Peak life
Peak life

One of the things I enjoy about being a civil engineer is that there is a custom in Sweden that everyone in the business goes on vacation during the three weeks 29-31. In practice, this means that the email and the telephone is completely quiet for three whole weeks. I don’t even have to turn off my work phone or put it into flight mode. And the best part is that my second son arrived precisely two weeks before the building vacation, which meant I could grab my ten days of parental leave and connect five whole weeks with my family. Peak life. However, there was a couple of dark clouds on the horizon which I couldn’t get rid of until this last Friday.

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Engineering, ParentingRikard Öqvistparenting, work, civil engineering, planning, scheduling, mindfulnessComment
Every expense is an education fee
Every expense is an education fee

Have you ever had second thoughts about whether it was the right or wrong decision to buy a product or a service? Or have you been lying awake at night, trying to read up and learn as much as possible about your potential coming purchase? I sure know that I have. However, some years ago I changed my mindset and approach to these questions. Just look at it as education and the price you pay is a course fee. Don’t think about the costs. Think about what you learn instead. Knowledge is invaluable. And that makes it a LOT easier to accept a business decision or investment that didn’t turn out the way you wanted.

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Computer, PhilosophyRikard Öqvisteducation, investment, learning, purchase, decision, RGBComment
Creative starvation
Creative starvation

Isn’t it paradoxical that to stimulate the creative process, you need to increase the difficulty and make it harder for yourself? Time constraints are especially useful in this regard and works very well for me. I.e. unconditionally write and publish a blog post in 30 minutes max. Like I just did with this one. Whatever you do, do not choose the “When it’s done”-approach. Because if you choose that road, the probability increases that you will remain stationary.

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Art, HabitsRikard Öqvistwriting, video, blogging, vlogging, creativity, routine, habits, growthComment
Time to rediscover the world
Time to rediscover the world

When you become a parent, you will discover the world again through your child. You cannot understand how fascinating and amazing it is when the wind rattles the leaves in a tree. But your two-year old sees it instantly and his mind is blown. And you stop and think for a second: “Yes, that is quite amazing actually. I had forgot about that when I became an adult”.

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Parenting, Music, PhilosophyRikard Öqvistparenting, podcasts, books, humanities, reading, listening, musicComment
The diarrhea-diaper cycle
The diarrhea-diaper cycle

Today is the first official vacation day for me, and never before have I felt such an urge to work! But wait a minute, isn’t vacation supposed to be about NOT working? Yes, but there is a difference between work and work. Running on and beyond the cognitive red-line for months on end has consequences and results in cognitive fatigue. No matter how much fun you have at the office. But this summer is unique. I just became a father for the second time and oh boy have I looked forward to all the “work” that follows. However, I would never call it work. Changing diapers on a screaming furious infant is relaxation. Pair it with a dog suffering from diarrhea during the worst thunderstorm I have experienced, and it is like a mental spa-treatment to me. I am now blessed with well-defined problems in abundance, something very different from the cognitively demanding role as an engineer.

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ParentingRikard Öqvistparenting, family, dogs, vacationComment
When is the optimal time to practice?
When is the optimal time to practice?

I always practice a musical instrument 15 minutes per day and have been doing it every day for the past seven years. In these years I have been experimenting with the optimal practice time, and I have tried all of them. What I have found, is that a habit like this works best first thing in the morning. When you open your eyes after a night’s sleep, your mind is fresh and feels like a blank slate. As the day goes on, more and more ideas enter your mind. And at the end of the day, the mind is so full of thoughts and ideas that a night’s sleep is needed to crystalize them, so that the process can start over the next day. That’s why I have found the morning hours to work best, but there are also other factors to consider.

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Habits, MusicRikard Öqvistpractice, consistency, focus, growth, routine, habits, writing Comments
Unlimited willpower
Unlimited willpower

I have heard that a two-year-old can have the willpower to hold their breath until they literally turn blue. Today I witnessed something similar with my two-year-old son. Since last week, we now go on daily dog walks together, and he insists to handle one of our two labradors even though it is twice as heavy as himself. I have never personally witnessed determination or willpower even close to what I have now seen with my son. The dog is strong and pulls him in the wrong direction, he drops the leash, and he loses his balance and falls. A lot. And yet, he will NEVER let me take the leash from him. He shall do it his way, alone.

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Habits, EducationRikard Öqvistdetermination, focus, will, willpower, kids, parentingComment
The Grind
The Grind

It is now 24 months since I decided to learn Bleed by Meshuggah on the drums, as a beginner drummer. This is a totally crazy project, because it is arguably one of the most difficult metal songs ever written. It is also one of the best, and a personal favorite. I can now play all the parts of the song one by one, in somewhat lower tempo. It took almost two years to just understand the riffs. But now the next phase begins, which I call “The Grind”. It is the final push to connect all riffs together and bring the tempo up to the original speed. And paradoxically, this is the easiest part of the whole process!

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Habits, MusicRikard Öqvistmeshuggah, bleed, drums, practice, habits, consistency, 15 minutesComment
Work faster!
Work faster!

How can you get more things done is less time? There’s a viral video with Arnold Schwarzenegger where one of his key points is to simply do things faster. I really like this video. The funniest part is when he tells people who complain that they don’t have time because they need to get enough sleep, to just “Sleep fasta” [Austrian accent]. I am not claiming that sleep is overrated, but Arnie’s got a very good point here. Don’t waste time on things that does not matter. I tried it out this weekend when correcting exams.

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EducationRikard Öqvistexams, students, speed, grading, university, teacherComment
Speed reading
Speed reading

When I came across the concept “speed reading” for the first time a couple of years ago, it kind of blew my mind. I have been reading books wrong my whole life. I have always read the book as if a voice in my head spoke the words to me. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it does take a lot of time to read a book. Especially technical literature. I don’t know why it came as a surprise to me, but it turns our that it is no problem at all to simply read faster. A lot faster.

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Education, HabitsRikard Öqvistreading, speed reading, learning, book, audiobook, listeningComment
Enjoy it while it lasts
Enjoy it while it lasts

When I was a kid, our family used to go to a summer house in the archipelago. And old fisherman hut, far out with no running water and no electricity. There was no shortage of mosquitos, however. I have always kept that summer house in the back of my head as a reference point of how bad the mosquito situation can be. And there hasn’t been any motivation to revise it. At least not until me and my wife moved to our current home.

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PhilosophyRikard Öqvistsummer, carpe diem, present, time, mosquitoComment
A well defined problem
A well defined problem

Have you ever felt the urge to mow your lawn? That’s precisely what happened to me this weekend. The month of May 2021 has been one of the most intense ever, work-wise. I have been developing a university course in Building physics with eleven lectures in the course of four weeks. On top of that I have my regular work as an acoustician. I do love my work, both of them, but there is a problem. They are both extremely cognitively demanding. I am always on the edge, slightly – or even a lot – outside of my comfort zone. That’s why I felt the urge to spend my time on a well defined problem. Like moving the lawn.

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Engineering, HabitsRikard Öqvistwork, relaxation, meditation, stress, focus, productivityComment
Never stop learning
Never stop learning

Throughout May, I have been teaching Building Physics in the course at Umeå University with the same name. The three topics included in the course are acoustics, heat transfer and moisture transfer. I know acoustics by heart and can teach it on autopilot by now. Heat transfer and Moisture transfer on the other hand, is a completely different story. I did not know anything about those topics before this course. And here I am now, teaching the topics that were as new to me as to the students. Can this actually work? Teaching and lecturing in a topic that you are not familiar with is about as scary as it gets.

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Education, EngineeringRikard Öqvistbuilding physics, teaching, education, growth, studyComment
Sound pressure level from E-drums
Sound pressure level from E-drums

The greatest difference between acoustic drums and electronic drums is that you can control the sound pressure level from the electronic drums by turning the volume knob. Whereas an acoustic drum kit will produce a sound pressure level that is what it is. If you want to play rock or metal, you need to hit the drums hard, or it will not sound or feel right. Consequently, the sound pressure level will be very high. The drummer only has one option, and that is to wear proper hearing protection while drumming, or face a near certain risk of permanent hearing loss. With the E-drums on the other hand, you can choose whatever sound pressure level that you like, and your ears will be safe. Or will they?

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Acoustics, MusicRikard Öqvistdrums, edrums, noise, acoustics, sound, hearing, tinnitus, sound insulationComment
Wax on, wax off
Wax on, wax off

When I was a kid, I watched the movie Karate Kid where young Daniel wants to learn Karate and gets old Karate master mr Miyagi to train him. Miyagi lets Daniel clean and polish his cars using the “wax on, wax off” motion. He also lets him clean a terrace and pain a fence, always using special motions with his hands when appying the wax, paint or cleaning water. All in all, Daniel spends lots and lots of time with these activities until he finally snaps and goes furious – “When are you going to teach me Karate?!” It turns out, that is precisely what he has done. The special movements Daniel used in the activities are important Karate moves, and by doing restoration and renovation work, they have just killed two birds with one stone. A lot of works has been done, and Daniel now has the correct movements in his muscle memory.

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Habits, MusicRikard Öqvistmeshuggah, tennis, consistency, practice, habits, mind, 15 minutesComment
Are there similarities between restoring old computers and old cars?
Are there similarities between restoring old computers and old cars?

Since I resurrected my old enormous RGB shining gaming laptop from the dead to a new life as a blog typewriter, I have been trying to figure out if there are any similarities between restoring old computers and for example old American cars? Old cars aren’t really usable as a daily driver either, I told my wife. Yes, but at least old American cars can be beautiful. An old laptop with RGB cannot. She has a point. It got me thinking: Have I ever seen a beautiful computer? I can’t think of one honestly, but I can think of several beautiful cars. Both are tools meant to be used, so what is it that cars have that old computers doesn’t seem to have?

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ComputerRikard Öqvistlinux, dell, computer, retro computers, blogging, writing, focus, productivity, reuse, recycling, sustainabilityComment
Do not sugar-coat your words
Do not sugar-coat your words

In the last 5-10 years I have been losing my hair. It started as a little bald spot on the top of my head, which grew and was later joined by a second smaller one on the back of my head. It’s actually not that easy to spot when you look in the mirror, but from behind or above, the hair loss is obvious. I could have painted a big H in the spot and used it as a helipad for small drones. When I became aware of it, I simply decided to just get rid of it all with a clipper, because it was NOT a flattering look. Instead, I let my beard grow out. I have been visiting my barber regularly for at least five years, and I have listened to and followed their advice on what kind of hair- and beard cut I should rock. But a week ago, my wife started to read up on men’s hairstyle and bald shaving. She suspected that I would look much better if we chose the razer instead of the clipper the next time it was time to trim the hair. So, we did it, and oh boy what an upgrade it was!

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StyleRikard Öqvistshaving, bald, buzzcut, hairstyle, mensfashion, razorComment
The definition of insanity
The definition of insanity

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expect different results, a wise man once said. However, there is an exception to that rule: Computers. From my experience, trying the same thing and expecting a different result is usually the first thing I try when my IT gives up. And the success rate is high enough to keep doing it. Technology is wonderful when it works. I love technology. It might also be the thing that most effectively can send my pulse to 300 bpm while I am screaming on the top of my lungs (my kind of anger management). I suppose my family is grateful that I am often in another building when the glitch gremlin strikes.

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Engineering, Habits, PhilosophyRikard Öqvisttechnology, it, glitch gremlin, linux, tools, writing, bloggingComment
Resurrecting the Behemoth
Resurrecting the Behemoth

I am writing this blog on a laptop from 2006, running an operating system that was released in 2021: Linux Mint 20.1. I have been using PC:s since 1995 and I remember the “good old days” in the second half of the 1990’s. You bought a high-end PC for a small fortune and it would last a year or two until it became an unusable brick, at least with regards to gaming. The performance increases with each generation was extreme back then. But in the late noughties, things began to change with the release of multi-core processors, hyperthreading and 64 bit support. The growth has continued for sure, and Moore’s law implies the growth is exponential. But with regards to the user experience, to me it seems like the computers got fast enough to run most important software, even when they got old. It’s as if the hardware improvements grew much faster than the system requirements of software. I mean the kind of software that you need to have a basic computing experience and not the latest games or special applications.

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EngineeringRikard Öqvistlinux, windows 10, operating system, hardware, dell, retro computers, linux mint, open sourceComment
VR Motion sickness
VR Motion sickness

Many years ago, I tried Virtual Reality (VR) for the first time. It was the Oculus Rift developers kit, one of the very first Head Mounted Displays (HMD) that was the result of a KickStarter campaign in 2012. It looked like a pair of ski goggles superglued to an iPad. I remember that I went for a ride on a rollercoaster that was extreme, even with some jumps. I played around for about 15 minutes and then suffered from severe motion sickness for about three hours. The concept was extremely cool, but clearly the technology had a long way to go. Last week I pulled the trigger and got my first VR HMD (HP Reverb G2). My gut feeling is that the technology is now mature enough to provide a lot of value. In the coming months, I will evaluate how VR can be used in civil engineering and acoustics.

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Acoustics, EngineeringRikard Öqvistvr, virtual reality, acoustics, engineering, civil engineering, ifcComment