Family

Glass Half Full – Better Place Transforms Station Error into Customer Service Case Study

February 20, 2013

Hey Better Place electric car aficionados: ever wonder what would happen if you pulled into one of the company’s fully automated battery swap stations and it didn’t work? Well, I’m here to tell the tale. It’s a classic glass half empty/half full situation. Half empty: the station broke down and we weren’t able to get […]

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Election Day “Live Blog”

January 22, 2013

(I decided to “live blog” election day from the Blum family perspective. The first part appeared on the Israelity website only. Here’s part two.) I don’t know if it was the fresh air or the physical exertion of our two-hour  hike earlier in the day (see the previous post), but we did it. We all made up our […]

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Breaking “Distance”

December 31, 2012

Our daughter Merav completed an advanced communications course in the army last week that will allow her to move up in her IDF position. The one-month long program was held at a “closed” base (that’s one where you sleep there, do guard duty, and can’t leave unless given special permission) and was similar in style […]

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Working through War

November 20, 2012

Are we at war? Because, if so, then I have a valid excuse to miss my deadlines. If not, if this is still an “operation,” then I’m just a procrastinator with a short attention span. Such are the realities of being a news junky, a passionate defender of Israel, a father of two children in […]

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First Siren

November 19, 2012

When I was growing up in California, I had a terrible fear of being caught in the shower when an earthquake hit. What would I do, stressed my pre-teen self; would I run out into the street stark naked in order to save myself? How would I live down the embarrassment? Or would I risk […]

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Sandy Cash’s Musical Journey

November 14, 2012

Local folk singer extraordinaire Sandy Cash didn’t set out to become an ambassador for Israel through music. She originally fancied a career as a rabbi. But 25 years in the Middle East have transformed the talented singer-songwriter and, with the release of her fourth CD, “Voices from the Other Side,” Cash’s musical message of hope, […]

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Insourcing Judaism

September 25, 2012

It is Friday afternoon and the Tel Aviv Port is hopping. The lounge chairs at the beach-front restaurants and pubs are packed as patrons fill up on seafood and down decadently prepared cocktails and imported beer. Joggers, roller-bladers and cycling enthusiasts whip around the curved wooden plaza, fashioned after the waves of the water below, […]

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Ten Years of This Normal Life

September 11, 2012

The original logo for This Normal Life It was ten years ago that I started writing This Normal Life, my personal blog. And for ten years, I have posted a minimum of one essay per week. Actually, in the first year, I published more like 2-3 a week, but as the blog became more established […]

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The Personal Beach Concierge

August 29, 2012

I have a love-hate relationship with the beach. Speaking with friends, I know I’m not the only one. But I may have a solution…and a potential moneymaker to boot. The love part: dipping in the warm Mediterranean waters of August (after the jellyfish of July have jumped ship); feeling the sand between my toes; chilling […]

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A Date in Jerusalem

August 9, 2012

Every year on our wedding anniversary, my wife Jody and I try to get away to a bed and breakfast/spa, somewhere in Israel for a night or two. This year, however, the prices were even higher than usual – the cost for a vacation in Israel was double that for a flight and hotel in […]

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