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?

Facebook’s Comments to the Mini-Feed or Communication goes Both Ways

Have you noticed the new comments to the Mini-Feed feature on the Facebook? It’s a great feature.

Facebook used to be a place where the main communication was direct – interactions on friends’ walls, you had to go to their profiles in order to see what they’ve changed and what’s up with them, messages, tagging photos and more.

However, for a while now, there has been a shift. It started with the introduction of the news-feed and the way it was portrayed as the homepage, which shifted the concentration on what your friends are doing through indirect communication. You hear about your friends, without actually interacting with them.

But today, when I tried out the new commenting feature, it felt like old times. It actually made me check out profiles of some of my good friends which I don’t always check out. It made me feel that I am a part of the profile, not just a viewer – which can make one feel like a stalker at times. (Though Facebook should connect these comments to the notification system – I don’t think they have, which is a shame).

That’s why the new commenting feature on the Mini-Feed is so great (and yes, even if it is copied from FriendFeed). It helps keep the communication flowing back and forth. Because communication goes both ways – and that is key.