JPIX Is Up
The JPIX Carnival is up at Here in HP. Leora, thank you for a wonderful Carnival!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Who’s Afraid of a Learning Curve?
When I told some friends of mine that I was now using Ubuntu instead of Windows, they warned me that it might not be easy. “There’s a learning curve,” they said.
“Learning curves used to scare me, but they don’t anymore,” I answered. “I got all my computer literacy over the past twenty years by just jumping in and doing it. I can handle learning curves just fine. They’re part of the job.”
I’ve already managed to solve quite a few problems in customizing my new computer. It hasn’t always been easy—or, to be more honest, it hasn’t always felt easy. For example, when I downloaded jUploadr (an open-source tool that uploads photographs to Flickr), I found that it doesn’t create its own launcher. I had to do it myself— and I had a problem. I couldn’t get the command line to work. And let me tell you, I felt so dumb! This is supposed to be a simple thing, right? So why couldn’t I do it? Finally, I right-clicked on the launcher for another program in the task bar, a launcher that the program itself had made, and took a good look at its command line. Oh, that was what I needed to do! OK, slight modification, copy and paste. Problem solved.
Then there was the fact that Picasa (2.7, for Linux) wasn’t sending photos through Thunderbird, my email client. A search for “Picasa not sending emails through Thunderbird on Linux” yielded quite a few results. Apparently, this was a known problem. A post on the Ubuntu forums provided a solution. Again, copy and paste, with slight changes to the command line. Another problem solved. Thank you, Ubuntu forum members!
All this is not to brag about what a great problem-solver I am. I know next to nothing about programming and could not have written these solutions to save my life. For me, it’s about being willing to try something new and learn as I go, and knowing that I’m not alone. There’s plenty of help out there, and lots of wonderful people who are willing to lend a hand.
So if you’re thinking of trying Ubuntu, I’m here to tell you that there’s nothing to worry about. Sure, there’s a learning curve. So what? Don’t most things in life come with learning curves? Come on, jump in. The water’s fine.
This ’n’ That
First of all: rehearsals! Lots of ’em. For what, you may ask?
For this! We open in Zikhron Yaakov on Monday. (Warning: link contains sound clip)
The kitten is doing fine, though I haven’t seen her in a few days. But Her Ladyship is still upset. I guess that things will improve with time.
Finally, check out this article by Drs. Mark Clarfield and Ora Paltiel on the folly of taxing fruits and vegetables in Israel. Right on!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Where to Find Them
The Friday Ark is up at The Modulator.
The next Carnival of the Cats will be at CatSynth on Sunday.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A New Arrival
My friend, the human mom of Her Ladyship and the late Missy, who passed away suddenly last March, brought a new kitten home this morning. Until she gets her official name, I am calling her Little Babe.
Her Ladyship sniffs out the new arrival:
She gets a good look...
And now we can see her, too. Hello, Little Babe. Welcome to your new home.
UPDATE: The kitten has been named! Her name in Israel shall be Catschka, and may she live a life of blessing, companionship and good deeds.
Monday, June 15, 2009
One of the Best How-Tos I’ve Ever Seen
is here. (Click on the image for a full-size version, and enjoy.)
In my opinion, you don’t even have to like cats to appreciate it. It’s just delightfully well done.
New Computer, New Operating System
Last week, after seven years of steady, reliable service, my computer finally went the way of all silicon. After a few hiccups that demonstrated its situation, it simply stopped working. It was time to get a new one whether I wanted to or not.
After consulting with D., my fantastic computer technician (who works here; I recommend the company highly), we decided that instead of putting the Windows 7 pre-release version on my new machine, we’d go with Ubuntu. Since I’d been wanting to try Ubuntu for a long time, I was quite pleased.
I still am. Indeed, D. said that out of the sixty-odd people for whom he’s installed Ubuntu over the years, none of them has asked to have it removed. So I guess I have joined the ranks of satisfied Ubuntu users.
I’ve been learning a lot through trial and error—mostly error. But that’s how I’ve acquired almost every computer-related skill I’ve learned since I graduated college, just when personal computers were starting to become popular. I remember the first Macs that required startup discs, and back when 100K was a large amount of storage space. And I remember how, when I worked in secretarial jobs for a temp firm, I picked up programs like Einstein, WordPerfect, WordMill, QText and other similar ones on the job, because I had to.
And here’s the funny thing. Back then, I was a complete technophobe, a Luddite if there ever was one. I still have traces of that—I make my own soap and laundry soap, for example, and go with handmade, reusable items wherever possible.
Still, I cherish the computer skills that I have, and hope to increase them. (GIMP, here I come!)
Thank you, D. the Fantastic Computer Guy. Long live Ubuntu!
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Good News
First, Haveil Havalim is up at What War Zone???
Second, after nearly two weeks, my camera is back from the shop. Can someone please explain to me why it takes that much time to clean a bit of dust out of the sensor, especially when it only took a few days the last time? Also, can someone please explain why, only a day or two after I’d given in my camera for repairs, the lab called me with an offer to “upgrade” it (which I rejected; the so-called “upgrade” that they were offering is as old as mine, with pretty much the same features, plus I’d have had to pay an additional NIS 300 for it), but it still took almost two weeks to get my camera back?
Friday, May 22, 2009
Irresistible
When I visited my friend a while back, Her Ladyship was in the bedroom, dozing and looking irresistible. She woke up when I came in, and then gave me a look that seemed to say: All right, you woke me up. Now you must worship me.
So I did, petting her till she purred and then some.
Then I took her picture.
“Hey, you’re not done yet. Come back and pet me some more.”
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
A Very Special Harp: Yet Another “Only in Israel” Story
In this country, even an ordinary music rehearsal can turn out not to be ordinary at all.
Last week, I was rehearsing for a gig in a practice room at the music academy on Hebrew University’s Givat Ram campus. One of the two accompanists played the harp. (The other played the flute.) I noticed that of the three harps in the practice room, the harpist was playing the one that was the most visually interesting. Its sound post was beautifully carved, and it had intricate designs in gold paint. Its tone was rich and sweet.
After we had rehearsed for about an hour, the harpist gestured toward the harp she had been playing and asked me, “Do you know whose harp this was?”
“No,” I said.
“It belonged to Harpo Marx,” she said. “He donated it to the academy long ago.”
And indeed, here it is in his Wikipedia entry:
In his will, he donated his trademark harp to the nation of Israel.
I had seen Harpo Marx’s harp solos in Marx Brothers films when I was a child, and I remembered what a fantastic musician he was. And here I’d been singing to the accompaniment of his harp for a whole hour!
Two thoughts raced through my mind then. One was: I need to pick my jaw up off the floor. The other was: Of all the days for my camera to be in the shop!
Wow. Only in Israel.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Seen around Town
A fountain on a local campus:
The Gettysburg Address on a t-shirt:
A man works at one of the phone company’s new outdoor workstations. Note the shelf with the phone on the left and the shelf with the laptop on the right.
Three Israeli flags overlooking a building with blue shutters in downtown Jerusalem:
(The sign below the center flag reads “No parking. Vehicles will be towed.”)
All Curled Up and Ready to Snooze
I give you Sleeping Beauty, otherwise known as Her Ladyship:
The Friday Ark. The Carnival of the Cats.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Ancient Boat: A Hundred-Word Story
“Poseidon, what a downpour!” Antigonos closed the door and hung his dripping cloak near the hearth. “The water level’s rising like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Don’t swear, dear,” Daphne said. “Thank the gods the drought is over.”
“You’re right,” he said, giving her a hug. “We lost the old boat, though.”
“The one that’s been in your family for generations? The one we courted in?”
“Yes. First it sank in the mud, and then the water rose. It’s gone, love.”
“I’m sorry our grandchildren will never see it,” Daphne sighed, “but let’s hope that the sea never sinks that low again.”
Read about the discovery of the “Jesus Boat” and its decade-long preservation effort here.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Grateful
When I saw the big red smear on my terrace window this morning, I thought that a bird had crashed into my window and died a grisly death on the terrace below. I gathered up some plastic bags to remove it, took a deep breath, opened the door, stepped out, and found... nothing.
I looked all around. Still nothing. Then I looked again at the red smear on the window and realized that up close, it didn’t look like blood at all—more like digested fruit. Smelled like it, too. Other smears nearby indicated that what I had to clean up was evidence of life, in the guise of normal, healthy bodily functions, not death.
Whew. What a relief.
I never thought I’d be grateful to clean up bird poop. But I am.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Haveil Havalim Is Up
The Happy Birthday, Jack Edition of Haveil Havalim is now live.
Happy birthday, Jack!
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Forced Segregation on Jerusalem’s Buses
Last Pessah, I went on two tours in the City of David and enjoyed them very much. (Pictures and explanations available here.) The first tour ended after dark. I walked back up to the main road just outside the Old City, caught a bus downtown and went home.
I returned to the City of David the following morning to take another tour... and was not at all prepared for what happened afterwards.
The buses ran almost continuously in order to accommodate the huge crowds, as well as the fact that private vehicles are not allowed in or around the Old City during the intermediate days of Pessah and Sukkot. As I waited, together with a woman tourist whom I had volunteered to guide on part of her journey to the northern part of the city, several buses pulled up. When the doors opened, uniformed Egged employees stepped outside, some with bullhorns, directing men to board from the front and women from the back.
During the year, these particular bus lines do not have separate seating, despite the vigorous efforts of some elements to obtain it. When I asked the guard at the door who had ordered the current separation, he replied, “The modesty patrol.” I said, “Since when does the Egged bus company take orders from the modesty patrol?” “Since always,” he answered. “Not true,” I said. “I’ve been living here for a long time, and this is the first I’ve seen of it.”
I forgot to ask him why separate seating had not been enforced the evening before, but I think I know the answer: money. I imagine that it costs quite a bit to employ the guards at night as well as during the day. I find that ironic, since according to Jewish law, the rules about modest behavior between men and women become more stringent at night.
Here, a Haredi woman (wearing a black and white blouse, sitting near the open door with her back to the window) is scolded for refusing to move to the back of the bus. As the bus pulls away, several people at the bus stop can be heard expressing their support for her.
On the sex-segregated bus lines, a hole-puncher is placed at the rear door so that the women passengers can punch their own ride cards. But what happens if a woman should need to buy something, such as a transfer ticket, directly from the driver at the front of the bus, where only men may board? Apparently, nothing. The woman whom I guided part of the way to her destination needed a transfer ticket because she intended to take more than one bus, but was prevented from buying one because she couldn’t reach the driver. So she rode for free—not because she wanted to, but because she was given no choice.
The hole-puncher for women at the rear of the bus. Women who need to buy a ride card or a transfer ticket up front, from the driver, are apparently out of luck.
As one might imagine, the segregation is not enforced fairly. As I watched, an elderly man made his way to the rear of the bus and stood in the doorway, in what was supposed to be the section reserved for women. (To me, this is disturbingly familiar. If I remember the race-segregation rules on buses in the southern United States of half a century ago correctly, African-American people had to sit in the back, but had to give up even those seats to white passengers if the bus became crowded.)
Another example of a “male invasion” of the women’s section. (Imagine what would happen if the women’s section were to be more crowded and the women were forced to stand in the men’s section to accommodate the overflow.)
Peggy Cidor of the Jerusalem Post writes about the latest on the issue here. Although the newspaper chose to give her article the title “The Road to Purity,” as I have said many times, I believe that this issue has nothing to do with purity or modesty, and everything to do with power and control.
Here are the rest of the photos I took at the bus stop that day. Here is another video that shows the segregation more clearly. I have written about this issue on this blog in the past, here and here.
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