A few people commented on the use of personae (I guess a way of pretending to be someone else, or hiding one's true identity) on the internet. One person even got pretty stroppy at me for "breaching internet ettiquette" by referring to her real name.
Well that sort of got me thinking (not something I usually do very well) about how I present myself to the world at large and more importantly, to myself. And would I want to hide behind any of my personaes.
Truth is, my head is like those old cartoons where you had the good devil and the bad devil arguing with each other in a cloud above the cartoon character. Except in my case I've got a whole crowd.
Probably the most dominant could look and act like the "Fat Bastard" from the Austin Powers" movies. Me and self-control have never been good mates....I mean I went to all this effort, and probably paid off most of my mate Bruce's mortgage, to lose a whole lot of weight, and here we have my Fat Bastard feeding me while singing "I want my baby back....baby ribs".
And what about gut reactions to people who piss me off? That would be Fat Bastard's brother...Angry Fat Bastard
And if we are talking about ribs, there's Fat Bastards cousin, who just loves the part of humanity that was created from a rib.
Then there's my adrenalin junky. Why would a 52 year old guy go bungy jumping at Bluekrans Ridge in South Africa.....BECAUSE IT WAS F*#$ing AWESOME!!!!! But is that normal?
Then of course there is the (I hope) better personae....
There's the one that takes care of my parents....I think my kids like that one, even if they think he's more juvenile than them. That one is the soldier's dad, the bat-sherut's dad, the boys at school dad and Lynn's husband
There's the one that is going to make a fair amount of profit for investors.....this one took a while to get going and gave me some grief along the way, but that's another story.
Well, here's the line from "Sybil"....No really, I am comfortable with all my personae. I am always going to be Ches, or Ezra for the Israeli's who cant pronounce Ches
And if you don't like it......well "GET IN MY BELLY"
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
My Illegal Building Sins (or not) Part 2 - Or maybe about just having a good whinge
"A Soldier's Mother" wrote
"I'm thinking it's a shame to dedicate a whole blog that is searchable to the negativity of building in 1 city for a problem that is very common in Israel. We need, as residents of Maale Adumim, to propagate the Internet with positive information about our city, rather than complaints that feed others. Just imagine how this blog could be used by our enemies."
Well, one of the wonderful things about blogs and the internet, is that no one can dictate what one can or can't write about.
If I didn't like living in Maale Adumim, I would be building elswhere, but why the hell shouldn't people be aware of the lack of accountability in some sections of the city administration? If the city were really concerned that this blog could be used by "our enemies" then maybe they would respond? The truth is that they really don't care about this. If I would be criticising building in E1 on the other hand, which of course I would never do, then I would agree with your point. And maybe then we would get some outside opinions. And so what!
"A Soldier's Mother" also wrote
"Not sure why MY advertisement for an apartment on Rechov Gilgal justified apparently launching a blog with your comments compared to all the others looking to rent out apartments for years already.I can tell you that the apartment I want to rent has been in existence for 5 years, is 60 meters in size, no slum at all, is in beautiful condition and unlikely to damage the neighborhood." and "From a city planning poing of view, I was told that I could build a house with a separate area, including an entrance and it was permissible as a parent/child set up."
Well considering that I never mentioned you or your advertisement in my first post, but that you jumped in with your opinion all by yourself, I reckon thats a self inflicted injury. And why should you think its about you anyway. As you said, you are a symptom of any number of people who have done the same thing. You still won't say who in the city planning department said that you could build a separate entrance and rent out an apartment.
Really!! this blog is not about you at all. Maybe you are protesting too much?
This blog is my own, biased and unadulterated opinion about whichever issues strike my fancy (and you can strike my fancy anytime).
Truth is, I could write about how beautiful Maale Adumim is, that would be easy. Lets all sweep the dirt under the carpet right? WRONG!
I have voted consistently for our incumbent, and by consistently, I mean for him and his list and have not, ever, divided my vote to any opposing party. Quite frankly, none of the others hold a candle to Benny (oops! I used his name). But If he (for example) railroads a permitting committee into making a decision, without letting anyone have an opinion and that decision is wrong (and say, I have the protocols to prove it), then I'll let people know. And if it affects me personally, then I'll scream blue murder!
Where is the city's opposition? What is it that they actually do besides making a few squeals around election time and then disappearing only to reappear the next election? Where were they when the manager of the city's collection department (who was obviously doing too good a job) had his position politically terminated?
The city cuts budgets for school cleaning, and the opposition doesnt even attend the deciding meeting...etc etc
Should no one talk about this?
Of course, there is a heck of a lot more better things that are happening. The flowers are blooming, the Gilgal is renting and alls well with the world
No, I say that it is really unhealthy and more than a bit paranoid, to avoid criticising because someone out there in cyberspace might be waiting to pounce on the chance to .... what exactly?
"I'm thinking it's a shame to dedicate a whole blog that is searchable to the negativity of building in 1 city for a problem that is very common in Israel. We need, as residents of Maale Adumim, to propagate the Internet with positive information about our city, rather than complaints that feed others. Just imagine how this blog could be used by our enemies."
Well, one of the wonderful things about blogs and the internet, is that no one can dictate what one can or can't write about.
If I didn't like living in Maale Adumim, I would be building elswhere, but why the hell shouldn't people be aware of the lack of accountability in some sections of the city administration? If the city were really concerned that this blog could be used by "our enemies" then maybe they would respond? The truth is that they really don't care about this. If I would be criticising building in E1 on the other hand, which of course I would never do, then I would agree with your point. And maybe then we would get some outside opinions. And so what!
"A Soldier's Mother" also wrote
"Not sure why MY advertisement for an apartment on Rechov Gilgal justified apparently launching a blog with your comments compared to all the others looking to rent out apartments for years already.I can tell you that the apartment I want to rent has been in existence for 5 years, is 60 meters in size, no slum at all, is in beautiful condition and unlikely to damage the neighborhood." and "From a city planning poing of view, I was told that I could build a house with a separate area, including an entrance and it was permissible as a parent/child set up."
Well considering that I never mentioned you or your advertisement in my first post, but that you jumped in with your opinion all by yourself, I reckon thats a self inflicted injury. And why should you think its about you anyway. As you said, you are a symptom of any number of people who have done the same thing. You still won't say who in the city planning department said that you could build a separate entrance and rent out an apartment.
Really!! this blog is not about you at all. Maybe you are protesting too much?
This blog is my own, biased and unadulterated opinion about whichever issues strike my fancy (and you can strike my fancy anytime).
Truth is, I could write about how beautiful Maale Adumim is, that would be easy. Lets all sweep the dirt under the carpet right? WRONG!
I have voted consistently for our incumbent, and by consistently, I mean for him and his list and have not, ever, divided my vote to any opposing party. Quite frankly, none of the others hold a candle to Benny (oops! I used his name). But If he (for example) railroads a permitting committee into making a decision, without letting anyone have an opinion and that decision is wrong (and say, I have the protocols to prove it), then I'll let people know. And if it affects me personally, then I'll scream blue murder!
Where is the city's opposition? What is it that they actually do besides making a few squeals around election time and then disappearing only to reappear the next election? Where were they when the manager of the city's collection department (who was obviously doing too good a job) had his position politically terminated?
The city cuts budgets for school cleaning, and the opposition doesnt even attend the deciding meeting...etc etc
Should no one talk about this?
Of course, there is a heck of a lot more better things that are happening. The flowers are blooming, the Gilgal is renting and alls well with the world
No, I say that it is really unhealthy and more than a bit paranoid, to avoid criticising because someone out there in cyberspace might be waiting to pounce on the chance to .... what exactly?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
My illegal building sins (or not?)
My friend Yoni wrote to my email (I got his permission to use his quote)
"Wasn’t the additions (under your cottage on Hashmeeneet) done illegally in the beginning? Maybe you didn’t rent it out to others, but illegal is still illegal."
Now thats a great lead-up to my next topic, but first, a few comments on some of the comments from last time.
Michelle wishfully thinks that there should be lots of apartments with garden, but lets be realistic, that can't happen just from a planning perspective. Also, the demand in Maale Adumim for apartments, far outweighs the demand for single family homes. That's just the make up of most of the people who live here, and the country doesnt, and shouldnt revolve around what anglo's or any other minority group wants. Michelle is right that a new "Mitzpe-Nevo" concept is needed - and it might just happen.
Paula, (sorry) is in my book Chatzufa B'Yoter. Don't come the raw prawn, as we say in Australia (look that one up...its a beauty). If anyone in the Irya told you that its OK to divide up your house, please let us know who this character is! I for one would love to have some fun with him/her.
The Takanon of your TABA is very specific. You can't make separate entrances and then rent out half your house. You can (except that people like you made the Irya wary of abuses) and should be allowed to have a room, or slightly bigger witha bathroom etc, which is an integral part of your house, with the same entry as the main house, used for guests AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES to be rented out to anyone.
My friend Mack tells me about some guy who drives a pretty upmarket car in HaGilgal, witha name fairly similar to our nuclear whistle blower, who is dividing up his upmarket house for rent. The only reason that would happen is if he wants to sell his place and thinks that some other wanker will pay a better dollar for an income producing property. Shame!
Well back to Yoni.
Quite a few years ago, we bought a cottage on HaShminit, with building rights. Like good children, we employed an architect and structural engineer, submitted plans and received a buiding permit.
Now our engineer had a thing about building to earthquake standards, even then (and boy was he right) and insisted on the addition sitting on bedrock and not on piles or a strip foundation, as the houses in the area were built on backfill that was unstable.
So we dug down to rock at a depth of about five metres below ground level and started putting in the steel.
Lo and behold, along came the city building inspector and whacked me with a stop-work order from the court, with a copy to the police. Why? Because he claimed that I intended building a basement. No amount of explanation, with or without the plans or the engineer, convinced him otherwise, and the shyster firm of lawyers that the city uses, took me to court, where I had to pay a fine in order to continue working.
Now that slightly pissed me off, and I figured that since I had paid for a crime that I hadn't committed, that I would apply for change of TABA and in fact, build the basement. The city freaked out and threatened more legal action, however in the spirit of "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime" (in this case opposite), I didnt fill in the level under the ground floor and opted for the court option.
In court, there was a different judge, who thought that this was a waste of time and asked the city to show cause as to why I shouldnt be allowed to change the TABA and if not then to allow the change.
The city coudnt show cause and I got my change of TABA, making my house totally legal. I did not rent out the basement.
Now I stress, that I do believe in rules. The city needs a strict building code and this needs to be policed properly.
There shouldnt be a "free-for-all" situation where anyone does what they want with building facades, like pergolas and A/C units etc, or even with additions. HOWEVER, the city has become too rigid. They are not prepared to consider logical changes and the city engineer, is a frustrated architect, who is a far better technocrat than he is an architect. Not that one should underate his function. It is important and from a purely beurocratic point of view, he does a good job. However, he and his team have become locked in to far to much uniformity
Next time I'll tell you about the house I'm building on HaKatross, and how the city misuses its power (you might have read a bit about this in last weeks local paper).
Shabbat Shalom to all
Ches
"Wasn’t the additions (under your cottage on Hashmeeneet) done illegally in the beginning? Maybe you didn’t rent it out to others, but illegal is still illegal."
Now thats a great lead-up to my next topic, but first, a few comments on some of the comments from last time.
Michelle wishfully thinks that there should be lots of apartments with garden, but lets be realistic, that can't happen just from a planning perspective. Also, the demand in Maale Adumim for apartments, far outweighs the demand for single family homes. That's just the make up of most of the people who live here, and the country doesnt, and shouldnt revolve around what anglo's or any other minority group wants. Michelle is right that a new "Mitzpe-Nevo" concept is needed - and it might just happen.
Paula, (sorry) is in my book Chatzufa B'Yoter. Don't come the raw prawn, as we say in Australia (look that one up...its a beauty). If anyone in the Irya told you that its OK to divide up your house, please let us know who this character is! I for one would love to have some fun with him/her.
The Takanon of your TABA is very specific. You can't make separate entrances and then rent out half your house. You can (except that people like you made the Irya wary of abuses) and should be allowed to have a room, or slightly bigger witha bathroom etc, which is an integral part of your house, with the same entry as the main house, used for guests AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES to be rented out to anyone.
My friend Mack tells me about some guy who drives a pretty upmarket car in HaGilgal, witha name fairly similar to our nuclear whistle blower, who is dividing up his upmarket house for rent. The only reason that would happen is if he wants to sell his place and thinks that some other wanker will pay a better dollar for an income producing property. Shame!
Well back to Yoni.
Quite a few years ago, we bought a cottage on HaShminit, with building rights. Like good children, we employed an architect and structural engineer, submitted plans and received a buiding permit.
Now our engineer had a thing about building to earthquake standards, even then (and boy was he right) and insisted on the addition sitting on bedrock and not on piles or a strip foundation, as the houses in the area were built on backfill that was unstable.
So we dug down to rock at a depth of about five metres below ground level and started putting in the steel.
Lo and behold, along came the city building inspector and whacked me with a stop-work order from the court, with a copy to the police. Why? Because he claimed that I intended building a basement. No amount of explanation, with or without the plans or the engineer, convinced him otherwise, and the shyster firm of lawyers that the city uses, took me to court, where I had to pay a fine in order to continue working.
Now that slightly pissed me off, and I figured that since I had paid for a crime that I hadn't committed, that I would apply for change of TABA and in fact, build the basement. The city freaked out and threatened more legal action, however in the spirit of "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime" (in this case opposite), I didnt fill in the level under the ground floor and opted for the court option.
In court, there was a different judge, who thought that this was a waste of time and asked the city to show cause as to why I shouldnt be allowed to change the TABA and if not then to allow the change.
The city coudnt show cause and I got my change of TABA, making my house totally legal. I did not rent out the basement.
Now I stress, that I do believe in rules. The city needs a strict building code and this needs to be policed properly.
There shouldnt be a "free-for-all" situation where anyone does what they want with building facades, like pergolas and A/C units etc, or even with additions. HOWEVER, the city has become too rigid. They are not prepared to consider logical changes and the city engineer, is a frustrated architect, who is a far better technocrat than he is an architect. Not that one should underate his function. It is important and from a purely beurocratic point of view, he does a good job. However, he and his team have become locked in to far to much uniformity
Next time I'll tell you about the house I'm building on HaKatross, and how the city misuses its power (you might have read a bit about this in last weeks local paper).
Shabbat Shalom to all
Ches
Friday, July 17, 2009
Single family houses vs. Apartments
This might make me a bit unpopular, (or at least a bit more unpopular), but I guess it goes with the territory.
There has been a long going trend that people (not everyone thank God), building single family homes, turn parts of the house into rentable apartments. This is usually done totally illegally, by taking "store-room" or garages (or even excavating outside the building permit), shoving in a kitchenette and a bathroom and then taking in young couples or other boarders.
Reasons that I've heard for doing this range from
1. "We are doing this for our children/elderly parents" - Yeah right, its children and elderly parents who are inhabiting these hovels
to
2. A more honest "We need the money to help pay off the house mortgage" - Then why build what you couldnt afford? Go live in an apartment! That's what you've got anyway.
What these people dont really give a damn about, is that increasing the population density of a street that was designed for a limited population, a limited number of cars, and a limited load on electricity, sewage and other utilities, simply lowers the standard that the City intended for the street and turns (eventually) the street into a slum. HaMeitzadim street in Maale Adumim, started out as a reasonably nice street, but no longer!
HaGilgal in Mitzpe Nevo, is going to go the same way.
Not to mention that for the most part, these people do not pay the full rates levied by the city.
And why does it really piss me off personally? - Because some people, myself included, who have no intentions of having strangers living in my garage, get grief from the City Planning department, because since they havent been able to deal with people who did turn their houses into apartments, suspect everyone who is building a house of wanting to do the same thing.
I honestly believe that the City should come down hard on this practise. Close up illegal structures and store-rooms used for residences and back charge rates.
Does that sound harsh? Maybe, but a little tour around HaMeitzadim will prove my point
Its not as if I don't have any beefs with the City Engineer and the planning department. But there is a way of dealing with them (another post), albeit painfully long and beurocratic. But no different to most places in the world.
Quite frankly, the City opposition, instead of sucking up to anyone who doesn't like our Mayor and his team (their behaviour and track record is the perfect reason why the Mayor keeps getting reelected). Should get on board and start doing some good for this beautiful city - and that's for another post as well.
Shabbat Shalom
Ches
There has been a long going trend that people (not everyone thank God), building single family homes, turn parts of the house into rentable apartments. This is usually done totally illegally, by taking "store-room" or garages (or even excavating outside the building permit), shoving in a kitchenette and a bathroom and then taking in young couples or other boarders.
Reasons that I've heard for doing this range from
1. "We are doing this for our children/elderly parents" - Yeah right, its children and elderly parents who are inhabiting these hovels
to
2. A more honest "We need the money to help pay off the house mortgage" - Then why build what you couldnt afford? Go live in an apartment! That's what you've got anyway.
What these people dont really give a damn about, is that increasing the population density of a street that was designed for a limited population, a limited number of cars, and a limited load on electricity, sewage and other utilities, simply lowers the standard that the City intended for the street and turns (eventually) the street into a slum. HaMeitzadim street in Maale Adumim, started out as a reasonably nice street, but no longer!
HaGilgal in Mitzpe Nevo, is going to go the same way.
Not to mention that for the most part, these people do not pay the full rates levied by the city.
And why does it really piss me off personally? - Because some people, myself included, who have no intentions of having strangers living in my garage, get grief from the City Planning department, because since they havent been able to deal with people who did turn their houses into apartments, suspect everyone who is building a house of wanting to do the same thing.
I honestly believe that the City should come down hard on this practise. Close up illegal structures and store-rooms used for residences and back charge rates.
Does that sound harsh? Maybe, but a little tour around HaMeitzadim will prove my point
Its not as if I don't have any beefs with the City Engineer and the planning department. But there is a way of dealing with them (another post), albeit painfully long and beurocratic. But no different to most places in the world.
Quite frankly, the City opposition, instead of sucking up to anyone who doesn't like our Mayor and his team (their behaviour and track record is the perfect reason why the Mayor keeps getting reelected). Should get on board and start doing some good for this beautiful city - and that's for another post as well.
Shabbat Shalom
Ches
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