I don’t know why Nicole is worried about a snowstorm - it’s so hot here…

Actually, i’m back in singapore, working at the SMART center for a few weeks.  It really is 30°C here (Boston is 30°F).  And while i do appreciate the sunny days, i still miss not being at MIT for the snowstorm today, despite all the problems it will cause.  I grew up in Canada, so it’s natural for me to like winter - we always found ways to enjoy it - skating, skiing, pushing each other off giant snow piles…

I also am missing one of the great traditions of MIT, Independent Activities Period (IAP). Every year i participate in one thing during IAP that i would normally never do: taking a business class, spanish lessons, learning to play hockey, and last year, graduating from “Charm school (possibly NSFW video) .  Maybe someday i’ll train for the integration bee, or finally get to see MITHenge.

But in missing out on IAP, i am getting to see and be part of the building up of a new research center in singapore, the Center for Environmental Sensing and Monitoring (CENSAM), a part of the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMART).  Its great to see how this place has become an active research centre which was built up from nothing.  Brings a tear to my eye…  Oh, and I get to do experiments with a 10W death laser here…  That’s cool, too.