Amiram Hayardeny's My China Experience

What an Ending 2007, Happy New Year 2008!

What I really wanted to do was to bless everyone I know with a Happy New Year.  I may still do it, but first, I must share some experiences from the New Year's Eve...

                                                                                                                           

It all started last week when Guy, my (almost) five years old son started coughing, sneezing, running high fevers and one meter long trains started coming out of his nose.  Like the good parents that we are, we rushed him over to United Family Hospital of Beijing, only to be given the usual: "it's a virus, rest and drink a lot".  Well, we started a routine of children's Tylenol every six hours (actually we used the Israeli brands of Acamoli and Nurofen kids.  All safe and effective in getting down the fever), and we worked the DVD double overtime.  A few days later the fever went down, the cough stayed, and Guy's mother and sister joined the club.

At this point, our house started sounding like the annual tuberculosis patients convention.  But what do you do with Guy, the active five year old who wants to play and run around.  And there was no medical reason, nor practical way, to keep him in bed.  Dorit, my wife, had an idea.  She suggested a father-son day for Guy and me.  In all honesty, and as much as I love spending quality time with Guy, I wasn't thrilled.  But there was no way to get out of it without looking like a selfish SOB, so I got dressed and we went to the Blue Zoo of Beijing.  Recommended.  It's actually an aquarium, with many marine animals on display, including a large glass bottom aquarium which allows you to see the fish swimming above you.  It's really nice, and if you're less than one meter twenty tall, it's free of charge...

So we're walking around and suddenly I don't feel Guy around me, in other words, my back pocket was 20 Kg lighter.  After less than a second, and well before the panic started, I realized that he was just behind me.  When I asked why he wouldn't come near, he said he was afraid of the sharks.  And then we had the most amazing conversation.

Me: Guy, the sharks are in their aquariums, and they can't get out.
Guy: Yes, I know.
Me: So come, let me show you something.
Guy: No, I'm afraid of the sharks.
Me: But they can't come out of this armored glass (knocking on glass for better effect).
Guy: I know, but they can jump out.
Me: No, they have a fence (pointing).  Come here.
Guy: No, I'm afraid of the sharks.
Me (changing direction): But they aren't hungry, they are very well fed.  Watch this one here.
Guy: I'm afraid of the sharks.
Me (turning to Guy): Come here, trust me, they won't do anything to you, I promise.
Me (turning back just to see this huge nasty looking blue shark looking at me with mouth wide open): Holy !@#$!  What the hell was that?
Guy: You see, I told you.  I'm scared of the sharks.
Me (resignation sets in): OK, lets go watch the carps.  They have no teeth.

Anyway, it was a nice visit, followed by a gourmet meal.  No, not a French bistro, nor a sixteen course Moroccan Cuisine meal.  It was McDonald's.  Yes, Guy's idea of fine food is Chicken Nuggets and Fries.  We try to keep it to no more than twice a month.  He loves it, and I can't even blame the little gift McDonald's love to give little kids around the world to lure them into the joint.  I simply can't figure out what to order to get the the goddamn little gift.  I'm wondering what kind of long lasting damage I'm causing here.  Imagine Guy in twenty years, at the office of the inevitable shrink, describing yours truly: "my dad is a good person, but he could never figure out how to get the little McDonald's gifts in Beijing...".  I hope he will get over it.

When we came back, Dorit was already home from the hospital.  She went to see Dr. X.  The one who makes sure that no matter what, you get to do at least one unnecessary test.

Bottom line: three flus, one over.  Nice aquarium, nasty sharks, nice carps.  Great food.

Still.  To everyone I know, family, friends, co-workers.  From the bottom of my heart, I wish you all a Healthy, Happy, Peaceful new year.  2007 was a great year.  I wish us all a better 2008.  Happy New Year!

Posted at 08:13PM Dec 31, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[4]

Salute and Farewell to Benazir Bhutto

A lady, a scholar, and the first ever female to be elected prime minister in a Muslim country.  Twice.  A brave woman, who went to great personal risks and sacrifices to work for her country, for her people, to make things better for them.  Better, freer, more modern.  With her death dies the hope for millions of people in Pakistan.  With her death, dark forces shall rise, forces who don't respect freedom, don't appreciate democracy, and most certainly, don't believe women are capable of leadership.  I salute you, Benazir Bhutto.  You are an inspiration.

Conflicts exists wherever people do.  Terrorism, suicide bombing, abduction, torture, and other means of forcing opinions on entire populations are not acceptable measures in resolving conflicts.   Negotiations, and time, as long as needed are the only ways to accomplish solid, stable and long term conflict resolution.

The reason is simple.  There's always the day after.  The collective memory of people who were forced into a resolution by inappropriate means will be there for generations.  The memory of atrocities stays, simmers, and get resurrected at times.  I hope with all my heart, that conflicts around the world will see some resolution this year.  Solid, stable, long term resolution.

The memory of Benazir Bhutto will be with me for a long time.  I hope that her legacy will bring peace to her people, to her country, to the world.  Forgive me for mentioning this, but we, human beings, may be facing a much bigger problem.  We may have to work together to resolve it if we want to live.  From what I'm reading lately, we may be facing some severe environmental problems, not in a thousand or a hundred years - tomorrow, next week, in a year.

Farewell, Benazir Bhutto.  The world will miss you. 

Posted at 05:05PM Dec 29, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[1]

Catch 22 - You Can't Win!

I can't remember when I read Catch 22 for the first time and the second time.  I can only remember that the term "catch 22" immediately appealed to me, and that I must have used it and heard it hundreds of times in the last few decades.  I never saw the film though, for obvious reasons.  Movies always (admittedly there are a few exceptions) ruin good books.  Not maliciously of course, but naturally.  How so? Directors and actors bring their own interpretations to the set, and the result is someone else's interpretation for a story.  Personally, I like to use my own imagination, and my own interpretation.  As I said before, there are exceptions.  The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was outstanding, and despite the difficulties created a film that was sufficiently close to my interpretation (and apparently millions more, as the film was a blockbuster).  Harry Potter is another example.  The exact opposite example was the two miserable "Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy" - shameful...

Catch 22 is neither.  It's an interesting film, it somehow provides the general feeling of frustration to the point of losing one's mind watching the circumstances, the dead, the war.  It doesn't provide the deeper reflection that the book does though.  In any case, as I was watching the other day, two things gave me the immediate need to share with the blog.  One was obvious: a reminder of the definition of Catch 22, for the sake of those who use this term incorrectly..., and the other was a bizarre and surreal dialog taking place inside a brothel between an almost twenty years old American soldier (Nately) and a 107 year old Italian guy (Old Man).

First thing's first: what does "Catch 22" mean?  Yossarian, the bombardier, desperately wants to be grounded, so he doesn't have to fly these dangerous missions anymore.  He asks the doctor whether the doctor would ground him if he's crazy.  The doctor says of course.  All one needs to do is ask.  And then, Yossarian continues, will you ground me?  The doctor says of course not, because you aren't really crazy - case in point: you want to get out of combat...  The official definition is: "In order to be grounded I must be crazy.  I must be crazy to keep flying.  But if I ask to be grounded, it means that I'm not crazy anymore, and I got to keep flying".  Strange?  Yes, but still, a beautiful circular logic which became a term for "no matter what you do, you can't win".

The other dialog is a little lengthy, but certainly worth it.

Old Man: You all crazy!
Nately: Why are we crazy?
Old Man: Because you don't know how to stay alive.  And that's the secret of life.
Nately: But we have a war to win.
Old Man: But America will lose the war;  Italy will win it.
Nately: America's the strongest nation on earth.  The American fighting man is the best trained, the best equipped, the best fed.
Old Man: Exactly. Italy, on the other hand, is one of the weakest nations on earth.  The Italian fighting man is hardly equipped at all.  That's why my country is doing so well, while your country is doing so poorly.
Nately: That's just silly! First Italy was occupied by the Germans, and now by us.   You call that doing well?
Old Man: Of course I do.  The Germans are being driven out, and we are still here.   In a few years, you'll be gone, and we will still be here.  You see, Italy is a very poor, weak country,  and that is what makes us so strong.   Strong enough to survive this war and still be in existence...  ...long after your country has been destroyed.
Nately: What are you talking about?  America's not going to be destroyed.
Old Man: Never?
Nately: Well...
Old Man: Rome was destroyed.  Greece was destroyed.  Persia was destroyed.  Spain was destroyed.  All great countries are destroyed.  Why not yours?  How much longer do you think your country will last? Forever?
Nately: Well, forever is a long time, I guess.
Old Man: Very long.
Working Girl at the Brothel: Ciao!
Nately: Please, we're talking.
We go to bed now?
Nately: No.
Nately: Would you go put some clothes on?  You're practically naked.  I wish she wouldn't walk around like that.
Old Man: It is her business to walk around like that.
Nately: But it's not nice.
Old Man: Of course it's nice.  She's nice to look at.
Nately: This life is not nice.  I don't want her to do this.
Working Girl at the Brothel: When we go to America, Nately?
Old Man: You will take her to America?  Away from a healthy, active life?  Away from good business opportunities?  Away from her friends?
Nately: Don't you have any principles?
Old Man: Of course not.
Nately: No morality?
Old Man: I'm a very moral man.  And Italy is a very moral country.  That's why we will certainly come out on top again, if we succeed in being defeated.
Nately: You talk like a madman.
Old Man: But I live like a sane one.  I was a Fascist when Mussolini was on top.  Now that he has been deposed, I am anti-Fascist.  When the Germans were here, I was fanatically pro-German.  Now I'm fanatically pro-America!  You'll find no more loyal partisan in all of Italy than myself.
Nately: You're a shameful opportunist!  It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.
Old Man: You have it backwards.  It's better to live on your feet than to die on your knees.  I know.
Nately: How do you know?
Old Man: Because I am 107 years old.  How old are you?
Nately: I'll be 20 in January.
Old Man: If you live.

If you read this dialog, you realize that the old man is taking a seemingly unreasonable, illogical, silly, maybe mad argument, and twist it so well, that somewhere along the line you turn your head, scratch your forehead and say to yourself: maybe he's right after all?  And then comes the punch line "if you live", which delivers the final, and strongest argument: a 107 years old man vs. a guy who doesn't really know if he'd make it to be twenty - who's the winner?  Undoubtedly the 107 years old wins.

On a completely related (no typo) topic.  I always felt for Joseph Heller.  He wrote a masterpiece first, and his writing career had nowhere to go but down ever since.  How tragic is that?

Finally, when someone tells you: "it's a catch 22", you'd know where it comes from, and you'd also know, that no matter what you do, you can't win...

Posted at 09:40AM Dec 29, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[2]

Obama: Ban On Chinese Toys - Was This Thought Through?

My friend Sin-Yaw Wang, in his blog, was discussing Barack Obama's proposed ban on Chinese toys (http://blogs.sun.com/syw/entry/obama_proposes_u_s_ban).  Sin-Yaw goes ahead and cites the (relatively small) price to China, and the (relatively high) price to the US.  I found it intriguing.  To the point that I wanted to pick up the thread right here in my blog, rather than in a comment on one of my favorite blogs (http://blogs.sun.com/syw/).  Here are some thoughts about toys, quality, politics, and the US's manufacturing capabilities.

• Quality is a big responsibility.  A distributor of consumer goods, any consumer goods, from clothes to appliances, and yes indeed toys, is responsible to the customers.  The customers, and the end users, are completely uninterested in the location of the factory, its staff, the manufacturing process, the shipping procedures, the distribution channels.  Customers and end users are interested in the usage of their new purchase, and its price.  They have an assumed trust in the the retailer that THEY will go through the hard work of verifying the manufacturing processes, and make sure that whatever it is their selling, is safe, solid, of good quality, and that it justifies its price.  As Sin-Yaw suggested, the profit to the Chinese manufacturer is a fraction of the profit of the American distributor and retailer.  A small fraction.  But in actuality, it's easier to blame the Chinese, isn't it?  American consumers must make it very clear to retailers: it's your job to make sure that what I buy from you is of high quality.  Indeed, quality checks must take place, and they must take place in China.  Faulty equipment, low quality merchandise, (not to mention poisonous), should not be accepted.  Plain and simple.  A "ban on all Chinese toys" is demagoguery, quality checks are mandatory.
• This is where politics come in to the picture.  Politicians, Obama apparently included, love simple, plain solutions, which appeal to the audience, as large as possible audience that is.  In the process, if they can identify a figure, or better yet an entire "other" nation, to direct all fault to, it's a jackpot.  In proposing a complete Chinese toys ban, Obama did it all: overlooked the obvious solution, went for the simples and most popular solution, appealed to the "demand for blood", identified a scapegoat, and launched a campaign to kill that goat.  Old fashioned politics at its best.  Will consumers, retailers, American people benefit from this solution?  Certainly not.  will they see through it?  Possibly but not necessarily.  Cheap shot?  Definitely.
• Lets assume for a second that Obama's proposal is accepted, and starting tomorrow, no toys are imported from China.  It doesn't take long to realize that it's simply impossible.  China is the manufacturing platform of the world.  America (as well as other post industrial countries) have long since given up their manufacturing capabilities.  It's simply gone.  China manufactures everything for the Americans.  Clothes, toys, spare parts, shoes, appliances, and many, many other things.  Let me take it a step further.  Suppose for a second that China decides to place a ban on all exports to the US.  I could write an entire new post on the consequences.  But do I need to?  Americans, and admittedly many many other countries around the globe, have been used to paying low prices for goods made in China.  Will they agree to pay more for goods manufactured in their home countries?  And how much more?  Five times more?  Ten times more?  Is the world ready for a renewed investment in manufacturing capabilities, with the pollution that goes along with it?  (and just a thought - will that guarantee the quality? or perhaps quality assurance methods will need to be employed.  Like the ones they can and should implement on Chinese and other manufacturers?)
  

But, to my complete shock (not really), I found out that Obama already took back the "proposal" of placing a ban on all Chinese toys (http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2327351220071223).  Did he realize how cheap the proposal was?  What's even more important, and this is a question every voting American must ask (myself included): when it will come to real issues, like national security for example, will Obama resort to the cheap, popular decisions?  Or will he put some thought into it?

And to be clear.  I haven't made up my mind yet as for who is worthy to be the next US president.  I am, however, allergic to demagoguery, and to cheap political proposals to gain popularity.  This isn't the American Idol contest.  Or is it?

Posted at 07:46AM Dec 25, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[4]

Hairspray - Entertainment and a Reminder

Lately, at Shiri's request, we've been watching a lot of musicals.  We started with High School Musical I.  Then her mother and I thought that it would be interesting for her to watch "Fame".  But frankly, Fame didn't do it for her.  In fact, it didn't do it for me either.  When I first saw it, twenty seven years ago it was exhilarating, exciting, and most of all - young! (that's where someone is supposed to come and rub my shoulders, and whisper: "you're not THAT old" ).  Then came "Grease" and High School Musical II.  Grease was somewhat age inappropriate for her (she's eight), but it wasn't that bad.  She's pretty mature for her age.  We bought Hairspray (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427327/), mainly because John Travolta is playing a woman's role, but we never got around to watch it.  Until last weekend.  Superficially, it tells a story of different people.  Different in weight, in color, in opinions.  It tells the story of the struggle to be accepted.  By other people, by society, by some institutions.  Stereotypes are played well: the fat girl, the colored people, the fat woman's husband, the white, manipulative, racist station manager, her daughter who's used to winning everything, not necessarily fair and square...

The "fat girl"'s talents are overlooked, the "fat woman"'s husband can be easily seduced, the black kids are not welcome in the regular show, and are only invited for the demeaning "Negro Day".  The movie shows that with talent, hard work and perseverance, people can overcome obstacles and win against all odds.

But that was the superficial part.  There was a deeper layer.  A portrait of American society in the 1960 in Baltimore, Maryland, on the verge of desegregation.  A time of which America is not particularly proud.

While we were watching the film, Shiri, my eight years old daughter, looked at me with questioning eyes.  She didn't understand what she was watching.  The concept of separating populations based on color was so strange to her, that it was hard for her to even put it in words.  Finally I said to her that not even fifty years ago, in the United States of America, where she was born, people of color had to go to different schools, use different seats in public buses, use special water fountains, and that there were places which stated clearly "Colored People Not Welcome Here".  Not to mention that the variety of opportunities opened for them was extremely limited.  She couldn't believe it.  If you think about it, it's pretty encouraging.  Today's state of affairs is accepted naturally, all others are simply frowned upon.  Fifty years ago (much less in South Africa) the natural state was segregation (or apartheid), and the alternative was unacceptable to some.  Seventy years ago, in Germany and other parts of Europe, segregation was only precursor to the real thing: total annihilation...

I wonder if she's ready to hear that her great grandparents were forced to leave their house and go live in the "Lager", short for Konzentrationlager or concentration camp.  For many this was the last stop - suffering from diseases, starvation, cold, and human cruelty, many just didn't make it.  For many others, the end came later at the furnaces.

Baltimore, Maryland, is a large city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.  Just a few dozen miles from Washington DC, the American capital.  When I was a student at Stony Brook University, I used to drive down to Washington on occasion to visit friends.  Route 95, the obvious choice when you drive from Long Island, New York to Washington DC, you have to drive through Baltimore MD.  Not a particularly exciting town (no offense meant).  I never knew, that Baltimore was the first to adopt residential segregation laws to separate the white and colored populations in the city.  "On May 15, 1911, Baltimore Mayor J. Barry Mahool, who was known as an earnest advocate of good government, women's sufferage, and social justice, signed into law an ordinance for preserving peace, preventing conflict and ill feeling between the white and colored races in Baltimore city, and promoting the general welfare of the city by providing, so far as practicable, for the use of separate blocks by white and colored people for residences, churches and schools".  (http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/fac_pubs/184/)Does it sound convincing to you?  Segregation in the name of preserving the peace?  right.

Let me end with a note of optimism.  In nature, as in economics and other areas, the state of equilibrium is the most stable state.  An atom of Oxygen surrounded by two atoms of Hydrogen is stable.  In fact, it's a molecule of water.  Segregation is not a stable state.  In the long run, everything reaches the state of equilibrium.  Society is no different.  Yes, and Hairspray is a great film, it's entertaining, it has a good plot, it has John Travolta playing a middle-aged heavyset lady, Michelle Pfeiffer playing the racist station manager, and finally, Nikki Blonsky, the heavy girl who sings and dances and acts wonderfully.  I recommend it for the entertainment, but also for the reminder of what racism and segregation is - equality awareness is key.

Posted at 09:28PM Dec 20, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[1]

Make A Difference - Microloans - $100.00 Can Go Very Far

Jewish law requires that everyone must give charity.  According to Maimonides, or the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon) there are eight levels of charity.

1. Giving charity unwillingly
2. Giving willingly, gladly, and with a smile
3. Giving after being asked
4. Giving before being asked
5. Giving with no knowledge of who the recipient is, while recipients do know the giver
6. Giving while knowing the recipient, while the recipient doesn't know the giver
7. Neither the giver nor the receiver know of one another.
8. The greatest level is giving a loan, making a partnership, finding a job, until the recipient becomes independent, to the point he needs no handouts at all.
   

This is the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the BBC World special about Kiva (http://kiva.org/).   The highest rank of giving charity, no doubt.  The Kiva idea is brilliant.  It's not a handout, it's a loan.  A small loan, but in the countries they are needed, they can go a long way.  What was even more appealing to me was that you can trust that your money will go in its entirety to the person who needs it.  Unlike some charity organizations which spends millions of dollars on dinners and fund raisers, with only a fraction of the money actually reaching the people in need.

The BBC special described an application for a loan which came from somewhere in Kenya.  A bicycle taxi driver requested a loan for his wife to open a local restaurant.  His bicycle taxi business wasn't capable of supporting his wife and six children.  With the small loan ($800.00 given by a few lenders), the wife opened a small, local restaurant, which specializes in rice and beans, flat bread and a very short list of other items.  The couple made enough to upgrade the family's living conditions, to make payments returning the loan, and to send the children to school.

The old story suggests that it's better to buy someone a fishing rod and teach him to catch his own fish, than just giving him a fish.  The reasoning is simple.  For one, you can help him become self sufficient, and as important, he gets to preserve his dignity.

In 2006, Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their pioneering use of microcredit -- tiny loans -- to spur development among the poor (Read Story).

For the upcoming Holidays, and New Year, if you're looking for the absolute farthest your $100.00 can go - give it to Kiva.org.  You can make a difference.

Posted at 10:21AM Dec 16, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[3]

Mortgages, Stocks, Real Estate, Jobs and Risks II

In my post from November 4, I wrote the following:  "A crazy idea hit me.  Is it really possible that some people think that they can't lose?  Is it possible that from what they see they concluded that no matter what, the stock market will only go up, and so will the prices of the houses?  And that there'll always be a great job waiting for them somewhere?  Is it possible that some people will be driven to take even higher risks as a result of the thought that they can't lose?  Have we completely forgotten the bubble?  Short reminder: people did buy property only to find that they owe the bank a lot more than the property's worth, and people did find themselves in the position of foreclosure when they couldn't pay their monthly payments.  It does happen."

Indeed, many Americans took (or were given) unreasonable loans.  Loans with a low (or no) down payment, loans with low variable interest rate, loans with interest only payments, and loans with little or no credit history or credit check.  In short, lenders as well as homeowners* were taking unreasonable risks in order to get the business to grow.  Other, richer people, were taking larger risks, to make the economy grow.  Some of them lost their jobs (see Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, more...) but I wouldn't worry about them so much, they can't possibly live long enough to spend their golden parachutes.  Some of them, or so we thought, were going to lose their homes.  But as I said previously, people have a tendency to take unreasonable risks in an environment of miracles.  If you believe in Superman, it may be quite an experience to jump off the Empire State Building.  If you don't, I recommend you take the elevator.

Anyway, it turns out that those who believe in Superman had won.  Again.  The government has announced a plan to freeze all variable rate mortgages for five years (read more: Forbes Magazine Article).  What can I possibly say that I haven't yet?  If you are the kind of person who likes to live dangerously, irresponsibly, yet don't like to be called on your bad bets, the US of A is the place for you.  Take loans, big ones, live luxuriously, have fun.  When things come tumbling down, the man with the blue tights and cape will save you.  If it happens to happen on an election year, jackpot!

Homeowners* - what constitutes home ownership?  Surely it requires certain equity in the home to qualify for home ownership.  Unfortunately, many, too many, "homeowners" have little or no equity in their homes to be qualified as homeowners.  Yet, everyone, including the president of the United States, refers to them as homeowners.  I wonder why.

Posted at 01:20PM Dec 12, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[1]

Trip to India I - Planning

My family and I are planning a trip to India in February of 2008.  We have been planing trips before, but for this one, we took a completely different approach.  Well, Dorit did anyway, she is the one who put together the trip.  She started with the web, where she found leads to some travel agents in Beijing, in India, and in Israel.  In Israel, the thought was, it would be easier to communicate, check references, and even to pay, given that we have a bank account in Tel Aviv.  After a relatively short time, Dorit had about five travel agents lined up.  Two from Israel, one from India, and one from China.  Then she let the bidding start. 

We have received proposals from the vendors for the trip.  Dorit read about the sites, added some and removed others.  She took virtual tours of various hotels, markets and train routes.  By the end of the process we had a trip.  We chose one of the Israeli agents.  She wasn't the least expensive, nor the most expensive.  She seemed to be the most "connected" to India, she seems to be understanding of our special needs (limited hiking, young children, love of markets, sightseeing and traditional food).  I was in charge of the flights, actually, my amazing assistant used CTrip to book the flights.  Air China is the only carrier that flies non-stop from Beijing to Delhi.  The flights have real strange times (leaving Beijing 20:35 arriving in Delhi 01:45, leaving Delhi 03:15 arriving Beijing 11:50), but traveling with kids, non-stop flights are definitely better.

This week, we accomplished the first two steps of the process.  We applied for new passports for the kids and received vaccinations for Hepatitis, Typhoid, and Cholera.  Both experiences were pleasant, surprisingly pleasant.

At the American embassy, there was no line, the guard at the gate was so nice, the receptionist at the consular services section were pleasant, the process was short and efficient, we were out within no more than thirty minutes.  Plus it felt like home.

But the real surprise of the day was the Beijing Sanitation and Quarantine Bureau - Travel Health Care Center (中华人民共和国北京卫生检疫局国家旅行保健中心).  Located at 20 Hepingli North Street, Dongcheng District (北京市东城区和平里北街20号) the place is easily accessible, clean, and service oriented.  Indeed, one must stand in line to ask what to do, then fill the forms, then get them to the right attendant, then get the referral, then pay, then go to the actual nurse to get the vaccine administered.  But the entire process took less than 45 minutes, the health care professionals were, well, professional and courteous.  And it didn't hurt at all.  Pleasant surprise indeed.  So if you're in Beijing, and you need to get yourself some vaccinations, don't hesitate.  One small advice: get a Chinese speaking person to come with you.  It will be extremely difficult if not impossible to do it without one.

Posted at 06:45PM Dec 08, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[5]

Observe? Or Participate? OpenSolaris Participation Opportunity

Are you a developer?  Do you aspire to be one?  Do you want your code to run on the best operating system on the planet?  Do you want to make an impact?  Do you want to observe?  Or do you want to participate?

If you want to participate, you may want to take a look at the following link: http://www.ddj.com/linux-open-source/204701396.  Here's the article from Dr. Dobbs' Portal:

Eric Bruno is a contributing editor to Dr. Dobb's Journal. He can be contacted at www.ericbruno.com.

---

Sun has announced that it will be offering approximately $1 million per year in awards to participants of any of several contests. Community involvement in any of the following six open-source initiatives is required:

• GlassFish, Sun's open-source Java EE 5-compilant application server.
• NetBeans, Sun's open-source IDE.
• OpenJDK, the GPL-licensed open-source version of Java SE
• OpenOffice.org, Sun's open-source office productivity suite.
• OpenSolaris, the open-source version of the popular server OS, Sun Solaris.
• OpenSPARC, an open-source community that works on chip design in the open for all to contribute.

Beginning in mid-January 2008, Sun and these open-source communities will announce details on how developers can participate in the individual programs. Each community will have its own contest rules and judging criteria. Prize winners will be announced in August 2008.

"Developer communities are at the heart of tech industry innovation and are Sun's lifeblood," said Jonathan Schwartz, CEO and President of Sun Microsystems. "Every software product at Sun -- literally billions of dollars in assets -- is going free and open source, and fueling the communities and innovation around these technologies is our top priority. I can't wait to see the creativity, passion, and vibrancy of the program's participants."

To follow contest updates and major developments, go here.

Observe? 

Participate!

Posted at 10:47AM Dec 06, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[2]

Envy

"jealousy is reflective of a person's feelings or attitudes toward another person, whereas envy expresses a person's feelings or attitudes toward another person's advantages or accomplishments; jealousy pertains to emotional rivalry while envy is resentment of a more fortunate person"

Back to Pizza Hut.  But this time, rather than focus on the salad bar mountains (Salad Bar Competition), I want to discuss envy.  Pure and simple envy.  The kind when you look at someone and say to yourself: "lucky son of a gun, why am I not so lucky".  So here is how it unfolded.  We sat down for lunch, my wife Dorit, and my son Guy.  My daughter Shiri was spending the day with her friend.  We ordered our usual.  One pepperoni pizza, and two salad bars.  My wife, Dorit and I are trying to watch our weight.  She is even successful at that.  Me - forget it.  Anyway, the salad bars are the lip service for the pepperoni pizza...  And finally, I think I have discovered the source of the phrase: "green with envy".

Anyway, right next to us, a nice looking lady was having lunch on her own, and just across, a couple seemingly on their first date, were making their first steps at battling the dozen or so full plates which were crowding their table .  We put our manners aside for a while and were following the three as they were having their relaxed lunch.

The lady next to us started with a shrimp cocktail, followed by a medium pineapple pizza, then a salad bar.  She seemed to have been enjoying her lunch.  But something was obviously missing.  There was nobody there who was looking down her throat telling her that she must avoid carbohydrates and fat, that she must work out occasionally.  She was just eating, in the most fundamental way.  The couple across were apparently winning the battle against the multitude of plates on their table.

If an extraterrestrial guest would have walked in at that moment, he or she would have had a completely skewed impression of the inhabitants of Earth.  He would right away assume that salad is fattening, and that pizza is slimming.  While we were thinking these thoughts, the lady next to us ordered a huge banana split with three balls of ice cream and was devouring them as if she hasn't seen food for months.  We, on the other hand, were looking at the two slices leftover, contemplating whether we should take them home.  We did.  The lady next to us got up, and carried her definitely-less-than-100-pound figure out of the restaurant.  The young couple across were finishing the last crumbs and asked for the check.  When they left, I could have sworn that two shadows got up and left the restaurant.  They were all so goddamn skinny...

We also finished the rest of our salads and left.  So here's the "full cup" way to look at this.  Our bodies are a lot more efficient.  Our bodies are able to use every crumb, every drop of fat, every shred of pepperoni, every whiff of French fries and convert it, in its entirety into good old fat.  Our bodies simply don't lose any energy whatsoever, it's all stored for times of hardship and need.  The "empty cup" way is much simpler: @#$%, they can eat anything and not get fat.  If I had one wish (well, a couple of wishes) to make, this would certainly be one: let me eat, enjoy my food, and make my body a little less efficient.

And what about "green with envy"? Simple.  We eat the greens, and we're envious.  They just eat all the other colorful food available... 

Posted at 03:00PM Dec 03, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[2]