Planning Game on a Pool Table

I'm just back from a great Open Knesset meetup. There were seven of us, a pool table and lots of free goldstar beer (thanks to amir from goldstar) in the "Rosa Parks". It was great fun.


We came to play with planning. Our project, Open-Knesset, needs focus and the game delivered. We started with the wiki definition, the ideas of AgileZen and a pool table.


As the game progressed the table filled with cards. Well, the left side did, the right was left empty, opening room for empty thoughts.We decided to split: keep what's critical above the stick and what's important below it.


We left the table when we had our prime objective: Make our user go wow! and how to do it - serving a page that renders a glance at a Knesset Member. We cleared the table and focused on the information displayed on the member's page. At that time, someone wanted to play pool, so we moved to a side table, opened one laptop with balsamiq and wireframed the page.

I had no idea it would end there, a pleasant surprise.

Thanks to:

• the ppl of the "Rosa Parks" for the place the service and the food
  
• Amir from Goldstar for the free beer
  
• The Great Maker
  

A piece of burnt charcoal and a cave's wall

I use a lot of Web 2.0 sites like flickr, youtube, twitter, friendfeed and linkedin on a daily basis and I think they are elegant. I think the term I use to group them is crap. Web 2.0 tells me nothing about what they have in common and confuses me when it comes to their history as it suggests it's all about a sock dog 2.0.



One of the things all those sites have in common is user contributions. We all do it, but why do we spend countless hours twitting, uploading, writing and editing? What is the motivation and what is the role-model we chase? I discovered quite a few role-models - David Willis for blogers, Lonely Girl for video, Linus for kernel coders, Randall Munro for comics and Guido van Rossum for python programmer to name a few.

To me they are all artists, or at least gifted artisans whose art will be grokked by future generations. Arts origins date way back, long before the sock dog:



"Cave Paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest known European cave paintings date to 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the cave paintings is not known. The evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas, since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. Also, they are often in areas of caves that are not easily accessed. Some theories hold that they may have been a way of transmitting information, while other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose."( Wikipedia)

I don't think the caveman purpose was other than:

"..connecting with peers, achieving a certain level of fame, notoriety, or prestige, and the desire to express oneself." (from Wikipedia's User Generated Content)

The piece of charcoal grew to be a twitt, a post, a bookmark, a photo, a video. The cave's wall matured into Web 2.0 sites or as I think we should call them WallX.

Why Twitter is winning

Why Twitter is winning

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The day the bubble burst

In Tel Aviv we did all we can to live a normal life. In Israel it is known as the "bubble", if you manage to get inside it you forget about the middle east and the suicidal maniacs that try to kill you. I like this illusion, because it keeps the terrorists out.

48 hours ago, on Friday night many Israelis got a phone call with a *code 8 order* from their army unit, drafting them immediately. Our friend, Irit, was celebrating her birthday when her husband, Eran, got the call. He left the party and went home packing.

Earlier today, rocket attacks killed 12 people, all army reserve, just like our friend Eran. We are out to war and the bubble is gone. May it be swift and decisive.

Israelies can use white flags too

I've just seen the flow of Lebenesse refugees on CNN. The reported explained the reason they were all waving white flags was to signal the Israeli army they are civilians.
An israeli commuter was killed today as he was driving his car more than 30 miles away from he border. A serian rocket hit him directly.

12th day of the war

3 soldiers are kidnapped. A daily rain of about 100 rockets hits. Lebanon is hit hard.
A friend, Ilay, has been called on emergency army duty, leaving his wife and baby to join the war on the north.
I called Ilay this morning to get his help in prinitng 5000 "Israel is Strong" stickers and he told me he's packing his gear as he's joining the fighting. I hope he'll be safe.