Blog/July 2026/Jul 31st

Jul 31st

So what did we do this week? Among other things, we celebrated our 19^th “aliyahversary” with the usual suspects. It’s hard to believe we’ve been here (continuously) for that long. Even harder, to believe we neither feel very Israeli nor much American at this point. sui generis, if you please.

I finalized and made another release of 8th, with my newfangled cross-platform Bluetooth layer. What a nightmare! While the Linux and macOS efforts were quirky yet manageable, the Windows effort was beyond difficult. It’s clear that Microsoft’s BT APIs were cobbled together by H-1B visa awardees of less than mediocre abilities. I’ve smelled rotten potatoes that were less objectionable. In order to test my code I had to build a BT device that I knew how to access. That was actually fun and informative.

I also did two week’s worth of laundry (because of last week’s fast, no laundry was done); and for the first time, ever, I lost (or misplaced, more likely) two socks. Since I’ve only got two varieties of white socks, it was most serendipitous that one of each pattern was lost!

Of various and sundry interest:

On the Israeli political “name of the game”.
<sigh> Et tu, Italia?
Note well: you (apparently) have no 4th Amendment guarantees at the US border!
An attempt to understand why Trump tied Saudi’s nuclear future to Israel.
Iranian drones hit US tanker in Egypt.
How free-speech disappeared in the UK.
The “King” of New York.
How this professor detected that his students were cheating by using AI on their mid-term exams.
History/food nerds: the spice of empires.
Language nerds: does your name belong in the “Odyssey”?

Speaking of “The Odyssey”, I’m slightly interested in seeing it, but nowhere near interested enough to pay 60 shekels and sit in a theater for three hours. I’ll wait ‘till I can stream or download it. I said what I said.

I’ve also started doing “HIIT” exercises (for “older” beginners). My main takeaway is that I’m severely out of shape, even at the “baby-level”. Sad! I hope to do this 4 times a week and see how well it helps my flabby self.

We’re still waiting to see what “massive attack” Trump is going to order on Iran. He keeps making lots of blustery noises, but nothing particularly earth-shattering seems to be going on. The Mullocracy is still intact, still firing missiles and drones at everyone (except us!). I’m sure we’ll eventually also get “incoming”, but I’m quite happy for the Gulf states to bear the burden of their inaction.

It’s going to be rather brutally hot this shabbat. We’ll make sure to have plenty of cold drinks on tap!

This shabbat we’re going to have:
homemade ḥalla, chicken schnitzel, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, probably other things, and Biscoff cake.

Until next time,
shabbat shalom!

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Blog/July 2026/Jul 31st

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