Split Pace

~ Veselin ~ 2 Comments

The hiking split pace announcement triggered Siri today 🙂

I couldn’t reach the bean soup today. This image with Split Pea is the best I could do. The temperature reached 35°C yesterday. I went to the mountain optimistically dressed in a t-shirt, and shorts, armed with a bottle of water, and no backpack, expecting hot weather. Found strong winds, the starting point temperature was 11°C and the destination was 0°C. Gave it a try but couldn’t make it. Stayed within the 10-12°C part of the mountain for about 10km. It was cold. One of the first things I did after coming back was to go to Decathlon and buy a small backpack, a very light wind-proof jacket, and a wool scarf.

Apple Watch is a marvelous device for beginner hikers but perhaps I need to turn off Siri.

PS. The raspberries today were wonderful and properly cooled.

This blog will change the world

~ Veselin ~ 6 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world?
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I love this writing prompt!

Blogs can change the world. I see influential folks in Bulgaria do great things with their blogs. However, my site focuses on my journeys, discoveries, learnings, and experiences, it doesn’t aim to change the world. There are some evolving personal goals that I’m pursuing, and I’m using the daily posting as motivation:

  • Trying to average 10K steps/day (I’m not far but under)
  • Trying to use my non-work-related screen time for reading books, blogging, reading blogs, and engaging with communities
  • Trying to not use my personal time for news, doom scrolling, and anxiety-related experiences
  • Trying to learn more about writing, psychology, AI, math

Using the blog I can achieve things like:

  • Inspire a few more people to religiously walk and use their cars for country trips only
  • Inspire more people to read books
  • Inspire more people to pursue a life of being kind and empathetic to others
  • Criticize the usage of AI to divert web traffic into apps that steal human content

Would it work that way? Sure, just give it time 😉 Once I get to, let’s say, 1000 subscribers, I’ll post a status update 🌎

July in Books

~ Veselin ~ 9 Comments

My reading in July was diverse, I had modern sci-fi, classic sci-fi, urban fantasy, history, crime, and one Eco.

Best books for the month (in that order):

Worst books:

  • Motherless Brooklyn. The main character’s exaggerated OCD was too unpleasant

I ranked the Eco with 3* but it deserves a post and I’ll write one when I have enough time to properly do it. A book that deserves a post cannot be that bad. It challenges the teachings of Dale Carnegie. Who does that?

What are you curious about?

~ Veselin ~ 13 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What are you curious about?
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Work excluded, the answer is Rockets and Math.

I recently rediscovered my interest in math and occasionally watch long math videos on YouTube. I’m subscribed to Mathologer, but I let myself be tempted by other YouTubers. The social networks noticed and started trying to challenge me with high school level tasks.

I would also watch some rocket launches live. The next on my list is the chopstick attempt – Starship 5.