The nostalgic filter
The nostalgic filter

One of my favourite PC games was Diablo 2 from around year 2000. I have countless hours in that game. And recently, Blizzard released a resurrected version with updated graphics for modern systems. It is a perfect cash-grab targeting guys like me, but honestly, it is still a very good game so I bought it instantly. I was just too curious to find out what the magicians over at Blizzard could achieve with modern tech. The way that system performance has improved according to Moores law compared to 20 years ago is almost incomprehensible. They have also implemented a button in the game that instantly toggles between legacy mode and modern graphics. When I pushed that button my jaw dropped.

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ComputerRikard Öqvistpcgaming, diablo, nostalgia, memoryComment
Flight Simulator in VR
Flight Simulator in VR

When I first tried Microsoft Flight Simulator about a year ago, it was the most impressive thing I had ever done on a PC. The ability to fly literally anywhere in the world cannot be described, it must be experienced personally. Now, Microsoft has also implemented support for Virtual Reality, which makes something that was already awesome even more impressive. If your PC has the horsepower to drive it, it is by leaps and bounds the coolest thing I have ever done on a computer. The only thing that comes remotely close would be the first time I tried the Super Nintendo for the first time.

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ComputerRikard ÖqvistMicrosoft Flight Simulator 2020, Eurofighter, flying, VR, virtual realityComment
Don't miss it
Don't miss it

The company Kodak had a slogan many years ago – The Kodak Moment. That was a very good tagline that meant that the best photos aren’t the ones that are staged and prepared. The best ones are taken in the spur of the moment. Because they are real. The picture you see here is one of those moments. I was visiting my great grandmother this weekend with my family, and when I was playing around with my son I looked out through the window and the view stunned me. The lake was literally 100 % calm, like a mirror. Not a single ripple on the water. I knew instantly that this was a picture that was to be taken now or never. So, I grabbed my phone and took the shot right through the window. It turned out pretty good. This is one of the best things about modern smartphones. A great camera is always nearby when you need it.

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Philosophy, ParentingRikard Öqvistphotography, children, photo, smartphone, camera Comments
Rome wasn’t built in one day
Rome wasn’t built in one day

The year 2020 and 2021 have resulted in some interesting alternatives for live music. With most concerts cancelled, some artists went online instead and started to livestream. I personally find this approach very interesting for several reasons. The ability to play live to anyone in the world is the primary factor. And the possibility to experience it even after the concert is over is another. It opens a whole new forum for musicians to interact with their followers. However, I do suspect there is a huge technical barrier for many musicians. Personally, I love to figure out how things work and bang my head on a problem until I find a “perfect” solution. Learning how to livestream drums AND play the drums at the same time might perhaps be my most ambitious and rewarding project yet. Because there is no end in sight of technical problems to be solved!

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MusicRikard Öqvistlivestreaming, music, drums, edrums, videoComment
Pre-internet memories
Pre-internet memories

When I was a kid, I had a Lego semi-trailer truck that must have been one of my very first sets (I was too young to remember). It was released in 1984 when I was two years old. I cannot ever remember this set ever being built. It had some special pieces with stickers, so I knew it was there. Here’s the catch: The instruction manual was shredded (probably by yours truly), and I only had some fragments but not enough to build the set. This has frustrated me sub-consciously for about 37 years. Until now.

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Philosophy, EngineeringRikard Öqvistlego, memory lane, progress, grotwth, ai, futureComment
You had ONE job
You had ONE job

This weekend we decided to go all in on potty training our son. The plan was simple. Bring out all of dad’s old Legos and just play with them and observe and act when necessary. It worked very well but there was a small bump in the road. You will be hard pressed to figure out which one of us had more fun with the Legos. I remember thinking to myself, whatever you do don’t let him pee on the carpet. Seconds later, I turned around, and he hasn’t just peed on the carpet, but right in the middle of the poor old instruction manual… I had so much fun building Legos down memory lane that I completely forgot my important job.

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Parenting, PhilosophyRikard Öqvistlego, dad, parenting, memory lane, focusComment
Progress is like a puzzle
Progress is like a puzzle

When laying a puzzle, I usually start with the edges and create the frame. Those parts are the easiest to identify and combine, because it is obvious where they should go. After the frame is completed, I then pick out some key part of the motive. A couple of years ago me and my wife built some geography puzzles of a world map, and one such key part could have been to “let´s build Africa”. And then the other components. Finally, we laid down the oceans, which are all blue and thus by far the most difficult. That’s why they came last. Because without a framework it is almost impossible to place them at all. A very interesting fact about puzzles is that the closer you get to the goal, the speed of the building process accelerates. Just think about how quick you will lay down the final three pieces compared to the first three!

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Habits, MusicRikard Öqvistmeshuggah, bleed, puzzle, progess, growth, habits, 15 minutesComment
Road trip
Road trip

This last weekend I experienced freedom of a kind I haven’t felt in years. I went on a road trip with my 2,5-year-old son Elis and my Labrador Jussi. I had been looking forward to this trip and been prepping the whole week. Elis is now old enough that he is no problem at all to travel with. And he loves anything with an engine so long car journeys are pure fun. We would spend the night south of Luleå at my friend’s house. After a quick stop in Skellefteå where we both had a smoothie as a snack something unexpected happened, that made the road trip even more enjoyable. Around 21:30 Elis suddenly decided to replicate Gary´s puke scene from Team America in the front seat of my car.

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Parenting, TravelRikard Öqvistdad, child, parenting, road trip, travelling, familyComment
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