Introversion

Spent the weekend in Latvia. Some kind of a supervisors and trainees event. 8-hour bus drives. Finished the Buddha's biography. Showed the book to some colleagues, students. One colleague considered it too religious (I found it strange). I showed the rear cover to the student from India because the book had been written by a buddhist community located close to his home.

During the event, each of us had to introduce ourselves and say something personal.

One student said he likes to practice mindfulness meditation. Asked him about it later. He said he uses it for very specific reasons: stress relief, improving productivity, increased happiness, etc. He said "advanced meditators can induce self-hallucinations". I said "advanced meditators can induce hallucinations that become a collective reality". Then discussed some OBE and pk stuff. He left and did not talk to me again. Yup, I came across as a looney but whatever.

Another student said he likes gaming. Asked him about it later. He said he's planning to develop games much like what his brother is doing. He also had a strong interest in manga and anime. I listed the titles of some of my favourite anime, most in japanese. We were both amazed at my memory. It later turned out that almost everyone in his family had tried dowsing. He was quite open-minded about pk stuff.

I said I didn't know what personal I could say about myself. A colleague suggested "conspiracies", so I just highlighted that. On our way back, I found a great conspiracy (thanks to reddit, ofc): http://sentinelkennels.com/Research_Article_V41.html. Basically, back in 2000 John Cadman performed the fluid dynamics and acoustics analysis of the Giza pyramids. Based on some old photos and measurements, he made a replica and it worked as a hydraulic ram pump. However, being a pump was merely the secondary function. It also extracted hydrogen and produced electricity. Amazing. When I saw the underground chamber with the fins, angled holes and so on, I caught a glimpse of what it might've felt like to design and build such things.

Got engaged in a discussion about QLED displays, only to realize that my colleagues (physics PhD students) haven't even heard of quantum dots, and find them sci-fi-like. Also discussed metamaterials with a material physicist (one of the trainees) and found that he had also missed out on most of the wonders of material science.

Tried to share the big find (Giza pump) with others on the bus. However, I doubt anyone has even clicked on the link in the past few days. While on the way back home, I re-realized the encouraging effects of my old mantra: "I'm alone in this universe, and except for myself, there is nobody to understand me." This relieved a lot of tension again, and encouraged me to keep on going. Weather became cold and rainy, though (opposed to the record-hot May).

Was asked to a corporate sauna yesterday. Said "probably not" at first, as I saw it as another opportunity to practice the mantra and humility. The place was awesome, actually. Great respect for the nature there .. very humbling. Suggested a way to approach the task of coming up with a long-term vision for the company. It could be seen in their eyes that they opened up to a whole new way of looking at things. Discussed some future trends as well.

Pre-delivery meeting with the client and prime of a project. The project where I've been alone for about a year. It was idle for some time, now need to work on it again. But also need to work for the company, as well as supervise students .. and this year I need to find time for a vacation. That sweet mantra would allow to improve concentration as well as get through these tough times.