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Why I'm Scared of the "Red Alert" Siren:

Published in Haaretz, 11/13

I’m occasionally asked “Nu, how’s it going down in the south? Did you get used to the Kassam rockets?” In addition to the hutspah needed to ask such a question, this is indeed a good one. Why indeed haven’t I got used to it? What, indeed, does scare me so? In Israel, several thousands of people are injured each year in car accidents. How many were injured this year by Kassam rockets? To make this clearer, imagine that you’ve just bought a lottery ticket. What did you actually buy? A weeklong fantasy. You’ve already started imagining what you’d do with the money; with whom you were going to share the excitement and with whom you’d share the money. You dream about your winning, and it doesn’t matter at all if your chance to become a millionaire is actually zero. Inside your head, you’re almost rich. Now imagine a fall afternoon, the kids are playing in the park and you’re chatting with someone sitting next to you on the bench. Suddenly, the “Red Color” alert is sounded and lottery tickets are distributed. Like it or not – you’re in the game, and a reddish ticket is inside your palm. A rocket is winding its way in the direction of your kibbutz, and the question is not “if” and “when” it will land but simply “where.” You enter another dream (this time it’s a nightmare) and your imagination is going over all possible calamities: Maybe it will land right here in the park? For that matter, you recall, while rushing to a bomb-shelter, that your kid is biking home from soccer practice – and maybe he’s the one who’ll get hit. Your imagination runs wild over the infinite amount of possibilities. Is there any relevance between the chances of being hit by a Kassam rocket and those of winning the lottery? Not at all. As far as you’re concerned, the lottery has started, the balls are rolling and the only question is, who will be the “winner.” Would you like to experience this game of chance? Next time you’re behind the wheel, imagine that the radio announces that an accident is going to occur in ten seconds – 9,8,7 – Are you going to feel stressed? Maybe your hands will grip the wheel while your eyes scan for the crazy vehicle that’s about to come flying at you from around a corner? I’m sure that when the countdown is finished, you’ll emit a long sigh of relief. When an event of this sort is accompanied by an alert, a screech and an explosion, the experience is even more vivid. Please understand, when it’s about an event that is certain to occur, I don’t care for any statistics. Yaniv Hagi , 39, Kibbutz Be’eri, Eshkol district

1) How do you feel the mechanisms of your specific job as a pilot of UAV's differentiates you from other traditional pilots?

2) Do you see your job as similar to or different from traditional pilots (especially fighter pilots if you fly deadly UAV's)?

3) What do you see as the future of UAV's both military and civilian? (I just saw today they were going to start using them to film some shots movies)

Hi JPB! I met you at the burn in 2011 and am so honored to have run into you and then be turned on to some of your work.

How do you think the personalities of the major commercial players in the internet (Brin, Zuckerberg, Page, etc) have played a role in what the internet is to most of us today?