Schlomo Schapiro

Do you use your smart phone to record videos? Do you use it to record talks at conferences? Did you ever try to hold up a smart phone for 45 minutes? Well, I did and it was no fun at all! My fix for this problem was to build an improvised camera stand for my phone: All you need for that is some cardboard and something to cut it: It takes about 5 minutes to make and greatly improves the video quality: No more jitter, shaking or covering up the mic. With the right light conditions you can even manage to make professional looking videos. Also, if you switch the phone to flight mode you can be sure that no incoming call will interrupt the recording. Download printable version .

Limmud 2012 was in Berlin at the Jüdische Oberschule  and that made it quite different from the previous Limmud festivals at Werbellinsee . The feeling was much less that of a closed community and more that of a regular conference. Luckily the next Limmud festival will (most likely) be back at Werbellinsee. The festival was well attended without feeling crowded. I talked a bit to the org team. They seemed as stressed as in previous years. Seeing how well the festival runs they really deserve a lot of respect and gratitude for doing this job. Highlights where the talks by Rabbi Cardozo which where approximately the same as the ones he gave at previous Limmud events (see the his YouTube playlists  for a choice of videos), but still worthwhile to sit through. There were also lots of kids programs, like Ruth and Naomi , Ask the Rabi  and of course lots of movies. The unusal venue in the middle of the city allowed for various tours which where also well frequented....

Today I spent almost all the day helping the LinuxTag crew. They needed someone to help with transportation and I own a trailer and had a day of vacation. IT turns out that the LinuxTag - like all trade shows - comes with a lot of stuff and the people who help also need something: Shopping for the LinuxTag And this is actually not all of it, just to help the volunteers and project members and booth staff. Besides lugging lots of boxes and crates I actually learned a lot about the LinuxTag today: It is all completely done by volunteers, most of whom actually take vacation days to organize the event! If you like the LinuxTag please come and join the effort and sign up to help at the LinuxTag:  http://www.linuxtag.org/2012/de/mitmachen.html