Re: Happy 2018 Winter Solstice!

[Robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

 > From: Mark Reimers <http://www.yahoo.ca/~mark1reimers>
 > Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2019 02:58:05 +0000 (UTC)
 >
 > Hi Robert,
 > 
 > Sounds like a bad year for your health. Hope it improves this year.

I remain optimistic.

 > DeAndra and I went to the Dolomites in Italian Alps for 8 days in
 > early August and did some light hiking together. We've just come back
 > from a trip to Colombia over Solstice, where I ascended to 4km above
 > sea level. DeAndra has been to India and China (twice) on work. This
 > coming year I plan spend a few days in Portugal in March after a
 > conference there.

Good to hear you've been getting some traveling done.  Don't use too many
fossil fuels!

 > DeAndra and I have been enjoying a book The Invention of Nature,
 > about Alexander von Humboldt and his influence on natural history and
 > ecology. I also recommend the SF short novel Semiosis about
 > three very different sentient species.

I need to get sick again so I'll have time to read!

 > I'm still giving a number of
 > talks. This month will be 'Minds of Animals' and 'Brain, religion and
 > evolution'.

Interesting.

 > I'm now cross-appointed in Biomedical Engineering as well as
 > neuroscience.

This will keep you engaged.

 > At work I'm starting to develop a microscope to record
 > brain activity at very high resolution, to try to visualize the
 > specific thoughts of animals.

Spooky.

 > I'm also developing techniques to
 > monitor human motion to track attention and engagement on a moment-by
 > moment basis (probably amateurish compared to what they already do at
 > FB to manipulate users), in order to study what interventions help
 > engage autistic kids.

Hope it works!

Thanks for the update!

 > regards,
 > Mark
 > Mark Reimers humanist, scientist, and mathematician