In the fall of 2005, I got a phone call from Jon Hischtick, the friend of several of my friends. Jon invited me to join an ATS Mission to the Technion. As Research Director of Sun Microsystems Research in MA, I've learned about Technion in the last year or so, initially from ex-Sun employee Ken Shostack, and then from ATS Regional Director Joel Berkowitz. After a visit to Technion by my co-worker Nir Shavit during the summer of 2005, Sun Labs funded a small Collaborative Research project at Technion. Additionally, it turns out that Jon and I shared an MIT education, although we never met at MIT as he was in the department of Mechanical Engineering (CAD), and I was in Computer Science and slightly ahead of Jon. Jon and I also shared an MIT experience related to investing in positive expectation play, and although I won't write about here, either of us will be glad to discuss it in person.
Jon's invitation was an opportunity not to be missed; I cannot imagine having access to the people and places though any other channel. But, it was a long way to go for such a short trip. Fortunately I was able to stay over for the weekend and some business for a couple of days after that. The trip was excellent. I was delighted to meet and share perspective with my fellow travelers. What a group! I hope to continue to share life experiences with the whole gang.
I've produced a report from the first leg of the trip and a page of Chaverim (friends). My fellow traveler Linda has published her Email From Israel, a moving account of our trip. There are also notes from my weekend: Shabbat in Jerusalem. I hope you enjoy sharing these experiences.