I recently came back from a two week trip to Israel. People are asking me what I did over there. In one word: eat.
I even made a list of the things I wanted to eat, and got to all of them except for one. Highlights of what I ate in pictorial form follow. It’s long so read more to see all. No explanation of what each thing is, so feel free to use Google.
For those who don’t care about what I eat and instead want to see what I do, you can also check the trip album in The MKX® Photo Central at no additional cost.
Shakshuka at... who else: Dr. Shakshuka (Jaffa)Only once in the two weeks I was there I was able to eat schwarma, and only a few hours before flying.
2011 was not a good year for me as far as respect for my private property is concerned.
First, in April, my house got broken into (in Texas). This was a rough one.
Then, in November, my car got broken into (in California).
Now, with only a few hours left in the year, my iPad got stolen (in Israel near Jerusalem).
On this undated photo taken earlier today, I am shown telling two Israeli police officers about the wonders of "Find my iPhone"
Hopefully this is the end of my streak. Shall the iPad popup on a WiFi network, I will get its location courtesy of iCloud’s Find my iPhone feature. Not that it will matter…
This wouldn’t be the first time I post images of my insides… no, it would be the third one (one, two). But like my mom always used to tell me, when judging people, it’s what’s inside what counts. Or something like that.
In any case, here’s an animated MRI of my left knee that just looks too cool to pass up. I used OsiriX, an amazing Open Source medical imaging software for Mac OS X, to generate it from the original DICOM files.
Myself and some colleagues started going over the iPad and iPhone Application Development course. It’s a class taught over at Stanford University and available for free (as in beer) on iTunes U.
After two sessions, it was time to get my hands dirty. Today I completed my first assignment: An RPN Calculator.
Left to right: iPhone, Mac, Proud Developer.
Not much credit to me here, I was mostly following a tutorial (but unlike in the tutorial, I made the background gray).
Here’s a glorious screenshot:
I understand that if the App Store was an actual physical software store, all my readers would already be lined up to buy their copy. Well, the good news is that the App Store is not an actual store where you have to go get in line like a schmuck. The bad news is that this app is not going to be available for download at all. It’s really a piece of junk.
But I am already brewing (in my mind) what will become the app that will make me rich beyond anyone’s dreams. The brewing is not going well so if you have any ideas, please feel free to pitch in.
At some later date I may write a little bit about my impressions of Xcode, Objective C, Cocoa Touch and this whole iPhone app development thing.
I’m trying to become carbon-neutral and also save money on gas. One way of accomplishing this goal is to buy an all-electric Tesla Roadster. So I stopped at the dealership to do a little weekend shopping.
But since they didn’t have it in neither “Lightning Green” or within my budget, I had to pass.
We spent last Sunday in San Jose, checking out the Tech Museum. Which is great, if you are nine years old or less.
However, one interesting physiological phenomena was reaffirmed: my nose is noticeably colder than the rest of my body. Scientists around the world remain baffled. Previous data here.
Infrared vision: my nose is still colder than the rest of my body.
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.
― Isaac Asimov
I will add a second one by Walter Isaacson from his excellent book Einstein:
A popular feel for scientific endeavors should, if possible, be restored given the needs of the twenty-first century. This does not mean that every literature major should take a watered-down physics course or that a corporate lawyer should stay abreast of quantum mechanics. Rather, it means that an appreciation for the methods of science is a useful asset for a responsible citizenry.
The theme is clear: The lack of not only scientific understanding, but of basic respect to science is commonplace in the United States. Issues such as global warming are debated and questioned by politicians, media, and the general public on a daily basis in spite of there being near complete agreement among scientists about it. I think that this attitudes will cost the U.S. its scientific leadership unless it is reversed.
Yes, it’s fake. This is part of Benetton’s new UNHATE campaign. The Vatican is already raising a stink about it but you can see the photo here. For more homoerotic fake photos of world leaders making out, go here.
