Ask a New Yorker: Where are you from originally?
Ariel: I was born in Argentina but spent most of my life in Israel.
Ask a New Yorker: Jewish Argentinean…interesting.
Arial: On one part of the family I’m ninth generation Argentinean, from
my great grandfather’s side of the family. The other side of the family
is from Europe and Russia. Then when I was about four years old my family moved
to Israel.
Ask a New Yorker: What town did you live in?
Ariel: When we arrived we lived in Carmel,
which is a small town in the north. You hear about it a lot these days because
of the war. Then we moved to Tel Aviv to Rishon Le Zion, which means ‘First
to Zion’, was the first of the new Jewish towns formed. It is now the
fourth largest city in Israel and it has literally grown up around the wine
cellars. Zichron Ya’acov, situated on Mount Carmel overlooking the Mediterranean
Sea, means ‘In Memory of Jacob’. This was named after Baron Edmond
de Rothschild’s father, James Jacob de Rothschild, who had bought Chateau
Lafite for the family in 1868. The first telephone and electricity used in Israel,
was used at Carmel. No less than three future Prime Ministers of Israel worked
at Carmel’s wineries & vineyards in their early years.
Ask a New Yorker: Very interesting. On to another topic…what’s the
funniest thing that has happened to you in the past week?
Ariel: Yesterday my only child, my first born, was 11 months old. So every new
thing he does excites him. Last week he started clapping his hands and imitates
everything we do. When we make a noise he imitates us. This is really funny.
Ask a New Yorker: Excellent. What’s your favorite street vending food?
Ariel: Well, actually I avoid buying food on the street. But what I really like
when I’m on the street is gyros. It reminds me of the Israeli Sharma.
Ask a New Yorker: It’s time test your visual memorization skills. Right
outside your office there are two very large bill boards. What are on those
bill boards?
Ariel: On top there is a bill board for Con Ed and on the bottom there is a
beautiful model there advertising a clothing company specifically for jeans.
Ask a New Yorker: I bet you also have an excellent sense of direction…O.K.,
how about ______+_______= success. Fill in the blanks.
Ariel: A goal that you believe in + consistency =success. Visualize it and it
will happen.
Ask a New Yorker: What do you do here in New York?
Ariel: I run GPS Planet. We have a small
software company in Israel that developed algorithms for navigation systems.
I used to work for IBM for several years. We developed solutions for very large
fleet management companies. In time we started our own company that calculates
the algorithms for the best route or way points. So if you had ten way points,
what would be the best route? Our system optimizes the best route for you. So,
our company specializes in hand held devices that are customized especially
for anyone who needs or likes efficiency and knowledge. It’s an excellent
device for tourists and New Yorkers alike.
Ask a New Yorker: I will say New Yorkers are pretty savvy at most things but
giving directions really is not one of them.
Ariel: At the Ben-Gurion international airport we have a counter. We work with
Hertz Rental Cars; we rent out these devices. It’s hand held so you can
take it with you. So, it’s great for walking and guides you as a pedestrian.
It has multiple way points that our mainly tourist attractions. We have walking
tours built into the system which physically guides you on how to get to a specific
destination. We will soon have a counter at the Times Square tourist information
Center. And in the spring we will have a post at JFK Terminal Four. If you’re
traveling to Europe or other counties you can order it over the internet.
Ask a New Yorker: This seems like a great way to introduce anyone to the city,
or any city for that matter.
Ariel: Exactly…what’s the closest attraction to me now?….you
search for the closest attraction and it will tell you. You click on it and
it will create a route to bring you there. This works also when you’re
in a taxi too. It’s great for preplanning your trip in advance. So if
you have a meeting it looks for the closest parking lot to your meeting place
or the closest restaurant. Here’s an example of what you hear when you
click on the Empire State Building,”The world famous Empire State Building.
Its image is instantly recognizable. The building captures the spirit of New
York City soaring high over one hundred floors into the stratosphere. The site
of the Empire State Building was actually the original site of the Waldorf Astoria
Construction was completed in just one year and 45 days”.
Ask a New Yorker: So tell me, how is your sense of direction?
Ariel: I can just look at a map and memorize it. That’s it. You don’t
need to give me directions. I look at a map and take a picture of it in my mind.
I can immediately tell you North, South, East ,West….I guess I have an
internal compass inside me. I think that’s what drew me to maps and navigation
systems.
Ask a New Yorker: Well, if you ever do get lost you’ve got a terrific
piece of technology to guide you where ever you need to go. Thanks for your
time and good luck!
