Mazal tov!

מזל טוב

to our dear

MAG

on your graduation

and

כל הכבוד

on receiving the award for

Excellence in Limudei Kodesh!

We love you

and are very, very proud of you!!

Guest Blogger: Echo (phenomenon)

A Guest Post by the Chief of Photography

Although here in the photography department we don’t usually deal with these kinds of things, I can explain what happens in the following video (or actually, Wikipedia can) as a “wave that has been reflected by a discontinuity in the propagation medium, and returns with sufficient magnitude and delay to be perceived”.

Here’s an example of a “reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound” in AMG’s room before any furniture was put in. (Turn on your speakers before clicking play):

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Please note that since I took this video, some furniture has been added.

Book ‘em, Dano

Please continue to submit your entries to the previous post. Remember: If your response is especially convincing, it will receive more points and be more heavily weighted in the final tally.

In other news, we recently purchased a pair of secondhand bookshelves.

This one went into the boys’ room:

 

And this one is in AMG’s room:

 

We also acquired a desk for AMG from some friends of ours who were giving it away:

That’s about it for now.

Good afternoon from the entire Our Shiputzim staff.

And that’s my other brother Darrell

Here’s the question:

According to ENG, there are three Gilads in her gan. One’s name is Gilad; one’s name is Elad; and one’s name is Aviad. (They are referred to as “the Gilad whose name is Gilad,” “the Gilad whose name is Elad,” and “the Gilad whose name is Aviad,” respectively. A sample sentence would be: “The Gilad whose name is Aviad had a birthday party in gan today.”)

According to some of ENG’s siblings, there is only one Gilad in her gan. In addition, there is one Elad and one Aviad.

Who do you think is right?

Please show your work…

The end of an era

Helloooo, Our Shiputzim fans!

Before we get to this evening’s post, the Our Shiputzim management has asked me to convey their sincere appreciation of the loyal readers who continue to frequent – and, even more so, comment on - this site despite the relative lack of posts. Thank you.

And, now, here’s what’s happening:

Last week, YZG put the light bulbs in the upstairs bathroom mirror, as you can see here:

And here:

And also here:

Meanwhile, everyone finished emptying out the upstairs rooms.

Here’s ASG’s room all emptied out:

And here’s AMG’s room just about emptied out:

And so, the stage was all set for the kablan to make his final appearance…

{Cue: Dramatic music}

He arrived yesterday morning, and by the evening, the two rooms had been painted (including the various coats).

Here’s ASG’s room:

And here’s a close-up of the corner – now all patched up:

Here’s AMG’s room:

So that’s it for the kablan. And to make it all official, he came this morning, picked up all his stuff and walked off into the sunset bright morning light.

The kablan exits – stage left. The violins soar to a crescendo, and the audience rises to its collective feet in an outpouring of emotion…

Okay, fine… So that didn’t exactly happen… In fact, to be perfectly honest, the kablan isn’t completely finished yet either. For one thing, he’s going to come back in about a month to touch up the paint in the downstairs bathroom… And if you really must know, he’ll also be back to help YZG install some more lights in the attic… And I’m not even talking about the fact that we see the kablan all the time – due to the whole “he’s our neighbor” thing…

But, you have to admit, the poetic licence version was more interesting, no?

In any event, the Our Shiputzim editorial board – in their infinite wisdom (and profound modesty) – have ruled that we are now officially in the “post kablan era”. (No, there’s no nafka mina. I just needed a title for this post, and that was the only thing that came to mind. )

We should note that the end of the kablan era does not signify the end of the renovations. For instance, the carpenter’s blog debut is set - according to my sources – to occur some time in the coming days.

So please continue to watch this space for further developments, and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Good night from the entire Our Shiputzim staff.

Mizbach HaK’toret

The kablan called this morning. He’s back from his trip. (Yes, apparently he did have a nice time. Thanks for asking. )

Anyway, he said he’ll be coming Sunday morning I”YH to paint.

Meanwhile, everyone has been busy emptying AMG and ASG’s rooms and bringing stuff up to the attic. Perhaps we’ll be able to get some pictures on Motza”Sh once the rooms are all cleared out – as we did here.

In the meantime, we do have other pictures for you.

Since this is a blog about construction, the Our Shiputzim editorial board voted unanimously in favor of displaying the following pictures of ESG’s Chumash project.

Each boy had to make a model of one of the keilim of the Mishkan. As you may have gathered from the title, ESG chose to do the mizbach hak’toret. (Special thanks to YZG and AMG for their considerable technical assistance.)

And so, without further ado, we present…

Mizbei'ach view #1:

Mizbei'ach view #2:

Mizbei'ach view #3:

And, finally, mizbei'ach view #4:

Shabbat Shalom from the entire Our Shiputzim staff.

See you next week I”YH – same Our Shiputzim time, same Our Shiputzim channel blog.

“I think you’re bluffing.” “It’s possible… I might be bluffing”

So, as predicted, blogging has become more and more infrequent, due to lack of-

Rrrring. Rrrring.

Oh, sorry. That’s my phone. It looks like it’s the Executive Editor of the blog. I’m going to have to take that, but I’ll put it on speaker phone, so you can listen in.

Me: Hello?

EEOTB: Hi, ALG? Listen. We received your memo about having nothing to write about, and we just don’t understand why you’re having this problem.

Me: Well, the renovations are winding down, and not much is really happening this week.

EEOTB: So? What does that have to do with anything? We expect you to keep blogging. We don’t want our advertising revenue to decrease, you know.

Me: Um, we don’t have any advertisers.

EEOTB: Yeah, whatever. The point is – why don’t you do what you usually do: Get some pictures from the Photography Department and add some words?

Me: But that’s just it! The Photography Department says that they have no new pictures!

EEOTB: Who said anything about new pictures?

Me: [aware that the readers are listening in] You’re not suggesting…?!!!

EEOTB: Look. We all know that roof views are very popular. So, give the readers some song and dance about how the roof was not at the right angle and how it needs to be replaced… yadda, yadda… and then you can rerun the old roof views while claiming that we’re “rebuilding” the roof. You can call it “Our Roof: The Sequel” just like you did with the st-

Me: [interrupts] Oh! [tries to contain the damage] You mean, the stop sign?

EEOTB: [clueless] Huh?! The stop sign?! What are you talking about? Are you feeling okay? No, I mean, I want you to pretend that we’re rebuilding the roof, just like you pretended with the st-

Me: [realizes it’s time to end this conversation] Like I did with the stereo? Okay, then. Thanks for calling. Goodbye. [Quickly slams the phone down]

Memo to self: DELETE this post ASAP!!!

A new twist on the words “storing it on the computer”

Hellooooo, Our Shiputzim fans!!

We begin this evening’s posting with a special shout-out to our reader in Sweden. Clearly, this has become a truly international blog with an audience which spans the globe.

As you will – no doubt – recall, when we last met, YZG and his talented team of assistants had brought some of the shelves up to the attic. Since then, they made considerable progress.

Please follow me as we head upstairs to see what they have accomplished so far.

Unfortunately, attic views just don’t have the same je ne sais quois (I told you this was an international blog!) as roof views. But, as we say in this country, “zeh mah she’yesh”.

On that note, allow me to present -

Attic view #1:

Attic view #2:

Attic view #3:

Attic view #4:

And, attic view #5:

“But what does all this have to do with the title?!” some of our readers are surely wondering by now.

“Good question!” I respond. “I have two more attic views, which should explain everything, but first, I want to say good night.”

And, so: Good night from the entire Our Shiputzim staff.

P.S. Here is attic view #6:

And attic view #7:

Let's shelve that plan for now

There's nothing more boring than a blogger who, after not posting for a few days, briefly returns with a lame excuse and an insincere apology for neglecting the blog - only to once again abandon the poor, lonely blog and the faithful, long-suffering readers.

Alas, such appears to be the case here. However, in our defense, we should note that we did post a request for future topics here. Yet, the response was limited to a single comment (to be found here).

So, unless - or until - several other readers chime in with suggestions for future topics, posting is likely to become even more infrequent and the entries are likely to become even less interesting, as our renovations slowly begin to wind down.

In the meantime, let me bring you up-to-date:

On Friday, the carpenter arrived to re-measure the attic-stairwell-formerly-known-as-our-hole. Hopefully, he'll be returning some time this week.

Also, on Friday, ASG washed the playroom floor, and everyone managed to remove all the toys and books from the living room before Shabbat. Unfortunately, the pictures of the playroom have not been cleared for publication. (We haven't yet decided how we want to organize all the playroom furnishings.)

In other news, the kablan is off to Europe on vacation for a few days, which gives us about a week to empty ASG and AMG's rooms in advance of the painting. To that end, YZG and AMG once again hosed down the attic, which had become dusty again due to the installation of "Our Stairs: The Sequel", in general, and the carving out of the top stair, in particular. Afterwards, they used bleach to wash the floor and then started bringing the shelves up from AMG's room.

This is what the attic looks like now:

And:

And that's where we're holding for now.

As always, watch this space for future updates, and feel free to leave a comment*. We love hearing from you.

===============

* In response to a reader's query about comments to old posts, let me explain ("no, there is too much, let me sum up") that all comments - even those left on the older posts - come directly to us.

Deja vu all over again

(Yeah, I know. That was a very obvious title.)

B”H the masger seems to have recovered, because he showed up this morning and immediately got to work on “Our Stairs: The Sequel”.

Here’s the masger working on the supports and the brackets:

After they were in place and we tested them, the kablan took everything down so he could paint:

In due course, the paint dried (yes, it WAS like watching paint dry!), and the kablan was able to install the steps:

And here’s another view:

And – why not? – how about a view from the attic:

Here’s a close-up of one of the brackets:

And a view from the top of the staircase:

And, lastly, a view of the support attached to the floor. If you look carefully, you can see the patched up hole from the old stairs. (It’s one tile to the right.)

 

Finally, we conclude today’s posting with a very special announcement:

As of this afternoon, the erstwhile hole has been renamed and, henceforth, is to be referred to as: The Attic Stairwell!

The Our Shiputzim editorial board requests that the correct term be employed in all future correspondence. Thank you for your cooperation in this regard.

All quiet on the western renovation front

Hi.

As implied by today's title, no workers showed up, and hence, nothing happened renovations-wise. According to our sources, the masger is still recuperating from yesterday's dental procedure.

(In the extremely unlikely event that the masger:

• speaks English, and
• reads this blog

we would like to take this opportunity to wish him a "hachlamah mehairah".)

Anyway, even though we have nothing to report, we hate to disappoint our numerous fans, and therefore, we opted to post - albeit in a slightly different format.

Now, don't get nervous. The kablan insists that the masger will show up tomorrow I"YH, and then we can go back to posting as usual. In the meantime, however, we're turning the tables and giving you, our loyal readers, a chance to express yourselves.

Here's how it works:

Please leave a comment (yes, this also applies to our more reticent readers as well as those who subscribe to the feed) and let us know:

Which are your top three favorite Our Shiputzim TITLES of all time?

To make it easier for you, here's the list of all 66 previous titles:

Shine a little light
Content? Where we’re blogging we don’t NEED content
A word from our sponsor
And the excitement continues...
Carving out a niche for himself
Management [finally] responds
The writing is on the wall
It's like staring at a blank wall
The case of the disappearing stairs
Oh, well. But it certainly was nice while it lasted
Black is the new... well, er... black
Hakarat HaTov
Hidden under the floorboards?
Water, water everywhere
The one that didn't have a title
Roof views: They're baaaaack....
What's in a name? A rose hole by any other name...
Mystery solved: Lag BaOmer edition
...And cauldron bubble
Hey, down there...
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!!! (Or maybe not...)
You have three guesses and the first two don't count!
Post #44 - In which we give a lame excuse for not posting
Monday night musings
Movin' on up
Forecast: Showers
Hail to the Chief
When one door closes...
The one with the boiler and the buttresses
It all hinges on this
One small step for man us
Noon time notes
A journey to the center of the duct
If it looks like a duct...
Mirror, mirror, on the wall...
Roof views: Bar mitzvah edition
Time to vent
Legions of laborers
Guest blogger: Chief of Photography
Shabbat Shalom
Roof views - Yom Ha'atzmaut edition
Wednesday evening wrap-up
The return of the appliance repairman
Roof views - Take 8952
We aim to please: Duct edition
Tuesday morning tidings
Come on up and enjoy the view
Don't look now but there's some wood on our house
A trip to the "City in Growing Process" (sic)
He's all thumbs
Washing machine woes
Our own private beach
These are the people in your neighborhood...
And we have liftoff...
What are YOU missing?
Mystery solved
"Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
We aim to please
Hole-y ceiling, Batman
It's a bird, it's a plane...
Sorry, I can't hear you...
RSS feed
Up to the wild blue yonder
All clear
Here we go...

Bonus points if you can identify the source of any of the titles.

Happy commenting and may the best title win!

Shine a little light

Good evening and welcome to another riveting edition of “Our Shiputzim”.

As you will, of course, recall, when we last met, we were waiting for “Our Stairs: The Sequel” to be installed. To that end, we had hoped that the masger would come today and do his thing.

However, as it turned out, he had to go to the dentist today, and so the kablan came by himself and worked some more on the attic insulation.

That’s right. We’re about to show another three boring excitement-challenged pictures of the attic. We’ll wake you up when it’s over…

Insulation view #1:

Insulation view #2:

And insulation view #3:

Okay. We’re finished with the attic views. You can start reading again.

In completely unrelated news, YZG installed a light above the milchig sink, as you can see here:

And here’s a close-up of the light switch:

The Our Shiputzim editorial board, the writing and blogging department, and the milchig dishwashers union wish to thank YZG for his fine work and to express our appreciation for the improved lighting conditions.

That’s it for now.

Be sure to join us tomorrow for yet another spellbinding episode of…. Our Shiputzim.

Content? Where we’re blogging we don’t NEED content

Yes, I know. Long time, no write.

The problem was that there really wasn’t much to tell. In fact, there still isn’t, but don’t worry. I won’t let the fact that I have nothing to say stop me from posting.

We begin with a brief (or maybe not so brief) survey of the assorted holes and cracks which have been patched up since our last post.

Here are some pictures from the attic:

And:

And also:

But, wait! That’s not all. We also have this picture:

And this picture:

There are, of course, plenty more where these came from, but there’s only so much excitement one can handle. So, please follow me outside. (I’m going to have to ask those of you in the back to please remain with the group. Thanks.)

Let’s see. We have this picture:

And we have this picture:

And then there’s this picture:

And, of course, this picture:

And last, but certainly not least, there is this picture:

I suspect that by now we’ve lost most of our audience, and so I believe that those of you who have stuck it out until now deserve some sort of bonus (or tchupar, if you will). How about a couple of pictures of the top attic step?

Here’s one:

And here’s another:

Wasn’t that fun?

In other news, YZG (with some help from ASG) sealed the hole up temporarily with some old particle board:

And, finally, the kablan told us that he’s giving us a present. He wants to make us some shelves out of the extra steps. Here are the brackets which he brought over before Shabbat:

That’s about it for now.

Enjoy your cheesecake and have a chag sameach!