It's Time to Stop The Terror Arsonists

See my new article in the Times of Israel.

"Please Don't Burn Israel Anymore"

From Incendiary kites to flaming balloons, the Palestinian terrorists of Hamas need to give up their hatred of Israel and the Jewish people, and embrace love for the land and peace with their neighbors. 

Hope you enjoy the article. 

Protect the Holy Land!

(Source Photo: Picsabay)

It's Time to Stop The Terror Arsonists

Measurement And Standards Are Our Friends

So I learned that Metrology is the science of measurement. 

And measurement is the foundation of scientific research and creating standards. 

Scientific research and measurement are about exploration, discovery, and innovation.

Further, it is about finding the facts; it is objective; it is truth; it is essential to maintaining integrity. 

Standards also help to ensure dependability, because there is a common reference and you know what you are getting. 

A great true story that demonstrates the importance of measurements and standards is the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.

This was the third worst urban inferno in American history. 

It destroyed over 1,500 building across 140 acres. 

Fire engines responded from as far as New York and Virginia. 

But the problem was that they invariably could not help. 

Why?  

Because their fire hose couplings could not fit on the Baltimore fire hydrants--they were not standardized.

Without standards, we don't have interoperability. 

We don't have a reference that everyone can go by. 

It's as if we're all working on our own desert islands. 

This defeats the power in numbers that make us together greater than the sum of our individual parts. 

Science and technology help us advance beyond just ourselves and today. 

Measurement and standardization help us to build a better and stronger society. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Measurement And Standards Are Our Friends

What ISIS Saw Today

So this is what ISIS saw today...

After the U.S. dropped the Mother Of All Bombs (MOAB) on it in Afghanistan.

30 feet long, 21,600 pounds, GPS-guided, equivalent to 11 tons of TNT, and a blast radius of 1 mile!

The largest non-nuclear bomb in our arsenal that sucks out all the oxygen and lights the air on fire. 

It was never used before in battle, and it is wonderful to see that we are finally pulling out the stops on radical Islamist Terrorism. 

It's time to make them crap their pants and see nothing but spots before their eyes. 

Terrorists, there is a new President in town--and the game is up! ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

What ISIS Saw Today

If I Could Get Back Time

My good friend, Jacob Elbaz, taught me this awesome saying in synagogue today:

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"Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a present. "

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Another way that my dad taught me is this:

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Today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. 

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Hope you enjoy these!

(Source Photo: Andy and Dossy Blumenthal)

If I Could Get Back Time

Metro Doesn't Always Get You There

So today the Washington D.C. Metro has a full suspension of service for at least 24 hours over the entire system. 

Metro says it is to check safety after a fire on the system on Monday, but the hastiness and extremeness of the action has many scratching their heads and asking "Terror Threat?"

Either way, better safe than sorry!

It's funny because just on the way home yesterday, I took this photo of what I believe is a advertisement for taking Metro (instead of driving) or for some reason I took it as that. 

Metro is supposed to get you there, but doesn't always. 

Still better than sitting in traffic or getting tickets downtown. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Metro Doesn't Always Get You There

Savor Every Moment

This is an awesome slow motion video from Gizmodo.

It is taken with a Phantom Flex4k camera at 1000 frames per second and high resolution 4096 x 2160.

This camera can capture "explosions, crashes, and other split-second events" in amazing detail and costs over $100,000, but in a sense it is a small price to pay for what the value of what you can get from it. 

When I watched this video of the firefighters going into action, I felt as if I was really there experiencing the true heat of the fire, the thick smell of the smoke, the fear of what lay in the dark and burning building, and the human determination for everyone working together to put it out and save lives. 

This made me think about how in rushing around all the time to do everything that others expect of us and that we expect of ourselves that we often aren't fully in touch with the moment. 

It's more like we are just trying to get through it while everything is passing us by, and we are in a disconnected fugue state.

I imagine that at the end of life, we look back at the many moments that we don't fully remember, experienced in just a cold and hurried manner, and that we never got to really feel or savor

If only we had been in the moment, maybe we would have listened to others better, been more empathetic, less judging and critical, and said and done the right things more often. 

Being in the moment would enable us to more fully experience it, remember it, learn from it, grow with it, be together in it--and really be alive (and not a bunch of Walking Dead zombies half the time)!

This video is an eye-opener and wake up call to slow down, experience, and feel life, rather than have it just pass us so quickly and shallowly by. ;-)

Savor Every Moment

"Plastered" On The Metro

The Washington D.C. area Metro has been so bad this week...

Fires, delays, overcrowding, doors not closing, people screaming, trains being unloaded and taken out of service. 

Today, the trains were so packed, this one guy (pictured) was literally "plastered" up against the glass, practically holding on for dear life. 

Forget about any air conditioning, with the heat in the city reaching 96 degrees today, one train that I was on actually seemed to have the heat going. 

The people were drenched in sweat, fanning themselves, trying to gulp in some air at the station stops, and generally praying the train didn't get stuck in the tunnel to top it all off. 

It is almost unbelievable that this the public transportation in The Capital of the United States of America!

Luckily, I met a friend on the train and at least had some good conversation and laughs to make the otherwise dismal ride go by faster. 

This must be the week for crappy transportation for me--what did I do wrong?  ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

"Plastered" On The Metro