It snowed briefly last night, but then it switched to rain. Shame...I'm eager to see my first snowstorm of the season.
Today I did work and handled administrative tasks. Based on Shiva's recommendation, I tried the spicy basil noodle dish at Thai Café, and it was actually really good! I had tried something else there before and it sucked, but this one is a winner.
I continued my workout streak. Three days doesn't seem like a lot, but at the end of last semester I was probably working out once a week, if that, so if I can keep this up, it'll be great.
I installed Office 2008 after getting fed up with little bugs that seem to be all over OpenOffice. I like the interface, and so far I haven't noticed any problems. I'm doing a lot of spreadsheet work for my research, and OO kept causing problems, so I'm hoping this will be better.
I'm wondering about whether I should generally try to acquire music in digital or physical form from this point forward. Pros of digital: cheaper, quicker to acquire, nothing to lug around when you move, and better for the environment / pros of CDs: beautiful physical object, decoration for a room. My pros for CDs might sound weak, but I think they're important. I enjoy entering a room with a robust and varied CD collection on a shelf. It's a pleasure to physically scan the labels, pull one out, admire the book, read liner notes, and hold an actual object in your hands. I want to get Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa album, but I don't know which format to get it in. Thoughts?
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
I continued research today, spending the morning writing a report for a conference call later in the day. The call itself went well and I have a good sense of where I'm going with the work over the next few days. Later I worked out, and in general, I followed a healthy routine.
While walking home, I asked Shiva a question that I had been pondering in my research, and we talked about it for the duration of the walk, which was maybe 15 minutes. By the end, a solution had emerged from the conversation. The amazing thing is how powerful even a few minutes of focused dialogue about a topic can be. Of course, St. John's demonstrated this to me repeatedly, but it's easy to forget at MIT. It seems we get inundated with information and have to respond relatively quickly to it and produce some output. Contemplation is an activity that is non-existent on a day-to-day basis. This is a serious problem and one that I will try to address this semester by pacing myself better and trying to zone out distractions. Sometimes sitting and "staring" at a problem, metaphorically speaking, causes a solution to present itself, but it takes time, and at first the problem may seem impossible.
Along these lines, I reinstated my habit of listening to electronica while doing sustained, productive mental work. I got into this while I was doing architecture, and it's a great way to zone out and evoke a mood ideal for intellectual activity. Oooo, but just now I switched over to Arvo Part and it is lovely...
While walking home, I asked Shiva a question that I had been pondering in my research, and we talked about it for the duration of the walk, which was maybe 15 minutes. By the end, a solution had emerged from the conversation. The amazing thing is how powerful even a few minutes of focused dialogue about a topic can be. Of course, St. John's demonstrated this to me repeatedly, but it's easy to forget at MIT. It seems we get inundated with information and have to respond relatively quickly to it and produce some output. Contemplation is an activity that is non-existent on a day-to-day basis. This is a serious problem and one that I will try to address this semester by pacing myself better and trying to zone out distractions. Sometimes sitting and "staring" at a problem, metaphorically speaking, causes a solution to present itself, but it takes time, and at first the problem may seem impossible.
Along these lines, I reinstated my habit of listening to electronica while doing sustained, productive mental work. I got into this while I was doing architecture, and it's a great way to zone out and evoke a mood ideal for intellectual activity. Oooo, but just now I switched over to Arvo Part and it is lovely...
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
I worked on research today, exercised, got coffee with Shiva, and had a conference call. The pleasure of drinking coffee has been greater than normal lately, and my hypothesis is that I am enjoying it more because I am rested and mentally restored, so I already feel good, and I can feel the positive effects of coffee without the noise of fatigue, pain, or other distractions/distortions. Anyway, it has been a pleasure to have a cup over the last few days.
The work is going well, and I'm moving ahead at a nice pace. It's fulfilling to work on one project in a sustained way over a long period of time. I'm also learning a lot about coal, economics, chemistry, energy in general, ecology, and human health. It's a win-win all around.
Among my strategies to maintain a higher level of health for the semester is the strategy of reading and dealing with all new e-mails on a daily basis. At the end of the day my new mail tally should be zero. I seem to average 20-40 per day and the count quickly spirals out of control if I let it slip.
I worried that I might have a hard time working out with the snow on the ground, but it was actually easier than in Media, where the ground is frozen but there's no snow. The reason is that the snow provides some padding, like grass, which allows me to do Samson Stretches (an exercise that requires kneeling and placing weight on the knees).
I read an interesting article from the Boston Globe about psychological studies on cities vs nature. It claimed that urban stimuli are detrimental to the ability to focus and control oneself, while nature restores this capacity. Parks apparently mitigate this effect, and the best parks in this regard are the ones with the most biodiversity. It's interesting to me that urban diversity dulls the mind while biological diversity stimulates the mind. Maybe the researchers are on to something, but I find that the impact of urban phenomena on me depends on the nature of the phenomena and the design of the systems and context in which it happens.
For example, as an anecdote, once I was walking over the Market Street bridge toward Center City in Philadelphia, and to my left I saw a Regional Rail elevated beyond JFK boulevard, a USX freight train passing under the bridge next to the Schuylkill Banks Trail, a plane flying overhead, cars flowing all around me, pedestrians walking in both directions on both sides of the bridge, and a skateboarder skating on a metal curb lip. Above all this was the glimmering lights of the city sky scrapers, to my sides were the lit stone and metal bridges over the river, and below was the river itself, shimmering in the lights and quaking in the wind. This scene struck me as so marvelous with all of its motion, complexity, and to me, sublimity, that I was inspired, felt invigorated, and set my mind to work when I got home. To be fair, the study seems to admit that although they think urban environments dull certain aspects of the brain, they have a superior claim on spurring innovation and creativity through the same diversity and intermingling of people.
The work is going well, and I'm moving ahead at a nice pace. It's fulfilling to work on one project in a sustained way over a long period of time. I'm also learning a lot about coal, economics, chemistry, energy in general, ecology, and human health. It's a win-win all around.
Among my strategies to maintain a higher level of health for the semester is the strategy of reading and dealing with all new e-mails on a daily basis. At the end of the day my new mail tally should be zero. I seem to average 20-40 per day and the count quickly spirals out of control if I let it slip.
I worried that I might have a hard time working out with the snow on the ground, but it was actually easier than in Media, where the ground is frozen but there's no snow. The reason is that the snow provides some padding, like grass, which allows me to do Samson Stretches (an exercise that requires kneeling and placing weight on the knees).
I read an interesting article from the Boston Globe about psychological studies on cities vs nature. It claimed that urban stimuli are detrimental to the ability to focus and control oneself, while nature restores this capacity. Parks apparently mitigate this effect, and the best parks in this regard are the ones with the most biodiversity. It's interesting to me that urban diversity dulls the mind while biological diversity stimulates the mind. Maybe the researchers are on to something, but I find that the impact of urban phenomena on me depends on the nature of the phenomena and the design of the systems and context in which it happens.
For example, as an anecdote, once I was walking over the Market Street bridge toward Center City in Philadelphia, and to my left I saw a Regional Rail elevated beyond JFK boulevard, a USX freight train passing under the bridge next to the Schuylkill Banks Trail, a plane flying overhead, cars flowing all around me, pedestrians walking in both directions on both sides of the bridge, and a skateboarder skating on a metal curb lip. Above all this was the glimmering lights of the city sky scrapers, to my sides were the lit stone and metal bridges over the river, and below was the river itself, shimmering in the lights and quaking in the wind. This scene struck me as so marvelous with all of its motion, complexity, and to me, sublimity, that I was inspired, felt invigorated, and set my mind to work when I got home. To be fair, the study seems to admit that although they think urban environments dull certain aspects of the brain, they have a superior claim on spurring innovation and creativity through the same diversity and intermingling of people.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
I came back today--I took Amtrak to get back up here. It was tough leaving as always, but I'm ready to get started again. The train ride itself was pleasant. I worked on my research for the duration of the trip. There are a few things I notice on that train ride that are striking: 1) the modernist high rise housing right before you leave the boundaries of NYC, on Erskine Place in the Bronx. They're so classic. They could be the textbook entry for American Modernist High-Rise Housing. 2) Norwalk and New London CT. I love old port/industrial cities like that, with the brick factories, narrow streets, and waterfront areas. 3) the building which I assume is the city hall for Providence. It's amazing--that building alone made me ponder what it would be like to live in Providence.
Of course, go Eagles! That was great. Later I did laundry, unpacked, and went grocery shopping. I talked to Drew, who I haven't talked to in a while. It was nice to get caught up and cool to hear he might be in the area soon.
Of course, go Eagles! That was great. Later I did laundry, unpacked, and went grocery shopping. I talked to Drew, who I haven't talked to in a while. It was nice to get caught up and cool to hear he might be in the area soon.
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