was not the case. The moves are hard and the workout is far better then I get from Tennis or PowerBoxing. My wife and I find that we like the Vigorous Step the most, then Step Lively, then the Action Run. The Dash and Reflex are really only fun when you have friends over and try to compete with them. We did find that there was one issue. We use the mat on carpeting and after as we worked out, the mat would move to the front of the room. This made is hard to do some moves, as we had to relocate the mat during a session. My wife came up with a novel idea to put Velcro pieces on the bottom of the mat to prevent it from shifting. It works perfectly! She really has a mind for problem solving. We decided to market it and call it Xavix J-Velcro :) Last Thursday, I did a 40-minute session with lots of hard levels. My heart was pounding. I really got a great workout. I highly recommend the J-Mat. Conclusion If you are looking for something to get you off your couch and don't want to hang your clothes on it to dry, I recommend the Xavix. If you are looking for more exciting games with better graphics, try the Wii. It is worth noting that the Xavix does have other games including Baseball, Bowling, Fishing, Golf and a Scale. For more information on these, please see http://www.xavix.com/ and http://www.xavixstore.com/ December 5, 2006RoombaMy lovely wife Civia must have been listening to me this year. She bought me a robot. Ok, so it's a vacuum. It is still a geeky robot and it is a pleasure to watch it motion. My daughter Bailee is in love with it too. She is going to be a real geek. Here is a video of our "Maria" in action: October 29, 2006Optimum Not Good Enough for Me The switch was easy. I already was using both the cable and internet from Cablevision. I just needed to switch from Vonage to Optimum Voice. There were a few features missing: no caller id on call waiting, no phone # transfers (needed a new number), and the web based admin lacked some of vonage's pizazz. But for the money, it was just perfect. Then the promotion year went up. I, like most people, said "ehh, I'll just continue with them because it easier." I was paying for HBO and many other channels which I rarely watched. I was also paying $10 a month more then I needed to on my phone service. Well eventually, after seeing my increased bill every month, decided to be more optimum then optimum could provide. The typical approach would be to get a Tivo. Tivo's are awesome and all, but that just increases the monthly entertainment bill. I really don't need to be entertained that much. I came up with this novel idea to Cancel My Cable! You might be thinking that means switching to dish, but that was not the case. I actually called cablevision and told them to just give me antenna usage and drop all of my other plans. They gave me hell. They are like, you break this promotion and that promotion and this price will go up and that feature won't be available. It was typical cablevision. I didn't care. I just didn't want them to suck my hard earned money. The plan was as follows:
The final step of the conversion has not occurred yet. I have a HDTV. All broadcast channels broadcast HD signals in the air for free. All anyone needs is an HD antenna and a HD Tuner. The prices are a bit high for the tuner, but the antenna is fairly inexpensive. If I weren't living in an apartment, I would have purchased an outdoor HD antenna and an HD Tuner. Then I would cancel my antenna service from cablevision. This would provide me with HD shows on my HDTV without paying a cent per month. I would only pay for equipment. Being in an apartment, my reception stinks and I would most probably not be able to mount an outdoors antenna on my roof. Well, I will get there eventually. Conclusion October 13, 2006Apple is on fireIt's just amazing what Apple is doing no-a-days. I love their new ads: http://www.apple.com/getamac/ |
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I preordered my Pleo on 
