This is the most amazing thing ever.
http://jalopnik.com/340827/how-to-escape-microcar+attacking-ninjas-on-roller-skates
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Israel: Day 3
12/30/07
Everything about yesterday was amazing. We were at an Israeli engineering college in the morning, then a kibbutz called Eshbal. We met 8 Israeli soldiers who will be travelling with us, then went to lunch (many people went to Burger King or KFC, but I opted for something a little less familiar). After that, we visited the city of Tzfat, where the Zohar was studied and where famous Kabbalists lived. After was dinner, and then a boat ride with dancing. To top it all off, our bus broke down on the way back with much fanfare and burning rubber.
More later.
I guess one of the things I got out of going to Tzfat was a different way of thinking about religion. The Kabbalists approached faith in a different way, and some of the stories made me think about how I approach God. My concept of God continues to diverge, but my belief gets stronger.
We also had a chance to discuss the idea of being a 'chosen' people. I guess that really clinches it for me. There is no doubt that Jews persist despite hardship, and rise to the top of any society they live in. This means we have quite a bit to live up to with all this visibility. Sure sign that Israel is doing something. By now, I'm convinced I won't know what until the end.
Tzfat was an amazing city. This was the first day of really going out there and doing things, and the impact is already apparent from this writing. Tune in next time for more of my biblical adventures in the holy land.
Everything about yesterday was amazing. We were at an Israeli engineering college in the morning, then a kibbutz called Eshbal. We met 8 Israeli soldiers who will be travelling with us, then went to lunch (many people went to Burger King or KFC, but I opted for something a little less familiar). After that, we visited the city of Tzfat, where the Zohar was studied and where famous Kabbalists lived. After was dinner, and then a boat ride with dancing. To top it all off, our bus broke down on the way back with much fanfare and burning rubber.
More later.
I guess one of the things I got out of going to Tzfat was a different way of thinking about religion. The Kabbalists approached faith in a different way, and some of the stories made me think about how I approach God. My concept of God continues to diverge, but my belief gets stronger.
We also had a chance to discuss the idea of being a 'chosen' people. I guess that really clinches it for me. There is no doubt that Jews persist despite hardship, and rise to the top of any society they live in. This means we have quite a bit to live up to with all this visibility. Sure sign that Israel is doing something. By now, I'm convinced I won't know what until the end.
Tzfat was an amazing city. This was the first day of really going out there and doing things, and the impact is already apparent from this writing. Tune in next time for more of my biblical adventures in the holy land.
Israel: Day 2
12/29/07
I'm starting to feel a difference, though slight. When I look for it, it's pretty clear this is a foreign country. I don't know what else to look for, though.
My stomach was bothering me still this morning, though it seems to have passed. Only dinner will let me know for sure.
Got much needed sleep today, and am continuing to meet new people, which is great.
I still don't know what to expect from this. It's obviously religious, no surprise there, but I don't know if I'm feeling "Holy Land". I'm getting the hint of something special, but I don't know what, yet.
As part of the whole Shabbat 'thing', we took a walk on the beach today. In retrospect, it was really peaceful. That felt more like a day of rest than anything else. Well, excepting maybe the sleeping.
Addendum:
The Druze restaurant was quite an experience. Authentic food (and Israeli kool-aid) and a culture/religion I barely knew existed.
Here, I'm continuing to copy down word for word what I wrote in my journal. The first Shabbat was still one of anticipation, of not knowing what to expect. Little did I know how things would come together even only one day later.
I'm starting to feel a difference, though slight. When I look for it, it's pretty clear this is a foreign country. I don't know what else to look for, though.
My stomach was bothering me still this morning, though it seems to have passed. Only dinner will let me know for sure.
Got much needed sleep today, and am continuing to meet new people, which is great.
I still don't know what to expect from this. It's obviously religious, no surprise there, but I don't know if I'm feeling "Holy Land". I'm getting the hint of something special, but I don't know what, yet.
As part of the whole Shabbat 'thing', we took a walk on the beach today. In retrospect, it was really peaceful. That felt more like a day of rest than anything else. Well, excepting maybe the sleeping.
Addendum:
The Druze restaurant was quite an experience. Authentic food (and Israeli kool-aid) and a culture/religion I barely knew existed.
Here, I'm continuing to copy down word for word what I wrote in my journal. The first Shabbat was still one of anticipation, of not knowing what to expect. Little did I know how things would come together even only one day later.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Israel: Introduction and Day 1
I got back from Israel this morning.
I got back from one of the most amazing experiences of my life this morning.
I'm not going to try and start. So much happened, so many questions were answered, so many more were asked. Things are flying around my head, and I don't know what to make of it. At the very least, I have great memories, and lots of new friends, both halfway across the world, and also right next door in Pittsburgh.
Instead of trying to sum it up in one entry, I'll be intermittently posting the daily entries I made in my journal during the trip. Day one was very short:
12/28/07
Tired. Carsick. Meeting people, which is cool.
A combination of the plane ride and some food item made me sick at the beginning of the trip, but Thank God I didn't let it get the best of me. It took through day 2 to really get it out of my system, and I continued to be judicious about my digestive habits from then on out. The first day was us taking it all in. As you'll see later, I had no idea what was really in store yet.
I got back from one of the most amazing experiences of my life this morning.
I'm not going to try and start. So much happened, so many questions were answered, so many more were asked. Things are flying around my head, and I don't know what to make of it. At the very least, I have great memories, and lots of new friends, both halfway across the world, and also right next door in Pittsburgh.
Instead of trying to sum it up in one entry, I'll be intermittently posting the daily entries I made in my journal during the trip. Day one was very short:
12/28/07
Tired. Carsick. Meeting people, which is cool.
A combination of the plane ride and some food item made me sick at the beginning of the trip, but Thank God I didn't let it get the best of me. It took through day 2 to really get it out of my system, and I continued to be judicious about my digestive habits from then on out. The first day was us taking it all in. As you'll see later, I had no idea what was really in store yet.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Why, internet, why?
http://xkcd.com/355/
This is the very reason I no longer put relationship info up on facebook.
Well, finals starts officially tomorrow. I have my Methods quiz tomorrow, which I have been studying for this evening. Then, a little downtime, and some sweet Cyberpunk action Tuesday night. I start studying Heat Transfer some on Tuesday, but in reality not til Wednesday and Thursday. Then I have Sunday and Monday to study for dynamics. Throw a presentation in for Energy and the Environment on Thursday, and there you have it, my finals schedule.
I'll either have way more or way less free time these next weeks...I have no idea which.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
FINALS.
WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH...
Yeah, I've been busy.
For those who haven't kept up, I'm going to Israel over the winter break.
I'll probably post a few times after finals start, after all of this psychotic work cools down.
I'm really busy, but junior year rocks hard. I'm getting so excited about all of this stuff.
Yeah, I've been busy.
For those who haven't kept up, I'm going to Israel over the winter break.
I'll probably post a few times after finals start, after all of this psychotic work cools down.
I'm really busy, but junior year rocks hard. I'm getting so excited about all of this stuff.
Monday, November 05, 2007
The Way Things Work: Memory
I wrote a very long and bitchy post, and I really didn't need to. So I deleted it.
I guess what I figured out through all that ranting is that you have to accept that no matter how much time has past, no matter who you're with now, and no matter the previous circumstances, some people you will always care about. There will always be circumstances where you'll hear about their travails, and your first instinct will be to want to teleport over state lines and give them a big hug.
I feel very weird about this, mostly because of my current relationship. That being said, empathy is not cheating, and I should feel good about maintaining these friendships with people from home.
On a note that's much more honest to myself: (Damn hormones. Fucking sex drive. Grrrr. Fucking thinking with the lower brain...damn can't keep a single fucking thought in my head clean anymore)
Italics make everything better, seriously.
I guess what I figured out through all that ranting is that you have to accept that no matter how much time has past, no matter who you're with now, and no matter the previous circumstances, some people you will always care about. There will always be circumstances where you'll hear about their travails, and your first instinct will be to want to teleport over state lines and give them a big hug.
I feel very weird about this, mostly because of my current relationship. That being said, empathy is not cheating, and I should feel good about maintaining these friendships with people from home.
On a note that's much more honest to myself: (Damn hormones. Fucking sex drive. Grrrr. Fucking thinking with the lower brain...damn can't keep a single fucking thought in my head clean anymore)
Italics make everything better, seriously.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
INFANTRY
Back towards the end of middle school, I found this cool online game called Infantry. It was free to play, involved a lot of shooting people, tons of weapons and persistent character buildup as well. When I got back to it in high school, it was sadly switched to a pay model. Well, I found out that Sony, the owners of Infantry, have made it free to play once again. I installed the game, logged on, and was overjoyed to find a CTF server with over 100 people on it. So cool, I recommend you all play it. It's free, not bandwidth intensive (I played it in 7th grade on 56k), and really damn fun.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Post 300!
This is madness!
Madness? THIS...IS...BLOGSPOT!!!
Yeah, 300 posts. Woo.
So, I still have been having major RP ADD with regards to settings. I've had a bunch of ideas, but am still rapidly flitting from one idea to another with little regard for compatibility or continuity. After seeing the previews for GURPS High-Tech, I'm quite aware that a lot of fodder exists for a modern setting. I kind of want to do a modern setting with some fantasy or horror elements, but overall something pretty gritty. I've been able to narrow a bit onto my next bit of GMing, which will be an espionage PbP. That being said, I've been having a lot of ideas that I want to work into something new. I think for my next game, depending on what I want to do, I may limit it to four or five players, just choosing the first four/five that submit to me a character with the right depth of field that fits into the concept. Hopefully, no one will take it personally if I tell them a concept doesn't fit...and that wouldn't preclude them from participating, necessarily. Anyways, I'll probably get another journal and use it exclusively for fiction and RPG stuff. They sell quadrille journals, so that may be awesome. I can also use it to write down ideas during other games. Dan's game will start soon, and though my character concept isn't completely tacked down, I think the game will be pretty cool. Anyway, I'm going to go get that journal now, since I thought about it.
Madness? THIS...IS...BLOGSPOT!!!
Yeah, 300 posts. Woo.
So, I still have been having major RP ADD with regards to settings. I've had a bunch of ideas, but am still rapidly flitting from one idea to another with little regard for compatibility or continuity. After seeing the previews for GURPS High-Tech, I'm quite aware that a lot of fodder exists for a modern setting. I kind of want to do a modern setting with some fantasy or horror elements, but overall something pretty gritty. I've been able to narrow a bit onto my next bit of GMing, which will be an espionage PbP. That being said, I've been having a lot of ideas that I want to work into something new. I think for my next game, depending on what I want to do, I may limit it to four or five players, just choosing the first four/five that submit to me a character with the right depth of field that fits into the concept. Hopefully, no one will take it personally if I tell them a concept doesn't fit...and that wouldn't preclude them from participating, necessarily. Anyways, I'll probably get another journal and use it exclusively for fiction and RPG stuff. They sell quadrille journals, so that may be awesome. I can also use it to write down ideas during other games. Dan's game will start soon, and though my character concept isn't completely tacked down, I think the game will be pretty cool. Anyway, I'm going to go get that journal now, since I thought about it.
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