Hobbies

At university and during my PhD studies I was dabbling in different electric motor control algorithms. The one which made the most sense for me was based on a neural network. The code was clean and simple, the idea was very easy to communicate, and the computing power already existed to train it. Unfortunately, there was no reliable interface to implement the idea in the physical world. In 2022 ChatGPT unravelled and spark my interest.

In 2018 I took on crypto mining. Basically, did it to learn about cryptocurrency basics. How better to understand the crypto than to mine it for yourself? I learnt the algorithm basics, blockchain security, hardware requirements, network topology etc. It became my hobby and took me on a crazy "crypto journey".

I have a "thing" for old cars. Love to drive them, like to work on them and don't get irritated if they don't work. That's their charm, they are best enjoyed with plenty of free time. Besides, the person always appreciates more things he works on himself. If I'm ever late, don't get mad, probably one of my cars just left me stranded...

Investing is for me a borderline hobby and necessity. Living in a country without taxes I'm not saving for my retirement automatically like most of my peers I left in Europe. Tried to make a retirement plan with a few investment advisors but clearly saw that they put their commissions before my financial well-being. So I decided to educate myself and took the matter in my own hands.

Kitesurfing is the outdoor hobby I'm most passionate about. The experience of taming the wind to propel you wherever you want to go is exhilarating. Combining it with wave surfing is an explosive mix of adrenaline-inducing activity which provides a great satisfaction. Fighting the wind and waves is maximally involving allowing one to clear the mind. Usually, after a kitesurfing trip, my mind is cleared allowing me to get a new perspective on certain problems or challenges.

My wife in 2017 forced me to go with her for a winter skiing trip. She wanted to learn skiing and I was supposed to relearn skies after 15+ years. That was too easy, so I decided to take on snowboarding. After many crashes and one broken tooth, I started to like the thing. Unfortunately, she didn't fall in love with skiing so I had to make some new friends to share my hobby with.