Blog — Creative Acoustician

Creative Acoustician

How to maintain a habit

How to maintain a habit

I was defeated by life once again yesterday, by failing to publish my weekly blog post every Monday. Still, two times out of 197 consecutive weeks isn’t too shabby. But as I suspected back when I missed the first one, the chance that it would happen again increased tremendously. But a week with several deliveries in combination with sick kids for several days is just a combination that cannot add up. Not without giving the middle finger to your wife at least, but it was not worth it. Instead, I have been thinking about potential solutions to the problem of how to maintain a weekly writing habit.

HabitsRikard ÖqvistSeptember 12, 2023consistency, habits, writing, willpowerComment

Practice until you never fail

Practice until you never fail

Mostly, it is very easy to do the weekly brain dump that is my blog. Tonight, I feel rather empty. Strange. But it is the same pattern with my daily musical exercise. Some days are just totally off. The solution is fortunately extremely easy. Just do the task anyway. I am just too critical of myself and even if this will be my worst post so far, it will still be 1000X better than no piece at all. The unconditional importance of carrying on cannot be overstated. Besides, these worst days are the best and most important. They will ruthlessly reveal how good of a writer, or drummer or whatever you are. No-one cares what you can do on a good day. It is the bad day that counts. Don’t practice to win, if you want to become very good at something. Practice until you never fail instead.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistSeptember 4, 2023incremental improvement, practice, habits, exerciseComment

I am a grumpy old man

I am a grumpy old man

Some 10-20 years ago, it was standard practice to download games, movies, and music. The reason was simple, it was a lot easier and better than any commercial offer. Personally, I haven’t done any piracy download or torrents the past ten years. And the reason is just as simple; the commercial offerings became so good that it was a no-brainer to go fully legit. That, and the fact that I now had a steady income instead of being a dirt-poor student. But this weekend I got sick and tired when I was trying to buy a movie legit, but it was just not possible. I took me around 30 minutes until I had managed to get the movie to start on my iPad. It would have been way easier to just fire up a Torrent client like back in the days. And that is a bit sad in the year of the Lord 2023. It felt as if I had moved backwards.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistAugust 28, 2023VHS, rental, movies, video game, DVD, progressComment

Retro LAN party

Retro LAN party

“Error: Keyboard not detected. Press F1 to continue or DEL to enter setup”. This is not a joke. It is a brilliant real-world error message that I got this Saturday during our retro-LAN while running four Windows 98-powered battle stations. What a magnificent weekend, to meet up with four very old friends for a trip down memory lane. Gaming together on period correct hardware in a single room. Easily one of the funniest things I have done in about two decades.

Computer, DiaryRikard ÖqvistAugust 22, 2023gaming, pcmr, retro, friends, friendshipComment

What’s the point?

What’s the point?

My life for the past ten years has been an intense ride. Starting a family and changing the direction of your career has a steep price on the sleep account, among other things. The past week, however, one thing has been stuck in my head. If you never have time to hang out with friends or family, what’s the point?

Diary, ComputerRikard ÖqvistAugust 14, 2023friendship, retro computers, family, career, lifeComment

Close but no cigar

Close but no cigar

Repainting a garage sounded easy at first. Four weeks of vacation was plenty of time. On paper, it would have worked. Never has time evaporated more quickly for me. I strongly disagree with victim mentality, but in this case the primary reason for the missed deadline can be blamed primarily on external factors: Stomach sickness in sunny weather and Constant rain while healthy.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistAugust 7, 2023diy, painting, house, renovationComment

Pod detox

Pod detox

Earlier today, while repainting our garage, my wife came up with the expression “Pod detox”. We have been painting for days on end now, often more than 10 hours per day. Neither of us have listened to any music, audiobooks or podcasts during these days. Usually, I listen constantly to conversations or audiobooks, so it has been a new (old) experience for me to only listen to silence. It is just like it was before, only that I had forgotten how to do it.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistJuly 31, 2023podcast, music, audiobook, silence, focus, diyComment

Ownership is sustainability

Ownership is sustainability

We are currently re-painting our houses, starting with the dog kennel and the garage the first year. The houses haven’t even been cleaned for a very long time, perhaps never, and it is a massive undertaking, at least three years. To outsource it would cost a small fortune and it isn’t that difficult to do a half-decent job so we went the DIY route to invest the money in more challenging tasks like plumbing and construction. However, things are only free if your time has no value. And time is the most precious commodity of all. Projects like these really highlight the importance of choosing a place you call home that you love.

Philosophy, DiaryRikard ÖqvistJuly 24, 2023sustainability, home, ownership, diy, renovationComment

Home = Vacation

Home = Vacation

A common conception regarding vacation is to travel somewhere. To change your everyday environment for something else. I used to think exactly that way for most of my adult life, until we moved to our house. Now, I want to go on vacation to go home, which is the precise anti-thesis to my previous stance. There is no place on Earth I would rather want to be than home. How did that happen?

Diary, ParentingRikard ÖqvistJuly 17, 2023vacation, home, parenting, travelling, road tripComment

I failed

I failed

For the past ten years, I have been practicing a musical instrument for 15 minutes per day. But in the past couple of days, I finally faced conditions too challenging to prevail. On the night between Wednesday and Thursday, both my boys decided to reenact Gary’s puking scene from Team America simultaneously. It was without a doubt the worst I have ever seen with regards to stomach sickness. And shortly after the boys had re-generated, it was my turn to do my own interpretation of the classic scene. As horrible as stomach sickness can be, I had a real eye-opening experience.

Diary, HabitsRikard ÖqvistJuly 10, 2023meditation, focus, health, habitsComment

It takes very little to make things nice

It takes very little to make things nice

Last Thursday I had one of the best cups of tea ever and on Friday I visited the nicest public toilet in a gas station ever. And it was all because of unforeseen events that messed up my original plans. It was a great reminder about how important it is to always snap back into normal mode as quickly as humanly possible and not be upset. If your thoughts are elsewhere, you will certainly miss a lot of opportunities. Good planning and preparation is my personal savior in this regard.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistJuly 4, 2023mindset, peace, acoustics, road trip, travellingComment

How to get 1% more of something that has infinite value

How to get 1% more of something that has infinite value

The most invisible form of wasted time is doing a good job on an unimportant task. This quote comes from James Clear, and I like it very much because it hits so close to home. When doing a good job, I usually feel good or even great afterwards. Hence, it becomes very easy to soldier on without much afterthought. The key issue here is how to determine what is an important or unimportant task. For that, I think you need some kind of judgement. And I have never had any better judges than my kids.

Philosophy, ParentingRikard ÖqvistJune 26, 2023father, children, focus, prioritiesComment

Rules for thee but not for me

Rules for thee but not for me

To be a good father, i.e., a proper role model, is exceptionally difficult. I have been thinking hard about some very difficult questions for the past month or so, and it feels as if my brain is about to melt. As I observe my boys growing up, I am obviously worried about some of the destructive elements of western culture that they will encounter sooner or later. The best wisdom to follow here is of course “practice what you preach”. The kids couldn’t care less about what I tell them to do if I don’t act it out myself first.

Parenting, PhilosophyRikard ÖqvistJune 20, 2023parenting, father, kids, addiction, screen timeComment

Fifteen minutes a day keeps the divorce away – pt II.

Fifteen minutes a day keeps the divorce away – pt II.

A month ago I wrote a piece about our newfound morning routine; A coffee between 06:20 and 06:30 with my wife. By now, we should be around two months into the habit. It’s not like I would consider our marriage problematic – not even close – but the general improvements in life quality I have seen in this very short time is mind-boggling. I read many years ago that some Buddhist monk or something said that the last thing you do before you go to bed determines the quality of your sleep. And the first thing you do after waking up determines the quality of your day. This quote has stuck with me and pops up in my mind from time to time. The morning coffee must be a perfect example of the latter part of the quote.

Habits, Parenting, PhilosophyRikard ÖqvistJune 12, 2023family, routine, mornings, sleep, relationship, marriage, loveComment

Dreams never lie

Dreams never lie

On the night between the 1st and 2nd of June, I dreamt that I could play the drums exceptionally well. It felt as if a very important lock snapped into place. I have kept a daily dream journal since around 2017, so by now I have a pretty good idea of what happens when I sleep. With this dream journal, I have seen strong correlations between dream and reality in that important milestones are often presented in a dream. It is as if my subconscious mind has figured something important out. The feeling is like learning to ride a bike. Certain things you learn are life-altering. Once you have figured out how to ride a bike, you cannot un-learn it. I am soon in my fourth year of daily drum practice. And after this dream, I have played better than ever before, with a big margin. Coincidence?

Habits, PhilosophyRikard ÖqvistJune 5, 2023dreams, sleep, health, music, journalComment

You cannot buy class

You cannot buy class

Last week I was lucky enough to spot two Aston Martins, one of which was a super-rare custom edition (only about 300 produced) and get a private presentation of the car. We were having dinner at a restaurant in a small village in Schweiz when my petrolhead colleague told me that something very special had just pulled up outside. I love anything with an engine that produces a good noise and curiously went out to have a look for myself. I was really blown away by what might have been the most beautiful car I have ever seen. A Vantage V12 in the perfect color – British Racing Green – with equally green rims, golden brake calipers and details, and brown two-color leather trim.

Diary, StyleRikard ÖqvistMay 29, 2023car, style, class, gentleman, petrolheadComment

Memory triggers

Memory triggers

I read somewhere that smell is one of the strongest sensations we have, and that it is strongly connected to memory. Indeed, I can easily remember the smell of things, when I was as young as my own son is now. And perhaps even further back in time than that. I do not know whether this is true or not, but if smell is one of the senses that evolves first and that it serves an important function to protect us from danger, it makes sense to me. This weekend I had several strong memories wash over me induced by odor sensation. Combine it with some auditory sensation and you can get very powerful memory triggers.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistMay 22, 2023sense, sensation, memory, smell, sound, focusComment

Fifteen minutes a day keeps the divorce away.

Fifteen minutes a day keeps the divorce away.

A couple of weeks ago, me and my wife introduced a good habit. Between 06:20 and 06:30 we enjoy a fresh cup of coffee together. At this time, the sun has just risen above the sea, bathing everything in golden light while the boys and dogs are sleeping. There is zero chance that you will be interrupted by a phone call or an email or just about anything. Those ten minutes per day will add up incrementally over time to something very special. A relationship is the sum of 10 000 atomized tiny actions.

Diary, Parenting, Philosophy, HabitsRikard ÖqvistMay 15, 2023routine, ritual, habit, marriage, children, parenting, relationshipComment

Luck favors the prepared

Luck favors the prepared

I was interrupted mid-sentence by a literal bloodbath outside my window. A sea eagle struck its prey, a smaller sea bird. At first, I couldn’t even tell what it had caught because there was too much blood. I was in the middle of a Teams meeting and I completely lost my tongue. Sea eagles are mighty creatures of the sky, and it is difficult not to be in awe when you see them, with their wingspan of up to 240 cm. This could have been one of those moments when you wish that you had a DSLR with a telephoto lens mounted. But instead, I managed to snap the best picture I have ever taken.

PhotographyRikard ÖqvistMay 8, 2023nature, photography, preparationComment

A smile can change everything.

A smile can change everything.

Last week I spent four hotel nights at various locations, but they were all hotels in the same chain – Scandic. It was interesting to see how much the experience can vary, even though it is the same in so many ways. The last two hotels in Uppsala and Gävle were especially noteworthy because the rooms were so nearly identical that I would probably not have been able to tell which one was which if I had randomly teleported to one of them.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistMay 1, 2023hotel, service, breakfast, smileComment