Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev.

Over a four km distance, there’s a 15-meter elevation change, and it’s enough for nearly half an hour just to go one way, and the other – the descent – takes only 12 minutes. However, walking takes 50.

Of course, having a motor button for the ascent and a brake button for the descent would be helpful. Pumping uphill is still somewhat challenging. I’m still learning to switch legs when pushing off. And it’s tough on narrow descents where the board accelerates too quickly, and there are no brakes 😉

An interesting interview, or, I don’t know, a conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc3KM4CwHh8

What are some reliable methods (besides Russian Post) for sending jewelry from Russia to the USA that are also cost-effective? It’s a very small package.

Or perhaps someone is traveling there in the coming month.

The story of the discovery of DNA is very intriguing. In my opinion, it’s the biggest breakthrough of humanity overall, along with genome editing and CRISPR (discovery of antibiotics would come next, but that’s not the current subject). So, James Watson and Francis Crick, as is well-known, were behind the DNA double helix discovery. Effectively, these guys took their place between Einstein and Newton in terms of importance and impact, which was recognized by the Nobel Committee in 1962.

Then, 15 years ago, Watson ventured into the touchy subject of racial inequality. His words “All our social policy is based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours. Though all studies show that it’s not the case” shocked the scientific community. He immediately became a controversial figure and was soon ostracized from many circles he had been part of for decades.

Later he nearly apologized (“I couldn’t have said such a thing”), but for another documentary on PBS, he reverted to his previous stance: “There is a certain difference between whites and blacks when you look at IQ tests. I would say that the difference is genetic.” He also touched on justifying antisemitism and made additional sexist comments about women being less efficient and not really understanding mathematics. For instance, at a forum in Dublin he said, “I think when there are many women around, men have much more fun, only, perhaps, they start working worse.”

Well, many things could be attributed to Alzheimer’s in his advanced years (he is now 93).

So, he was ostracized everywhere and Watson decided to sell his Nobel medal at an auction to raise some money “for science.” He also mentioned he’d like to buy a painting by David Hockney. The medal was auctioned and was bought by Alisher Usmanov for $4 million. Somehow I missed that at the time.

Afterward, Usmanov invited Watson to Moscow, where he delivered a lecture at the Academy of Sciences in his 90s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciegWByNyPg Interesting to listen to, I’ve bookmarked it. The translation there is silly, and I couldn’t find it in English.

It was particularly interesting to read about his discovery, for which he actually received the Nobel. Their discovery was based on data collected by other scientists. These others are also credited as pioneers, but they couldn’t quite bring the topic to a conclusion. Particularly, some of the most crucial hints for DNA structure came from Rosalind Franklin, a female biochemist working in physicist Maurice Wilkins’ lab. Her x-ray diffraction photographs gave Watson and Crick clues about the actual structure of DNA. An important role in this discovery was played by the famous “Photograph 51”—an amazingly clear x-ray diffraction image of DNA, created by Franklin and her graduate student. Upon seeing the diffraction pattern in Franklin’s photo, Watson immediately hypothesized that the DNA molecule has a double-helix structure and published about it.

So, these data Watson and Crick quietly took from Franklin. Well, not formally stolen, since neither the image nor the report was confidential, but how else to call the taking of data without permission and without further reference to the source. By 1962, when they received the Nobel, Franklin had been dead for four years, and as is well-known, Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously. She likely died from cancer, almost certainly provoked by her constant exposure to X-ray radiation she dealt with.

Until 1948, women were not awarded degrees. Therefore, Cambridge graduate Rosalind Franklin could not claim career growth, and apparently, Watson and Crick didn’t really consider her a serious scientist. For example, Watson in his book “The Double Helix” describes her as “not very bright, reclusive, naturally unsociable woman and—what seemed especially to irk him—as almost provocatively unattractive. He allowed that she ‘was not unattractive and might have appeared quite stunning had she taken the slightest interest in clothes,’ but here she displayed no hopes at all. She did not even wear lipstick, he marveled, though in clothes she ‘fully demonstrated the taste typical of English prudish ‘blue stockings'” – this I quote from Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything.” A good book, read it (https://batrachos.com/sites/default/files/pictures/Books/Brayson_2013_Kratkaya%20istoriya%20pochti%20vsego%20na%20svete.pdf). He also writes that in 1968, the publisher “Harvard University Press” refused to print “The Double Helix” after Crick and Wilkins expressed displeasure about the descriptions of the people mentioned, which Eliza Jarden called “unjustifiably offensive.” The above descriptions are given in terms used by Watson after he softened his remarks.”

I was not satisfied with any car phone holders. I looked, but could not find a good one. Half of them fall out and threaten to drop the phone. The other half obstructs the view. I quickly sketched one up in Autodesk Fusion and printed it on a 3D printer. Simple, but universal, tailored for my phone and Nadine, familiar with the contours of a Rav4. The phone does not block the screen and holds very securely, easy to remove.

Turkey can when it wants to. In December, the number of new cases rose from 28 thousand to almost 150 thousand, stayed there for a week, and then sharply returned to the previous level. What was that all about? Who knows?

By the way, what are these particles darting through the air and why so fast? I understand it might be pollen or something similar, but where does the speed come from?

They are building either a warehouse or a data center. Interestingly, they first erect the walls, reinforcing them with supports, given our winds. Notice the scale – there’s a tiny figure at the bottom left of the wall

Well, it was finally my turn, right when 33% of people in the USA had been vaccinated. I registered on the portal on February 26, and on April 5, I received an invitation for vaccination. I was surprised that I could even make an appointment for the same day. No demand?

I arrived at the appointed time, and there was the parking at Dulles Town Center — a shopping center — completely packed. Muscovites might not understand, but I haven’t had to circle around looking for parking like this for years. I parked, and outside there was a line about 200 meters long, but it moved quickly – people were constantly walking in. Soon I was inside.

The shopping center — at least its first floor — was repurposed into a vaccination site. First, you approach one of the desks, where they check your appointment time and if you’re on the list. They give you a card, and you take this card to one of the desks with nurses.

All three vaccines — Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and J&J — are available. I received Pfizer-BioNTech. As I understand, it’s the most common one they use.

After the shot, you are given 15 or 30 minutes to sit in a special area. If allergic reactions begin to occur, it often happens right after the shot, and there they can provide first aid. As someone who is not allergic, they told me to sit for 15 minutes, after which I went to find my car.

The conveyor-belt system is very cleverly organized. In the area where I sat, there were about 70 other people. Many walked through this area, thinking they might as well sit in a traffic jam on the way out. If the area fits 70 people (each sitting for 15 minutes), it means they are vaccinating about 250-300 people per hour, or a couple thousand a day.

Registering for vaccination is strictly through the website or phone. That is, the organizers manage the traffic: exactly as many people as the place can handle will show up.

As I understand, they recently green-lighted everyone over 16 years old, and people are happy to go get vaccinated. It seems that we’ll get to 70% of the population vaccinated with at least one dose by June 15, and up to 90% by June 22.

I also include two photos from the GUM, where Nadia got vaccinated with Sputnik. In Russia, of course, there isn’t such a fuss. Vaccinations are only needed by those who believe in them and those who haven’t fallen ill. How such a large number of educated people can not believe in them — I cannot understand.

It is worth saying that among all our acquaintances in the USA, only a few have had COVID-19. While almost everyone we know in Russia had it at some time. Health to all those who haven’t yet, and — get vaccinated. At least you’ll be able to travel normally and there will be fewer restrictions.

I’ve figured out what I like most about my job:

1) Looking for the root cause of a problem in a complex system or finding a solution to a complex issue. This is what’s called troubleshooting, but often it doesn’t even require touching the keyboard. It also frequently falls into the category of reinventing the bicycle. In the first scenario, it’s somewhat like a puzzle, where the brain generates many potential solutions that compete with each other. Then the hands test these solutions and narrow down the options to consider. This mode often keeps me at work until very late at night. In the second case, it’s the desire to make something from scratch rather than using ready-made black boxes, to understand it. Correlates with point 3.

2) Creating something like this: I thought of it, and there it is working. Not only in programming but also in electronics and mechanics. Some twenty-something years ago, I wrote Tetris and a 3D editor. It was hard to explain why, but it was interesting. Well, okay, I even got paid some money for the 3D editor.

3) Learning something new, acquiring new skills and abilities up to a certain level. From this level onward, it becomes routine, and more interesting, unexplored topics take their place. A typical example – I once got into drums and guitar, and the initial steps were very interesting, but after a certain level, it wasn’t as much. Overall, piano and drawing also fall into this category.

These items are major. There’s one minor – loading my brain with a large number of parallel tasks and struggling to cope with them. Apparently, the brain gets some necessary substances from such a load.

What I dislike:

1) Any regular routine tasks. I have to do them, but I’m always surprised to find that there are people who enjoy them.

2) Participating in conversations that lag behind my personal pace and are not of interest to me personally. I lose focus and eventually stop listening altogether.

3) Doing things whose usefulness is unclear to me, but other people tell me they are beneficial, which I hardly believe. This is quite common in companies that simulate a whirlwind of activity.

4) Organizing the workspace. This includes everything – from the order on the desk to the order in the file system and browser windows.

Who shares my interests and disinterests?