September 2005 Archives

A few outlets are covering a Gallup International survey about which professions are more trusted than others. Although most of the press has focused on the extreme distrust of politicians (duh), there are other less obvious revelations.

Hey Loyal Readers,
A lot has been going in in YUTOPIA land recently and it's time to catch up a bit.

• I'm back working at Information Builders as a "Programming Analyst." While this was not my first or ideal choice, there are worse things in life than having a good paying job in a decent field, a pleasant working environment, working with great people, and getting the occasional trip to Seattle. Although I appreciate finally having health insurance, this sadly means I have less time and energy for blogging, reading, researching, writing, and other fun stuff. I suppose it also means I'll just have to compensate.
• The Talent Show was a disaster. While I'm well aware I'm hardly a talented performer, it's much harder for me trying to play a large room with no amplifier and no real sound check such that I can't even hear myself. Really really bad news. In the future, I think I'm just going to stick to more intimate settings like kumsitzes and helping others find their voice.

  As far as the event itself, I left relatively quickly but not after finding my own reasons for never attending a singles event¹ ever again. And believe me, it has nothing to do with fear.

• We Get Results! The Monday after the mikvah debacle the shul closed the mikvah for cleaning/repairs. I'm not sure how long it's going to take or if we'd ever see that spoon again, but it's a start.
• For those interested, my father is currently working in Baltimore for Congregation B'nei Israel in the inner harbor area. There's a whole lot more to say here, but nothing I'm free to discuss at this time.

That just about covers everything major. With the trip and hagim coming up, I'm in somewhat of a holding pattern until things settle down and have to hold off on several plans until then.

Until next time....

1. Technically, it wasn't a single's event but that was the perception of many of the people there.

Now that it's the month of Elul and we're officially pre-Yamim Nora'im mode, you're probably going to find many calls for increasing charity. As we say in the liturgy, along with repentance and prayer, charity can undo the negative decrees, and we get to help out those less fortunate in the process. It's a win-win for everybody.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), there is no shortage of charitable organizations out there. The problem from the giving end is figuring out which charities are more deserving than others. Not only is there the near impossible question of what causes to support, but also which organizations best fulfill their stated mission.

While we can't answer the first question for you, we can help out with the latter thanks to the good people at Charity Navigator.

Based on their detailed methodology, Charity Navigator uses tax returns to calculate the economic efficiency of a given organization. For example, they take into account how much money goes into fundraising vs. how much they receive, total expenditures towards programming, and administrative costs. Frankly I'm a little confused with the numbers myself, but the logic behind them seems to make sense.

As a public service and sheer curiosity, here is how some well known Jewish organizations rank in their system. Just remember that this only evaluate organizational efficiency and NOT the quality or merit of their mission.

In a recent year long Batman story arc, Batman's Gotham City is virtually destroyed by a cataclysmic earthquake. Due to Gotham's reputation as being a difficult and crime-ridden city the government deems the city not worth saving, and basically seals off Gotham from the rest of the United States declaring it a "No Man's Land." In the NML, the citizens lack basic resources and are terrorized by gangs while the power brokers consolidate and manipulate for their own personal or political gain.

Sounding familiar?

As the news comes in from New Orleans I am increasingly reminded of Batman's frightening scenario. While there aren't super-villains (in the literal sense at least), there is still the tragedy, despair, lawlessness, and political wrangling. "Chaos" and "anarchy" are the most common descriptions, and the comparisons to third world countries are not even hyperbole anymore.

The Independent writes:

Robberies, carjackings and even reports of rape and murder have all abounded in a city where the dead have been left lying where they fell or else float eerily down the rivers created by the water-filled streets.

Oh, and martial law is getting underway as well.

People are already questioning if New Orleans is worth rebuilding. Even the the Speaker of the House has already given up stating that part of New Orleans "could be bulldozed."

Yet despite all the obvious problems, the media seems to focus more on placing the blame be it on the about blaming the President, FEMA, or even the residents themselves.

This entire tragedy has been mishandled from every angle imaginable. There is plenty of blame to go around, all of which can be sorted out later. But the first priority has to be making sure that people get the help they desperately need.

As today's WSJ lead editorial reminds us, maintaining civil order isn't easy in a crisis, especially when there is "complacency born of prosperity and the resilience of our legal and civic institutions."

But unlike Gotham, we don't have a bat signal to bail us out.

I've barely been back at Information Builders when I was assigned my first ever business trip. From September 18th-28th (maybe the 29th depending on flight), I will be in Seattle. I'm not sure yet where I'm staying, but it will probably be in the downtownish area. Also, I suspect I will have a rental car at my disposal.

I've found some info on the web, but if any loyal readers can help out with any of the following, it would be greatly appreciated:

• Good kosher places downtown
• Where the Jewish communities and shuls are
• Any place interested in hosting a nice Rabbi for a Shabbat (or even a scholar-in-residence?)
• Anything out of the obvious of which I should be aware.

Many thanks in advance.

More posts are forthcoming. One of the downsides of working is the unfortunate lack of free time.