It's a new year

My most embarrassing moment of the year so far has been logging into this account and discovering that it has been so long since I have posted here that I a. had to struggle to remember the URL and b. find the interface has changed so much as to be almost unrecognizable.  My bad.  But I'm back for real, and thinking, like most other people I know, of the year ahead and what it might hold for me.  I'm not big on new year's resolutions (especially this year) so I've kept things modest.  I resolve to remember to shave at least once a week.  That's it.  What else is on tap for me?  

Work:  I have scattered over my desk a clever suite of equipment that I can use to monitor all kinds of interesting vital signs ranging from brain waves to heart rate to body temperature and stress levels.  I'm not completely sure yet what I'm going to be doing with all of this gear (first thing is learn how to use it) but I have this vision of myself wandering strange terrain wearing cyber-gear, building a kind of physiological psychogeography.  Yes, I think what I want to do is to build a map of space using my body.  I'll post some snapshots of how that goes here but also hope to build the adventures into some more serious writing projects.  

Travel:  I've got serious enough wanderlust that I'm afraid I really may be pissing off my employers.  I have a little bit of Canada criss-crossing to do for some keynotes and lectures -- more details here as the times are closer, but I'm also planning a return to Asia.  I'll check in on my crazy brother in Singapore if he'll let me back into his apartment, but also hope to take a side excursion from there to somewhere a bit more exotic.  I'm thinking possibly of Laos or Vietnam.  If I can possibly squeeze out the time, I'm also thinking of finally making the pilgrimage to India.  

Writing:  Lots of ideas still churning away.  I have a book length idea that I've been working up the nerve to get going on for months now.  The travel (and the work described above) are both related, will give me some context and hopefully some inspiration.  I'll say more here about all of that from time to time.

And now back to the last official day of my long festive holiday.  There's still some turkey to be finished off, and I bet there are yet a few more chocolate bonbons I've lost between the cushions of the couch. After that, it's time to get busy.

Comments

[Justin]

I'm interested to hear more about this new equipment and how you plan to use it in your research.

[Colin]

Hey Justin, great to hear from you. I'll be giving more details about the project over the next few weeks, but I expect it to take a bit of time and experience, not to mention the indulgence of some trusty volunteers, before we can figure out all of the possible uses we will make of it. One thing we do know is that the gear is designed to stand up to fairly rugged conditions -- the same gear has been used to test brain function in high-altitude mountain climbers -- much more demanding than the urban environments we plan to use in our studies. I hope that you'll keep reading for further updates.