You don’t need to hear me rant on again about uncontrolled Google Ads.

Yesterday, I moved the homepage of the Haredi Women Professionals (aka Supermom) Network to a new hosting site that plants automatic Google ads along one side of the page. In the ten minutes between my setting up the page and paying for a premium service entitling me to remove the Google Ads, the homepage was advertising links to pornography (how obvious, given the word “Women” in the title, right?).

Here’s another example (from a search results page). Not a mis-match of interests, this time, as much as poorly-chosen ad copy:

Need I point out that Orthodox Jewish Women are not for sale?! :.D

…for example, if you’re working with text originally written by a non-native speaker of the language.

I wanted to change the setting on a very simple (kosher) Samsung flip phone, so that instead of answering calls automatically when I open the phone, it will only answer when I press the “call” button to accept the call (this gives me a chance to see Caller ID first).

I knew the setting was available somewhere. Well, I looked and I looked. I hunted through every possible menu (there aren’t many on this phone).

In desperation, I got help from an Israeli colleague, who found the setting in just a couple of minutes. It wasn’t obvious. The function can be found in the “Extra Settings” in the “Settings” menu — fair enough. But the function itself is called “Active Folder”.

As a native English-speaker, I understood “Active Folder” to mean “a group of files or functionalities that are activated”, and therefore didn’t select that function even when I saw it during my original hunt.

My English-as-a-second-language colleague understood “Active Folder” correctly: “the function triggered by folding the phone is active”.

Some people are in a race to “keep up with the Joneses”. Some people are in a race to “keep down with the Cohens“. As for hats…

[today’s offering from xkcd]

Seen in Shaare Tzedek Hospital, Jerusalem:

The white outlets are part of the ordinary hospital circuitry.

The brown outlets lead to the grama circuit, an electrical system designed to indirectly close circuits on the Jewish Sabbath — not something you’ll find in common home use, but perfectly acceptable for use for the sick. Also on the grama circuit is the call button, so that patients will feel free to call for a nurse even if they don’t have an emergency (for an emergency, anything will do, of course).

Not shown are the red outlets, on the emergency generator circuit, and often designed to accept hospital equipment only.

How do you use waiting time? Many people “kill time” while in line: watching mobile TV, checking email, sending an SMS message, playing a game. What if you believe that “killing time” is bad?

Seen in a neighborhood branch of the Israel Post Office:

A shelf of Biblical and Talmudic study books for customers to read while waiting to mail a letter, deposit money, or pick up a package.

It’s a small gesture, but one that respects the immediate culture and values of the environment.

 This week’s Israeli government slang verb: le’kandel.

“to run around, be busy, attend lots of meetings, but not actually do anything”

The verb root is derived from the name Condoleezza…

Actually, I’ve always liked her since seeing her photographed in a really professional maternity business suit.

Seen today in Jerusalem:

Haredi snowman (note the hat). How we design something relates to how we anticipate and perceive the norm. Creating a truly new or revolutionary design that breaks from prior references is incredibly difficult (and rare).

[image: Jerusalem Post]

Posted today on Janglo, a Jerusalem information-trading board:

Rabbi David Samson, dean of Lech Lecha, is making available his fleet of Land Rover jeeps and students to rescue cars and people from the expected Jerusalem area snow.

The students will arrive equipped with chains and ropes to pull cars, and shovels to clear paths and driveways. In urgent cases, they will transport persons to destinations in the capital. […]

The Lech Lecha High School is for youth at risk who have difficulty coping with the conventional classroom environment and go on jeep expeditions twice per week to study Tanach [Bible], history, and nature, alongside regular studies.

I was not previously familiar with Lech Lecha, but you can be sure I’ll be finding out more. I’m impressed by the name, the concept, the help offered, and the opportunity provided for the boys to be of service to others. [My applause here.]

Seen in Jerusalem:

Great café; nice decor. The whole facade is plate glass, including the sliding front door (maximizes usable interior space). Someone neglected to put any cushion or spring on that door. It shuts glass against glass. Ouch. I cringe every time it shuts (including when I’m the one shutting it). It already has some chips and dings.

Light is wonderful. Glass lets in the light, and connects the spaces. I’m delighted (sorry) to be seeing more and more glass used in architecture and interior design. Too bad it isn’t yet perfect.

Some of you will have noticed that the arrow in the top sign is pointing the wrong way (it’s pointing to the open direction, not the shut).  

Writing down passwords is typically the weak link in computer security. (Well, that and choosing really obvious passwords.)

My rental car had a code to enable the ignition to activate. The company representative kindly wrote the code for me on my rental agreement. He needn’t have bothered. Two previous renters had written it on the obverse of the sun visor: