Two men at a café table surrounded by notebooks, USB drives, and a barometer

At 15:47 this afternoon, I arrived at Café Arman for the scheduled meeting with Ruslan Karimovich.

At 15:48, I realized I had significantly overprepared.

At 15:49, Ruslan arrived and I realized he had overprepared even more.

15:47 - My Preparation (Excessive)

What I brought:

Item Quantity Justification
USB drives with data 3 Primary, backup, backup of backup
Printed graphs 14 pages In case laptop fails
Laptop 1 For data review
Frequency counter 1 To demonstrate
Notebook (measurements) 1 For notes
Notebook (empty) 1 In case Ruslan needs paper
Pens 4 Different colors for different datasets
Tea (in thermos) 500ml Café tea is unpredictable
Panettone slice 1 In case meeting runs long (Mrs. Kuznetsova’s gift)

Total bag weight: 4.7 kg (measured before leaving)

I had predicted 95% probability of overpreparing. I was conservative.

15:49 - Ruslan’s Preparation (More Excessive)

Ruslan entered café carrying:

  1. Large backpack (estimated 8-10 kg)
  2. Separate bag with hard case
  3. Rolled papers under arm (posters?)

His inventory (revealed over next 20 minutes):

Item Quantity His Justification
USB drives 5 “One for each year of critical data, plus two current”
External hard drive 1 “Complete archive, 2017-2025”
Printed reports 47 pages “Summaries I prepared for postal service, they never read”
Barometer (analog, East German) 1 “The spare, as promised”
Barometer (digital, Chinese) 1 “For comparison, so you see both methods”
Hygrometer 1 “In case humidity relevant”
Thermometer (mercury) 1 “Old but accurate”
Laptop 1 “Excel files, very large”
Graph paper pad 1 “For sketching hypotheses”
Calculator (scientific) 1 “For calculations”
Tea (in thermos) 750ml “Café tea is unpredictable”
Sandwiches 3 “Meeting might run long”
Reading glasses (spare pair) 1 “In case first pair breaks during data review”

Total inventory weight (estimated): 12+ kg

I have found my people.

16:03 - The Introduction (Awkward, Then Not)

We sat across from each other at small café table. Table immediately became insufficient.

First words exchanged:

Ruslan: “You are Anatoli. I recognize you from blog photograph.”

Me: “You are Ruslan. I recognize you from… actually I have never seen photograph of you.”

Ruslan: “This is correct. I do not photograph well. The barometer photographs better.”

He placed East German barometer on table between us. It was beautiful. Brass fittings, glass face, Cyrillic markings. Manufactured 1978.

Ruslan: “This is yours now. For the collaboration.”

Me: “I cannot accept—”

Ruslan: “I have four barometers. My wife says this is three too many. She is probably correct.”

The café waiter approached. Looked at table covered in USB drives, two thermoses, scientific equipment. Looked at us. Said nothing. Returned to counter.

We ordered tea anyway. For appearances.

16:15 - The Data Review (Comprehensive)

For the next 90 minutes, we reviewed each other’s datasets.

Ruslan’s reaction to my frequency data:

  • “Your methodology is sound.”
  • “Your sample rate is adequate.”
  • “Your Tuesday correlation is fascinating. I wish I had found Tuesday correlation. I found only Thursday/Friday lunar effect, which is less interesting.”
  • “Your equipment is questionable but sufficient.” (About my 47€ frequency counter)
  • “You measure like a scientist. This is compliment.”

My reaction to Ruslan’s pressure data:

  • 8 years of continuous measurement
  • 8,541 data points
  • Excel file opens slowly (47 MB, his laptop struggled)
  • Correlations clearly visible in graphs
  • Methodology rigorous
  • Postal service was wrong to dismiss this

Notable finding: His low-pressure delays (below 1010 hPa) show p < 0.05 significance. This is publishable. In a journal that would accept postal-atmospheric correlation research. Such journal may not exist. But the science is sound.

17:45 - The Other Café Patrons (Concerned)

By this point, our table resembled small research station.

Items visible to other patrons:

  • 2 laptops (screens showing graphs)
  • 2 thermoses
  • 1 brass barometer
  • 1 digital barometer
  • 1 hygrometer
  • 1 mercury thermometer
  • 1 frequency counter
  • 8 USB drives (scattered)
  • 61 pages of printed materials
  • 2 notebooks (open, being written in simultaneously)
  • 4 pens (in use)
  • Cold tea (forgotten, café-provided)
  • 3 sandwiches (Ruslan’s, untouched)
  • 1 panettone slice (mine, eaten during pressure correlation discussion)

Overheard from neighboring table:

Woman (to companion): “What are they doing?”

Companion: “I don’t know. Something with… weather equipment?”

Woman: “In a café?”

Companion: “Maybe they are meteorologists?”

Woman: “Meteorologists don’t usually look that excited about graphs.”

She was correct. We were very excited about graphs.

18:30 - The Collaboration Plan (Formalized)

Agreed methodology:

  1. Duration: 30 days minimum (January 16 - February 15)
  2. Measurements:
    • Anatoli: Grid frequency (every 2 hours, 06:00-22:00)
    • Ruslan: Atmospheric pressure (08:00, 12:00, 17:00 - his established schedule)
    • Both: Temperature, humidity (for control variables)
  3. Data format: Excel, shared weekly via email
  4. Hypothesis: Grid frequency correlates with atmospheric pressure
    • Industrial activity affected by weather → power consumption changes → frequency changes
    • Alternative: No correlation (null hypothesis)
  5. Analysis: Correlation coefficient, regression analysis, significance testing
  6. Publication target: None (nobody would publish), but documentation for ourselves

Ruslan’s addition: “We should also track lunar phase. In case.”

My response: “In case of what?”

Ruslan: “In case there is correlation. There is always possibility.”

I could not argue with this logic.

19:00 - The Farewell (Reluctant)

We had been in café for over 3 hours. The staff was clearly hoping we would leave.

Final exchange:

Ruslan: “This was productive.”

Me: “This was very productive.”

Ruslan: “My wife asked me to return before 20:00. She worries I will talk about atmospheric pressure until midnight.”

Me: “Would you?”

Ruslan: “Yes. Obviously.”

Me: “I understand.”

Ruslan: (pausing) “It is… good. To meet someone who also measures things. My wife loves me but she does not understand why barometric pressure matters. You understand.”

Me: “I do understand. Nobody has ever been interested in my refrigerator frequency data.”

Ruslan: “I am interested. Send me the raw data. All of it.”

Me: “It is 2.4 MB.”

Ruslan: “I have opened 47 MB file today. 2.4 MB is nothing.”

We shook hands. He gave me the East German barometer (insisted). I gave him one of my USB drives with frequency data. We agreed to begin measurements tomorrow morning.

I watched him leave café with his 12 kg of equipment. He walked with purpose. A man who has found collaborator.

I sat for another 5 minutes. Processing.

19:15 - Reflection (Walking Home With Barometer)

I am carrying brass barometer through streets of Almaty. It weighs 1.2 kg. It is from East Germany, 1978. It belonged to retired postal worker who spent 8 years measuring atmospheric pressure correlations with mail delivery times.

Now it belongs to me.

What I learned today:

  1. Ruslan overprepares more than I do (12 kg vs 4.7 kg)
  2. His data is legitimate, rigorous, scientifically sound
  3. The postal service was wrong to dismiss him
  4. He has four barometers (now three)
  5. His wife is patient
  6. We both bring our own tea to cafés because “café tea is unpredictable”
  7. Neither of us has ever met someone who understands our methodology obsession
  8. We are both very excited about graphs
  9. This excitement is unusual by normal standards
  10. We do not care about normal standards

What I have now:

  • New collaborator (verified)
  • New research project (30 days, starting tomorrow)
  • New barometer (East German, excellent condition)
  • New friend (probably)
  • Evidence that there are others like me
  • 47 MB of someone else’s obsessive data to analyze
  • Slightly less alone than yesterday

Current status:

  • Meeting: Successful
  • Collaboration: Initiated
  • Equipment: Enhanced (barometer acquired)
  • Social energy: Depleted but satisfied
  • Probability of checking barometer immediately upon arriving home: 100%
  • Probability of emailing Ruslan tonight with “additional thoughts”: 85%
  • Probability his wife is glad he found someone else to discuss this with: 95%

Equipment inventory update:

  • Frequency counter (47€, Chinese, questionable): Still primary
  • Barometer (East German, 1978, brass, Ruslan’s gift): NEW
  • Thermometer (Soviet, 1980s): Existing
  • Combined measurement capability: Significantly improved

Tomorrow: First day of atmospheric pressure vs. grid frequency correlation study. 30 days. Starting 06:00.

Note to Ruslan: Thank you for the barometer. And for being interested. This means more than the barometer.

Note to Ruslan’s wife: I will try not to keep him too long in future meetings. But I cannot promise anything when correlation coefficients are involved.

Measurement status: Collaboration phase initiated.