E-Monk's Live Blog

Customer: Hello, Apple? I am having reception problems with my new iPhone. Customer support: There are no reception issues with the Apple iPhone 4. It's the best phone with ever made. The problem is with you. Customer: Really? how can you tell? Customer support: Easy. What are you doing at the moment? Customer: Talking on the phone, with you. Customer support: Which phone are you using? Customer: An old mobile phone. Customer support: Why aren't you using your new iPhone? Customer: Because the reception is so bad that I can't even place a call! Customer support: But there are no reception issues with the iPhone. Therefore by not using it, you are proving to be an irrational person, who spends money on mobile phones without using them, hence the problem is with YOU. Customer: F*#k off.

A friend reminded me of this story, though I still can't find the original, but it has been attributed to the British climber Don Whillians: During an expedition to the Himalaya in 1970, the news of England's loss at the World Cup of that year arrived to the camp. One of the German climbers said to Whillians: "We have beaten you at your national sport". Don Whillians did not hesitate and replied "That's nothing. We beat you at yours, twice". A warning to those who wish to wipe Israel out: we are very bad at football.

The geeks of this world are divided into two groups: those who adore Apple and those who hate it. You may claim that this is not the case, and that there are some people who combine the use of Apple products with the use of products from other brands, but they are certainly not "Apple Fanboys". Those people are not really geeks then. People who choose their technology according to their usability and not according to their brands simply can't cut it as "real" geeks... I belong to the Apple haters, and I have the usual geeky reasons: their products are beautifully designed but always flawed and their attitude towards their customers and developers reminds me of either a feudalistic or a totalitarian regime. In fact, the way Apple fanboys (and fangirls) talk about Apple reminds me very much of a religion. Those who know me might remember my hypothesis that every religion has: God or a prophet (Steven Jobs), An unmistakable symbol (the bitten apple logo) Shrines or

And now she's gone. Considering her condition, she did not suffer much. And when it happened, she was probably asleep, or surrounded by her family. Her mind was clear and her spirit was there even in those last weeks when things looked (and in fact were) hopeless. She was my 2nd degree aunt, or my grandmother's brother's wife. It may sound complicated, but for me it was simple: she was more like a grandmother, and in fact she treated me this way. I even felt embarrassed taking her money after the computer lessons that I gave her, because to me she was a client, she was close family. At past the age of 70, she decided that the best way to communicate with her family around the world was using the internet, and it was up to me to teach her - and she did. She learned how to use an internet browser and an email client, long past the age when most people simply give up trying. I'm sure it was hard for her, but she understood that in order to keep in touch with our generatio

Following the recent event regarding a certain convoy in the Mediterranean , I would like to publish this statement: E-Monk's live activism has switched to a per-case model. Normal activism will be outsourced to external contractors, probably Foxconn (everything is made there, so why not political activism as well? I promise to pay more than the average salary and cause no more than 10 suicides per month). The per-case model will allow me to respond more accurately and calmly to accusations, and enhance E-Monk's live ability to maintain his mental stability. Regards, The Electric Monk

There are two sentences in English that never fail to scare me or at least deeply worry me: 1. How hard can it be? 2. What can possibly go wrong? The first sentence will end up with a written report which tries to explain where two years and billions of research dollars have disappeared. The second one ends in millions of oil barrels being spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. You should prevent everyone from saying these sentences around you. And if they happen to be said, the first one should be answered with "Very" and the second one with "Everything".