Responsibility

Two months ago, a former co-32worker, a woman in her mid-seventies, died a few days before she was to undergo a heart surgical procedure.

Her heart problem was known to us collegues; We also knew that her sister's husband, a cardiolog, took care of it, and kept an eye on her.

The rumour has  it that the cause of her death was the first anti-covid vaccine. She told people that since that vaccine her whole health condition had deteriorated.

One of those people, another former coworker, who was on friendly terms with her, has contacted me the other day to tell me that she intends to find out the truth by talking to the sister.

Well ,I'm not sure the later knows the truth; and even if she does  know it , I am not sure she'll volunteer information.  Nevertheless, I appreciate and support the intention to try and find out the real cause of her friend's death .

What I personally learn from this sad story , is that one should take responsibility on one's health and not automatically rely on doctors.

Both , politicians and doctors have interests that do not always coincide with our needs.

The mask is an external and quite  efficient device . The vaccine on the other hand, interferes with our own immunity system, and might cause damage in certain cases.

Anyway, may the deceased co-worker rest in peace!

Coincidence or Sign?

 

Brought to my attention recently:

World War 1

Began 7-28-1914

7+28+19+14 = 68

World War 2

Began 9-1-1939

9+1+19+39 = 68

Invasion of Ukraine

Began 2-24-2022

2+24+20+22 = 68

Hopefully, it's just coincidence.

Just a Thought

 

No , Iיm not ready to resume blogging, yet. I just wish to write a few words on what's happening in the world right now.

Zelensky of Ukraine looks cute and brave. They say he's also an accomplished actor and entertainer. However, his plan for Ukraine to join NATO has proved to be disastrous and a clear example of the stupidity of mankind. Human life is above all plans.

Anyway, I fear for his life and pray for a good outcome for both him and Ukraine.

The Maori king in New Zealend wishes the 'end of occupation'. NO laughing matter.  That goes to show that colonialism is never ever to be forgotten and forgiven.

SSD or HDD?

Dear, faithful followers

I'm taking a break from blogging for a while.

My PC has left me after 12 years of service. Bad timing, as I'm in the middle of a legal matter and I need to learn stuff from the internet and type some important documents.

Yes, I prefer to work on a PC. It's more stable, powerful, easier to upgrade, and cheaper than  a laptop.

The device, is positioned adequately in the room,  allowing space to prevent its getting overheated , and me the ability to see and think clearly.  I work on the computer, mainly at home, so mobility is not an issue.

Outside my home ( waiting room,  library,  cafe), I usually don't feel much at ease with reading/writing. As a matter of fact, on moving vehicles (car, bus, train, subway) I might get a sort of motion sickness when trying to read or write something. So, where possible, I look out of the window instead - quite a treat!

Anyway, it seems I have no choice now but to buy a new PC ;this one is based on the old, friendly Windows XP  operating system - and I get no updates any more. My laptop is also based on XP .Well, it can't go on like this.

I'll have to take some decisions such as: Windows  O.S. 10  or Windows O.S. 11; SSD or HDD (the older, heavier hard disk) and about some other hardware and software items.

Hopefully, things will go smoothly with both my new PC and the handling of the legal matter.

See you soon!

 Hopefully, I'll get my new PC  as smoothly as possible.

Zero Tolerance

 

It seems China's handling Covid rather well. The key to that, lies, I suppose. in its people's discipline.

We all know that without discipline nothing good and lasting can be achieved ; not in schools, not in the army, not at work...nowhere. 

The disciplined population, helps China successfully practice the strategy of zero tolerance towards the virus. 

This strategy includes: mass testing, quarantine, surveillance, localized lock-downs, and more.  A sporadic outbreak is immediately dealt with lock-down to prevent further spreading of the virus. China' s trying to achieve zero infection while elsewhere, in the Western world, people are getting used  'to live with the virus', vaccines and boosters. 

(The Chinese are not too confident about the effectiveness of the vaccines to prevent infection. They believe, as we do, vaccinated people might still contract covid, but perhaps won't have to go to hospital).

The zero tolerance policy is also part of the Chinese narrative to claim superiority of their system (political, medical, social etc...) over the West. They would like us to believe through the pandemic that China could "conquer" the West with no tanks, rockets, or the nuke - but with a tiny virus. 

After all, the virus started its 'activity' in one of China's towns, Wuhan, and according to one of the theories - in the town's laboratory - specialized in coronas, and which belongs to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.  The lab,  a 40 minutes drive from the Huan Market where the first infection was spotted,  could have been engaged in a possible testing of a biological weapon . So who  knows?!

Needed In Afterlife

  

The shopping Race  before holidays, reminds me of a common reaction heard from people :Hey, what do you need all this stuff for? Remember, you'll take nothing with you when you leave this world!

True, but that wasn't  so in antiquity. I learnt about it at the archeological museum (one of the finest in Europe) of Heraklion, Crete island. There was a section in the museum that attracted many visitors, as it displayed exhibits found in people's graves at cemeteries: tools, weapons, clothes, jewelry, worship figurines, decorations, household items.    Interesting!

People in ancient times demanded to be buried with their belongings as they believed they 'll need the stuff in Afterlife. Not a good idea. Soon after the burial, the grave was opened by thieves and robbers. 

Swords and brooches were noted as being among the most commonly taken items from the graves, probably because these items were given as gifts and passed on across generations providing folk stories and fond memories. Still, even after the robberies, there was enough stuff left for the modern archeological excavations to discover.

(I noticed a newspaper picture there of Liz Taylor wearing a golden brooch  in the form of a bull horn designed according to the original item found during an excavation. I included the photo in the post I wrote in 2016, after my visit at the museum).

                                                                               Liz Taylor

I  believe that behind the Afterlife scenario, there's also the very human tendency to get attached to items, as it often occurs to me . This tendency makes it hard to impossible to declutter the house. Sometimes, the item has neither money value nor sentimental one. I just happen to like it, and even though I don't use it, or it takes up space, I won't get rid of it. So, there  goes my decluttering.

 

Ubersetzt Und Verbessert

 

The above title  is a well-known german expression referring to translation, and  meaning 'translated and improved', that is, the translated version is better than the original one.

This expression could be applied to any form of 'conversion' , not only from language to language. Food , for example. Sometimes, a version of a certain dish is better than the original one.

The vegetarian pizza, a popular dish, has its modern roots in Naples, south Italy. I happened to eat pizza in Naples and in other parts of Italy, and didn't like it. I constantly compared it to my local pizza in Israel, and concluded  that  the local one was much improved, it tasted better.

                                vegeterian pizza - slices

There's another kind of pizza  'on the market',  a non-vegetarian pizza with a minced meat topping (lamb or beef) mixed with minced veggies and herbs.  This pizza is of turkish-armenian origin, and is named 'lahmajoun' (or lahmacun). They introduce it in a taboon oven, which is hot enough to cook the raw meat and dough simultaneously and the result is "to die for".

lahmajoun

 

 

 the taboon

There was an eatery near my place of work based on this turkish delicacy. So, I had quite a few lahmajouns at that time. Once, I told someone (a tourist guide) that the first thing I 'll do if, and when I visit Turkey is to have an authentic lahmajoun. Ha,ha, ha, was his reaction,  authentic or not, this, here, is the best lahmajoun you'll ever  get.

Remembering my experience with pizza in Italy, I said to myself, that maybe he was right. Perhaps, the Israelis found a way to ..."verbesser' (improve) the original.

Nowadays, I seldom eat pizza or lahmajoun. I do however, eat almost daily 'tahini' (techina in hebrew), the one and only,  the sauce that goes well with any pizza and with everything else. I don't care about  its origins and versions. I rely only on my own version. I buy the main ingredient - sesame-seeds' paste , and make it as Sinatra would say -  'My way', adding the essential three items: lemon juice, garlic, water.

 

* web pictures