Helgoland Diaries II

Week 2 (and a half)

The days slide by here, bathing the red stone of the island in plentiful sunshine while the gulls, razor-bills and gannets glide in the blue skies above. Work proceeds slowly but surely. In my case my PCRs and, now, DGGEs keep me busy  in the lab while RC trudges out in the field (where no insurance company elects to extend their policy) trapping algae and doing unspeakable things to the little primary producers.

Due to some rather disturbing geology helped along by the British attempt to blast the island out of existence last century, Helgoland is divided into an upper- and lower-land. Transit between the two is done either by a healthy number of stairs or by an elevator service which happily benefits from the charred lungs of tourists trying to smoke themselves into oblivion with duty-free tobacco. A narrow road is another possibility, but the electric vehicles whizzing around the island, carrying this or that make it somewhat of a risky choice.  There's no obvious difference between the upper-landers and their earthward kin, but appearances can be deceiving and I wait every night for the locals to perform whatever cult rituals they've been concealing so well until now. Their secrets will be revealed.

Large clumps of rain clouds are tumbling over the island today, bringing intermittent showers which I find quite welcome. A pot of tea at the AWI guest-house with conversation from RC and an amicable halocarbon researcher from Tasmania are in order I think. Perhaps a walk to the cliffs to watch the birds scour the intertidal zone for various shell-bound morsels after dinner. The light clings on until half past ten these evenings, but doesn't deter the dolmen of a lighthouse watching over the shores one bit. For now, I'm still waiting for the agarose gels I've set into electrophoretic motion to stop complaining and give me good news about the bacteria in the North Atlantic!

Britons, always a treat

When three Britons were washed up on a remote Indonesian island, their relief must have been immense.

For 12 hours they and two other divers had been clinging to each other in shark-infested waters after being carried from their diving boat by currents.

But wracked by dehydration and exhaustion, their joy at reaching Rinca island was short-lived when a Komodo dragon appeared on the beach. They pelted it with rocks and it retreated, and the five divers were later rescued.

- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7443648.stm

Oh the narcissism!

From: http://www.xeromag.com/fun/personality.html

INTJ: The outside contractor

INTJs are solid, competent personalities who may seem aloof and even arrogant, but who are typically highly skilled in any field which interests them. INTJs are confident in their skills and knowledge, self-assured, and imaginitive; their exceptional problem-solving skills make them ideal architects, auto mechanics, and tools of the evil empire. While it requires the driving will to conquer of an ENTJ to imagine the Death Star and the evil genius of an ENTP to invent its devastating weapons systems, the skill and technical prowess of the INTJ is what makes the whole thing work.

The INTJ sees life as a problem to be solved. For that reason, the INTJ is the person a company brings in from the outside to streamline production processes and identify redundant assets for termination. The INTJ's combination of analyticial problem-solving skills and complete and utter disregard for the morality or consequences of his actions also make him ideal for the job of hatchet man, CIA operative, and helpdesk operator.

RECREATION: INTJs are often baffled by the strange and incomprehensible recreational rituals of other people, such as going to parties, watching television, and having sex. Instead, they prefer to spend their leisure time installing twin missile launchers in their cars to deter tailgaters and playing chess with megalomaniac CEOs of the Tyrell corporation.

COMPATIBILITY: Silly person, INTJs don't have relationships! They may, however build their own friends.

Famous INTJs include J. F. Sebastian and Sgt. Apone.

Personality typing

Sourced from http://fuzzy.snakeden.org/intj/, surprisingly accurate with a handy "Dealing with" section at the end. Take note, or beware!

_______________________________

INTJ FAQs

This site was created to clear up common misunderstandings and frequently asked questions about the Myers-Briggs temperament of INTJ, called by Keirsey as the Mastermind personality.

INTROVENT

They are not good at dealing with minutia or very detailed tasks. The INFJ will either avoid such things, or else go to the other extreme and become enveloped in the details to the extent that they can no longer see the big picture.

Introversion in regards to temperament does not mean shy or antisocial. It refers to how a person revitalizes himself. MBTI introverts are people who need to be by themselves to recharge their energy and feel their best. Extroverts feel more "jazzed" surrounded by people.
Though some MBTI introverts are truly shy and stay away from social gatherings whenever they can, others develop coping techniques like stepping out for about 15 minutes to be alone and things like that. An introvert can enjoy communication just as much as an extrovert - many just prefer not to do it face to face.
It is also possible for an extrovert to be shy, due to some traumatic event. S/he may love being around people, but had been rejected sometime in the past.
Introverts tend to be more reflective, since introspection usually gives them more satisfaction.

INTUITIVE

Intuitive people are those who easily think "outside the box". While a sensing person reasons from Point A to Point B to Point C and so forth, an intuitive person can go from Point A straight to Point F without any trouble.

Sensor Thinking
Intuitive Thinking

THINKING

A thinking temperament uses critical thought as a final deciding factor instead of feeling. This does not mean that a thinker has no feelings or does not acknowledge them. It just that feelings are not automatically the first consideration. A Thinker can learn to judge when to use Feeler techniques to solve a problem. Also, Feeler as in Feelings is a little bit of a misnomer. It includes moral sense as well as personal feelings. A feeler and a thinker can reach the same conclusion through logical means, but often their justifications differ. A feeler may be polite because it makes them feel better when there is harmony. A thinker may be polite because it is easier to accomplish things when they aren't dealing with ruffled feathers.

JUDGEMENT

People with judging temperaments are not necessarily critical. They just like to have things decided and acted upon. They evaluate, make their decision and go on. If they have to rethink something, they will, but they don't like waffling or bullshit.
A distinction between perceiving and judging:
Perceiver: We haven't had peaches in three months.
Judger: We should have peaches for dinner.
The point being the distinction between straight observation and a value added statement. Judgers tend to evaluate things far more than Perceivers. Perceivers don't want to overlook a possibility. Judgers want to know the importance of something.

DEALING WITH INTJS

1. Be willing to back up your statements with facts - or at least some pretty sound reasoning.
2. Don't expect them to respect you or your viewpoints just because you say so. INTJ respect must be earned.
3. Be willing to concede when you are wrong. The average INTJ respects the truth over being "right". Withdraw your erroneous comment and admit your mistake and they will see you as a very reasonable person. Stick to erroneous comments and they will think you are an irrational idiot and treat everything you say as being questionable.
4. Try not to be repetitive. It annoys them.
5. Do not feed them a line of bull.
6. Expect debate. INTJs like to tear ideas apart and prove their worthiness. They will even argue a point they don't actually support for the sake of argument.
7. Do not mistake the strength of your conviction with the strength of your argument. INTJs do not need to believe in a position to argue it or argue it well. Therefore, it will take more than fervor to sway them.
8. Do not be surprised at sarcasm.
9. Remember that INTJs believe in workable solutions. They are extremely open-minded to possibilities, but they will quickly discard any idea that is unfeasible. INTJ open-mindedness means that they are willing to have a go at an idea by trying to pull it apart. This horrifies people who expect oohs and ahhs and reverence. The ultimate INTJ insult to an idea is to ignore it, because that means it's not even interesting enough to deconstruct.
   This also means that they will not just accept any viewpoint that is presented to them. The bottom line is "Does it work?" - end discussion.
10. Do not expect INTJs to actually care about how you view them. They already know that they are arrogant bastards with a morbid sense of humor. Telling them the obvious accomplishes nothing.

* A group of INTJs is an argument. *

Q: Is Spock an INTJ?
A: Spock is a fictional character, but to answer the question - no. Mr. Spock of Star Trek is not a representation of an INTJ temperament. No INTJ would go around quoting Star Fleet regulations on a regular basis and especially not during a crisis. A more common INTJ reaction would be, "To hell with the regs! We need to do this to save our butts!" Spock is more of an ISTJ.
J.R.R. Tolkien's Gandalf is a better fictional representation of an actual INTJ.

Q: Is God really an INTJ as you have been hearing?
A: Yes. God is the Ultimate INTJ. If you have any doubts, ask an INTJ. *grin!*

INTJ Prayer:

* God, let me be open to other people's views, *

WRONG though they may be.

Helgoland Diaries

Week 1 - 27th May - 1st June, 2008

The early morning regional express conveyed my colleague, RC, and I northwards through the brooding farmlands of Lower Saxony and finally to the port town of Cuxhaven. An invigorating and somewhat briny wind from the North Sea met us as we set off to the harbour from the humble town station, dragging and hauling our ample luggage. Fisher-folk and port staff, no doubt up with the light itself, were about their business as inns and taverns whose wooden facades were worn by decades of salty air slowly opened for the day. 

**

It seems that the trusty Helgoland ferry - the Atlantis - now departs from a different harbour than it did in previous years. Casually assuming no such change had occurred left RC and myself dashing across jetties and coastal scrub land with all our assembled baggage to the far side of the harbours with mere minutes until departure. We did manage to board on time and amuse a fair number of town-folk and sailors in the process. The trip was quiet and most revealing regarding the habits of Moomintrolls. When at last we did arrive at the island, several small motor-boats met the ferry just outside the harbour near the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland and all passengers were sped to the piers after being man-handled aboard. Quite fun, and certainly not a feature of my last trip.

**

The first few days of research at the BAH proceeded well. It seems that PCR will never release its grip upon my exploits in the lab. I've realised that I've been fingerprinting this or that in some form or other for all 3 of my projects. Alas! There will be opportunities to vary the menu ahead, I'm sure. Something to do with an entire microbe even! RC seems to be having quite a good time - exploring algae in the treacherous inter-tidal zones under the crumbling cliffs of the island. In the meantime, we've stocked up on supplies from the local Spar and are marking our territory in the communal kitchen of the research station's guest house with permanent markers and labelling stickers courtesy of the Max Planck back in Bremen. We've both had time to wander the island, enjoy the crisp sea air laced with floral sub-tones and sample the local fare; it seems quite unlikely that isolation will be much of an issue. Let us hope!