Idealogian

Orghrghlrghlgh

That's my best answer to the question posed on this page: How would you transcribe Homer's drooling sound into the written (or typed) word?

The cause of said drooling, in my case, is a worthy one if ever there was one: the tunnel-of-fudge cake. The recipe has a few words that bolster the salivatory effect:

You cannot use the toothpick test because the cake contains so much sugar that the center will not set but will remain a tunnel-of-fudge. You are dependent on a correct oven temperature and the 45-minute cooking time.

In other words, you really have no choice but to leave things as a gooey, oozy, half-baked mess.

Orghrghlrghlgh.

Thanks to numerous family members for the link!

Update: The creator of the bundt pan (originally called the "bund pan"), H. David Dalquist, has passed away. The pan was designed in 1950 at the request of members of the Minneapolis Chapter of the Hadassah Society, and actually first gained fame after it was used to make an award-winning tunnel of fudge cake. Now I suppose I just have to make one in his memory - he would have wanted it that way.

Did we know any of them?

My sister was discussing the tsunami disaster with my niece (almost 7 years old) and nephew (4 1/2). She explained that a lot of people had been killed by the horrible natural disaster. They asked, "Did we know any of them?" My sister said that she didn't think so.

Observed my niece: "But somebody knew them."

For me, that's often the most difficult part of contemplating such tragedies. It is painful to think of all the deaths, which are tragic in their own right. But it is almost unbearable to think of the thousands of parents who now wake every morning with the knowledge that all their children are dead. Or the thousands of children who will never again see their parents and can't understand why. For all the 80,000 dead, somebody who knew them must now live on without them.

Tsunami Disaster Relief

If you're like me, you may be hesitant to donate to an organization named the Red Cross (though they seem to have no particular religious affiliation) and you may have reservations about letting the U.N. handle your money. If you are, you can also check out the Joint Distribution Committee or other options.

Update: My father suggested a better reason to not donate through the Red Cross - their (mis)handling of the funds donated for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Live Support

OK, so those birthday ruminations I mentioned a while back haven't really been forthcoming. They've been on the tip of my proverbial pen for the past couple of weeks and haven't quite made it out, and all my other blogging has gotten backed up behind them. So what say we forget about them for now, and maybe I'll get back to them later, and they'll just be un-birthday ruminations? All in favor? Aye. All opposed?

Good. First order of business now that I'm back is a transcript of this IM session my dad (whose screen name has been changed to protect the innocent) had with AOL billing support:

Welcome REUVENSDAD ...
Connecting to server. Please wait...
Connected to server. An agent will be with you shortly
MHI 66667422 has joined this session!
Hello, ReuvensDad. Welcome to Live Billing Support. My name is Adam.
REUVENSDAD stated the question or problem as: I spoke to someone at AOL, renewed at 9.95 per month, for 6 months, got a confirming email. I now received a written letter form aol saying i renewed at 240 for a year..
MHI 66667422: Welcome to Billing Live, ReuvensDad. How can I make your online experience more enjoyable?
MHI 66667422: I am pleased to meet you, ReuvensDad. :-)
REUVENSDAD: did you read my question?
MHI 66667422: I apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced concerning this matter.
MHI 66667422: Please allow me a moment to review this for you.
REUVENSDAD: ok
MHI 66667422: Thank you for your understanding and patience with this matter.
REUVENSDAD: when i checked my status it seemed to say 9.95 per month
REUVENSDAD: don't know why i got letter stating otherwise
MHI 66667422: Thank you for waiting, I apologize that I took longer than expected. MHI 66667422: Please hold while i post the credit of 1 free month on your account.
MHI 66667422: Please disregard the last response. I apologize for the confusion it may have caused. The message you received was intended for another member I am currently assisting as well.
REUVENSDAD: you deal with more than one person at a time?
MHI 66667422: Your current AOL price plan is the Annual 239.40/yr with unlimited dial-up.
REUVENSDAD: what plan goes into effect on dec 24
MHI 66667422: To review your pricing plan in the Membership Details at AOL Keyword: Billing, simply refer to the Dial-Up Price Plans or Broadband Price Plans AOL Offers option by clicking the links on the right side of the window.
REUVENSDAD: i did that
REUVENSDAD: had the right plan
REUVENSDAD: but i got letter from aol confirming something else
MHI 66667422: Please disregard the mailing you have received as this may have been sent in error. We sincerely apologize the inconvenience this may have caused you.
REUVENSDAD: my pending price plan is 9.95 per month, right?
MHI 66667422: Yes, you are correct.
REUVENSDAD: well -- aol should be more careful about letters they send
MHI 66667422: I apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced concerning this matter.
REUVENSDAD: ok
MHI 66667422: Is there anything else that I can help you with?
MHI 66667422: Not to rush, I hope you are still with me?
REUVENSDAD: nope
REUVENSDAD: that's it
MHI 66667422: I want to thank you for allowing me to assist you here in Billing Live. If you need further assistance, we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I hope I exceeded your expectations of our Customer Support.
MHI 66667422: We believe this is an excellent way for us to help our members conveniently and make your online experience more enjoyable. I am glad I was able to exceed your expectations today!
MHI 66667422: Thank you for visiting Billing Live. Have a wonderful night!
REUVENSDAD: who said you exceeded my expectations?
MHI 66667422: Thank you for visiting Billing Live. Have a wonderful night!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Hooray! Today's my birthday!

27. 3³. 3 x 3 x 3. Three threes. It's really a nice number, actually, at least from a mathematical perspective. As an age - well, that remains to be seen. Stay tuned.

Birthday ruminations to be posted later.

Religious Inequality

This has been the scene in front of the New York Stock Exchange for the past few weeks:

Looking at the picture, you're likely to notice a few things, in the following order:

1. The gigantic American "flag" made out of lots of little lights
2. The humongous, extravagant, six-story-tall Xmas tree
3. The smaller American flags hanging from the front of the buildling
4. The small, cheap-looking, six-foot-tall chanukkiyah (menorah)
5. The small, cheap-looking, six-foot-tall Kwanzaa kinara

It's a somewhat pathetic attempt at an interdenominational display, and I actually find it slightly offensive. I generally don't mind that the "holiday" atmosphere that pervades this time of year is overwhelmingly Christmas-y - New York is, after all, overwhelmingly Chrtistian. The music overload may be somewhat nauseating, but it doesn't particularly bother me to see other people celebrating their religion (if you can call these displays "religious").

What bothers me, though, is the sense that we Jews are being thrown a bone - and a really scrawny bone, at that. If you'd like to celebrate Xmas, by all means do so. If you'd like to include Chanukkah in the celebration, even better. But to honor one with a sixty-foot-tall tree and the other with a six-foot-tall menorah only serves to emphasize how much you value one over the other, and suggests that the menorah is there simply as a token symbol to appease the Jews (and your own PC conscience). Considerations of pirsumei nissa aside, it'd be fine with me if the menorah weren't there at all, but the way things are smacks of condescension.

The Goldman Sachs lobby has a much more appropriate display, where the tree and menorah are within an inch of the same height:

But then, what do you expect from a company named "Goldman Sachs?"

Chanukkah Music

Those (like myself) too ignorant of the current music scene to fully appreciate the Chanukkah Hey-Ya (via Shosh) may prefer the slightly more classic, and better done, My Menorah (via Chayyei Sarah).

Digital Camera

My wonderful parents have gotten me a new digital camera for Chanukkah/my birthday. I've posted some of my first "real" shots (i.e., not the test ones of my living room, desk, and kitchen) on flickr. (It's a 7 megapixel camera, but I've sized the images down to ease sharing.)

Hopefully, more to come at some point.

Tool

E [explaining why he and some friends did something stupid when they were younger]: We weren't the brightest tools in the shed.

Me: Um, I think you mean, "the sharpest tools in the shed."

E: Yeah, that too. We weren't the best metaphor-makers, either.

Google Suggest

Very awesome.

On the second day of Chanukkah...

For your listening pleasure, a classic Chanukkah song (or, the first two minutes of it anyway).

By Safam

Chanukkah Samei'ach

As of late, my mind has been occupied by things other than blogging. I'll be back soon, I hope, but until then, I couldn't let Chanukkah pass without relinking to the Flash animation I posted last year. There, that should keep you busy.

Chanukkah Samei'ach!