Thursday, 30 November 2017

My sleep was a little uneven last night because of all the sinus drainage. Still, I got up quite early and felt pretty well rested.

After breakfast, I walked down to the post office at Mercaz Mor to do some quick business. Then I walked leisurely back home, stopping to shop a little at the Mega market near the hospital.

Near the middle of the day, I took another short walk, just to get out and enjoy the lovely weather.

I took pictures of flowers today. One of them is today's pic of the day:

I had 3 large beets, 2 hard-boiled eggs, and some beans for lunch today.

In the afternoon, I got the weekly chores done (except for the recycling and trash, which I'll do as usual tomorrow). This is particularly good, since I had NOT down them for 2 or 3 weeks.

I was supposed to have a date this evening, but the friend who was going to come over had to work late, and so he couldn't. We'll meet sometime tomorrow.

I walked a total of 4.6 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 29 November 2017

My back will still giving me a LOT of trouble this morning, but the problem mostly went away rather suddenly. Here's what happened. At one point I sat down to file the bottom of my foot. I had trouble even reaching the file because of the back spasms, but when I leaned forward in my low chair to actually file the foot, it apparently loosened something in the back muscle in question, and it felt much better. The back is still talking to me a bit, but it's at a much more normal level. Weird!

I generally felt somewhat better today than yesterday, but I still took the day off from work and will take tomorrow off, as well. My voice is still unstable, which isn't a problem when I'm not talking much anyway but WOULD be a problem if I were trying to teach. Also, I still have pretty bad cough, although I'm only actually coughing occasionally.

I took two fairly short walks today. It was nice to be out on such a lovely day, but I didn't have enough energy to walk a long distance. I still have a lot of congestion in my lungs and sinuses, and I'm just generally not feeling very energetic. I did take some nice pics, including today's pic of the day, taken in Canada Gardens and showing the shadow of a fence around a children's play area:

Most of the day, I just relaxed, played games on my iPad, read articles on the internet, and watched some interesting YouTube videos (including several really cool ones about robots that imitate the movement of animals, such as salamanders, insects, and even birds!).

I walked a total of 2.4 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 28 November 2017

It's a good thing that I told Berlitz yesterday that I would also take today as a sick day, because I actually felt worse this morning than yesterday morning. Don't get me wrong, though — it's still not such a terrible cold, but it IS affecting my voice and congesting my lungs and sinuses a bit. Today, my back has also been giving me problems for some reason.

Naturally, I tried to relax most of the day, and I did feel a bit better once I was up and stirring around some. Still, I told Berlitz that I'll also take tomorrow off.

I had a salad and a couple of cheese sandwiches for lunch.

Just before the sun disappeared behind the hills, I went out for a short walk, and I also bought a few items at the Einat Center supermarket. On the way back, I took a picture of the view down my street from the median (with my gate just visible at the far left):

I walked a total of only 620 meters today.

Monday, 27 November 2017

I noticed at the end of our play-reading last night that my voice was beginning to break a little. After I got home, I could definitely tell that the low-level upper chest congestion that I'd had for several days was beginning to get worse. So, I took a little pain medicine and some cough syrup and went to bed.

I slept well, but when I woke up, I was pretty sure that my voice would NOT hold up for a day (or maybe even a single lesson) of teaching, so I contacted Berlitz and took a sick day.

I really haven't felt that bad, but I do still have congestion in the upper chest, lower throat, and sinus areas, and I cough occasionally. Berlitz wanted to know early whether I'd still be off tomorrow, so, to be on the safe side, I told them I will.

I went out for just a short time in the afternoon to do a little grocery shopping, but I didn't take any pictures. So, today's pic of the day is a flower shot that I actually took yesterday:

I walked only 380 meters today.

Sunday, 26 November 2017

My first task after breakfast this morning was to go to Maccabi and have the nurse check my left heel. It seems to be getting better, but I thought it might be worthwhile to have it checked. She didn't think there was anything in there, but she advised me to have the doctor check it. I haven't done that yet, but I plan to.

After that, I walked up to Hannah's and then we walked down to her bank and to the post office to get some errands we needed to do done.

Then we walked back up a bit, and she treated me to lunch at the Thai restaurant, which was very delicious. It was so pleasant out that we ate outside (in the shade) and just sat there chatting for some time afterwards. I was actually wearing a tank top and felt very comfortable.

After that, we walked further up the street, stopping to shop and browse a bit in several places. In particular, we went into the "Russian" market near Maccabi and actually enjoyed the Xmas things for sale. It's MUCH easier to appreciate Xmas here is Israel where it's hardly in evidence at all and certainly NOT stuffed down one's throat. In fact, even the Russians here who seem to celebrate it are mostly actually celebrating "Sylvester", which is a week later (Jan 1) and is considered to be an absolutely secular holiday (and was promoted as such during the communist era). Hannah actually took today's pic of the day (in the "Russian" supermarket):

After a bit more hanging together at Hannah's place (and some impromptu Hebrew learning, which, at one point, had both of us absolutely in stitches!), I headed back down the road, bought a mouse, and then walked back home.

In the evening, I went to our weekly play-reading group, where we continued our reading of "The Crucible".

I walked a total of 8.3 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 25 November 2017

What a lovely day I had today! After breakfast, I relaxed for a while and then Hannah came over. We chatted for quite some time, then headed together down to her place for our weekly Torah study.

After some more chatting, we went down the street to the lovely Ethiopian restaurant for lunch. It was even better than the last time I was there!

After resting a little at her place again, we went out for a walk. We had intended to simply walk a while a go back to her place, but we ended up all the way back to mine, where we chatted some more. Along the way, Richard, Joyce's husband, called me from Ohio and we chatted a bit.

I didn't take very many pictures today, but the pic of the day is a nice one: a squash flower with a bug on it:

I walked a total of 6.3 kilometers today.

Friday, 24 November 2017

I got up a little late this morning but still managed to get the trash and recycling taken out and the challah bought before teaching.

I taught 5 units back-to-back this morning, to 2 different groups of students in Spain: 9:00-10:30 and 10:30-12:45.

For lunch, I had a salad with one chopped up clove of garlic and 3 bean-and-cheese burritos, all with some chili beans and some regular baked beans in tomato sauce. They were quite delicious.

In the afternoon, I took a walk for about 50 minutes and got some very nice pictures. Today's twin pics of the day show the same flower from 2 different angles:

In the evening, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate some challah to welcome another Shabbat. Afterwards, I just relaxed.

I walked a total of 3.2 kilometers today.

Thursday, 23 November 2017

I got up fairly early but didn't go out for a walk. In fact, I didn't go out all day. I've got some kind of cut or break in the skin on my left heel, so I'm staying off of it as much as possible to give it a chance to heal.

I taught 6 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:30-12:00, 3:00-4:30, and 7:00-8:30.

I had a salad (with 3 cloves of garlic, cut into very small pieces, added) and 2 deviled eggs for lunch.

I finished week 5 of my online course on music as biology. It's a little interesting, but mostly it's things I already know, and I think I could carry quite a few of the teacher's insights much deeper than he seems to.

The rest of the day, I just relaxed.

Wednesday, 22 November 2017

I got up fairly early but didn't go out for a walk. I just don't quite feel like bundling up enough for this cooler weather.

I was scheduled to teach 10 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one lesson (2 units) turned out to be a late cancellation, and I was informed about it approximately 15 minutes into the lesson time: 9:15-10:00, 10:00-11:30, 12:00-1:30, 3:30-5:00, 5:45-7:15 (the cancellation), and 7:30-8:15.

Before lunch, I really needed to go to the supermarket because I was out of almost all my vegetables. So I made a fairly big shopping trip and got stocked back up. While I was out, I took a couple of picture of the nearby kikar with the Jordanian mountains in the background and some pretty, fluffy white clouds in the blue sky. One of them is today's pic of the day:

I had a salad and beans and weenies for lunch. I added a couple of sliced garlic cloves that I had bought at the store to the salad, and it gave it a bit of zip. I also used a mix of mostly regular white beans in tomato sauce and brown beans in chili sauce for the beans and weenies. That made it, too, a bit zippy.

When I found out my 5:45 lesson was cancelled, I immediately decided to go out for an evening walk. It was a bit nippy out, but since I was walking, I was okay with a t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops.

I walked a total of 3.7 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 21 November 2017

I got up quite early this morning but didn't go out until I walked to WIZO later in the morning.

We talked about big family celebrations at WIZO today. Of course, we Americans did most of the talking, and most of our stories were about Thanksgiving. The others did join in, though, and they also seemed to enjoy hearing our stories.

Afterwards, I walked back home by a slightly longer route, just enjoying the beautiful day. Today's pic of the day shows the sun just behind a small cloud:

I had salad, shnitzel, and breadsticks for lunch.

I taught 6 units of Berlitz lessons today (although the last student had to leave before his 2nd unit): 3:30-5:00, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.

I walked a total of 3.1 kilometers today.

Monday, 20 November 2017

I got up reasonably early this morning but didn't go out for a walk.

I had a busy teaching day: 12 units (9 full hours): 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, 12:00-1:30, 3:00-4:30, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.

Since I didn't go out at all today, the pic of the day is one I took yesterday, showing the flowers all across the from of someone's house:

I had a salad (without the greens, which had already gone bad) and cheese wrapped in tortillas for lunch.

Sunday, 19 November 2017

I got up early this morning, ate breakfast early, and walked on down to Hannah's to help her be sure she found the driver's license office. Then we walked over to the two health food stores. We each bought a few items before heading back to her place, where we had a lovely, healthy lunch.

I took today's pic of the day on my way to Hannah's. I was lucky enough to catch a bee actually in flight near a flower (on the left)! Here it is:

Before returning home, I was able to stop at the Maccabi pharmacy to pick up my monthly prescriptions and to get a mouse for Goldfinger at the pet store downtown. I decided to take a bus home, though.

The Ichilov Hospital eye department called this morning to reschedule my eye appointment that was to have been on the 27th. Apparently, they'll be closed that day. They wanted me to come this Tuesday, the 21st, but I was pretty sure I couldn't get everything arranged through Maccabi that quickly. So instead, my appointment will be on the 31st of January.

After resting a bit at home, I walked back into town for my echocardiogram at Maccabi. Then I walked back home again and rested some more.

In the evening, I went to our weekly play-reading group at Fay's. I figured I'd walked enough, so I took the ride with Jud, another member who lives not far from me. Tonight, we started reading "The Crucible", a play about the Salem witch trials.

I walked a total 9.8 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 18 November 2017

I got up early this morning and met Hannah for a wonderful hike up into the hills. We went to the "picnic" table and flag with a great sweeping view of Eilat, Aqaba, the valley, the gulf, and, of course, the Jordanian mountains. There's also a nice view of White Mountain from there, in the opposite direction. Both of us took lots of pictures. The most unusual thing we saw was something that I would have missed if Hannah hadn't spotted it and pointed it out: a small wildflower — in November — BEFORE the first rains of the season:

We returned to my place from the walk, where we ate some breakfast and hung out for a while. Then we walked down to Hannah's place, where we hung out some more and also did our weekly study of the Torah portion. We also had a lunch of sorts, munching on grapes and bulgarit cheese.

Then I walked back home, where I basically relaxed for the rest of the day. I did talk to Joyce's husband, Richard, at 5:00. Joyce is still in the hospital and very week. They're expecting to move her to a convalescent home on Monday. It will be probably be quite some time before she gets her strength back, unfortunately.

I walked a total of 11.3 kilometers today.

Friday, 17 November 2017

Once again, I went to bed late last night and got up late this morning. I got started on my day a little earlier today, though, and did get a little done. I took out the trash and recycling, and I walked up and bought challah.

I also completed week 4 of my online class about music as biology. Unfortunately, a lot of what he's covering now is very familiar to me, so it's a little boring, but there are a few new and interesting things.

I had a salad and weenies wrapped in tortillas for lunch.

The rest of the day, I was quite lazy.

In the evening, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate a bit of challah to welcome Shabbat.

Still later, I went out for a walk around the big loop.

I walked a total of 6.4 kilometers today.

Thursday, 16 November 2017

I got to bed very late again last night and also got up very late this morning. Then I started my day very leisurely.

I really did very little today and just had a relaxing day.

I did week 3 and started week 4 of my online class about music as biology. It's a little slow and repetitive but still very interesting.

In the afternoon, I took a short walk. Today's pic of the day is a view I shot of the flower bed at the top of Canada Gardens:

In the evening, my friends Jeb and Shauli from Be'er Ora took me out to eat at La Cocina, a very nice Italian restaurant on the north beach promenade. We ate outside, and it was both delicious and very enjoyable.

I walked a total of 1.8 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 15 November 2017

I woke up very early, didn't get up for a while, but still got up early.

I spent quite a bit of the day working on an arrangement of "Happy Birthday" for full orchestra. Click here if you'd like to hear the final result.

I also did a little grocery shopping.

In the late morning, I walked down to Fay's to help her and some other people sort through the books she still has that no one has yet taken at her book exchanges. I had to leave early, though, to meet Fonda at the mall to help her a little more with her project. After concluding that successfully, she again treated me to lunch at Café Café there.

In the evening, David and Bassia threw a surprise party for me at their place, with Hannah, Isobel, and Fonda also invited. It was delightful! Today's pic of the day is of my birthday cake:

I walked a total of 9 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 14 November 2017

I got to bed quite late last night and up quite late this morning.

At WIZO today, we had a presentation on the Balfour Declaration, and we had more people there than we've had in quite some time.

Afterwards, Hannah treated me to an ice café (basically, a coffee-flavored frozen smoothie, very popular here in Israel) at Shibolim. Then we both walked back to our respective places. On the way, I took some nice photos, including today's pic of the day, some bougainvillea backlit by the sun just down the street from my place:

I had a salad and the last 3 pieces of baklava for lunch today.

In the late afternoon, Hannah came over to my place so we could hang out a bit more and she could love Pascal, too, of course. Then we walked down together to the music conservatory for a very delightful free concert of Baroque chamber music, presented by a group consisting of 2 recorder-players (one Israeli and one Italian), a harpsichordist (American-Israeli, I believe), and an Italian cellist, playing on period instruments. They played 2 piece each by Bach and Telemann, one by Henry Purcell, and one by William Williams.

I walked a total of 6.7 kilometers today.

Monday, 13 November 2017

After breakfast this morning, I put a load of laundry in. Then I relaxed most of the morning, getting little else done except for put the laundry out on the racks to dry.

Just before 1:00 p.m., I met a friend at the mall by the beach to help her with a project, and she treated me to lunch at Café Café there.

Then I walked up to Hannah's and hung out briefly there until we both walked down to Home Center, the health food stores, and Mercaz Big on a shopping trip. Besides some food at the first health food store, I also bought a couple of sheets for my bed. Today's pic of the day is one of the new sheets and its matching pillow case on my bed:

Hannah treated me to a meal at Greg Café at Mercaz Big and to some ice cream when we got back to her place. Then I walked on home.

I walked a total of 12 kilometers today.

Sunday, 12 November 2017

I got up a little late this morning and ate a very light breakfast.

Afterwards, I did some grocery shopping at Elimelech Supermarket.

Then I walked downtown to the WIZO brunch at the Soleil Boutique Hotel. We had a larger group this month, and it was really enjoyable.

From there, I walked over to the beach south of the mall and just relaxed for about an hour. Then I walked back home, pausing to rest several times on the way (it's up, up, up!). Today's pic of the day is a view from where I was at the beach:

In the afternoon, I relaxed and even napped for a while (in bed, no less!).

In the evening, I walked down to Fay's house for our weekly play-reading group. Today, we finished reading the play "The Playboy of the Western World", a famous Irish play that we had started last week.

I walked a total of 7.1 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 11 November 2017

I got up a bit late this morning and relaxed a bit at first.

After breakfast, Hannah came over and hung out with Pascal and me for a while. Today's pic of the day shows Pascal enjoying Hannah's lap:

A little later, Hannah and I walked over to her place for our weekly Torah study, I continued to hang out there with her and munch away on some good food. Then she and I went for a walk over to the cemetery and from there back to my place, where we hung out some more. It was a most enjoyable day!

I talked for a while with Joyce's husband, Richard, and even with Joyce a little, but her voice was too weak to talk much.

In the evening, I walked down to Fay's for her famous book exchange and had a good time, as I alway do at those events. On my walk back home, I treated myself to 3 scoops of ice cream at the little shop at Mercaz Mor.

I walked a total of 9.4 kilometers today.

Friday, 10 November 2017

I got up fairly early this morning but didn't go out for a walk except to take the trash and recycling out and to buy challah.

I taught my regular 5 units of Berlitz lessons this morning: 9:00-10:30 and 10:30-12:45.

Then my friend, Jeb, from Be'er Ora and his roommate, Shauli, came and picked me up, and we all went to the beach for the afternoon. They had intended to go to Dekel Beach, but it seemed too crowded, so we drove on down the coast to Migdalor ("Lighthouse") Beach, instead. We spent a very pleasant afternoon there, talking and eating a little lunch. The weather was perfect! I sat almost the entire time in the shade, wearing only a tank top, short pants, and flip-flops, and there was quite a bit of wind, too. Then they brought me back home.

Here's a picture I took from the beach, looking up the gulf and across to Aqaba:

I lit candles to welcome Shabbat and spent the evening just relaxing.

I walked a little less than a kilometers (980 meters) today.

Thursday, 9 November 2017

I got up early this morning but didn't go out walk.

I discovered last night that my phone was NOT seeing the WiFi network at all, so after breakfast I walked down to the place that had worked on it. It was apparently a problem with the WiFi antenna, so they took it in and fixed it (and didn't charge me, of course). I walked back home for my morning lesson, and then I walked back down afterwards and picked up the phone, with the WiFi now working fine.

I taught 6 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:30-12:00, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.

After both trips into town, I also walked back home, but by two different and both more circuitous routes. I took today's pic of the day on my second walk back, from the traffic light kikar (Sheshet HaYamim and Argaman), looking up Argaman toward the mountains:

I had a salad, a veggie burger and cheese sandwich, and 3 pieces of baklava for lunch.

I walked a total of about eight and a half kilometers today.

Wednesday, 8 November 2017

I got up early this morning but didn't go out for a walk.

I was scheduled to teach 9 units of Berlitz lessons today but was informed first thing in the morning that one 2-unit lesson would be a late cancellation: 10:00-11:30, 12:00-1:30, 3:30-5:00, 5:00-6:30 (the late cancellation), and 7:30-8:15.

This morning I got the email I've been waiting for: my iPhone was fixed and ready! So, after my 2nd lesson, I walked right down there and picked it up. Then I took a bus back home. I am SO happy to have it back and working!

I had a salad, half a can of baked beans, and some cookies for lunch.

Because of the cancelled lesson, I was able to take a nice evening walk around the big loop.

We'll celebrate the return of my phone with a protrait of Pascal that I just took as today's pic of the day:

I walked about 8 kilometers today (6 after I got my phone back, and probably a couple getting down there to pick it up).

Tuesday, 7 November 2017

I got up early this morning and ate breakfast early, too.

Today's pic of the day is again an old one, this time from the camel trek that Bassia and I took last April:

After breakfast, I walked to WIZO by a very circuitous route, basically following the big loop in the reverse direction but then continuing on Sheshet HaYamim to Yerushalayim HaShlema instead of coming back home. It was really a very nice walk!

One of our WIZO people, Siri, did a short presentation on a couple of interesting museums she had recently visited in Jerusalem.

After walking back home, I mostly relaxed before my lessons.

I had my usual salad, a shnitzel, and 3 pieces of baklava for lunch.

I taught 7 units of Berlitz lessons today, all back-to-back: 3:30-5:00, 5:00-6:30, 6:30-8:00, and 8:00-8:45.

I still don't have my phone back, but I estimate that I walked about 8 kilometers today.

Monday, 6 November 2017

I was really tired last night and went to bed quite early. I slept well and long, and so I got up very late (for me).

I taught 8 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.

I relaxed a bit after my morning lessons. I had hoped that my phone would be done, but I got an email saying that the repair they did didn't fix the problem, so they're going to continue working on it. I'm disappointed not to have it, but at least there's still hope that I at least won't have to get a new one.

Since I still don't have my phone back, today's pic of the day is another old one, this one of pink and white bougainvillea that I took a couple of months ago:


I had a salad and slices of cheese wrapped in tortillas for lunch.

After lunch, I did a little grocery shopping at the nearby market.

I reviewed the work of a couple of fellow students in my synthesizer class, so I have now completed all the requirements for it. I'll have my final grade as soon as some students review my last project submission.

The only time I even went outside today was the very short walk to the market and back, so my total walking was probably about a third of a kilometer.

Sunday, 5 November 2017

One hundred twenty-three years ago today (1894), in the town of Ft. Benton, Montana, my father, Benton z"l, was born. Today's pic of the day is a picture of the Missouri River that I took there when I visited in the summer of 2002:

Although I went to bed late last night, I got up fairly early this morning.

After breakfast, I did a load of laundry and worked some more on my synthesizer piece. I feel that it's finished now, so here's the link where you can listen to it, if you like. I must warn you, though, that it's quite "far out" and perhaps beyond the bounds of what you might consider "music". I've named it, somewhat ironically, "Being of Sound Mind". For best results, you should listen with headphones, and do NOT set the volume at maximum.

Before lunch, I did some grocery shopping at the nearest market.

I had a salad, two fried eggs on lightly toasted bread, and 3 pieces of baklava for lunch.

In the evening, I walked into town on some business and then over to Fay's house for our weekly play-reading group. This evening, we started reading perhaps the most famous Irish play, entitled "The Playboy of the Western World".

I got an email from the shop letting me know that my phone was still NOT ready today, so I don't know exactly how far I walked. I estimate about 3 kilometers, though.

Shabbat, 4 November 2017

Today's pic of the day is very old. I took it at the lowest point in Death Valley in February of 2005:

I woke up very early to pee and then had some trouble getting back to sleep. I finally did, though, and then didn't get up until after 7:00 (which is VERY late for me).

In the late morning, I walked over to Hannah's for our weekly Torah study and then stayed there quite a while afterwards just chatting and hanging out. Then I walked back home.

I did some good work on my synthesizer music this afternoon. My weird piece, which I'm calling "Being of Sound Mind", is beginning to come together quite nicely.

I talked with Richard (Joyce's husband) this afternoon. Joyce is doing a little better. They've finally identified the problem and begun to fix it, but the recovery is slow.

The guy I met yesterday was in town again today, so he came over for a bit, and then he took me back up to his place in Be'er Ora for the evening. He showed me his custom-designed home, we went for a walk around the town (which is very interesting), and then spent the rest of the evening chatting and getting better acquainted. Finally, he brought me back home. I had a lovely time!

I must have walked a total of at least 5 or 6 kilometers today.

Friday, 3 November 2017

I got up very early this morning, ate breakfast very early, bought challah, and got all my chores done except for the dishes, all before my first class.

I taught 5 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30 and 10:30-12:45. These 2 groups, both consisting of Spanish students, are now my regular Friday morning lessons for a number of weeks to come.

As soon as I finished teaching, I walked down to check on my phone. Unfortunately, it is STILL not ready. I'm not too upset, though, because I'd rather that they be very careful so that a good outcome will be more likely. They're doing surgery on the motherboard.

After that, I walked over to Eilat Wines, in the industrial area, to meet a date who had contacted me online. He's more or less a regular there. So I got to meet a number of his friends, as well. It was an enjoyable and very different way for me to spend a Friday afternoon. Afterwards, he and his roommate gave me a ride home. They live a short distance up the Arava, in Be'er Ora, just across the highway from the new airport that is almost done.

After lighting candles, drinking a little sweet red wine, and eating some challah, I relaxed and then worked on another patch in my synthesizer. This one is meant to be inspired by thunder, although it also sounds a bit like gunshots. I'll probably refine it some more, actually. The number of parameters one can adjust to tweak the sound is almost infinite — it's great fun!

I'm reaching WAY back into my old photos for today's pic of the day. This is a picture, taken from our kitchen window, of a wild gazelle that came to eat the greenery at the end of our driveway in Tsfat on 19 October 2006:

I really don't have much idea at all how far I walked today. It must have been at least 4 kilometers, though.

Thursday, 2 November 2017

I got up early this morning, ate breakfast early, and set to work on my next synthesizer patch. This one is quite tricky, but I've been making steady progress on it.

I taught 8 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:45-12:15, 3:30-5:00, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.

I ate lunch right after my morning lesson and then walked downtown to check on my phone. It's still not ready, but they said it should be tomorrow. I certainly hope so, because, if not, I'll be phone-less for the weekend.

Again I couldn't take any photos without my phone, so today's pic of the day is one I took more than a month ago, the last time I was in Tel Aviv:

I don't know exactly how far I walked today, but I'm sure it was approximately 5 kilometers.

Wednesday, 1 November 2017

I got up early this morning but saved my walking for later in the day.

After breakfast, I walked into town to check on the progress with my phone. It's a good thing I did, because they apparently hadn't gotten my e-mail authorizing the motherboard work, so they were just waiting.

While I was on that block, I went to the pet store and was able to get a mouse for Goldfinger.

I walked back home by a somewhat circuitous route, taking advantage of the lovely day but staying in the shade most of the time. I also stopped and did a little grocery shopping at the Mega supermarket near the hospital. I used up the rest of the money on the gift card that Berlitz gave me for the holidays.

I did quite a bit of tinkering around with synthesis today. I had seen a video recently that said that, according to some research, 19 Hz is a frequency that can have an unsettling effect, so I decided to create a patch with a deep rumble and a LFO (low frequency oscillator) set at 19 Hz. By adjusting several other parameters slightly, I was indeed able to get a fairly ominous low rumble sound.

I then decided to create a patch with bell-like sounds. When I played with it, I came up with some really quite weird and wonderful effects that go beyond what one would be likely to get with real bells. Then I used a spreadsheet to generate randomized times, velocities, and notes for the bells. The result is quite a chaotic clanging!

I plan to make several more patches and work this all together into a very atmospheric, electronic piece. It will be interesting to see what I can come up with, and it will certainly be great practice using the synthesizer.

I had a salad with 2 hard-boiled eggs added, a cheese sandwich, and a few cookies for lunch.

In the evening, I walked down again to check on my phone. Now they're expecting it to be ready around noon tomorrow. I again walked home by a circuitous route, this one very different from the one this morning.

For today's pic of the day, I went way back to the pics I took last Spring when I was at the Kempinski Hotel in Jordan by the Dead Sea, for this view from my room's private balcony:

I didn't have my phone today, of course, but I'm sure I walked at least 9 or 10 kilometers in total.