Tag: car brains

Driving in Sofia

~ Veselin ~ 5 Comments

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.

Car Brain’s Dilemma

~ Veselin ~ 14 Comments

Car Brain‘s Dilemma is a (made-up) form of the Prisoner’s Dilemma.

  • In a city like Sofia, if everyone goes to work by public transport, bicycles, or walking, the average commute would be 30 minutes
  • If most people go by bus, the ones who choose a car would reach work in 15 minutes
  • if most people go by car, going by bus will take 1h, and going by car will take 45 minutes

It’s faster to go by car but if all people don’t use cars, the average commute time would improve. How do you resolve that?

I wrote a small essay on the subject of why people associate cars with freedom in 2023

Rome

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

I visited Rome on a work trip last week. Couldn’t experience too much of it because the trip was brief and the schedule – tight.

I liked their inner gardens and pretty, well dressed people. The food outside of the tourist centre was superb.

I hated the car culture, the swarms of tourists. Almost got run by a motorcycle on the sidewalk. Didn’t see a single cat. The Sistine Chapel was so packed that I wandered if I’ll get out alive.

Had Gelato every day. It was fantastic 🍧