Cats, good books, AI, and religious walking in the city of Sofia
Bulgaria got invited to join the Euro today. Bulgarians are not united on the subject if they want the Euro and the anti-EU political parties are capitalizing that. I witnessed their protest today.
The gathering was lead by a young lad who yelled with full force, like he’s dictating the attack in the Braveheart movie. The hot sun made the movement sluggish.
Asenovets is a famous building in the city center of Sofia. Two similarly designed large residential buildings sit on the two sides of Ivan Asen II street, the area with our co-working space. I go past this building almost daily. The area is nice.
The police took out 48 dogs from an apartment in this historic building yesterday. I’m speechless. An apartment in such a place can be a pricy AirBNB that’s never empty, and someone hoarded dogs inside, and somehow managed to lock in 48 of them until the authorities stopped it and took the dogs and the owner away.
I hope the dogs find better accommodation and the neighbors – some peace and quiet.
Finally a proof that the universe is not deterministic.
The number 41 was drawn in Bulgaria’s 5/35 lottery. It’s supposed to select randomly 5 numbers between 1 and 35.
It’s also another proof that the only way to win from the lottery is to never play.
I spent a week in Naples for a team meetup with my team. I kept comparing the city with Sofia for reasons that may not be immediately obvious. At least not obvious to me. Don’t take this post seriously.
Here’s this spreadsheet with an honest and unbiased comparison between Sofia and Naples.
| Sofia 🇧🇬 | Naples 🇮🇹 | |
| Volcanic activity | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Nearby mountain | ✅ | ✅ |
| Mountain tries to kill you | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Lots of pizza | ✅ | ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ |
| Lots of trash | ✅ | ✅ ✅ ✅ 🍌 💩 |
| Dog poop | 💩 | 💩 💩 💩 🤦 |
| Frequent dealers | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Sidewalks blocked | ✅, | ✅, |
| Pineapple pizza | ✅ | 🚫 |
| Roman ruins | ✅ | ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ |
| Has skyscrapers | ✅ | ✅ |
| Has skyscrapers everywhere | ✅ | 🚫 |
| Has a giant brutalist trash can | 🚫 in progress ⏳ | ✅ |
| Restaurant food prices | 💰 | 💰 💰 |
| Restaurants offer salads | ✅ | 🚫 |
| 4-course meals for tourists | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Food is usually great | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Yogurt is usually great | ✅ | 🚫 🤦 |
| Coca Cola Zero bottle size | 500 ml ✅ | 450 ml 🤦 |
| Number of cats | 🐈 🐈 🐈 🐈 🐈 | 🐈 |
| Crowds of tourists | 🚫 | ✅ |
| Drivers sometimes stop for you | ✅ | 🚫 |
| Taxi prices | 💰 | 💰 💰 💰 💰 |
| Taxis may attempt to scam you | ✅ | ✅ |
| Walkable | 🤦 | 🤦 |
Naples for me was a place with a long history, old buildings, too much pizza, and lots of cars.
I visited a few iconic places today to celebrate the national holiday.
The Nevski Cathedral, St. Sofia with the eternal flame, and King Samuil’s statue.
This is King Samuil, watching if you click like.
The other cathedral, St. Nedelya (we have two), the Largo with the St. Sofia statue in the distance, and the president’s office with the guards.
Vitosha Boulevard, The Palace of Justice (The Court House), and The Parliament, with the Horse, an ancient TV truck, and the Cathedral in the background.
There will be fireworks in the evening. I hope we have a chance to go and watch them in person.
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