Wednesday, December 19, 2007

A family reunion in Israel

Christine and I are very happy that Shana and Jordan are coming to visit us in Haifa tomorrow. We saw them last month when we were all in Chicago to be with Christine's mom just before she passed away, but it was too short a visit and a sad one too. As a result it seems as if we haven't seen them for a year.

This time will be a more enjoyable visit and they'll be here for about three weeks. Our plan is to visit the Baha'i Holy Places together and do some tourist things like a tour of the ancient city of Akka (the Crusader fortress after the loss of Jerusalem to the Muslims), then on to the Dead Sea (the lowest point on the face of the earth) and Eilat (in the south of Israel at the Red Sea where we hope to go camel riding). In addition no doubt there will be time for Rummikub and backgammon!

We'll try to post some photos as we get them.

At 71, Physics Professor Is a Web Star -- NY Times

Here is a nice article on a physics professor at MIT who has a unique and interesting way of explaining the concepts of physics to ordinary people:

Read the article>

His lectures are available for free on iTunes and at the Openware Web site:

Openware web site -- Requires Real Player software >

And speaking of iTunes it appears that they have a new feature called iTunes U which publishes free University lectures. It includes videos like the ones above to audio lectures from Professors at Yale, Berkeley and more. Topics include "How Hannibal crossed the Alps", "Earth in the balance" and "Defying Genocide in Rwanda". To check them out go open iTunes and click on "iTunes U"!