Quality time
Quality time

My oldest son (5yo) is a petrolhead and loves anything with an engine. That’s why I got the brilliant idea of using up a bunch of airline and hotel bonus points to book a father-son weekend in Stockholm. We would go on an airplane, buses, trams, trains, and metro. Those things that I usually couldn’t like even if I tried, but with petrolhead junior, just about any boring chore can be fun again. What a blessing it is to experience it all once again through him. We threw in a couple of museums and a zoo into the equation too.

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DiaryRikard Öqvistparenting, travellingComment
The importance of a clean mind
The importance of a clean mind

One of the most important lessons I have learned from my weekly writing is the importance of a clean mind before writing. The first hundred posts or so, I wrote first thing in the morning. And the past few months it has usually been the final activity before bed. That implies a very high probability that I have recently used my smart phone just before writing. Or watched something on YouTube or read something… whatever. It doesn’t matter because the effect is the same. It feels almost impossible to come up with something original topic when you have saturated your mind with someone else’s thoughts.

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Habits, DiaryRikard Öqvistwriting, focus, habitsComment
Dreams and stress
Dreams and stress

I just exited a streak of around ~100 work hours in nine days. It has been quite high stress level in general and intense periods of focus. It is fascinating how the body enters a high alert state and how I have been able to function in a state of sleep depravation with sometimes down to 4 hours per night. But today, when I finally lowered my guard and rest mode activates, I was unable to stay awake at all. The mental realisation that the crunch is over for now, takes a bit of time to process into a physical realisation. It is a damn nice feeling though when it happens.

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DiaryRikard Öqviststress, burnout, work, healthComment
Steve jobs on consulting
Steve jobs on consulting

Steve Jobs once did a speech on consulting and how crucial it is for learning and improvement to “stick around” for a long time, several years, to fully “own” the consequences of your recommendations. I have worked as a consultant most of my professional life and it hit very close to home. In the building industry where I am an acoustic consultant, the delay between your first advice to a client to the finalized building is measured in years. And I am finally getting old enough to seeing several of “my” projects materialize. It is equally scary and wonderful.

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Acoustics, EngineeringRikard Öqvistacoustics, consulting, wisdom, construction, buildingsComment
Retro gaming on period-correct or modern systems
Retro gaming on period-correct or modern systems

EA had a big sale recently on Steam where they released the whole original Command and Conquer series. All the old original games, no remastered editions. I really enjoy these old gems for nostalgia and the occasional retro LAN party, and getting them on Steam helps a lot, because it has been difficult or even impossible to play them for a long time. A Steam release is thus perfect for simplicity. I messaged my retro pals and gave them a tip on the sale. In the conversation I jokingly said that the best way to enjoy the original games is on proper Retro hardware with spinning discs. Surprisingly, my joke turned out to be the truth.

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ComputerRikard Öqvistretro, gaming, pcComment
To long for the dentist
To long for the dentist

Two weeks ago, I tried out a proper toothache for the first time. It was just as enjoyable as it sounds. I don’t know why it is perceived worse than for example a pain in a leg or an arm? I’ve had my fair share of those, and I don’t recall it to ever being as bad. Maybe it is because pain in your teeth is inside your head, and if you ask anyone where they “are” in their body, I guess that many would consider their brain as the most important part of the machinery where your soul resides. And in that case, the closer any physical pain gets to the perceived center of your soul, the more painful it becomes? You can’t hide from it or think about something else when you have a migraine.

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DiaryRikard ÖqvistComment
Tech-savvy kids
Tech-savvy kids

This weekend I had a big wow experience. I introduced my five-year-old son to Minecraft. I just put a gamepad in his hands, and a short time later, I glanced at the screen and stopped in my tracks. He had just built a little house with a kitchen and a library, with an additional lookout tower complete with an internal ladder to get to the top. To keep the monsters away, there were some bonfires and torches. The learning curve will never cease to amaze me. It is not too long ago that he was pushing the go pedal in Mario Kart straight into a wall. Fast-forward 1-2 years and he beats me. And now he’s creating things in Minecraft. Playing a first- or third-person game is more challenging than understanding a racing game. It is mind-boggling how fast it happened.

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Computer, Diary, ParentingRikard Öqvistminecraft, computer, gaming, parentingComment
Analogies between AI and Wooden buildings
Analogies between AI and Wooden buildings

Since almost ten years, I have been doing a yearly guest lecture at my old university. In the beginning of my presentation, I use a couple of slides where I demonstrate Moore´s law, and how the fastest supercomputer on Earth was beaten by a Playstation less than ten years later. Then I move on to demonstrate where we are now and a hint where we are going. I usually look up what is the state of the art shortly before the lecture, and every time I notice that the monster computer that was the king of the hill, was already old news. And indeed, progress is accelerating. But what does this have to do with wooden constructions?

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EngineeringRikard Öqvistacoustics, wood, timber, buildings, AI, moores lawComment
The best Valentine’s day
The best Valentine’s day

Yesterday was one of the best days ever. I had to take a full day and take care of my sick little two-year-old. Usually, me and my wife try to do some damage control by sharing it, but this time she was completely swamped, and I wasn’t, for the first time in forever. Previous days when I have attempted sick kid leave, I have always had to take some phone calls or listen in on some meeting on one ear. But finally, I could just let it all go for a day. It really makes a difference.

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ParentingRikard Öqvistfamily, parenting, dad, relationship, kidsComment
Why routines are critical
Why routines are critical

Oh, how easy it is to lose a habit. This is my 218th weekly blog post, but a couple of weeks ago I stopped caring about which day I should publish it. It used to be Mondays, almost without fault for a couple of years. And here I am, Sunday evening, in the final hours of this week before my habit is officially broken. It is interesting that these things always seem to gravitate towards “I’ll do it later”. But later usually never comes. Obviously, it can never work if you don’t follow a routine. Lesson learned.

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Diary, HabitsRikard Öqvistblog, writing, habits, consistencyComment
Similarities between a loving wife and a synthesizer
Similarities between a loving wife and a synthesizer

A wise old mate of mine once said that one of the most important things you learn when you get older, is the ability to “snap back to normal” when you get upset, angry, anxious, or whatever other negative feelings that wash over you. I can totally relate. When I was younger, I could get stuck in a negative thought loop for days. And that is very pointless. Currently at 41 years of age, I have improved significantly in this regard. It is much rarer that I get stuck in the same way. There might be two reasons for this. 1) My “snap-back ability” has improved and 2) Maybe I don’t get nearly as angry nowadays? If you decrease the amplitude, you won’t have to cover as much distance to get back to normal. Could it perhaps be that most of it comes back to reason 2)? In that case, it would certainly feel as if 1) comes with the package.

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Music, FamilyRikard Öqvistmarriage, love, emotions, audio, synthesizer, musicComment
A fresh perspective
A fresh perspective

One of the items on my bucket list this Christmas was to play Nintendo Wii with my boys. However, when you do not own a TV, it becomes a proper challenge. I did have a quick and dirty solution in my sleeve, though. In my drum rehearsal room, I have an old 37” TV mounted on a speaker stand with a VESA mount, to use as a practice teleprompter. This was a simple “drag and drop” operation and the couch gaming was on. But when the holidays ended, we realized that it is quite nice to have a big screen in the living room. We haven’t seen this many movies in ages, so there is a lot of catching up to do. The primary reason we do not own a TV is that our living room floor plan cannot provide a proper setup or placement of the TV/Sofa combination if you aren’t prepared to accept some feng shui from Hell. But we finally figured it out, by thinking outside the box.

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Acoustics, DiaryRikard Öqvistgenelec, home cinema, TV, nintendo, homeComment
A miracle
A miracle

A couple of days ago, my car thermometer showed -34 C when I was on my way to pick up some fresh groceries. This is very cold even for someone like me and should be treated with respect. A car breakdown in the middle of nowhere can be dangerous. I was driving in my snowmobile clothes, with an extra jacket in the back, just in case. Nothing dramatic happened. While driving in my air-conditioned home cinema on four wheels in weather conditions that start to resemble another planet, I couldn’t stop thinking about how unbelievably grateful I am for pretty much everything. The planet does its best to kill me every single day, especially so during the insane cold, and still, I can go about my day without issues, in comfort that kings of the past could not even dream about. Honestly, it is a miracle that anything works at all. And not only that, but it also works really well too, for the most part. This is clearly something to be grateful for.

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DiaryRikard Öqvistwinter, cold, grateful, countrylifeComment
KISS - Do not disturb!
KISS - Do not disturb!

One of the things that come with the package of self-employment is the inability to take prolonged vacations. On one hand, it is obvious that it would be amazing to check out from work 100% during the Christmas and new years holidays. To completely get rid of that nagging feeling that you always have some mandatory “homework” can really bring peace of mind and well needed rest. On the other hand, working when everyone else is in vacay mode, has made me realize how brutally my productivity is destroyed by constant interruptions.

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Habits, PhilosophyRikard Öqvistfocus, habits, productivity, mindfulnessComment
Priorities
Priorities

When consistency has been established in any domain, it becomes very difficult to break it. However, habits that are so perfectly chosen, that they should stay with you for life are few and far between. The very first habit that comes to mind is marriage. I cannot figure out any conceivable path that would be better in any way shape or form. There might be a handful more, and I can think of a couple of them that work for me personally, but I cannot think of anything more generally applicable. So how do you know when the time has come to ditch one or two of your habits?

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HabitsRikard Öqvistconsistency, focus, christmas, family, timeComment
Willpower and habit formation
Willpower and habit formation

Christmas rush at work, a man cold, and severe sleep depravation after a morning flight. And a whole bunch of sleep depraved nights before that. I am quite sure that the cold is a consequence of an immune system that is just as tired as me. A bit of proper sleep would probably do the trick, if there were enough clock hours. The energy reserves are gone, I am running on fumes now just hanging in there for the final check out on Friday. It is times like these that things are really put to the test. How much do I really want to write this blog post and practice my drums? To go to bed right now, is the easiest sell in the world.

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Habits, MusicRikard Öqvistwriting, drumming, habits, consistencyComment
Sleep
Sleep

Today I felt about 10-20 IQ points smarter. I suspect there is a strong correlation to me getting a full ten hours of sleep with my boys. They had been on a vacation over at the grandparents, and on Friday I went to pick them up and stayed over the weekend. It is quite rare to get that amount of sleep as a parent and dog owner, so I made sure not to miss the occasion. Now, a funny thought has stuck on repeat: I probably did not get smarter by sleeping. I have simply got a glimpse of my normal self in contrast to the regular sleep deprived guy.

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DiaryRikard Öqvistsleep, winterComment
Physical meetings will never be replaced, pt II.
Physical meetings will never be replaced, pt II.

Last Saturday we threw a surprise 40-year anniversary party for an old friend. At the event, I met a whole bunch of my old friends. The wise saying that “you will never gain any new old friends” comes to mind. Anyway, let’s elaborate further on last week’s topic of physical vs online meetings. An event like this is the definite proof of how irreplaceable real social interaction is.

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Diary, ParentingRikard Öqvistfriends, friendship, time, kids, parenting
Physical meetings will never be replaced
Physical meetings will never be replaced

Have you ever had that feeling in a Teams meeting where you interrupt each other by starting a new sentence “simultaneously”? And then you realize your interruption, so you go quiet, wait a little and start again because it seems as if the other person is giving you the que to go ahead, only to interrupt each other again. This almost never happens when you are talking to someone in the same room. I think the crucial difference here is latency. Over Teams, you introduce a handful of precious milliseconds, and they can make a world of difference. This is analogous to playing music in a band. To play in time, “tight”, the latency must be very low. This is also the reason why it is almost impossible to play music together online.

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Acoustics, EngineeringRikard Öqvistcommunication, internet, latency, music, conversationComment