Monday   

In October 1973, Israel fought and won the existential Yom Kippur War. We will discuss this conflict from the perspective of an ICBM Launch Officer who happened to be on "alert" during the decisive tank battle between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights. This class will be paired with another single-session class: "The Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile." Neither class is a prerequisite for the other.

This class will focus on recent developments in AI beginning with the release of ChatGPT in November 2022 and ending wherever we find ourselves a year later. ChatGPT thrust AI into the public spotlight as never before. Within five days of release, it had gained a million users and was the fastest-growing app in the history of software. Apocalyptic prophecies rang out in all directions, marked by phrases like "imminent utopia," "post-scarcity economy," and "extinction of humanity." Tom Friedman referred to our situation as a "Promethean moment."

Hundreds of AI researchers signed an open letter calling for a pause in the release of systems more powerful than GPT4, citing "profound risks to society and humanity." A later statement said that "mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority."

Meanwhile, AI research proceeds apace. By the time this class meets, these issues may feel like old news and we may be focused on breakthroughs in medicine or robotics. This course will attempt to follow the changing AI landscape and explore the potential ways AI will affect our lives.

Let go of stress and come home to yourself. Over millennia, the sages of the Himalayan Yoga Tradition developed highly effective methods of movement, relaxation, and meditation. In this study group you will learn foundational practices from the Himalayan Yoga Tradition. Each session will have three phases: gentle movement and breathing, deep relaxation, and meditation. Members can expect to leave this class refreshed. Please note that the movements taught in this study group are not acrobatics. They are suitable for people with no yoga experience. If you've attended yoga classes and found them to be too strenuous or otherwise challenging, this study group is for you.

Join us for flora, fauna, and history. We will be treated to viewing the Jonesville Hotel with a local historian and resident. We will then hike in the meadows near the creek in Jonesville for about 3 miles at roughly 5500' elevation. Be prepared for uneven ground.

The Titan II was our first ICBM capable of instantaneous launch 24/7. We will discuss it from the perspective of the instructor, a former launch officer. This class will be paired with another single-session class: "50th Anniversary of the Yom Kippur War: Israel's Last Conventional War." Neither class is a prerequisite for the other.

This class is for people who know how to play the basic A to G chords on guitar, although class members may bring other stringed instruments to play, e.g. mandolin, bass, ukulele, banjo, harmonica, or squeeze box. Or sing along without an instrument! Songs and lyrics will be emailed each week, featuring artists like Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers, The Drifters, and other favorites from the 1950s and 1960s.

A scintillating review of current themes in the media will be discussed in each class. Class members present a topic, discuss it, then open the floor for discussion and debate. Poetry, literature, scientific discovery, and educational progress are examples of the issues addressed. Special guests are welcome to present.

This course is designed to assist you in planning the transfer of your wealth to a spouse, children, grandchildren, and any other people or organizations you want to benefit from your estate. We will explore the advantages and disadvantages of different methods for wealth transfer to enable you to make better decisions regarding your own estate. Plan on both lecture and discourse, as many exciting things can be learned from information and experiences of participants.

Let's face it! We are all going to "go" one of these days, and green burial is the greenest way. Learn about the science and practice of green burial, as well as other alternative disposition methods, like water cremation and human composting. We will discuss the green burial movement and its connection with land conservation and restoration. We will also hear from conservation practitioners in this field.

Sing and/or play popular gospel songs. Bring your voice, guitar, violin, cello, harmonica, squeeze box, or other instrument and join a group of people singing and playing for fun. This is not meant to be religious. It's just a place to enjoy great music. Join us!

If you've studied French in the past – even as long ago as high school – and can construct a basic sentence in French, join us in improving our abilities to communicate orally and in writing. The class uses a text, but doesn't always follow its sequence. If you are completely new to French, this is not the class for you.

In 1848 William and Ellen Craft did the impossible: they escaped from Georgia disguised as a white master with his black slave. Pursued and in danger of being retaken and tortured, they went public, speaking and touring northern states before fleeing to England. This class will be a deep dive into their history and encourage developing your ideas out loud. At heart, this is an American love story between a man and a woman, a couple and a country.

Volunteers, board members, social entrepreneurs, or just plain interested folks can deepen their understanding of the the role of nonprofits in our communities. We will look at nonprofit basics, including finances, volunteerism, governance, and the nonprofit life cycle. There will also be opportunities to explore specific questions and concerns raised by participants.

What happens when a VIP (very important person) becomes a FIP (formerly important person), a.k.a. retirement? How does a Type A (as in actively ambitious) become a Type E (as in energetic elder)? How might elders in the world of business, community, government, and nonprofit organizations engage with at least four younger generations? This class uses reflective practice to engage participants in exploring how a lifetime of leading and leadership might bridge into eldership.

This class will focus on grammar, usage, creating French sentences, and improving listening skills, plus reading French stories. Two primary topics for this term are use of the partitive and relative pronouns.