> 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