
After a couple of very cold weeks, some snow, and some frost, everything is green and the void is out there, watching.
Cats, good books, AI, and religious walking in the city of Sofia

After a couple of very cold weeks, some snow, and some frost, everything is green and the void is out there, watching.
The graffiti says: “Throw your trash on the ground.”

After all, the Earth is the ground โ so what’s the point of a trash can?



Not much to lighten the mood these days. Here’s some colorful photos from Sofia, taken last month. I have no explanation for the third photo. Why?

Finally a proof that the universe is not deterministic.
The number 41 was drawn in Bulgariaโs 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 ๐ง๐ฌ | Naples ๐ฎ๐น | |
| Volcanic activity | ๐ซ | โ |
| Nearby mountain | โ | โ |
| Mountain tries to kill you | ๐ซ | โ |
| Lots of pizza | โ | โ โ โ โ โ |
| Lots of trash | โ | โ โ โ ๐ ๐ฉ |
| Dog poop | ๐ฉ | ๐ฉ ๐ฉ ๐ฉ ๐คฆ |
| Frequent dealers | ๐ซ | โ |
| Sidewalks blocked | โ , | โ , |
| Pineapple pizza | โ | ๐ซ |
| Roman ruins | โ | โ โ โ โ โ |
| Has skyscrapers | โ | โ |
| Has skyscrapers everywhere | โ | ๐ซ |
| Has a giant brutalist trash can | ๐ซ in progress โณ | โ |
| Restaurant food prices | ๐ฐ | ๐ฐ ๐ฐ |
| Restaurants offer salads | โ | ๐ซ |
| 4-course meals for tourists | ๐ซ | โ |
| Food is usually great | ๐ซ | โ |
| Yogurt is usually great | โ | ๐ซ ๐คฆ |
| Coca Cola Zero bottle size | 500 ml โ | 450 ml ๐คฆ |
| Number of cats | ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ | ๐ |
| Crowds of tourists | ๐ซ | โ |
| Drivers sometimes stop for you | โ | ๐ซ |
| Taxi prices | ๐ฐ | ๐ฐ ๐ฐ ๐ฐ ๐ฐ |
| Taxis may attempt to scam you | โ | โ |
| Walkable | ๐คฆ | ๐คฆ |

Naples for me was a place with a long history, old buildings, too much pizza, and lots of cars.