Inner Story

Beyond High-School

2007-04-01T23:29:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I've handed in my first paper since high school.
It was the first assignment I got, in the open-university course that started only a few weeks ago - "Introduction to Computer Science, Java and OOP". Even though I knew about it month ago, my natural laziness-instinct forced me to wait just till the very last day.. so by the time the clock showed 2:00AM, my paper was finally done. Lucky for me, you can send them over email these days.

I've never wrote even a single line of code in Java before, but I've been dealing with C# quite a lot in past few years.. which is basically quite the same, with just a few slightly differences (mostly in namespaces and classes' names)
Just like the Microsoft way- "someone else has a new idea or technology? Just wait a few years, and if it turns out as a success - you either buy it, or make a better replication of it."

So it seems that the course, or at least most of it, should be quite easy to accomplish. For now, it's so easy and basic, it's almost annoying. Yet, I'm trying not to belittle the class' chores too much.
For the first time in my life, I'd be really disappointed if I won't finish this course with (very?) high grades. Wish me luck.

I Usually Wouldn't Post Such Stuff..

2007-03-26T22:51:00.000+02:00

But the "59% Samantha Fox" was quite funny, actually:
(thanks to Jilli for the link)

Well.. I do hope to be as funny and creative as Ryan Stiles or Nathan Lane [one day?], but who the heck are those other guys?
edit: AHH! Backstreet Boys. yuck. tfu. blah.

Update Ashes

2007-03-21T23:12:00.000+02:00

Even when it's just an upgrade to the currently installed version, after installing a new version of Firefox, it opens a new tab, indicating that you now have the latest version of it.
Too bad, they don't remove nor change the old versions' pages - so they all show the exact same announcement:

You might say it's only a minor version update, but hey - it's a security minor update. So the user should know if the version he has just installed really is the latest version.. right?

Purim 2007 (Edited for Link)

2007-03-05T19:44:00.000+02:00

I think Purim is now officially the Jewish holiday I like the most. So many colors, clothes, hats and accessories all around, makes it all fun to fool around.

This year I decided to disguise myself as a Domo-Kun. Wearing a cool spiked-toupee, facial make up and a specially-made-by-my-mother dress(?), and vuala!- you've got a Domo!
(click for bigger, more photos will be uploaded later)

What's Up, Doc?

2007-02-06T23:02:00.000+02:00

During the last few weeks, I've been both to the gastro and surgeon regular, every-once-in-a-few-months, inspections . If to summon it up in one sentence.. well, I guess everything seems to be in order, at least for the time being.

The first which I went to, was the gastro doctor.
Judging by my looks and blood tests I recently had, he told me I've never been as healthy as I am now (or at least since he first met me). Odd thing is, I've stopped taking my vitamin pills more than half a year ago, yet none of them seems to be missing. Oh well, who am I to argue with that?
I asked him whether or not I should go through another some kind of a gastro examinations soon, since no one has seen my belly from the inside in the last two years. Answer was, that as long as I feel fine, there's no reason to penetrate into the bowel once again - because that might erupt new problems. Though, on the other hand (and I can sure tell that from my experience, that the physical feeling doesn't necessarily reflects what happens on the inside), sometimes a bit more examinations are required, to make sure everything is really OK. Reminds me of the Schrodinger's Cat Paradox, when you come to think of it.
The next question, was whether or not I should change the dosage of the drugs that I get every day (which should be based on my weight). Just like before, he decided not to increase it. Logic says, that if I feel fine now, there's no need for extra treatment. Plus, that way I can increase the amount of drugs when I'll really need it (hopefully, that moment would never come. but who knows?)
So at the bottom line, nothing changed here, just like I said at the beginning. Oh, and my weight (in full uniforms, including the army boots) is around 67kg. Fine for me, but I should really start going to the gym soon..

Next one to visit was the surgeon.
Just like before, nothing really changed here, either. A few kneads around the belly, a few questions about how I'm doing during the every-day life, and that's it.
Asked him if I should try to use some ointments, in order to make the scar look better, but now it's too late to try that again. Though, he did mention there are plastic surgeries, that can make it look much better.. but I should wait a few more years before doing that.

If nothing goes wrong, I'll meet them once again, at the end of summer 2007.
Only now, I think I'm really starting to realize the true mental affects of all that had happened in the past two and a half years. But that's a story for some other time..

The Road Less Traveled By

2007-02-03T03:17:00.000+02:00

There I stood, and had to make a choice. A choice that might, or might not, influence my career life (if any, that is) at least for the next few years. Will I continue my army service once more, or finally move to a new life as a "free" civilian?

If there's one thing people all around the world love to hate, it's their job. And specially in israel, when it comes to being a soldier.
"Outside", friends told me, "you'll get more money! You won't have to wear those icky uniforms, and if you're lucky enough- you might even get your own company-car".

But.. is that it? Is that what it's all about? Can person achieve happiness only thanks to the amount of cash he has, the gadgets he owns? If you ask me, the answer would be that money and technology can help you improve your life style, but true satisfaction comes from a totally different place.
And if that's not enough, I'm not an officer either - a fact which leads directly to the well-known conclusion, that at least in this lifetime, I won't get a career in the army. So it's obvious, that eventually (and that wouldn't be too far away from today), I should, and I would, leave the army.

So why should I stay at the army, at least a little bit, despite all of the above?
First, and maybe the most important reason of all, I love my job. I love the feeling of working for something that is beyond money or stocks. I've never been too much into patriotism, but I guess I still got some undisputed values at the back of my mind. Some people might claim that it doesn't worth the effort, but anyone can look from the side and criticize - but it only counts if you do something to make things better.
You might say that I did what I could, and that's it (after all, I am a volunteer to the army service). Plus, it's all nice and touchy to think you can make things better, but you do have to earn your own bread, somehow. Here, comes the profession-related reason: I've been promised to move to a new job, in which I will gain more expirience, soon become some kind of a team-leader's assistant, and get to command in another course.

Still, besides the one last argument, some people might say I could get quite the same job with a better salary if i'd only quit the army. Maybe they are right, maybe they aren't.
Maybe it's because I've had more than one opportunity to leave the army in the past, that the idea doesn't look to me as great as it may seem to someone else. But one thing I can surely say: That I know myself well enough, to tell that I could wait one or two more years for these jobs, outside the army - but for letting go an opportunity to do a second job and commanding a second course at the army - for such an act, i would have never forgive myself.

While most of the people would leave the army, here I am - just like in Robert Frost's poem - taking the road less traveled by. Have I made the right decision? Did i think about it well enough before deciding? Only time will tell..

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

- The Road Not Taken / Robert Frost

Back to Life.. At Last

2006-12-15T02:59:00.000+02:00

Finally, it seems like I've got my life back. I can go out with friends, go on small trips around the country, hang out, sleep and eat well (at least, as much as I can eat, that is), and.. just have fun with the people I know and love. Nothing beyond the weekly routine I was used to before, but I guess I kinda lost it in the last few months.
Not that I have even the slightest chance of regret about the work I gave in these last months (and that's a whole topic by itself, saved for a separated future-post), but it's certainly good to be back to normal.

Since the ceasefire in the north of Israel, it's all safe to travel across the country again. Or at least, so they say. I just love that part of the country so much.. great place to travel in, and too bad it takes such a long ride to get to it. Still, it defiantly worths it.
So I went there twice during the last month, each time for a one-day trip. Was really fun, with some really good friends and lots of flora all around.
You can see some of the pics, from the last trip, here (thanks to Pinky), and another funny photo I took - right here below (click on photo for full view) :

Terms of Conflicts

2006-12-05T21:53:00.000+02:00

Just a few weeks after Microsoft announced their final version of ~~MSN~~ Windows Live Messenger 8.0 (and the beta of the 8.1 version), ICQ finally got their own all-shiny more-feature-loaded and heavier-than-ever new version.

So where's the catch? Well, the ICQ Terms of Service page about using passwords says:

"The ICQ staff will NEVER ask for your password"

but now, it seems that if you wanna sign up for the new beta version of ICQ 6, you must give it away:

So, what can you do now? As sad as it is, I can fairly say that unlike old times, I just don't care about it that much. It doesn't seem like they really improved anything. Once, they used to be the leaders of all the IM applications everywhere, but now ICQ are way behind their own competitors.
But I guess that's a story for some other time..

Go, Israeli Disco!

2006-11-25T03:23:00.000+02:00

Last weekend (which means, a week ago, actually) I went with a couple of girl friends of mine, to the Dorbanim concert.
I've been looking for their performance for over a year now, and finally it got to town (or at least, the town near by). It was the first, or one of the first ones, performance since they realeased their second album, Levi, about 2 months ago.
Even though the crowd was filled with young kids, I still enjoyed the performance - mostly thanks to the people who came with me. I even fell into the old merchandising trap, and bought a T-Shirt with their logo on it- I just couldn't hold myself. Plus, their lead singer, Ido Ofek, signed his name on it. Oh, the shame.

So finally, I did something different on Friday night. Wasn't extreme, but sure was fun!
Next stop: Metropolin's concert (hopefully, if it won't come down).

Weird Spam

2006-11-23T13:40:00.000+02:00

And I wonder.. is that some kind of extreme sex?

Switcing to New Blogger Beta

2006-11-18T16:24:00.000+02:00

Though officially it's still in beta stage, the new blogger seems to be rather good.
The new features (at least as far as I can tell) are mostly for the blogger account itself - such as new and better templates, a web-based interface for editing them (instead of editing the template's HTML/CSS in a plain text editor, a-la notepad), google-style spell checker, and merging the blogger account with the google account. Also, they finally added tags ("labels") for each post!
As for now, the only features I still miss in blogger are per-post links to web2.0 sites like digg and technorati, and a side-list of all the blog's tags.
Well done, Google..

update (24.11.2006, 00:25):
It seems they do have this labels-list thingy, so I added it to the panel on the right side. Not sure if I didn't notice it before, or they've just recently added it..

Suddenly

2006-11-13T05:26:00.000+02:00

Things which you don't expect them to happen, may come out the most powerful or exciting events in your life.

To know someone is suffering through a period that isn't measured in days, nor weeks, neither months - but years - that's a really terrible situation. But you can't be shocked when he (or she) goes away. I really do believe that death is preferred on suffering without a cause or a realistic option to get cured.
On the other hand, things which you don't expect them to happen - and such things can be caused by many reasons (if you were busy with something else, didn't really expect someone to behave the way they did, didn't ask for a reward for your doings, etc) - these can really make me shiver.

The course, which I've been commanding and instructing in the last 3 or 4 months, is over now. I put so much effort into it - not because I wanted someone to thanks me, but only because I really truly believed it's for a good cause. For the future kids, you might say.
My grandma, my father's mom, died last month. She's been sick since young age, and was barely capable of communicating with the world in the last couple of years. Rest in peace.

You figure it out.

Clean Colon - The Do-It-Yourself Version

2006-10-01T02:26:00.000+02:00

So it appears some people actually pay to get their own guts clean, or whatever this "kit" does.
Why would they do such a thing? Well, I just don't know, but you have been warned - it ain't no fun!
(got it from gmail's ad-sense: "This site guarantees to remove really gross stuff from your gut.")

Healthy?

2006-08-04T15:55:00.000+03:00

- "Are you a healthy person?"
- "Yes! Err... wait. maybe. hmm... no?"
(from my yearly visit to the dentist, about a week ago. He got a new dental hygienist)

It's been a while since anyone questioned me about my health. Actually, I can't really recall when was the last time I had to explain to a doctor about my Chron's. All the doctors I visit these days are already familiar with my disease, so I don't have to explain it all over again each time I go through regular health-related procedures.

So, it made me wonder. Do I consider myself healthy? Or even, does it really matter?
Obviously, I'm not the same as I was before it all began, two years ago. I have to take my pills after each meal, and I have to be careful about the types and amounts of the foods I eat, every day. And that's without even mentioning the psychological projections of this whole story.
On the other hand.. well, that's about it, at least for now. Unlike many others, and in contrast to my physical condition when the disease erupted, right now I have almost no physical affects (pain, injuries, exhaustion , etc.) caused by the Chron's.
I feel fine, and sleep very well. I go to work, go out with friends, and I can even do whatever sport I'd like to (just have to get in shape first..)

So.. Is that healthy enough for you, punk?

Physical Matters

2005-11-19T22:01:00.000+02:00

Had my surgical examination this week in Ichilov, and everything seems to be ok.
"Why do you even bother to come here?", the professor asked, jokingly.
Short talk, a few knocks on my belly, and a large scar all across it.
That's all, quick and simple.

See you next year, I hope.

In search for a decent firewall - Part I

2005-10-04T02:10:00.000+03:00

In the last few weeks I've spent a lot of hours in search for a good software-based firewall.
I didn't look for any super-sophisticated features. I just wanted to control my PC's incoming and outgoing connections, allow or deny programs from accessing specified ports, monitor which programs are running at the moment and prevent stuff like port-scanning.
unfortunately, I went through a large variety of firewalls and anti-virus software, each one had it's own problems. And the bottom line? Just read it, and see for yourself.

For a clean start, I have recently installed my legal (believe it or not) copy of windows XP SP2 over an all-new hard disk drive. The only anti-virus and firewall software I installed since then was Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2005.
Everything went fine and without any special problems, until last month. Every once in a while, the Norton stopped working and asked me to re-register itself on the internet. So after a few reoccurrences, I decided to try some alternative firewall and antivirus software.

After removing all of Symantec's products, the first programs to try were Kaspersky's AntiVirus 5 and AntiHacker 1.8 (which are actually the 2005 versions). Unlike Norton, both of Kaspersky's programs don't burden the operating system, and actually they're almost unnoticed!
The AntiVirus interface offers all of the basic features I looked for: Fast and easy scanning, with automatic daily updates from the internet. It also protects the PC from some of the common spyware and adware. Kaspersky has its own unique technology, adding some metadata to the NTFS tables, and therefore claims to scan files even faster than other AntiVirus programs.
The AntiHacker program is user friendly as well - It has all the features I was looking for, and it also loads up really fast at windows startup. The problem started every time I launched my eMule client: only a few minutes passed, before it decided to freeze all of my PC's internet activity, since it might be under a DDoS attack.
Now, How is it possible that every time I'm using eMule I'm having a DDoS attack? And why is this the only firewall that noticed that? And above all, why can't I control the firewall's response, once the attack is recognized?

As you can already guess, I got annoyed, removed KAH, and moved on to Sygate.
This one was no better. Although Sygate has many advanced features (well, at least more than KAH had), it just didn't let me connect the internet- Not even when I set it on "Permit all" mode, and not even when I shut down its process!
Just to clarify, I'm connecting to the Internet via Cables. This means that my modem has to identify itself in the Cables' internal LAN, and only then I can connect to the internet, using a VPN dialer to my ISP. The first part usually works fine, unless it is blocked by a firewall. And that's exactly what happened in my case with Sygate.
The same problem reoccurred when using Outpost firewall, so I won't write about it too.

The next one I tried was BlackIce, which didn't meet my expectations.
Although It gives alerts on every IP that tries to scan your PC, it doesn't do anything else. It doesn't control the programs internet access, not in the software level, nor in the port/protocol level. Actually, it doesn't do anything other than that, and it also doesn't integrate with SP2's Security Center (Although I don't really care about the last one).

Moving to the next firewall, Kerio.
This one had all the features I wanted, but also had one big problem - for an unknown reason, It generates a huge bandwidth overhead. I just couldn't use above half of my bandwidth capacity. This weird problem was specially noticed when using P2P networks, such as eMule or even Bittorrent. It also loaded the CPU usage up to 100% even when there were only a few dozens of opened connections (again, as a result of using P2P networks).
CA's tiny personal firewall 6.5 was about the same. Actually, it looked just like Kerio. It's major disadvantage was a very long loading time (about 10 seconds) when Windows starts.

To be continued..

Special thanks to AlleyCat and Yakov for helping me with this post

Israel's RedBull Flugtag 2005 competition

2005-09-10T19:50:00.000+03:00

This year was the second time this weird competition arrives to Israel.
Taking place yesterday's noon in Tel Aviv, with loads of celebrities as judges and field-reporters, the event was pretty amusing (well, except for the hot weather). About 30 teams competed in this tournament, each one tried to give the best show they could, then fly as far as possible above the lake.
Most of the vehicles went straight downwards, but some of them actually glided a few meters before crashing into the water.
Some of the teams had really funny ideas, such as "The Ball of Justice" - which was too full of air, and went aside (as it was affected by the wind) instead of straight ahead. Some other team fired a man right out of something which looked like a small volcano, and another one kicked a big football with someone inside it, using a giant hammer. The idea I most liked belonged to a group of deaf people, who made a UFO-like vehicle out of empty plastic water bottles - now that's good recycling!

Here's a short animation I made, of the "Ball of Justice":

See you there next year, and may the force be with you..

New Blog, First Post

2005-09-01T14:20:00.000+03:00

Congratulations.. :)