Uh?

Moving on, moving out

2008-04-14T13:13:00.006+03:00

I'm happy to announce I bought my first domain: http://therubio.com.
The new address for the blog is therefore gonna be http://blog.therubio.com.

Cheers!

Well, I don't know a lot about him...

2007-09-04T10:14:00.000+03:00

... or what he does, but it feels like he has the best job/life in the world. Read and view only if you have about 5 minutes, because you won't be able to brake away.

A superhero for the 21st century

2007-09-02T09:09:00.000+03:00

Well, to paraphrase Prince, you don't have to be rich, you don't have to be cool, I just want your extra time and your.... very clever algorithm for "Content Aware Image Resizing".

Shai Avidan is the guy behind the program, well, he's half of it, together with Ariel Shamir, and he's just been hired by Adobe. I read his CV here, and found out that although he's been working in the U.S. for a while now, the dude is Israeli and even graduated from the Hebrew University. Kinda cool, innit? Now we just have to wait for Photoshop CS4 or 5 to try it out for ourselves...

Can SHE find the U.S. on the map?

2007-08-29T09:32:00.000+03:00

Update: You know what, my heart goes out to her. At first I obviously thought it was hysterical, but seeing how it has ballooned all over the internet... Poor girl, really. I mean look at this piece of art work - try and follow it while the video is playing:

Does anyone really read these titles any more?

2007-08-14T11:31:00.000+03:00

I've been meaning to write a decent post, a long one, for quite a while. Something verbal, with maybe only a small picture or something, and actually that day has... not arrive yet. I'm sorry, this is another short, unplanned post, just a way to deliver something cool I found.
You probably know writer/director Kevin Smith. I really love him: all his movies, his blog, his podcast - really, he's so irreverent you can't just not adore him.
While i was rumbling through old posts, I noticed this - it's just a few pictures of his house, but for me it's just a bit more then that. Let me put this into context: In MTV's cribs, each week, a different small unknown rapper\producer invites you to see his house - I must have seen hundred of episodes where the house is usually some monstrosity, filled with empty rooms, golden bathtubs and big screen TV's.
Well, just check the link. finally a house I can live in. If I had all of Mr. Smith's money my house would probably turn out to be a lot like his, maybe a lit less messy...

Oldschool

2007-08-08T14:51:00.000+03:00

I'll just do this for a while...

2007-07-19T09:37:00.000+03:00

1. Here is a cool site about the dangers of caffeine. It seems that if I gulp down 317.65 cans of Diet Coke I'll be history. Did you know there used to be a Diet Raspberry Coke? I'd have tried that, it doesn't sound too bad. On the other hand, it would take 14,294.22 Hershey's Kisses to take me down. As much as I love them, I don't think it would ever come to that - I tend to limit myself to 10,000 a day.

2. This is an amazing interactive commercial for a toilet bowl, it's a very heavy flash site, so be patient. It's worth the wait though - until I saw it I didn't really know how badly I needed to flush a towel.

3. Did you ever ponder what Arnold Schwarzenegger's dog would look like? Here is an article about a muscle mutation disease in dogs. Forget about the article - just check the picture...

4. Too good for words:

Interim post

2007-07-09T11:45:00.001+03:00

Home

2007-07-01T11:20:00.000+03:00

As you might have noticed, I took off all the pictures from Flickr, since I really hated them. I am now using Picasa: go here and take a look at all the photos. I took some bigger panoramas, but I still have to photoshop them together, so maybe I'll upload them later to a separate folder.
I know I'm not the best photographer in the world, some of the pictures might not even mean anything to you without my commentary, and I didn't even take to many photos anyway. Anyhow, I hope you still get something out of them...

Day 12

2007-06-29T01:08:00.000+03:00

The days of the free internet connection in the conference site in Venice seem so very far away, and right about now I'd pay double what I did to get the wireless connection I had in Bologna (and that was expensive as it was).
Thing is, I'm now in the hotel in Rome, it's about 00:15, Ohad and me are back from a very stylish pub we found in a neighborhood called Testaccio (after a small hill on which it resides), I fire up the laptop and lo and behold - the tech gods have smiled upon me and there seems to be a semi-stable and, above all, free wifi connection I can use. I don't like updating the blog from internet places because I need time and to feel relaxed to properly express myself, so for the past few days I haven't really told you about what happened in Bologna, or Firenze, or Toscana, and Rome (so far), and what's worse is I haven't even uploaded any pictures!
I'm sorry about that, really, but you're going to have to show a little more patience with me - the connection doesn't really allow me to upload much of anything, and I'll have to be a bit brief about what happened till now:
Ok, after that day in Bologna, which really was magical, I went to San Lazzaro the next morning. It was really weird - every time I am abroad, I feel uncomfortable until I come back to Jerusalem. It's more then feeling uncomfortable, it's feeling like a fish out of the water, a feeling of insecurity. And in San Lazzaro that feeling went away, I don't know, on one hand I wasn't really home, because Jerusalem is home now, and on the other hand I felt really comfortable: I knew were I was, I never got lost, I even took shortcuts I remembered. In any case, I got to see both our neighbors still alive and well, and even catch up with a friend and his family. Nothing has changed - they are all still there just the way I left them, as if they have been waiting for me, preserved in a big jar of formaldehyde.
That took two days, and on the spare time we had left, we got to drive to Maranello, where Ferrari's are made and tested, and where there's a big museum full of old models. It was very cool, since it all happened on the day of the 60th birthday of the Ferrari namebrand. A LOT of people where there, a lot of beautiful cars, and even 9 jet planes flew by in a whole bunch of formations. Quite the celebration.
Then, we left Bologna and we drove to Firenze. Driving felt great - I love our car (which we decided on calling Maurizio) and we got there through small back-roads in about two hours. Thing is, by then it was unbelievably hot and crowded, so we left pretty early after seeing all we could see in one day (which wasn't a lot, but it sure felt enough).
After leaving Firenze, we decided on settling in Montepulciano for the night - a small Toscan town, which is comprised of a small bunch of red brick-houses huddled together on quite a steep cliff-side. The next morning we toured a few of the local wineries, after consulting a local wine shop in town. Very, very cool endevour that is, touring local wineries - I whole-heartedly recommend it.
Well, after cooling off, we drove very fast on the autostrada, south, towards Rome. We found the hotel, which is very nice, and we've been doing all of the attractions for the past three days, trying not to miss any of the must see's.
I have to finish, I've rambled for long enough anyway and I have a busy day ahead of me.
Ciao!

Day 6

2007-06-22T22:51:00.000+03:00

I've been staring the blank screen for the past 10 minutes, not nowing how to describe this past day. And to think it's all been just a prelude for what lies ahead for tomorrow...

In any case, Ohad volunteered to write for me, so here it goes:

I don't know what the procedure is for someone other than the blog-owner to write, but in this case I can best attest as to what happened. At first we went around town looking for the Cinema Roy's father worked in and Roy spent his days as a child. At the cinema he didn't know anyone but they directed him to a woman called Cinzia (I couldn't pronounce it with a gun to my head) who now worked at another cinema. So we went to the other side of town to meet this woman and to be honest I was a bit skeptic, 15 years have passed, and she might not even remember him. I didn't want to rain on his parade, even though it was really hot outside, and so I tagged along to the other side of town. When we got to the new cinema, he took a deep breath and went to the cashier and introduced himself with "Cinzia? I don't know if you remember me, but my name is Roy" (both you and I don't understand Italian, so I'm translating). It took her a second, but than she started with an ecstatic voice, RRRoy, RRRoy (In an Italian accent). She ran from her both and opened the door to hug and kiss him, as even I got some kisses and excited unknown Italian words. It was a reunion like a reunion ought to be, that's why he had a hard time putting it in words. It was one of the moments you see in movies. Then they reminisced for a while, and she was overwhelmed with how time had passed and how she remembered Roy as a little boy and all of his family. It was really moving, and so I can only imagine how it was for Roy, but I'm sure he'll be more expressive with a bit more time to digest and rethink that moment.

Day 5

2007-06-21T08:48:00.000+03:00

I'm just gonna put it out there – I still don't have the suitcase. This is ridiculous. For now I'm managing, although the charger for the camera is in there, so for now, no more pictures. Only for now, I hope.

Up until yesterday I had been quite the good boy: I went to most of the lecture sessions, and the poster session. That might give you an idea of why I haven't posted anything - I didn't think you'd be interested in spin-chemistry. Yesterday, however, I decided to skip everything and go to Murano. I wouldn't have had time to do that otherwise, and I really wanted to go. It was nice, the island is quite small and peaceful, and when you scratch the surface nothing is as big as a tourist trap as it first seemes. The same goes for the main island of Venice – at first I really though there wouldn't be much of anything besides piazza S. Marco and a gazzilion of tourists, but after coming back from Murano I managed to get lost in the northern part of the main island, crossing the Rialto and going into the more quiet part of the city. Very, very nice - more of an ambiance-soaking experience then sightseeing, but I really enjoyed it, just as much as the visit to Murano.

In any case, today Ohad will get here and god willing the suitcase will too. Tfu tfu tfu.

Next update will be from the hotel in Bologna, I hope, so check back tonight.

update #1: We're not in Bologna yet, but i think the news merit the update. The organizers of the conference went t the airport and found the suitcases there. They are on the way back here, and after I get them I'll leave to meet with Ohad. Oh, and I managed to squeez a few minutes out of the camera's battery... Good update, right?

update #2: Bologna. Suitcase. Fresh Underwear. Alfa Romea 159 1.9 TurboDisel. And to top it all off - a belly full of Pizza Rustica (tomatoes, mozzarella, salsiccia , potatoes) . Goodnight :-).

Day 1

2007-06-17T23:58:00.000+03:00

Ok. About three quarters of the first day have passed, and right up until about an hour ago I was about to give it a 2 out of 10. Since I had time to cool off a bit, I'd say the day is up to a 5.

I decided to not go into details here, no reason to bum anyone out; I'll just say that Alitalia left my luggage in Milano while I'm in Venice. In any case, I hope to get my stuff back by tomorrow morning, so no biggie.

Update: had pizza prosciutto and gelato. The day is officially ended as a 7.

Two videos and a site...

2007-06-03T10:39:00.000+03:00

...to kick-start the morning!

A new trailer for the Simpsons' movie.
Highlights from the Pistons vs. Cavs playoff game.
I know cat-pictures site are a dime a dozen, and I even linked to two of them in past posts, but here's another one. All I have to say for myself is that they are possibly the greatest past-time on earth. God save the internet.

San Servolo #2

2007-05-31T10:28:00.000+03:00

Let's begin on a side note. I just noticed I'm posting on a Thursday again, and I wonder If anyone ever researched the creative powers of a sunny Thursday morning. Obviously I'm speaking only for myself, but at the end of the week I tend to be more relaxed, because I'm safe in the knowledge that if I only make it through just a few more hours I'll have made it through another week. It is a well known fact that relaxation induces creativity*, so the connection seems quite clear, doesn't it?

Now, to the subject at hand. The trip to Italy is all planned out. I'll be in Italy for two weeks, starting from the 17th of June: the first four days I'll be with Linn (my coworker) at the conference, and the remaining 10 days I'll be joined by my friend Ohad. You can have a look at the schedule I've prepared, here (sorry - Hebrew).
We have already payed for the hotel in Bologna, the hotel in Rome, and the car we'll be driving. I was expecting to be most exited about the trip to San Lazzaro, but the mere thought of driving an Alfa for a week make makes me tingly all over...

For now, switching subjects again, I'll leave you with a clip that really speaks for itself. Some of you might have seen it already, because it really spread like wildfire for a while, but I don't care - watch it again, it's worth it.

____________________
*OK, I just made that up, but if there's anything I learned from watching the Colbert Report is that if something just feels right it is right it IS right. Evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or actual facts cannot be invoked to prove otherwise!

Thursday's "links-o-plenty"

2007-05-03T07:56:00.000+03:00

OK, so no post for a month. All I can say is that I've spent a couple of weeks completing an art paper I got a 100 for, so time well spent.
Now, here's what I bookmarked so far, in hopes of everything becoming one coherent post:

1. Blur are reuniting. It seems that this summer they'll try to have a go at it, see if they can come out with something they can sell. I guess Graham Coxon's career didn't take off like Damon Albarn's...

2. This is just too ridiculous, I heard it on the Colbert Report and had to look it up. A Japanese company called "Toto", which is "Japan's leading toilet manufacturer" had a bit of a snafu with their latest Z-series of bidet accessories - they apparently can catch fire spontaneously. All I have to say is, that what made me really laugh was what the spokesperson had too say: "Fortunately nobody was using the toilets when the fire broke out ...the fire would have been just under your buttocks". That's just insightful.

3. Recently I've come across two new products that although seem very cool - I can't really see the point in them, no one can, for that matter. The first is a flashlight with an integrated cell phone. I can understand, maybe, an integrated camera (you know, for spying and whatnot), but this is just going a little too far. The second isn't really that far fetched, but still - it's a Tuscan TVR computer mouse. Oh, and by the way, if you are into novelty mice (and maybe into taxidermy) you might find this interesting: it's the real mouse mouse!

4. I saved the best for last. Since 1994, when I bought my first "FIFA soccer" game, there's been a constant voice in my life, and if you ever played any "EA sports" game you might have it too. Everyone I know tried at least once or twice to imitate it, you can't help it, but with this you'll be screaming "it's in the game" like a pro.

Portrait of a modern family

2007-04-07T00:39:00.000+03:00

Yet again: Short #3

2007-03-28T18:45:00.001+02:00

I found a post called "Most Awkward Interviews" (via digg).
All I'm gonna say is this: Tom Cruise is such a huge asshole, he really really is. As much as I love Jon Stewart (and that clip from 2004), if you can only watch one clip watch the one with Tom Cruise: if we all work hard enough to raise awareness, maybe one day everyone will acknowledge just how big of an asshole the dude really is.
You know what - here it is:

Rona Yekirati

2007-03-18T13:26:00.000+02:00

Well, as you'll soon see, this post will be bilingual. I don't want to get into why I've been writing in English and not Hebrew – I have multiple reasons and I'm sure I'll get to them someday. What I would like to do is post a letter I wrote a few days ago to an Israeli singer-songwriter called Rona Keinan. Again, I know, it's in Hebrew. Most of you will appreciate having a break from the English, and those of you who won't – you'll just have to deal with it!

Now, before reading on, you have to keep in mind two important things: I might have embellished a bit (well maybe a lot) just so I could get the point across more clearly, and above all – it's a very personal letter, and though I'm not sure Rona will ever get what I sent I guess posting it here has its value, maybe she'll get here by Googling herself…

"רונה יקירתי,

מוזר לי לכתוב כאן, אבל היות והרגשתי שאני צריך לכתוב לך ולא מצאתי דרך יותר טובה, אז הנה...

ראשית ווידוי - אף פעם לא שמעתי שיר שלך עד לפני כמה ימים. אני לא אדם גלגל"צי ומרבית המוזיקה שאני סופג מגיעה מהמחלקה של המוסיקה "האלטרנטיבית" והעצמאית הלועזית. לפני כמה זמן שמעתי שיר שלך בגלי צהל בזמן שנסעתי באוטובוס, ולמרות שאחרי כמה דקות כבר הגעתי ליעדי, ואחרי כמה שעות יצאתי והגעתי הביתה, השיר לא עזב אותי. וזה לא הטריד כי ממש נהניתי מהשיר, "prison by the sea" זה היה. בקיצור, קניתי את הדיסק האחרון שלך יום למחרת.

אז למה אני כותב? אוף, זה קצת יותר מורכב ממה שציפיתי. אמשיך בכל זאת.

אמא שלי נפטרה לפני חצה שנה (אני לא מאמין שכבר עבר כל כך הרבה זמן). אבא שלי נשאר די מפורק מזה (היא הייתה בת 49, הוא בן 56) ואני די מנסה למלא את הוואקום שנוצר בבית, בעיקר בשביל שלאחותי עוד תהיה מסגרת שפויה לגדול בה (היא בת 17). מה שאני מנסה להגיד זה שכבר שישה חודשים אני מנסה למצוא כמה דקות מרגוע כדי לבכות בשקט, להתאבל בעצמי, ועד הבוקר לא מצאתי. כי זה לא כל כך פשוט לי – אני אדם שלא מסוגל לערב אנשים אחרים באבל שלו, השיבה שלנו הייתה חוויה שמחה כי לא הייתי מסוגל להיות עצוב כשכל הבית מלא באנשים שאני אוהב, ובכלל אני חושב שהייתי זקוק לזרז כלשהו שיגרום לי...לא יודע....

אבל הבוקר הזדמן לי להתחיל לשמוע את הדיסק: בו נגיד ש"נס" ממש ריגש אותי, לא כי המילים יותר מידי נגעו לליבי (בכל זאת, הייתי באמצע נהיגה והשעה 7:30 בבוקר) אלה אולי בגלל המנגינה הנוגה, אבל כשהפזמון של "עיניים זרות" נגמר, הייתי כבר בדמעות. עצרתי לרגע בצד ובכיתי במשך כמה דקות.

אני זוכר את השבת בו אמא שלי נפטרה, והרגע בו היא כבר לא הייתה שם, ואני עומד מול מה שנשאר ממנה, וחושב את מה שאת אומרת בשיר. ויכול להיות שאני לא מבין את השיר, שזה רק משהו פסיכוסומטי אצלי, מין שמיעה סלקטיבית, שגרמה לי להבין מה שרציתי להבין, ולא באמת מה שניסית להעביר. אבל עכשיו שהגעתי לעבודה, והשעה כבר 8:15, ויש לי כמה דקות כי הבוס בטח יגיע רק ב-9, אני כותב לך כדי לומר תודה. הייתי ממש זקוק לבכי הזה, שאחרי חצי שנה רק חיכה להזדמנות שלו.

אחרי כל דיסק שאני מחליט לקנות, אני בטוח שזה הדיסק הכי טוב שקניתי עד היום, אבל שלך מיוחד. באמת מיוחד. תודה."

"This post was NOT sponsored by Microsoft"

2007-03-11T13:24:00.000+02:00

After having vented about Apple's latest dealings, and why I'm not going to buy anything they make for at least a while, I feel like now it's Sony's turn to feel the wrath of my crosshair.

Maybe I didn't buy a Sony audio receiver, or a Sony monitor, or a Sony CD deck. They could go on making money, I don't feel responsible, I did buy a walkman and a small boombox with their logo on it - for a kid thats a lot of money after all. And they had my respect, everybody's for that matter. You payed a lot but you knew you were getting your money's worth.
What I don't understand is how they could have gone soooo wrong so quickly. How could the same company invent such a revolutionary gadget like the walkman and then screw up so badly when implementing awful DRM schemes? How could the same company make something so utterly perfect like the PS2, and then produce such an expensive doorstop like the PS3.

I read an article on Wired a while ago, where they attributed a big chunk of the mess to the way Sony's R&D dept. was run: in the old days the dept. was comprised of small groups, sometimes individuals, competing against each other in creating the next big thing. Such was the way the PS1 was created, for example, and I think so did the PS2. So what happened? Paradigm shift - it seems competition is passé, and it's being replaced by collaboration. And Sony didn't make the switch and now they produced the aforementioned doorstop.

I don't know. Shouldn't there be more to it? Could it be that simple? I didn't only want a PS3, it's more than that, I wanted to want a PS3, maybe just because not wanting one means wanting an Xbox360. And now I'm screwed, because I want a 360, but I never wanted to want one.
I mean, Microsoft made it, you know, the only corporation in the history of capitalism to have horns and a red tail...

I guess I'm not the only one - have a look at this:

I still have time to change!

2007-02-18T11:50:00.000+02:00

Rarely one gets a chance to see what would become of him if his hobbies took over him; how his life would turn out if he didn't listen to his mother when she suggested that overly-indulging one's hobbies is hedonistic.
Well, fine - so this guy isn't into basketball, and he might be into math and programming while I enjoy more of the practical side of science, but still - Universe, I get the message loud and clear, I promise I'll shave more often, get haircuts regularly, and I will stay clear of "go", "sokoban" and juggling theories.
In any case, you really have to check what this guy can do with LEGO: I get the dilbert figurines, and the Rodin statue is gorgeous, but the best ones have to be the Escher reproductions! Oh, and the "mathematical" sculptures...

There's a popular theme in movies and TV shows, where if the protagonist has some kind of moral dilemma he immediately gets two figures on his shoulders, an evil red one, and one that's blue and benevolent. Browsing through this guy's site I get the feeling that my version of things would have a cool, well dressed, popular and charismatic dude on one side, and on the other I'd have him - Andrew Lipson - my own little nerd alter-ego. Whenever I have a social conundrum, all I have to do is look over my shoulder: "is a nice bottle of wine enough or do I have to bring a proper gift?"

eyePhone musings

2007-01-29T12:36:00.000+02:00

I've been putting off starting a new post for quite a while, because, and I believe this is a reasonable enough reason, I wanted to put through my thoughts on the just-announced Apple iPhone. This took time for two main reasons: first of all, the hype around the iPhone has been unbelievable and I wanted it to subside a bit. Also, it seems (after more than a couple of weeks) the first polls are in, and both journalists and fan-boys have cast their votes. Since I don't really have a chance in hell to get my hands on an iPhone, that's all I have to base my opinions on, to get to any substantial conclusions.

Well, let's do some pro and cons: beginning with the pro is easy – like most Apple products, the iPhone is gorgeous, and above all else fun and easy to use. Its underlying hardware, albeit still very much a mystery, is very powerful. That enables it to have both high resolution visual eye-candy, and some very impressive embedded apps (like Google Earth). Have a look at the phone's official site, click around, watch the demos, you'll see what I mean.

The con, on the other hand, takes a bit more imagination, and isn't a very clear-cut conclusion. Let’s start with this: I'm afraid of Apple - I've haven't had much experience with them, but I have noticed a few company policies that give me a reason to be concerned. The most obvious one, which has been the Apple guiding line since forever, is that they put out a lot of upgraded models, in a very short span of time. I just know that the moment I receive my iPhone, Apple will announce the next model, which will make my new gadget obsolete in every conceivable way. Not only that – it's obvious they will also stop making software upgrades for my "old" iCrap, to entice new users to upgrade to the new model. Already there's talks of a second generation iPhone, which will have more applications and will be a lot less of a phone, and a lot more of a PDA.
Another troubling Apple-policy, is to "lock" their users in: once you purchase your Apple gadget you will "have to" buy a whole bunch of proprietary add-ons, you will have to purchase music through iTunes, and you will obviously have to purchase software from only the official Apple retailers. The problem is that not only it will all cost about twice as it should, at the end of the day you will be stuck with all of what you've acquired since it will all be proprietary to Apple and to your gadget. Not only you won't be able to use any of it on any another competing player (I can understand that), chances are you won't be able to use half of it on another Apple gadget if you decide to upgrade! In case you need an example, just check the clip below – albeit it's a parody, it magnificently depicts the abysmal state of affairs surrounding all Apple products.

These are the two most compelling cons I can think of, but there are more minute ones, like the fact that a touch screen doesn't give you tactile feedback, or that I'm afraid it won't be very easy to use with one hand (which I currently do a lot with my phone), or that already there are other options for purchasing a phone with that form-factor.

I guess it's pretty early to get to a final decision, and only time will tell what the final price and/or availability of the thing will be outside of the US. I'm gonna leave you with a few links, in case you might want to read more about it…

1. This is an article from the NYTimes, about Apple's "iHandcuffs" policies.
2. This is a C|Net article, which lists 13 reasons to doubt the iPhone hype (I kinda disagree with at least half of them).
3. This is an article about "skins" for palmOS devices, which try to mimic the new iPhone OS.
4. This is an article from the LATimes, about how Japan will welcome the iPhone.
5. This is yet another article about reasons NOT to love the iPhone.

There must be more, but not as weird, well maybe

2007-01-02T11:16:00.000+02:00

I really like reading the BBC's "Magazine Monitor" because, as they put it, the site "...chronicles interesting and sometimes downright unexpected facts from the news".
To celebrate the end of another year, they comprised a list of "100 things we didn't know last year". It's definitely long and it really takes a few sittings to browse through the whole thing, so, after having done so myself, I give you the shorter list of things I read there and deemed worthy of a post:

a. Dogs with harelips can end up with two noses: If you follow the link you will be able to read about a dog with a severe case of harelip, which gave him, what looks like, two noses. You can have a look at the picture above, and skip the link - it doesn't say that much anyway.
b. Cows also 'have regional accents': This is actually a link worth checking out, since they even have a recording of live mooooing being compared. Personally, I think the cow from Essex has a real problem - it don't sound to healthy to me - but the expert deems it "a stiletto-wearing, card carrying, Essex cow". Hmm.
c. Barbie has a whole name: her full name is "Barbie Millicent Roberts". Other famous Millicents in history: Dame Millicent Fawcett and Millicent Martin.
d. The lion costume in the film Wizard of Oz was made from real lions: I know it sounds horrible, but relax, it's not like they ground up live lions to make the tail-stuffing. All they did was take lion pelts and sow them together. That doesn't sound too cruel.
...On second thought, it is horrible. screw them.
e. Donald Rumsfeld was both the youngest and the oldest defense secretary in US history: I didn't know about him being defense secretary during the Ford administration, so at first I didn't really understand how the guy could be both the youngest and the oldest. I ended up reading the article, which is both fairly interesting and not too long, and it speaks about his career, in light of its end.
f. There are people who fear the number 666: Enough at least to deserve a proper name - hexakosioihexekontahexaphobiacs. The issue received a bit of publicity, since this year we had a 6th of June 2006 (aka 06.06.06.). You know what, I wouldn't mind having that as a birth date, but I guess some people do have problems with it.
g. Nelson Mandela stole pigs as a teenager: So sue me, it's not really news, and frankly, who the hell cares, but still, what would his rabbi say? I mean, what's worse - stealing, eating pork, or maybe waisting beer just to lure animals?
h. The egg came first: I thought they solved it ages ago, but it seems there's an issue i didn't think about: If a kangaroo lays an egg and a chicken hatches out of it, would you call the egg a chicken egg or a kangaroo egg? According to the article, experts would call it a chicken egg, because what counts is what's inside.

San Servolo #1

2006-12-26T15:51:00.000+02:00

Well, it seems this year I have to start preparing early for conference season, but if all goes well it really is going to be worth it. The first one on the line is a small one taking place in a small island near Venice, called San Servolo (the island, not the conference).
I am really exited at the opportunity of going to Italy, since I haven't gone back since leaving it behind me 14 years ago, only there's a small problem: the student admission fee is 150 Euros, while board and lodging is another 650 - that's a lot. My prof. told me to write a letter to the organizing prof. and ask him to cut me some slack and grant me "financial support".
On one hand, my prof. has the money - he's just cheap, and it really makes me uncomfortable writing and asking for support, but on the other hand, the prof. doesn't owe me anything, does he? It's not like he has any obligation to send me abroad, right?

In any case, I updated my CV, and sent it along with the letter and the registration form. All that's left is crossing my fingers.

More then meets the eye indeed

2006-12-23T18:25:00.000+02:00

My generation, if you'll allow me for a moment to speak in very general terms, seems to be comprised of people who hate transformers, and people who love them. Obviously, I love them, like any self respecting geek, and that's why I'm quite exited about this post. Check this out:

Well, that's not all.
Some dude figured out that "In the Transformers movie trailer between :37 and :39 the frame shows "Sector Seven Org" at the top and "Takara 83" at the bottom. If you go to SectorSeven.org and type in takara83 as your password you are treated to a screen full of mess. It looks like a person's desktop and clicking on the exclamation mark on the dock brings up a video sequence where a Lt. Col. Powers talks about discovering a "blip."

If you want you can go straight here, to bypass the super-secret-password-screen. I know it all seems pretty childish, but the site is pretty cool (although not very informative). I guess as the movie release date gets closer, they intend to update it with more info...

Short #2 (I told you more were coming)

2006-12-20T12:09:00.000+02:00

Obviously you read my last post, and diligently followed the links, and watched all the pretty videos. So now, just for you, because you deserve it:

SPOILER ALERT: do NOT watch it before you see the videos linked in the last post!

Will it blend?

2006-12-19T10:26:00.000+02:00

I really don't know why blenders seem so cool to me, how much do you really use a blender, really? Maybe during the first few weeks or two after you buy a new one, you drink a few smoothies to quench you thirst while also trying to justify the expense, but after all - It's just a kitchen utensil, like a stove or a can opener.

Now forget everything, and take a look at what Blendtec is offering. No, it not a hoax, it really is a blender that costs 825.00$, and it really is equipped with a 1500-watt motor. This beast is able to vaporize a bag of marbles, or a huge stack of ballpoint pens, and lately it even crushed an Ipod! See for yourselves (under "don't try this at home").

I think that settles it then - until there is a stove that can turn hockey pucks into dust, or a can opener that can crack a nutcracker, the blender remains the undeniable king of all kitchen utensils.

James Kim

2006-12-16T09:52:00.000+02:00

At first I didn't really think about writing something about him. There's already so much stuff about his story on the net: news articles, pieces written by his friends, family and coworkers, and bloggers too - people like me that hadn't even met the guy but only followed his work.
Thing is, it dawned on me that only net-geeks like me really knew anything about him, as events were unfolding I tried desperately to find someone to talk to about this (flesh and blood, not a virtual-over-the-net kind of someone). I guess in America things might be a little different - it's such a "juicy" story, tragic, smelling of "family life", yet without a gory aftertaste - I bet American television had a field day with it; but here in Israel I couldn't find anyone who knew anything, and no one even reported anything, not even a little post on Ynet or anything.
In any case, I hope I've got you interested enough to devote the next five minutes of your day to read a bit about what happened to him, his wife, and their two kids. I'm not going to give you a play-by-play of what happened, as I said, there's so much already out there, I'm just going to give you a few links I deemed good enough for you two skim through:

First of all, Wikipedia. It gives a good overview of the whole ordeal. In case they take it down, you can read a bit it in this articles from the NYTimes. C|Net wrote a lot about him, he was working there at the time, so their pages are the most emotionally compelling: this one is a news update from when they found his wife and kids, and this one is from when they found him.
C|Net also has a nice "In memoriam" article dedicated to James, which includes a small video.

If, after all of this, a benevolent philanthropic mood strikes you, you can donate some money to the "James Kim Memorial Fund", so his girls can go to college when they're old enough, and the family can cover the expenses of the costly search-and-rescue helicopter-missions.

It's alive! ALIVE!

2006-12-12T23:41:00.000+02:00

A while back I got this link sent to me, and while I was able to enjoyed it, I didn't find anything that really made me jump out of my seat. I know I need a new thumbdrive, because all I've been using for the last two years has been an old 256MB PQI specimen, but when today I ran into the following clip - I knew I had found its replacement:

All that's left is flying to Tokyo to pick one out, or maybe just settle for this diamond-encrusted thing of beauty (it's true what they say - people gold-plate anything nowadays...).

I would totally use that!

2006-12-11T20:11:00.000+02:00

Having a well thought-out industrial design is one of our modern society's most understated virtues. How many products have you skipped over in the past, only because you didn't think they were easy enough to use, how many have you decided not to buy because they were too intricate, or didn't serve their purpose well enough? Me? I really like innovative designs, just as long as the innovation has a clear intention - when designers have simple solutions to every day's simple problems - that's when they've hit the nail on its head.
Case and point - check this thing out. He's designed other thing as well, but the "ROLLERtoaster" is just a stroke of genius.

Update: It took me a while to remember where I had seen this piece of crap, but what a great counterexample. Honestly, did you ever feel like you would need a dual-screen phone? Don't get me wrong - surfing the web on a tiny screen sucks, but this phone doesn't even get close to solving that problem, it just creates a new one (having to hide every time you need to make a phone call, to avoid being made fun of).

Short #1 (more to come, I think)

2006-12-10T08:01:00.000+02:00

I love Seinfeld, the show much more then the guy (which I think is a bit of a jerk). Anyway, I found this short SNL clip - even if you only know a little bit about Seinfeld, and even less about OZ, you'll still be able to appreciate it just as much as I did:

The Zen of surfing

2006-12-09T23:36:00.000+02:00

On days like these, when you feel like crawling back to bed and starting over, it's nice to have a way to pass the time without too much of a mental effort - vegging out, if you will. Here's a very partial list of my "OMG, I really need a brake!!" bookmarks:

Cuteoverload.com - I try to visit it at least once or twice a month, it's such a special site. I just get such a warm and fuzzy feeling every time, it's amazing.
Thinkgeek.com - Because what's better then to shop around for stuff that's really cool, although way too expensive and quite stupid and unnecessary?
Google Earth - I know, it's not a site. Still, hand's down one of the better ways to get a break during a busy day. When was the last time you visited the Great Pyramids, Sydney and the Tour Eiffel, all on the same day?
Homer Simpsons quotes: This site has been in my favorites for god knows how long, but every time I go there - I mean, how can you not laugh at: "It's true... I'm a rageaholic! I just can't live without rageahol!"
Allposters.com - I'm telling you, one day I'll order 10000 posters, and that will make all those hours I spent here worth while.
Catsthatlooklikehitler.com and Stuffonmycat.com - Just because I'm a dog-person doesn't mean I don't like to make fun of cats. These are two very weird sites...

Well, I'm not in the mood for continuing so I guess that's it for today. Good night to me, and may we all have more fruitful days (especially them). Amen.

Linux ramblings

2006-12-08T19:30:00.000+02:00

I've toyed with linux for the past few years, just for the fun of it I've sampled Mandrake (now Mandiva), Suse and Ubuntu.
Most times, I end up getting rid of it after a few days, because I just don't see the point - I know it's "cooler", and I know it runs smoother, and I know it's safer, but to tell you the truth I'm happy with my Xp install. I can do everything on it, even gaming, and I don't feel like it's too slow, or unsafe or anything.
Still, there is one thing I really liked last time I installed Suse - after installing XGL, I installed Compiz (now called Beryl), which is a program that let's you use amazing 3D effects on your desktop. Nevermind if you don't understand, the only thing I can tell you the end product looked beautiful!
To cut a long story short, I decided a while ago I wanted to give the new version of Ubuntu a shot, but I was kinda bummed I wouldn't be able to have the same cool effects again. Well - turns out I was very wrong, because I found a few how-two's for installing xgl\beryl on ubuntu.
I can't say I'm done yet, but just so you understand, take a look at what the end-product should look like:

If you want that kind of eye-candy too, all I can say is it's not as hard as you might think. First all get Ubuntu, and then check this tutorial and this wiki. If in the middle of the process you get frustrated, don't hesitate to drop me a line - moral support will only be a few minutes away...

Solving maths problems neither Newton nor Pythagoras could conquer

2006-12-07T11:19:00.000+02:00

Although it might not be quite complicated a problem as Fermat's last theorem, it nevertheless is a famous one: what do you get when you divide something by zero? Well, "nullity" is what you get if you ask Dr James Anderson, from the University of Reading's computer science department. He calls what he came up with "a theorem", but it seems all he really did is invent a new symbol. According this article, the new concept has already made it into the school system in the UK, so I wonder when will we hear about it in Israel...
The funniest thing about all of this, is a quote given in the article, where Dr. Anderson tries to justify spending his time on such a stupid subject:

"Imagine you're landing on an airplane and the automatic pilot's working," he suggests. "If it divides by zero and the computer stops working - you're in big trouble. If your heart pacemaker divides by zero, you're dead."

Is that the best he can do? Really?
If you have a spare minute, and Realplayer installed, open the article and check the video links there.

Basketball stats shown live on players' shirts

2006-12-07T10:18:00.000+02:00

Think about it, don't dismiss the idea so quickly, try to visualize it: it's a shirt that has all kinds of numbers and colorful bars, that can tell you stats about the player (see image on the right).
I read this whole article about it, and the more I think about it, the less practical it gets: the way it's configured now, the player has to actually play with an iPod-sized device strapped on, and the shirt itself doesn't really feel like a normal shirt at all, but it's more of a synthetic mesh of polyester and electronics. You know, even if they did succeed in incorporating everything into a regular shirt (which i don't think would happen in a million years), and let's even say the players them selfs start using them and reading stats off one-another, what would make them think anyone in the crowd would be able to read those tiny figures off of the player's shirt?
As much as the idea sounds cool at first, it feels highly improbable....

http://www.chacha.com/

2006-12-06T17:05:00.000+02:00

I found a new search engine. Now, I know, you'll ask me "why would you need anything but google?" - well, this engine gives you the chance to chat with a "guide" that helps you find what you where looking for. It sounds weird, so I tried it : I typed "Roy Rubin" and what I got was a chat window. This is the conversation that followed:

JessicaB: Welcome to ChaCha!
JessicaB: Hello!
You: Yeah?
JessicaB: What would you like to know about Roy Rubin?
You: I saw a post about this engine and i wanted to search for something to see what it's all about
You: so i typed my own name
You: are you really getting payed to search with me?
JessicaB: Yes.
You: wow
JessicaB: Are you a famous Roy Rubin?
You: not really, though my mother think i might be some day. where's the money behind all of this?
JessicaB: Do you mean how do we get paid?
JessicaB: Sorry, the system is lagging this morning.
You: no, i mean, what's the business model behind this weird site... only adds? that's it?
JessicaB: Well, I know we are paid through the advertising, but let me send you a link to the owner's site.
JessicaB: The fifth link is for ChaCha's owner.
You: are you all English speakers? or do you have international staff as well?
JessicaB: As you can see, he has many companies.
JessicaB: The requirement right now states you must speak English.
You: yeah but what if i wanted help with something in hebrew?
JessicaB: Hopefully in the future, the will have multilingual guides.
You: cool
JessicaB: Right now we are still in Beta testing.
You: well, i should be going...
JessicaB: The biggest thing right now is to get the system working smoothly and build the database.
You: i guess
JessicaB: Okay, have a great day!
You: you too!
JessicaB: Thanks for using ChaCha! I hope you had a great search experience!

I'm really speechless. Try it yourselves and tell me what you got!
Oh, and by the way, here is the link she gave me to the guy behind this peculiar enterprise.

Update: after spending the last 24 hours trying to think of a good search topic, one I wasn't able to tackle on my own, I can't seem to get anyone to guide me any more! All I get is a laconic message telling me that "all chacha guides are currently searching with others". Deam it.

Shaking clean the residues of older definitions

2006-12-05T13:31:00.000+02:00

There's a Douglas Adams quote I ran into a while back that goes: “I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be”. I feel like this quote might just be the theme of this post.

When I decided to jump back on the blog-writing-horse, I was sure I'd delete everything and start from scratch. Now that I'm here though, I can't do it - I love these post, I remember how cathartic it felt writing them, and I just can't see what was the thinking behind the decision to delete them.
So, since I am now NOT going to delete them, this post is going to be split into two main sections: The main purpose of the first section will be giving all those past-posts a nice ending, sort of, and perhaps allowing me to have a certain sense of closure. The second part, as you might already be suspecting, will be about starting anew, giving this blog a fresh new direction, shaking clean the residues of older definitions.

I. My mother died about two months ago. I'm pretty sure I would have mentioned it anyway, but since I've written about her getting sick, I feel obligated to write about it. The whole week leading up to her passing away, was one of the worst weeks I had ever had. We all felt it was coming, she was asleep most of the time, and very hazy (at best) when she was awake. Then there was the funeral, and the shiv'a.
The funeral was beautiful, as much as a funeral could be under those circumstances, and the only thing I can say about what came later is that I had a lot of fun. Enjoying the shiv'a really took me by surprise - I really didn't know what to expect - but it was nice, spending all that time at home, doing nothing most of the day, talking to friends later in the evening. I guess my experience was much different then dad's or Neomi's, and I do feel blessed not to have had to endure what they went through, especially Neomi - she had a continuous stream of people coming in, dozens.
I guess I have to talk about school and the work at the lab too, I've ranted so much about it I should say a few words. It might be just a question of me having a streak of good days, but lately I feel better about all of this: Finishing the degree doesn't seems like such a daunting task any more, and the work at the lab, well - let's just say that the prof. will be here and here during the next two months, so I have some breathing space to unwind and take care of myself and my work, first and foremost.
That's it then.

II. I don't think I'll write personal stuff anymore, not anywhere near what I've written till now. I guess if something major happens I'll drop a line or two, but nothing more then that. The era for all that touchy-feely crap has hereby ended.
What I will write about, is stuff I encounter everyday on the net. Let me explain: I surf a lot, a big bunch of different sites, and I would really like a place where I can just through all those links, and come back to them later on. As it stands, I'm doing this mostly for myself (that much hasn't changed :-)), but I get the feeling if you visit once in a while, you might find something amusing that you've overlooked during your surfing experiences.

P.S. I will also start writing posts that are much MUCH shorter, so don't let that worry you...

Addictions

2006-04-06T10:02:00.000+03:00

Wow, a whole month has passed. I don’t know where to begin.

Actually I have an idea on how to begin: the reason I didn’t write for such a long time is because NOT writing is very addictive. First you decide not to write every day, then you somehow reach the idea that you should write only if you have something to say, and even more so, only when you feel like it –what’s the point after all. Then, a whole month passes by – and in my case – I’m not very surprised.

I have a very addictive personality – once I find a good pub, or a great diner, I go there every time, until something disturbs the equilibrium and I don’t like it anymore – either the pub gets too crowded or my favorite bartender quits, or the diner gets new menus and cancels my favorite deep-fried dish.

The thing that’s becoming most troubling is that I think I’ve become addicted to laziness. I’m sure I’m not the first 25-year-old who stills lives with his parents, and I know I have mitigating circumstances on my side, but still, it really bothers me.

I’m also doing badly at school, either because I hate what I’m studying or I’m just lazy and don’t study enough (or at all) – I have a “find a shortcut first” kind of attitude towards it that I can’t shake off. I just want to move on.

And my job! Working in this lab is drilling a hole through my heart inch by inch. I’d give a lung to anyone willing to provide me with a 9-to-5 job which pays well enough for me to start living independently, and I’d throw in a kidney if that job takes me so far away from here I’d have to learn a new language. That actually ties in with me feeling lazy - maybe I should get off my fat butt and find myself that kind of a job. Isn’t that what a sane human being would do?

I just know that, for whatever reason, this isn’t going to happen soon, and that for now I’m stuck.

I didn't even get any cheese!

2006-03-02T16:28:00.000+02:00

Well, my last semester is about to begin, and I already know it's gonna be horrible. I have about 3 billion courses, because I have to make up for credits lost on last year's slack-off. For now, I still have to write a paper for a course on the history of basic chemical terms: it was an interesting enough class, but I really have to stretch my bullshiting skills in order to pull this last requirement off...

Monday and Tuesday I spent in Tel-Aviv, visiting the 71st Meeting of the Israeli Chemical Society. Most lectures were, at best, bearable, and on the really boring ones I read a book, hiding behind the meeting's booklet. By the way, "The Kite Runner" is a very engaging book - it might be devastatingly depressing at times, but being so easy to read, I always managed to get to the uplifting parts rather quickly. Anyway, going back to the lectures, the last lecture I attended was one given by Prof. P. Atkins. It was really great, finally witnessing academical greatness, or maybe I was just star – struck by the guy who wrote my second-year textbook on physical chemistry…
After that lecture, I ran out to meet Daniel, a friend of mine from the big city (doesn’t every Jerusalemite have at least one?). To those who don't know, this is what the streets of Tel-Aviv look like:

I always get lost; I don't think I ever had a positive experience navigating these streets. Well, this time I managed to find my way rather rapidly, thanks to the guiding voice of Daniel, which curiously enough was to blame for getting me lost in the first place.
After 30 minutes of navigating, I had the pleasure of meeting Katia, his Finnish girlfriend, which is a really smart, pleasant and good looking girl. I refuse to let it eat me from the inside out. For now, I’m managing to be happy for him and that’s it. My time will come, won’t it?

I'd rather have an enema

2006-02-14T16:46:00.000+02:00

T'is the season of exams and term-papers, here at the Hebrew University. I HATE exams: I'm really bad at studying properly, and so I tend to not do so well in classes that really need you to sit on your ass; like advanced organic chemistry, which I already failed once.
I've spent all of this week, trying to study - I took time off the lab, and I told the other-job people that I won't translate anything this week, but all I was left with is a lot of free time to play basketball and Texas Hold'em with friends. @#%*@%&#. I hate school, I feel 14 again.
At least I have something to look forward too: Thursday in Tel-Aviv, the Israeli basketball league is holding the semi-finals for the cup tournament. My sister and I already have tickets, I'm sooo exited - all there's left is for Hapoel to play well. Oh, and the NBA All-star weekend is only a few days away! I don't think I'll watch the rookies challenge game, cause I might have a date on Friday night, but I sure am going to watch the all-star game on Sunday.

Adidas Stabil 6 Red

2006-02-06T10:46:00.000+02:00

I will get to the shoes in a minute...

My D-link router died last night after a week-long struggle, and after about a year and a half of working for us. I have no bones to pick with D-link about the router - I bought it when home-office-small-routers where only starting to appear and were really costly, and it did serve me well, apart from the occasional disconnection. On the other hand, it didn't give me a good enough reason to buy D-link again, so when faced with new competition I decided to invest in a 3Com router, this time around. It took me about 30 minutes to get it working. It would actually have taken me 5 minutes, but I had some problems with the ADSL modem I have. Well, all's well now, and life can go on. Happy ending at last.

On a different subject - It seems my impromptu-second-job I undertook, translating for a tourism site, is not gonna be so easy to ditch. I really want a new video card, but the money this month was invested in the router, and paying back people from last month. I guess I'll do it for at least another month. I should have expected that forgoing a second income would be difficult...

About the shoes - I won a competition on TV! The Israeli sports channel - channel 5 - chooses a lucky winner from all the people who phone in and pick an MVP in the weekly basketball game they choose to air. I phoned in when they showed the Rishon vs. Ramat Gan game (which was really good and ended in overtime), and chose a guy called Omar Snid. Turns out I was picked to recieve 400 NIS to spend on adidas shoes, a sucky MP3 player, and a pair of sunglasses.
I had to add a few shekels to get the adidas shoes I mention but they are really worth it! Aren't they beautiful?

Flixonase Aqueous Nasal Spray

2006-01-18T12:28:00.000+02:00

It's been about 10 days - I'm sick with some kind of throat infection and I've been spending all my time at home. I've started taking antibiotics and some kind of spray (above mentioned), for now the fever is gone and only the nasty cough and flam have remained for me to cope with.
The positive part of the ordeal is that for the past week I've started translating for the job I took. I don't really agree with the enterprise since all we do is rip off different local sites, and they're not even paying that well... I guess I'll do it for a month, or until I have enough to buy a decent video card - I really want to play F.E.A.R.
Hapoel had a great game yesterday, beating by 12 a team from Belgrade. It feels like things are looking up for us underdogs. I even bought tickets for me and my sister to the Israeli final four. I do hope we get there because I hate scalping tickets.

Sometime life feels like a bad song

2006-01-03T09:22:00.000+02:00

Since I can't link from the title - this one might be appropriate for this post.

On one hand, I don't like writing about really serious stuff that's going on with me, I guess I'm not really used yet to venting on-line. On the other hand, I do feel there's room for it - feeling like I'm sharing my troubles with people out there might be nice.

My mother has cancer. She discovered a lump about 8 years ago, was operated, and recovered. All was well, until about 2 years ago, when she started having back pains. Now – the cancer has spread around her back and onto her liver.

The hospital where she undergoes chemotherapy referred her and my dad to a psychologist, which after a couple of session with them decided she wants to talk to me too. Well, I’ve never seen a psychologist, and I was kind of intrigued at the prospect.

She is really nice, more then you’d expect is common of therapists (after all empathy should be implied, right?). When I talked to her, and especially when she talked, you could see how she felt from little facial expressions she’d make. For example, I could anticipate she might say something meaningful, because a second before she’d sort of wrinkle her nose. I really liked that. Let’s close the subject for now with that…

Oh, I have a job interview today. It’s just a part-time thing, translating Italian web-sites to Hebrew for a tourism site. I bet I can do it from home – and make my folks help me with some of it. I’d be nice having a second income – the lab just doesn’t quite support my lavish lifestyle...

Pushing through

2005-12-22T20:00:00.000+02:00

Everyone in Israel knows the most difficult part of the school-year is between Sukkoth and Chanukah, because it's the longest stretch without holydays.

Well, I just got back from a week-long conference in Eilat :-)

I really had fun: although I feel guilty about sitting through only 50% of the talks, it was the first time I've enjoyed myself in Eilat. Since it's December, the weather was incredible - despite the fact that it was quite bleak - temps where around 25 at all times… I went drinking a few times, and I even rented a bike from the hotel one day and went for a ride along the coast. Speaking of the hotel - the Herods is supposed to be a really luxurious hotel - but I was dissapointed: maybe my expectations where too high, but the room I had above the conference center wasn't really that impressive.

All-in-all, people were nice, and it was time well spent career-wise.

The hard part is crashing back to reality - I have two mid-terms right after the one-day-Chanukah-break I get from the University, and I bet the boss will NOT let me have a few days off..

Discipline

2005-11-30T16:11:00.000+02:00

I know I'm not a diligent blogger - It's been three weeks, and this is only my fourth post - oh, the shame, the shame.
Although I don't feel the frequency of the posts is gonna change much in the future, I do believe this week I've had reason enough for not updating the blog: one of my lab-mates has gone Dr., and now he's leaving us for a Post position at Utrecht University. I tell you, he's one lucky SOB: I'm not sure he's gonna accomplish much there, but he's going to have the time of his live NOT doing it, that's for sure.
Well, that left me pretty busy, taking up some of the workload - which I'm sure is gonna continue for a while, till everything evens out again (or I just collapse - whatever comes first).
I'll spare any reader any Hapoel updates - it's better to live in ignorance for now, I hope things will turn around.

Didn't I just have plans to do the coolest thing ever?

2005-11-14T16:50:00.000+02:00

I think the last time I went out for a beer, or movie, or anything at all for that matter, was 2.3 million years ago. I feel sooo old!
Now that the semester has started, and I actually have to get up early every morning, by the time I get home, 7 or 8 PM, I'm very very tired. And it's not like I go to sleep then and there, I just chill in bed and watch the stupidest show on TV, or just some basketball game, or maybe something I downloaded that day. And weekends are even worse: Friday is very PG-14 almost everywhere in town, so if we don't drive to Tel-Aviv there's nothing to do, apart from catching a movie maybe. And Saturday - well, let's just say I usually just see some friends in the afternoon, and we don't have the momentum to keep going into the night...
Maybe if I had more money, I could go out for something more then a beer, like a good dinner or something, and that would give me the push I need. Then again, if I had more money, I'd find something else to spend it on.
What I need is a good women to drag me out of my cave - or better yet - give me a better reason to stay at home :-)

Monday morning bl..em...reds?

2005-11-07T11:50:00.000+02:00

Ok, so Hapoel won last night, but the game was the ugliest I've seen in a while. Defense started looking good only late in the third quarter, and offensively we where awful - relying too much on personal efforts then on team plays. What bugged me the most was the attitude of the crowd, especially the people around me - after two minutes they started yelling at our star player to go home, cursing our team more then our weekly opponents. I just can't grasp how anyone can be that short-sighted: we really have a good team this year, and the downside of building a team from scratch is the prolonged adjustment period. We just have to wait a couple of month before passing judgment, that's all. Oh well...
I'm now at work, and my prof. is driving me crazy: he started using a small sync program, after windows briefcase started failing him. At first everything was working like clockwork - I explained everything to him: showed him what every button does and so on. Now, after two weeks, the thing is demanding money, because it thinks we're using it commercially. So, my newest mission is to convince him to pay them 20 bucks. Cheap bastard.

No, it's not judgment day yet.

2005-11-06T16:03:00.000+02:00

Finally, after much thought, I decided to through my thoughts out to the blogosphere, and see what sticks.
I can't promise any newsworthy posts, or even funny musings - I just feel compelled to take part in this huge new culture being created around us.
The framework I've taken upon myself dictates that everything I'll post will only be personal to me: you won't find me publishing names, personal info or just dirty secrets. I tend to vent when pushed to write, and I don't want to offend anyone, so If I do say something like that - I'll try to leave it as generic as I can...
What I will write about is stuff I think is interesting, along with my personal thoughts or feelings - as you might have already guessed I'll tend to rumble just because it's cheaper then therapy :-)