Quitting Social Media

Quitting Social Media

by with No Comment General

Most of you who know me are aware that I was quite active on Instagram and Facebook. I joined these platforms almost as soon as they launched—Facebook in 2004 and Instagram in 2010. but I decided to Quitting Social Media

Instagram, at the beginning, was like a public photo gallery where you could share moments with friends. There were no stories, no highlights, just a simple feed of photos. But over time, it transformed into a more addictive app. First, they introduced stories, then story highlights, and eventually, the Explore section. The final nail in the coffin for me was the introduction of Reels—a massive time killer!

For many years, I insisted on using these apps to communicate with my real friends, keeping up with their updates and sharing mine. However, it became increasingly apparent that I was getting drowned in a black hole of useless information. The feed was full of rubbish content, and I couldn’t keep track of my friends’ updates anymore. The same thing happened to my friends. Instead of creating valuable content, people focused on short, sensational content that attracted more views and likes.

The number of ads also increased to the point where it became difficult to distinguish between genuine posts and advertisements. This endless stream of distractions took a toll on my focus and patience for reading or watching useful content. My attention span shrank, and my habit of reading books suffered immensely.

I reached a point where I had to make a change. I realized that social media was no longer serving its original purpose for me. Instead of enhancing my connections, it was diminishing the quality of my time and focus.

So, I decided to quit!

quitting social media

It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was an overnight change. Initially. as days turned into weeks, I began to notice the positive effects. I had more time for things that truly mattered to me—reading books, engaging in meaningful conversations, and focusing on my projects.

I regained my ability to concentrate for extended periods, and my patience improved. I no longer felt the compulsive need to check my phone every few minutes. Instead, I started to live more in the moment, appreciating the here and now.

Quitting social media was one of the best decisions I’ve made. It allowed me to reclaim my time and mental space, and it reminded me of the importance of real, meaningful interactions. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the constant barrage of information and the pressure to stay updated, I encourage you to take a step back and evaluate your relationship with social media. It might be the change you need to refocus and regain control over your life.

Ok, it is too soon to judge it properly, but I feel lots of changes in my productivity already. I will try my best to keep my distance from them also in the future. Let’s see how I can manage it properly.

P.S. You can always find my latest updates here anyway! and I will try to post more blog posts!

Carnival of Ivrea

by with No Comment General

Ivrea is a beautiful town located in the northwestern part of Italy, close to the border with France. It is known for its historic charm, as well as its location at the foot of the Alps

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Carnival of Ivrea, a lively and colourful festival held annually in the town of Ivrea in the Piedmont region of Italy. This event is unlike any other, with its unique customs and traditions, especially the infamous “orange fight” that takes place during the festivities.

Ivrea is a beautiful town located in the northwestern part of Italy, close to the border with France. It is known for its historic charm, as well as its location at the foot of the Alps. It is also known for its production of quality wines, particularly the Nebbiolo grape, which is used to make the famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines.

The Carnival of Ivrea has a long and fascinating history. The origins of the festival date back to the Middle Ages, when the town was ruled by a tyrant named Ranieri di Biandrate. According to legend, a young miller’s daughter named Violetta refused to submit to the tyrant’s advances and killed him with a dagger. Her act of bravery is commemorated each year during the carnival.

The carnival itself is a three-day event that includes a parade, musical performances, and various other forms of entertainment. However, the most famous and unique aspect of the festival is the orange fight, which takes place on the Monday and Tuesday of the carnival.

The orange fight involves two groups of people who throw oranges at each other in a mock battle. The origins of this tradition are not entirely clear, but some historians believe it dates back to the 12th century, when the town was under siege and the residents used oranges as weapons to fend off their attackers.

There are certain rules that must be followed during the orange fight. If you only a visitor of Carnival of Ivrea you must wear a red hat for safety reasons, and you are not allowed to throw oranges at people who are not wearing a hat. They are also not allowed to throw oranges after a signal is given to stop the battle.

The exact number of oranges used during the orange fight at the Carnival of Ivrea varies from year to year, but it is estimated that tens of thousands of oranges are thrown during the battle

The exact number of oranges used during the orange fight at the Carnival of Ivrea varies from year to year, but it is estimated that tens of thousands of oranges are thrown during the battle. The oranges used are typically not fit for consumption and are often collected from local farmers who are happy to donate them for the festival. In recent years, the organizers of the carnival have made efforts to ensure that the oranges used are not wasted and are collected and used for composting or for making marmalade. Despite the large quantity of oranges used, the tradition continues to be popular with locals and visitors alike, who appreciate the unique and exhilarating experience of taking part in the orange fight.

The orange fight has become a symbol of the Carnival of Ivrea, attracting visitors from all over the world who come to witness this unique spectacle. It is a way for the people of Ivrea to celebrate their history and their resistance against oppression.

the Carnival of Ivrea is a wonderful event that showcases the rich culture and history of this beautiful town in northern Italy. The orange fight, with its ancient origins and unique customs, is a testament to the resilience and spirit of the people of Ivrea. If you ever get the chance to visit this charming town during the carnival, I highly recommend that you do so. if you still looking for other places you can always visit my other posts. at the end you can view more photos of this carnival.

I Giorni della Merla

by with No Comment AdventureGeneral

Last weekend for I Giorni della Merla we decided to go to Belavarda near the city of Cantoira in Piemonte. OK, but what the heck is I Giorni della Merla? Continue reading this post to know…

To Begin

Although it was I Giorni della Merla but it was a really hot sunny day. We start our journey from Lities. A small village which you start directly from there or even if you are ready for 400 m more height difference you can even start from Cantoira. All the information of this route completely described here. Yes, it is in Italian, but you can always use translator. These days they are working much smarter even with a hard language like the Italian.

panormaic View from Bellavarda
panormaic View from Bellavarda

The Accident

Once again, our plan was going on our own. And yes, as I mentioned before in our journey to Monte Soglio I always prefer more adventure and taking more risks. But to be honest on this trip we got lost which for me was still fine, and then an accident happened to one of my friend, and he slipped and fell down from the cliff. Frankly, we were so lucky that he did not get any serious injury. But I understand that we need to be more careful and also get more prepared for unwanted incidents.

The Second Accident

The other things that happened on this trip was after that accident we finally reached somewhere to had our meal, and then I just discovered that I left my delicious Tuna Avocado sandwiches in the fridge! Luckily, I was not that hungry at the moment. Later on that night I had a big Burger plus lots of fried stuff as a reward to myself.

The Details

This trekking include a really steep track which require a good level of fitness. So, I do not recommend it for beginners. The total distance to the summit is around 4.5 km, but the height difference is around 1000 m and if you start from Cantoira it will be 400 m more. The path almost well signposted, but be careful because we got lost of the track two times. There are some signs which also let you know the vertical distance which you take so far in an interesting graphical way. You can see it in photos at the end of this post.

I Giorni della Merla

The last 3 days of January (from the 29th to the 31st) are traditionally called “I Giorni della Merla” (Blackbird’s Days) and are considered the coldest days of the year. This is actually just a legend, but I am crazy for these types of legends.

I giorni della merla
Merla (Black bird)

The origin of the saying

There are numerous theories about the origin of the expression “I Giorni della Merla”. Which you can find them by yourself or just ask your Italian friends about it.

But according to my favourite legend, January originally had 28 days. The month of January was terrible to a poor blackbird because he envied her beautiful pure white plumage. Every time this poor bird went out seeking food for herself and her little ones, the Month became suddenly colder. Tired of this, one year, the blackbird decided to gather enough supplies for the whole month. When, after the 28th day, she went out singing and mocking January because she thought she had played him, January got upset and borrowed three extra days from his brother February so that it could continue to torment the blackbird with snowstorms, chill, wind, and rain. During those days, the blackbird was out hunting for food and had to find shelter into a chimney; when she came out, three days later, her plumage was black. Since then, blackbirds have always been black and January has 31 days.

If you check my instagram post of this trip you will see me mostly with short sleeves and that is why maybe it is all just a legend. If you are Italian and know any other origin about I Giorni della Merla, please let me know about it.

I Giorni della Merla in Belavarda
I Giorni della Merla in Belavarda
I Giorni della Merla in Belavarda
I Giorni della Merla in Belavarda
I Giorni della Merla in Belavarda
IMG_20210206_183004_692-768x1024-1

Hello Again!

by with One Comment General

WordPress changed my life. but first, let’s see how I reached there…

I still remember the first days that I discovered the world of the Internet. It was about 20 years ago & I was a 14-15 years teenage boy who just discovered the Internet. One of the first things I discovered was Yahoo Mail. The 4 MB free inbox which you can send and receive E-mail! Wow! Isn’t that unbelievable … no? a little bit later I discovered Mail groups which sent you daily content about everything you can imagine!
For me, this amount of information was so exciting. I still remember before that sometimes I waited up to two months for the next issue of my favourite magazine to gain more current information about the things that I loved. Now I can find anything that I want instantly on the Internet! I believe after about 20 years I am getting old to remember all the details and which was first and which was after that!

Get off the internet, so I can use the house phone. Those were the days…

If you never heard that, you were lucky because you never could understand the struggle we had to connect to the internet. Not only the speed with those dial-up modems was horrible but also you need to fight with family for phone line usage. Every time someone picked up the phone it interrupted your connection and you lost lots of things.

here is the picture of me back in 2001 with my Pentium III 600 playing the Neverhood. (yes internet was not always connected)

back then I was writing articles and mail posting them (yes old snail mail) to different magazines. some of them had a chance to get published too! a little while later I discovered that I can also publish content on the internet. I still remember the first time that I discovered that I can save a document as HTML for publishing on the Internet! the problems were that I didn’t know where to put that HTML file back then.

I was trying to understand how to publish those HTML pages on the Internet and then suddenly I discovered something called Blogger. a free service which I can publish my text on the internet easy and free!. let’s cut the crap and don’t talk about all the old nostalgia. at the end of the story, It was a time that being a blogger meant making effort to publish some real content not only posting half-naked photos on Instagram and having millions of follower and called as a blogger while does not know even know what is a blog!

it was around 2006 which I discovered WordPress

A little while later I discovered my beloved publishing tool. WordPress an open-source CMS which you can install and have your own blog without any limit! which I am still in love with it even after more than a decade of living with it. it was all started with blogging with WordPress which led me to understand all the other CMS and then web programming, servers, Networking, Cloud infrastructures and…

I did many years of blogging, website creation and e-commerce launching with this lovely WordPress. actually, I am still make living with it. but It is so many years that I am far away from the blogging world. I recently decided to get back to this field again and start blogging again with my favourite blogging tool.

here is the most recent picture of me trying to spend more time outside !

I still do not know what kind of post I will write here or even I did not choose any name for my blog yet! please join my mailing list to keep update with my upcoming posts. (yes, no social page for this blog yet! first I need a name!)

P.S: I decide to use SinaWeblog for my blog name for the moment. this used to be my weblog name many years ago and I will write about anything but not so much deep technology so it will be useful for everyone.

Thanks for reading this so far. this is my first post & I do not expect too many comments. but even one reply will motivate me.