Re: Happy Winter Solstice!

[http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert (robert)]

--- Forwarded mail from Mark Reimers <http://www.cgb.ki.se/~Mark.Reimers>

From: Mark Reimers <http://www.cgb.ki.se/~Mark.Reimers>
Date: 31 Dec 2002 13:58:53 +0100
Message-Id: <1041339534.15361.55.camel@gemini>

Hi Robert, Hi Noelle,
	Nice to hear from you, and thanks for the job tips, but I'll probably
stick with academe for a while.
	It's turned really cold this past few weeks: -20C. 

	Here's my new year's letter:

The big move this year was re-starting a career in academe; in Sweden;
in a new field. Bioinformatics is the application of computers to
biology; it’s partly extensive databases, partly statistics, and partly
modeling. My specialty is the analysis of dynamic snapshots of cell
processes; in particular how much each gene is expressed at any one
time.
The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm offered me the position of
director of their bioinformatics service facility, (despite my lack of
experience), and the host department had a large grant – all this was
good. However between my interview in summer 2001, and my arrival this
January, my host department was told to expect a 25% budget cut for
2003, which would eliminate my position. I found this out in May – 
Swedes are famous for communication. In November the research board at
KI offered me funding for next year, including one extra position. So
I’ve decided to stay, now that I’m getting known. However this has been
a frantic year, rather than a productive year.
Sweden is very different than I imagined. Europe’s most prosperous
country in the seventies has now fallen below the median. Costs are
higher than the US, while wages are lower, and taxes take more.
Fortunately I have a cosy apartment at the subsidized building for guest
researchers, only a few minutes from campus, for two years. Swedish
society seems closed; people don’t socialize after work; every door is
locked; immigrants are shunned; bureaucracy is a fine art. One does see
stunningly beautiful women (and men) every day; but they are rather
chilly.
The good thing here is that I have quite a few friends, mostly other
visiting researchers. My best friend in Stockholm, from Indonesia, just
moved in next door, and we have fun talking science and cooking, and
playing ping-pong in the long winter nights. 
Memorable visits this year were Australia, Singapore, (for business) and
Turkey (for pleasure) – all warm and friendly places. 
The best serious books I read this year were The Synaptic Self (J.
LeDoux) and Being There (Andy Clark) about ‘emergence’. A lot of fun was
‘The Hidden life of dogs’ by Elisabeth Marshal Thomas.


--- End of forwarded message from Mark Reimers <http://www.cgb.ki.se/~Mark.Reimers>