Dear son, As you embark on your career and join the workforce, allow me to offer you some advice. First, remember the secular values you were brought up on: think for yourself, question everything, don’t follow the herd, be true to your core morals, believe only in the disprovable, don’t follow false idols, respect others, …
The bookcase in the picture has been our my house for the longest time, and every visitor is impressed. I designed and built it after being inspired by a leaning bookshelf I saw at Centre Pompidou in Paris. Getting the shelves to dovetail into each other was an intriguing challenge. It is made of painted …
Many years ago in a land far far away there was a radio station broadcasting from a ship anchored beyond the territorial waters. The Voice of Peace was forced to broadcast offshore because the Israeli government chose to forbid NGOs from going on air. It was operated by Abie Nathan, an activist and a pilot who …
I can clearly remember the day I first watched a video playing on a color LCD screen. It was many years ago, on my brand new Windows 95 laptop. When I first turned it on it started playing a cheesy 70’s song covered by Jimmy Cliff. That catchy tune brightened my day and left me …
We are all concerned (obsessed?) with extending our lives and those of our loved ones. I can’t blame us; life is awesome. Saving a life is the most noble cause, and is one of the only notions the entire human race seems to agree on. Some are more concerned with saving the lives of their own kind, …
What is the meaning of life? humankind came up with a variety of answers like being happy, serving a “higher being”, and 42. While some of these may be true, there is one answer that must be true. How can I be so sure? Simply because I exist. Remember Cogito ergo sum, better known as …
Knowers talk. Askers listen. Knowers have the answer. Askers question. Knowers know everything. Askers learn about everything. Knowers try to impress. Askers try to impress knowledge on their brain. Knowers are stubborn. Askers are persistent. Knowers are complicated. Askers are simple. Knowers grow to become grumpy old people. Askers keep growing. Knowers believe. Askers reason. …
A recent fall resulting in a fractured collar bone reminded me how fragile we are. We literally don’t know what we have until we lose it. We tend to take mobility for granted; having it taken away turns our world into a living hell. Losing your ability to perform basic daily functions for a few weeks is a priceless reminder of how crucial being fit and healthy is.
The midlife crisis is a direct result of the middle class syndrome. Unable to relieve the peer pressure completely, middle classers sooner or later rebel in the only way they know (and can afford to) – spending a sizeable chunk of money on some item they don’t need, which reminds them of their long gone youth.