Cartoon Barry Blog

I'm a Worrier

2010-02-09T15:54:20Z

Not many people who follow me here and around the web know this about me, but I am a worrier. I blame my mother, who worries about everything and anything. I am not as bad as she is, but I do worry.

Looking back at what you worry about is always somewhat comical. Oh, in High School, I worried about X or Y - how small it feels now that I have a family and run a business.

I know many people who never worry. Maybe they don't show it, but they seem to be incredibly carefree. I personally do not worry about everything, like some people, but I do worry about things.

Are you a worrier? If not, why not?

How Often Do You Check Your Bank Account Online?

2010-02-05T19:14:59Z

I check my bank accounts online almost every day. I check in more often then I use to, but mostly cause I go online to pay business bills and check deposits. In the old days, I mailed checks and I never received direct deposits from clients. Now, I pay virtually all my bills online and receive some payments via wire or direct deposit.

Recently, someone I know had their bank account broken into. Someone was withdrawing funds. He was so paranoid, until he got things switched, that he checked his bank account several times per day. Understandable!

How often do you check your bank accounts online?

Check Out My New Office

2010-02-04T20:28:43Z

I moved, well - kind of. Check out the details at the RustyBrick Blog.

SphinnCon Israel 2010 Sold Out - March 7th

2010-02-02T16:24:28Z

On December 15, 2009, I announced the return of SphinnCon, a small SMX event, to Israel. In just a week, we sold half the tickets.

I am delighted, I think, to say that the event is completely sold out now. On Sunday, January 31st, we sold our last ticket. 200 seats, gone.

We still have over a month until the event - so I apologize if you are just learning about it now and you were unable to get a seat. We did open a waiting list, but I am not sure if that will open up or not.

In any event, we are now finalizing the agenda, placing speakers and so on.

Again, I would like to thank our sponsors, including Jerusalem College of Technology, Compucall, Answers.com, Whired Rhino.

Of course, this would not be possible without the help of my friends in Israel:

Olivier Amar (@olivier_amar) of WhiteWeb
Ophir Cohen (@ophirco) of Compucall
Eli Feldblum (@Feldbum) of RankAbove
Roi Hildesheimer of Tens Technology
Charlie Kalech (@charliekalech)of J Town
Itay Paz (ItayPaz)of Affilicon
Mayer Reich (@mayerreich) of RankAbove
Branko Rihtman (@neyne) of WhiteWeb
Gilad Sasson (@algoholic) of Nekuda

I am also excited about having a few Googlers coming and speaking at the event. I was hoping for some from Bing, but they have zero presence in search in Israel (or so I am told).

Anyway, thanks for making this conference a success so far. Looking forward to seeing you all!

RB Coder Initiation

2010-01-27T22:57:25Z

Jimmy posted the details of how the other RB team members initiate new members into the team - somewhat of a hazing. Here is a video of the latest initiation. But make sure to read the full story at the RB Blog named Coder Hazing: Anthony Gets Punk'd...

People Say the Darnedest Things on Twitter

2010-01-26T14:44:29Z

Yesterday, I wrote about the new feature Google Reader add to track any pages, even the ones without an RSS feed. So I got the typical retweets (RTs) on that post, but then I got this:

I love you too man!

LOL

NY JETS Had a Great End to a Season

2010-01-25T15:03:41Z

JETS were so close to beating the Colts, so close. I shouldn't be upset, but I was/am. To come that close to the playoffs when no one even expected them to make the playoffs - I should be happy.

Oh well - it was a great end to a season. Thanks for it!

Remote Control For Niko OTP-3211W 32"

2010-01-22T13:51:16Z

Well over three years ago, I bought a no-brand LCD TV from Niko. The company is now out of business, but the TV is actually still very good quality. However, the Niko rebate was a scam, the TV is solid. The TV I purchased back then was the Niko OTP-3211W 32" and it was pretty expensive looking at the prices you get today, but back then, it was the best deal I could find.

In any event, for over three years, I have been trying to find a remote control that would work with it. Non of the remotes I have tried had the proper codes to work with this TV. That includes CableVision and Verizon remote controls. I tried universal remotes but failed.

That is until last night. The Philips Prestigo 12 Device Universal Remote control came via a Woot deal the other day and I set it up. Although Niko is a brand listed in the set up configuration, that part didn't work. When I went through the rolling code set up, at about 250 codes in, the TV turned off. I was shocked. I cannot tell you how many remote controls I tried to get to work and this one did it.

So there you have it, the Philips Prestigo 12 Device Universal Remote worked with the Niko OTP-3211W 32".

Praying Leads To Flight Emergency Landing: Tefillin Bomb Scare

2010-01-21T19:03:18Z

My Dad sent me an article from JPost named Tefillin causes bomb scare on US flight (FYI, my dad uses the email this to a friend feature). The story is interesting.

A 17 year old boy took out his Tefillin on a flight, in order to pray the morning Jewish services. The thing was, he wasn't flying to a destination that has many Jews. Typically, when you fly at certain times (Jewish holidays) and to certain places (places with lots of Jews) you are bound to see a Jewish person putting on Tefillin in the morning to pray.

You would see this all the time if you flew to Israel or into New York or Los Angeles. In this case, he was flying out from New York but to Louisville, Kentucky. I don't think there is that big of a Jewish population in Louisville. Wikipedia says:

There is a Jewish population of around 8,500 in the city served by five synagogues. Most Jewish families emigrated from Eastern Europe at the turn of the 20th century; around 800 Soviet Jews have moved to Louisville since 1991.[56] Jewish immigrants founded Jewish Hospital, which was once the center of the city's Jewish district. Jewish Hospital recently merged with the Catholic healthcare system CARITAS. On one corner near Bowman field are located the one orthodox temple, Shalom Towers, the Jewish Community Center and Jewish Family and Vocational Service.

So not huge, at all.

I am honestly surprised this doesn't come up more often. Whenever I go through security with my Tefillin, I wonder if someone will question me. They are strange black boxes with paper in them. Just seems weird, I would think.

This boy took a 7:30am flight and the flight duration was 90 minutes. I am not sure why he could not have prayed before or after the flight. I guess the 90 minute flight is a good time to do that, but still.

Check Out My RustyBrick Kippah from rushIMPRINT

2010-01-21T16:34:56Z

rushIMPRINT, a promotional product company, sent me a handful of RustyBrick branded Kippahs (also known as yarmulke or כִּפָּה). They came out pretty well and in fact, I honestly might wear them every day.

Here is a picture of the Kippah:

Here is Joe and myself wearing them:

How cool!

This goes well with my Matzah Kippah and McCippah - I just wish I received the LED Kippah, oh well.

You got to follow this company on Twitter @rushimprint and on Facebook at facebook.com/rushIMPRINT.

Thanks guys!

RB Decals

2010-01-21T15:43:31Z

The other day, we got a shipment of RustyBrick Decals, which can be affixed to computers, laptops, phones, cars and so on.

Here is a picture of some of them:

I put two on my iPhone (one on case, one on device):

Want them? I wrote about how you can get these at the RustyBrick blog.

JETS in AFC Championship : One Game To Super Bowl

2010-01-18T15:41:11Z

This time for a New York JETS fan is a bit unreal. Who would have thought they would be playing the Colts in the AFC Championship?

Who would have thought they would have won the final two games in the regular season to squeeze into the wild card slot? They had to beat the Bengels and the Colts to make that happen. Then they played the Bengels again in the wild card round and won. They beat the Bengels back to back. Then they go to San Diego and stun the west coast by beating the Chargers with two huge TDs in the 4th quarter. Just amazing. I was honestly in shock and amazement all night, including this morning.

JETS are one game away from the playoffs. Of course, they are playing the best team in the NFL next week. But hey - it is one game. The JETS are incredibly hot right now. Anything is possible. They can beat the Colts, it is possible.

Would I bet on it? No.

All those years of being a JETS fan and witnessing disappointment after disappointment... I just can't imagine them winning. But to see what they have done in the past 4 games - they are looking really good. Am I confident? No way. Do I hope? Yes, I do.

Some People Should Not Be Allowed to Buy Smart Phones (iPhones)

2010-01-14T18:06:09Z

In my opinion, there should be exams given to people before they can buy an iPhone or smart phone.

I am sure this happens with all software developers and computer manufacturers, but errr!

The iPhone might be the easiest smart phone in the world to use. But people have no clue how to use it. They buy it because it is cool and they are training on how to make phone calls from it.

In fact, many of our "customers" have had their children install our apps on their devices for them. They have no clue how to update the apps, even thought a little red badge appears on the App Store icon, explaining they have updates. They have no clue how to use the features in the app, even though there is documentation on how to use it.

I cannot tell you how many emails, phone calls and so on - I get from people who are clueless about the features of either the iPhone or the Apps they purchase and download.

I know, I should not be surprised by this but today has been a frustrating day of support calls and emails.

Jew, So You Think You Can Dance?

2010-01-12T14:39:44Z

I am a bit embarrassed to say I know someone who knows this person.

Check out the video:

Bought a Google Nexus One

2010-01-08T17:48:19Z

Yesterday, we decided to purchase an unlocked Nexus One from Google to begin development testing of apps for that mobile OS. Here are some pictures of the Nexus One next to my Apple iPhone 3GS.

Update: Danny Sullivan has an excellent review of the Nexus One vs iPhone - he writes way better than I. Plus he is not an Apple Fan boy like me.