Still talking about school Olympiads – Romanians get very good results with Olympiads (Sciences and Social Sciences), but not with chess. We’re likely not the worst in chess, but certainly not the first. And certainly we’re not dominating pretty much everything, as we do with Olympiads.
Chess is easy to practice by pretty much anyone, and you can get away with doing two things at the same time – studying at school and practicing in your spare time. Also, to some degree, natural ability matters.
Bucharest, October 29, 2026. SAMEDAY, the Romanian courier company that introduced easybox delivery to the local market, is gearing up for Black Friday and the peak shopping season, during which it expects to process nearly 10 million parcels in Romania, up 16% compared to the same period in 2025. This year’s preparations come against a backdrop of growing business performance and sustained investment.
How do I cope with the avalanche of negative news? I try to focus on the things that are within my control.
If something is beyond my control, I train myself to ignore it.
There are also studies showing that children today are more anxious than children who were hospitalized (in Psychiatry) in the 1950s.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.” ― Richard P. Feynman
A while ago, I saw:
It put me into a state.
Quite a smart movie, it made me think of things.
I liked the way the movie played with the colors. The scenery was nice, too.
On the downside, it made me a bit sad.
There’s a technique some Facebook marketers use – they create apparently innocent Facebook groups, and they keep posting on them.
After the groups get some traction, they start one or more of the following:
Quite annoying.
I think praying is good for two main reasons:
1. It helps you forgive others; if you pray for your enemies (might be a strong word; those who harmed you?), you’ll tend to forgive them much more easily; “Love” is “willing the good of the other” (Bishop Robert Barron); if you pray for the other person, you wish them well;
2. It helps you become an actual friend with someone who did you harm; wait! There’s more than a simple forgiveness. You tend to become friends with other people.
Sometimes, I surprise others by saying various things. I get this word a lot – “that’s weird”.
But if you stay a little and ponder on a situation, you discover things are not that wrong.
For example, I add an extra word in WhatsApp Contacts’ names, so I can search for them afterward. The name looks indeed strange, but it’s useful to search by tags.
Or I take the bus in the opposite direction if the one in my direction keeps being 100% full.
The things that appear strange at first sight might be the best solutions.
I like looking at things with the full picture. Sometimes, there are positive aspects. At times, there might be some negative things. If you only see one side of a story, you’ll likely make errors due to too much pessimism or optimism.
Too much optimism makes you overconfident and makes mistakes of the sort – “I trust myself too much”. If you don’t see the bad side of things, you’ll likely do wrong things.
Too much negativity and critical thinking can affect your mind, but can also lead you to wrong decisions. For example, if you only read news via social media, you’re likely to have a negative opinion of the things around you.
For more information about the event, partnership opportunities and the Merchant Program, visit balkanecommerce.com.
20th October, Sofia, Bulgaria. Balkan eCommerce Summit is introducing a new Merchant Program for its 2027 edition, creating new opportunities for online retailers to connect with industry leaders, discover business solutions and become part of Southeast Europe’s growing eCommerce community.
The initiative was among the highlights of the official online Launching Event on October 20, which marked the beginning of the journey towards the next edition. The event introduced the Summit’s plans for 2027, its evolving format and new opportunities for businesses across the region.