The Follies of Zest

Turning the Clock Back 72 Years

Alex — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:54:06 +0000

After reading a post on the Freakonomics blog, I decided to do a bit of research: 'If you are in the United States, you probably remember participating in the Decennial Census in 2010. These forms are kept confidential for 72 years—roughly an average American’s life span. But this same rule means that today (actually, a couple of days ago), the 1940 Census results became public information.'

Steve Jobs

Alex — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:51:38 +0000

Steve Jobs revolutionized industries and changed the way we think about technology and the world around us. I can think of no better way to memorialize him then with his moving commencement address. Here's to the crazy ones.

Jews, Cigars and Mojitos

Alex — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:27:52 +0000

I love the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Joint, JDC. Why? Because they're *awesome*. I don't mean *awesome* as in what a surfer dude might say. I mean that the JDC fills me with *awe*. Jaw-dropping awe. The JDC is responsible for millions of dollars worth of Tikkun Olam every year -- providing aid to Jews and non-Jews in need, in more than 70 countries.

Startup America Comes to Cleveland

Alex — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:21:13 +0000

What’s the best way to create jobs? Startups! … according to a Kauffman Foundation study. That study is now the basis for the Federal Government’s new effort called Startup America Partnership to encourage job growth by scaling startups. Today at Shaker LaunchHouse, Alex Gold spoke to a packed house about Startup America Partnership, and how LaunchHouse members can benefit from the resources available.

Seeing the Future at FOJNP

Alex — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:23:19 +0000

On Wednesday, 24 August 2011, I along with 50 others attended Dave Weinberg's Future of Jewish Nonprofit summit (FOJNP) in New York. The event brought together some great minds in the nonprofit Jewish world to talk about how to raise money in these difficult times, proper use of social media (Google+, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), and how to get your ideas out there. I think it was a resounding success.

#2: What’s PresenTense?

Alex — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:00:59 +0000

So I figured if I’m going to be talking about what I’m doing in Israel, I might as well start with the present (yup, that’s a pun) — and work backwards. I assume I’ll work backwards, I suppose we’ll see tomorrow. So here’s a crash course in PresenTense — what they do, why I’m volunteering [...]

#1: 90 Posts in 90 Days

Alex — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:59:00 +0000

I decided that, despite being late to the party, I’m going to join formally join the LUBlogTribe. Over the next 90 days I’m going to attempt to write one post per day. I’m trying to get the rest of the PresenTense community to blog, so I might as well be less of a hypocrite and [...]

Ethiopian Airlines Time Machine

Alex — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 05:00:40 +0000

For the past three months I have been volunteering twice a week with the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades at Dkalim School in the Valley of the Springs. I work with the kids on conversational English; if they were speaking in English, I didn’t much care what the topic of conversation was. It was a lot of fun for me, and maybe it’s because I took them out of their regular class, but the kids seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. I even have a few thank you cards to prove it.

My Ideal Leadership Conference

Alex — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:21:47 +0000

Over 400 "young leaders" from Jewish communities around the globe attended Masa's Building Future Leadership (BFL) conference. Masa did a brilliant job in their first attempt at a week-long leadership conference, and my hat goes off to them. One thing that struck me during the conference: I really wasn't the target demographic. So for the heck of it, I've decided to dream up what BFL could have been, if it had been designed with me in mind.

Cooking in English with OTZMA

Alex — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:47:53 +0000

Shavua Tov from Beit She’an! This is my first post about my time volunteering in Beit She’an and the surrounding valley Emek HaMayanot (“Valley of the Springs”). During the next few months, we will continue to volunteer in the community, doing our best to fulfill the needs of the people who live here. Sorry it’s [...]