Costa Rica

So last month we went to Costa Rica during Passover vacation.

For two weeks we took it slowly, enjoyed the Pura Vida, and traveled between national parks, forests and volcanoes.

We saw many animals, high up and down below, flying, jumping or just chillin’

Hiding under a leaf, or waiting silently in the nest.

The butterflies were colorful and friendly.

…

Overall it was a wonderful trip :)

Now you tell me, is that a real crab or a toys-r-us plastic look-alike?

Orchids

A few days ago Tally and I went to The Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden. While it is located in the Bronx, it is still very accessible – just about an hour by subway. The garden itself is huge, and time was limited, so we focused only on the orchid show this time.

The exhibition is very impressive. It is set up so the flowers grow in their natural environments – that is, like in a rain forest. The design is delicate and takes into account the effects of light and its changes during the day (incidentally, or maybe not, in most places there is enough light so cameras work fine too).

It is also very colorful. The orchids are all lovely and lively, and appear to say “Spring is here” with all their hearts and souls. Even the cacti that they threw in for good measure were interesting.

Anyways, here are a few of my favorites on display. You are invited to see the full album, which Tally posted here (picasa) and here (facebook).

Mickey and Minnie

Straight from Disney World, thanks to the Levanon family.

Oh, The Arrogance!

I recently received an invitation to join a new social network – a private, Jewish-Israeli, invitation-only network. I don’t want to inadvertedly hurt anyone, so I won’t mention its name here.

The person who sent me the invitation knows the founder and entrepreneur behind this network, so you can say that I am two degrees away from the center.

So I signed in, and I discovered a useless website, basically another facebook-wannabe. What’s even worse, a couple of days later, I had in my inbox a welcome message from the founder. Here is a short quote from his first message:

Our goal is to develop this private community of leading Jewish prof’ who are just a bit better.

At that point, I stopped reading.

Ideas at change.org, Take 2

The first voting round at change.org/ideas closed only a day or two after my previous post. The top three ideas in each category made in to the second round, which is going to close in a few days. So there is still hope, your vote counts, so please consider voting for your favorite ideas.

Of those ideas that I presented earlier, some didn’t make it, and some made it and are already in the top 10, so my lobbying for them isn’t all that necessary. End Corporate “PERSONHOOD”, though, is only at 13th place and needs about 800 more votes to make it to the top 10.

I am particularly fond of this idea, and I officially endorse it, so please consider voting for it. Or else … I know where you live :)

Ideas at change.org

One of promises that Obama has delivered during his campaign is to be in touch with the public – to have a government that is more interactive, more connected, one that listens to the people.  Change.org is taking Obama to his word. Check out change.org/ideas,  where you can vote for ideas for change in America. In essence, it is a popularity contest, and the top 10 ideas will be presented to Obama after his inauguration and lobbied in congress and senate.

I think the ideas section is great. It is well-designed, well-organized, and it is nice to have a stage for everyone to voice their opinion. Strangely enough it reminds me of Ubuntu’s brainstorm, which has been running for a few years now. I guess the geeks are always ahead of the curve, eh? Anyways, lots of people are actually voting, and I find it interesting to see the sort of ideas that are becoming the most popular.

Here is a list of some of the ideas that I voted for. Please consider registering at change.org and voting as well. Your vote matters, even if you are not American ;)

• USA Refugee Corps – Export hope, and revitalize our national moral standing. This one is for Tally. Simply put, please vote if you want to make America a more Humane place, and also to counter the multitude of votes that some opposing ideas are receiving, like this one.
• Close Guantanamo prison camp and End the Genocide in Darfur. The titles say it all. The first one is actually trivial. The second one, of course, is more complicated. It is a call to Obama to lead a pro-active American foreign policy with regards to Darfur.
• End Corporate “PERSONHOOD”. Remember the movie The Corporate?
• Appoint a Special Prosecutor for the Crimes of the Bush Administration. 1753 votes strong and still counting … I am crossing my fingers for this one. Please read Bob Herbert’s latest column at the nytimes and then vote.
• On the green front, I think the most important one is to Ratify the Kyoto Treaty. Better late than never, right? I am surprised that this idea doesn’t have more votes.
  
• On the technology front, I am particularly fond of the idea to Support network neutrality legislation.
• And finally, here are the two ideas that will change America, the world, and the universe at large:
  • Repeal that law that made it legal for the commercials to be louder than the program. Damn the FCC for approving it. Please vote for it, blog about it, and force your friends and family members to vote!
  • Nudge the US to adopt the metric system. Do I need to explain? :)

The Appreciation Blog

My friend Lavi started a daily “I appreciate …” blog. I think it’s a pretty cool idea, and readers are commenting. Check it out here. I think it would be cool to add some links or photos too. Lavi, here are a couple of mine:

• I appreciate humor. I went to the comedy cellar tonight, and it was great. If you are in the city, I recommend checking it out.
• I appreciate snow.