Patrick Lam

Thoughts and travels of Patrick Lam

March: lots of good news

Reasonable success this month, professionally (awarded grant, major revisions on a paper) and for refereeing (selected for Canadian nationals). Lots of work and also weekend trips.

February: COVID, teaching, and a trip to Japan

COVID didn’t throw too much of a wrench into things, thankfully. Second month of teaching for Winter 2023, including reading week and a trip to Japan.

January: teaching and extracurriculars

Back to the classroom (teaching two courses), plus judo tournaments and some skiing. Before that, we hiked Around the Mountain (Taranaki) in New Zealand.

December: start of summer / back to winter soon

First conference (SPLASH) in three years (gave two talks) and South Island vacation. Also a bunch of service tasks, e.g. master’s thesis and PhD comprehensive exams. Submitted a paper!

Book review: Can't Get There from Here: New Zealand Passenger Rail Since 1920, by André Brett, maps by Sam van der Weerden

A good (though detailed) read about the sad history of NZ passenger rail, with advocacy for a better future.