I think the most accurate description of twitter is to liken it to away messages on IM. You know, everybody comes up with a clever new away message every five minutes. Even though this meant you were actually sitting right there on IM, thus negating the "away" part. The other half of it is that everybody would constantly patrol their buddy lists checking friends' away messages to see what's new -- also every five minutes.
At least this is how it was for me from middle-school to college on AIM. The same thing happened after Facebook came out (status-stalking). What a great way to waste time. At least with Twitter it's more interactive. And the neat things people have done with the API, like controlling their home lighting... [http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2007/03/twittering_your_home.html]
2008-11-22
And Finally Two Become One
Ha -- I bet you thought I was going to talk about marriage or something. Whatever.
I just found out how to combine blogs - something I've been meaning to do for a while with my travelogue and moronologue.
Hooray for consolidation.
I just found out how to combine blogs - something I've been meaning to do for a while with my travelogue and moronologue.
Hooray for consolidation.
Gmail why you...
So Google bought Blogger, right? All their products work hand-in-hand full of loving good wishes, right?
Then why do posts emailed from my Gmail account get all wacky with the line breaks?
Actually, I guess the real problem is why does Gmail force line wrapping on plain-text emails? Is this an anachronistic holdover? Is there a reason to force formatting on what should be a mutable set of data?
This has long plagued me in trying to copy email text (for plagiarism) from one application to another. Trying to replace the manual line breaks (\n) but preserve the intended line breaks (\n\n) is annoying. And I think we've all seen what happens after about fifty forwards (those funny emails from grandma) -- those >> carets take up more and more room, pusing each line over, where it then breaks off the last word to a new line.
I've got one word for you, Gooogle -- FIXIT.
Then why do posts emailed from my Gmail account get all wacky with the line breaks?
Actually, I guess the real problem is why does Gmail force line wrapping on plain-text emails? Is this an anachronistic holdover? Is there a reason to force formatting on what should be a mutable set of data?
This has long plagued me in trying to copy email text (for plagiarism) from one application to another. Trying to replace the manual line breaks (\n) but preserve the intended line breaks (\n\n) is annoying. And I think we've all seen what happens after about fifty forwards (those funny emails from grandma) -- those >> carets take up more and more room, pusing each line over, where it then breaks off the last word to a new line.
I've got one word for you, Gooogle -- FIXIT.
If Three is a Crowd, Then 1000 is a Business Asset
Crowdsourcing is awesome. Take reCAPTCHA -- not only does it protect you from robots, but it nearly effortlessly accomplishes an otherwise extremely tedious task. For more complicated content, like encyclopedias, I really want to see an implementation which combines wiki-like submission with ratings (a la eBay seller rankings, digg, amazon products, PageRank). Throw in some kind of accreditation system, whereby legitimate "experts" assign more points, and I believe it would go a long way towards making things like wikipedia more trustworthy.
It would need several pieces: content system, rating system, and metric/analysis system.
@ Content would handle submission / display. This should be simple for most things -- text articles (wikipedia), photos (geotagging, reference guides), numbers (data collection for environmental monitoring).
@ Rating -- other people / users "vote" the item up or down, and points are assigned to the submission's score based on users' "credibility" rankings. The rankings themselves would function like Google's PageRank, and be determined (in the Metric system) by how useful the user's other submitted content has been scored, or they get a bonus factor if they are a registered professional in an appropriately related field (like a physicist would count more on physics content, but not necessarily on interior design content). This may also be subject to certain predefined limitations (on requested content), so that data collection for air quality near Crabtree Valley Mall is only accepted from people who are registered for that area. Or it could also involve an invitational aspect, so that only certain areas (like profession, location) are "invited" to comment. I do think that for some applications of professional information, layman opinion should be considered just to shake things up; possibly a larger gap in 'credibility' rating would be factored in, so that a professional opinion is worth 100 random opinions.
@ Metric or Analysis system: used to determine how the ratings are calculated. This would probably need to function differently for different kinds of content. For example, with wikipedia articles, it would function mainly on user voting (subject to professional moderation? oy), but for "tedium-reducing" work like geotagging or reCAPTCHA, it would have to be based on some kind of quality measurements -- "usefulness" or "appropriateness". I'm not sure which would be more difficult -- the second requires programming and data analysis, while the first is affected by social factors (who's paying attention?).
I know many elements of this have already been implemented, but I don't think they've been combined into a standardized whole. Has it? Can this even be done? I'm open to your comments...
It would need several pieces: content system, rating system, and metric/analysis system.
@ Content would handle submission / display. This should be simple for most things -- text articles (wikipedia), photos (geotagging, reference guides), numbers (data collection for environmental monitoring).
@ Rating -- other people / users "vote" the item up or down, and points are assigned to the submission's score based on users' "credibility" rankings. The rankings themselves would function like Google's PageRank, and be determined (in the Metric system) by how useful the user's other submitted content has been scored, or they get a bonus factor if they are a registered professional in an appropriately related field (like a physicist would count more on physics content, but not necessarily on interior design content). This may also be subject to certain predefined limitations (on requested content), so that data collection for air quality near Crabtree Valley Mall is only accepted from people who are registered for that area. Or it could also involve an invitational aspect, so that only certain areas (like profession, location) are "invited" to comment. I do think that for some applications of professional information, layman opinion should be considered just to shake things up; possibly a larger gap in 'credibility' rating would be factored in, so that a professional opinion is worth 100 random opinions.
@ Metric or Analysis system: used to determine how the ratings are calculated. This would probably need to function differently for different kinds of content. For example, with wikipedia articles, it would function mainly on user voting (subject to professional moderation? oy), but for "tedium-reducing" work like geotagging or reCAPTCHA, it would have to be based on some kind of quality measurements -- "usefulness" or "appropriateness". I'm not sure which would be more difficult -- the second requires programming and data analysis, while the first is affected by social factors (who's paying attention?).
I know many elements of this have already been implemented, but I don't think they've been combined into a standardized whole. Has it? Can this even be done? I'm open to your comments...
2008-11-19
The Varnished Truth
This is response to this article concerning the right to gay marriage: http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/11/unvarnished-truth.html. I wrote too much to post as a comment on the originating blog.
################
Before I begin, let me say that even though I disagree with you, I enjoyed reading your article -- it was very well written. I hope I am not offensive in my reply.
There are several problems with your assumption that there must be a "rational basis for society to decide that only certain people may marry---not brothers with sisters, not children with adults, and not men with men or women with women". One is that you're considering it from a very subjective viewpoint -- that of Western Judeo-Christian society. We may now live in a society where the rules are as you state, but there are plenty of other places where the rules are different. Does that make our rules correct and the others wrong? It depends on who you talk to. Our society may state that marriage = man + woman, but elsewhere polygamy and polyandry are acceptable.
Point 15: it is "an historical fact that the institution we refer to as 'marriage' did evolve---in a society in which heterosexual relationships were the norm". The idea that heterosexual monogamy is the pinnacle of societal evolution is bogus. Who is the authority that determines when the idea of "marriage" is fully-matured and complete. Maybe "the institution we refer to as 'marriage'" is *continuing* to evolve, in our predominantly heterosexual society, into a more logical definition based on commitment.
I'd like to go back to point 14, the hypothetical society. You say that there is no possible way that two homosexual individuals would ever consider bonding themselves together. Why? This assumes that love doesn't exist in this homosexual society; love, which I would argue is the true foundation for marriage -- not gender. I'm sure that in your brutal and ruthless society it may very well have been eliminated, and so marriage may be an unknown concept there. I don't think that's because of homosexuality, but rather the harsh and sterile conditions. But in our society, which is defining what "marriage" is and will be (not was), love and all of the finer emotions do exist.
So let's take a look at a different hypothetical society. Men and women are allowed to mingle as they please, where their every need is taken care of. Sperm and egg are unobtrusively collected, and the resulting children are raised by robots in specially sheltered underground bunkers, where there are given a basic education before being released into the world. Where in this society would there be an incentive to form marital unions? Would men and women feel the urge to declare, "I feel you to be utterly compatible and I wish to be with you and only you for ever." I would answer, sure, they would have just as much reason to as man + man, woman + woman, or man + woman + dog.
Why? Because I believe you are missing the point of marriage. I think you're stuck on the biological aspect of marriage -- male + female = continuation of the species. But really, marriage arose because of the fact that children with parents who stay attached together tended to survive longer.
Now though, we really have no imperative to have more children. There are already too many of us as it is. You must also concede that man + woman does not necessarily result in the best parents. Two men or two women may raise a child just as well as a man and a woman, or a single dad, or a single grandmother raising the children of her son who died with his wife in a car accident. Isn't there even a saying "it takes a village to raise a child"?
None of this actually requires that any of the parties ever get married -- marriage is not a prerequisite for raising a child. It may help, sure, since two people have committed themselves to building a future together...
Wait, what did I just say? "Two people have committed themselves to building a future together". Here is the important idea behind marriage -- TWO PEOPLE have COMMITTED themselves to building a future TOGETHER.
You're definitely allowed to feel more comfortable believing that those two people may only share one chromosome -- you can exercise your right to free choice and choose not to marry your same gender. But I really can't understand why you won't allow that choice for others.
We can argue semantics all day about what is a right and what is a privilege. You're even probably right that marriage is a privilege. But I would think that our choice of who to marry, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, should be a protected right.
"Wait! Now you're talking about letting people marry their dogs!" Maybe I'm just baiting you at this point, but let's take this as another hypothetical situation. Who is being harmed by this union? If a man says he wants to marry his dog, and he is a just, law abiding citizen, who pays his taxes, builds homes for the poor on the weekend, always eats the correct portions of the food pyramid, and continues to do so after getting married -- then why should we stop him? I repeat -- who is harmed by this union?
Now let's consider the flipside -- who benefits from this union? Well, if there are tax benefits, and credit benefits, and discounts at amusement parks for being married, then we see there is a selfish benefit to being married. If the man and his dog truly love each other, and take care of each other, then everyone around them shares in their happiness. His parents know the joy of seeing their child live happily. Their friends enjoy spending time with them because of the happy smiles on their faces. But all of those are only incidental benefits, because they could be just as happy without marriage (more on this -- see endnote ++).
So how is this different than a man and a woman doing the same things? Because they could theoretically have offspring? Okay -- should we then deny marriage licenses to individuals unable to reproduce? Accident victims paralyzed below the waist? Unlucky people who are just barren or infertile?
While I do appreciate that you are entitled to your beliefs, I don't see in your article any real support for why homosexual marriage shouldn't be allowed, asides from "because it's always been defined as heterosexual union in the past". We should only be moderately guided by what has gone on before, but we should not ignore what is going on around us. Without that, you have no evolution.
Perhaps I'm arguing a different point, since you focused on the issue of gay marriage as a privilege vs. a right, but I think I am addressing the underlying issue.
++ Endnote:
I read an article in French once about how it was a growing trend for couples to live together without the "bond" of marriage. When asked why, one couple said that with marriage, you are legally required to return every night to your bondmate. When not married, it shows that you are choosing to come home to that person. I thought that was a beautiful statement. Especially considering how common divorce has become.
################
Before I begin, let me say that even though I disagree with you, I enjoyed reading your article -- it was very well written. I hope I am not offensive in my reply.
There are several problems with your assumption that there must be a "rational basis for society to decide that only certain people may marry---not brothers with sisters, not children with adults, and not men with men or women with women". One is that you're considering it from a very subjective viewpoint -- that of Western Judeo-Christian society. We may now live in a society where the rules are as you state, but there are plenty of other places where the rules are different. Does that make our rules correct and the others wrong? It depends on who you talk to. Our society may state that marriage = man + woman, but elsewhere polygamy and polyandry are acceptable.
Point 15: it is "an historical fact that the institution we refer to as 'marriage' did evolve---in a society in which heterosexual relationships were the norm". The idea that heterosexual monogamy is the pinnacle of societal evolution is bogus. Who is the authority that determines when the idea of "marriage" is fully-matured and complete. Maybe "the institution we refer to as 'marriage'" is *continuing* to evolve, in our predominantly heterosexual society, into a more logical definition based on commitment.
I'd like to go back to point 14, the hypothetical society. You say that there is no possible way that two homosexual individuals would ever consider bonding themselves together. Why? This assumes that love doesn't exist in this homosexual society; love, which I would argue is the true foundation for marriage -- not gender. I'm sure that in your brutal and ruthless society it may very well have been eliminated, and so marriage may be an unknown concept there. I don't think that's because of homosexuality, but rather the harsh and sterile conditions. But in our society, which is defining what "marriage" is and will be (not was), love and all of the finer emotions do exist.
So let's take a look at a different hypothetical society. Men and women are allowed to mingle as they please, where their every need is taken care of. Sperm and egg are unobtrusively collected, and the resulting children are raised by robots in specially sheltered underground bunkers, where there are given a basic education before being released into the world. Where in this society would there be an incentive to form marital unions? Would men and women feel the urge to declare, "I feel you to be utterly compatible and I wish to be with you and only you for ever." I would answer, sure, they would have just as much reason to as man + man, woman + woman, or man + woman + dog.
Why? Because I believe you are missing the point of marriage. I think you're stuck on the biological aspect of marriage -- male + female = continuation of the species. But really, marriage arose because of the fact that children with parents who stay attached together tended to survive longer.
Now though, we really have no imperative to have more children. There are already too many of us as it is. You must also concede that man + woman does not necessarily result in the best parents. Two men or two women may raise a child just as well as a man and a woman, or a single dad, or a single grandmother raising the children of her son who died with his wife in a car accident. Isn't there even a saying "it takes a village to raise a child"?
None of this actually requires that any of the parties ever get married -- marriage is not a prerequisite for raising a child. It may help, sure, since two people have committed themselves to building a future together...
Wait, what did I just say? "Two people have committed themselves to building a future together". Here is the important idea behind marriage -- TWO PEOPLE have COMMITTED themselves to building a future TOGETHER.
You're definitely allowed to feel more comfortable believing that those two people may only share one chromosome -- you can exercise your right to free choice and choose not to marry your same gender. But I really can't understand why you won't allow that choice for others.
We can argue semantics all day about what is a right and what is a privilege. You're even probably right that marriage is a privilege. But I would think that our choice of who to marry, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, should be a protected right.
"Wait! Now you're talking about letting people marry their dogs!" Maybe I'm just baiting you at this point, but let's take this as another hypothetical situation. Who is being harmed by this union? If a man says he wants to marry his dog, and he is a just, law abiding citizen, who pays his taxes, builds homes for the poor on the weekend, always eats the correct portions of the food pyramid, and continues to do so after getting married -- then why should we stop him? I repeat -- who is harmed by this union?
Now let's consider the flipside -- who benefits from this union? Well, if there are tax benefits, and credit benefits, and discounts at amusement parks for being married, then we see there is a selfish benefit to being married. If the man and his dog truly love each other, and take care of each other, then everyone around them shares in their happiness. His parents know the joy of seeing their child live happily. Their friends enjoy spending time with them because of the happy smiles on their faces. But all of those are only incidental benefits, because they could be just as happy without marriage (more on this -- see endnote ++).
So how is this different than a man and a woman doing the same things? Because they could theoretically have offspring? Okay -- should we then deny marriage licenses to individuals unable to reproduce? Accident victims paralyzed below the waist? Unlucky people who are just barren or infertile?
While I do appreciate that you are entitled to your beliefs, I don't see in your article any real support for why homosexual marriage shouldn't be allowed, asides from "because it's always been defined as heterosexual union in the past". We should only be moderately guided by what has gone on before, but we should not ignore what is going on around us. Without that, you have no evolution.
Perhaps I'm arguing a different point, since you focused on the issue of gay marriage as a privilege vs. a right, but I think I am addressing the underlying issue.
++ Endnote:
I read an article in French once about how it was a growing trend for couples to live together without the "bond" of marriage. When asked why, one couple said that with marriage, you are legally required to return every night to your bondmate. When not married, it shows that you are choosing to come home to that person. I thought that was a beautiful statement. Especially considering how common divorce has become.
2008-06-14
Re: A Pictoral Summary
2008-06-06
Fun with Online Mapping
So tomorrow we're going for National Trails Day to Bluejay Point Park to do some trail maintenance (and get free t-shirts). Go REI.
The thing is, we were looking for directions on their website, and we finally found a link to mapquest directions. Well, I'm partial to GoogleMaps, so I went to put the directions there instead. Being a conscientious/OCD person, I also wanted to include the given latitude/longitude coordinates, just in case they were more exact or were for a slightly different meeting point.
So, I went and wrote in the following:
The thing is, we were looking for directions on their website, and we finally found a link to mapquest directions. Well, I'm partial to GoogleMaps, so I went to put the directions there instead. Being a conscientious/OCD person, I also wanted to include the given latitude/longitude coordinates, just in case they were more exact or were for a slightly different meeting point.
So, I went and wrote in the following:
Imagine my surprise when nothing showed up! I thought to myself, "maybe if I zoom out, something will show up." So I did -- still nothing. Okay, maybe a little more zoom...still nothing. Keep it coming then -- wait, what? "Jammu and Kashmir"? Where are we going tomorrow? After a little more zooming, I find out I'm looking at the map of Pakistan.
Further scrutiny of the full link revealed that I accidentally deleted a very important minus sign on the longitude coordinate...
When I showed Limor, she said "We are NOT going that far tomorrow!"
2008-05-23
2008-05-11
Moving Right Along
So right now we've just checked out of our hostel in Firenze (Florence, but I'm trying to call things by their native name), and we're going to wander around the city until 6pm. They say "all roads lead to Rome", and in this case, so does our train.
We've had a great time here in Firenze; it started out kind of rocky, but the city grew on us. One of the highlights of our stay was seeing the original (and both copies) of Michelangelo's "David" -- wow. It's really impressive in person, and well worth the wait and fee. I even managed to snag a (crappy) picture of me with it -- difficult to do with guards screaming at everyone not to take pictures.
Limor's highlight was eating Italian pasta. Actually, it was my highlight too.
We also drove around Toscana (Tuscany) for a while, courtesy of our good friends Amit and Sagiv, who joined up with us for our first two days here. It's always fun seeing people you know in other countries.
So, the internet/computer here isn't the best, and we're running out of time, so we'll try to upload some more pics/audio/blogs in Roma.
For now, ciao bella!
We've had a great time here in Firenze; it started out kind of rocky, but the city grew on us. One of the highlights of our stay was seeing the original (and both copies) of Michelangelo's "David" -- wow. It's really impressive in person, and well worth the wait and fee. I even managed to snag a (crappy) picture of me with it -- difficult to do with guards screaming at everyone not to take pictures.
Limor's highlight was eating Italian pasta. Actually, it was my highlight too.
We also drove around Toscana (Tuscany) for a while, courtesy of our good friends Amit and Sagiv, who joined up with us for our first two days here. It's always fun seeing people you know in other countries.
So, the internet/computer here isn't the best, and we're running out of time, so we'll try to upload some more pics/audio/blogs in Roma.
For now, ciao bella!
2008-05-07
I'm Into Podcasts Now
It's the 21st century, baby, and it's time I put on my spacesuit and took off in my hybrid-fusion jet car.
Hopefully you don't find these boring, because they're a hell of a lot quicker to make than typing. If you're starved for attention, then great, otherwise when the computers aren't so crowded I'll try to write something. Possibly once we get home, at the rate it is here in this crowded hostel...
I hope this works. Here goes.
Playlist:
02 - our host at Mambo Tango leads us up Montjuic to a picturesque viewpoint
http://drzaus.mylimelight.net/podcasts/02_toti_walks.mp3
Hopefully you don't find these boring, because they're a hell of a lot quicker to make than typing. If you're starved for attention, then great, otherwise when the computers aren't so crowded I'll try to write something. Possibly once we get home, at the rate it is here in this crowded hostel...
I hope this works. Here goes.
Playlist:
02 - our host at Mambo Tango leads us up Montjuic to a picturesque viewpoint
http://drzaus.mylimelight.net/podcasts/02_toti_walks.mp3
03 - Barcelona, Day 1 (May 02)
http://drzaus.mylimelight.net/podcasts/03_BCN1.mp3
04 - Barcelona, Day 2 (May 03)
http://drzaus.mylimelight.net/podcasts/04_BCN2.mp3
05 - Barcelona, Day 3 (May 04) **
http://drzaus.mylimelight.net/podcasts/05_BCN3.mp3
06 - Barcelona, Day 4 (May 05)
http://drzaus.mylimelight.net/podcasts/06_BCN4.mp3
07 - Nice, Day 1 (May 06)
http://drzaus.mylimelight.net/podcasts/07_Nice1.mp3
08 - Nice, Day 2 (May 07)
http://drzaus.mylimelight.net/podcasts/08_Nice2.mp3
** Haven't recorded yet
Fwd: Pictures from Barcelona and Nice
Hey everyone,
We are now in Nice, France after already spending 4 days in
Barceliona. So far we've been having amazing weather and we've been
walking with short sleeve shirts and yesterday even went to the beach.
Barcelona was amazing and we stayed at a really nice hostel! It was
really great but now we're spoiled and will compare every hostel to
it.
in Nice we're staying at a pretty big hostel. It's pretty nice but
we're sharing a room with some rude people. The beach here makes up
for it so we're realxing and having fun!
Our next stop is Monaco-we're leaving tomorrow.
I added pictures on Facebook. If you'd like to see them go to:
Barcelona #1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=111565&l=81ade&id=686365157
Barcelona #2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=112199&l=80b99&id=686365157
Nice: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=112203&l=9fba3&id=686365157
We're going to keep having fun and chill on the beach today....
We miss you all!
All israelis- Happy Yom Ha'atzmaut!!!
--
Limor Bachar-Schwartz
Guest Author
2008-05-02
skipping ahead a bit
5/02 - Arrive in Barcelona
We left Israel early early early in the morning (had to get to the airport at 4:30am) on little sleep and flew to BCN. Five or so hours and a train+bus ride later, we were at our hostel Mambo Tango. Really cute place, the proprietor we met at the front desk is from Argentina, and she and a guy from Barcelona converted their home into the hostel a couple months ago. I think it must have been more like an apartment building, or they were minor royalty, because they can sleep 42 people here in comfort. We've signed up for their evening tapas, which we are looking forward to later.
So after we dropped our stuff off, instead of doing the sensible thing and and taking a nap, we went out to see what we could see. We started with La Rambla, a big street cutting through the old city from the port inwards. It boasts that it has the largest number of "human statues" in the world, and we saw quite a few. Basically it's kinda a tourist trap, but all along the street are beautiful historical buildings, and sidestreets that lead to places like Placa Reial (reminded us of what St. Mark's Square looks like -- at least, the Las Vegas version) and La Mercat de la Boqueria, a big street market with lots of fruit and meat stands all jumbled together. We saw whole sheep heads (skinned), Limor was grossed out by huge dangling cow tongues, and I'm pretty sure I took a picture of something's brain in a plastic takeaway box. Then we bought a bunch of bananas.
We were desperately hungry, so we basically bought the first thing under 5 euros, which of all things happened to be falafel in pita. It was tasty and filling (and with a name like "Maoz Falafel", probably Israeli) but immediately afterwards we found the same thing for half as much down the street. Oh well. Our impromptu picnic in Placa Reial was still delightful. Especially the sitting down part.
Then we headed toward the harbor area, and along the way saw more statue people (including a really great Alien) and Superman perched atop a building at the end of an alley (ended up being the Wax Museum). We got to the Mirador de Colom, which looked a lot like Trafalgar Square crossed with the statue of Admiral Nelson (from London). We think it was commemorating Columbus finding America, since there was a man atop the pillar pointing presumably towards said continent.
We took a short detour to figure out what these crazy giant hoops were, and continued a ways to see the cable car hub to Montjuic next to the World Trade Center complex, and a really large building which turned out to be the biggest boat I've ever seen.
We went back around to Port Vell and the ultra-modern boardwalk to the mirror-faced Mare Magnum shopping center. We watched people feeding the fish and took a short lie-down to rest our legs (also, because everybody else was doing it too). We wandered around the mall for a couple minutes just to see what Spanish consumerism is like, and continued to amble about the interesting architecture of the Port.
Very tired, we headed back up Para-lel Avenue to the hostel and saw a bunch of interesting graffiti and skateboarders along the way in several of the parks that spring up here and there. At the hostel, we took advantage of the water-conserving (yay) showers (yay too) and I sat down to write this very blog before we forgot what we did.
Side Note: typing this on a spanish keyboard with a missing 'o' key was incredibly difficult. It changed from the 's' key because I switched to Dvorak (as usual), so I think we might try just making a voice recording next time. Oh yeah, and I'll finish Israel later, I guess. I have some notes, now I just need time...
We left Israel early early early in the morning (had to get to the airport at 4:30am) on little sleep and flew to BCN. Five or so hours and a train+bus ride later, we were at our hostel Mambo Tango. Really cute place, the proprietor we met at the front desk is from Argentina, and she and a guy from Barcelona converted their home into the hostel a couple months ago. I think it must have been more like an apartment building, or they were minor royalty, because they can sleep 42 people here in comfort. We've signed up for their evening tapas, which we are looking forward to later.
So after we dropped our stuff off, instead of doing the sensible thing and and taking a nap, we went out to see what we could see. We started with La Rambla, a big street cutting through the old city from the port inwards. It boasts that it has the largest number of "human statues" in the world, and we saw quite a few. Basically it's kinda a tourist trap, but all along the street are beautiful historical buildings, and sidestreets that lead to places like Placa Reial (reminded us of what St. Mark's Square looks like -- at least, the Las Vegas version) and La Mercat de la Boqueria, a big street market with lots of fruit and meat stands all jumbled together. We saw whole sheep heads (skinned), Limor was grossed out by huge dangling cow tongues, and I'm pretty sure I took a picture of something's brain in a plastic takeaway box. Then we bought a bunch of bananas.
We were desperately hungry, so we basically bought the first thing under 5 euros, which of all things happened to be falafel in pita. It was tasty and filling (and with a name like "Maoz Falafel", probably Israeli) but immediately afterwards we found the same thing for half as much down the street. Oh well. Our impromptu picnic in Placa Reial was still delightful. Especially the sitting down part.
Then we headed toward the harbor area, and along the way saw more statue people (including a really great Alien) and Superman perched atop a building at the end of an alley (ended up being the Wax Museum). We got to the Mirador de Colom, which looked a lot like Trafalgar Square crossed with the statue of Admiral Nelson (from London). We think it was commemorating Columbus finding America, since there was a man atop the pillar pointing presumably towards said continent.
We took a short detour to figure out what these crazy giant hoops were, and continued a ways to see the cable car hub to Montjuic next to the World Trade Center complex, and a really large building which turned out to be the biggest boat I've ever seen.
We went back around to Port Vell and the ultra-modern boardwalk to the mirror-faced Mare Magnum shopping center. We watched people feeding the fish and took a short lie-down to rest our legs (also, because everybody else was doing it too). We wandered around the mall for a couple minutes just to see what Spanish consumerism is like, and continued to amble about the interesting architecture of the Port.
Very tired, we headed back up Para-lel Avenue to the hostel and saw a bunch of interesting graffiti and skateboarders along the way in several of the parks that spring up here and there. At the hostel, we took advantage of the water-conserving (yay) showers (yay too) and I sat down to write this very blog before we forgot what we did.
Side Note: typing this on a spanish keyboard with a missing 'o' key was incredibly difficult. It changed from the 's' key because I switched to Dvorak (as usual), so I think we might try just making a voice recording next time. Oh yeah, and I'll finish Israel later, I guess. I have some notes, now I just need time...
Greetings from Europe
buenos dias everyone, we're in barcelona now at our hostel (mambo
tango, really nice place) and i'm having some difficulties typing
without the "s" key, as it's missing from this keyboard. anyway,
we're off to explore our neighborhood, and then check out the market
on la rambla.
tango, really nice place) and i'm having some difficulties typing
without the "s" key, as it's missing from this keyboard. anyway,
we're off to explore our neighborhood, and then check out the market
on la rambla.
free interwebs, so maybe you'll hear more from us later...
2008-05-01
a whisper of a shout-out
this gender-unspecified person's writing is the reason the internet exists.
read it at your own peril/enlightenment.
Re: A Pictoral Summary
And the next set of photos -- the previous three covered arrival through Seder to Tel Aviv Port, as well as BOWling with the kids. These cover from Tel Dan until Jugolikos at Grandma's.
Israel 08 Part 2
4/19 Passover Seder
Just like last year, our Passover Seder was a big family event -- just about everyone from Itzik's side came. This year, instead of at Sabba v'Savta's house, it was in Limor's parents. To sum it up -- lot's of food, lots of singing in Spanish/Spaniolete/Ludino, but strangely enough we forgot the songs like "Echad Me Yodeah?" and "Chad Gadya" at the end. Still the same amount of 'arguing' over the correct tune. The gefilte fish was better than last year, I tried to convince everyone that "k'nedelach" should really be pronounced "matzah balls", and I found out why they eat lettuce instead of horseradish (it's weird but Israelis and Americans apparently switched the definitions of maror and chazeret). Oh yeah, and for the Four Sons, I was The One Who Doesn't Know How To Ask (hyuck hyuck). They thought they were playing a joke on me, but instead I tricked them and read it in English FTW.
But they had the last laugh as I ended up doing the dishes.
4/20 Lunch at Sigi & Menachem, Evening at the port with Sagiv & Amit - Speedo Bar
Yes, the subheading does say "Speedo Bar", but it's not what you think. I'll get back to it.
Instead of two days for each holiday like we do in the Colonies, Israelis get one official day. So to make up for this lack (actually I think it's so we finish the leftovers faster) we had Passover Lunch at Sigi and Menachem's (aunt and uncle). The real reason is because Menachem couldn't make it to Limor's parents' the night before, so we brought the Seder to him.
This time, we remembered to do all of the songs -- Ran (the seven-year old cousin) took particular delight in squeaking out all thirteen verses of "Who Knows One?", and we enjoyed the yearly tradition of Saba, Itzik, and Moti belting out "Chad Gadya" in Spaniolete. Also, all of the old Bachar classics can be yours for $49.99, like the timeless Turkish tune "Be'irallah" and the Spanish thing where you tickle the youngest child while telling some nonsense story (in Spanish). I would put the videos up on YouTube, but I can't get it to log in.
We also played (or rather, helped Niv to play) "One Against One-Hundred" on the tv. It was pretty fun, even if I couldn't read the questions, and almost half of them had to do with soccer. After a brief food coma, I played with the younger cousins for a couple of hours (thank god 'memory' cards don't have words) until it was time to meet our friends Sagiv and Amit at the Tel Aviv Port.
They picked us up and we drove out to the Port. It used to be the main port for Israel, but it fell into disuse a while back, and has since been completely renovated with bars, clubs, restaurants, and trendy stores along the boardwalk. Very nice place, day or night. It was pretty chilly there in the evening, but I was able to barricade myself from the wind with lounge pillows once we got to the Speedo Bar. We had some drinks/milkshakes, chatted for a while, and called it a night.
Oh yes, the place itself isn't anything special -- no one is actually wearing a speedo, but for some reason everything has the Speedo brand logo on it. Sorry, it's not much of a punchline after all that waiting.
Summarizer 1, Israel
4/16 arriving in the morning, family comes in evening, giving presents
As I previously mentioned, getting to Israel felt like we had just left, kinda like hitting *PAUSE* on a videogame, then making lunch, checking some emails, watching some tv, leaving for six months, and then picking up the controller again. We battled jet lag by taking a nap, so we were fresh for the family reunion in the evening. Everyone from Limor's father's side came over, with the exception of Moti and Ariela who were still in Barcelona. We unloaded our smuggled goods, and they all seemed to like their presents.
4/17 Ceasar Coffee with Tal, Biennale in the evening (nothing there), Dr. Lek
Straight away, the first thing we had to do was see our friend Tal so we could give him his iPhone. He was practically begging us to come sooner so he could play with his new baby. His fortitude was put to the test, however, because he had to wait two additional days before his friend could unlock it. We also saw our first Prius in Israel, and since then we've been counting them (we're up to 28). Like everything else, they cost about 1.5x as much here as they do in the States, so they're not as common as they are in, say, Raleigh, where it's like every sixth car is a light-blue Prius.
In the evening, we went out to find the "Biennale Bat-Yam" celebration, which was supposed to be like a street art festival in line with the mayor's plan to rennovate and beautify the city. There were concerts all week, artists, sculptures, etc scattered around the city, but we misread the brochure and came out before anything started. So there was nothing there. To make up for it, we went out to Jaffa to get some ice cream at Dr. Lek's. And wonder of wonders, they had Itzik's favorite flavor -- malabi! Every time we go, he always tells me how wonderful it is, how it's the best taste in the history of the world, yada yada, but they are always out of it. He even ran into the guy that owns Dr. Lek's one day, who asked him what he thinks of the store. I'm sure the guy was expecting delighted reviews, but the first thing Itzik told him is "I'm very disappointed. You never have malabi." I guess he listened...
4/18 Batyamella at Tobego Beach, Evening at Ido's new apt in TLV, and Mina Tomei with Shultz crew
We "began" our day with a walk on the beach to see some of the festival. Not sure why, but this was called 'Batyamella'. They had some "local" or smaller bands performing (the one we saw had high-school groupies), random jugglers, and face-painting along where we walked. Itzik and I played frisbee while Aviva and Limor sat on the sand. I carry a frisbee with me whenever I travel, just, you know...in case, so I was dying to use it. Frisbee is not really popular here; in its place is 'mahtkoht' -- paddle-ball -- in which Israel is the European champion...yeah...
We probably napped or something when we got back, and in the evening we visited our friend Ido's new apartment in the heart of TLV. He studied in Beersheva "with" Limor, and like pretty much everybody else bolted as soon as he graduated. He's in a convenient location, as he lives a short walk from "Mina Tomei", a good Thai streetfood restaurant. So we went there with him, and our friends Adi and Aviad/Inbar (who introduced us to the restaurant). I ate some crazy appetizers and got a stomach ache (just like last time). Then we called it a day.
Life Imitates
little side project going that I found interesting. After the team
demolished the family's house, he walked around taking extreme closeup
shots of random objects, like broken tiles or exposed wiring. He said
something like you can find beauty in anything if you look close
enough.
So, me being the impressionable youth that I am, I wandered around
Limor's parents' apartment trying my hand at it. Did it work? You be
the judge.
2008-04-30
Wow, It's Nearly Euro
I can't believe we're leaving for Europe in less than forty-eight
hours! I can't believe that we've been visiting Israel for almost
three-hundred and thirty-six hours!
hours! I can't believe that we've been visiting Israel for almost
three-hundred and thirty-six hours!
Wow, what a great trip it's been so far. Tomorrow I plan to write up
a little more about what we've done, so you'll have something more
than just the flight to read about. I'm not sure about how much
internet access we'll have once in the Continent (everybody says they
have "free wifi in our lobbies!"), and you know how bad I am with
updating things, but check back occasionally and maybe you'll be
surprised.
Anyway, much love to all of our fans, and if you want a postcard email
us your address!
2008-04-26
Mega-Europe Trip (FIRST!)
As I sit here, painfully typing this out on a non-Dvorak keyboard, it's 10am on a Saturday morning, and I'm the only one awake. Why oh why am I unable to sleep in anymore? And why is sitting down at the computer the first thing I want to do when I get up...?
So I thought I'd give a rundown of our trip so far (4/26), but as usual I type too much. Guess I'll break it up some.
We left Raleigh on Apr 14 for NYC. Dawn drove us to the airport in our Prius, and we tearfully/apprehensively (nothing personal) watched as she drove it away, solo. It was the first time someone else drove our car, and we felt like parents watching their children going off to college -- like you know they're going to be responsible, but you're also pretty sure you'll find videos of them on YouTube peeing themselves while passed out.
We flew up in probably the tiniest plane ever -- so small, in fact, that we couldn't park it in one of those loading docks. Instead, we had to walk down out of the gate to the blacktop through the naked underbelly of the terminal (I felt like a TSA employee with restricted access). We then boarded the plane rockstar-style up one of those tiny folding ladders you always see celebrities or the pope using for their private jets. I think it was even more appropriate, since I'm pretty sure Kanye West was travelling incognito a seat ahead of us (I swear the guy looked just like him).
We got to NY no problem (other than sitting next to the bathrooms...ew) and took a SuperShuttle for like ever to Limor's aunt Heidi's house. Since she was still at work, we let ourselves in and read a food-critic travelogue magazine until she returned (mmm mouthwatering France and Italy issue...so excited to go there soon). We then ate some good ginger chicken amidst a "spirited" discussion about the appropriateness of religious observances (former orthodox vs. leaning agnostic, or rather that I just don't like people telling me what to do).
Next day, woke up at 3:30a to catch our 4:15a shuttle to arrive at the airport at 5:45a, in order to sit around until our 8:30a flight. Stupid 3-hour recommendation...
Our flight to TLV through Heathrow on British Airlines was about as fantastic as two 6+ hour flights can be. BA has the best entertainment system I've heard of on a plane (on demand, current movies, etc) so we had plenty to keep us occupied. We watched "The Great Debaters" and I teared up at the ending speech (damn soy milk). We actually managed to arrive early on both flights, and we breezed through checkins, security, and customs, considering we were smuggling three major electronics with us as presents (iphone, ipod nano, and a computer). Well, almost a breeze -- we did get pulled out of the line entering Heathrow. Was it because my wife has a Middle East passport, you ask? Nope -- it was because I had my titanium spork in our carry-on. The conversation went something like this:
Security: Sir, you have something sharp in your bag. *fumbles with my overly paranoid bag fastenings*
Me: Here, let me open it. *heart pounding as I conjure up images of medieval dungeons*
Security: Ah, this is it. *Pause* What is this? *Pulls out spork*
Me: Oh. It's my spork.
Agent: But it's pointy.
Me: But it's a spork.
Agent: Well, I mean, it could be dangerous.
Me: Spork. S-P-O-R-K.
Agent: Well...
Me: I will give you a dollar if you can tell me one thing I could hijack with it.
The story ended happily -- I got to keep my spork, and he got to go home with the smug sense of English superiority.
When we got to Israel, it was so damn early that I didn't even get the usual quiz at the passport checkin. We were met by Limor's parents Itzik and Aviva, and the whole drive back to their house felt like we were returning after only a few days away.
So I thought I'd give a rundown of our trip so far (4/26), but as usual I type too much. Guess I'll break it up some.
We left Raleigh on Apr 14 for NYC. Dawn drove us to the airport in our Prius, and we tearfully/apprehensively (nothing personal) watched as she drove it away, solo. It was the first time someone else drove our car, and we felt like parents watching their children going off to college -- like you know they're going to be responsible, but you're also pretty sure you'll find videos of them on YouTube peeing themselves while passed out.
We flew up in probably the tiniest plane ever -- so small, in fact, that we couldn't park it in one of those loading docks. Instead, we had to walk down out of the gate to the blacktop through the naked underbelly of the terminal (I felt like a TSA employee with restricted access). We then boarded the plane rockstar-style up one of those tiny folding ladders you always see celebrities or the pope using for their private jets. I think it was even more appropriate, since I'm pretty sure Kanye West was travelling incognito a seat ahead of us (I swear the guy looked just like him).
We got to NY no problem (other than sitting next to the bathrooms...ew) and took a SuperShuttle for like ever to Limor's aunt Heidi's house. Since she was still at work, we let ourselves in and read a food-critic travelogue magazine until she returned (mmm mouthwatering France and Italy issue...so excited to go there soon). We then ate some good ginger chicken amidst a "spirited" discussion about the appropriateness of religious observances (former orthodox vs. leaning agnostic, or rather that I just don't like people telling me what to do).
Next day, woke up at 3:30a to catch our 4:15a shuttle to arrive at the airport at 5:45a, in order to sit around until our 8:30a flight. Stupid 3-hour recommendation...
Our flight to TLV through Heathrow on British Airlines was about as fantastic as two 6+ hour flights can be. BA has the best entertainment system I've heard of on a plane (on demand, current movies, etc) so we had plenty to keep us occupied. We watched "The Great Debaters" and I teared up at the ending speech (damn soy milk). We actually managed to arrive early on both flights, and we breezed through checkins, security, and customs, considering we were smuggling three major electronics with us as presents (iphone, ipod nano, and a computer). Well, almost a breeze -- we did get pulled out of the line entering Heathrow. Was it because my wife has a Middle East passport, you ask? Nope -- it was because I had my titanium spork in our carry-on. The conversation went something like this:
Security: Sir, you have something sharp in your bag. *fumbles with my overly paranoid bag fastenings*
Me: Here, let me open it. *heart pounding as I conjure up images of medieval dungeons*
Security: Ah, this is it. *Pause* What is this? *Pulls out spork*
Me: Oh. It's my spork.
Agent: But it's pointy.
Me: But it's a spork.
Agent: Well, I mean, it could be dangerous.
Me: Spork. S-P-O-R-K.
Agent: Well...
Me: I will give you a dollar if you can tell me one thing I could hijack with it.
The story ended happily -- I got to keep my spork, and he got to go home with the smug sense of English superiority.
When we got to Israel, it was so damn early that I didn't even get the usual quiz at the passport checkin. We were met by Limor's parents Itzik and Aviva, and the whole drive back to their house felt like we were returning after only a few days away.
Like Reopening a Much-Loved Crypt
okay...back here again. i really should use this place more often.
coming up, trip reports!
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