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I usually look at my expensive life decisions as an education fee. With that mindset, it is easier to find positive aspects even when life gives you lemons. To become an owner of an old classic car was one of the best decisions of my life. Apart from the obvious economic savings, I have learned several important lessons. The most unexpected one was how much nicer it is to be a customer at a generic workshop instead of a brand-specific one.
Shortly after nine o´clock last Sunday morning, I boarded my train. I was heading from Umeå to Malmö, a 12-hour journey with one train change at Stockholm central. Lunch and dinner were pre-booked, and the transfer time was very short. I had booked a 1st class seat with a table and downloaded a bunch of files so that I could work offline during the trip. The trains worked perfectly, I arrived on schedule, well-rested and with proper lunch and dinner. In addition, I managed to do a full day of work onboard. Arriving at Malmö central, there was a short walk to my hotel.
After 258 consecutive weeks, I finally missed my weekly upload of a blog post. There are no rules without exceptions, and in my case, it was the worst storm I have ever witnessed. Gusts of wind up to 31 m/s, 38 hours without power in below zero temperatures, no phone or internet connection and completely cut off from civilization by hundreds of fallen trees. In such circumstances, one must adapt, and priorities must shift.
When I was 18 with a fresh driver’s license, my top priority was to upgrade my car – a W124 200D – with a subwoofer. The only thing I cared about was to get maximum bass. I put a 12” closed box and power amp in the trunk and from what I remember, it worked quite well! Thinking back now, I do have some serious doubts regarding sound quality when matching terrible factory speakers from the 1980’s with a (then) modern powerful sub. But that was not important then. Bass was. Two and a half decades later, here I am, designing a car audio system for a W124 again. The circle is closed. But this time however, I intend to do it right.
The last time I moved, I found some moving boxes that hadn’t been unpacked…since the previous time I moved! This is obviously one of the most pointless things ever. If the contents were so unimportant that you haven’t used them in years and honestly forgot about them, chances are they belong in the trash or the 2nd hand market. However, sometimes there can be exceptions.
Just after 15:00, a beautiful autumn sunset, perfect traffic conditions and around 4 hours on the Swedish main road E4. A full tank of diesel and two nights of proper sleep. It doesn’t get much better than that. I was just smiling in a state of total relaxation. This is what driving is all about. And I haven’t felt it this strongly in years. The W124 has finally arrived in my garage.
I recently built an extra home office at my parents’ house with a fully equipped workstation with thunderbolt docking station, two 1440p screens mounted on a premium gas arm, keyboard, mouse and everything you need. The total price was below 2000 SEK. A brand-new setup with equal performance is likely to cost at least 10000 SEK. With some patience and a clear focus, 2nd hand deals are abundant. There is a lot of money to be saved on this road. For the past years, I have learned to shop at auction sites. Mostly electronics, but the principle holds equally well in other areas too. The limiting factor is time.
Do you recognize this feeling? You are working on a report or a text document, and you proofread it 10 times without finding any errors, and then send it to the printer. While proofreading the physical copy, you often discover several issues within seconds or minutes, that you have been staring at on the screen, completely unable to see. It has happened to me more times than I can count. Moral of the story; By engaging other neural pathways in your brain, you will bring new insights even with very familiar input data. Tonight, I had just that experience in VR.
Nowadays, all cars have electronic parking brakes. This makes me worried, when I consider the declining birth rates and the threat of population collapse. Up until the turn of the millennia, the handbrake was an important component in human reproduction. When a male identified an attractive female, he would usually engage the handbrake and slide the car. This manoeuvre was very effective in attracting female attention, and usually resulted in 2,5 kids and a Volvo on the driveway some years later.
I spoke with a friend today who introduced me to a new concept I haven’t heard before: “Clean desk”. I suppose the idea is to have a flex-office solution where you have a bunch of workstations with laptop docks and then you grab an available one in the morning, and before you leave it should be 100% restored. I have some serious concerns with this approach.