Musings of an Antique Technophyle

For those to whom this pertains (WWP)

2006-05-17T17:50:55Z

Due to my recent carreer change, and subsequent lack of time to pursue the prints. I have officially released the full res files to Kelly. If any of you want copies, talk to her... wanderingwayplayers@hotmail.com

Thanks all for the shoot, and if you like them...I AM for hire for portraits...hint hint... heh. I'll be around.

See you all soon!

Jay

Tagged...Damn the man

2006-05-01T16:09:17Z

Once you are tagged you MUST write an entry about 6 weird habits/things you do as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next six people to be tagged and list their names.

1: I'm OCD about protecting my gadgets. When I buy a new gadget, say my iPod for example, I can easily spend as much on cases as I can on the device itself. For the iPod, I'm on case number six, and searching.

2: I have this nervous compulsion to constantly keep my hands clean. When I'm stressed, I will perpetually wash my hands. The thought of hand cream makes me cringe, since it makes my hands oily, and I'll have to wash them again. If any of my belongings are held by myself when I think my hands are dirty, they get a good cleaning too.

3: I collect fountain pens. To most, they think it's odd that I'd spend $100 on a pen, but I love the connection to history. It's tangible, it's antique, and the only antique that's actually worth MORE restored. I write with one every day as well, and they rotate...I will write with every one, from my Parker 51 ca. 1952, to my Parker Sr. Duofold Streamlined ca. 1927

4: I think the world is going to end. This causes weird behavior out of me to the point where I always have two pocket knives one me, constant survival knowledge...(just ask jone2tone) and a running inventory of where I can get a gun quickly.

5: I'm on a constant knowledge quest. I want to know everything about everything, and until I do, I'm going to think I'm dumb, or not good enough at anything I do...since there will always be better.

6: If something isn't overengineered for my usage, I will find something else. In the case of my cameras, I have to have a pro model to be happy, since I know it was designed to be punished. While I don't punish anything I own, I like to know that it will last longer than I need it to. Right now, I have an N80 that pretty much sits around, while I tote around an F3 manual focus camera ca. 1983, since it is more durable. Before the F3, I had an Olympus OM1 that died due to being sat on.

So, there you go. TMI, Jay style... here's who I'm tagging...

jone2tone
bethanyh
gixpreator
fightorflight05
aifacat

SO THERE!

Dum, da dum...another one bites the dust???

2006-04-21T18:48:37Z

*gakked from jone2tone...

If you are now or have ever been (or know) a gamer, then note this and pass it along.

Palladium Games, publishers of such games as Rifts®, Ninja Turtles®, Robotech®, Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Heroes Unlimited, Nightbane® and others, is in danger of going under. Why? not because of bad business sense or low sales or anything mundane, but due to embezzlement and theft to the tune of between $850,000 and $1.3 million bucks.

Ouch.

Kevin Siembieda, president & owner, wrote this open letter in the Palladium forums yesterday. Read it, pass it along, talk it up. They've been one of the greats in the gaming world for, sheesh, 25 years, and in a time when tabletop dice-and-paper role-playing is in a slump anyway, it would hurt to see such a powerhouse and fixture of the industry die through no fault of their own.

They've treated gamers right for a long time. Here's a chance to thank them.

Updating on the urrgings of Bethany :P

2006-03-28T12:32:27Z

So, life is still very much in limbo, and I'm on the last day of a grueling three day gauntlet. I'll explain. Sunday was Danielle's birthday party. Hoping against all hopes, I wanted a sunny day so the kids could play outside, and my family wouldn't hole up inside. It wasn't to be. True to form, the day was overcast and chilly ,and the only one spending the day outside was me, attached to the grill. All in all it was a fun day, but a horribly tiring one. My mother took Danielle that night, which leads me to Monday.

Monday Heather and I were up at 4 in the morning to be out the door at five. The reason for this awakening at such an ungodly hour? Heather FINALLY had her interview in Freetown for the possible transfer over. I went so that after the interview was over, we could go apartment hunting in the area. We were on the road on time, and made it to Freetown Mass. by seven thirty. An hour and a half before her interview. Fortunately for me, I had packed my bag 'o' goodies, of which I used none. Shortly after reaching the parking lot, I fell asleep, and didn't wake until near ten. Upon waking, I did take advantage of my bag, I threw on my iPod, and pulled out the PSP for a little Untold Legends. Heather finally emerged at eleven thirty, and rather discouraged looking. She doesn't think she got the job, and said she flubbed the interview. I'm hoping she's just saying that to not get her hopes up. I'm sure there are those of you reading this that are jumping for joy, because that adds another tick in the Jay's staying column...we'll just have to see yet. What I will say is that the more time I spent in Mass, the more I loved it. The people there are si much friendlier there than they are in CT... always willing to help, and wit ha smile on their faces. Not only that, but if you're waiting to get into an intersection, you'll only be waiting a short while. Someone is bound to stop soon and LET YOU IN. Try getting that this close to NYC... it's not going to happen. We checked out a few apartment complexes (yet again I refuse to move into part of a house...I'm done dealing with finicky landlords and their crazy whims, management companies are just so much easier to deal with, and more reliable). The first one we hit I absolutely loved. The kitchen was huge, and the floorplan was perfect. Heather didn't like it at all, thinking it was dark, and there was nowhere near enough natural light coming in. SO, we're still searching. The second joint we tried to locate turned out to be a hole in the wall, and neither Heather nor I would be caught dead there, so we moved on. The third place we couldn't find, and the fourth, which might have been the winner, as it rather closely resembled the neighborhood we live in now, only with cell service, had no one in the management building, so we couldn't get a tour. I'm hoping on our next trip (yeah, you heard that right) we'll have something set up to check this joint out. That is , if we get the job. That brings me to today.

Today is a little more laid back. I have to go back to Best Buy to return a case I bought for my iPod. It doesn't protect so good, as the first time used it, it scratched up the back of the device. Not only that, but the only headphones I can use with the case are the stock earbuds, and that simply won't do. I like to use the thing in my car, attached to one of those tape deck adapters. So, off I go. I'm probably going to pick up King Kong as well. Tonight is going to be the gauntlet portion. Adam is coming home tonight, and I have to pick him up at JFK. There's the fun part. navigating an airport in New York is never fun, just like the drive there...

So, there you go, up to date on my life...and you asked for this...sucker...

Random Night this week

2006-03-20T22:09:49Z

Hello all interested, random night is at my house this week. If anyone needs directions, feel free to email me at: jpolaski@gmail.com. Shane and Matt know how to get here. Dinner is going to be Pasta and Meat sauce... bring what you want. No idea what's going to happen, though thre is WiFi, and movies galore :D

Jason needs...

2006-03-02T20:11:34Z

Okay, here goes, I did the Google bit, and here are the answers I got...

-Jason needs a Pismo (one of Mac's codenamed projects)
-Jason needs your micro-cash
-Jason needs to SHUT UP
-Jason needs your help
-Jason needs to eat according to a controlled carbohydrate meal plan so his blood glucose will not get too high

your turn ;)

If Heather could see THIS... oy

2006-02-11T04:14:20Z

<td align="center"> Jason Polaski --
[adjective]:

Fuzzy to the touch

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com</td>

FIREFLY SEASON 2

2006-01-27T05:41:42Z

KEEP FIREFLY ALIVE!!!! Follow the link. sign the form, then add this to YOUR LJ!!!

Life changes, and I have nothing to do but roll with it...

2006-01-23T20:25:20Z

Right, so I figures I'd put this here for everyone to read, and you can ask me questions from there.

Today, Heather had a meeting at work at 8:30. Now normally, everyone would say "so?", but you have to realize that Heather works second shift. This was really off key to begin with. I ended up going with her to the meeting because I had an appointment with the Neurosurgeons at the VA (worthless bastards). So, as we pull in to the complex, the FIRST thing we noticed is the news crew, followed immediately by the presence of a NUMBER of police cars, the most obvious, a HMMWV. SHIIIIT. Heather and I almost said in unison...we both knew what the meeting was about... layoffs. I tried to stay optimistic, thinking that maybe the police presence meant it was only for the grunt workers, since they are Teamsters, and feared a riot. I couldn't have been more wrong. I don't know if anyone has seen the news yet, but they are shutting down the North Haven branch of the Distribution center as early as March, or as late as June 1. The only real option we have is open slots at the Freetown center... For those of you NOT in the know, that's Massachusets. SO, sometime soon, we'll know if the transfer is approved, and Heather, Dani and I pack our things, and head for MA.

It's funny. Part of me is like...YEAH, Massachusets. That should be fun. The rest of me however, even while knowing what the necessary thing is, doesn't want to go. I would miss ALL of you so much. I've finally rebuilt my life here in CT, after leaving here in 96, and not coming back till 01.

What are the immediate effects? Well, Blue Star Studios is done before it began. Even if we don't get to transfer, I doubt Heather is going to get a job where the pay keeps us as comfortable (though she's ALREADY trying her ass off, and I love her dearly for it). I just can't swing the extra $200 a month for the rent. If I DO move, well, that kind of dissolves the partnership. I'm crushed there. This was going to be my baby...me finally geting to do what I love instead of what I have to. I have yet to break the news to my partner, though I think he's going to see this relatively quickly... I'm sorry Steve...

The other big thing I stand to lose? My gaming group. Now don't get me wrong guys, it's not final yet...and that goes for you too Steve.. but DAMN, my gaming. After having to wait so long for life to give me a night...I may end up in coolsville with noone to game with, and my gaming family happily slaying without me...ugh...
So yeah, now I leve it open. Ask away, and if I know, I'll let you know...

In the wake of Nikons startling move...

2006-01-20T04:46:14Z

Taken from Reuters...

Konica Minolta Holdings will withdraw from the camera and film businesses, marking the end to one of the best known brands in the photography world.

As part of the surprise move, the Tokyo-based company said Thursday it will sell a portion of its digital single lens reflex (SLR) camera assets to Sony for an undisclosed sum and cease production of compact cameras by March of this year.

The company said it will stop making photographic film and color paper by March 2007, pulling out of a market in rapid decline due to the spread of digital cameras, which store images digitally.

The world's third-largest maker of camera film after Eastman Kodak and Fuji Photo Film had said in November that it would significantly downsize its loss-making camera and film operations, but not completely shut them down.

"I wanted to put a clear end to the matter," Konica Minolta President Fumio Iwai said at a press conference, where the company also announced that Iwai would be replaced by Vice President Yoshikatsu Ota on April 1.

Konica Minolta said in November it expected to post a group net loss of $407.9 million (47 billion yen) in the fiscal year that ends in March.

But the decision to completely pull the plug on the business caught analysts and archrival Fuji Photo off guard.

Konica Minolta, created in August 2003 through the merger of Konica and Minolta, has a long history in the camera and film markets, producing Japan's first photographic paper in 1903 and the country's first color film in 1940.

Following the news, Fuji Photo issued a press release saying it will continue making traditional camera film.

JP Morgan analyst Hisashi Moriyama called Konica Minolta's move a "positive surprise…I was also not expecting Iwai to step down. This is a bold move rare among Japanese firms." He added that the decision could increase pressure on Fuji to downsize its business.

"I think the stock will go up. The traditional camera and film businesses were seen as a barrier to earnings growth and now it will be completely gone."

By ditching the unprofitable operations, Iwai said the company could focus resources on more promising areas such as color office copiers and LCD materials, medical equipment and optical devices.

Sony and Konica Minolta formed an agreement in July to jointly develop digital SLR cameras, which are generally more expensive and offer better performance than point-and-shoot compact models, and typically use interchangeable lenses.

Konica Minolta said it will continue to produce digital SLR camera bodies and lenses for Sony based on its Maxxum/Dynax mount system, meaning that current owners of those lenses will be able to use them on new digital SLR models to be developed by Sony.

But the Konica Minolta brand will disappear, ending a legacy that started when Konica introduced its first camera in 1903.

End of an Era...

2006-01-13T06:39:12Z

Sad news was released recently that all but ends an era in photography. The following is a press release from Nikon OK, and confirmed today in the US... this really sucks for us film photogs...

Following the success of our digital line-up over the last seven years, which has resulted in more than 95% of Nikon’s UK business being within the digital area, Nikon Corporation has made the decision to focus management resources on digital cameras in place of film cameras. This decision will allow Nikon to continue to develop products that match the demands of an increasingly competitive market place.

Despite this growing competition Nikon Corporation has continued to outperform the market, and has recently reported positive financial results which saw group net profit climb by 20% in the fiscal first half which ended in September. Group sales also increased by 9.8% to 342.85 billion yen in the same period. Sales of high end digital SLR cameras and the success of products like the D70s and D50 have helped contribute to these positive figures.

As the film camera market shrinks and the popularity of compact digital cameras increases, demand for products that offer advanced features and extra value is continuing to grow. High performance digital SLR cameras are performing well as users shift from film-based SLR cameras or upgrade from compact digital cameras to digital SLR cameras.

As a result of the new strategy Nikon will discontinue production of all lenses for large format cameras and enlarging lenses with sales of these products ceasing as soon as they run out of stock. This also applies to most of our film camera bodies, interchangeable manual focus lenses and related accessories. Although Nikon anticipates that the products will still be in retail distribution up to Summer 2006.

In recognition of Nikon’s commitment to professional photographers we will continue to manufacturer and sell the F6, our flagship film model, as well as a number of manual interchangeable lenses. Sales of the manual FM10 will also continue outside Europe.

Notes to editor

• As well as the F6 film body and the manual FM10 Nikon will continue to manufacturer and sell the following Interchangeable manual lenses:

Nikkor 20mm f/2.8

Nikkor 24mm f/2.8

Nikkor 28mm f/2.8

Nikkor 35mm f/1.4

Nikkor 50mm f/1.2

Nikkor 50mm f/1.4

Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8

Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8

PC Micro-Nikkor 85mm f/2.8D

• After-sales service will continue to be provided as before, according to the policy for each product

Inebriated HAPPY NEW YEAR

2006-01-01T05:31:19Z

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy hnew year! I'm sitting hwere, with more alcohol oinb me than blood, and I hjaust wanted to say HAPPY TNEW YEAR!. Hope all of you get what you want out of it, and those of you who don't knw WHAT you want, get exactly what you need to make it an excellent year! Right, now on to more shots...or so,ething fermented! WPOPPPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :D

Post Gluttonukkah

2005-12-26T20:54:08Z

So yeah, after a gut busting day of merriment, I am home, and rather not hungry. Lots of good eats yesterday, and some cool new booty to boot-y (yeahm that was bad). So, what did I get? Glad you asked. Mom and Bob got Heather and I am new Camcorder...HOLY CRAP! It's nice...and takes Mini DV. As soon as I get a Firewire card in the ol beast, I'll be able to transfer the video over, and play with it. Should be tons of fun. Mike got ma a laser level, of which I was needing, and Grandma got me sopme gloves and a pen/pencil set...for those of you who know me know I loved that one :D. A few days earlier, Heather and I went to pick out my gift, of whic hI got a new PSP, and the new Prince of Persia game WOO HOO. Greg was also kind enough to give me one of the coolest dice I'd ever seen, it's a 3d6... basically, a clear cube with 3 teeeny d6 in it. You roll the big cube, and that rattles the smaller ones giving you...tada...3d6! It rocks. I had a really good holiday, and I hope you all did too....

... so, that being said, what did you guys get?

HALFWAY THERE!

2005-12-24T06:37:30Z

So, Mel and I did the math, and the brainstorming tonight, and we figured that the studio SHOULD be openign in February, rental space pending (which really shouldn't be a problem). And the best part, we finally have a name we agreed on. If there is any confusion, check my av, there it is. Simple, and we dig it...so there you have it. The birth and bris of Blue Star Studios!

Staring in wide eyed wonder

2005-12-20T05:50:45Z

Okay, how many of you are going to see theis and go HOLY CRAP...HE JUST POSTED ON LJ...

...yeah, I thought so...

My own domain!!!

2005-06-17T20:37:03Z

I am FINALLY the proud owner of my own domain! If anyone wants to look, check out

www.jpolaskiphotography.com !!

I just added 15 new shots from the second wedding to the weddings section, and I still have more to go. I'm loving the new Nikon, and film in general (though the waiting bites). ANYWAY, go look, and let me know what you think...or don't, I'm just happy to have the domain ;)

Wedding...the sequel

2005-06-13T16:07:58Z

Yup, I don't post much, I got it. Most of my postings and goings on have been on deviant art, so if you must know the toilings of my artistic life, check there. For tose of you loyal to LJ, I'm going to post this here (duh).

The second wedding went GREAT. I mean, it was long, but fun. I now know what it means to love your job. The shooting went from 12 PM to 11 PM...ouch. In that time, I managed a decent number of rolls, and I should have the negatives and contact sheets back in about a week.

Yes, you heard me right. I said negatives and contact sheets. I went film. Oddly enough, I don't feel that this is a step back, but rather a step forward. I fyou want my rational behind that one, check my journal at my devART page. I picked up a Nikon N80, which I'm loving. It kind of feels weird though, not being able to check your shots, so I'm a bit nervous about the more creative ones...I guess that isn't a new issue for film photogs.

ANYWAY, Kevin pretty much said that I don't need any more trainng, as by the end of the night, I was running the show, not to mention I had taken and run with the bride and grooms photo shoot, making them do things that had Kevin drop his jaw. I think he was even a little depressed about his lack of creativity (he said so). I'll be posting shots as soon as I get them back. SO, not needing a mentor anymore, I told him that we DO make a good team, and if he wants to use me in hos other weddings, just to cut me in on the profits, and I'll be more than happy to lend him my services...we'll see how that goes.

On the portratiure side, I actually have to put together a price list, as one of my pieces has leaked out, thanks to my mother, and her photographer boss. It's generating a bit of a buzz, and people are asking about sitting fees and the like. I guess I have some homework to do ;).

Well, that's about it for now... I may keep you updated, and then again, I may not... lord knows how lazy I get with my LJ...

Wedding update

2005-05-31T03:05:56Z

The wedding went WONDERFULLY!!! I had so much fun shooting it, and I am looking forward to the next one on June 11 with Kevin. Oddly enough though, I think that before long, I may be taking a step backward in terms of technology. You see, the camera I have now just won't handle what I need it to for weddings, and I've pretty much decided to go with an autoficus film SLR. This should prove interesting.

ANYWAY, I updated my site wit some of the pieces I shot at the wedding. Kevin was very kind in letting me pose, and take some time with everybody. In fact, by the end of the night, we were working pretty much as equals, rather than techer/student. So, please have a look, and let me know what you think.

jaypolaski @ 2005-05-26T20:36:00

2005-05-27T01:36:11Z

Wow am I nervous. I'm second camera/assistant for a local wedding
photographer, and the wedding is SATURDAY! I know I've had a while to
prepare, and I put myself into this situation, but that doesn't stave
off the nerves that are wracking my stomach. I've been reading up (as
anyone who decided to check the above ISBN will attest to ),
but reading and doing are two completely different beasts. I just hope
I have what it takes to do this. I mean, tonight, I've been scouring
the net for examples of wedding photography, and I have come to the
conclusion that there are many wedding photgraphers who just plain out
SUCK. Not in a "I don't like your style way", but an "what the HELL
were you thinking" kind of way. Basic errors like direct on flash, poor
composition, and not checking your backgrounds for distractions like
halk-unpacked boxes...that kind of thing...and this HAS helped me to
think I can. ANYWAY... I did this for multiple reasons. ONE, I learn
the trade, and hopefully, pick it up myself. TWO, I get pieces to use
in my portfolio, and my site.
I know that regardless, this will be the outcome, but I still hope for
the best. I want to continue learning from this guy, and if I blow
this, I know I'll have to look somewhere else...which would be bad. SO,
I ramble on here...

The majority of the special equipment I need came in, including my Stroboframe Flash Bracket (I found used on eBay ) and I'm waiting on my Sto-Fen Omni Bounce...which should be here either tomorrow, or early Saturday.

WOW...that actually helped... thanks for reading/listening...

Yeah yeah yeah... I don't post a lot...I get it...

2005-05-24T02:23:51Z

So... a while back, I ordered a catalog from the New York Institute
of Photography. Needless to say, it never showed...I think my mailman
is a bit of a shuterbug...

ANYWAY... I ordered another one. You see, I pretty much knew I wanted to enroll, but I was worried about cost.

It showed up today, and I eagerly tore it open and found the enrollment form. YAY!!! They take payments.

Needless to say, I enrolled. I can't wait for my stuff to show up in
the mail. They're saying that the bill and student ID will be here by
the end of the week, while the first three lessons will be here in two
to three weeks...that's going to be a long wait...let me tell you.

I'm hoping this will go a long way to helping me with my freelance work, and to improving my photography in general...

IN other news, I managed to acquire an old strobe kit, that when I got it...was just this side of electrically safe. I have since been giving it the complete overhaul. It's coming along nicely, and everything is working well...and safe. I just got done putting together a new rechargeable pack... I had to completely retrofit and resolder using D sized NiCaD batteries. I have it charging now, and test fired it once... I want to give it a full test, see how many shots I get out of the pack, but Ianticipate it working nicely... YAY!!!

jaypolaski @ 2005-05-08T16:50:00

2005-05-08T21:50:32Z

...yadda yadda yadda... did a buttload of work on my page... yadda yadda yadda... threw out my back again in the damned shower this time... yadda yadda yadda...doctor says it's just about time for surgery... yadda yadda yadda... percosets make me say yadda yadda yadda a LOT

jaypolaski @ 2005-05-05T21:57:00

2005-05-06T02:57:23Z

So, I'm not sure if I've posted this before, but I will now.

I've made a life decision. Instead of calling myself a homemaker, I'm changing my title to FREELANCE ARTIST. This has nothing to do with my station in life. This to me means that I'm finally admitting to the world that I am an artist, and I am willing to accept the challenges set before me in a professional manner. For years when people said I was an artist, I shyed away, saying yeah, I doodle here and there...but never admitting to my talent, for fear that I wasn't good enough. I never believed in myself. I'm taking a practive stance to change that..so here I am world...throw me a job!

Remembering Amalek

2005-05-05T17:56:07Z

For years, the details of arch-Nazi Eichmann's hanging by the State
of Israel was shrouded in secrecy -- from his being given his last
glass of wine, to the noose being placed around his neck, to his
lifeless body being incinerated in a specially-designed oven and his
ashes spread over the sea outside Israel's territorial waters.

Most of those involved in Israel's first and only execution in 1962
are no longer living. But Nagar was "discovered" 12 years ago, when an
Israeli radio station wanted to produce a 30th anniversary program of
Eichmann's capture and hanging. After sifting through prison records
and following tips from former prison employees, Nagar, "the short
Yemenite guard" as he was remembered, was located and asked to reveal
the memories he had stored away for so many years. At the time, Shalom
Nagar, having retired from the Prisons Services, was living in Kiryat
Arba and learning in kollel from dawn to midnight.

"For years, I was sworn to secrecy. My commanders feared reprisals
from neo-Nazis and others who thought Eichmann was a hero. But Isser
Harel, the Mossad chief in charge of Eichmann's capture in Argentina,
had already written a book about it, so what did I have to fear?
Besides, I was involved in the great mitzvah of wiping out Amalek."
(Amalek is the implacable enemy of the Jews: the one who tried to kill
our forefather Jacob, the nation that attacked the Israelites on their
departure from Egypt, the nation from which Haman descended, and
according to various sources, the spiritual ancestor of the German Nazi
machine.)

Eichmann, the engineer and supervisor of Hitler's "Final Solution,"
shared the primary responsibility for the systematic murder of six
million Jews in the Holocaust. After the war he went into hiding to
avoid the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, and then made his way to
Argentina, where he lived in relative security with his wife and four
children, as an anonymous manager of a laundromat. For years the Mossad
was on his tail, and in 1961 he was captured and hauled off to Israel
to stand trial for genocide.

The trial, which publicly rehashed the horrors that the Nazis
perpetrated against the Jews, elicited a torrential emotional response
in Israel and around the world. Repressed memories burst forth into the
standing-room-only courtroom. People screamed, cried, and tried to
attack and kill Eichmann, who was ensconced during the proceedings in a
bulletproof glass box.

On December 13, 1961, he was sentenced to death by hanging.
Following the rejection of an appeal to the Supreme Court for clemency,
he was executed close to midnight on May 31, 1962. The following
morning, a one-line announcement of his hanging was broadcast on Kol
Yisrael. Although the trial was in the spotlight for nearly a year, the
details of his incarceration and of the execution itself would only be
revealed decades later by his executioner, Shalom Nagar.

Shalom Nagar recalls the events that led up to that fateful night.
"I was working as a guard for the Prisons Services then, after
finishing the army and working for the Border Police. At first,
Eichmann was brought to a prison in Yagur outside of Haifa. He was
transferred to Ramle Prison, where I worked, for the last six months of
his life.

"We were a unit of 22 guards, known as the 'Eichmann guards,'
carefully selected to make sure that we had no revenge motives. After
all, it was only 16 years after the Holocaust, and many prison
employees had either gone through the camps or had lost family. They
were disqualified. Eichmann's 'apartment,' as we called it, was in a
special wing on the second floor, but no Ashkenazi guards were allowed
up. There were five rooms, one overlooking the other.

"For six months I guarded him, facing his cell in the innermost
room, standing in close proximity where he rested, wrote his memoirs,
ate, and used the facilities. He was extremely clean, and washed his
hands compulsively. One reason for our careful supervision was that he
might have wanted to take his own life, and we were to prevent that at
all costs. Outside of my room was another room overlooking it, with a
guard who watched over both me and Eichmann. In the next room was the
duty officer, who guarded all of us. And the last room is where we
rested during shift changes.

"Food was brought in, in locked containers to prevent any attempt at
poisoning. Still, before I gave him his meal, I had to taste it myself.
If I didn't drop dead after two minutes, the duty officer allowed the
plate into his cell.

"There were guards who had numbers on their arms, but they weren't
allowed onto the second floor. However, before we were clear about this
rule, one guard from downstairs, Blumenfeld, who had survived the
camps, asked if he could switch with me one night. I assumed he just
wanted to get a look at the man who destroyed his family. Anyway, we
were all in the same unit, so I figured -- why not? Blumenfeld
approached the door of the cell and rolled up his sleeve. 'Once I was
in your hands, and now the tables have turned. Look who has the last
laugh.' It was the middle of the night, and Eichmann jumped up from his
bed and started ranting in German. I, of course, couldn't follow the
conversation, but from then on we had clear instructions: No switching
or we'd get court-martialed."

THE HUNT AND THE CAPTURE

Adolph Eichmann was born in 1906 in Solingen, Germany. His family
moved to Austria and he joined the Austrian Nazi Party in 1932. In 1939
he headed the "Jewish desk" of the Gestapo and spent the next six years
implementing Hitler's "Final Solution," perfecting the murderous
efficiency of the death camps and gas chambers. After the war, he
managed to hide out in Europe until 1950, when he escaped to Argentina.
He sent for his wife and children two years later.

His whereabouts were hidden for years. But in 1957, the Mossad got a
tip that Eichmann was alive and living in Buenos Aires under an alias.
The hunt was on; it lasted four years. Mossad leader Isser Harel was
determined to capture him, but not kill him. He wanted him brought to
justice in front of the Jewish people. The investigation moved slowly
and carefully.

"The investigators couldn't risk the danger that their prey would
learn he was being followed. Even more difficult was the necessity of
identifying their man beyond the shadow of a doubt. The only thing
worse than losing the real Eichmann would be capturing the wrong one,"
wrote Harel in his book, The House on Garibaldi Street.

But Eichmann had destroyed all evidence of his former identity. He'd
even cut away the tattoo that all SS men had under their left armpit.
There were no fingerprints, just some blurry photos from before the
war. In 1959, the Israelis discovered that Eichmann had changed his
name to Ricardo Klement. But one son still used the original family
name, and his trail led the agents to Garibaldi Street in Buenos Aires.
For weeks, they surveyed the house and the bespectacled man who lived
there. They felt certain it was Eichmann, but they needed proof. The
proof came on March 21,1960, as Ricardo Klement walked toward his home
with a bouquet, giving it to a woman at the door. The children were
dressed festively. March 21 was Eichmann's silver wedding anniversary.

The Mossad flew into action. The kidnapping had to be perfectly
planned; there must be not hint that over 30 Mossad operatives were
flying into Argentina. As Harel well knew, Israel would be violating
Argentina's sovereignty by kidnapping Eichmann and taking him out of
the country. The night of the kidnapping, two Mossad operatives parked
on Eichmann's street and began tinkering with their car. Another car,
with other agents, was parked behind them. As Eichmann approached them
coming off the bus from work, the agents pounced on him, gagged him,
and bundled him off in one of the cars. Harel guessed that his family
would not report him missing, since this might reveal something about
his previous Nazi past. His family did call hospitals, but avoided the
police. They did call their Nazi friends -- dozens had taken refuge in
Argentina -- but no one helped. Instead, they scattered, fearing that
Israel's far-flung net would catch them too.

The Mossad had him, but now they had to get him out of the country
without arousing suspicion. They dressed him in an El Al uniform, and
in a drugged stupor, led him onto the plane. His identity was
supposedly that of an El Al employee who had suffered a head injury and
was now sufficiently recuperated to be able to fly back home. One of
their own agents was hospitalized in order to procure the proper forms.
True to his compulsively efficient, detail-oriented nature, Eichmann
cooperated fully with his captors, even reminding them that they had
forgotten to put on his airline jacket. "That will arouse suspicion,"
Eichmann lectured them, "for I will be conspicuously different from the
other crew members who are fully dressed."

Eichmann's appeal to the Supreme Court, on the grounds that he was
merely carrying out orders of the Reich and had no personal interest in
killing Jews, was rejected, as was his appeal for clemency. As the
execution day drew near, the Prisons Service approached several
employees who had no personal account with the Nazi. Someone had to
carry out the sentence. Nagar, a former paratrooper and decorated
soldier who was an orphan in Yemen during World War II, was approached
by Avraham Merchavi, the Head Warden.

"I said maybe he should find someone else to do the job. Then
Merchavi took me and several other guards and showed us the footage of
how the Nazis took innocent children and tore them to pieces. I was so
shaken that I agreed to whatever had to be done."

At the same time, a man named Pinchas Zeklikovsky was summoned by
the police for a special mission. Zeklikovsky, whose family was wiped
out by the Nazis, worked for an oven factory in Petach Tikvah and was
an expert oven builder. He was asked to build an oven the size of a
man's body, which would reach 1,800Â°C. He worked on the oven in the
factory, telling inquirers that it was a special order for a factory in
Eilat that burned fish bones. On the afternoon of May 31, 1962, after
the other workers left, an army truck rolled into the oven factory and
loaded on the oven. Under heavy guard, the oven made its way to Ramle
Prison.

The world knew that Eichmann's days were limited, but his hanging
was made public only after the fact. All the preparations were done
secretly, for fear of sabotage by Eichmann supporters. Streets around
the prison were cordoned off for several blocks that afternoon.

Meanwhile, that same day, Shalom Nagar was on a 48-hour furlough. He
was walking with his wife, Orah, and infant son in his Holon
neighborhood when a police van screeched to a halt in front of him and
pulled him inside. It was Merchavi. Nagar knew immediately what this
special invitation was about.

"I realized I had won the 'lottery.' But I told him, 'You now have a
problem, because although you want the hanging kept top secret, my wife
thinks I've been kidnapped. She'll call the police.' He agreed, and the
car made a quick reverse, so I could explain to my wife that this was
my commanding officer and that I'd be working late. We arrived at Ramle
Prison, and I was given a stretcher, some sheets and bandages, and was
told to go and wait downstairs. Meanwhile upstairs, Eichmann was with
the priest, and was given a glass of wine. By the time I was summoned,
the noose was already around his neck and he was standing on a
specially-made trapdoor which would open under him when I would pull
the lever."

According to an official account, there were supposedly two people
who would pull the lever simultaneously, so neither would know for sure
by whose hand Eichmann died. But Nagar says he knows nothing about
that. "I didn't see anyone else there. It was just me and Eichmann. I
was standing a few feet from him, and looked him straight in the eye.
He refused to have his face covered, and he was still wearing those
trademark checkered slippers. Then I pulled the lever and he fell,
dangling by the rope."

After an hour, Nagar and Merchavi went downstairs to release the
body. A scaffold had been built in order to reach him -- to take him
off the gallows.

"Merchavi told me to climb the scaffold and lift him, and then he
would loosen the rope. For years I had nightmares of those moments. His
face was white as chalk, his eyes were bulging and his tongue was
dangling out. The rope rubbed the skin off his neck, and his tongue and
chest were covered with blood. I didn't know that when a person is
strangled all the air remains in his stomach. So when I lifted him, all
the air that was inside came out and the most horrifying sound was
released from his mouth -- 'baaaaa' -- I felt the Angel of Death had
come to take me too. Finally a few other guards arrived and we managed
to get him onto the stretcher we had prepared earlier.

"We took him to the other side of the courtyard, where the oven was
waiting. One of the guards, his name was Luchs and he had been in
Auschwitz, was given the job of heating the oven. The oven was so hot
it was impossible to get too close. So they'd built tracks so that the
stretcher could slide into it. It was my job to push the stretcher into
the oven, but I was shaking so hard that the body kept rolling from
side to side. Finally, I was able to push him in and we closed the
doors."

Nagar was slated to escort the ashes to the port, but he was in such
a state of trauma that Merchavi had him sent home with an escort. In
the very early hours of the morning, the ashes were removed from the
oven and transported by police van to Jaffa Port, where a Coast Guard
boat carried them beyond Israel's territorial waters, so that they
would not defile the Holy Land.

"Over four decades have now passed since the Eichmann execution,"
Nagar says, "and in spite of all the trauma, today I understand the
great merit I was given. God commands us to wipe out Amalek, and 'not
to forget.' I have fulfilled both."

This article originally appeared in Hamishpacha Magazine

This article can also be read at:
http://www.aish.com/holocaust/issues/The_Executioner.asp

Author Biography:

Rachel Ginsberg writes for Jewish publications in Israel and the United States.

Updated page

2005-05-04T05:27:00Z

Quick entry folks. I finally got my personal page up and running in a rudimentary form...Check it out, I'd love to know what you think, and what you think I can do to improve it (besides shortening the URL...can't afford my own domain...yet *rubbing hands and plotting*).

http://www.freewebtown.com/jaypolaski/photography/

jaypolaski @ 2005-04-28T19:17:00

2005-04-29T00:17:31Z

Let me start by saying I love my kid. I love my kid more than I thought I ever could. Tonight, I strive to entertain you with a goofy little thing that happened tonight. My daughter, after a long day of playing, was jumping on my bed, when I informed her that it was shower time, and had to coax her into the bathroom with the threat of getting my ass off of my chair, once I finished counting to ten. Once she entered the bathroom, there was silence for about 20 minutes, at which time the water turned on. Two minutes later, the water turns off, at which point I knock on the bathroom door, and open to talk to my kid. I asked her why the water was on for two minutes, to hwich she started in with the ums and the excuses. I explain to her, that I heard the water, and she needs to get her skinny butt back in the shower before I BATHE her myself! Wide eyed, she agrees, and steps into the shower as I close the door. She turned the water back on, but I'm STILL not sure she took a shower. At this point, I'm just too tired to do anything about it...

The whole point of this little tale is this: do you remember being young? Do you remember thinking that your parents knew nothing? This was my reminder. As I was telling her this, it took every last ounce of strength NOT to laugh out loud. THIS is why I love kids...

Goodnight everyone...