Summer doldrums.

Summer doldrums.

Photo by Michael Held on Unsplash

I’m finding out that the best way to deal with the midsummer heat here in Israel is not to deal with it in the first place. I try to stay indoors or at least in an air-conditioned building from noon to about four . I get up at about 5:00,.go to minyan ( I know, but what can I do) . After that I go for a walk and breakfast and then a Talmud class, or daf yomi as they say in Hungarian.

And the rest of my day is clear. I was considering an Ulpan course to learn Hebrew but just the idea of attending a four hour class puts me to sle

I still have my translation project. Two actually. One of my book Dark Muse, and the other some chassidic erotica. Both in Hebrew and both using Hebrew from the Torah and various poetic prayers to add unusual words to the story. I only use Ai to double check the selection and the translation. I come up with the idea, and it’s working . I’ve even come up with terms that Google hasn’t, and the translation I do is either archaic or erotic which is fine .Sometimes Google will blush and refuse to translate, which is even better.

Photo by Elist Nguyen on Unsplash

I also spend too much time on my iPhone and looking at the dumb advertisements.

A few stand out and not for good reasons .

Three are for weight loss regimens, one being called tai chi chair routine, another tai chi walking, and a third is military calisthenics .

Anything that has the word military in it is meant to be tough, disciplined and results oriented. Go ahead but remember; to lose serious weight you need serious changes. Snacking , cheating on your form or anything short of major efforts and your results won’t be what you expect.

I used to say that a good workout should be a near death experience, but a minor heart attack cured me of that glibness. And at a certain age the major movements are just too painful.

The tai chi exercises look okay and stress free, but remember. One pound of fat comprises about 3500 calories. A one hour workout of moderate stress uses about six hundred calories. So if you want to lose weight , cut something out of your diet and do some more walking, which is usually stress free, unless you’re walking against the red light.

Oh, and one last advertisement. This one calls itself articulation ,but it’s more about starting a great conversation, especially if you’re a guy talking to a lovely lady and want to get to know her better.

The advertisement ,as most do, uses,p two Ai generated characters, a decent looking guy and a quite delightful looking lady in a swimming pool. The guy, poor schmoe that he is makes a lame attempt at conversation. He asks her what brings you here. When she shoots him down he tries again, with the same success. She then swims off and he shoots himself in the head

Not exactly

But what he did is daunting for most guys. Trying to sound interesting but not so interesting as to risk arrest is difficult .

Then again, the character iportrayed as being early forties. He should have some experience in this.

What would I say to a girl taking a swim?

Photo by Susan Flynn on Unsplash

Any time of day, you can say Great way to cool off. She responds by agreeing, and if she asks you a question , you’re off and running.

Or compliment what she’s wearing , reading, or anything about her .Remember, the idea is to talk about her,not about you .

Quothe the prophet