Helping Israel While You Waste Time

January 25, 2009 - 1:31 AM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Blogging, General, Life, Pop Culture, Technology 

There are some people (lots, actually) who really get into role-playing fantasy type games – nowadays, mostly online. They’re a waste of time, as far as I’m concerned. These are the same people who like thrill rides at amusement parks, I have noticed. Not me; I can’t be bothered with online games (who has time?) and for me, just driving down the highway is enough of a thrill ride!

But helping spread Israel’s message online is something I always have time for. And believe it or not, I discovered an online game that does exactly that! It’s called PMOG, “The Passively Multiplayer Online Game.” Basically, you take on “missions” that entail your surfing through internet in a guided format. The author of a mission assembles web site s/he wants to introduce people to, and you get points for visiting. You can also lay mines at sites, which explode (the screen shakes a little) when a fellow PMOGer surfs to the site (they lose points, too). You can also “leave some love,” ie points, for someone to pick up at the site. There are also associations, merit badges, weapons, defensive measures, etc. – all the “tools of the trade” that you would find on a fantasy game site, except this one takes place all over the internet.user_default

The Israel connection in PMOG comes with the missions members can organize and leave for others. PMOG users who take missions (for which they earn points) are directed to sites by the mission organizers, the idea being that they discover sites – and information – they might not have known. A few enterprising people have built Israel missions. One, called “Israel media,” took me to sites like the Israel Internet Statistics, and a couple of pages about anti-Israel bias in the media. Another mission is sort of an Israel travelogue, taking users to sites describing sites in Israel.

Most of the missions in PMOG, it should be noted, are “fun” missions, like “Wizards and other Magical Beings,” “National Peanut Butter Day,” “Ukeleles,” etc. Of course, a game is supposed to be fun – but this one is educational, too. Why not some missions on Israeli medical advances, or hi-tech stories (I’ve got a couple I could contribute!). PMOG could be an interesting educational tool!

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Nostalgia Sunday – Stuff we had to do without

November 24, 2008 - 12:41 AM by · 6 Comments
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Life, Nostalgia Sunday 

Stuff we had to do without
Back in the old days, children, not so very long ago, newly-arrived American immigrants to this dry and barren country could not buy chocolate chips for love or money.

Desperate for the foods of our native land, we took matters into our own hands. We made chocolate chips from what was available locally, stuffing a few Elite “cow” chocolate bars into a plastic bag and bashing away with a hammer. From the shards and cocoa dust, we fashioned cookies.

Moreover, there was no peanut butter. And so, we learned to roast and grind peanuts into a paste in our newly purchased 220v blenders (adding a half-cup of oil would prevent blade getting stuck in mid-grind).

There was no cream cheese to put on the New York bagels that in any case we did not have. Once again, ingenuity prevailed; we mixed one cup of yogurt with one cup of soft white cheese, hung the liquid in a cheesecloth bag over the sink and hoped for the best.

But perhaps our worst deprivation at this season, dear children, was the lack of cranberry sauce.

Emissaries were dispatched to bring us cans of the stuff. Sometimes they arrived, and sometimes they arrived bearing Tasters Choice instant coffee as well.

And when they did, it was surely a time for thanksgiving.

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