SHVILIS

[Ron posted this as a comment to the this post, last night. i just copied it to here. --keren]

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RonSha said...

well, finally i'm here to post my story - the trail of israel, or shvil israel, as it is called here.

before i forget, the fortress is called namrood, and not nimrod, but it is originaly from arabic, and it could be translated to nimrod...

to trip was amazing! we've finished walking a week ago, and i still havn't yet sorted out my mind - so much time to think, that i think i need another month and a half to think over my thouts. in this everlasting way, i'll allways be on a vacation, thinking...

it took us 45 days to walk 1000k. we had about 7 days of rest, included in the 45 days period.
there are people who are afraid of the desert, like you said, so they go on a pre-trip, to place water and food along the way, so they will not have problems. we've checked the maps, and saw that according to our walking speed, we will not have more then 2 days of walking without water suply. all of the time, except from one time, we've filled up our water tanks from hoses along the way (in structures, settelments, beduween camps...). one time we filled up our water tanks from one of the springs in the desert, which is known to have good drinking water.
the desert itself is hot. very hot. about 38 degrees at noon. so we woke up at 4:30 in the morning, began our hike at first light, until 11-12. then we would find a cave, or a big hoal in the walls of a river, and try to get some shut eye, and eat out lunch - bread with tuna and tomato souse, or with tchina. at 3-4 afternoon we kept on walking until 7:30-8:00. then all there is to do is a canpfire, cook rice and go to sleep.
about food.... we've managed....
kidding. we ate verry good, along the intire trail. there is a part at the end where there is no place to buy food at for about 5-6 days, but we were in a kibbutz called neot smadar, and they supplied us for the remaining 3 days. that meens 1k of rice, some tchina, bread, pita and tuna. that is what we mostly ate along the way. at the kibbutz itself we were at a wedding which held the day we were there, and they FORCED us to come. very nice people.

other nice people we met, who are called "trail angles". they are people who live along the root of the trail, and they offer travelers a warm bed, and ever warmer shower. most of them are living in kibbutzs, so they can share an extra building for us, travelers.

we've also met groups of germans who live next to be'er sheva and volenteer here in israel. they also did the trail, but only the start - 4 days.

the the end of the trail mom and safta went for a vecation in eilat. i've joind them for a 4 day vecation, full board in a hotel. that was a great way to finish this kind of a trip - relaxation.
along the trail i've lost 8 kilograms. i bet i gain them back in the hotel, 4 days after. plenty of food (all you can eat), plenty of coctails (all you can drink)... i had great time.

i've wrote alot, and i bet you have some questions... and it's abit late for me... the problem with travelling in my own country is that there is no time differance, so i can't say that i'm tired due to the jetleg...



here is a link to the photos of the trip. Njoy
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sgy_travel/album?.dir=/559ascd&.src=ph&.tok=phHwz7EBT2AetnHS

Sat May 27, 07:07:59 PM EDT
RonSha said...

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sgy_travel/album?.dir=/559ascd&.src=ph&tok=phHwz7EBT2AetnHS

this is the photos we took...
i bet you will manage with the cut and paste techniqe.

it's so good to be back.

Sat May 27, 07:12:04 PM EDT

NASA press release

A few Israelies star in today's NASA news release. Check it out at NASA's European webpage for NASA/ESO Space Telescope or at the Space Telescope Science Institute websites.

The image below (click to enlarge, notice the credits!), shows a cluster of galaxies, which doubles as a gigantic natural telescope - a gravitational lens. The four white bright star-like objects you see by the center of the image are actually images of the same far away object, called a Quasar. The quasar's image is multiplied, because the light that comes from it is bent by the massive cluster. Something like what happens when light passes through a bottle of beer, a fish tank, or a kaleidoscope .

Also seen in this image (click here for one with markings on it) is a couple of newly found Supernovae. Here you can see some zoom-in images, on the areas of the Supernovae.

This research, both the lensing phenomenon seen in this image, and the study of the supernovae, is a part of my PhD work. If you're not afraid of big science words, you can check out the paper here :)

Birthday cake

Coming soon: ...Dori's birthday cake. After we take the picture. hope it survives the night... and the ride...

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- May 20, 2006 -
... so here it is!
It several hours to prepare, and contains about 8 cups flour, 8 eggs, 500 gr butter, 1/2 cup cacao, milk, and lots of frosting... let's not worry about calories, ok?




several views of the cake... The body is made of chocolate and vanilla sponge cake, the wheels are oreos, the lights are gum drops, the reflectors are sour stripes, and the exhasts are "gliliot" waffles. Windows, fenders and trucker are made of sugar dough. The load is all sorts of candy, cookies and marshmellow. yummy.


Dori and his uncle Oren, ready to blow the candle.


Left: aunt Keren cutting the cake, Dori, uncle Oren and safta Dalia are watching. Middle: great safta Sara, Dori, safta Shoshi, safta Dalia, uncle Oren and his girlfriend Ilona. Right: two grandpas (Oddi and Zvika) and one uncle (Oren) trying to figure out how to work the electric train. Ilona on the left, and Ben, not helping the effort, in the background.


Dori and his parents


This is what's left at the end of the party. I guess the cake was too much for us :)

May 17 2006

May 17 2006
Happy Birthday to Dori!!

Russian fishing techniques

This is from our camping weekend on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Russian fishing technique: to be implemented all over the world (esp. in Canada).


Equipment needed:
1-3 Russian fishermen
High quality spring mattress (preferably king size)
Folding chairs
Bottle of wine
Rubber raft + oars
Fishing rods
Basket + jelly fishing net.

Method:

1) Russians in their natural state.


2) Head fisherman (Dima) attaches bait to the hook. Other fishermen (Boris and Alexei) doing nothing. Boris doesn't feel compelled to leave his natural state.


3) Dima takes the end of the line in a rubber raft, and rows into deeper water.


4) Fisherman #2 (Alexei) supervising Dima (seen in deep water as a small dot). Boris can't handel the stress, so he falls asleep.


5) Russians wait some more.


6) ...And more. Notice the perfect alignment - a long forgotten skill from their days in the Russian synchronized swimming team (or, maybe they were pointy dogs in a former life? hmm.)


6) Russians spring to action at the sound of a small bell, indicating that a rod is being pulled. Hurray!! Alexei reels the line, Dima is ready with the net, and Boris, realizing that his expertise "lies" in holding down the mattress, resumes former post.


7) A giant Carp is being pulled to shore (is it a carp? or a yellow dog? can't really tell from that angle). Alexei catches it in the net, and with the help of Dima, unhooks the fish and puts it in the basket along with the catch of the day. Boris, as expected, is holding the mattress. It was windy that day. Good boris!


8) Goto 1...

בני הדייג פישל

חמישי בערב, כל כך רציתי לראות את הטיילת החדשה בנמל תא .וראיתי עוד הרבה דברים חדשים ....את קרן ובן לא היתה בעיה להוציא להליכה. הם ספונטנים ומלאי אנרגיה על אף יום ארוך באוניברסיטה.השביל החדש שבנוי מדק באמת חידוש מרענן לנמל שעד כה היה חול ופסולות בנין וזבל.לאחר צעידה ואפילו ריצה קלה אחרי תכולת התיק הפתוח שלי,התמקמנו במסעדת בני הדייג- הידועה כאחת ממסעדות הדגים היותר טובה בעיר.את השולחן הראשון שבו הושבנו עי המלצרית הנחמדה החלפנו לשולחן אחר לאחר שנשמנו את עשן הסיגריות מהשולחן הסמוך. המלצר הצעיר שניגש אלינו הגיע ללא תפריט (כי לדבריו אין תפריט)טען שהוא יגיד לנו בעפ מה בתפריט- אבל רק בעברית כי הוא לא דובר אנגלית.נדיר למצוא בארץ מלצרים שאינם דוברי אנגלית.וגם העברית שלו היתה מאוד דלה- כי שאלתו הבאה היתה-אז מה אתם רוצים לאכול ? בשר דגים או פרות ים?
לא אעייף אתכם בתהליך בחירת התפריט ואעבור לרגע לתכנית הבידור שמלווה את הארוחה.היות וישבנו בחוץ -בקו המים הגיעו אלינו קבצני העיר-לראות איך אנחנו אוכלים בתאבון רב את המזטים שהונחו לפנינו- עם הלחמניות החמות וקנקן המים.שכחתי לציין שהמלצר ה"אוטיסט"נעלם.ומרגע זה והלאה היתה לנו מסכת הכרויות עם כל מלצרי המסעדה
נחזור לקבצנים- הראשון היה בתחפושת של יהודי דתי מורעב שטען שאין לו כסף להאכיל את ילדיו בשבת.הוא היה מנומס וברגע שסמנו לו עם היד שמאתנו לא תבוא הישועה הוא כנראה שלח אלינו את כוכבת התאטרון- אשה לבושה בהידור ביד אחת בקבוק מים מנרלים ובידה השניה תיק נשים מכובד. האשה נעמדה צמוד לשולחננו והחלה לבכות בקול שזה עתה נתבשר לה שבעלה נפטר בבית חולים והיא צריכה כסף למונית כדי להגיע אליו. כשנראנו מופתעים מהספור ההזוי היא הוסיפה לטרגדיה האישית שלה שהיא צריכה קודם לעבור בבית חולים אחר כדי להוציא משם את בנה החייל ולנסוע איתו לבית החולים שבו נפטר בעלה ולערוך את הלוויה.
כדי להפטר ממנה נתתי לה כמה גרושים,ובזאת קוינו להמשך ארוחה נעים ושקט.מנות השרימפס קלמרי ומולים נראו מעוררי תאבון ואכן היו מצוינים. עודי שלא אוהב פירות ים חיכה בסבלנות לקבבים שלו.הוא היה כל כך רעב שהזמין עוד קערית חומוס וטחינה ועוד לחמניות עד שהמנה שלו תגיע.והוא המשיך להיות כל כך רעב שהוא התחיל לאהוב גם את השרימפס והקלמרי.קרן שלפה את המולים אחד אחד מתוך הרוטב הסמיך אך כשרצתה ללגום מכוס המים-שערה שחורה ארוכה נתגלתה לה צפה?האם היא של בני הדייג? או אולי של המלצר האוטיסט?והקבב של עודי עדין לא הגיע....נהננו לראות אותו לומד לאהוב פרות ים.למלצרית הבאה שהגיעה לאחר קריאתנו-ורק ככה הם הגיעו-הודענו שמאחר ואנחנו בסיום הארוחה והקבב עדין לא הגיע -שיבטלו את המנה.היא אפילו לא התנצלה על העיכוב ורק מלמלה משהו כמו -טוב אז לא נחייב אתכם.והגענו לשיא הארוחה.האם זה היה חוט הדייג של בנו הדייג? או אוליהחבל שקשר את הסירה שלו לחוף? לא, לא זה ולא זה.עוד שערה שחורה וארוכה היתה שזורה בעומק הקערה שזורה בין הצדפות שעד לפני רגע קרן נהנתה לאכול.בבדיקה מעבדתית הסתבר ששתי השערות מאותו מקור. האם השף סובל מנשירה?האם נענשנו על שלא תרמנו לרעבים או שלא הצענו לאלמנה הסעה?
האוכל היה מצויין ובסופו של דבר הדיל היה טוב- כי גם על המנה ברוטב שערות לא חוייבנו.אך ציפינו לקבל גם מרשם לתרופה נגד הבחילה שממנה סבלנו עד למחרת בבוקר.

On Thursday night, I felt like exploring the new promenade at the old harbor in Tel-Aviv... It was pretty easy to convince Ben and Keren to go out for a walk - they are spontaneous and energetic enough, even after a long day of work at the university.
The new deck that was constructed along the harbor is very nice, and adds a lot to the old harbor that used to be a pile of construction junk and sand.
After a nice walk, and a short run after the contents of my open purse that flew away in the wind, we got to a glorified restaurant, called "Benny the fisherman".
The first table we sat as proved to be down the wind from a few smokers, so we moved to another table. Shortly after our rear ends met the seats, a large assortment of mazettes (small dishes with a verity of salads, pastes, spreads, etc.) was served.
A long time later, came a pleasant young waiter, with no menu, claiming that he will tell us what's on the menu - but only in Hebrew, since English is too hard for him. [On my opinion, waiting tables is too hard for him, and he should look for another job!! (ks)]. A non-English speaking waiter it is quite rare in Israel. His Hebrew proved to be quite poor, as instead of telling us what's on the menu - he asked US what do YOU feel like eating - meat, fish or sea food?.
I wont tire you with the ordering process, and move straight to the entertainment program. Since we sat outside, by the water, the city beggars were free to come and watch us eat the tasty mazettes and hot buns. I forgot to mention that the autistic waitress just disappeared, and we never saw him again. Eventually we met all the waiters that were on duty that night...
Back to the beggars, the first one was dressed as an orthodox Jew, came to our table with a plastic bag, and asked for charity for some (his?) hungry family. He was polite enough to leave us alone after we signaled that we will not be his saviors. Then came the starlet - a woman, well dressed, with a bottle of water in one hand, and a respectable purse in the other. She stood herself at the end of our table, and started crying her eyes out with crocodile tears, saying "you would not believe what just happened to me" [we didn't (ks)] "I was just informed that my husband died of a stroke"... She claimed that she needed money for a cab to get to the hospital. When she noticed our surprised faces, she altered her story slightly, and added that she has to first get her son, the soldier, out of another hospital, and she needs money for the funeral, and what not. To get rid of her, I gave her some change.
[after she left, we noticed that the bottle of water that she held was left on our table. Ben held it bravely with a piece of napkin and removed it from our table.]
Now we could only hope for a quiet and pleasant dinner. The crimps, calamari and muscles looked delicious, and indeed were excellent. Odi, who doesn't like sea food that much, waited patiently for his main course of Kabbabs. He was so hungry that he ordered some more Hummus and Tehina and buns, till his dish arrives. He was so hungry, that he started nibbling on the sea food!
Keren ate most of the muscles which swam in warm delicious sauce. Alas, when she went for a sip of water, a medium-long black hair was discovered in her glass. Was it Benny the fishermen's? Or maybe belonged to the autistic waiter?
Oddi's Kabab still didn't show up. We enjoyed watching him learning to like sea food...
We waved one of the waitresses (that was the only way we could catch their attention- they never came by to check on us), and told her that since we are almost done, they shouldn't bother with the Kabbab dish. She didn't even apologize for the delay, just mumbled something like "OK, you won't be charged for it".
And now, to the grand finale: is it a fishing line? or maybe a piece of rope? No - another black hair, similar to the first one, lying deep in the bowl of muscles, that Keren enjoyed until a minute ago... The lab results showed that the hairs are of the same origin. Is the chef shedding? Are we being punished for not driving the poor widow?
Anyway, the food was very good, and eventually the deal was good too - we were not charged for the hairy dish too...
Nevertheless, we expected to also receive a recipe for a medicine for the nausea we felt till the next morning!

Thesis Update.

Just taking odds here on Jymers thesis. Not on when he will have it done, but on what color crayon he will be writing it in.

Blue 4-1
Red 6-1
Black 10-1
Black and Honalulu Blue 10-1
Green 15-1
Yellow 25-1
Pink 30-1
Taupe 44-1
Mauve 50-1

Anyone have any different Odds?

ecological footprint

Go to myfootprint.org and you can see through a little quiz of your lifestyle how many planets it would take for humanity to survive if we all lived like you. It's pretty neat.

Mess(a)

This is a hard day for science-merchandise manufacturing business. Seems like the science employees are on an Italian strike, since they came back from lunch. They sit in their padded chairs, their tummies almost touch the screen, they stare at their plasma screens, punch on random keys with their lazy fingers, and no science products are manufactured.
Seems like the situation is a result of a very nutritious lunch they had on lunch time (that spanned 3 hours!), after which they rolled back to their office with no energy, or motivation, to do anything but take a nap on their desks.

Here are the details:
Place: Messa restaurant, Ha'arba'a St., Tel Aviv.
Participants: (safta) Sara, Dalia, Ben, Keren.
Appetizers: Safta: Seared Goose liver with white "Valrhona" Lemon sauce served with a shot of "naughty chocolate". Dalia: Baked Bone Marrow with a portion of "Pot Au Feu". Ben: Baby Calamari with smoked Lentils & Cauliflower cream. Keren: Veal Pastelillo with sweet spices served with Coconut Puree.
Main course: Safta: Beef Sirloin with Truffle Puree in Garlic and Rosemary Confit Surcharge. Dalia: Fillet of Sea Bass served with Fine Creamed Carrot sauce, Micro-Greens and Crouton Slivers. Ben: "Siniya" Ground Filet of Beef Creamed in Lemon Tehina and Served with Seared Tomatoes. Keren: Artichoke Risotto with Broad Beans and Baby Spinach.
Desserts: There were 7 desserts on the business lunch menu. Dalia figured that four people can easily take care of 5: "Valrhona" Chocolate delight; Hot apples "carpaccio" with vanilla sabayon; Chef's Dessert (Assortment of caramelized vegetables)(yes, i said vegetables); "Maki" brulee; Pumpkin dessert with sugared pistachios and poppy seed ice cream; [left out: Sorbet & fruit jam, Fruit salad & frozen yogurt]

Exploding Beer.

New Hollands Dragons Milk explodes on the sales floor at Whole Foods spraying beer, glass and sadness all over the store. Details at eleven.

Ben -----> Tel Aviv (May 2006)

Ben will be in Israel from May 3rd-Jun 2nd. Hopefully he will be able to write a thesis during this time. He's really stressed out beyond all recognition from this stupid thesis thing.
Here' s the vital flight info. If you go to Continental Airlines and enter any of the following flight numbers during the time I'm flying, you can track my progress from Detroit to Newark to Tel Aviv and back. I think it has a funny little animation, if I remember right.

Wed May 3 - 1:25 pm-3:05pm, leave Detroit, fly to Newark (Contitental Flight 2133)
4:05pm - 9:30am (Tel Aviv time, 2:30 am EST) , fly from Newark to Tel Aviv.
(Continental Flight 84)

I'm tired and lazy right now. I need to kill my brain with beer for a little bit. I'll post the return information at the end of this month.

By the way, does anyone out there know what I'm supposed to put in my thesis? I guess I'll start by putting some science products in there, followed by some pretty pictures.