After a morning of talks by Media Lab faculty and students on such topics as "meaning machines," "ambient intelligence," "creative learning," and "deep interfaces, the symposia attendees broke for lunch.

After lunch, a three-hour open house offered a chance for us all to visit some of the 350 research projects throughout the building. The experience--my second time--was like attending a science fair funded by millions of dollars. Of the dozens of projects we visited, including encounters with such way-edgy technologies like robotic human limbs, eye trackers, and RFID systems, the relative calm and simplicity of the Evocative and Extended Portraits project (above) left an impression on me. These were matted and framed LCD panels that displayed black & white portraits of people that animated in response to viewers' physical presence and reactions in proximity to electronic sensors.

After 2 1/2 hours of walking the lab, my brain was saturated. After drinks with my boss, and dinner with Sandy at the Harvest Restaurant at Harvard Square, I'm back in my hotel room enjoying the fading echoes of today's intensive technology bazaar. After more talks and a hands-on workshop tomorrow morning, I fly home.

- mike lee - cambridge