Serenity Quest

Contrary to what we see coming out of the region lately the Middle-East is awe-inspiring.

I took this photo in Petra, Jordan and if you haven't visited it yet you must!



Just behind those boulders is the extraordinary “Rose-Red City”.

For a moment there we thought that the Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah had gone to be with the virgins. But since God was out of them, virgins that is he sent him back to us for our amusement!

As George W. Bush confided "See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over."

IDF ground movements will advance the troops deep into the nest of Beirut the home of the terrorist group.

Was feeling queasy and ravenous this morning and a delicious ¼ roasted chicken fixed me right up. Oh and my pleasant telephone - yes some of us still use it – chat with a friend helped a lot too.

Off to Budapest, Hungary next week for a conference: International e-Participation and Local e-Democracy Symposium . Have never been there and honestly that’s what excites me the most. Sure the conference topic impassions me and the idea of meeting hundreds of new people excites me, however I will also be meeting up with a friend and former roommate I haven’t seen in more than 10 years! How marvelous! We met in Jerusalem and are now getting together in Europe. Small world and full of so many wonderful surprises we take for granted on a daily basis.

Ok, it's not Thanksgiving or anything so maybe I'm in a mushy mood or something but APPRECIATION, know the meaning of that word? Gratitude, thankfulness goes a long way. We don't show each other enough appreciation and it's really not that difficult to do in fact. A small word of thanks won't hurt us. Appreciation is mutual.

Efharisto poli. Thank you. Merci. Shukran. Todah Raba. Gracias. Danke. Xie xie. Obrigada. In every language possible THANK YOU for lending me a listening ear! Yeah you know who you are! Thanks!