VerbSap

FlyScreen on the Android App Market!

2009-10-15T12:51:00.002+02:00

We were very excited yesterday when we released our application (FINALLY!) to the Android App Market.

FlyScreen for Android is an really cool application (well, I think so, and I ought to know, as I helped write it) which allows you to show useful information, like RSS feeds, FaceBook and Twitter on the Lock Screen of your phone.

It's completely free right now - so if you have an Android phone please go look for us in the Market.

Take a look at this post on the FlyScreen blog

Our company's new Domain

2009-02-25T11:33:00.002+02:00

So I'm working at Cellogic and our new application is called FlyScreen.

We were looking for a nice short domain name so we could shorten URLs which we show. We have acquired MyF.ly which is not yet working fully but already has an amusing error message (well, we think so, but possibly the air is a little thin...)

Flying Pig Moment

2008-12-25T11:49:00.000+02:00

It's an Xmas miracle!
Meretz-Hatnua Hahadasha issues rare call for IDF action in Gaza

OK, so I figured out how Prison Break is going to finish

2008-12-03T15:13:00.004+02:00

If you have been following the latest season of Prison break you are probably wondering how the whole mess can be wrapped up in a neat bundle with only half a season to go - it's almost an impossible task, right?

Well, here's my take:
Michael and the gang are now trying to get back at the Company for 2 reasons:
1. Revenge
2. Some sort of attempt to clear their name although it's very unclear in the current situation what they are being cleared of - Linc was already exonerated, Sarah was never really accused of anything in the US, Michael would probably take the rest of his 5 years sentence without having to break out of Fox River as a welcome break and Sucre...well seriously, who cares? And Alex also seems to have disappeared - I'm sure now he's killed Wyatt he just wants to settle down to peace, quiet and pharmaceuticals.

In addition, it looks like Michael, who is the genius (in the old sense) of the show is obviously dying due to which killed his Mum. Linc wants nothing better than to go back to Panama and find his girlfriend and LJ...although he's actually wanted in Panama and safe in the US. Sarah, as a fully qualified doctor and daughter of the Governor of Illinois obviously wants nothing better than to spend her life doting on a twisted mental case who can't look at a bag of flour without thinking how to make a bomb out of it - yeah, right.

So what's next? I think it's clear that the Company is the cockroach of all conspiracies - no matter who Michael and the gang team up or make a deal with, someone else will turn up and overrule or shoot them. It's possible there will be more flailing around until they realize this - Michael and Linc might erroneously think targeting the General is the answer to their problem, but while it might be cool to see him taken down, someone else will certainly grab the Company's reins and keep riding roughshod over the guys.

Michael will discover that the conspiracy is even deeper than was supposed (isn't it always?) and find his family has been genetically manipulated for generations by the Company to produce a criminal mastermind they can use for their nefarious purposes. In addition to super intelligence and insane paranoia, it turns out that Michael also has psychic powers that allow him insight into things happening at a distance. The experiment was also supposed to make him super strong and impossible to kill, but Linc got all those genes.

As the deterioration of Michael's condition continues, the Company is beginning to despair of making good on their centuries-long investment. Linc and LJ clearly don't have enough of the sneaky/smart genes to be a viable bloodline, so after more double crosses involving Scylla (another red herring) the brothers are captured and subjected to a freakish experiment in the Lab deep underground at Company headquarters. In this experiment, Michael's brain is transferred into Linc's head (in the process leaving him colour blind). To ease the psychic trauma, Michael's mind is carefully blanked - leaving his talents intact but depriving him of any memories of his former life.

Michael (now in Linc's body) wakes up naked on an island close to Seattle...

News of the Obvious

2008-11-10T13:56:00.001+02:00

Experts: Auschwitz documents not new

Lies and damn lies...

2007-10-29T13:29:00.000+02:00

..but these statistics look pretty scary to me - courtesy of Jameel: The Muqata: Money, Murder, and Mayhem

Fame at last?

2007-10-11T13:58:00.000+02:00

So, Vringo just won an award at MIPCOM...the much coveted “Best Mobile Service for Social Community & User Generated Content” award. We headed a field of 3 and I hope I'll be forgiven for saying I never actually heard of the other 2. So basically, we are the best Vringo-like company we can possibly be.

There's a really good write up here.

And yet, somehow, I keep being reminded of the Rory award.

Vringo now in Business Week

2007-08-27T00:09:00.000+03:00

The company I work at Vringo just got this great write up in Business Week.

So see you all soon (from my yacht).

What do these Israeli hi-tech companies have in common?

2006-11-08T10:00:00.000+02:00

Zlango
Alango
Vringo
Sportingo

Does anyone else spot a worrying trend here?

Required reading

2006-09-13T12:33:00.000+03:00

Via LGF I read this great essay by Dave Grossman:
On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs.

I wouldn't say I agree with every word, he seems to suggest we should all turn into some sort of Jack Bauer types (though he mellows in the last paragraph, it looks tacked-on somehow). Still there's some truth to the argument and the "weapons in church" theme rings very true to me.

Today's dumbest criminal prize goes to...

2006-08-02T10:49:00.000+03:00

Maria Bergan of Lakewood, Ohio.

I hope I won't be accused of aiding and abetting if I give this advice: Potential identity thieves - avoid using your new stolen identity to try to fool the person you stole it from.

Website as graphs

2006-06-18T13:49:00.000+03:00

So here's Verbsap as graphics:
If you don't know what this is, have a look at this.

A matter of taste

2006-06-15T16:34:00.000+03:00

According to the BBC

this:

has been ousted in favour of this:

I'm not sure I disagree.

They're not exactly rocket scientists...

2006-06-15T16:24:00.000+03:00

...no wait a minute - they are!

The 231-page document prepared by independent investigators found that gravity switches on the Genesis probe designed to trigger the deployment of its parachutes were installed backward.

Genesis' chutes never opened and it slammed into the Utah desert on September 8, 2004, after a three-year mission collecting microscopic solar wind particles that scientists hoped would provide clues to the origins of the solar system.

"origins of the solar system" - ha! Wouldn't it be better to figure out how to properly assemble the technology we have before making more?

Did they change the meaning of the word "secret"?

2006-06-14T18:08:00.000+03:00

I never really get it when I see a headline like this:
Netanyahu and Gaydamak hold secret meeting

Surely this is the opposite of what we feared?

2006-06-04T14:18:00.000+03:00

Iran hints it may use oil weapon in nuclear row
And there we were all riled up about the nuclear weapons.

Reality test?

2006-05-31T13:55:00.000+03:00

So here's an interesting take on history:

"Syria responded that Israel was the one precipitating a third world war, saying that 'If we examine the matter, we will find that Israel was behind the eruption of both World War I and World II.'"

Do you think we should tell them..?...nah.

Perhaps it's also worth noting that the Arabs seem to think our government is located in Tel Aviv...

Sadeghi called on the United Nations to step up pressure on Tel Aviv to open up its nuclear facilities for inspection, mirroring the same kind of pressure his nation had been placed under by the international community.

Or did he mean that we should open up all the nuclear facilities we have in Tel Aviv ?

Indian-Americans discover Wales!

2006-05-25T11:16:00.000+03:00

Apart from being generally odd, this headline from CNN has another interesting story hidden in it:

Boy finds Welsh mountains, wins $25K

The winner of the US National Geographic Bee (yes, the one we've all been following) is from Moline, Illinois. His name is Bonny Jain which didn't ring any bells with me...but then you see this:

He was joined by his father Rohit, his mother Beena, and his 5-year-old sister, Riya Jain.

Which made me think they might be of subcontinental extraction. That's fine, but then see who the runners-up were:

Neeraj Sirdeshmukh, 14, from Nashua, New Hampshire, came in second. He won a $15,000 college scholarship. Third-place contestant, Yeshwanth Kandimalla, 13, of Marietta, Georgia, won a $10,000 college scholarship.

They're all Indians! My colleagues tell me that the Indians are the "new Jews" in the US, so I shouldn't be surprised, still, even when Jews were the "new Jews" did we really win 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in national competitions?

Or maybe Indians have a natural affinity for geography? But no:

Although Bonny plans to celebrate his victory by having "a huge party," he also needs to prepare for his third appearance in the national spelling bee, which starts May 31.

Argh! They're taking over! Neither spelling or geography are free of their influence. If they get quilting too, they'll have all the bees down...then they might move onto the cees...

Where will it all end?

Nanny State Watch #1

2006-05-22T15:58:00.000+03:00

I think I'll start a new feature on this 'ere blog, I'm sure many others do it but this caught my eye today:

From the BBC: Concern over 'bigger Mac' burger.

Do British MPs really have nothing better to do than debate Burger sizes?

Things that make you go - "Huh?"

2006-02-23T17:13:00.000+02:00

New Scientist: Quantum computer works best switched off

I must say I liked this line:

"A non-running computer produces fewer errors," says Hosten. That sentiment should have technophobes nodding enthusiastically.

The guy's a genius

2006-02-21T17:55:00.000+02:00

There's no way I can quote a "good" bit out of this Mark Steyn piece - there's no parts which aren't brilliant.
Cheering tidbits lighten otherwise grim week

Theological question

2006-02-07T17:10:00.000+02:00

To my learned Muslim readers (of which I'm sure there must be many):

Apparently one is forbidden to have an image of Mohammed (pbuh). So if I have one, should I burn it to show my revulsion at this desecration of the prophet's image?

Maybe we should organize large group burnings of effigies of Mohammed to show our respect for the Islamic tradition.

All those in favour?

CNN.com - Cartoon protests turn deadly

2006-02-06T18:17:00.000+02:00

Cartoon protests turn deadly
Now tell me honestly - when you saw that headline, didn't you very briefly imagine Bugs and Daffy beating each other up with placards?

No?

Just me then.

Clear thinking from Hamas

2006-01-30T12:07:00.000+02:00

From today's Jerusalem Post: "The several conditions Zahar named included a demand that Israel change its flag. 'Israel must remove the two blue stripes from its national flag,' said Zahar. 'The stripes on the flag are symbols of occupation. They signify Israel's borders stretching from the Euphrates River to the Nile River.'"

He's right, you know. We should get rid of those stripes. Why on earth should we be limited to those narrow borders?

He could have stayed & got the same result

2006-01-25T16:33:00.000+02:00

Lapid leaves Shinui, abandons political life

How will we be able to tell the difference?

2005-11-02T15:07:00.000+02:00

Hamas will not extend cease-fire beyond this year

I mean, seriously, does anyone believe the claim that Hamas has held to a ceasefire for the last 9 months?

Have a look here (oh, of course, that doesn't count since the attacks were in Judea), and this (where the geniuses at Hamas promise in September to stop the attacks which they claim they have not been doing since February).

Anyway, ceasefire obviously means something different to Hamas when you see quotes like this:

"Our people have the right to respond to the Israeli crimes committed against our civilians and our holy warriors," said Sami Abu Zuhri, another Hamas spokesman. "Our commitment to the calm does not mean that we don't have the right to retaliate."

Militant factions interpret the cease-fire to mean they can respond to individual Israeli attacks while remaining committed to the truce...

Taqiyaa, anyone?

The marvellous, mechanical, mouse singers!

2005-11-02T12:16:00.000+02:00

So, here's a Grauniad piece about singing mice.

This sound clip (from the article) sounds exactly like the mice saying "Heave...heeave" in Bagpuss

(you need RealPlayer 10.5 with Harmony for this - heaven only knows why, but I couldn't find an mp3 link)

Fighting talk

2005-11-01T17:40:00.000+02:00

Co-operate or else, UN warns Syria

Or else...we'll warn you again.

Means and ends

2005-11-01T17:08:00.000+02:00

Osama Saeed (a spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain) wrote an article entitled "The return of the caliphate" in the Grauniad today.

Lovely, reassuring stuff. Apparently we shouldn't be worried about the resurrection of the idea of the Caliphate - it's just a codeword for something like the USA, the EU or the WTO. And Shari'a, to Muslims also is a very benign word:

The aim of Islamic law, contrary to popular belief, is not punishment by death or amputation of body parts. It is to create a peaceful and just society, with Islamic scholars over centuries citing its core aims: the freedom to practise religion; protection of life; safeguarding intellect; maintaining lineage and individual rights. This could be the basis for an Islamic bill of rights.

It's true - the aim of Shari'a is a peaceful society. Of course, the means to achieve that admirable end include punishment by death and amputation of body parts.

Of course citing one of the "core aims" of Shari'a as "the freedom to practice religion" is also a little disingenuous. It might be more realistic to say "the freedom to practice Islam".

"Protection of life" - well, it's possible that some people (I won't point any remaining fingers) might argue that this doesn't actually apply to Israelis, who seem to be condemned by all Islamic peaceful scholars to be blown up wherever necessary.

Hmmmm...."maintaining lineage"...that's an interesting phrase. In other words it's a major concern of Islam that your wife doesn't fool around with anyone else and screw up your kids lineage. Well, I'm all for fidelity in marriage, but somehow I've never felt the need to beat my wife or force her to wear a hijab - I guess I'm lacking the necessary commitment. Yay Shari'a!

"Individual rights" - the right to blow yourself up in a pizzeria, the right to hijack a plane and fly it into a skyscraper, the right to behead people who are delivering food to someone you don't like...all important rights to be protected in the "Islamic bill of rights".

I wonder how many people he convinced.

Mattel rolls out an Elmo that 'Knows Your Name'

2005-11-01T17:04:00.000+02:00

Buy one now before you have to beat someone to death for it.

In other news, the less popular Oscar that 'Knows where you live' doll is still missing and being sought in 5 states.

Yeah it's been a while...

2005-10-30T13:57:00.000+02:00

...But I guess real life intervened - a new baby (now 6 months old) and other stuff.

But I saw this Police hunt New Delhi bombers with this wonderful line:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who blamed the attacks at crowded markets on terrorists...

And the stunning insight displayed by Prime Minister Singh reminded me of this:

Alan: Good evening, Sir Arthur.
Peter: Good evening.
Alan: I am going to ask you a few questions about the train robbery, if I may.
Peter: Good, the very thing we are investigating. I'd like to make one thing quite clear at the outset -- when you speak of a train robbery, this in fact involved no loss of train. It's merely what I like to call the contents of the train which were pilfered -- we haven't lost a train since 1946, I think it was, the year of the great snows, we mislaid a small one. They're very hard to lose, you see, being so bulky -- a train is an enormous thing compared for example to a small jewel, a tiny pearl for example might fall off a lady's neck and disappear into the grass, or the gravel, or wherever she was standing -- in the sea, even, and disappear underwater -- whereas an enormous train, with its huge size, is a totally different kettle of fish ...
Alan: I think you've made that point rather WELL, Sir Arthur ... who do you think may have perpetrated this awful crime?
Peter: We believe this to be the work of thieves, and I'll tell you why. The whole pattern is extremely reminiscent of past robberies where we have found thieves to be involved -- the tell-tale loss of property, that's one of the signs we look for, the snatching away of the money substances -- it all points to thieves.
Alan: So you feel thieves are responsible.
Peter: Good heavens, no! I feel that thieves are totally irresponsible. They're a ghastly group of people, snatching your money away from you ...
Alan: I appreciate that, Sir Arthur, but ...
Peter: YOU may appreciate it, but most people don't. I'm sorry I can't agree with you. If you appreciate having money snatched you must be rather an odd fish ...

A new Pope?

2005-04-14T10:58:00.000+03:00

From a special guest blogger (my colleague at work).

Along with intensive speculation concerning the identity of the next Pope, another seemingly more trivial issue, but no less arousing of passion (sic), has arisen (sic) among both Catholics and non-Catholics the world over. And that is, what will the next Pope be called? When Pope John Paul I died after only 38 days of using the name, there was less discussion of the matter, since the name was still fresh and there was lots of stationery and stuff already around, so just adding the II to the end was considered the best way to put off the inevitable battle which is now unavoidable.

And so here we are, with the two principal camps squaring off. Will it be Pope George Ringo or Pope Mick Keith? Ironically or not, members of both camps had not even thought of the other possibility until the issue became practical - for years they had looked forward to "their" next Pope, only to be stunned by the prospect that, once again, the old rivalry they thought was passe was anything but. Of course, it's more of a dispute among the older crowd, but no less relevant for being so, since it seems that most of the Cardinals making the decision are indeed of advanced enough age to remember when the Stones performed the Beatles' "I Wanna Be Your Man", the only fateful moment when the two bands' paths crossed (sic).

There is wide speculation that the decision will be a reflection of a strategic decision as to whether the next Pope will be looking to strengthen his base by continuing the social conservatism of his predecessor (this would be Pope George Ringo), or perhaps reach out to new constituencies by making Canon Law more flexible (Pope Mick Keith). But not all Beatles and Stones fans agree on this supposition. Many of the more traditionalist Catholic Beatle fans are uncomfortable with the next Pope having a name which, with all due respect, implies a considerably less awesome stature than the previous Pope's. On the other side, many Stones fans are uncomfortable with the idea of any Pope, no matter how flexible, being named after the Glimmer Twins. "I think Keith already said it best when Mick got knighted," as one worried Stones fan put it. "It's just ain't what the Stones is about, y'know?".

Whether or not either camp gets satisfaction (sic), there is no doubt that once he is named, the next Pope will try to calm the inflamed passions (sic) quickly by proclaiming "all you need is love" (sic transit gloria mundi).

Best reason I've seen yet to delay disengagement

2005-03-31T13:59:00.000+02:00

"IDF: Relative calm at least until after pullout"

Let's wait on that forever!

Obligatory Cute Kid Story

2005-03-16T12:44:00.000+02:00

...well every blog worthy of the name has to have one.

A couple of years ago I bought my kids a book "The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish" (this is in the same spirit as buying them a trainset or, in the future a full sized slate-bed snooker table). Anyway, I like the book, and probably since it's long and delays bedtime, they like it too.

My four-year-old has of course got me 'round her little finger, and this is only helped by her calling the book "I want my Dad back".

The other night I happened to be working a little late, so my wife was reading "the book" to the kids before bed. At the end she asked them "So, would you swap your daddy for 2 goldfish?".

Immediate answer from my wonderful daughter "No! I wouldn't even swap Daddy for a cow!"
My son: "Daddy is probably bigger than 2 cows."
Daughter: "I wouldn't swap him for a puppy or even a big dog."

So...I know I'm worth more than quite a number of animals to my children. Who else can claim that?

Postscript:
Pride cometh before....I couldn't let it lie, could I? I had to try to get my kids to say it just one more time. Just to make the final comment here understandable, you should know that in the book, the kids walk all over town from friend to friend to get their dad back. So...the other day I read "the book" again to my daughter and asked her at the end "So, would you swap Daddy for 2 goldfish?" (thinking: time to sit back and kvell)
"No, Daddy, I wouldn't even swap you for a dog or a puppy"
"Ahh, that's nice..."
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to walk that far to get you back...."

You'd think this would teach me a lesson, but somehow, I'm sure I'll set myself up for more putdowns in the future. I'm not so keen that this blog turn into saccharine city so I'll only post the best comments (honest).

Update
This link explains where Neil Gaiman got the original idea for the book.

Security craze....

2005-03-14T11:28:00.000+02:00

Yeah, this happens to you when you read Cryptonomicon....

I have GnuPG (a Gnu version of PGP) on my email - you can send me private messages using the key below. If I understand correctly, you can also ask me to sign messages and verify they realio-trulio come from me:

If you know PGP, no explanation is necessary. If you don't: you have to install it, then copy the whole block below into a file as my public key.


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Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (MingW32)

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End of an Era

2005-02-14T16:41:00.000+02:00

The IDF is handing over control of Megiddo Prison to the Prison service. Soon to follow are Ketziot and Ofer.

Ketziot and Megiddo were the places I did my first duties in the army, what a relief there'll be no more chance of miluim there - Ketziot in particular is the most abysmal hole - 50 miles past the back end of nowhere in a howling wilderness (literally, jackals all over) "improved" by mile upon mile of barbed wire and chain-link fence. Just the name brings back memories of near-suicidal boredom.

Of course, afterwards I was transferred to guard in the Be'er Sheva jail which is officially under the Prison Service so...oh no...it's still possible I'll end up guarding Ketziot.

Oops, forgot the other UN scandal

2005-02-13T19:42:00.000+02:00

Quite the important one, showing as it does the UN's clear moral compass, by which it leads the world.

The LATimes article notes the strict measures the UN is going to take. Apparently you are no longer allowed to rape children while working for the UN as a peacekeeper, and "Offenders will be repatriated".

Fighting talk.

Gotta love the UN

2005-02-10T13:46:00.000+02:00

Great coverage on the latest UN scandal from Dale at Q & O.

This of course as opposed to the previous (but still ongoing) major UN scandal.

...which is of course separate and distinct from the main UN scandal.

...And further news from our "huge surprises" department...

2005-02-10T12:09:00.000+02:00

North Korea announces it has nuclear weapons
and
Prince Charles to marry Camilla Parker Bowles

wow - never saw those coming </sarcasm>

...I guess it's a slow news day

Yeah, peace is breaking out all over

2005-02-10T12:06:00.000+02:00

Forgive my cynicism but did anyone seriously think this "peace" would last?
30 mortars fired on Gaza, IDF kills one
Israel-PA meeting cancelled due to attack

Surely this is a failure from the start...

2005-02-06T10:55:00.000+02:00

One of the largest nanotechnology research centers in the world will be opened at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa

Free Cody!

2005-02-03T01:41:00.000+02:00

Now this is funny - if you saw this story:
Hostage: Cody

You have to read this:
Girlfriend pleads for Soldier's Release

and this:
Are they kidding?

(I'm not sure how this trackback thing works so forgive me if I did it wrong)

Favour for a friend

2005-02-02T13:49:00.000+02:00

Here's a useful little link (well, if you are in England anyway)
Lock Doctor Services - Replacement furniture keys from just 99p
For example, you might have lost the key to your locker, or you might just possibly want to break into someone else's locker untraceably...well, the possibilities are just endless.

Alright Adam?

Anyway...on with the show

2005-02-01T23:26:00.000+02:00

Obviously I didn't manage to get near a computer on miluim (except of course for my phone, on which I played far too many games of Solitaire), but it's probably just as well - a warblog it wouldn't have been, and how much can really be said about not managing to sleep because the TV and lights are on in the same room (huh, what kind of a soldier are you anyway?)

Well, the wife and kids were glad to see me home so I felt cherished which is good - and I did get a real break from work - though of course now I'm back with a vengeance (the program I "finished" before miluim is doing quite well, but now it's actually in use people are finding the bugs - well, software's never really finished, is it?).

I also had time to think - it's something everyone says they wish they had. Certainly 8 or more years ago when I was doing my long (well 4 months seemed long to me) stint in the army, I had time to think and I actually decided to turn my life around a bit - I came out of the army, got a new job, got married and moved into my new glorious era. I guess I must be somewhat complacent - I didn't make any real decisions to make huge changes in my life -I just chilled for 3 weeks, let my mind spin free and relaxed a bit.

Maybe to really change my life around I need a longer period of miluim (Heaven forefend). No - actually, I think my life is basically pretty good, and this time I didn't need to make any huge decisions.

Since I came back, I've been looking at some other people's blogs - particularly the Jewish blogosphere. On the one hand you could say there are a lot of people searching for the truth out there, but to me it mostly looks like bitterness and tilting at windmills - the blogs I blogrolled are ones I read because they are interesting - and I don't feel the writers are trying to show off how "in" they are - they're just writing what they want.

New years resolution (nearly the Chinese new year so why the hell not?) - I will also try to write for my own pleasure here - hopefully some of it will be readable to you.

"Well," said Sam, "I'm back."

2005-02-01T23:11:00.000+02:00

Miluim is over - thank G-d all went smoothly. Bored stiff from far too much time doing nothing at all, totally fumigated with cigarette smoke, and in slightly worse physical shape than I was before I left, I'm back in town with an intense desire to not go again.

Bare facts: after our 2 day "imun" (where we stood around in the rain and totally massacred a field of cardboard cutouts with live ammunition) we were sent off to guard various yishuvim in the Shomron. I chose the one which was closest to the Green line since it was closest to Modi'in, giving me the best access to civilization and home. So I ended up with 6 other guys in Na'aleh. (motto - "It's quiet tonight - too quiet").

Good point - it was quiet - not one real security incident in 3 weeks (just some false alarms) - I have nothing against remaining safe, and to be honest, who would trust me under real combat conditions?

Bad point - it is the most boring parochial little flyspeck village on earth. I can't imagine the casual cruelty which would cause a parent to move his children to a place where they are doomed to have nothing - but nothing to do of an evening except hang out at the shin-gimmel smoking or bumming rides into Modi'in to see the "big city."

A warblog?

2005-01-03T17:30:00.000+02:00

So, only a couple of posts in and the blog is going to turn into a warblog! Not really - I'm off to miluim tomorrow and if I get the chance I'll post, but it's as close to warblogging as miluim is to war - my miluim service generally consists of guarding small towns (settlements) so I'll probably be standing at the shin-gimmel (front gate) for 4 hour stretches saying hallo to the good burghers of back-of-beyondsville, Judea.

Well, if I've got to be there, I'd much rather it was boring than otherwise, and it should give me some time to relax - I've been kind of busy finishing a project so a bit of time off might not be a bad thing. Catch up on some reading and maybe even get in shape - ugh this is beginning to sound like new years resolutions, so I'll sign off for now.

Wish me luck.

Like water from a leaky bucket...

2004-12-28T17:28:00.000+02:00

So, once I thought I was definitely going to write a novel, just as soon as I had access to a computer with a word processor. Yet somehow now that I sit by a computer all day, I don't seem to have made any progress in that direction.

Also I was going to definitely write down some deep political thoughts and finally convince everyone that what I thought made sense, was right and it would be so clear that no-one would ever argue...but I don't seem to have managed to do that yet either.

In addition I was thinking that eventually I would learn a musical instrument and write some pretty cool rock music with really exceptionally clever lyrics but....do you see a pattern forming here?

My high expectations seem to drip away like water from a leaky bucket.

Does everyone have such high expectations and low accomplishments? I was wondering if Bill Gates sits at home and thinks "Damn, what happened to all those plans I had for becoming president, and learning to play bass-guitar and smashing Tommy Brown's nose and writing a really funny Broadway musical?". Or if George Bush ever thinks "Yeah, president is nice, but I never did get to finish that book I was writing about baseball - maybe next year".

Nah - it's just me.

So the burning question is, will I be able to keep writing blog entries and keep this a going concern or is it going to be another flash- in-the-pan it-was-a-good-idea-at-the-time thing of mine?

Well, this sort of writing was exactly what I wanted to do (as a sideline) when I moved to Israel - I imagined I would send occasional letters back to England and they'd get a column in the Jewish Chronicle - Letters from Israel or something like that. Of course I never wrote a single one, and anything I say now is irrelevant to JC readers, but I still like the idea, so maybe I'll manage.

Anyway, if someone has a comment I'd be thrilled to read it - making this more of a conversation than a speech...

Some miscellaneous starting info

2004-12-27T14:26:00.000+02:00

We (me, wife, kids) currently live in Ramat Beit Shemesh, but have recently bought an extremely expensive piece of paper which says we will one day own a place in Modi'in (Buchmann area). ETA at the new home is Summer 2006 but we might move to aclimatize this summer (2005).

I'm (let's use some Americanisms...) an English-Israeli, while my wife is an American-Israeli...

I work as a programmer - currently my main work is programming in Symbian C++ on various phones....actually I' better get back to that now.

Testing...tap, tap tap....is this thing on?

2004-12-27T12:17:00.000+02:00

Hi there - it is I Kibi, finally getting 'round to opening my own blog.
We'll see how this turns out, but for now I'm staking my claim to this teeny corner of the internet.

I haven't yet decided what to make this blog about - it will probably start as a little mix of everything that I'm interested in - Judaism, Israel, politics, sf/f, computers, jokes, music and then go off into some weird tangent.

Expect the unexpected (or nothing at all if inspiration dries up....)