Sailor Moon - Moondance (Nightwish)

NY vs The Kitchen Sink

DeepDiscounts' discontinued discount

This Black Friday I bought 2 things, a DVD and a DS game. Both were bought from DeepDiscount.com.

Initially, I wanted to buy Professor Layton and Curious Village, the first game in the series, but it was listed at only a dollar below regular price. Instead, I ordered Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box at $21.74. An awesome price for a game that came out 3 months ago.

For 3 weeks, in order detail, the game was listed as backordered. On 12/8/09 I decided to ask customer service when they expect to get the game back in stock again. Next day I received an email that my ordered was canceled because the game has been "discontinued by the manufacturer". A game that came out 3 months ago, has received an 8.5 from IGN and has sold over 1.26 million units is discontinued?! Really?!


I contacted Nintendo, the manufacturer. I received a reply within 4 hours. Was pleasantly surprised at the fast reply, DeepDiscount took a lot longer, and that the reply was not some canned response from India but was from America and actually addressed my question. The reply was that the game just came out and is not discontinued. I emailed Nintendo's response to DeepDiscount and have so far didn't even receive an apology.


What I'm guessing happened is that the game was listed at the wrong price and instead of honoring the price, DeepDiscount took the game off their site and told everyone who purchased it that it was discontinued. Since DeepDiscount is ignoring me, I filed a complaint with BBB of Chicago.

DeepDiscount's original reply:

Thank you for your recent order. Unfortunately, the item(s) listed below
have been discontinued by the manufacturer and are no longer available
at this time. We apologize for your disappointment. Since this item(s) was
canceled from your order, your credit card was not charged for that item.

We encourage you to consider another item from our product selection and to
shop with us again. If you have any questions about your order, please send
an e-mail to our customer service department at: cs@deepdiscount.com or
you may call us at 1-800-264-5076.

Nintendo's reply:

In answer to your question, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box was released August 24, 2009. As you may know, the game has not been discontinued. That said, I would recommend contacting the online store where you placed your order. Rest assured that your email will be forwarded on to the appropriate department for further review.

PSA: Free cell phones and service for the elderly

People on financial assistance and those with a low income may qualify for a free cell phone with a free 68 minutes per month service. The program is offered by SafeLink and is available in New York and many other states.

In New York, if you're on one of the following programs, you automatically qualify and all you need to do is visit the website and apply online.

• Family Assistance
• Food Stamps
• Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)
• Medicaid
• Safety Net Assistance
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Veteran's Disability Pension
• Veteran's Surviving Spouse Pension

You can also qualify if your total household income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). Check the website for the exact number.

A password you can remember

A good password has different case letters, number and symbols. It's also hard to remember and a lot of people resort to a password they can remember over a good, secure password. Big mistake. A bad password will let a hacker have access to your personal information, your credit card, your bank account, and the ability to scam your friends too.

What is a bad password?

Your name, name of someone from your immediate family, any information that can be looked up on your Facebook or any other social network site.

What is a really bad password?

12345, abcde, asdfg, a11111, abc123, etc. These passwords are unfortunately common and are very easy to guess.

What is a really, really bad password?

Name of site with or without number. facebook or facebook123 is about the worst password you can choose for your facebook account. These passwords are even more common and you might as well leave the password blank.

Are good password hard to remember? I say no. I recommend picking two words, at least 5 characters each, preferably not English and if English is not your native language, don't use that language either. Pick each word from a different language and these words should not be greetings or curses. Replace vowels with numbers and symbols. For example, "a" can be 4 or @, "i" can be 1 or !, e can be 3, o is 0. You can do same for some of consonants. "w" can be vv or \/\/, "l" can also be 1 or !, "k" can be |<, etc. Make the first letter of the second word a capital.

Now you have a password which is easy to remember and very hard to crack. Microsoft has a very good password checker which you can use to check the strength of your password.

One last important point. Don't use the same password for different sites. Your email should have a unique password. Social network site should at least have another password. Financial sites should have a third password, though preferably a different one for each site.

Chilli Contest

From an email from Harry's Black Hole.

I was laughing so hard, I was crying through half of this:

Chilli Contest.
==========
Note: Please take time to read this slowly. If you pay attention to the first two judges, the reaction of the third judge is even better!

For those of you who have lived in Texas, you know how true this is. They actually have a Chili Cook-off about the time the Rodeo comes to town.

It takes up a major portion of the parking lot at the Astrodome.

The notes are from an inexperienced Chili taster named Frank, who was visiting Texas from the East Coast:

Frank: "Recently, I was honored to be selected as a judge at a chili cook-off. The Judge #3 called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking for directions to the Budweiser truck, when the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy and, besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted".

Here are the scorecards from the event:



Chili # 1 Mike's Maniac Mobster Monster Chili

Judge # 1 -- A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.

Judge # 2 -- Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.

Judge # 3 -- (Frank) Holy shit, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway. Took me two beers to put the flames out. I hope that's the worst one. These Texans are crazy.



Chili # 2 Arthur's Afterburner Chili

Judge # 1 -- Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight jalapeno tang.

Judge # 2 -- Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.

Judge # 3 -- Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to rush in more beer when they saw the look on my face.



Chili # 3 Fred's Famous Burn Down the Barn Chili

Judge # 1 -- Excellent firehouse chili. Great kick. Needs more beans.

Judge # 2 -- A bean less chili, a bit salty, good use of peppers.

Judge # 3 -- Call the EPA. I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now. Get me more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back, now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting shit-faced from all of the beer.



Chili # 4 Bubba's Black Magic

Judge # 1 -- Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.

Judge # 2 -- Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a chili.

Judge # 3 -- I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds? Sally, the barmaid, was standing behind me with fresh refills. That 300-lb. bitch is starting to look HOT. . . just like this nuclear waste I'm eating ! Is chili an aphrodisiac?



Chili # 5 Linda's Legal Lip Remover

Judge # 1 -- Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.

Judge # 2 -- Chili using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.

Judge # 3 -- My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher. I wonder if I'm burning my lips off. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Screw those rednecks!



Chili # 6 Vera's Very Vegetarian Variety

Judge # 1 -- Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spices and peppers.

Judge # 2 -- The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and Garlic. Superb.

Judge #3-- I shit myself when I farted and I'm worried it will eat through the chair. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that slut Sally. She must be kinkier than I thought. Can't feel my lips anymore. I need to wipe my ass with a snow cone.



Chili # 7 Susan's Screaming Sensation Chili

Judge # 1 -- A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.

Judge # 2 -- Ho hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last moment. I should take note that I am worried about Judge #3. He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing uncontrollably.

Judge # 3 -- You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world Sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chili, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava like poop match my shirt. At least during the autopsy, they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing, it's too painful. Screw it; I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.



Chili # 8 Tommy's Toe-Nail Curling Chili

Judge # 1 -- The perfect ending, this is a nice blend chili. Not too bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.

Judge # 2 -- This final entry is a good, balanced chili. Neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge # 3 passed out, fell over and pulled the chili pot down on top of himself. Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor dude, wonder how he'd have reacted to really hot chili?

Don't call me

I don't make purchases from turquoise food processors
My walls are bleeding cheese and slivers of moonlight
It's your fault and I will stab you with a wave of green bunnies

Can I get this to go

Your comical appearance

Is creating an uncomfortable silence

If you'll change

Dogs will sing your praise

And we can go hunt headless sparrows

At the corner bakery

Neverdry turkey

I made a whole turkey a couple times and it came out great. But, it takes a lot of time and work. One year we ate out. Another time, I baked skinless and boneless turkey breast, which didn't come out exactly like I wanted. This year, I decided to try something different. I baked two legs and turkey breast with wing.

I like stuffing and this year I used microwavable Mexican rice, which I partially cooked, mixed with duck sauce and bread. Since I couldn't stuff the turkey, I stuffed the skin, which I pulled almost off, and the rest of the stuffing I put underneath. I baked the turkey at 325 degrees, 30 minutes uncovered, 3.5 hours covered with an aluminum tent, basting every half an hour. The stuffing kept the meat from overcooking and losing moisture while keeping the skin separated and stretched, which gave it a nice brown color and made it thin and quite tasty.

I recommend always mixing the duck sauce into the stuffing. As for the turkey itself, smear the duck sauce inside and out, including under the skin. Add some water to pan to use for basting. Apples, quartered and placed around the turkey are also a good addition.

Hiragana Learning Aid

I've been learning Hiragana and I've found that grouping characters by similar appearance helped me to remember them better.

き(ki) さ(sa) ち(chi) ら(ra)

Bottom of sa is facing in the same direction as top of s. c and h and chi come before k in ki so chi is 1 and ki is 2 and chi has 1 line and ki has 2. To remember these are similar, Sachiko has sa and chi, Sara has sa and ra, chi (Chinese) = ki (Japanese).

く(ku) へ(he)

ku is the right part of k

は(ha) ほ(ho)
a in ha comes before o in ho so ha is 1 and ho is 2 and ha has 1 line and ho has 2

め(me) ぬ(nu)

n follows m and nu is a continuation of me. Menu.

す(su) む(mu)

sumo misspelled as sumu and mu is a continuation of su

ろ(ro) る(ru)

u is after o and ru is a continuation of ro

に(ni) こ(ko)

n is after k an ni looks like ko with a vertical stroke. Neko misspelled as niko.

ま(ma) も(mo)

a is to the left and o is to the right. MoMA - Museum of Modern Art.

ね(ne) れ(re)

end of re looks like an r.

ん(n)

looks very much like an n

て(te)

looks somewhat like a t

た(ta)

left side looks like a t and right like an incomplete a

Marriage Crisis

A friend, who recently got married, was talking to a single friend. The single friend said that it's cool that she married a guy from her shul. My friend replied that yes, it is and that the single friend should participate in singles mixers in order to meet a guy. This single friend only does the Elders of Zion approved shidduch dating. The married friend also mentioned that it's already the third marriage that resulted from mixed talking after shul and during kiddush. To this, the single friend spat back that "Your shul needs a shadchan!"

Me thinks this single friend is confusing singles mixers with singles orgies. Probably thinks my friend's shul is a "wretched hive of scum and villainy".

Am I not getting something? Is the shadchan needed to make sure that any unsuitable marriages not take place? To prevent undue mingling? To make sure the shul doesn't keep its' singles to itself and instead share them with the outside world? Huh? People not getting married, bad. People getting married, also bad? What?

I've commented on several posts that a lot of my friends married their girlfriends/boyfriends and did it without the aid of any shadchans. If you want to get married, go do something about it yourself! What makes people think that their mommies and shadchans will find someone for them? The mommies will look for a spouse for their kidult that they themselves will like. While the shadchans' main concern is to move inventory, earn money and keep any damaged goods out of the system.

Want to stay single? Use only the Elders of Zion approved dating method, complain about every potential match and blame the system. Want to get married? Do something about it!

Gornisht

Just came home from a friend's birthday party. A lot of food, booze, good company. The event was held at Benny's on Ocean Avenue and Avenue M. The place is under Rabbi Gornish.

As we're sitting and eating, a frummie couple walks in. Penguin suit and all. The hashgocha is posted in the window and is hard to miss and if you missed it, why would you even go in. They look around and decide to sit down. Then they start grilling the waiter on the origins of the establishment's chicken. Even after being told it's Rubashkin, and after wasting the waiter's time with their moronic questions, they just left without eating.

The guy looked familiar. I wouldn't be surprised if they're psycho BTs. Before you go into a restaurant, you check the hashgocha. If you trust the hashgocha, sit down, shut up, and eat. If you don't trust the hashgocha, what are you even doing there?! And if you don't trust the hashgocha, who says the staff aren't gonna lie to you about where their meat comes from. And if you're an idiot who takes upon himself every chumra he hears about, what are you even doing in a meat restaurant, or any kind of restaurant.

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word verification dictionary

UPDATED 12/10/09

Been getting some interesting ones, including occasionally real words, so here's my word verification dictionary:

ardrive
(n) A device used on pirate ships to propel the ship forward.

blesses

chilly

25 outside when I got this one

equation

peers

The reason Jewish men wear skullcaps

Both Shlomik and Nochum found them absolutely hilarious

NY in "Who needs a walker"

And yet he refuses to walk even if I hold one or both of his hands.

Spellchecked

Spelling ease quiet

Import and, eve ewe wand two

Gate yore pond a cross

Mafia Wars/Vampire Wars Halloween loot

Five days of searching
Why does RNG hate me
I can haz loot too

Darude - Sandstorm

Punisher: War Zone

Saturday night we watched Punisher: War Zone and we both loved it! The movie had a nice balance of drama, action and comedy. The cast was pretty well picked too. Punisher: War Zone had lots of shooting and blood and no liberal propaganda. The movie was at times too cartoonish, but it didn't take away from the enjoyment.

Before watching the movie, I highly recommend watching the specials, specifically, "Creating the Look of the Film" The crew talk about having scenes contain no more than three primary colors in order to make the movie look more like the comic book. The colors are used to both project the emotion of the scene and to hint at what will happen. This use of colors gives this movie a sort of an artistic angle and makes it more unique.

While watching the specials, I was very surprised that the director was female. Yes, I know, it's sexist of me to say that, but women don't usually direct these kind of movies or make sure that it's full of blood, bullets and decapitations. I looked up the director, Lexi Alexander, on imdb and everything immediately made sense. She's a former World Karate and Kickboxing Champion. But, not only is she good at kicking ass, she is, in my opinion, a very good director as well. Not only that, but she's also a writer and a producer and this is only her fourth movie. I would love to see what Lexi would do with something the size of a James Bond movie.

How to restart a server, in 30 steps or less

A conversation I had with a "programmer". It took her only 25 minutes to figure out how to restart a server.

(1:48:05 PM) virwulf613 was on another computer, you need to get gmail, yahoo doesn't allow multiple concurrent connections

(1:48:21 PM) virwulf613 u sent email?

(1:48:21 PM) "programmer" ok

(1:48:23 PM) virwulf613 where?

(1:48:40 PM) "programmer" upstair on the [inhouse soft]

(1:48:50 PM) virwulf613 huh?

(1:49:07 PM) virwulf613 u sent me email?

(1:51:17 PM) virwulf613 ?

(1:51:39 PM) "programmer" i send you yahoo message

(1:51:52 PM) virwulf613 [another coworker] said u emailed me?

(1:52:36 PM) "programmer" no

(1:53:50 PM) virwulf613 so what was teh message?

(1:54:22 PM) "programmer" the sytem is very slow upstair

(1:54:43 PM) virwulf613 so restart sever

(1:55:11 PM) "programmer" how can i do it

(1:55:52 PM) virwulf613 start-turn off-restart

(1:56:06 PM) virwulf613 u don't know howe to restart a computer?

(1:56:09 PM) "programmer" she should only start her computer

(1:56:24 PM) "programmer" or we should start the server by [owner] office

(1:56:26 PM) virwulf613 what?

(1:56:36 PM) virwulf613 is it slow by you?

(1:56:47 PM) virwulf613 if yes, restart server you're logged into

(1:58:01 PM) "programmer" i told lhem to restart them computer

(1:58:22 PM) virwulf613 who?

(1:58:25 PM) virwulf613 what computer?

(1:59:54 PM) "programmer" They claims that them computer is working great with other site only on our application it is slow

(2:00:04 PM) virwulf613 yeah, so

(2:00:08 PM) virwulf613 i know

(2:00:31 PM) "programmer" WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO

(2:00:47 PM) virwulf613 restart server

(2:01:19 PM) "programmer" THE SERVER BY [owner] OR THEM LOCAL MACHINE

(2:01:22 PM) virwulf613 why would you think restarting upstairs computer do anything

(2:01:35 PM) virwulf613 i said restart SERVER

(2:01:39 PM) "programmer" OK

(2:01:41 PM) virwulf613 you know what server is or not?

(2:01:50 PM) "programmer" THE SERVER IS BY [owner] OFFICE?

(2:01:57 PM) virwulf613 do you know of any others?

(2:02:04 PM) "programmer" NO

(2:02:05 PM) virwulf613 the one you're logged into

(2:02:19 PM) virwulf613 are you logged into it?

(2:02:53 PM) "programmer" 192.168.0.5?

(2:03:12 PM) virwulf613 no, 127.0.0.1

(2:04:16 PM) "programmer" YES . I SHOULD CONNECT TO THE SERVER WHERE I WAS WORKING ON AND RESTRATE IT

(2:04:35 PM) virwulf613 i think i said that at least 3 times, no?

(2:04:54 PM) "programmer" I AM SORRY PLEASE EXPLAIN BETTER

(2:05:20 PM) virwulf613 i said restart server, there's only 1 server

(2:06:00 PM) virwulf613

"programmer" 1:56 PM she should only start her computer

56:24 or we should start the server by [owner] office

virwulf613 1:56 PM what?

56:36 is it slow by you?

56:47 if yes, restart server you're logged into

(2:07:49 PM) "programmer" OK WE ARE GOING TO [owner] OFFICE AND STOP THE COMPUTER THEN RESTART

(2:08:12 PM) virwulf613 why are you going to [owner]'s office?

(2:08:20 PM) virwulf613 I told you, login and restart it

(2:09:08 PM) "programmer" PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW CAN I LOGIN

(2:10:53 PM) "programmer" CAN YOU RESTART FROM YOUR OFFICE

(2:11:19 PM) virwulf613 why can't you restart it?

(2:11:28 PM) virwulf613 you claimed you know what you're doing

(2:12:04 PM) "programmer" i NEED TO GET INTO THE REMOT ADMINISTATION WHERE I CHANGE MY PROGRAM AND THEN DO A RESTART

(2:12:24 PM) "programmer" I KNOW HWAT I AM DOING BY I DO NOT KNOW ALL THE DETAILS OF YOUR SYATEM

(2:12:51 PM) virwulf613 there is a computer, server, you do your work on it, restart it

Rammstein & Tatu - Moskau

Sometimes the customer is right

The Jewish Side introduced me to the awesomeness that is Not Always Right.  The site is a collection of stories submitted by tech support, store employees, etc. about idiot customers.  The stories usually include location and city/state/country.

I came upon one interesting story.  I'm pretty surprised close to 800 people gave this a thumbs up...

That’s Nothing A Little Duct Tape Can’t Fix

ELECTRONICS STORE | UNKNOWN LOCATION

Customer: “I want a computer where I can type in Russian and it will print in English.”
Me: “Sir, I’m afraid we don’t have Russian keyboards.”
Customer: “No, that’s fine. I’ll just tape Russian letters on.”
Me: “Sir, it will still be an English keyboard.”
Customer: “Okay, so what if I glue the letters on?”
Me: *thunk thunk thunk* “Still English.”

Now here's an example where the customer is right while the salesperson or whoever submitted this is a moron.  Keyboard is an input device that has letters glued on it.  There is no such thing as an English keyboard, the keyboard doesn't send letters to the computer, or even codes of letters.  The keyboard sends the location of key pressed. In Windows, there are files which map keys pressed to letters.  These can be in any language as long as you install it.  More so, you can even reassign letters to different keys.  In my Russian keyboard, letters are assigned based on what they sound like.

I really hope this wasn't the owner of the place...

NY vs Bounty

Web Comics/Manga

I've been putting this off for a while, mostly because some of these are hard to categorize.  Instead, here they are in alphabetical order:

Alien Dice - sci-fi, cute animals, girl meets alien boy
AppleGeeks - sci-fi, gaming, cyborg girl, comedy
Blip - fantasy, demons, angels, witches, cyborgs, vampires, all rolled into a comedy
Candi - slice of life, comedy, college

Charliehorse - comedy, succubus summoned to help a guy get a date, sometimes borderline NSFW

Ctrl + Alt + Del - gaming, insanely funny, robots, parody
Ctrl + Alt + Del: Sillies - a more insane daily version of the above
DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary - slice of life, comedy, occasionally NSFW
Devil's Panties - slice of life, comedy
Dilbert - if you don't know what this is, you suck
The Dreamland Chronicles - fantasy, dreamland, comedy, 3D
El Goonish Shive - sci-fi, furries, comedy, fantasy
Errant Story - fantasy, elves, half-elves, comedy
Faans - sci-fi, fantasy, secret organizations
Flipside - fantasy, occasionally NSFW
Get Fuzzy - syndicated, talking cat and dog, somewhat anti republican but still funny
Girls with Slingshots - slice of life, comedy
Girly - fantasy, slice of life, comedy, sometimes borderline NSFW
Kevin & Kell - slice of life, comedy, world of talking animals with a wolf married to a rabbit
Marilith - female assassins, enough said
Least I Could Do - slice of insanity and comedy
Lizzy - sci-fi, cyberpunk, FLASH, occasionally NSFW

The Lounge: Sexy, Cute, and Purrific - slice of life, comedy, occasionally borderline NSFW

MegaTokyo - slice of life, fantasy, sci-fi
Menage a 3 - slice of life, comedy, frequently NSFW
Misfile - slice of life, racing, fantasy, comedy
Moose Head Stew - slice of life, comedy

The Noob Comic - gaming, mmorpg parody, comedy

Off The Mark - syndicated, parody
Okashina Okashi - sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, occasionally borderline NSFW
Otaku no Yen - slice of life, comedy
Over the Hedge - syndicated, comedy, talking animals
Penny and Aggie - slice of life, comedy, drama
Penny Arcade - gaming, comedy, parody
Pinky TA - sci-fi, occasionally borderline NSFW
PvPonline - gaming, fantasy, friendly ogre, parody, comedy
Questionable Content - slice of life, comedy, robots
Sherman's Lagoon - syndicated, talking fish, comedy
Sinfest - fantasy, parody, occasionally borderline NSFW
Sore Thumbs - fantasy, comedy, occasionally borderline NSFW
Trying Human - sci-fi, comedy, greys, occasionally NSFW
UserFriendly.org - tech support, fantasy, comedy
VG Cats - gaming, parody, comedy
Wapsi Square - slice of life, fantasy, mythology, comedy
Weregeek - gaming, slice of life, comedy
xkcd - no one can be told what the xkcd really is, you have to see it for yourself
The Zombie Hunters - fantasy, zombies
Zortic - sci-fi, parody, comedy

Proposition

I'm a member of frumsex group on yahoo.  Why?  It was sorta funny and entertaining in the beginning, that is before I found calmkallahs.  Though even that got boring after some time.  Why am I still a member?  Idiots contacting me and asking asl with my reply being my blog link, "you wanna know, go look" :-D

Several days ago I was contacted by divreitorah@yahoo.com with same question.  He got the same response.  He also said he had a proposition for me but never said what it was.

Then he contacted me again today and here's the chat log:

(3:06:26 PM) divreitorah: Hey
(3:06:35 PM) divreitorah: So we are interested?
(3:06:36 PM) virwulf613: yo
(3:06:40 PM) virwulf613: in?
(3:06:42 PM) divreitorah: R u?
(3:06:47 PM) divreitorah: In the swap
(3:06:51 PM) virwulf613: what swap?
(3:06:56 PM) virwulf613: you never said anything
(3:07:03 PM) divreitorah: I told u about it last werk
(3:07:06 PM) virwulf613: didn't
(3:07:13 PM) divreitorah: Swapping partners for a nuggt
(3:07:13 PM) virwulf613: only planning to tell me
(3:07:15 PM) divreitorah: Night
(3:07:33 PM) virwulf613: yeah right
(3:07:42 PM) divreitorah: R u interessted?
(3:08:15 PM) virwulf613: nope, and guess what's gonna happen now, posting this convo with your email on my blog :-P
(3:08:28 PM) virwulf613: thanks for the traffic :-D
(3:08:45 PM) divreitorah: Why u doing that?
(3:08:59 PM) virwulf613: cause you're a moron and a loser
(3:09:01 PM) virwulf613: haha
(3:09:13 PM) divreitorah: Be that way

Mountain Fruit, a real heimish store

Mountain Fruit's at it again but what else is new.  Chicken sauce is supposedely on sale for $1.99.  Last week, either Wednesday or Thursday, it rang up as $2.99 and, this being Mountain Fruit, the checkout girl obviously started arguing with me that it's not on sale.  After verifying herself that, guess what, it actually is on sale, she corrected it to $1.99.

Today, the last day of sale, the same bottle again rang up as $2.99 and again the checkout girl, different one this time, started arguing with me that it's not on sale.  After correcting the price, she managed to forget to remove one of the $2.99 entries and had to pay me $2.99 cash on my credit card purchase.  So at least I managed to cost the store a few pennies, makes me happy.

If you've bough chicken sauce in Mountain Fruit between last Wednesday and today, you've been overcharged $1/bottle.

Santa Cruz City Council Testimony 5/13/08

I also have a suggestion for Santa Cruz.  Implement a system similar to the one amusement parks use.  In amusement parks you have to be "this tall" to ride.  In city council, you have to have an IQ "this high" to speak.
I wonder how she's able to breath while eating, must be a real ordeal for her.

Accessing an external NTFS drive from Mac OS X

A friend wanted to backup his Mac to my external NTFS drive.
Problem, Mac OS X can't write to an NTFS drive.
Solution, create a folder in root and copy all files there.  Boot into Ubuntu trial and copy the files.  Done.

Farmville FAQ/walkthrough

updated: 2/8/2010

updated animals, news link

Profit analysis:

Sortable version of above

1. Take pictures of all of your friends' farms even if they're not your neighbors yet.
2. Leave one type of each gift your receive in the giftbox, this includes gifts received for earning ribbons. To get a gifted blue ribbon, you need 21 unique gifts so make this a priority before going for any other ribbons.
3. Do not buy trees or animals, ask your friends to send them to you.
4. Plant unprofitable seeds only once.
5. Keep an eye on your friends achievements, filter news by farmville, and get bonuses from their achievements.
6. Trade off for high profit margin of raspberries is no experience while planting. However, when you figure in 1xp for plowing, rapberries are the best crop until at least level 12.
7. If you find it annoying to have your avatar running around the whole farm when you're harvesting/plowing/planting, trap him inside 4 hay bales.
8. You can buy xp by buying buildings and decorations. While the exchange rate on most items is 100:1, plus sell back value, the exchange rate for yellow Hay Bales is 20:1, plus 5 for sell back, making it 19:1. Not counting opening menu and selecting Hay Bales, this way you get 2.5xp per click
9. Buying xp option 2. This would require more space and spare gas tanks but will cost 10 coins per xp. Use tractor to plow 4 fields, use seeder to seed the 4 fields with Soybeans, delete the fields. Not counting opening menu and selecting Soybenas, you get 2xp per click.
10. Be helpful. Helping your neighbors earns you 5xp and 20 coins. Click on your neighbors on the bottom menu and select "Visit/Help". After you help a certain number of people, you will only earn 1xp and 5 coins. If you have less neighbors than the limit, click on My Neighbors tab and from there, instead of clicking on the go to neighbor's farm link at the top, scroll down to Pending Request neighbors and do them top to bottom on one day and bottom to top next day. If you have enough confirmed neighbors, start from one end on one day and from the other end next day.
11. You can now fertilize your neighbors' crops when you visit them. This works only for those farms where there is something in the process of growing. If nothing is planted or the farm is dead, there's nothing to fertilize. Fertilizing increases possible experience earned from visiting neighbors from 0 to 5 to 0 to 10. Now, even if you've reached your quota for helping, you can still earn an additional 5xp for fertilizing. There doesn't seem to be a quota for fertilizing.
12. Bird Baths and Hay Rolls sell for 100 coins, Horses, for 105. After collecting one of each animal and tree, request from your neighbors Olive trees and those three. Do same yourself too. Personally, I sell everything except for Olive, Date and Pomegranate trees and a few of each seasonal items. I'm also keeping Cherries and Maples, but that's only until I get a blue ribbon.

Ribbons

1. Knock on Wood - Use Cherries and Maples.
2. Zoologist - One Chicken Coup and several Dairy farms. Remember, Brown Cows and Pink Cows bring a lot more money.
3. Architect - This can be completed easily using Rest Tents when you have enough money. In the beginning, do not buy these as you will receive several building for free when you earn other ribbons.
4. Pack Rat - Don't buy mailboxes, you'll get them free. Easiest way to get this ribbon, fence in your farm.
5. Animal Shelter - Ask those of your neighbors that you know personally to message or I/M you when they find an animal.
6. Tree Hugger - Do not buy trees, with the exception of seasonal ones. Ask your neighbors to gift them to you.
7. Noah's Ark - Do not buy animals either. Again, with the exception of seasonal ones. Adopt and ask your neighbors.
8. Not Spoiled, Gifted! - Leave one of each gift in the gift box until you get a blue ribbon. This shouldn't take too long. Besides receiving gifts from neighbors, you'll also get gifts from ribbons.
9. Flower Power and Pretty Garden - Grow flowers around the middle of your farm where your avatar appears. This will insure your visitors will fertilize the flowers first. You can use the flowers in the Garden Shed to earn at least one ribbon, which will also give you another bouquet.

Eggs

1. White Eggs - White Chickens, Brown Chickens, Pink Flamingoes, Garden Gnomes
2. Brown Eggs - Brown Chickens, Black Chickens, Zen Garden, 1 Fuel Refill
3. Black Eggs - Black Chickens, Golden Chickens, Fire Pit, 15 Fuel Refills
4. Golden Eggs - Golden Chickens, Donkey, Animal Float, Carousel, 30 Fuel Refills

Coins that appear during plowing are worth 50 coins each.

FarmVille News feed filter.

My life according to Nightwish

Everyone's doing it and it's by far the funniest meme ever so here goes:

Answer these questions using song titles from only one artist, try not to repeat titles.


Pick your Artist:
Nightwish

Are you a male or female:
Tenth Man Down

Describe yourself:
Sleepwalker

How do you feel:
Deep Silent Complete

Describe where you currently live:
Over the Hills and Far Away

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?:
The Pharaoh Sails to Orion

Your favorite form of transportation:
Walking in the Air

Your best friend?
Wishmaster

You and your friends are:
Stone People

What's the weather like:
Planet Hell

Favorite time of day:
Nightwish

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Dark Chest of Wonders

What is life to you:
A Final Dream

Your relationship:
Sacrament of Wilderness

Your fear:
End of All Hope

What is the best advice you have to give:
Know Why the Nightingale Sings

Thought for the Day:
This Moment is Eternity

How I would like to die:
Live to Tell the Tale

My soul's present condition:
Ocean Soul

My motto:
Nymphomaniac Fantasia

Optional Parameters in cfscript functions

Ever get the The parameter [parameter] to function [function] is required but was not passed in?

Here's how to get around that:

function [function name]([param1]) {
       var [param2] = [default value];
       if (arraylen(arguments) gt 1)
              [param2] = arguments[2];
...
}

ColdFusion - Getting ID of inserted row

How to get ID of row inserted using CFQUERY:

MySQL:

<cfquery result="insertrow" datasource="#application.ds#">
INSERT INTO [table]([column1], [column2]...)
VALUES([value1], [value2]...)
</cfquery>
ID: insertrow.generated_key

T-SQL

<cfquery name="insertrow" datasource="#application.ds#">
INSERT INTO [table]([column1], [column2]...)
VALUES([value1], [value2]...)

SELECT @@IDENTITY AS id
</cfquery>
ID: insertrow.id

Notice that when using MySQL, you use result, while when using T-SQL you use name.

Seven things I love

I have been tagged by The Jewish Side in the “Seven things I love” meme.

The way it works is simple: List the seven things you love and tag seven other bloggers.

Not being one to take things seriously, here are my 7:

1. I love beer.
   
   
2. I love animals. I love looking at them, petting them, feeding them, and then eating them.
   
   
3. I love babies, as long as they're not ugly babies and they are laughing and/or smiling.
   
   
4. I love anime and tentacles. While this is not self explanatory for everyone, those who don't know what I'm talking about, I suggest not googling it for your own sanity.
   
   
5. I love making fun of stupid people. For same reason I love comedians who make fun of stupid people.
   
   
6. I love not wearing clothes and that is why I love my Shabbat Robe, aka Yukata aka Kimono. If G-d would've wanted us to wear clothes, he'd gives us fur.
   
   
7. I love music, with the exception of the horrible American chareidi music that kills your braincells and turns you into a slobbering braindead zombie who follows any kind of bs ban the Elders of Zion make up out of boredom.

I tag: Barb, Sallie, La Poutine Cachere, Childish, Frum Punk, MAK and FrumCurious.

Trojan-Clicker.Win32.Delf.cbe - xaayvkjr.dll

Kaspersky was happy to tell me that it detected a virus that it can't do anything about and windows rebooted midscan. Spybot and AdAware couldn't get rid of this thing either. Ran in safemode, file deleted on reboot, file back again. Strangely, couldn't find the filename in the registry. Ran HijackThis and it showed 2 weird entries for qxwtawj.dll.

Solution, at least worked so far, is to boot into ubuntu, rename both files to .bak, not sure if qxwtawj is a virus or not and can't find anything on google so remained it instead of deleting. Booted into windows, no alerts from kaspersky and xaaykvjr has not reappeared.

In the registry, qxwtawj appears under winlogon in uiphazue and another location. I wasn't able to delete either entry even using regassassin and regseeker. Finally got rid of the winlogon entry by running ComboFix. You can get it here, here, or here.

А Вова рулит

Fraud phone numbers

Just got a call from 829-322-2967. Several calls with the person hanging up if I picked up.

If you get a call from this number, do not call back. The number is a 900 pay per minute number and when you call back the scammer will try to keep you on the line as long as possible.

Here's a list of fraud/spam numbers that will either try to get you to call back or will tell you you won something and they need to charge you for shipping:

• 829-322-2967 - pay per minute
• 770-308-4054 - tries to get your credit card number
• 777-555-2254 - tries to get your credit card number

Tomāto Tomäto

Recently I got an idea to write a post about one of my credit cards and maybe earn some money with it.  I used the bank's internal messaging system to ask them if they have an affiliate program.
This is the message I got in response:

We are writing in response to your recent inquiry.

We would like to inform you that, Chase is affiliated with
various programs. However, if you would like information
about a specific program please provide more details for
us to assist you further.

If you have any further questions, please reply using the
Secure Message Center.

Thank you,

Reshma Parswanathaiah
E-Mail Customer Service Representative

Are you #$%@ kidding me?!  Affiliate and affiliated is not the same word you moron!  If you don't know something, google it instead of sending back some retarded response.

Am I gonna call and complain?  I plan too.  Then again I'm reaaaaaally lazy.  But I am planning to...

Being Jewish

From email from Harry's Black Hole:

Being Jewish.
===========
Q: What is a Jewish menage-a-trois
A: Two headaches and an erection.

Q: Why did Adam and Eve have a perfect marriage?
A: He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married, and she didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked.

Q: How does a Jewish wife cheat on her husband?
A: She has a headache with the postman.

Q: What business is a yenta in?
A: Yours.

Q: What is a Jewish nymphomaniac?
A: A wife who does her hair and sleeps with her husband on the same day.

Q: How do Jewish wives get their children ready for supper?
A: They put them in the car.

Q: What is the technical term for a divorced Jewish woman?
A: Plaintiff.

Q: What does a Jewish woman do to keep her hands soft and her nails long?
A: Nothing at all.

Q: Define 'genius'
A: An average student with a Jewish mother.

Q: If Tarzan and Jane were Jewish, what would Cheetah be?
A: A fur coat.

Q: What do you call someone who enjoys work and refuses to retire?
A: A meshuggener.

Q: What do you call the nipple on a Jewish wife's breast?
A: The tip of the iceberg.

Q: What mechanical device causes the most arousal in a Jewish woman?
A: A Mercedes Benz 500SL convertible.

Jewish proverb: 'A Jewish wife will forgive and forget, but she'll never forget what she forgave.'

MySQL - ON DUPLICATE KEY

I was adding bridal registry functionality to CartWeaver 3 and was wondering if MySQL, the site is running on ColdFusion with MySQL, has something similar to T-SQL's MERGE. Not only does it have, but the code looks a lot more elegant. One thing to remember though, is that you must set cart/registry user id + sku/product id as UNIQUE.

Here's how this works. You do your regular insert and at the end add a ON DUPLICATE KEY:

INSERT INTO tbl_registryproducts(reguserid, skuid, qty)
VALUES(#session.reguserid#,#form.skuid#,#form.qty#)
       ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE qty = qty + #form.qty#

That's it. One line and you're done. And yes, I know I should be using cfqueryparam, but that would make this example a lot longer and a lot less readable.

Ban #23940 - Biblical names

It is assur to give your children names from Torah because goyim do it too. You should only give your children Yiddish names, otherwise they'll go off the derech and intermarry with goyim with biblical names whom they will find on FaceBook.

Nachas Nachos™

Have you ever wished for some nachos when people wished you nachas from your kids?
Now, you can have both!

Introducing the new printable Nachas Nachos™.
For the low price $499.99, your children's school can purchase the amazing Nachas Nachos™ printer that will allow them to print your children's report cards on these delicious Nachas Nachos™!

Now you can have your nachas and eat them too!

Who's killing movie theaters?

I've been thinking of writing this for over a year. Our excursion to see Night at the Museum 2 was the straw that broke the camel's back.

A year ago, I read an article about Hollywood bitching and moaning about how piracy is destroying movie theaters and how because of piracy and internet people are not going to the movies anymore. While this was laughable then, now, it's absolutely hilarious.

Two weeks ago when we went to see night at the museum, we were charged a very "reasonable" price of $12.50 per ticket. For two people, that's $25. If you don't have a car, add another $8 for transportation which, starting this Sunday, is now $9. If you want popcorn, add at least $4.50. Your trip to the movies is now costing you at least $38.50.

Now, if you go to see the movie in it's first week, you'll see it on a nice big screen. If you go to see it in its third week, the screen is now half the size while the ticket price is surprisingly same.

What do you get for your $38.50? Well, the current movies are made up of mostly sequels, remakes and cliches, in most cases, bad ones. So, after spending time and money and you don't even enjoy the experience.

What is really killing movie theaters? The ever rising ticket prices which are not even scaled to the size of the screen. The 1000%+ markup for food. The lack of talented writers, enough with the remakes already! Not to mention the current trend of replacing plot, story and acting with special effects.

Going to a movie is now costing the price of one, if not two, brand new DVDs. Now, considering how cheap and convenient Netflix is, instead of buying the DVDs, you can save up the money for a big screen TV or even a projector. And don't forget, the bonus of watching movies at home is the pause button for bathroom breaks and the only people screaming at the screen are your idiot friends.

How much are you paying for movies? Two people, driving to the theater and not buying any food, once in two weeks, are spending $650 per year. Add public transportation, and/or food, and/or more frequent visits and you're looking at over $1,000 year. Cost of an HD projector? 720p start at around $600, plus a $100 for a good screen. 42" LCD, 720p, about same price.

Huggies, 92 to 192, for $30.50

Click on the link to the right. Select "Subscribe & Save" to get a 15% discount that brings your price down to $31.44. Use Amazon credit card to get another 3% back, which brings you to $30.50. The diapers are shipped from Pennsylvania and Kentucky and if you're in New York, you can get your diapers, shipped free, next day after the order is placed.

Depending on size, you get from 92 to 192 diapers per case for $30.50.

Trust issues?

Had an argument with someone about trusting your spouse with talking on facebook with someone of opposite sex. Vote, comment.

Poll results:

Mind husband talking 10 (31%)
Don't mind husband talking 6 (18%)
Mind wife talking 6 (18%)
Don't mind wife talking 10 (31%)

American Fusion

Just saw American Fusion. If you liked My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you're gonna love this. While My Big Fat Greek Wedding was funny and entertaining, American Fusion is outright hilarious.

American Fusion is about Yvonne, a middle aged, divorced Chinese woman who works for a newspaper, meeting Jose, a Mexican dentist. The movie revolves around Yvonne's crazy family. The mean and racist mother. The wannabe gangsta son. The nephew with an interesting job. The ex-con, born again, brother and his wife who are trying to have a baby. The obsessive and controlling sister.

One of the most entertaining scenes is when Yvonne meets Jose's family. While the families are very similar in their situations, the way they interact within and outside is completely different.

This movie has everything, romance, humor, irony and even poetic justice. What this movie also has is Pat Morita in a very comedic, though short, role.

One of the aspects of this movie that I particularly enjoyed is how it's different from the average American romantic comedy. Nowadays, almost every romantic comedy is about late 20s, early 30s, getting together. American Fusion takes two middle aged people, one of whom is divorced and with a kid, and makes it work. Yes, you can have a very funny romantic comedy without resorting to several layers of makeup and supermodels.

Tommy heavenly6 - Lollipop Candy BAD girl

Been hearing this song on kawaii radio for a while and finally decided to check it out on youtube. I prefer the glasses version, cuter.

Analytics Keywords

What is porn - If you have to ask...

Frum bochur porn - One of those rabbis? An "aidel maidel"? What about kollel guy porn? No takers?

Free porn dirt mta - MTA is giving out porn? Maybe they should charge for it instead and lower the fairs. (6 searches for this!!!)

Five things usps ups minyan - What? No, seriously, what?

Is usps faster than economy? - That would be a no. USPS is not even faster than a tortoise, forget about the economy.

Jewish frames digitalised free - Are you asking about getting pictures digitized? Digital frames? You want them free too? Are Jewish frames harder to digitise than non-Jewish frames?

CafePress - Jury Duty

Jury duty, a great way for the government to save money. The only people who like it are those who are unemployed or retired.

Are you getting a jury of your peers? Nope, you're getting people who couldn't find a good excuse and are now pissed at you and the system.

Jury duty is unfair to both the jurors and to the defendant.

Show your disdain for the system with these buttons, t-shirts, tote bags, and now, water bottles.

Check out my other designs:

No English

The Patterson Diet

Al Gore and Alternative Energy

JBlogger

Ookami Kanji with pawprint

Neko Kanji with pawprint

Cafe Press - No English

Ever had a yenta annoy you in checkout line, on the bus, train, or anywhere else?  You make every attempt to shop these people you don't care about their medical condition or their pet's medical condition or their opinion on what you or someone else is buying or wearing, etc. ad nauseum?

I doubt it will help with the hardcore yenta, but, you never know until you try.

Buy this shirt and find out.

Check out my other designs:

The Patterson Diet

Al Gore and Alternative Energy

JBlogger

Ookami Kanji with pawprint

Neko Kanji with pawprint

Aneela and Arash - Chori Chori

We were watching The Sex Guru Sunday.  Yes we liked.  No I don't care what you think.

Anyway, the end reminded me of Benny Lava, which in turn reminded me of Chori Chori.

The link is better quality but embedding was turned off so if you're not too lazy, watch it on youtube.

If you think you're hearing Informer, you're right.  I like this version better though.

Shavuot

First, here's the menu:
Hot chocolate, milk soup, tilapia in cheddar, mac n' cheese, greek salad, cheese blintzes, ravioli, cheese cake and ice cream.

Cheeses eaten with white wine:
Blue, brie, le marcaire, smoked cheddar, and cranberry with port wine cheese.

Several years ago, I bought a few good cheese for Shavuot and ate them with wine with my friend.  After all the wine and cheese, we were wasted like never before.  We barely crawled to shul and drinking a cup of coffee where one third of the cup was coffee and the rest water didn't help.

Having the above incident in mind, I warned my friends, different ones, who came over not to eat too much of the weird cheeses.  Well, the cheeses tasted too good and my warning went unheeded.  After coming to shul, I offered my friend who ate by me some x-mas tea, mint with white tea, but he shrugged it off.

For the afternoon meal, we went to the above mentioned friends.  Turns out that the dude felt so nasty afterwards that he thought he may need to go to the hospital.  At the meal, he refused to eat anything dairy and claimed to swear off cheese until at least next Shavuot.  I, of course, being the good friend that I am, made sure to make fun of him throughout the meal.

Let this be a warning to everyone else.  If you don't usually eat aged or imported fine cheeses, don't spend Shavuot night stuffing yourself with assorted cheese and milk products.  You will feel like crap and you will wish to have never laid eyes on said cheese in the first place.

This has been a public service announcement.

Presenting NY's present.

NY smells stinky.
Go to change him.
Diaper only wet.
Turn to get new diaper.
Turn back with new diaper.
Present on the onesie.
$#^$!!!
NY happy about present, me, not so much.

MTA SPAM, Part 2

On March 23rd, I wrote about mta_nyc account on twitter tweeting spam together with the regular service announcements.  Recently, I got a reply from MTA that that account is not official and MTA is not responsible for the SPAM.

I don't remember if I checked MTA's info site or not, this is not what this post is about.  I emailed MTA about their website possibly being hacked on March 23rd, the reply came, brace yourselves for this one, on May 14th.  It took MTA over a month and half to respond!  Not only that, but the url for the official site listed in the response was misspelled!

This is what happens when you have a monopoly.  A month and a half waiting time for email inquiries, buses and trains being late up to and over half an hour, half the subway being out of order on the weekends, AC not working in the summer, one technician installing a sign while four others stand around doing nothing, dirt, stink, filth, and always rising prices.

How bad are MTA buses?  Both times wife gave birth, I would start walking from Maimo and meet the bus two to five blocks later.  When working in Brooklyn Navy Yard, I would start walking from Prospect Park and meet the bus halfway, two thirds of the way, two blocks from work, or not at all.  Sinai Academy, Bay Parkway and 79th bus stop, sometimes would meet the bus halfway, sometimes not.  Three or four buses coming at the same time.  Bus driver trainees driving buses full of people.  The moron almost hit a car because he doesn't know how to make a turn!  95%  of the subway not being wheelchair/stroller accessible.  What's the point of that 5%?

Yes, there are new buses and new trains, but the quality of service always stays the same.  The only thing MTA guarantees is an increase in price.

New Square 2009

Finally, after a four year hiatus, our shul went for a shabbaton to New Square.  While it was fun, it wasn't quite as enjoyable as the previous times.

We got lucky with the eating arrangements.  Both last time and this time, we ended up eating by an OTD family. They had meat.  Most people in New Square eat only chicken and only with a New Square hashgocha.  There are, however, a few "rebels" who have meat.  Some, even have whisky.  We also got lucky, unlike some of the other people on the shabbaton, to have a host who both, speaks English and who doesn't have men and women sitting at separate tables.

We slept and ate by separate families but both houses were near each other and also within two minutes from shul.  Finished dinner at my usual 1AM, went to the tisch, though didn't stay till the end and left at 2AM.  Shacharis was at a very shabbas nap friendly time of 11AM.  Food was great, though the meat jello, however you call it, I wouldn't touch even if the Rebbe himself gave it to me.

The not enjoyable part was centered around the half-assed organizational skills of the shul.  When we came to the family we were sleeping by, we found out that nobody bothered to warn them that we have a 4 month old infant who needs a crib and not a child bed.  One of my friends, by their hosts, got a mattress to put on the floor for his two and a half year old daughter.

The most fun, however, was had when we came to the Rebbe for a brocha.  There were other people who were let in first because we were a big group so by the time we got into the room it was 2AM.  All the times before, the preggies and families with infants and little kids got the brocha first so they could leave.  This time, a few people from our shul showed just how noble they are.  There was one family with a toddler and a pregnant wife, two families with toddlers, a couple more with little kids.  Who pushed through, ignoring the tired toddlers and babies who were either falling asleep or asleep in their parents' arms?  One of the shul's board members and his wife!  Now, not only were they there by themselves, but they weren't even leaving, they were staying until Sunday!  Then went the gabbai with the preggers wife and toddler, then two other families, and finally us.  The family who was supposed to go next were our friends who were driving us.  Who shoved in front instead, two bochurim, both of whom knew with who we came and who could could very well see me standing with NY in my arms and my mother with Shlomik.  Besides us, there were also other families with kids still waiting, but, apparently the force of the Rebbe's brocha wanes with each consecutive one and it was absolutely imperative that they get in in front.

While we had fun, the enjoyment was marred by these four people's display of selfishness and disregard for others.

All the cholent you can eat

Today we went to Essex on Coney on M. During the week, as she was walking home from express bus, wife saw that on Mondays and Thursdays, Essex has all you can eat, plus soup, plus drink, for $19.99 per person.  For three people, with tax and, for some reason, gratuity, it came out to $75, which is still a good deal.

For soup, there was a choice of split pea soup, taken by wife, chicken noodle, taken by Shlomik, matzha ball, meh, and turkey gumbo, taken by moi.  The turkey gumbo was awesome and will be my permanent choice for any future visits.

For drink, there was free water and a choice of Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite.  In retrospect, I should have asked for a pitcher of juice or tea.  We settled for Coke.

The buffet consisted of salad, sweet and sour chicken, beef with noodles, beef with broccoli, French fries, very nice eggrolls, fried rice, rice with mashrooms and some very strange menu choices.  By strange, I mean kishka and cholent.  What I would like to know is who, in their right mind, would go to a $20 buffet and get cholent and kishka, on Thursday, in a restaurant.  Dude, wait a day and a half, or at least get it from the takeout next door.  The weird thing, as you can see on the picture, is that both trays were almost empty.  We tried everything on this side of the buffet and Shlomik acquiesced to have a couple french fries.

For dessert, we had some layered cake and cheese cake.  Not sure if it was part of the deal, though we weren't charged for it.  If it wasn't, don't leave stuff lying around where I could get to it, because I will eat it.

All in all, it was a pleasant experience and, while I wouldn't do it every week, once a month is definitely a possibility.

Котоматрица - LOLCAT

Котоматрица

Смотреть ещё!

Sinai Reunion - R' Vashovsky's Class of 1992

Zev Shifrin had an idea of doing a reunion.  Possible places for this, Benny's, Shapira, kosher hooka bar on Coney Island.

If you're interested, comment.

Interested in attending:

Zev Shifrin

Moshe Ruzin

Alex Shafir

On a sidenote, I've been running a Sinai/BHI alumni directory site, add yourself.

Pesach Cooking 2009

Fish

Take 2 packs of frozen tilapia, preferably not Dagim.

Cut each fillet in half and then each half into 1" wide pieces.

Sprinkle with fish spices.

Take 2 potatoes and cut into similar size pieces.

Start frying the potatoes in a frying pan.

After all of the potatoes have changed color, add the fish and some more fish spices.

Stir, lower the flame and cover.

Cook, stirring occasionally until done.

Chicken

Take 2 chickens, dump them into a crock pot 8 hours in advance and cover with your favorite sauce.

Done.

Cholent

Layer 1: chopped garlic.

Layer 2: meat, chestnuts and walnuts.

Layer 3: salt, pepper, red hot paprika, honey, ground nutmeg.

Layer 4: yams, squash, ground meat, 2-3 hot dogs, 3 eggs.

Use a cup of coke or some slivovits for flavor.  Unfortunately no beer.

Totally unexpected

Well, this was somewhat unexpected.  For a couple of weeks NY's been gnawing on his fist, slobbering all over and having bouts of screaming.  Sounds like teething, but at three months?!  Shlomik only had his first tooth at seven months and while their behavior is different, what does that have to do with teeth.  NY was exactly one pound heavier than Shlomik but since when is that a criteria.
Was very surprised to find NY sporting a new fang this morning.
Gonna post pictures later.

MTA SPAM

Tired of waiting for a bailout, MTA has decided to take matters into its own hands.

This morning, MTA started a sales campaign on Twitter.

After  each official update, there are at least 2 promotional updates bringing great offers such as Cialis, Viagra and Canadian Pharmacies.

はたらくくるま - Machines at Work

Gangsta

Wherever he goes, nothing left around but bullet holes.

Get out of my way if you want to see the end of today.

It's good day to be a gangsta

 

My old lady

Buyer beware: e-worlddirect aka M & B Supplies Inc aka Upstate Computers Corp

My wife made a purchase from e-worlddirect. They charged her credit card and changed order status to "processed". 2 weeks later, nothing. She contacts them, is promised the order will ship ASAP. Week later contacts them again and is again told the order will ship ASAP. A shipping label is created with UPS. We wait several days, UPS shows that packaged has still not been submitted. We contact BBB. Company tells BBB that they're very sorry and that they will issue a refund. Wife talks to them on the phone and they tell her they will credit back the order. It's now over 2 months since initial order and no refund has been made.

Now here's the fun part. Credit card charge was not from e-worlddirect, but from M & B Supplies, Inc, a computer supplies company in Monroe with listed contact being Sam Krausz. On a different site, president of company is listed as Sara Krausz. On a different site, when searching by phone number listed next to the credit card charge, 845-782-4306, the company is now Upstate Computers Corp. with president Sara Krausz.

I wonder, maybe my wife should've used her Jewish name when contacting this company.

The Patterson Diet

David Patterson is doing all he can to put a stop to New Yorkers' obesity.

David Patterson wants to help you by adding an over 18% "Obesity Tax" on all non diet soft drinks and energy drinks.
He wants to increase the tax on malt and beer, beer belly begone.
A 4% tax increase on taxi rides and car rentals, David Patterson knows it's healthier to walk or ride a bike.
A 4% tax on cable, satellite and pay per view, get off your couch you couch potato.

David Patterson cares about you. Show our governor your appreciation with these Patterson Diet t-shirts, sweatshirt, bumper stickers and much more. Show him you care!

Experiment #23593

I know your name

Today I've had the pleasure of meeting Frum Female. Also in attendance, Childish Behavior.

It's always fun meeting the person behind the words, seeing who they are, finding out what they do.

Bloggers I've had over for shabbat meal:
Childish Behavior
Frum Single Female
Frum Punk
Frum Skeptic
La Poutine Cachere
MAK
Mike in Midwood
The Babysitter

Bloggers I've met on the streets of Brooklyn:
Jacob da Jew

Bloggers I've known from before:
Albert Gurevich
Barb Chansky
Dina
Dude with hat
Ink Stained Hands
Noph
Sally Hazel
SubWife (I've been told I know her but I've no idea who she is and she was mean enough to tell all of our mutual friends to not let the secret out)

Bloggers I'm friends with on FB but never met in person, yet:
BLoGGinG FrOM ThE HoLy LAnD
Frum Satire
How to measure the years
Jessica
Nameless Faceless

Sarah Bee
Too Young To Teach