博文
Research needs a good environment and devotion
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For a whole month, I was taking time off for remodeling at home. Each morning, I would take my son to school and then make a quick stop at my office to check my numerical experiments. Since I am only allowed to park next to my office building for 15 mins before 4 pm, there is very little I could do in such a hurry. Still, a quick stop allows me to check new output and submit new jobs. When there is a need, I would return after dinner to spend more time there.
Yesterday was the first time I went back to work with an intention to stay. What a calm feeling that was! Since my office neighbors were either retired or on vacation, I was all by myself. It was so quiet and peaceful…
I was able to review all the recent experiments and make decisions about what to do next. In particular, I regained control of my personal Web page, which was moved to a different server a couple of weeks ago. This Web page is my lifeline to my collaborators, one in Maryland on the east coast, one in India, and one all over the world like a wandering soul. I am on a small island in the mid of the Pacific Ocean, but here is the action center of our NSF-funded project to unlock the mystery behind the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone.
Every day at work (which could be a Saturday or Sunday), I analyze new model output by making various plots and then summarize these results. I condense the information and then post it on the Web. Yes, I am conversing with my computer screen all the time, as I am doing right now, talking to you, my Blog reader.
A Web page is a great tool for research. Even if your collaborators are not so far away, I would still recommend you to try it. Here is why.
1) It helps me to organize my thoughts. I can access it while I am home when sudden an idea comes to me…
2) It is a shared document for a group of people during a conference call. I use it as a PPT. Though my colleagues are supposed to be able to read it without my help, live discussions are always much more fruitful and fun.
3) Web page is “green,” since it’s paperless. No tree branches are wasted. Ok, not totally carbon neutral, since it still uses computers and electricity.
p.s. Thank goodness my home remodeling is winding down. My contractors are great people. Believe it or not, I trust them. (I was taught NOT to trust anyone in U.S., but I think one has to trust someone sometime.) They give me good ideas and want the best for me. Of course, I have to pay for their work. BUT, how often can you pay to get rid of stresses, such as the ONES you would encounter while doing home renovation? I am so glad I can afford hiring these people.
https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-306792-266593.html
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