Author: Veselin

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A Deadly Influence by Mike Omer, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

A Deadly Influence is a crime thriller about Abby Mullen, a hostage negotiator assisting with a kidnapping case. Somehow, the kidnapping is linked to a cult. Abby Mullen grew up in a cult and is still haunted by the massacre that brought it to an end.

Overall, the book is fantastic—well-written, unpredictable, and somewhat logical. I don’t often read fiction about events that could actually happen.

The only issue was that the publisher used a very tiny font size to save from paper. It was painful to read. They squished a 450-page book into 300 pages.

5*/5.

What would you do if you won the lottery?

~ Veselin ~ 12 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What would you do if you won the lottery?
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A fellow blogger Dr. Victor Bodo wrote about the types of happiness. He identified 4 types of happiness by origin – coming from pleasure, from purpose, from spirituality, and one from following a wise path. Lottery winnings can greatly impact the first type of happiness. However, I don’t think they can make me younger, smarter, healthier, wiser, or more connected to the family and community, leaving the 3 other types of happiness unchanged or at risk.

I once met a lottery winner while standing in line for bread. Those who have lived in communism know that shortages were common, and waiting in long lines for basic stuff was a daily chore. In my case, it was bread. An old man stood in front of me, loudly sharing the story of his life. Years ago, he had won the national lottery, with the prize being a large apartment. Winning didn’t spare him from aging—or from standing in line like everyone else.

So, in case I won the lottery, I think I’d rather invest the winnings and live a normal life than surrender to a life of luxury and riches. I might get myself an electric car 🙂

Last year I blogged that I think money can’t make you happier beyond a certain limit. I still believe it.

Plumbing

~ Veselin ~ 7 Comments

I hate plumbing but at the same time if a mild plumbing issue appears, I attack it like a Pitbull – fiercely and with a very mild competence. Today the toilet in our shared co-working space didn’t stop filling the water tank. I changed this thing and now it stops.

Little did I know that it can actually be regulated up and down, and when it doesn’t close the faucet, you can pull it down and potentially achieve the same without the new mechanism. I only discovered that when the new mechanism stopped filling the tank way too quickly. Still, the problem is solved, one way or another.