D'var Torah - Sept 11, 2009
09/15/09 12:40 PM
The following is the text of a d’var Torah I gave at the conservative service at Hillel on Sept 11, 2009:
Perhaps the most difficult part of preparing tonight’s d’var Torah is choosing a topic. Of course, technically, a d’var Torah is a talk on the weekly Torah portion, which this week is Nitzavim-Vayeilech. Additionally, I’m sure you are all aware of today’s date and the events that occurred 8 years ago today. Today is also the last Shabbat before Rosh HaShanah. Rosh HaShanah, in fact, begins next Friday night!!
We actually have two portions this week... Read More...
Perhaps the most difficult part of preparing tonight’s d’var Torah is choosing a topic. Of course, technically, a d’var Torah is a talk on the weekly Torah portion, which this week is Nitzavim-Vayeilech. Additionally, I’m sure you are all aware of today’s date and the events that occurred 8 years ago today. Today is also the last Shabbat before Rosh HaShanah. Rosh HaShanah, in fact, begins next Friday night!!
We actually have two portions this week... Read More...
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Rio
08/25/09 12:16 AM Filed in: Me
I recently returned from a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I was there for a symposium on the co-evolution of massive black holes and their host galaxies. The symposium was part of the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) General Assembly. These are the same people who decided 3 years ago that Pluto is no longer a planet (yes!!).
Rio was an interesting place to visit. I realize that most of the international traveling I have done has been to fairly wealthy countries, where I have visited cities like London, Paris, Milan, Tel Aviv. Brazil is still a developing country, and Rio has a lot of poverty. Whenever I told anyone I was going to Rio, the typical response was: “Oh, isn’t it dangerous there?” Well, yes, there is a lot of crime, but I had no problems. The airport is in the northern part of the city and there are a lot of favelas (slums) in that part of the city, so that was our first view of Rio. The wealthy live in the southern part. Our driver, Roger, tried to make it sound like it's not so bad. He pointed out that while the houses and buildings in the slums are ugly, they are built out of concrete and brick. That is better, I suppose, than flimsy wooden structures. After a tour of the slums, we went through a tunnel, and when we came out, it was as if we were in a different city. It was much nicer. But, in general, the city is dirty, and there are plenty of poor people even in the southern section. There were people sleeping out on the sidewalk, and beggars would come up to you asking for money. People would also walk near -or even on- the beach trying to sell various items, such as purses made out of soda can tabs. They were all very persistent, but harmless. Perhaps, I sound a little snobbish, but I’m just reporting on what I saw. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to go and see what it’s like there. It makes me appreciate more all that we have here in the US. Even the police cars there looked old and rundown, which is very different than the brand new Dodge Chargers that the Gainesville police have.
The scenery in and around Rio is beautiful, though. It’s interesting to have a city of 6 million people in such a beautiful location. I like the combination of mountains and beach in the same place. I really liked the virgin islands for that reason, especially Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. I have posted pictures here.
Rio was an interesting place to visit. I realize that most of the international traveling I have done has been to fairly wealthy countries, where I have visited cities like London, Paris, Milan, Tel Aviv. Brazil is still a developing country, and Rio has a lot of poverty. Whenever I told anyone I was going to Rio, the typical response was: “Oh, isn’t it dangerous there?” Well, yes, there is a lot of crime, but I had no problems. The airport is in the northern part of the city and there are a lot of favelas (slums) in that part of the city, so that was our first view of Rio. The wealthy live in the southern part. Our driver, Roger, tried to make it sound like it's not so bad. He pointed out that while the houses and buildings in the slums are ugly, they are built out of concrete and brick. That is better, I suppose, than flimsy wooden structures. After a tour of the slums, we went through a tunnel, and when we came out, it was as if we were in a different city. It was much nicer. But, in general, the city is dirty, and there are plenty of poor people even in the southern section. There were people sleeping out on the sidewalk, and beggars would come up to you asking for money. People would also walk near -or even on- the beach trying to sell various items, such as purses made out of soda can tabs. They were all very persistent, but harmless. Perhaps, I sound a little snobbish, but I’m just reporting on what I saw. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to go and see what it’s like there. It makes me appreciate more all that we have here in the US. Even the police cars there looked old and rundown, which is very different than the brand new Dodge Chargers that the Gainesville police have.
The scenery in and around Rio is beautiful, though. It’s interesting to have a city of 6 million people in such a beautiful location. I like the combination of mountains and beach in the same place. I really liked the virgin islands for that reason, especially Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. I have posted pictures here.
Recent Travels (Updated)
08/25/09 12:16 AM Filed in: Me
I have been traveling the past several weeks. I started with a Memorial Day weekend trip with some friends to Atlanta and Blue Ridge, GA. We visited the Georgia Aquarium, which is really quite nice. Visually, they did a very nice job with the design. However, there seemed to be less focus on education than on being visually pleasing, as compared to other aquariums that I have visited. We continued north from Atlanta to a small town called Blue Ridge. We went whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. It was my first time, and it was a lot of fun. No one fell out of the boat, but we did fall on top of each other. We ended the trip with a factory tour at the Mayfield Dairy, where they process milk.
After returning to Gainesville, I left the next day for New Jersey. Two days later, I was on a plane to Vancouver, Canada, with my parents. We spent 3 days in Vancouver, which is a very nice city. We then boarded a cruise ship, heading through the ‘Inside Passage’ to Alaska. The scenery there is gorgeous, and I will post some pictures eventually. We took 1300 pictures, so I will have to choose a sample of the best ones. Here are a couple:
After returning to Gainesville, I left the next day for New Jersey. Two days later, I was on a plane to Vancouver, Canada, with my parents. We spent 3 days in Vancouver, which is a very nice city. We then boarded a cruise ship, heading through the ‘Inside Passage’ to Alaska. The scenery there is gorgeous, and I will post some pictures eventually. We took 1300 pictures, so I will have to choose a sample of the best ones. Here are a couple:
Update: Pictures posted!
WolframAlpha
05/20/09 03:43 PM Filed in: Miscellaneous
Check out Wolfram Alpha. It’s a neat search tool, which can provide information right away, instead of just giving you a bunch of links to places where you might be able to find the information. It’s new, so it’s still limited. But, it has rather diverse uses. For example, in the search box below, you can type “Daniel” to see when my name was most popular in the US. Or type “Daniel vs David” to see which is more popular. You even get a plot in the results. You can also do fancy math like “integrate cos(x).” Take a look at their page for more uses.
Toojays in Gainesville!
04/27/09 02:45 PM Filed in: Gainesville
I just wanted to point out a “Jewish-style” deli that recently opened in Gainesville called Toojays. It’s a chain, with locations throughout Florida. I had a delicious deli sandwich, and I ordered a knish and some sliced turkey to bring home with me. The knish was pretty good, although nothing will compare to my memories of the knishes my family would get when we used to visit my grandparents in Brooklyn. Anyway, it’s definitely worth checking out. They have an extensive menu, so I’m sure you will find something yummy!