Polish coders hard at work

As posted at Reg Developer: Poland triumphs in Google contest: Gratuluje Tomasz!

The finals of the first ever European* Code Jam, based on Google US’s annual programming contest, saw Pole Tomasz Czajka finish in a triumphant first place, in a final that was dominated by competitors from Eastern Europe.

Although Czajka had to see off 49 competitors from 15 countries to secure the €2,500 prize money, eight of the top ten finalists were from Russia, Poland and Estonia. Nearly two thirds of the final 50 were also from the East.

Western Europe made a relatively poor showing. Germany had the best representation with six contenders in the last 50. Sweden managed to field four, while the UK could only muster two.

The contestants spent an all-expenses-paid week in Dublin for the final rounds of the contest. Nearly 10,000 people entered in all, and were gradually whittled away over three rounds by tougher and tougher programming challenges.

In the final, competitors had to devise their own algorithms. Points were scored for unbreakable code, and lost if a competitor managed to crack it…

Jewish revival in Poland

From the AP: Poland’s 1st progressive rabbi since Holocaust to be installed

WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s first progressive rabbi since World War II is to be installed in Warsaw Friday evening, marking a milestone in the revival of Jewish life that was shattered by the Holocaust.

Rabbi Burt Schuman, a New Yorker who arrived in Poland in July, will be installed during Friday evening Sabbath services at Beit Warszawa, home to Warsaw’s Progressive, or Reform, community.

The ceremony will be led by Rabbi Uri Regev, the president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.

“The installation of Rabbi Schuman as Beit Warszawa’s first full-time resident Rabbi marks a historic milestone in the revival of Progressive Judaism in Poland and in the creation of a dynamic, inclusive and pluralistic Polish Jewish community,” Regev said.

Schuman, 58, who has his roots in Poland, said he “could not think of a more rewarding or more challenging rabbinic pulpit at this stage” of his life.

“The revival of Jewish life in Poland is no longer a dream: It is a living, breathing reality,” he said.

Until the war, Poland was home to a Jewish community of nearly 3.5 million, most of whom perished in the Holocaust. Those who survived faced repression under communist rule, which ended in 1989.

Since the fall of communism, the Jewish community has grown slowly, by and large dominated by the Orthodox movement.

Some estimates put its numbers today at around 30,000.

Google Poland

Google has introduced an official blog for Google Polska. See: Witamy na oficjalnym Blogu Google Polska!

I like the artwork.