Don't Use Expedia or Any Other Flight Search Engines

Buying a ticket through search engines was supposed to be easy, it was supposed to be convenient and it was supposed to be cheaper and better. 

Now while it is cheaper, it is rarely better or easier or more convenient. It often so happens that one needs to change a reservation and doing so should not be difficult. With Expedia it was beyond difficult. After half hour on hold I finally found out that my return flight was valued at 0 dollars and I essentially have to buy a one way ticket.

I've been tripped up on many of these booking sites and the savings of a 100-200 dollars is no longer worth it. Either use a travel agent or purchase from the airlines. Don't waste your time or money.

Use the sites to search the flights but do not use the sites to buy them. You'll thank yourself and me later.

4:15 a.m.

Night time shenanigans with the cats.

I arrived in Israel at 10:40 p.m. on a rainy Sunday night. By 12:30am my uncle was driving me through the empty Tel Aviv streets that I barely remember having been exhausted after a 20 hour flight with two connections and no sleep.  I was exhausted but there was food on the table and much to talk about. I was in bed by 2 am and asleep soon after.

My eyes were wide awake at 4:15 am. I couldn't understand why but I figured it must be jet lag. This jet lag kept me wide awake until 8:00 am when I passed out and slept till 5:00 pm.

Next day I slept just fine, I went to bed at 4:30 am after drinking all night with my buddies and woke up at 11:00 am with a massive hangover.

Out in Tel Aviv

By night I was exhausted, especially after a few drinks with friends. I was up and online until about 2:00 am when I passed out cold. Or so I thought. 4:15, I'm awake as a rooster at sunrise. I'm up again tossing and turning until nearly eight and then I have to go to another town so no sleep for me that night either.

That next day, after two hours of sleep, a two hour train journey to center of the country, 3 hour bike ride, a huge dinner and playing for a couple hours with little kids I thought my jet lag would be over and I would be asleep all through the night. This time I'm in bed at 11. And I'm up at 4:15. Until 7:00 I am wide awake and only then do I manage to fall asleep.

This is one rough jet lag I think to myself.

That day I am driven up to the Green zone inside of West Bank not far from Hebron where I spend the evening with family. I take a nap during the day for 10 minutes and the rest of the time we eat, drink and talk until almost 2 am again. I am confident I will fall asleep. There are no cars near us, no busy streets. We are out alone, in the middle of the forest. Jet lag should be gone by now, my fifth day in Israel. I fall asleep.


And wake at 4:15. And stay up until seven. This is out of control! But now I'm told my cousin with brain trauma also wakes up at 4:00 am and wanders about the house. "Well, I guess that's family ties!" I joked. But later that night I learn my grandmother, living 40 km south also can't sleep for a couple hours every night, and also wakes up at 4:15. And as we talk, my aunt chimes in saying that that's normal, because she also wakes up at 4:15 every night, and so does my uncle.

Four people in one family. One of them from United States. Who has no problem sleeping every, until this trip to Israel.

Something fishy is going on... Do you have issues with this too? Please leave a comment.

Why Nazis Are Still A Thing

I just read a film review by  Tablet about the film No Banality in This Evil about the recently found letters by Heinrich Himmler, the evil genius behind the final solution. While he was poisoned, it shows that everyone was poisoned around him, including his kids who had done nothing to be prosecuted with him, but they lived on to carry out his legacy. Here is an excerpt about his daughter's good work:

"One of the true believers, convinced that Nazism was not yet spent, was Gudrun Himmler (daughter). After the war, she became a prominent force in an organization called Stille Hilfe (Silent Aid), which helped Nazis escape Europe and provided financial and moral support to convicted war criminals. Silent Aid fought to free convicted Nazis and to prevent accused Nazis from being extradited for trial. Himmler was neo-Nazi royalty, her lineage granting her elite status within the airless world of unreconstructed fascist ideologues."

This is why we, normal people watch Nazi parades and bands and books in disbelief wondering how these people cling to these ideas after everything that has happened. But reading articles like this one realizes that it has never gone away, those people support everything that happened and would be happy to participate if the regime were ever brought back again and if they could they would do everything the same.

In essence, Nazi party and mentality never went away, they hid and they worked, tirelessly. Their work is coming to haunt us today in streets of Jerusalem and videos of ISIS.. Like a super villain of a comic book, they ran, they hid and plotted, while we, "the hero's" hung up the cape assuming all is well.

My name is John, I'm a bum.

So you wanna talk to me and here my story? Got a dollar? Good. I'll talk for a dollar. How much you gonna make on this story? Nothin or a hundred? Well if you make a hundred come back and give me another dollar. K?
You aint gonna ask my name? John. Yours? Huh.. that's a good name.
Why you wanna talk to me? Cuz I'm the first bum you ran across? My lucky day. Well yeah I'm not busy.
What's my regular routine like? Well fuck I'll wake up here, this is my spot. How long I been here? Four years, yeah its my spot, everyone knows me here and they know its my spot. Oh so yeah, the routine. Well I wake up probably around seven or eight, go find some cans and dumpster dive till I have 105. Why 105? Cuz that's 5.25 that I need for the vodka and coke. Yeah so I need a little pick me up he he he. Why? Cuz you get shakes if you don't.
Then I go to the Gym. Why the Gym? Shower man. Free? No ha ha. I got myself a membership. First thing you do when you get on the street, get a membership for the gym.
Then I go by the store, they give me food stamps so I got food. Then I go to the library. I'll use the computer, or read. What do I read? Oh you know, mostly science fiction. I liked Chronicles of Narnia and stuff. I don't read great but I'm getting better. Where did I go to school? I didn't go much, I went in Florida. Why?? Yeah I'm probably lazy. I heard it takes hard work to learn to work. My dad wasn't around and my mom was on meth. Discipline wasn't a big thing at our home. We got drunk all the time. How old? 10-15. Dad beat on us? Yeah yea he beat on us. Before he left. Where did he go? Prison. Why? Who gives a fuck. He just did.
Have I been to prison? Yeah, I stole and dealed. But two times you know, don't want to do a third. You steal a third, like bread or something and you go for a long time. Les Miserables? Haven't read it. Am I smart? Fuck no I'm not smart. You think I'd be here if I were smart?
Do I have kids? Yeah, I got two. Two grandkids too. How do I know? Daughter lives on another black. Son's in jail. Yeah sometimes you get girlfriends here. Easier to be together you know. Were they born here? No in a hospital. Someone called I guess and got the ambulance here. Took them 15 minutes, both times. She almost died. Twice.
Do I want to be off the street...... Fuck man, it would be nice.. I just don't know man.. I can't hold a job man you know. Cuz like I'm good now but sometimes my fucking brain ain't so good. I was in construction and I went crazy, almost put a 2x4 through my boss. Didn't remember it either. I was arrested but boss didn't press charges.
You live out here? Oh, in the burbs. Had a good childhood? Yea.. Parents still there? That's nice. You help them? They help you? Oh that's better. Why are you doing this? Journalism school. Sounds expensive. Yeah, no way for me..
Get robbed here? Easy, you know, shoes, blankets anything.. you know. But it's the newbies, cuz you seem them later and you beat them up. So everyone is honest you know, no one takes your stuff. Except cops. Yeah cops. They like fucking with us. See something nice, confiscated. Why? I think they get bored.
What kinda people here? Oh all sorts. Mike was smart there but then you know broke his back. Dissability? No, he had his own business, can't get disability. If you aint got family to help then you're on your own. He said he lasted for a while. It's not so bad for guys like him and me. You know I was like here after 15 when I ran away. Mike came here late but he was slow, you know. First the house, then car then tent then you just got a mattress. Jose, there he was in Nam, can't work. Bar was a stripper but you know, looks and money don't last. She was doing tricks I heard before but that don't last too. Like you know after five years girls like her go. Why? You know.. just fucking gets sick and dies.
So yeah after the library, you make the rounds, maybe sit on corner if you feel social, get more cash when tourists walk around or the businessmen, they like feeling guilty so they sometimes give more. Oh yeah I know they'll give. Feel guilty sons of bitches. Fucking privilege and shit. Why were they fucking born in a nice family, gave them shit, got them to college, you know they did. For every asshole that paid his way is a hundred who didn't. They think we game the system but they fucking game the system. Yeah I knew a gal with five kids who got an extra hundred. But I read them newspapers, half them pricks don't pay taxes. I'd pay taxes if I could, mother fuckers...  But shit what did this country give to me? My dad beat me, I skipped school, I did meth, did I get help? Fuck no. I got sent to jail. Did I get help in jail? Fuck no.

But you know.. I got it better than some.. Look at Jose that poor fuck. He's still in Nam. Every Veterans day he goes to to city hall and spits on it. Spits on every fucking person walking by him for sending him to Nam, bringing him back and leaving him to die here like a dog. He told me gooks in Nam get better life than he a "Veteran" here.

Am I happy? Fuck you man, take your dollar bitch ass. You sleep here one night and I'll see how you're happy. Yeah you keep walking you privileged little fuck. Write your fucking little paper, hope you feel good and choke on it. Fucking pity man. Hate you fucks with your fucking pity man.

Sorry man.. sorry... not you.. you're a good kid. I gotta go. Gonna get some more cans, I can use a drink. Aw thanks brother, appreciate the five. God bless.

Sometimes, It's Good To Be Fired.

Landing in Santiago. A view from above. All Rights Reserved

Today I let go of my baby. A machine I slaved on for the past 30 weeks was being worked on by the techs at a company which will allow families to have children after they thought they no longer could.  After many days and nights and weekends I delivered it. It was behind schedule and probably can be better but it was my first time taking a product from scratch to finish.

And just as I thought, upon successful delivery, I was given my last pay check. I was let go effective immediately.

It is hard to be bitter about a place that was always a placeholder, a place to make a little money before jumping somewhere else, a boiler room environment that was fun and stressful. It is tough to be bitter with a company where I couldn't be who I wanted to be and which is the way it is because it just is and there is no sense of changing it.

When you follow your gut, things act in beautiful timing and this must be one of those times. Incidentally, today was when our company, Phittle made a baby too. Today was the unveiling of our prototype. Three days earlier we had incorporated.

It has been an interesting year. I sold my home, I got out of debt, I wrote the book and now, onto the next stage.

Sure I'm scared and nervous and worried. After never having held a job for more than two years I worry I won't find another, I worry about my rent and dwindling down my savings. But at the same time, I realize there is a reason I've never worked at a place for longer than two years. There's a reason, I bought a ticket to Tel Aviv for Thanksgiving.  There was a reason I broke my own heart and a reason why I finally let go of the club I founded when finishing college.

Maybe I'm in denial, maybe I should be more scarred and more disappointed in myself. Even though I tried as hard as I could and not rue what I could have done differntly. Maybe this is just me dealing with something and putting a positive spin.. Or maybe there's always a reason and that's because we are all masters of our lives, even when we don't realize it.  Maybe the worst we can do is be blind to our true wants and desires, our real calling, the worst is to fight who we are and try being something we are not. Maybe doing that,z is the ultimate failure. 

America: You're Funny- Halloween

You America have scared most of your parents' shitless with endless Amber alerts and kidnapped children on TV. Kids would rather die than go to ask help from a stranger and immigrant parents that come to US from countries where kids like me ran wild all over town until late into the night, lock their kids up for fear of rampant kidnappers who are everywhere. So isn't it surprising after all the "No candy from a stranger," that you would confuse your children by once a year, sending them out with a specific purpose of getting candy from countless strangers?

What kind of message are you trying to send?  What is wrong with this holiday when millions of kids go begging door to door asking candy from strangers? It is totally awesome I know, but it is also very funny when you look at it from the side.

America, you're funny.

Normal Logic vs. Middle East Logic

Firebomb exploding on a policeman in Jerusalem.
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/49946-141106-jordan-warns-it-will-reconsider-pea

This week a bunch of Palestinian youths went into a "holy" Al-Aqsa mosque with firebombs and firecrackers and rocks and then began pelting police with these instruments. Police responded and now the whole middle east is up in arms. 

So let me explain the difference between middle east people and normal people.


Normal people reaction:
Well you should not have crazy youths with firebombs in a mall and while I disagree with with use of force near a holy place I think the people in charge of the holy place should not have allowed for people with weapons to jeopardize the holy place.


Middle East people reaction:
Let me ram a car into random group of people some of whom are actually Palestinians and then attack them with a metal crow bar.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/driver-plows-into-jerusalem-crowd-in-suspected-terror-attack/


Yes that's right, they think that the way you protest and show your dissatisfaction is by killing people at random. And this is random because when killed, these people are celebrated because the Middle Eastern people think that this is an honorable and noble way to act. To kill people at random as a show of dissatisfaction. Just plain murder anytime you are unhappy is a totally justifiable thing. And not only that but when police shot the man to stop him from hurting more people at random, the countries in Middle East actually are angry that they dared to stop his "dissatisfaction" Because surely life is far less important than his freedom to show his anger by killing 


Now next time you decide to criticize Israel, just consider that fact and that this is the type of people Israel is neighboring.