Jews, The People of Thanksgiving

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “Jews, The People of Thanksgiving.”

This week was Thanksgiving (חג ההודיה), but for Jews we are already called, “The People of Thanksgiving. “We are named יהודים (Yehudim) after יהודה (Yehudah), the son of Isaac and Leah because Leah said (Genesis 29:35): “הפעם אודה את יהיה.” (“This time let me thank G-d”). Also as Jews, we are not just called the People of  Thanksgiving, but we are actively supposed to say 100 blessings a day thanking G-d, so in the true sense of the word, everyday is Thanksgiving Day for the Jewish people.

Jews are the People of Thanksgiving not only on Thanksgiving, but every day of the year. We are thankful for being the chosen people and for our redemption and return to the Promised Land of Israel; we are thankful for the life and opportunities that G-d has given to us; we are thankful in good times and G-d forbid, in the bad times; and we are thankful because, yes, ultimately everything from G-d is for the good.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Rhymes With Venus

So these were some funny stories recently…

First, I came across an information system with a comical name. 

Let just say that it rhymes with venus and starts with the letter P. 

Well not exactly that word, but it very, very close. 

When I heard it, I could not help but say, “That’s an unfortunate [system] name.”

That’s the thing about names and acronyms…you really have to think about what they stand for and what they sound like or you can get yourself into some pretty ridiculous situations and problems. 

Second story is when I was talking to this lady and I asked how she was feeling after going through some surgery and then having various complications from it. 

She told me the pain and problems she was having, and the tests and doctors she is continuing to have to see ,and that physical therapy didn’t help much. 

I’m nodding and empathizing and then after this went on for a while, all I could say in dismay for all what she had been through was “Ay, yai, yai.” 

Then she asked me about how I was doing after my hip surgeries and I told her how grateful I was for the modern medical procedures and G-d’s blessing that enabled me to walk again. 

But what was really funny is that she then starts going, “Ay, yai, yai.”

And as the conversation wore down, we were both looking at each other and practically saying in harmony, “Ay, yai, yai.”

Anyway…sometimes there’s nothing left to say but just that. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

>Domain Names Demystified

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It’s so hard to come up with just the right domain name, especially when the landscape already seems so busy.

How are you to know what’s already out there, what’s available, and what’s original?

Panabee.com is a “brainstorming engine for finding cool names and checking domain availability.”

I tested it out and it gives you lots of useful information, including:

– Interesting variations (by prepend, append, swapping, even spelling backwards, and more)

– Related terms (each of which can be clicked on to continue brainstorming a name)

– Translations (in over 2 dozen languages from Afrikaans to Welsh)

– Alternate endings (including .net, .biz, .org, country extensions, etc.)

– Inspiration from social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, and Google–entries, terms, and mentions)

In terms of the availability of suggestions, these are indicated in a dashboard type fashion with green 🙂 or red 😦 to make it easy to see what’s what.

Finally, there is a link to Go Daddy to “buy [the Domain Name] now for $7.49 before somebody else does.”

Overall, I found Panabee to be a useful tool to come up with innovative domain names and thereby help us start up new and exciting ventures on the web.