Author: Veselin

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Little Things

~ Veselin ~ 5 Comments

Yesterday, I saw the Jetpack app on my phone and it felt like I’ve not turned that on in awhile. It made me think about how easily we let things slip. We do something regularly, then skip it once, then a few more times… and eventually, we just stop. Even if we made a clear commitment to keep it up.

Other examples:

  • Use that frontendmasters subscription, because I made a commitment to learn SVG animations but never did
  • A 10-year-old dashboard, from a past role, visiting which used to be second nature for me
  • Vacuuming the car
  • Checking up on an old friend who’s always happy to chat but never calls
  • Watering the plant in the other room
  • Reading a few pages of that book that’s boring but useful and I want to finish

I was greatly embarrassed and checked all 10-year-old dashboards, the trash in the car (uh, forgot one thing that just stays in the trunk), messaged a few friends, and watered the plant.

The frontendmasters sub is gone, I have to admit I’m not learning SVG animations any time soon.

AI Generated Billboards

~ Veselin ~ 8 Comments

Sofia has lots of gambling ads. What recently made an impression on me is that 100% of the men advertising gambling are somewhat recognizable humans. 100% of the women advertising gambling look AI.

Flying coins, flying red things, oddly shaped arms, airbrushed flawless faces with exaggerated features. AI.

From left to right:

  • Marian Valev – actor, famous with his role in the successful Bulgarian TV show Undercover
  • Fiki Storaro – pop-folk singer
  • Dimitar Berbatov – the second or third most popular orb-kicker in the history of the country, depending on how far back in time we want to go

They all look real — shadows under the eyes, gray hair, wrinkles.

Is it a coincidence? I took most of these photos weeks ago and have been looking for an exception ever since. I haven’t found one.

From Kartala to Macedonia Hut (2)

~ Veselin ~ 4 Comments

We went to Macedonia Hut in June – and it felt like a great hike. Kartala has a good asphalt road and a large free parking, which makes it a very convenient starting point. Most of the hike is in the forest, which was great, given the heat wave over the last week.

This second time, we took all the possible shortcuts and slowed the pace as much as we could. As a result of both, we managed to reach the hut in slightly over 3h. The path with the shortcuts is slightly above 8km, +720~~ meters. Without the shortcuts, it’s over 9km.

It has these brand and new slightly optimistic signs. The actual distance as measured by our smart devices varied by +300 to +600 meters. I think some of the expected signs are not yet installed because we couldn’t find them.

The hut keeper cooked us food and the day was fine. We rolled back down tired and well fed.

Get your ducks in a row

~ Veselin ~ 3 Comments

Apparently, the phrase originates from bowling, not from mother ducks ordering themselves or arranging little ducks. But I like it. I’ve been trying to capture photo of a duck with ducklings for many months and the only thing that I think I discovered is that the ducklings do not show up in areas where humans can see them.

Baby Jay

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

After two years of enduring spring-time harassment by an overexcited jay, probably protecting a nest somewhere, I finally saw what a baby jay looks like.