Congratulations.

I called Bituach Leumi today to take care of some bureaucratic insanity which it pains me to get into.

They told me I just got married recently. So congratulations to me.

I asked them, who did I marry?

The World’s Food and Commodities Crisis Has Only Just Began

My Aunt who’s in Connecticut said they are limiting the amount of rice you can buy at Cosco. A similar case occurred in a supermarket here in Israel not long ago. Oil prices are surging. China and other producers are restricting the export of grains in order to ensure domestic food supply.

The world has become so needy and accustomed to exhausting energy sources, natural resources and commodities. Even though it is a stretch to say that the living outnumber the dead (the current world population outnumbers the combined historical world populations), however way you compute it. Still, more people are alive today than have ever lived before at any given time.

Therefore, there are far greater considerations as to supply of goods that haven’t been taken into account. 100 million people have already been put in danger by the current situation. We used to think this situation will not affect us. Many people feel that at the western countries, one can always pay more and get what he want. So maybe we will have to pay for food what we do now for gold?

Well, maybe. But maybe the now “poor” countries will realize that their gold is worth them their lives, and simply won’t sell it.

Possible Conclusions: Buy commodities, Live in Asia, Develop alternative energy sources (conserving energy is not nearly enough - we will use it all up sooner or even sooner), stock up on food, what else?

6 meters under

Today I faced one of my biggest fears.

I’m a certified diver. But this is relatively new for me. Until recently, other than not being on my “to do” list, diving was actually one of my biggest fears. I have seen a documentary in my childhood about diving, where the sport was lethal to some of the main characters. Needless to say, I was devastated. Other things associated with diving make me uneasy as well, but mentioning them won’t help all you potential divers (I highly recommend diving btw - it is amazing). Well, I used to think - why would anyone do that? But two years ago I’ve decided to go for it, despite everything.

There is specifically one part in diving which makes me feel uneasy and makes me want to reach the surface. This is part of the “exercises” you have to undergo if you didn’t dive for several months. Until today I always had to stop the dive in this point, and continue it after reaching the surface.

When we reached this point in the dive today, I thought I won’t be able to handle it. I signaled to the guide that I wanted to go up. I thought “what was I thinking?” “why am I doing this to myself?” “You should go up and out of the water, skip this dive, and quit diving altogether. You’ve always feared it, and there is nothing you really gain out of this experience.”

It was scary because at that second I actually gave up. But then I decided to go for it. I stayed underwater, completed the exercises and the dive (including an injury by a sea urchin, which was actually somewhat amusing, even if painful).

The Facebook Newsfeed is boring

Really. It is.

In fact, I never really liked it that much.

I remember when they added the newsfeed feature. I HATED it so much then. Couldn’t bring myself to read it or even look at it. It gave me a feeling that it’s all about prying. It made me feel that Facebook was such a nosy media, just by adding the newsfeed. And it is so public. I didn’t do anything for months so that it won’t show up about me. It took me a year to stop clicking on my own “Profile” every time I logged in to Facebook - to stay away from the “home”, where all the data was thrown in my face(book).

The only time that I used to actually read it was when they had the “Like/Didn’t Like” X/V check feature next to each item. That made me feel that it was some sort of task on my “to do” list when I was logged in, which I should complete. To make sure I responded to every item (most of them with X). And I never looked at an item more than once, because it was already taken care of.

But now, I scheme through it very briefly, and miss a lot of things, because it is just not interesting enough. The nosiness aspect is not as much of an issue, because most users now joined facebook after the feature has been included, and are aware of the fact that their every move is broadcasted.

But I just don’t feel that the data there is of importance to me. It is (mostly) just simply boring.

I want to drive to Europe

For years now I’ve had a dream. To just get in the car and drive. To Europe. From my home in Israel. I love driving. I love traveling. They could be great together.

Someone told me I can call it a dream for “world peace” or “hummus in Damascus”. But the truth is, that’s not where I’m coming from. I just want to get in the car and drive to Europe. That’s all. Not that all the rest of the peace utopia wouldn’t be awesome as well; that’s a dream I certainly share with the rest of the world. But this driving to Europe thing is my own personal dream.

I got so excited recently when I’ve heard the news re negotiations with Syria. Not sure I’m happy with their context or consequences, but hey, they still got my hopes up. Syria is the main obstacle now on my way to Europe. I can drive through Jordan, Turkey, etc. Even through Iraq (I’m a US citizen). But not Syria.

Stereotype me

Something funny I noticed recently in a social experiment some students were conducting, in form of a Facebook group. The discussion board there was very active, and I wondered what do all these people have in common to be having such a lively discussion board.

The topic was “stereotype the person above you“. During their experiment, there was a new post every few seconds. I wanted to post as well, but every time I refreshed the page there were several new comments already. (meaning it wouldn’t be about the person above me, but about 4 persons up).

I kept thinking, what made all these people, and myself, want to know what is the stereotype people might have of them?

Why should one consider worshiping the moon?

“Survivor” - You may have been surprised to learn that I am up to date with this television series. Whoever knows me is very well aware of the fact that I rarely watch TV.

Incidentally they’ve been posting the “Survivor” episodes on their website. (Actually the only episode I’ve watched in a TV set was the last one). But don’t think I’m trying to encourage TV stations to broadcast online by watching them when they do so. There’s a more compelling reason: In general I have an affinity to these type of “survival” shows, you should know that I’m an avid “Lost” fan as well.

Part of the reason that I’m so interested in this genre, is that in the past I have had a survival experience myself. Have you had one as well?

While traveling in Crete, we were hiking through a gorge. We had the impression that it would be a short walk of an hour and a half or so, therefore left very late in the day with hardly any supplies. Needless to say, that was not the case and we had to spend the night in the cold (it was winter time, and we were wet after having passed through the stream numerous times).

I will not elaborate on this experience itself, only about some of my impressions. That night I understood how people have worshiped the celestial bodies. Beforehand I couldn’t comprehend how it would be possible to seriously acknowledge them as saviors. But now I do.

It rained several times during the night; but when the moon was out, we knew we were safe - there were no clouds and it wasn’t as dark, as we had some moon light. There are no words in which I can express the joy of seeing a glimpse of light in the morning, knowing that the sun will soon be out.

One of the other main things I learned that night was about myself. How I handle intense situations. This is partially why I am intrigued with the portrayal of other individuals or groups who deal with various types of survival experiences.

Na’ama the Survivor

Na’ama Keisari just won the Israeli “survivor” show. I think she really deserved it. There are many reasons why I’m such a supporter of hers. One of the main ones is that she won while still maintaining a good relationship with the candidates she has sent home earlier in the series. She was very strategic and yet did not cause such a strong antagonism towards her as some other candidates have.

Additionally, though she is not as physically strong as some of the others, she is very strong-minded; and has put so much effort into the experience. It seems that it has been much more physically challenging to her than to the other finalists. And yet, she “survived” it all the same.

Mazal tov Na’ama, you are indeed a role model.

Herzl Day

Today is Herzl day.

Herzl is an example to a true visionary. He envisioned the state of Israel. As I see it, Israel today is not that far from what he had in mind.

Imagination is a key first step for doing great things.

It’s surely risky, but the reward is in the experience itself. Walter Bruan, who was my CEO when I was a trader, once said (in a video to new traders) “you know how much you love it now when you’re not doing that well, imagine how much you’ll love it when you’ll be making $”. That sentence stuck with me. There is so much to say about the path. You have to love what you’re doing and be passionate about it.

And as a fridge magnet I have says: Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go… (T.S. Eliot)

Herzl may not have truly believed that we would achieve so much. But he tried. And if he were to see Israel today, I’m sure he would have been proud.

Why do we dislike online ads?

Why do we dislike online ads more than TV commercials?

Mainly because we tend to act together - people like to behave as a group. I would say “herd” but that might sound a bit harsh. As Aristotle has put it, a man is by nature a social animal.

People also don’t like it when they get unsolicited calls (I hang up as soon as I realize that it is not personal) more than they like advertisements they encounter online. We fast forward commercials on TV if we can, or just use that time to take a break from what we are watching. But the negative feeling towards these TV commercials is not as strong as it is on the internet. Some commercials we might even like, and show our friends - “hey you have to see this one, it is so cool” style.

I believe it’s because we see every advertisement when we are alone surfing the web. Just like unsolicited phone calls. So it is not personal on the one hand, and we don’t feel like we’re part of a crowd on the other hand.