To finish this adventure of teaching engineering in XXI century, the diaporama below illustrates how to get a rational context in an emotional pleasure for the brain. The idea is taking the calculation expressions, teach their meaning, show how to get the needed parameters and the final result. See if you agree with me.
Next week we go on vacations for a while, discovering Argentina. I think we deserve it
Para acabar esta aventura que é ensinar engenharia no Séc. XXI, mostra-se como se pode transformar um contexto de engenharia numa coisa agradável ao cérebro, e portanto motivadora. A ideia é ir pegando nas diversas expressões de cálculo e mostrar o que querem fisicamente dizer, como se obtêm as variáveis e se chega ao resultado. Vejam se concordam comigo.
E assim acaba mais uma aventura aliciante deste vosso nómada. Para a semana vamos de férias, à descoberta da Argentina. Bem merecidas, depois de todo este trabalhinho, não acham?
Question: How does a generation classified as weak, can produce things like the work i´ve been publishing?
No. It isn´t really a weak generation, its similar to any other generation. When estimulated reacts, positively, with conviction, and strength, always arriving to a good end.
Pergunta: Como é que uma geração dita fraca pode produzir coisas destas que tenho vindo a evidenciar?
Não de todo, não é fraca, é igual a todas as outras gerações. Quando estimulada reage bem, com creatividade, com gana, com perseverança, chegando sempre a um porto bom.
I was using this teaching system for quite a while, when i bumped into Augusto Cury, a Brazilian Psichiatrist that studied very deeply the human mind and wrote about it, including the way people really learn. I bought one book in Recife´s Airport and when arrived in Brazilia (in my way to Curitiba for a Conference) i was absolutely convinced and bought another three. All of a sudden, all the things i had been thinking and implementing on my own (with the precious knowledge that i instintively had earn from my father, a quite good neurosurgeon and neurologist) were there explained with logic and sustainability. That happen in 2006 and generated a step further in this adventure.
I strongly reccomend the whole Cury's work, but for those who have to teach (students or sons) you should start from Brilliant Fathers, Fascinating Teachers. Superb. I just leave here the sugestive titles of the chapters included
1 - Good Fathers give gifts, Brilliant fathers give themselves
2 - Good Fathers pay attention to the body, Brilliant fathers pay attention to the personality
3 - Good Fathers correct mistakes, Brilliant fathers teach how to think
4 - Good Fathers prepare kids for aplauses, Brilliant fathers prepare them for failure
5 - Good Fathers talk with their kids, Brilliant fathers dialogue as friends
6 - Good Fathers give information, Brilliant fathers tell histories
7 - Good Fathers give opportunities, Brilliant fathers never give up
1 - Good teachers speak very well, fascinating teachers understand how the mind work
2 - Good teachers have methodology, fascinating teachers have sensibility
3 - Good teachers educate logics, fascinating teachers educate emotions
4 - Good teachers use memories as a deposit of information, Brilliant teachers use it as a support for thinking
5 - Good teachers are temporary masters, fascinating teachers are unforgettable masters
6 - Good teachers correct behaviours, fascinating teachers solve conflicts in classroom
7 - Good teachers educate for a job, fascinating teachers educate for life
So real, isn´t it? I leave you with another film of the e-manual. About joint influence in rock mechanics.
Dava já aulas há algum tempo neste sistema, quando por acaso tropecei no Fabuloso Augusto Cury, um psiquiatra brasileiro que estudou a fundo a mente humana e escreveu muito sobre isso, incluindo sobre a forma como as pessoas aprendem. Comprei um livro dele no aeroporto do Recife e quando cheguei a Brasilia (no meu caminho para uma conferência em Curitiba) estava completamente rendido e comprei logo mais três livros da sua obra. De repente, todas as coisas que eu vinha fazendo (talvez com ajuda dos conhecimentos que instintivamente bebi do meu "velhote", um neurologista e neurocirurgião apaixonado pela sua profissão) estavam ali apresentados com lógica e com sustentabilidade. Isto passou-se em 2006, e correspondeu a um salto nesta minha aventura de ensinar.
A todos os que ensinam (sejam pais ou sejam professores) recomendo a leitura da obra do Cury, começando especialmente por "Pais Brilhantes, Professores Fascinantes). Soberbo. Deixo aqui os titulos dos capitulos desse livro, para abrir o apetite
1 - Bons Pais dão presentes, Pais Brilhantes dão-se eles mesmos
2 - Bons Pais dão atenção ao corpo, Pais Brilhantes dão atenção à personalidade
3 - Bons Pais corrigem erros, Pais Brilhantes ensinam a pensar
4 - Bons Pais preparam para o aplauso, Pais Brilhantes preparam para os fracassos
5 - Bons Pais conversam, Pais Brilhantes dialogam como amigos
6 - Bons Pais dão informação, Pais Brilhantes contam histórias
7 - Bons Pais dão oportunidades, Pais Brilhantes nnca desistem
1 - Bons Professores são eloquentes, Professores Fascinantes compreendem a mente humana
2 - Bons Professores tem método, Professores Fascinantes ctem sensibilidade
3 - Bons Professores educam para a lógica, Professores Fascinantes educam a emoção
4 - Bons Professores susam a memória como depósito de informação, Professores Fascinantes usam-na como suporte do pensamento
5 - Bons Professores são mestres temporários, Professores Fascinantes são mestres inesqueciveis
And finally the big day came, with a lot anxiety and i don´t now what else.
But it was really a unique opportunity to discuss all the work with my main scientific and professional references that composed the Juri. Everything had an happy end with a big party with all of them in my house. BECAUSE LIFE IS A PARTY, and you have to enjoy it, as much as you can. I learnt that from my uncle Duarte.
The movie down below was presented in the dissertation (i had to make a movie for that moment). See it and tell me if you find it appropriate.
E finalmente lá chegou o dia, após muita ansiedade e irritação e não sei quantas coisas mais. Pus a minha gravatita (coisa rara) e lá me estendi pela apresentação dentro seguida da inevitável discussão. Fantástica oportunidade de poder discutir o assunto com aqueles que são das minhas mais importantes referências profissionais. Uma cerejita em cima do bolo. Para terminar em beleza, vieram todos para minha casa celebrar o momento bem regado com um vinho Alentejano e as tradicionais Amarguinha (em homenagem a mim próprio) e o Limmoncello (em homenagem ao Silvano Marchetti).
A VIDA É UMA FESTA, e há que tirar partido dela. Aprendi isso com o meu titicos Duarte.
O filme acima, fez parte da minha apresentação (tinha que meter um). Vejam se acham apropriado.
This post is fully dedicated to my friend Mendes da Silva, who left us today. So long, my friend, i will miss you.
I left Coimbra to start a life on my own, after some lasting days filled with alcohol and tears, with my soul full of emotion and a lot of music. Iwas ready to start a new life believing pretty much in living by dreams. I had conquered a good "data base", but with no practice at all, with a lot of dreams to really achieve something useful for the geotechnical society.
I begun this life in Porto, the city where i was born 28 years before, with a new tool in hands (the DMT) trying to apply it to the residual soil characterization, starting from ground zero with a lifetime companion that still walk with me nowadays. António Viana da Fonseca (my supervisor in this thesis). And so, i started walking with some goals in mind, but soon realizing that it is a minor thought. In fact, it is much better to look into the distant horizon, leaving and tasting one day at a time and defining the path in each step. Wise decision, i should say with modesty, because it was that thought that brought me to where i am today, and that will guide my footsteps to an unknown destination towards the end of my days.
Following that old Confucius saying:
What i hear, i forget
What i see, i remember
What i do, i learn
i built a experimental data base to study and apply DMT to these non text-book materials (residual soils) that compose Porto Geological enviroment, walking along with Jazz in my soul, bringing intuiton and harmony to this task. And so, the movie of this post mean to show the scenary of old Porto (hoping to cativate your soul to come to Thesis presentation and for the big party that will be following), with Kate Souza and the fantastic James Brown (from soundtrack of the inspiring Blues Brothers). Sorry, the english of today (which is not so good) but i am in some (stomach) pain, and the brain doesn´t concentrate as usual.
O post de hoje é inteiramente dedicado ao meu amigo Mendes da Silva, que hoje nos deixou. Até sempre amigo.
Saí de Coimbra rumo à vida, após uns dias finais muito regados tanto pelo alcool como pela lágrima, com a alma cheia de uma vida intensa de emoções e muita música. Estava preparado para começar nova vida acreditando muito na capacidade de viver de sonhos. Tinha uma base séria de conhecimentos (a que depois acrescentei um mestrado feito na mesma universidade), zero de pratica e muito sonho de evoluir e fazer alguma coisa de verdadeiramente útil. Caí no Porto, a minha cidade natal, com um equipamento novo nas mãos (o DMT) e ataquei com denodo a sua aplicação aos solos residuais, começando do zero com um parceiro de caminhada que ainda hoje dura. O António Viana da Fonseca (meu orientador na presente tese). Fixei o horizonte longinquo e iniciei a caminhada, primeiro estabelecendo algumas metas, mas depressa percebendo que por mais que as atingisse havia sempre um horizonte lá ao fundo. Aprendi assim que a meta imediata é muito redutora e que é muito mais saboroso encarar o horizonte longinquo, vivendo e saboreando um dia de cada vez e decidindo o caminho a cada passo. Sábia decisão, diria eu com modestia, porque foi ela que me trouxe até aqui, e que até ao fim dos meus dias me levará não sei aonde.
Seguindo o velho dito Confuciano:
O que ouço, eu esqueço
O que vejo, eu lembro
O que eu faço, eu aprendo
construi uma base experimental para estudar e aplicar o DMT a estes solos (residuais) tão particulares. Habituado que vinha de Coimbra a juntar a música há vida, fiz tudo isto a um ritmo de Jazz, pela semelhança de processos: Intuitivo e com harmonia.
Marco por isso, a Parte B da minha tese dedicada a esta caminhada tão saborosa com uma volta pelo Porto ao ritmo da Kate Souza e do James Brown (da banda sonora desse fantástico filme dos Blues Brothers), esperando cativar-vos a todos para virem à defesa da tese e sobretudo à imensa festa que se seguirá.
UUUUUUUUUFFFFFFF. What a relief. Finally i finished the document and this trip moves towards the end. I just gave birth last wednesday, leaving it in the university for their judgment, naturally hoping to have success. In this kind of work the glory stays for the man who speaks, but behind him, a lot of people gave their best for the hard work that had to be performed. Those are the workers of the success that always remains in the shadow. I really don´t want that to happen this time. I do believe that is much better for your heart and for your mind, to share in brotherhood with all those that walked along with you.
So this is a tribute to all of you with the words (pay attention to the them) anf the fantastic music of
Muse (Uprising)
UUUUUUUUUFFFFFFF. Que aliiiiiviiio. Finalmente "fechei" o PhD empurrando esta história em direcção ao seu final. Acabei de deixar a tese (na quarta feira passada) na FEUP para sua Douta avaliação, esperando natutralmente ter sucesso nesta empreitada. Neste tipo de trabalho habitualmente o sucesso fica com a pessoa que o anuncia (apresenta). Mas atrás desse existe todo um conjunto de pessoas que penou para levar a bom porto o trabalho, sempre na sombra do sucesso. Eu cá acredito que sabe muito melhor poder partilhar com toda a gente que de algum modo participou nesta caminhada, dando o seu melhor. Espero mesmo é não os desiludir.
Aqui vai, por isso um tributo meu para eles todos usando as palavras (prestem atenção à letra) e a fantástica musica dos Muse (Uprising)
This work became possible only because there was always someone ready to walk along with me, to point out horizons to look into, to fill my soul with hope and joy and to always make me smile with my “stumbles and falls”.
A big smile, a big kiss& big hug to the team mates that directl and greatly contribute to this work.
This work is the work we were able to do together. OUR work.
By order of appearance: José Manuel Carvalho, Fernando Gomes, Antonio Viana da Fonseca, Sonia Figueiredo, Eduardo Neves, Jorge Saraiva Cruz, Jorge Ribeiro, Cárin Mateus, Ricardo Rocha, João Branco, Patrícia Vieira, Mike Lopes, David Felizardo, my Bro. Manuel Cruz, Carlos Rodrigues, Manuel Gairrão, Fernando Almeida and the “rookies” Luis Machado and Sofia Vaz.
Also, i would like to express my deepestthanks …
…to Silvia, Migo, Kika e Licas, for letting me be as i am and for the amazing family that we are. You’ll never walk alone. I hope you can feel proud of me
to my father, who put Tibet and freedom in my soul, a long time ago, my mother for teaching me the word “Love”, my brothers for the brotherhood and the incredible and immense Bravos family to whom i´m proud to belong
to my uncle Duarte for the ideals and the balance i have learnt from him.
to my supervisors…
António Viana da Fonseca, a long cruise partner in Science & Travelling,since the first hour,for the fantastic adventures we have lived together,
Fernando Rocha, for his belief in all this,
and Carlos Rodrigues with whom i have learnt so many things, so impossible to describe,the huge friendship this work has offered me. A miracle, to have you and Manuel on the same side of the road. I´d love to climb another Volcano with you, my friend.
To Silvano Marchetti, who invented a fantastic tool
to my “Guru” Almeida e Sousa and to Manuel Alves Ribeiro for teaching me how to think like an engineer and for the kick-off of this Dream
to my “twin” Jorge Cruz that always made possible the dream to go on, bearing the same bearing I had to bear, and even making my mistakes useful. Great partnership,my friend, let´s make it last
to my sweet and courageous Cárin, that stood up for me and covered my weaknessesand also to the smiley Patrícia by the light she brought in
To my bright geophysical partner, Fernando Almeida
to my dearest “Cluster” by their love, permanent support and a lot of things more that cannot be expressed by words. You bring balance to my life: Cristina, João, Claudia e Vitor (Cunhas Gomes), Silvio Marroquin, Vitor Az, Vitor Drejo, Angel Oramas, Raquel Pina.
to João Bustorff, for feeding my dreams to “Giros” and “Costas”, for a life time friendship
to Silvano and Diego Marchetti and the precious Paola Monaco, to my Brazilian brothers Fernando Schnaid, Roberto Coutinho, Eduardo Marques to the Gang of 4, John Powell, Marcelo Devincenzi, Tom Lunne, to the Geomusicians Paul Mayne, Martin Fahey, John Mitchell with whom i had the pleasure of mixing Science & Art,to Roger Failzmeger and Mike Long, to all the “Knights of the Blade”,for your friendship and confidence in my skills.I sincerely hope i haven’t disappointed
to Fernando Gonçalves, for believing in my engineering efficiency sincethe early beginning,to Vieira Simões by opening a decisive door in a dead end, and to Pedro Januario by the friendship and respectoffered me in the dark.
To my mates from Aveiro, Coimbra and Porto Universities, where i have learnt teaching and taught learning: Fernando Rocha, Fernando Almeida, Jorge Medina, Eduardo Silva, Luis Lemos, Paulo Pinto, Jorge Almeida e Sousa, Sara Rios, António Topa Gomes, Cristiana Ferreira,
To Sandra Andrade, Maria José, Miguel Meireles, Francisco Silva, Fernando Paiva, Denise Silva, Leonel Conde, Maria do Carmo Pinto, Luís Póvoas and the whole drilling team,for their permanent and indestructible support in CICCOPN and in MOTA-ENGIL.
To all those that walked with me in”A PhD on the Road”, transforming a huge task in a fantastic adventure
And finally to all those i forgot in these lines that shouldn´t be forgotten (it always happens).
Tibetan say…
There is no way to happiness, Happiness is the way
The best thing that you take after travelling is not in the monuments you have seen, the museums you've been or the landscapes you have fitted in. These just create the background. Really, the best thing you take in your heart & soul is the people you crossed with that make your world wonderful.
I love the tangible purety and sense of balance of the tibeteans and sinhalese and buddists in general
I love the wisdom of chinese or the sense of nature of the indians
I love the africans for the their music from the soul and for ignoring time
and the Brazilian and Cubans for their permanent joy
and Americans for their courage
and europeans for my birthplace.
I love all those friends that i made in every place i stayed.
I miss you all very much.
(The PhD? on the hands of supervisors to really close the thing. I need your hands for this last walk. Too much anxiety and too less capacity)
Kisses and hugs with the voices of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and Eva Cassidy & Katie Melua together with the fantastic Louis Armstrong & his wonderful world
A melhor coisa que podemos trazer de uma viagem não são os monumentos que vimos, os museus que percorremos ou as magnificas paisagens que "bebemos". Isso apenas contribui para o cenário, porque o melhor de tudo, o que trazemos no coração e na alma, são as pessoas com que cruzamos e que fazem maravilhoso o nosso mundo.
Adoro os tibetanos, os singaleses, os budistas em geral, pela sua pureza e sentido de equilibrio tão tangiveis e tão reconfortantes
Adoro os indios pelo seu sentido da natureza
e os chineses pela sua infinita sabedoria
e os africanos pela musica que tem dentro de si e pela capacidade de ignorarem o tempo
e os brasileiros e os cubanos pela sua permanente alegria
e os americanos pela sua coragem
e os europeus pelo berço onde nasci
e todos os amigos que fiz em cada sitio que parei
Adoro-vos a todos. Tenho montes de saudades vossas.
(O doutoramento? Nas mãos dos orientadores para fechar de vez o trabalho. Confortem-me, apoiem-me, que a ansiedade é muita e a capacidade já muito pouca)
Beijos e abraços com as vozes de Israel Kamakawiwo'ole e Eva Cassidy & Katie Melua em conjunto com o fabuloso Louis Armstrong e o seu wonderful world.
I´m an Engineer and so i shoot numbers on everything that moves. Its instintictive, Faster than my own shadow. Thus here i am to present you the numbers of this adventure
This PhD on the Road was not created only for fun, but to bring fun and emotions to a hard working job, as well as imagination to found new ideas in the course of data comprehension. The PhD i´m about to finish was guided by the adventure you could follow, marking its rythm, giving new ideas and, above all, bringing emotions to the rational work. In summary, it made possible an important creative sense, and transformed one of the most difficult times of my life in a beautiful "promenade".
The double adventure took exactly 14 months, from November 15th (2008), in a beautiful saturday when i published the first post and open a file named "thesis script", to January 15th (2010) when i put an end on it. In the beetween
- at least a post once a week,
- 64 published movies and posts (in english and portuguese languages), 61 produced by myself and 2 by Patricia Vieira and 1 by my dear uncle Duarte Bravo de Faria
- 12 countries visited along with small stories lived there, namely Morocco (Tuareg), Mozambique & South Africa (In the Track of Livingstone), Sri Lanka (A Love Story), Tibete (Seven weeks in Tibete), China (A Tea from China), Taiwan (Making Possible the Impossible), Brazil (Uma História de Peão), Guatemala (Rings of Fire), México (The Beauty of the Unexpected), Cuba (Cuba Libre) United States (An Italian King and the Knights of the Blade), United Kingdom (Learning with Youth) and back in Portugal (Small Things are always Great and Blowin in the Wind)
- Apart from these above, 5 technical movies were also produced dealing with thesis theme and also teaching and tutoring
- The whole 12 chapters of the final document, which were developed in four steps that went along with each continental track followed during the adventure. Africa for Background (Part A of the thesis), Asia for Playground (Part B), America for Experience (Part C) and Europe for the Model (Part D). Perfect combination
- A fantastic time with talented team mates
- The rest of the numbers can be seen in the attached movie
( I would love, if you could leave a last message, like the honour book in any exhibition. You can leave it as a comment in the post, or send me a message to my e-mail. It is a way of knowing you and have you in my heart for the eternity)
My brain work is finished, waiting now for the supervisors advises, and a lot of bohring format work to do with nothing special to tell. I´ll come up later on informing you (with a movie of course) about the official delivering and settled dates. And after, when the dissertation is officially finished, i´ll invite you all for a 2-days-and-a-half party in my flat. Those of you, my friends, that need a place to stay during that time, call me up and i´ll have the pleasure of inviting you to stay with me.
And so this is the end of this double journey around the world and around the mind. Time for balance.
One week after i climbed Pacaia, i was in México with another fantastic possibility of climbing another Volcano. Orizaba, 5630m. I had just hit the top of the world with that magnificent Magma Bath, and i didn´t had a faintest ideia of what was to come. It seemed to me a normal task, after Pacaia. The fantastic Daniel Pinto step up with me and so, we left to Cofre Perote (4000m) to watch the sunset and for a training of altitude, altough you get there by car. No matter, it was a fantastic moment to be there, since it was the highest point i had been. And the sunset, you may feel it in the movie.
Next day, sunday, the lucky one here with Daniel, Gina and his "milu", left early in the morning to catch Orizaba, through the magnific vulcanic scenary of that part of México. As i was approaching i felt an increasing joy of, somehow coming back to my childhood when i first started climbing and loving the mountains. And suddenly i was evolved by the sound of the best band from my youth, the great Pink Floyd which made me float up the base camp (Breath and Time, from the fantastic Dark Side of the Moon). After a stop to buy some goods, we drove along until the base camp at 4200m. Truly breathless. The mountains, the snow, all those climbers coming and going, the ropes, the material, that pure air, the sky above... and i saw my father there, the man who taught me all this. I was impeled to move up, but "he said" to me, as i heard it repeated for so many times:
First fear the mountain, then conquered it. And above all, always respect her or it will kill you.
He was right, once more. I was not prepared for snow and for a late climb up. So i moved further up to face it once more and to beat my own record (4250m), looked up once more, and whispered to them (father & peak) :
I´ll come back, i promise
Coming like an angel, Adele blown "make you feel my love" to my ear, making those moments in the mountain SUBLIME.
And that is exactly what i think about the after end of the PhD, such as i was told by my good friend Carlos Rodrigues, a lesson for life:
THERE IS ALWAYS ANOTHER VOLCANO TO CLIMB.
Thanks for being my companions in this trip. Without you i would never had come to this end. Thank you very very much.
(Adoraria que deixassem um ultimo comentário, no post ou enviando por e-mail. É uma forma de saber quem andou por aí e de guardar todos no meu coração, para a eternidade)
O trabalho que eu tinha para espremer está espremido, esperando agora o conselho dos meus oreintadores e uma série de trabalho de seca para esfolar o rabo sem nada de interessante para contar. Voltarei com um convite quando fizer a entrega oficial e a informar da data da discussão. Depois, após a defesa, convido todos par uma-festa-de-dois-dia-e-maio no meu espaço. Aqueles que precisarem de alojamento, é só dizer. Gostaria de ter todos por cá.
E assim chega ao fim esta dupla jornada em torno do mundo e da mente. Tempo de balanço
Uma semana após a escalada do Pacaia, eis que estava eu no México com outra fantasmagórica possibilidade de subir outro vulcão. O Orizaba (5630m). Eu acabara de chegar ao topo do mundo com a subida do Pacaia e esse fabuloso banho de lava, que nem imaginei o que se iria passar. Era uma cena boa de fazer, mas não tão empolgante. Engano meu. O fantástico Daniel Pinto acertou o passo com o meu e assim fomos ver um pôr do sol e ambientar à altitude ao alto do Cofre de Perote, com 4000m de altitude, embora atingiveis de carro. Mesmo assim, na altura batia um record de altitude, sob um ambiente unico, que podem ver no filme.
No dia seguinte, domingo, aqui o felizardo mais o Daniel e a Gina, mais o milu do Daniel, abalamos cedo em direcção ao Orizaba através de um território tipicamente vulcânico desta zona do México. A adrenalina cresceu com o aproximar da montanha gigantesca, transportando-me de volta à minha infância quando aprendi a amar a montanha e a escalada. E de repente ali estava eu, envolvido pela musica dessa banda da minha juventude, fabulosa: Pink Floyd (Breath e Time), que me acompanhou na paisagem até ao campo de base a 4200m, após uma paragem para abastecer no sopé do "bicho". Campo de base. Verdadeiramente de cortar a respiração. As montanhas, a neve, os alpinistas indo e vindo, o equipamento, cordas, mosquetons, pitons, estribos, esse ar puro inesgotável, o céu acima... e de repente vi o homem que me ensinou tudo isso. O meu Pai. Senti-me impelido a subir, mas ele fez-me parar dizendo aquilo que eu tantas vizas ouvira da boca dele:
Primeiro teme a montanha. Depois conquista-a. Mas acima de tudo respeita-a ou ela mata-te
Estava certo como sempre. Eu não estava preparado apara a neve, nem para aquele tipo de terreno, nem para uma subida tardia e uma descida ao anoitecer. Assim, subi um pouco mais, qualquer coisa como 4250 - 4300m, olhei para cima e murmurei:
Voltarei para ir aí acima, está prometido
Como um anjo, a Adele soprou ao meu ouvido "make you feel my love", tornando sublime esse momento
E é isto mesmo que penso fazer a seguir, tal como aprendi com o meu inestimável amigo Carlos Rodrigues
Há sempre outro Vulcão para subir
Obrigado por serem meus companheiros nesta jornada. Sem vocês, nada disto teria chegado a este fim. Mutio, muito obrigado.
Estou certo que iremos cruzando caminhos na nossa jornada
After a Water Volcano, nothing is better than than a Volcano in the Water
What would be of a Peak, if there wasn´t any base to sustain it? It is in the base that life goes. It is the base that makes it beautiful.
Pico is one of the 7 islands that live in the most peculiar place of the planet, located in the portuguese territory. A triangular micro-plate (Azores microplate) that is in the junction of 3 giant plates: American, African and Europoean. Somehow i had the chance of working for my friends (a lot of them) of territory planning, giving them an idea of the result of another important force of nature, besides the Volcanoes: The power of the oceans. In Azores, one may have an idea of this two powers working together. One (Volcanoes) constructing new land, another (the oceans) dismantling it by erosion.
Once again, i call Rodrigo leão, Ana Vieira, Ana Carolina, João Pedro Diniz e Stuart Staples, with those fantastic sounds of Solitude, A Corda (The rope) and This Light holds so many colours. I think it is perfect for the journey around island base. Enjoy it with me.
PhD? I've just finished my reading of the document. Waiting for the opinion of my dear supervisors to end up this adventure (and start another one, naturally). It is really almost done
Depois do Vulcão da àgua, nada como um Vulcão na Água. Um vulcão tem um poder e uma força imensos, mas quando entalado no meio de um Oceano, a esse poder junta-se um outro igualmente poderoso e incrivel. O Poder dos oceanos. O primeiro (Vulcões) constroi uma nova Terra, enquanto o segundo a desmantela.
O Vulcão do Pico encontra-se numa das 7 ilhas Portuguesas que vivem no mais peculiar dos ambientes do planeta. A micro-placa dos Açores, que corresponde a um pequeno triangulo charneira entre as 3 placas tectónicas Americana, Europeia e Africana. Sempre que uma deles mexe o Arquipelago sente. Tenho a sorte de o ter explorado com os meus amigos da Quaternaire, para lhes dar um enquadramento do equilibrio das falésias costeiras, vivendo este encontro de titãs da natureza.
O que será do Pico (como de qualquer outro vulcão) se não tiver uma base sustentável? Porque é na base que a vida corre. Lá em cima não vive ninguém.
Uma vez mais, porque é mar e porque é o meu Portugal, "chamei" o Rodrigo Leão, a Ana Vieira, a Ana Carolina, o João Pedro Diniz e o Stuart Staples, com os magnificos sons de Solitude, A Corda and This Light holds so many colours. Penso que é perfeito para esta jornada em torno da base do Pico. Divirtam-se comigo.
PhD? - Terminei a minha leitura e respectivas correções. Aguardo os comentários dos meus queridos orientadores para fechar de vez esta aventura (e começar outra, naturalmente). Está mesmo quase.
It was running the year of 1994 when i first knew about DMT, in the entrance hall of Industrial de Sondeos in Madrid. At the time, I was a young engineer in the beginning of a professional career with a lot of dreams to fulfill, desperately looking for modern forms of testing and I was touched by the simplicity and versatility of the test. As a consequence, one DMT unit was bought by LGMC of CICCOPN, the first quality controlled laboratory of mechanical testing in Portugal, which gave rise to a long run after its applicability in residual soils. One year later, at the end of 1995, the first MSc dissertation on DMT in portuguese soils was concluded, which included already a first attempt to introduce it in residual soils. Since then, the portuguese experience gave rise to 30 publications crossing a wide range of problems related with DMT in residual soils.
My PhD thesis is the result of this long run, but it is much more than one man’s work. In fact, this was produced by a lot of fantastic people that worked with me as team mates in LGMC, later in MOTA-ENGIL to where I moved in 2003 and also AveiroUniversity. They gave me the pleasure of walking along with me, proving that friendhip and a good mood can really take us far. Let me introduce all of them, singing a song with a great meaning for portuguese (Traz um amigo também – Resistência) that is my tribute to their capacity of always bringing a friend along with them...
José Manuel Carvalho - The first DMT operator (1994) and a long journey companion in the hardest early times
Fernando Gomes – Development of first calculation sheets which allowed storing important data basis since the earlier begin (1995). Fantastic job mounting exactly what i needed (and i didn´t know i needed)
Sonia Inês Figueiredo – The first global data treatment of combined testing programs, which included 15 sedimentary and 7 residual experimental sites (2000). My Soninha. Quite short the time we had been together, but so full of empaty. And a great job that became a huge step forward towards the work i´m trying desperately to finish.
Jorge Cruz – Development of DMT multi-testing campaigns. This work gave rise to Geotechnical Engineering degree final work, awarded with Lisoarte Gomes Prize (2003) and a MSc thesis (2008). The best engineer i´ve ever work with. Either in friendship and teamwork
Jorge Ribeiro – Geotechnical Engineering final work based in LGMC experimental site, (2004), closing an important stage on residual soil characterization. We learn about triaxial testing together, with efficiency and companionhip
Ricardo Rocha – Introduction of geophysics in combination with mechanical testing (2005). A great future is expected in geophysics. He deserve it. Clearly
Eduardo Neves – MSc thesis in artificially cemented soils which gave important impulse to the main experience of actual work (2007). So many things together, maybe the one who lived more different stages with me. And we climbed together to the top of Pacaia to see magma coming out from the earth.
Manuel Cruz – Development of advanced mathmatics & engineering interfaces (2007), co-supervising the research works on propagation errors of results. Don´t tell anyone this secret, but he is my bro.
Carin Mateus – MSC thesis on error propagation of DMT results, departing from measurement errors (2007). My day-to-day help, support and fuel to go on.
João Branco working together with me in rock mechanics (so important its understanding to understand residual soils). Maybe the one who worked with me in the most difficult conditions. And he gave everything. Fantastic job, fantastic friendship
Patricia Vieira & Luis Machado – Same kind of previous work applied to SCPTU and PMT, closing the pack of the main in situ tests for a proper residual soil characterization (2008). Together with Fernando Paiva and Denise Silva, they make a younger and promising generation of team mates. Let´s walk towards something useful, together.
Carlos Rodrigues – Determinant contribution on the main research program related to the present work, and more than that, the arm-to-arm he always gave me, no matter the circunstances. About this i would just say... he taught me a different meaning for friendship
Mike Lopes, David Felizardo & Catarina Lemos - They taught me how far a team can go, always with a beautiful shining smile
My Friends, this work is the result of what we were able to do together, and I sincerely hope you can feel proud of it. Thank you all for your contribution. It has been a pleasure to walk with you.
Friends are the most valuable thing of one man´s life. I will do anything to keep the joy of a friendship, all the time, since we live a time were these kind of values are loosing its meaning, every day. I suspect that we are really gonna need as many friends as possible dreaming together to overcome this world dangerously sliding to hell, to loneliness, to a global war. We have to keep on dreaming that this can make the difference.
The movie of today is a tribute to friendship and the capacity of dreaming together. The music is from Resistência (Não sou o unico, I´m not the only one) and tell us that when you are dreaming, you are never alone.
Ladies & Gentleman... I´d like to introduce you to my friends of this sailing trip that brought me back home
Alexandre e Afonso Santos, Mena Zambujal, Vitor Az, Silvia Fernandes
Kisses and hugs to all my friends, plus to those that will be, some day.
Uso mais uma vez as palavras de artistas da minha terra para dizer o que me vai na alma (Resistência, Não sou o único). Sonhar é o meu lema fundamental. Olhar o céu e Sonhar em equipa é aquilo que mais enriquece a minha vida, porque sempre me trouxe e me conduziu ao valor inestimável da amizade profunda. E quão importante isto se vai tornando neste mundo cada vez mais perigoso e cada vez mais à beira do abismo. Todos juntos, unidos em torno de amizades sinceras...talvez consigamos.
Deixem-me apresentar-lhes o grupo de amigos desta viagem que me trouxe de volta a casa...
Alexandre e Afonso Santos, Mena Zambujal, Vitor Az, Silvia Fernandes
Beijos e abraços...
para todo o rol infindável de amigos que tenho, e para aqueles que hão-de ser. São o tesouro que guardo da vida.
Steppin on National Territory, again. I just choose the smallest island of our Portugal, in a symbolic way to come back home.
Pick up your Google, find Porto Santo, go up in the sky and see how small it is in the middle of the ocean and how amazing is that the nature who found a way of proctecting the beauty of that golden beach. The (volcanic) God of the Deep that came all the way up to protect that "lady" beach, the most golden beach in the entire world.
Porto Santo is an amazing place, the most curious island i´ve ever been. A combination of sedimentary and volcanic environment all in the same spot, with a 14 km long narrow beach, lost in the middle of the ocean with a vulcanic bodyguard that ensures is sustainability. It is a life lesson, about balance, protection and how important it is to combine advantages to get better results.
I recommend a stop by... People living there (how smart they are) just teach you how easy can life be.
My tribe is still walking along with me, making sure i really come home, and so i danced with them following the lyrics and songs of Macy Gray (I Try) and Red Hot Chilli Pepers (Stadium Archadium) , which were chosen by them. It was fantastic for me to feel their warmness, here. Next week, i´ll start crossing the Atlantic Ocean in my last track to the mainland.
Kisses and hugs for everybody, and make your life easy.
Vão ao Google, escolham Porto Santo e subam em direcção ao céu e apreciem a sua reduzida dimensão face ao oceano, e a forma como a natureza se encarregou de proteger uma praia fantástica e extremamente aprazivel, através de um guarda costas vulcânico de enorme resistência. O Deus das Profundezas, subindo até à superficie para proteger essa Dona tão bela, a praia mais dourada do planeta. Escolhi o Porto Santo, como Porta de Entrada, porque é sem duvida a ilha mais curiosa que já visitei. Uma linha com 14km de comprimento que o oceano não afoga, que mostra quão simples pode ser a vida. Recomendo uma visita...
A minha tribo ainda caminha comigo, como que para garantir que chego são e salvo a casa. Que bom esse calorzito. Dancei com gosto com eles ao som de Macy Gray (I Try) e Red Hot Chilli Pepers (Stadium Archadium)conforme escolha deles. E assim me preparo para a derradeira aventura de voltar à vela, cruzando o oceano até às praias do algarve, regressando definitivamente.
It comes a time when you have go further towards the end of your tasks.
I remember how all this started. In 2006 i was here in Washington for a DMT conference, sorrounded by King Marchetti and all his Knights of the Blade. I felt really happy to be living among them, even if it was for a short period of time. My friend Roger Failzmeger organized the event in an incredible way and in a creativity moment, he programmed a time after dinner for a workshop called "Engineering Discussions", where FUN & SCIENCE were gathered in a very produtive way. Imagine a discussion about the influence of suction in shear strength behaviour played along with the Famous "White Russians" ( a strong alcohol drink that got famous with the fantastic Cohen's movie "The Big Lebowski") with trully happy loud laughs. And of course, when Paul Mayne, Gianfranco Totani, Martin Fahey or myself get together, there is always GeoMusic in the air. I found very found of that gathering and i think Cab Calloway and his Minnie, the Moocher can give an idea of the time we lived then.
When i came home i was decided to walk my path to be a Knight of the Blade.
Thank you ROGER, for being my spring.
King Marchetti and Knights, i´m coming with some amazing results. Just wait a few more moments and you´ll see. I hope i´ll deserve the title of KNIGHT.
Chega o momento que é preciso avançar para o final das coisas que temos na mão. Vim aqui para me lembrar de como toda esta aventura começou. Em 2006, estava eu aqui em Washington para a conferência DMT, bem no meio do Rei Marchetti e dos seus Cavaleiros da Lâmina. Senti-me mesmo feliz de poder estar no meio deles, ainda que só por uma semana. O meu amigo Roger Failzmeger, organizou o evento de uma forma espantosa e num momento de pura creatividade, incluiu na programação um tópico chamado "Discussões de engenharia". Momentos soberbos de Ciência & Divertimento. Imaginem-se a discutir a influencia da sucção na resistência ao corte, bem regados por famosos "White Russians" (bebida que atingiu o estrelato nesse fantástico filme dos irmãos Cohen. The Big Lebowski"), no meio de gargalhadas sonoras e bem dispostas. E é claro, sempre que o Paul Mayne, Gianfranco Totani, Martin Fahey e eu próprio nos juntamos, há sempre GeoMusic. Fiquei rendido áquilo. Penso que o Cab Calloway (Minnie, the Moocher) dá a emoção que é preciso para vocês sentirem um pouco do que aquilo foi.
Quando regressei à terra, vinha decidido a trilhar o meu caminho para ser um Cavaleiro da Lâmina. Obrigado ROGER, por esse momento que foi a mola desta aventura.
Caro Rei Marchetti, Caros Cavaleiros
Aguardem que vou chegar com resultados muito engraçados. Espero que merecedores do Titulo de Cavaleiro.
When i started both adventures (around the world and around the mind) i really didn´t imagine the proportions that both could take. Of course i had great expectations, but didn´t dare to give them a form, cause it would confine the free course (and thus its soul) of the adventure. So, as i said before, i really didn´t make an effort to plan things right. I just wanted to have the mind free for creaction. I didn´t know (i was just trying it), but really...it was a wise decision. I truly believe that the way things end really don´t matter. What matters is the way you walked to build up what you did.
I´m happy in double now, because both adventures are living by themselves, carrying me to a fantastic moment of joy. A fantastic trip widening more and more my horizons, the emotions brought by so many different people i met along the way and a scientific document i begin to be proud of.
I have my work almost done. It´s now time for giving it to some of my "guru's" for them to coment. I´m able to discuss things within the framework with anyone. And this brings the necessity of some PLANNING. So here it goes... with Segundo Sol (Second Sun) of Cassia Eller
1 - Until the end of next week i´ll be talking to my brazilian friends and their huge expirience in the matter of characterizing residual soils.
2 - The week after, time to think on the comments of the previous point and a stop over in Xalapa (Vera Cruz, México) to help some friends of my company (MOTA-ENGIL) in a difficult ground
3 - Then consulting the big conseil of King Marchetti and the Knights of the Flat Blade, in Washington where i can catch all of them together
4 - Go after the inocence and ingenuity, entering in Europe in Legoland England (Windsor), to look for another point of view that eventually can bring some more light in the frame work and draw some future research trends.
5 - Alexandre and Mena, my dear friends from algarve, will join me for this final steps of my trip and will transport me from Porto Santo to Portugal helping me making a Grand Finale of this tour. Coming back home windsailing. What could a man wish more.
I almost antecipate that i will feel like Luis de Camões, with my paper protected and safe.
So join me in this journey. I´ll be happy to have you with me.
A Special Kiss to my Sister Isabel, in a trip for life.
Quando comecei estas duas aventuras (à volta do mundo e da mente), realmente não podia imaginar a proporção que elas tomariam. É claro que tinha grandes expectativas, mas não me atrevi a dar-lhes forma, porque não quis condicionar o seu livre curso. Assim, como já referi em posts anteriores, não fiz nenhum esforço de planeamento, deixando a mente livre para tentar criar algo. Ao tempo não o sabia, mas foi uma decisão acertadissima. Na realidade toda esta experiencia me tem mostrado que não importa tanto onde se chega mas o modo como se faz esse caminho, porque o sumo está todo aí, no caminho.
Estou feliz e preenchido, em dobro, porque ambas as aventuras ganharam a sua vida própria transportando-me para incriveis momentos de alegria. Duas viagens fantasticas que alargam em muito os meus horizontes, que mederam emoções fantásticas trazidas portanta gente diferente que conheci ao longo do caminho e um documento cientifico de que me começo realmente a orgulhar.
Tenho o trabalho quase pronto. É tempo de de o dar a ler aos meus "gurus" e pedir asd suas sugestões. E assim, chegou o tempo de planear com Segundo Sol de Cassia Eller. Daqui para a frente vai ser assim
1 - Até ao final da próxima semana estarei ouvindo os meus "manos" brasileiros e a sua enorme experience na caracterização de solos residuais.
2 - Na semana a seguir vou reflectir sobre isso, enquanto faço uma passagem por Xalapa (Vera Cruz, México) para dar uma ajuda a alguns amigos da empresa onde trabalho (MOTA-ENGIL), numa obra em terreno bastante complicado.
3 - A seguir voar para Washington e consultar o Grande Conselho do Rei Marchetti e os Cavaleiros da lâmina plana (DMT)
4 - Entrar na Europa via Legoland Reino Unido (Windsor), atrás da inocencia e ingenuidade que me darão sempre e novamente o ponto de nova partida e aí delinear algo de interesse para fazer a seguir nesta linha de investigação.
5 - Alexandre and Mena, meus muito queridos amigos do Algarve juntam-se a mim neste trecho final proporcionando-me uma fantástica forma de regressar a casa. Navegando ao vento desde Porto Santo até ao Algarve. Quase que me vejo, que nem o Luis de Camões com o seu pergaminho são e salvo. Que mais poderia eu desejar?
Venham daí comigo, que eu fico feliz com a vossa companhia.
Um beijo especial para a minha irmã Isabel, também ela em viagem pela vida
The PhD on the road adventure started in November 2008 and finished in August 2010 and tells the epic event of writing an Engineering PhD while going around the world. The global adventure should be red/seen as the reading of a romance, not all at once. Each post combines text, photos (sometimes small videos), played along with music (in diaporamas) with the respective lyrics being part of the story. Within the whole story, there are small histories that be recognized by the basic title of the movies (movies with the same basic title are chapters of a same small history). The following histories can be found within the whole adventure, apart from some technical and/or isolated movies:
1 - Tuareg (Morocco)
2 - On the Track of Livingstone (Mozambique)
3 - A Love Story (Sri Lanka)
4 - 7 weeks in Tibet (Tibet)
5 - Empires of the East (China)
6 - Making Possible the Impossible (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau)
7 - Uma História de Peão (Brazil)
8 - Arriba Zapata (Mexico)
9 - Learning with the youth (London, Legoland)
10 - Small Things Are Always Great (Porto Santo)
11 - Blowin' in the Wind (Sailing from Porto Santo to Algarve)
12 - Rings of Fire (Guatemala, Mexico and Azores)
13 - When i´m desperate i go talk to my granites (Alvarenga)
14 - Shadows (Alpendorada)
15 - The Thesis (Portugal)
16 - The Obelix Party (Parc Asterix and Granja)
...and after the end of PhD on the road (september 2010), the blog was kept alive with the following histories:
17 - The Nomad Sail of the Soul (sailing, South of Spain)
18 - Nomad Minds (Teaching and tutoring)
19 - Puro Tango (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
20 - Patagónia (3500 km off-road in Argentinian Patagónia)
21 - A New Dawn (Peru)
22 - A Spot of Light in a Dark Horizon (Western Australia)
23 - 4 Questions to Heaven (Portugal & Spain)
24 - Maktoub (Moroco)
25 - Islands of Hope (Cape Verde)
26 - The ISC Family (Brazil)
27 - A Jazz Hour at the Pisco Sour Hour (Peru)
28 - Histories of Lost Loves (Moncorvo, Portugal)
29 - The Adventure of the Railroad (Malawi)
30 - The Power of Women (L´ile de Ré, France)
31 - Irrepressable Poland (Poland)
32 - An African Cross Country (Mozambique)
33 - 7 Seas (Sailing in Creoula, Porto - Cadiz - Lisboa)
34 - The Flight of the Condor (Peru)
35 - We (Mallorca, Spain)
36 - Another Cluster (Rock Mechanics)
37 - Bolivariando (Colombia)
38 - Kissing Africa (Mozambique and Malawi)
39 - The Walk of Life (Lisboa Barcelona in Creoula)
40 - Until the Last Drop (Uganda, Pocinho, Porto, Lisboa and Berlim)
41 - A Son of a Fish Knows How to Swim (Toledo and Aranjuez, Spain)
42 - a Wherever Love (Mozambique)
43 - If I Was Scottish I Would Ce a Proud One (Scotland)
44 - Incredible India (Mumbai and Goa)
45 - Dubai (Dubai) 46 - A Banquet of Nature (Queensland, Australia)
Combine... the Olive oil and Water, the Heaven and the Hell, Art and Science, and Format and Chaos the Inteligent and the limited, the "Cool" and the agressive, the Family man and the Adventurer, the domestic and the nigth watcher. And so the Weak becomes Strong when the Strong Weak becomes. Imagine Michael Schumacher driving a donkey. What wouldn´t the donkey gain, and how much higher Schumacher would have gone?
A minha maior convicção reside no valor de COMBINAR. Combinar... o Azeite com a Água, a Bondade com a Malícia, a Arte com a Ciência, o Formato com o Caos o Inteligente com o Limitado, o Sereno com o Agressivo, o Chefe de família com o Aventureiro, a Mulher a dias com o Guarda Nocturno. E assim o Fraco torna-se Forte quando o Forte Fraco se torna. Experimentem. E verifiquem os excelentes resultados, sobretudo pelo enorme estimulo à Imaginação e Criatividade. Imaginem o Michael Schumacher a conduzir um burro. O que não ganharia o burro, e quão mais não ganharia o Schumacher.
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