Giving 'Green Light' to Young Drivers

One of my ‘pet peeves’ in Israel is the local driving culture. Admittedly, driving has improved over the last decade or so, especially after major investments in road infrastructure. Yet compared to California, I feel far more anxious on the road here. I wrote about my dissatisfaction with driver behavior before, as in ‘Looking for a Gentler Mr. Wheeler’. And according to my wife, I sound far less subtle when I sit behind the wheel and curse. One day after sending yet another driver to hell, she said to me “if you feel so strongly about the situation why don’t you do something about it?”. Ah, wives and their pragmatism…

Temperatures ‘Higher than Normal’ for Season

There is a phrase I’ve learned to dread during evening news, namely “the temperatures will be higher than normal for the season”. July and August are the hottest months in Israel (see chart). With an average temperature of 32⁰C (90⁰F) and 70% humidity, anything “above normal” spells trouble.

Recycling "R" Us

When we first came to California, we realized that handling garbage isn’t as simple as it seems. Back home, in Israel, garbage was simply garbage. You stuffed everything you wanted to throw away into one container, and off it went…  In California we encountered ‘recycling’ and throwing garbage became an acquired skill.