Author: Rauf Aliev

Completely lost their minds. It’s impossible to search for anything on Google Maps that contains the word Covid. Specifically, I need to get tested to return to the USA.

I eventually found a place, and am sitting right in front of the door at this very second.

What surprised me was how advanced the consultation system via WhatsApp is in Colombia. A large clinic, instead of or in addition to a voice call center, has a very responsive service via WhatsApp. Day and night.

Why isn’t there such a thing with mobile operators and online stores? Super convenient – you just send a message about what you need, and they immediately handle it and report back. Authentication is automatic – for simple requests, it’s assumed that messages from number X are written by the owner of number X. Unlike email, responses are expected within seconds to minutes, and you don’t have to sit and stare at an online chat to not miss a message – with WhatsApp, it pops up on your phone.

Kudos to WhatsApp for making services for businesses. It’s a pity it’s not the same in the USA yet. I heard that WhatsApp for business is long established in Russia. Is that true?

How wonderful it is when just two days before a business trip your laptop dies. The local Apple store needs three days to fix it. Of course, I did not leave it there. So now I am an active user of my phone. As for the MacBook, it’s already booked for a screen replacement upon my return.

The culprit was the camera cover. It’s super thin, but it was enough for a MacBook screen. Interestingly, it causes the whole screen to shut off, not just produce artifacts with which one could still live.

My Macs have never broken down before. We have seven of them, from various years of release. I’m taking it in for repairs on Tuesday. Such a bummer.

But a solution has been found!

When a kindergarten is just a kindergarten

In Bogota, there’s a prevalence of fitness clubs. Some of them are huge, and they really are packed with people. Some are specialized (“spinner center”). There are lots of shops that sell treadmills. Asked a colleague. Yes, very popular, he says. And for a long time. I think it’s because many consider running around the city unsafe, so there are special places for that. Well, good for them.

Now I know what a spherical bee in a vacuum is

I wonder, are there any living MacBook Pro users who find the little screen on the keyboard (the so-called Touch Bar) helpful rather than bothersome? Tell me about yourself

Here in Bogota, there are especially many motorbikes. Honestly, I hadn’t even seen such things before this trip. There are no electric bikes at all, apparently due to the cost. But there are bicycle shops on every corner. And quite advanced ones at that. There are very many. But not so many cyclists, actually.

Along the bike paths, you come across (see in one of the photos) mobile bike workshops, where you can buy not just tools, but also services.

Modern art?

It seems that all the interesting things in Bogota were exhausted after the first day of exploring the city. On TripAdvisor, the first must-see item was the Gold Museum. It started with the fact that I was not allowed in due to lack of registration for that time. A QR code for registration was hanging on the door. The museum is free. It is located on a square with public Wi-Fi. I connected, but the public Wi-Fi firewall wouldn’t let me access the website. It said, fraudsters and scams, I won’t let you follow the link. I showed the museum a screenshot, and they let me in without registration. I went through the whole museum in 10 minutes. I don’t know what people find interesting about it. Lots of gold crafts, simple and not particularly awe-inspiring. Their value lies in the fact that they were made a long time ago. That’s where the must-see museums ended. What remains is either something minor, like an art museum of a single artist (Fernando Botero), or local-historical-cultural, which you need to prepare for beforehand, or else you won’t understand anything at all.

Today I already worked all day because I couldn’t think of anything else to do here.

Everything in the city is built with the notion that some people are dishonest and untrustworthy, and the likelihood of encountering them is high. For example, in the Adidas store, it is customary to leave your backpack in a storage locker. It’s standard for there to be grilles on second-floor windows. Uber charges money before the car is dispatched. It’s surprising they haven’t started taking a prepayment at restaurants yet…

Turns out, the iPhone 13 includes a kind of repair protection against non-Apple service centers. Very interesting video. Guy bought two iPhone 13 Pros, and showed what happens when you swap the components.

This might be interesting @[589349322:2048:Alex Exler] @[558349609:2048:Alex Patsay]