Todor Vlaev

📓 Came across a post in my LinkedIn feed advertising a role which requires “12+ years of experience”. Fair enough, but such a specific number. What happens in these magical 2 years after 10? Eh, maybe it’s an Illuminati thing.

📓 I don’t think about the Roman Empire often. But what I’ve realized crosses my mind almost daily is that we’ve destroyed old forests and the quality of hardwood is not what it used to be a couple of centuries ago. 🤷🏻‍♂️

📓 Just finished the 3 Body Problem season on Netflix 📺 I want to like it a lot more than I do. I have unusually many “why don’t they do this” kind of questions. Not sure if the novels are more thorough and set better limits to what is possible and why (or why not).

📓 It’s OK to take your time with hobbies. Sure, some concrete goals could be helpful guides. But it’s a journey and it’s OK to go down the occasional rabbit hole. Get completely off track, stop and smell the flowers. Hobbies give us this rare luxury if we only allow ourselves to grab it.

📓For about 2 years I’ve managed to keep brief journals almost daily, with a weekly review. It’s been paramount to keep it simple. No overthinking, a short stream-of-thought account is infinitely better than nothing. Now, I’m ready to deepen my practice with more structured and deliberate sessions.

📓 PSA. If you are enjoying a webcomic for free - give back. Buy the artist’s book, support them on Patreon, etc. Today I was reminded how much I like Adam Ellis’s work and ordered Bad Dreams in the Night.

📓 Cleaning before the party, cleaning after the party, but it was worth it. Sending off our summer vacation in style and with a bang.

📓 Long time no Pien bar 🍺

📓 Summer’s had a slow start for me. By now I’m afraid it willl accelerate exponentially and poof it’s gone. Trying to be mindful about this but can’t just force myself into a leisurely mood. Today is a lovely day though 🌞

📓 As is tradition - my second Micro.blog cake day post 🎂 Just a random photo from Monday when we moved to a new home. Bernie’s “TV” was upgraded significantly.

📓 Helsinki has nature even close to the heart of the city. As I’m enjoying one such oasis, what is not seen in a photo is noise pollution. You can always hear the monotonous grind of the roads. I wonder if we’ll ever solve this problem in the future.

📓Had to make several difficult decisions during the past week. Needed to lean more on my analitical self than my heart. I just have to trust that the time for pursuing one of my dreams had simply not come. It felt very close. Playing the long game.

📓 Didn’t drink coffee ☕️ during the past week… until today 😵‍💫

📓 Gotta love this era of quality TV based on video games. Fallout is just great. 👍 Had my doubts after the first episode but as I finish the season, I look forward to another one.

📓 Woo, excited for the new comics book from War and Peas creators: Once Upon a Workday! Eagerly waiting for my copy as of today.

📓 There’s correlation between my dogs barking in their sleep and them spotting a rabbit on our evening walk. 🐶🐇

📓💬 A quote often attributed to Niels Bohr or Yogi Berra:

It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.

📓 For a while now, the cringy face thumbnails on Youtube ▶️ have the opposite effect on me to what the authors aim for - views. Even when creators that I like and follow do it. It’s so infantilizing… like a mass game of peekaboo. Ugh. 😑

📓 I value The Economist as a publication but their subscription cancellation process uses several dark patterns. 🙅🏻‍♂️ For example, they offer you a discount for renewal (could be nice but still) and just now I had to chat with a person to cancel (who tried to offer me discounts).

🍿 Bullet Train 🚅 is the right kind of silly I needed today.

📓 When I ask for a shopping list from my partner, invariably there is 1 “impossible” ingredient. It’s either not available in every store, it’s sold out, or it requires next level treasure hunting skills to find the right isle. Either way - one does not simply get everything on the list. 👌

📱 I can’t believe it - I can’t close all my Activity rings because of 1 stand hour, multiple days in row 🤦🏻‍♂️ It will break my weekly streak and most likely it’s due to having the watch off charging here and there 😡

📓 It’s been a week that feels like a month. Reviewing my daily journal helped me recollect a lot, even though I felt it in my bones. One theme I’ve paid special attention to is what recharged me 🔋:

• Walks, strictly not in a rush
• Deep work - thinking and “designing”
• Solid mid-day breaks

📓This is quite an unshaped thought. Integrative garbage - the ugly outcome of combining too many, and often conflicting, ideas with the goal of creating an all-encompassing solution. Connected thinking is great. Generalists are great. Too much of a good thing - integrative garbage.

📓 Wikipedia: Petrichor

Petrichor (/ˈpɛtrɪˌkɔːr/) is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil.

TIL 🤓 I thought the smell of rain is the smell of ozone. It’s a bit more complex because - life.