The Realities of Technology

I just realized that there are six telephone numbers associated with me, but really you can only reach me of you call two of them; and then its on the same piece of equipment.

Here's what I have:

- cell phone

- work extension in Phoenix

- work extension in Alexandria

- work extension in DC

- blackberry

- aircard

My work extension in Phoenix is forwarded to my cell phone, so you call either number, you make the same phone ring.

I am only at the desks in Alexandria and DC one to two days a week each.

My Blackberry does not have a phone plan, so call that number all you want, nothing is gonna happen (actually, I have no idea what happens, I should call it and see).

Obviously, the aircard does not receive calls.

That is a LOT of numbers to keep track of! I only know the first two to give to you because in my mind, the other four are irrelevant!

This all sounds like good justification for why I don't have a house phone.

I ran 10 miles

So, I did my first road race today (well, there was that 5k for big brothers/big sisters, but I just don't think that's the same kinda thing cause it wasn't a goal, I didn't train, and I sucked).
Anyway...
It was the Baltimore 10-mile run. Remember the challenge?

Some random thoughts about running a race:

- don't SMOKE next to a running route. Step back, away from the runners.
- My quads are not built for longer than 5 miles. If it comes up again that I will be running further than 5, I will need to engage the Tour de France training scheme.
- I don't do very well in the heat. Thank God I moved.
- The fire department had a hose going at about 7 miles. I ran right through it. THANK YOU FIRE FIGHTERS!
- At about mile 7.5 I passed a dead black cat... that was horrible.
- The finish line fell on my head. It was this big inflated plastic banner and as I was getting toward it, the side supports started deflating. Some cops pushed it up and motioned for me to run under. As I did, it fell on my head.

I haven't decided yet if I'll let any photos go public.

Fifa Feva

I had an interesting thought today, one of those that makes you go "huh".

I moved to the US in 1986 which was in the middle of the world awareness about apartheid. I had some experiences those early years, as a young adult, that made me just stop telling people where I was from. I would sometimes try to hide my accent on the phone, and (from some not so positive experiences) if I was with a group of African Americans, I would guide the conversation so that it never landed on "so where are you from?"

Well, it's FIFA and everything is South Africa.
People are wearing jerseys on the metro, the games are on EVERYWHERE. They are streaming them in the conference room at work. Every morning the IT guy sends out the schedule.

I went to get a new ID for the Federal building I work in today. Of course, they need my passport, and they look me up. There is a TV in the room... showing the afternoon match, and everyone is talking about South Africa. So when they see where I'm from, all of these African Americans got all excited when they found out that it was South Africa.

After our trip back in December, I realized that I should be proud to claim that I am from a country that had major political change without a civil war. But it didn't really sink in... today I realized, I don't need to have those conditioned responded of a cringe, but instead, should claim my country of origin with pride.

I am from South Africa.

Traffic Report for my commute today

Slow down on route caused by large fluffy obstacle. Patches of high temperatures caused by sun coming in the window. Avoid stepping on cat toys. Overall, a soft peaceful journey is expected.

Windows* Software Developers, Why do you do it?

At some point in the progression of the Windows operating system life-cycle, software developers started building their applications to come to the front, or some function to become the active function in your workspace when they reached a certain point in loading or carrying out a function.

Let me see if I can explain that a different way in case I'm too brief up top.

You set something to work (your HP Solution center scanning a document) and you go back to what you were doing - typing a document in MS Word. What happens is that the scanning software gets to a certain point where it is "processing" and has a function button that says "cancel".
The Developers program this screen to come to the front of your windows and be the active screen, and since you don't realize this is happening because you are typing a sentence, you hit the space bar in your progression of composing something, which activates the "cancel", and now your HP software thinks you canceled the scan. It stops, and you have to start all over again.

Let's do another example.
You are working on a document, you click on the Outlook button to get it going. All through its opening process - who KNOWS what it's doing at that moment - it forces itself to be your active workspace, and there is nothing that it's done that needs your attention... it just wants to be in front! and so you have to keep clicking back to MS Word (or your browser, or notepad, or whatever else you were doing).

I remember when this switch happened. I was in grad school when this shift in thinking happened.

Windows gives you the option to have multiple applications working/open/active at the same time.
thanks! I like that...
but
I know you are there, scanner, because I made you work! I am ok with you finishing your job and then waiting quietly in the background until I'm ready for your product.

So why, oh why do you think you need to come to the front and remind me that you exist?
Why do you do it?
...because you think I'm stupid and need you to make decisions for me?

STOP IT!






*edited to add "Windows" because this does not happen on my Mac.

On Falling

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

- Nelson Mandela


(I love Honest Tea)

Taking a Break

Just got back from two weeks in Australia with my family there. Had a couple nights at my Dad's farm outside of Sydney – very peaceful, very Folb. 

For the second week, we went up the coast to Byron Bay – the most easterly point on mainland Australia.

It’s a beautiful beach town with interesting shops, magnificent views, and enough to keep the five of us occupied for the week.

I went diving at these little islands... 

...saw couple kinds of shark (wobbegongs and leopard shark), and lots of fish.
Funny thing... there were two women in my group who were from South Africa, and two snorkelers on the boat who were also from South Africa. The seas were very choppy and the snorkelers got very seasick so spent their time puking.

Have you seen these “fotopols” before?

They are placed in strategic positions so that you can take photos like this:

(that's the view east of Australia)

My stepmother gave the trip a twist by asking that we try as many of the restaurants in The Good Food Guide as possible. This is a restaurant review list made by the Sydney Morning Herald, and there are a number of restaurants from the Central Gold Coast recommended.

We tried restaurants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But there is one that I would like to recommend above the others.

FatBelly Kat in Brunswick Head.

A stylized Greek restaurant run by a husband and wife team. I believe she is the chef, and he the manager. The service was impeccable, the wine the best, and the food absolutely amazing.

If you ever find yourself around these parts, give it a try.

We did.

Another restaurant I enjoyed was Harvest in Newrybar. We went here for breakfast and dinner. Even though it was not in The Good Food Guide, it was recommended by people my stepmother knows. The food was amazing and the ambiance was very well done.

The other interesting thing about the trip, was that I was the only non-Aussie Folb there. This hasn’t happened for over 20 years. Yes, I was disappointed that the rest of the gang couldn’t make it, and yes I missed them. But I tried to look on the bright side. I figured this would be a good opportunity for me to have some quality time with everyone…

And it was… I had great chats with my Dad and Stepmom, with my Dad solo, and with each of my brothers, together and one-on-one. It’s always been easy being with my brothers, even though they didn’t really grow up with me, and me them.

I feel like with this trip, I got to know who they are as men. And that made all the hours and hours of flying worth it.

I hate running...

I don’t like working out, either.

I’m a pragmatic/logical person, and with this whole MBA and all that, I understand the concept of ROI…

You can ride a bike for 2 hours

You can sit on the elliptical for 1 hour

Or you can run for 20 mins.

Since I want to be healthy and fit, with the lowest amount of time investment, running is the logical option.

I was talking to a friend of mine about this, and she challenged to me join her and her sister-in-law-to-be at a 10-mile run around the Baltimore zoo. I decided to start a training program to meet the goal well before the race because I was really worried about going from the 1 mile I was at, to the 10 miles I needed. That meant that I needed to come home from Australia at 4 miles.

I am proud to say, I made it!

I figured I’d share the runs I took ‘cause they were pretty unique – thanks to my new favorite website www.mapmyrun.com.

The first run was 2 miles at my Dad's "farm". My youngest brother did the run with me, and given that he's a super fantastic soccer player, and could have beat me running backwards, I appreciated his patience to take this run with me.

The next run was around my Dad's house, and it was beautiful!

Then we went up the coast to Byron Bay (more on that in another post), and I took another 2 mile run along the ocean road. 

I did that run a second time, and made it a little longer. 

Before we left, I took on my ambitious goal... 4 miles. 

and yikes, I picked a route with some HILLS!

you can see the profile at mapmyrun too.

Since I've been home, with my severe jetlag, I've managed a 2 and 3 miler... and this weekend, I'm taking on a 5!

Yikes!!!

Lunch

I just took a quick 2mi round-trip walk to have lunch at a unique restaurant - Sauca.

Its a sunny 65 degrees in DC, and everyone was out walking. 

I went past Banana Republic, the Navy Memorial, the old Post Office, the IRS, and stopped at the steps of the National Portrait Gallery to grab a European inspired sausage wrap here:

You find out where the Saucamobile by watching Twitter... or checking their website.

On my way back, I watched as a group of people closed off a block of street to setup the farmer's market that will be there this afternoon and evening.

I love living here.

Fact

Man, I am a lousy blogger.

Truth is, I've been spending the months figuring out what the routine of my life is... and it's getting pretty well defined.

I travel to the District most days of the week, and to my company's office once a week or so. Basically, I work in 3 places. This means I carry my "office" with me... and I don't have any filing.

I have been very good about the Pilates, and have really been enjoying the two instructors. Although one is moving to Budapest next month, so we'll see how instructor 3 is. I was thinking the other day about how many instructors I've had over the two years that I've been doing Pilates, I believe its eight so far.

A friend of mine talked me into running a 10 mile race through the Baltimore zoo in June... at the time, January, it seemed pretty do'able. I've been trying really hard to add distance to my runs, but oh my do I hate the running. It is so easy to find a reason not to. sigh. I am going to have to knuckle down now and work on it, or I will pass out from being at AT for too long!

Other than that, errands, home maintenance, pet attention, and personal experience all thrown in.

I am loving living in VA. I loved the fall, the winter, and now the spring. So many birds, so many colors. A cool breeze.

I'm taking a short break from regular life to visit my family in Australia. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and being in their world. I will miss my family at home.

We have big plans for the summer... redo parts of the garden, build some garden furniture, take some trips around the area, kayak/canoe on a river - the Potomac preferably, and see some of the sites of "The War of Northern Aggression".

Can't wait!

I will try to be better at having a presence here too.... promise.

"A Ghost Story" (my brother at 9, installment 6)

October 10, 1980

One day in October, my dad came up with an idea. “Let’s go to Scotland”, he said. We all agreed and so the next day, Whoosh! We were off on holiday. “I’m going to the clothes shop”! said my mother. “I’m going to buy some shoes”, my sister said. We all went to the hotel next day; we all went for a walk. We walked three miles and came to a stop. “Help” my mother said, she had seen something. “It’s a monster”! my sister said. We ran home and jumped in bed. The next day we went there again. We were three meters ferther and we saw it again. I big, long, white ghost. We ran as it came after us, but it stopped when it saw the city. The next night we went again. Suddenly we heard a noise, a howl. It was like this, “Whooooo"!!!! It suddenly started to rain. We all ran into a cave. There were bones in a truck by the wall and a crocodile tied to a stake on the ground. Suddenly a man came in and said, “I have a few prisoners,” he said. “What do we do with them”? “Give them to Brutus”! he pointed at the crocodile. “Or, should I eat you”! Suddenly he turned into a ghost. “Whoooooo!!!!!!!” he cried. We didn’t stay much longer. We all ran. The ghost ran after us. Right into the city, but he lost his way. All I know is that if you go to Scotland and meet up with a ghost, run.

THE END

"The Bashful Bed" (my brother at 9, installment 5)

27 October 1980

Assignment: Imagine that you are one of three children. Write a story about the first adventure you had when you twisted the bed knob and wished:

One September day, I found myself being woken up by a tickle. I woke up and found a piece of paper on my stomach. I read it and it said:

TO MARTIN: THERE IS A MAN OUTSIDE FIDDLING IN THE LITTLE BOX.
FROM,
YOUR BED.

“From your bed”! I screamed; “Yoooou”! “Help”! I jumped out of my bed and ran to my mother. “Help”! I jumped into her bed: “mom. There is a mo mo mo moving bed in my room”! “What” she cried “It’s your imagination son, you’re just thinking it”. She got out of bed and walked down the passage. I was tip-toeing behind. She suddenly heard a sound. It went like this: zzz snore zzzz grunt zzzz snore zzz etc. “Help” she cried and fainted. (Right on me)!!
I crawled to the door and came face to face with my bed. “But I didn’t turn your knob”, I said. “I know” my bed said. “But there is a man out-side I’m scared of”. “That’s only the postman, stupid”! “I know I am shy”, said the bed. “But I’m a nice bed, I promise”. “I know, I know”. I said.

I just don't get it.

Why does Tiger Woods need to apologize to anyone other than his wife?

He is not a public official, his notoriety does not come from service he does for the public.

He has a skill, in a sport.

Is the implication that he won't win if we don't forgive him?
Is the implication that you won't watch golf or support golf if he isn't sorry?

I just don't get it.

Nor do I understand why it is news.
Why is it the top story everywhere?
Why is it the most talked about thing to have happened last week?

AMERICANS ARE WINNING THE MOST MEDALS AT THE OLYMPICS!
That's news!
That is something to which we should give our attention.

Not gossip.

Posted on Centerville Elementary School sign

"Report Cards Go Home on Friday"

...you cannot pretend you didn't get one.

A Modern Woman

Sometimes I think through all the "services" a woman should have on hand... some are from my own experience, but then I'll hear something or read a blog where I realize there is another service that some women have on hand. To help those young ladies on their way, here's a list.

Hair stylist - cut and color

Aestheticism - wax, thread, facials

Nail tech - mani pedi, acrylics

Seamstress/tailor - everything should be custom fit for you

Dry cleaner

Nanny/mother's helper

Massage therapist

Ob/Gyn

Personal Trainer?

If you figure the schedule of how often you see all the personal hygene services, you can book up your life just with pampering.

How many of these do you have?
Did I miss any?

Another Dose of Family

So, as planned, I'm making time and taking effort to spend more time with my family.

My cousin K and her brother M have daughters that are very close in age (months apart), so this is the season of the Batmitzvah. Their parents (my dad's sister and her husband) are on an around-the-world United ticket to go to all these events. Since K lives in Toronto, I figured, what the hey, I will go! Its a 50min flight! K has twins, so its a double-header celebration.

I flew up on Thursday so that I could participate in all the weekend's events.

Every morning, I was up early with my aunt and uncle. We would make some coffee/tea and breakfast and sit around and chat. It was very nice to have given them this time to get to know me better. As I've said before here (I think), I've gotten to an age where I know who I am, and I know what I know; I know what I'm willing to change/work on; and I know what is intrinsically me. When you are young having conversations like this with your elders, it can be difficult because you feel like you are defending who you are, you feel like you have to claim your specific-ness. It was much more fun to have these conversations at this age, where I can really contribute something to the general trend. We talked about politics, family, work, life, everything.

In the afternoons, we would run errands with K, help her get ready for the 3 big events she had planned:
Shabbat dinner, Kiddush (lunch after service on Sat), celebration lunch with friends and family on Sunday.

I am so impressed with my cousin K. She spends her time running after her 3 kids, keeping her home running, working full time, and if you know here on Facebook, thinking, looking, enjoying the world. When you are with her you find that she does all of this with a serene calm, not flustered by any of the bumps that are inevitably in your way. Not once did she show any stress about these three huge events that she had organized for the weekend.

Friday night dinner was basically prepared by her friends. Throughout the day on Friday, people stopped by with the dishes they had prepared. The brisket and turkey came from a local caterer.


We set a table for 25 people... in a long row of three tables.


The guest list was all family, but 1. K's husband's brother and sister with all their sons, his parents, a cousin and her family, K's parents and me, and a friend. It was a warm, cozy, family evening thick with the traditions of a Shabbat dinner.


Saturday was a big day for the girls, they had prepared speeches to be delivered after the service. We were at Shul for most of the service saying hello to friends and family who came for the celebration. In the middle of the service, the Rabbi called up the Dad and gave him the blessing for the girls. Then the men started dancing, doing a hora right there to celebrate the girls. They were signing the mazeltov song... ok, not quite like that.

After the service, the ladies all moved to the front of the Shul and the girls went up on the bimah to give their speeches. The piece of the Torah that was read that day was about Moses and the plagues, so they talked about what that portion meant to them, and how that related to their recognition as adults. They did a fantastic job. K got up to give a speech too, and it was so special to be there celebrating with them.

We went to the Kiddush, and yikes! there were SO MANY people smooshed into the room, you had to fight your way in to the table, back out, over to the drinks... I just ate everything as quickly as possible so that noone would bump into me while they were fighting their way around.

We made our way back home, for some afternoon rests. K and the girls began the process of beautification for their big party that night with their friends. There was too much to do with two girls, so they asked me to help. We all crammed into K's bathroom with nailpolish, makeup, curling irons, nylons, and excitement. It was really fun to watch these two get ready for one of their first parties, all primped up in their special dresses for the occasion. It was moments like this throughout the weekend that allowed me to see who they were. Just like I had given time with my aunt and uncle, they gave time for me.

After the young'uns went off to whoop it up, my aunt, K, and I went over to the Sunday brunch venue to prep. The venue was the "party room" at K's parents-in-law's condo... so while we were setting tables, laying out plates, setting up sound systems, putting away drinks, K's mom-in-law was helping by running up and down to get those little things that personalize a space.

The Sunday brunch was the last of the big events. It was a mixture of friends and family. I left from the venue for the airport with the Chicago side of the family. Our flights left within an hour of each other.

It was a great weekend! Full of celebration, family, and community. I am very grateful to have finally realized that I can experience my extended family so close to where I live. I can't wait for all the forthcoming experiences we will all have together.

"Marsmen" (my brother at 9, installment 4)

4 JUNE 1990
MARSMEN
Marsmen Live in a space, well actually Marsmen live on Mars. One day Marsman 1 was working in his crater cruncher, he was making a moat around his house. It was dusty so he went to Marsman 2 for some tea. Marsman 3 walked past and came for tea too. We had talked for quite a while when Marsman 1 came up with an idea. “Why don’t we start a town?” He said. Good idea said Marsman 1 and Marsmanm 2 and Marsman 3. So that is why Mars is called “Marsmenmound”!

This is the east side of Mars where Marsmenmound is. See Marsmen 1, 2 and 3?
Here is the code:
1 is for Marsman 1
2 is for Marsman 2
3 is for Marsman 3
(Yellow dot) is for Marsman 1’s house
(Red dot) is for Marsman 2’s house
(Pink dot) is for Marsman 3’s house
And (11 dots) is for Mars.
The End.

The picture shows an orange fence surrounding Marsmound. Inside the fence are hundreds of brown circles. There are a yellow, a red, and a pink spaceship shaped house. In the front of each house is a Marsman (antenna and all) and a crate-cruncher.

"The Wonder Wagon" (my brother at 9, installment 3)

Aaah, the mind of a 9-year old boy!


August 1980
THE WONDER WAGON
My name is Jack.  I live in Iran.  Iran is like a big, big desert with a few trees and shrubs.  It is not like the USA with big buildings.  The biggest tent is 10 feet high.  Sitting in the meadow was my favorite thing.

"Whacking' the wagons go past and the clip-clop of the horses on the pebbles.  It was a sunny day and the Shah was passing by.  We all bowed and prayed to him.  He came by me and gave me a box.  I looked inside it and saw a mallet, a chisel, a block of wood, and a paper saying that said, "A toy wagon".  There were two horses inside made of plastic.

I ran home and began.  Shavings were on the floor and my baby brother was catching them.  After a week it was finished and was a work of art.  I took it outside to feed the camels. I put a bit of food in a little berry shell and put in the wagon.  Then I pushed the wagon over to the camels who tipped it over.  I fed the camels and turned around.  I saw the wagon move.  The little horses moved.  I ran into the city if Tabriz.  A man was sitting and eating apples.  I put down the wagon and it ran into the man.  The man had such a fright he fell into an oil well.  He came out black. I then went to the market where I saw a girl knitting.  I put down the wagon and it ran and bumped into her.  She lost all her stitches.  I had such fun.

I lived so happily from then on.

The end.

"The Captured Coral" (my brother at 9, installment 2)

Another story from my brother, at nine years old.
I remember bedtime stories about Pudge and Fish Fingers.

"THE CAPTURED CORAL"
9 September

One August day the captain, Mr Huges, of the Alexander the Great, was getting ready for the long voyage from Spain to Switzerland. At 12:00 the captain called his crew from the pub. They were very drunk. One by one the captain pushed them in the sea. As they came out they were as healthy as a doctor. Sam, Howard, Mr Pudge, Jofhy and their parrot, Fish-Fingers. It was now 1:30 and the harbour was open. The ship moved out to the blue sea like a paper boat. they hoped to make it to Switzerland in two weeks time. But now another day or two. Time past and the saw Rome. A bleek place with tall buildings, short buildings, and small houses. At the end of the point of the island, they saw a reef. A big beautiful place. The ship went past slowly. the crow's nest suddenly shouted. "Sir, the stern". the captain turned the ship but it was much too late. "Crunch" they heard. The ship broke in two. Water filled the hull. Down went the bow. "Help!" screamed Howard the cook. He drowned. The captain and Pudge, Sam and Fish-Fingers were saved. "Where is Jophy?" said Sam. They all looked about. They gave up and started to explor the reef. Howard was dead for three minutes now. The men suddenly saw a chest. Inside was a big piece of coral. "The Stolen Coral" screamed Sam who had just been reading the newspaper. The men were lucky enough to find the boat. They rowed back and were now big heroes.

Going back in time... "What a Shot" (my brother at 9, installment 1)

I have a lot of respect for my brother, the oldest of the three, the only full-brother, the one who is 18 months younger than me. It has always seemed that he had all the luck, all the talent, all the coordination, all the creativity.

He got through school without any studying, he skied downhill the first time he put on a pair. He taught me how to ride a bike, he taught me how to drive. He can play a guitar, a piano, drums, anything he tries is intuitive.

When we were kids, until I was 13, we shared a room (remember the photo of the house?).
Sometimes, when I couldn't go to sleep, he'd tell me stories. The theme/character I remember is the stretchy man, who could stretch to walk over cars and buildings.

Recently, my mom found a bunch of his writing assignments from when he was nine (Standard 2/Grade 4)... I don't know if he'll mind, and if he does I'll take them down, but I'm going to post them here on my "online journal". They make me remember those stories that he told me, and they remind me of those times that he and I were alone - my best friend.

"What a Shot"
August 1980

I was once in a circus. My part was the human cannonball. It was a dangerous act and every night I went on I took two aspirins, a Disprin and a teaspoon of medicine. It was the first night of our act and I was about to go on. "And now ladies and gentlemen, we have the Great Martino Palimino"
I went on. The feeling of fear hit me and I was petrified. You could see my mother in the audience with her hands on her eyes. I could hardly go up the ladder to the barrel. The Ringmaster said "Please ladies and gentlemen, babies, and youngsters, we now see a human cannonball risking his life, so please keep quiet"!!

The flame lit, I was ready. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, shoot!" Pow!! I went flying into the air, the wind rushed past me. I hit the net at a great speed, but I bounced right onto the canvas floor. Wham!

"Ouch", I screamed. The Ringmaster ran to me and asked me to stand up. I could not. I was rushed to the hospital. The next day my feet were amputated. My doctor said, "You did not break your bones on the floor, but from hitting a pole as you flew past it."

The End