Magic moments

  🇲🇰 Македонски ↔ 🇸🇮 Slovenščina Some Macedonian and Slovenian words look or sound very similar, but have completely different meanings. This list collects words and expressions that can easily cause confusion between the two languages. 🇲🇰 MK извор — izvor 🇸🇮 SLO vir 🇬🇧 EN source; spring вир — vir mlaka puddle; pool of water лице — lice obraz face образ — obraz lice cheek пила — pila žaga saw турпија — turpija pila file предвремен — predvremen                 zgoden                        early; premature згоден — zgoden lep handsome; good-looking знам — znam vem I know умеам — umeam znam I know how; I have the skill лудо — ludo hudo crazy; mad „Не лути се, човече“  ludo Ludo (the board game) лошо — lošo slabo bad; poorly слабо (по моќ) — slabo šibko weak слабо — slabo suho slim; thin брзо — brzo hitro quickly; fast итро — itro pametno        ...

  As a kid I was making a lot of "inventions", at least that is what I called them. My famous one was the Automatic nail polish applicator 2000. It wasted a lot of nail polish, however it worked. Despite my best efforts to convince everyone that this is the best invention in the world, it fail into oblivion. Even my best customer (my mom) seldom remembers my grand invention.  Just a depiction (brass was unobtainable for me at that time) I was constantly frustrated why nobody took my inventions seriously. Although I was just a kid, I had awesome ideas, most of which I have forgotten. I know I mumbled a lot about hydrogen engines, never understanding the irrelevance of it all.  Thinking back I can't stop but wondering, what is relevance anyway, what makes something relevant, or obsolete, redundant or even undesirable. I want to argue about these five factors that determine the relevance of a given idea, invention, movement or any other disruption of the ordinary. Is it shin...

  The Natural Dynamics of Group Roles I have analyzed the dynamics of groups and the relationships forming within them for a long time. I started noticing patterns when I moved schools during my senior year of high school. By then, my old classroom had already formed archetypes and purposes. As usual, we had the teacher’s pets, the athletes, the nerds, the jokesters, the misfits—the whole ecosystem. All of that looked normal to me, just as the sun rises in the east. After all, I grew up with these kids; I observed them develop into their roles. I thought this was unique to our group of classmates. I was assigning the character traits to the person having them. I was very wrong, though... Discovering the Pattern Came senior year, I moved to another school in another city.  As I joined the new class on the first day of school, I imidiatelly started to notice the same roles, just played by different kids. The jokester was a different student, yet every class seemed to have one. H...

  I recently started teaching my daughter how to code in Python. We started with the basics and even though I am not an expert in Python, being a software engineer, gave us the capability to thread with some confidence together. I used an old book from my high school days, with simple assignments designed to be solved in Pascal. Regardless, the assignments are still usable for teaching. However after some time, I realized that every time I would leave my student to fly solo, she would reach to ChatGPT for the solution. Of course, I would review the solutions and we would discuss them. Some solutions were good, some were good enough, and some did not work at all. Consequently in some of the cases, we searched for improvements together, whilst me explaining pieces of Computer Architecture along the way, just so she understands what is happening under the hood. Things moved along nicely. Now, I am facing a conundrum: Should I consider this cheating, if a student is asking ChatGPT for ...

There are two approaches of buying tools and supplies, JIT and hoarding. My father had the JIT (Just In Time) system in place. Being a weekend warrior, he would buy the tools and supplies for the weekend project during the week, anticipating the work on Sunday. Him being raised in the 60s, he never over-consumes, if he needs a drill, he would buy a drill, not the whole set on discount (with useless tools), just the drill. Same went for drill bits, if the job required a 6mm drill bit, he would buy just one, use it, never sharpen it, and throw it at the bottom of the tool box.  Early on, having inherited some of his tools, I also adopted this JIT system of working. However, as I was enduring in more weekend projects, I realized that often times I needed multiple tools at the same time. Further more, it's difficult to predict which tools one would need in advance, especially considering my lack of experience at that time. So I often opted for improvisation, if I needed a 5mm whole, I ...

  I was always a little odd kid, compared to the rest of the children in my surrounding, that is. When all the kids were chasing the empty can they found on the street pretending to play "football", I was looking at how that exact can bounces of the curb, admiring the symmetry of the collision angles. I was fascinated by the intricacies of the bouncing trajectories, from the simple act of playing marbles to the mesmerizing chaos that unfolds as balls disperse across pool tables.  Long story short, I was the strange kid in the bunch. That impostor syndrome persisted in me for a long time through high school and college, just the topics changed. I was always considering it a bug, part of my non-fitting-in character.  What I realized growing up, was that a small perception shift can change my bugs into features. The paradigm shift was: What if I can use a given peculiar quirk of mine into a skill I can get a value from. I don't mean like business point value, I mean more lik...

  I am not a superstitious, nor an excessive believer in the divine,  however my last experience with our savior, I would only describe as holy.  Reflecting on our last ski trip to the Austrian Alps, despite our accommodation being relatively close to the ski center, we opted to drive due to my aversion to shuttle services. Anticipating the trip with my usual anxiousness, I meticulously packed our gear the evening before and ensured all necessities were in order. The weather forecast wasn't a concern for me; after all, we were prepared for the cold in the snowy mountains. Little did I know, this nonchalant attitude would come back to haunt us.  Early morning, all prepared, we got in the car and started driving. Considering this was my first time in this ski center, I was hesitant about overcrowded parking lots and having to drag the skies for a distance. I hate that, it have happened to me several times and it's an agony to say the least, cranky children don't help t...

Slani mafini z ajvarjem Slani mafini z ajvarjem združujejo bogat in značilen okus ajvarja z mehkobo piškotov. Ta kombinacija sladke paprike, dimljenega jajčevca in začimb jih naredi neustavljive in edinstvene, ko gre za okuse. A okus teh mafinov ni njihova glavna prednost: recept za te mafine je relativno preprost in hiter za pripravo. To pomeni, da lahko hitro pripravite okusen prigrizek ali prilogo k obroku. Sestavine 2 jajci 1/2 žličke soli 1 lonček jogurta (180 ml) 100 ml olja 200 gramov moke 100 gramov kuruzne moke pecilni prašek 3 žlici domačega ajvarja  50 beli sir Priprava Jajca in začimbe penasto stepemo. Dodajte vse tekoče sestavine in dobro premešajte. Dodamo nekaj žlic moke, premešamo, nato stepemo z mešalnikom. Med mešanjem previdno dodajamo žlico moke, dokler ne porabimo celotne količine, zmes pa mora biti gladka in brez grudic. Zmešajte tri žlice ajvarja. Dodamo drobno narezane kocke sira. V pekač za mafine položimo papirnate košarice in vlijemo zmes. Pečemo v ogreti...

  Во моето пошироко семејство имаме повеќе просветни работници, дури и јас за еден краток период работев во образование, па со тоа веќе знаев што се случува и како отприлика работи ситемот во Македонија. Иако поголемиот дел од моето образование го поминав во пост југословенска Македонија, можев некако да си направам паралела како беше и како е сега.  Меѓутоа додека не почнаа моите деца да одат на училиште ме немаше удрено реалноста в глава за да сфатам до каде стигнале работите. На последниот родителски состанок, покрај вообичаените проблеми со незауздани насилни соученици и немање основни услови за настава како креди, печатач, тоалетна хартија и сапун (пред короната, подоцна им даде министрството малку сапун, мораа) училиштето побара од нас родителите да собереме пари за да купиме ролетни за училницата. Ова е факт, како јас го перцепирав барањето е мое лично гледиште, како им ја продадоа идејата на останатите родители е приказна за другпат, можеби јас грешам... ролетните се н...

  Еднаш порано имав потреба да заменам адреса на живеење од Кичево во Битола. Како што е ред отидов да прашам како оди процедурата, но до тој момент веќе имав некое основно знање од правни процедури и здраворазумно размислување па процедурата ми изгледаше како на граница на лудост. Во последната ставка од условите гласеше:  „За да потрврдиме дека навистина живеете на наведената адреса во формуларот (потпишан лично од мене), ќе испратиме инспектор да провери на врата и да види дека навистина лицето се наоѓа на таа адреса. Ако лицето не е дома во моментот, ќе го праша соседот да потврди дека навистина лицето живее таму„ Ако и соседот случајо не е дома или ме мрази (што е поверојатно), следно ќе појде инспекторот на бајач за истиот да предвиди дали навистина јас би му отворил врата, кога не би бил на работа во моментот! Не можам да објаснам какво разочарување и чуство на гнев имав во моментот додека се расправав со службеникот, се чуствував како во романот Процес од Кафка. Нејсе,...

  Every time I watched some prepper's video or a how to bug out guide, I was comforting my self with the mantra: " Yea, that's all nice and cool, but am I ever going to need that in a modern day society ?"  As of recent events, apparently yes. I should have had at least a minimal plan of what to pack in a case of a bailout. Currently we are having major flood, biggest flood in Slovenia since recorded history. We had 250 l/m2 of rain in 2 days.  So as we were watching the news and seeing how people are air lifted to safety, I started thinking if I had to evacuate my family, required to bring bare minimum, what would I pack? More importantly how will I make sure it will stay dry? The only water proof bag I have is the one depicted above, it holds approximately 10 liters and has a strap. So I started packing... Two external hard disks with all our photos and videos (all our memories in them) All our cell phones Passports, IDs and bank cards The reserve car key, the orig...

  Јазикот За словенцките работи Не сум лингвист, ниту експерт за словенечки јазик, немам намера да деградирам или омаловажувам одреден јазик или луѓе што го користат истиот . Немам никави претензии ниту предрасуди за тоа кој или како стигнал до тоа што денес се користи за комуникација. Сметам дека јазикот е алатка која се развива за потребите на корисниците и е жива материја која еволуира заедно со времето, новините во општеството, како и географските и политичките околности на населението.  Единствената цел ми е да документирам како јас/ние го доживуваме учењето и секојдневната употреба на словенечкиот јазик , споредено со нашиот македонски јазик и споредено со останатите јазици што веќе ги познававме до одредена мера како англиски, шпански, српски итн.  Добро, штом го расчистивме тоа, сега да си кажам што ми лежи на срце. Словенечкиот јазик, иако навидум релативно лесен, најмногу поради заедничките зборови што ги има со македонскиот јазик, во стварност семантиката на г...

The sensation of hitting your pinkie toe on the corner of a sofa may seem unrelated to the concept of derivatives, but in reality, it has everything to do with it. The reason is that our sensors are not as sensitive to familiar stimuli as they are to new ones. This phenomenon is known as sensory adaptation, which is a reduction in sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure to it. Sensory adaptation helps free up our attention and resources to attend to other stimuli in our environment. A similar concept applies to the way we experience life. Our bodies are only interested in the "delta," or the rate of change that happens to us. For example, the first time you go on a plane, it is an amazing experience, but the last time, it is not as memorable. This is not the pilot's fault, but rather a result of our numbed senses, as we are not excited by anything less than 2Gs. However, a next flight on a fighter jet pulling 5Gs will be amazing again, as the delta of 3Gs makes ...

  These days drawing attention to one self has become increasingly more difficult. Further more catching the attention of a given person during scrolling through his/her feed is even harder. But that matters right? I mean popularity algorithms care about engagement, which makes sense all things considered, more audience means more ads, ergo more sells, ergo more profit, its Business 101. Don't get me wrong I am all for it, after all, money make the world go round.  So measuring popularity and consequently value based on engagement or likes this way makes sense, right? At least for online presence and influence, correct?  Well, take a look at another common use case. The same logic above applies in public polls and voting. The best voted party or option, is not the best one, it is just most voted. And since each vote counts the same, majority wins, more like a quantity over quality. But then how to make the voting/liking/subscribing fair? Furthermore if you post something ...

  Ги добивме визите, а кај ќе живееме? Стан под наем во Марибор Наоѓање на соодветен стан под наем е тешка и макотрпна работа во нормални услови и со физичко присуство, со ограничувањата за пандемијата, беше десет пати потешко. Не можевме да дојдеме во Словенија и лично погледнеме што се нуди, па моравме да се ослониме на проценката на наши пријатели да ги разгледаат становите што ги ставивме во потесен избор. Засекогаш ќе им бидеме благодарни за помошта. И покрај тоа, моравме да ги договараме огледите преку телефон од Македонија, што беше многу тешко не знаејќи словенечки јазик. И во моменти кога ќе успеевме да се разбереме, многу често добивавме одговор: Не го издаваме станот на странци. Гледано ретроспективно, сега разбирам и зошто, ама тоа е тема за нареден блог пост. Бевме притиснати од повеќе страни, од една страна по правила на визата, моравме најдоцна до 8 дена од добивањето на визата да влеземе во Словенија, од друга страна фирмата што не вработуваше, веќе не чекаше седум ...

  Поглавје Два Планот Фебруари 2020 година. Сите документи стокмени, за да стигнат побрзо ги испраќам со авионска пошта до фирмата што не вработува, па истите да бидат предадени в општина, што поскоро да добиеме работни визи и да започнеме преселба. Планот е да заврши поголемото дете со тековната учебна година и да заминеме. Помалото во тој момент е сеуште во градинка, фала богу немаме свиделства за неа.  Ни кажаа дека за визите се потребни приближно два месеци за да ги добиеме, па си оставив и  малку простор во случај да ми фали некој документ, пошто нели: „две недели“ за било каква исправка или нов документ. Така да очекував до крајот на Мај 2020 да ги имаме сите предиспозиции за старт од Македонија. Планот беше да се отселиме пополека преку летото, да бидеме порелаксирани, настрана од училишни обврски, децата да се аклиматизираат со новите другари пред зграда, со тоа би се привикнале на новиот менталитет и локални обичаи. Нам возрасните исто ни требаше некое време да г...

  Генерално не сум човек што донесува одлуки на емотивна основа, а уште поретко во афект.  Долго време размислувавме дали и кога да се преселиме, за во еден момент со консензус на цело семејство да пресечеме. Причините и поводот ретроспективно не се ни важни, а и не ми е целта да пишувам за настани кои можеби за 10 години од сега нема да имаат никаква суштина, ниту логика да се разгледуваат. Оставам на историчарите и хронолозите да се занимаваат со настани, јас пишувам упатство сега! Поглавје еден Подготовка и избор на земја Како во секој проект така и во овој, подготовката беше најважниот дел. Земајќи во обзир дека во моментот на планирање мораше да размислуваме за потребите на четворица, од кои две деца, кои очекувано не можеа да ги предвидат своите желби и сонови за иднината. И покрај тоа, начелно заклучивме дека сакаме да одиме во земја која е погодна за семејства со малолетни деца, има добро образование, добро здравство и население кое не се однесува игнорантски кон емигр...

Past year and a half I have been learning a foreign language. Although, relatively similar to my native, it has its own unique features and quirks with which I have a love-hate relationship. Lets get to the point though, I started analyzing multiple languages including my own and they all have one general problem, none of them is solely enough . Both in written and oral sense. Let me elaborate. Have you noticed that every time you want to use a movie reference, or a product, brand, a common tool, or maybe even a body part, it's lot easier to use the name everybody uses, rather then the appropriate one which is rarely used in the  language of the  current context . I had a problem with this in my native language, and I have the same problem now with the new language. I'm not much contended having to mix words whilst maintaining the grammar rules of two different languages. But in this day and age, one language is just not enough on its own. The same goes for written communicati...

I was feeling down for some time lately. The underlying reasons being multiple, some personal, some work related and some bureaucracy related. Overall I had too many items on my daily schedule and as always, not enough time. After completing all planned errands on a given day, I wouldn't have the energy nor the will to do anything fun for myself or with my family. Not necessarily big fun, waxing the skies , washing the bike kind of fun. I need these small fun activities to take my mind off of tomorrow's new errands. Now they were gone, and it was my fault. Due to the daily burnout I could not push myself to do anything fun in my free time.  Consequently my overall mood was going down.  Declining mood was actually a minor thing in comparison with helplessness and indifference I felt. I was in a self perpetual state of "MEH" , which aggravated me further more, in a viscous circle. I was angry, because I was helpless, because I was lacking motivation, because I was lame...

  I elicit smiles every time I mention to people: I sniff saw dust . Further more, I can distinguish wood species by their scent. Besides being funny, it is true , smell is the most potent memory revoking sense in humans. It's like going back to your old school, the smell is to blame for bringing back all those emotions. I miss my wood shop, damn I miss it a lot. But why, one might ask. Don't you have enough things to tackle everyday? How do you find a time to do woodworking, or any hobby for that matter? These all are the wrong questions. The right question is way simpler: Why would one prioritize a hobby over other immanent tasks? The answer is actually even simpler: Because it makes me happy. Chores will come and go, all jobs have expiration date, we will all retire one day, aren't we? Except our happiness, that is forever.  It takes a special kind of thinking and planning to make something useful with your own hands, whilst being unique, not mass produced, not made to f...