Proud to announce: The Wadi

My associates and I are proud to announce today the launch of TheWadi.com. This new blog aims to cover all the news from Israeli web companies and startups. In addition to bringing the news, we have a company index which will constantly expand in its coverage and depth.

After months of thoughts, research, meetings and last minute tweaks, Gal Mor, Doron Gez and myself are launching TheWadi today. Gal is the editor in chief, Doron is in charge of business development and yours truly is the main writer, and also does some technical stitches. So if you see a bug, talk to me…

In the many talks we had before starting to work on the site, we found that there isn’t sufficient coverage for cool Israeli technology in English. Yes, some major tech sites occasionally cover Israeli startups, but this is too rare. We aim to provide constant and maximal exposure to our readers and followers.

Enough said here. Check out the About page, the Team page and the home page of The Wadi.

Running

One of the reasons that I’m not updating this blog frequently is that I’m busy running. Where? Nowhere. Just shaping up. I now run 6 times a week!

Running has been a hobby of mine for quite some time. I used to run during high school which was quite some time ago, and been on and off the wagon for quite some time. In the past few years I’ve also participated in a few 5K and 10K races, training for each one with an arbitrary set of runs.

Well, I began taking it seriously. I just googled “10K run training” (or something similar, and started using the program. While this doesn’t sound like a serious method of finding a program, the program is very serious.

It consists of long runs, that enabled me to discover new areas in my city’s parks, and short paced runs, to improve my speed.

The results are great: I sleep better, I have a healthier appetite, and I’m improving my results. There’s a marathon in Tel Aviv at the end of March. I’m not aiming for that… Just the 10K race. My personal best at such races was 51:05. I’m confident that I’ll cross the finish line in less than 50 minutes.

I’d like to thank Gavin Doyle for his excellent program and his very useful site Time To Run.

Too Much 80s Music

80s music made a huge comeback in Israel a few years ago. Unfortunately this trend refuses to leave us. It seems to haunt me in every cafe I’m sitting it.

There was some good music in that decade. I like U2’s first albums, The Police, Dire Straights, and the Pixies among other (few) acts. But those rock bands, despite their popularity, weren’t the sound of those times. The discovery of synthesizers caught the attraction of musicians, the media and the public.

Electronic music has evolved since then. The sound became better, the use became wiser and the songs less idiotic. But back then, songs like these were big hits:

Just heard it while surfing the web on my laptop using wireless technology in 2010. Stupid words and bad sound. The cold singing styles continues as I type…

Here’s something that’s more to my liking. Neil Young and Dave Matthews collaborate in a show for Haiti. It’s a combination of hi-tech recording equipment with low-tech acoustic guitars and excellent performers.

I hope that more songs like these will be heard in the cafes in Tel Aviv…

Me on TV

I try not to mix between this personal corner on the web and my professional forex blog, but here’s something I wanted to share. I was interviewed on Forex TV, a live broadcast.

I’m not very experienced with live media appearances, but I think it was OK. Feedback is welcome.