Driving in Sofia

I’m blessed that I don’t need to drive in the city, thanks to Automattic’s remote-work policy. But this morning, I had to drive 17 km through the city during rush hour to pick up my mom. I felt like a racecar driver again, one I used to be when I was younger. Locked in a constnat competition with hundreds of others, trying to catch every green light because those precious 30 seconds somehow feel like a matter of life and death.

It reminded me of a post I wrote 2.5 years ago about Car Brains, and how driving in the city should count as a form of cognitive impairment or even illness. It’s a stupid activity that harms the driver while also harming the environment and all the other participants in the traffic.

Here’s a photo of creatures that are smarter than city drivers. They don’t drive in the city, don’t form traffic jams, and don’t engage in road rage. The darker pigeon in the middle is a a tiny Jackdaw.