Local news

My Internet/cable provider is not capable enough to fix a connection issue I've been having for well over a year.
Sadly, they're the only provider to cover this part of town...
 
I had a two year contract with a small more or less decent internet and TV provider, which expired in December. (The previous owner of the apartment had been a longtime subscriber to their cable TV.) They didn't offer me any extras to keep me as a loyal customer, so I just moved to one of the large telecoms with whom I have mobile phone and internet and a landline and I know that they value their loyal customers. Besides, they had a killer promotional offer - for 1.5 euro more than I was paying to the old one, I got more TV, faster internet and plenty of extras on the TV subscription, including YouTube in my telly :D
So, yeah, I sold my ass and all my communication channels are in the hands of one of the local oligarchs, but he just gave me the best price and really knows how to pamper his customers. I've been a mobile subscriber since they launched in 2005 (because they gave me as a present a very expensive handset.)
The thing is, Bulgarian internet users are spoiled rotten (at least in the bigger cities) with killer speeds and competing providers.
Bulgaria ranks in the top in various surveys for internet speed - the local ISPs invested a lot in infrastructure back in the glory days of P2P sharing. Ten years ago the internet market was extremely fragmented - each neighbourhood had its own provider, the larger had several providers and they were luring customers with servers with huge collections of all sorts of "illegal" content and great speeds. Then the market started consolidating, but the infrastructure still exists and there are still enough players in the market to have good competition.
The telecoms entered the internet market somewhat late and they had to try hard to get customers, so they had to come up with all sorts of tempting offers. Initially their internet sucked a lot, but it's pretty good now.
Just a fine and rare example of how free market and competition bring benefits to the customers.
 
I've been using this same provider for the past few years - it's the first and only provider I've ever had.
There are several more on the market, but this one is the biggest, and yeah, I believe it's owned by an oligarch, but it provided great services.
However, about an year ago I started having problems with connection. First I couldn't play games online (over summer breaks I tend to do that a lot), then I couldn't download properly, after that Youtube went out and now I have problems opening wikipedia.
It just dies on me from time to time. For example, last 2 hours, perfect connection. 6 hours before that? I couldn't use Translate for 3 words.

Tech support has been coming in more than a dozen times now, they changed a lot of stuff, I changed parts of my computer, but it doesn't help. I have my theory what the cause of the problems could be, but these tech guys got fed up and tired of me and don't have much patience anymore - on one hand, I don't blame them, on the other, they should do their f*cking jobs.

They are coming again this Monday. I'm not in Leskovac anymore, at least not most of the time, since I'm studying in another town (where I'm using the same provider and have no problems), so I won't be home when they come, but I hope they finally fix it. They exhausted almost every possible cause for problems, only one or two things left.


All that said, I have, in theory, and outstanding deal - cable + ultra fast internet for a very small price. 2 year contract.
Too bad it doesn't work.
 
It's +5 with sunshine. I don't believe winter is quite done yet, but the amount of snow after this wave of mild air will be so small that an early spring is pretty much inevitable.
 
This winter was a sorry joke. :( In other news, bicycles used and signed by Finland's Olympic athletes are currently being auctioned in order to raise money for the new children's hospital in Helsinki. With still more than a week left for bidding, Teemu Selänne's bike already stands at twelve thousand euros. :)

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Predicted average temperature anomaly for March. If this will be anywhere close, it's gonna be spring in Helsinki by a country mile :D

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There's some online rumoring that Chelsea Wolfe will be visiting Belgrade in foreseeable future. Given that the rumors are coming from a Facebook page of an organizer who is bringing God is an Astronaut, I believe it to be true.

I hope it will be a "normal" date. My exam schedule is a nightmare, it's wonder how I'll have free space to visit Amo's gig, but since I'm not going to Iron Maiden, I pray to gods that I at least see Chelsea live.
 
Don't know who Pharrell Williams is, don't know what the deal with the localised videos is - it seems that several cities have been done so far, but I absolutely love it :D
Kids having fun in front of socialist-era buildings (we got plenty), parliament, golden-domed church, the Soviet army monument (most of us hate it and people paint it with political statements on a regular basis - the most recent was last weekend), in the streets, with stray dogs, in the park, with newly-weds. This video simply made my day :D

 
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Russian ambassador to Bulgaria said that the law enforcement agencies of Russia and Bulgaria must cooperate closely.
Yesterday the police arrested this man during the protest against Russia's invasion in Ukraine in front of the Russian embassy in Sofia, because he tried to throw the poster over the embassy's fence. (Displaying swastikas in Bulgaria is not illegal)

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The man was kept in custody all night, chained to a rail, and today was tried for hooliganism. The judge ruled that expressing one's opinion is a right, not hooliganism and acquitted the man.

Today police arrested a bunch of clowns from some theatre company for basically being clowns and standing in front of stopped cars, at a Sofia intersection. They were taken to the police station, fined and released. Police said they arrested them because "the clowns did not belong there".

I think the close cooperation between the Russian and the Bulgarian law enforcement agencies has already started and works just fine.

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I think I'll go to that protest with the slogan "Here it's not Moscow" on Tuesday.
 
It's somewhat surprising that I can discuss Amorphis with some of my new colleagues - at least I won't have to explain myself when I turn up at work wearing an Amorphis t-shirt on March 18 :D
And the majority of them appreciate my good old cherry red Doc Martens. I haven't felt so good about my colleagues in ages <3
 
Where are you working now?
Some newspaper...erm, company? A magazine?

English-language news website. www.novinite.com
The English is sometimes weird, but I am planning on introducing a style guide, once I get a tangible foothold. I mean, it's understandable, but it's not journalism English. I'm tempted to edit the stories of my collegues for style, but it's not my job. And, like I said, I actually like my colleagues and I don't want to antagonise them.
There's time for everything.
P.S. On a second thought, the other week I had to explain what PERKELE means and how it's pronounced. ;)
But at least they asked - unlike so many of my previous colleagues :D
 
The website seems to have Amo fans for quite a long time:

http://www.novinite.com/articles/84989/Sofia+To+Host+Nuclear+Blast+Festival+in+November

Whoever wrote it is interested enough to know about Silent Waters concept, and even wrote the character name.
A fan, definitely.

But I am extremely disappointed there isn't coverage for the upcoming gig, given it's an Amo-oriented website.
Avoid.






j/k



...


It occurred to me that I'm not sure how Perkele is pronounced...but I think I can imagine it.
It's in Finnish, so it's gotta be weird.
 
Maybe there is another tradition in the firm.
Maybe they sacrifice an Amo fan annually to please the gods so that Amo visits Sofia each year.
Maybe the person who wrote that was sacrificed.
Maybe they hired you because you are an Amo fan.
Maybe the next tribute will be you...







I don't know what's with me. My coffee turned out awful, I'm spreading death and misery everywhere. My apologies.
 
Maybe there is another tradition in the firm.
Maybe they sacrifice an Amo fan annually to please the gods so that Amo visits Sofia each year.
Maybe the person who wrote that was sacrificed.
Maybe they hired you because you are an Amo fan.
Maybe the next tribute will be you...







I don't know what's with me. My coffee turned out awful, I'm spreading death and misery everywhere. My apologies.

LOL. Well played, sir.:headbang: