Towel day

Enjoy the day. Don't panic.

Last day

We're on the last day of the course. It's a debugging day. We got T-Shirts and a certificate but I'm looking forward to the weekend. There was a party last night in a sports bar which was fun.

Still here

This is getting good. I've learnt so much. However, I shall be glad when the weekend comes.

Still here

I amaze myself. Get up at 0530, walk, computer, 12 hour training session on threading and deadlocks then the entire class goes to a movie. I fell asleep three quarters of the way through though.

Happy Birthday Israel!

Jet lag blues

It's a curse. I feel fine, awake and ready to go. However, 0400 hours is not a good time for this. I'm learning a lot and actually enjoying being in front of a computer for 12 hours a day while we get lectured and mentored.

All Americans are nice.

Back again..

So here I am on the left side of the pond busy working. More posts to come.

It's that time of year again

Next week I shall be away in the Golden Medina. It's that time of year again when Independence day, the Shoah all come round and I shan't be in Israel. Nobody managed to get close to the quiz question so there will be a surprise guest blogger while I'm away.

I'm slowly rebuilding the blogs I read list and anybody who asks and has some connection to this blog, Israel, the UK or looks vaguely interesting will get added.

Happy Birthday Spam

It's roughly thirty years since the first spam email message was sent. As a certified sandal wearing tree hugging left wing pinko Chablis drinking liberal I would be prepared to bring back the death penalty for spammers.

Keep the Bedouin loyal

I would like to thank Major Walid El-Huzeil and the Givati Brigade's Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion for averting what could have been a very serious incident at Kerem Shalom. I would also like to apologise to the entire Bedouin community for the way that the state of Israel treats them. Any visitor driving in the Negev will know what I mean.

Gas masks

We had a visit last night from the people who are trying to sort out the gas masks issues during the runup to Gulf War II. Young people, part of a private initiative (Manpower Inc) paid by Home Defence going around and taking back the old gas masks issued while Blair and Bush decideced to go off on a tanget on the "War on Terror".

You can imagine the scene. Well equipped students with badges and PDAs logging details and trying to make sense of a chaotic past.

"No, this is my Mother's gas mask. She's dead."

"Son number 1 took his down to the Kibbutz where he volunteered to help out. No, I don't know where it is now."

"We took that one back as it's useless for someone with asthma. We never got the replacement. No , I don't know why it doesn't show on the computer."

I lost interest early on and left it to Mrs E. to sort out. I would like to point out that they are collecting the old gas masks and new ones will be issued at the end of 2009. I don't know whether this is an expression of hope or, perhaps they know something we don't.

Now why wasn't anyone bothered with gas masks during the second Israel-Lebanon war?