Chapter 1 - The awakening

So you want to know something more about me? I was born in Bulgaria on 20th February 1984 in Veliko Tarnovo - the best city in Bulgaria and in the world. I have had some nice years before school when I still didn't know anything about computers and such and just used to play outside as the ordinary kids do (or at least did at that time). Then I started school and although I was very lazy and used to hate school I was good. Actually I was damn good...oh OK I just can't control myself sometimes.

Then in the second grade I used to go to a friend of mine (Yo Peter!) and then I knew - Computers Rule! Then I used every possibility I had to get my hands on a computer. My father had one in his office and I used to go there often, first only to play. It is still funny to me how I asked my father to rename the directory where the games were to JR (the way I used to call myself then - take it as a nickname of mine :) ) and the EXEs to jrp so that I had to type :

   C:\>cd jr
   C:\>jrp

Without even supposing what I was doing by that. However I got involved and wanted to know more how it all actually works. I started to read "DOS for Dummies" and I learned a lot. Actually I really recommend the "... for Dummies" books on all topics - the books are very easy to understand and still contain a lot more than the average user would need, but the info is so well structured that one can very easily skip what he doesn't need. Well, I didn't skip anything then and I was just thrilled from all the stuff DOS could do. BAT files and configurations and all. Then I read the book from Peter Norton about DOS 5 and learned how to really "program" those BAT files.

These were the times when I "grounded" my first company with a friend of mine Viktor called Jul&Vik Program House. Actually it had two names Jul&Vik or Vik&Jul as to show who of us has done the latest masterpiece. Then I found some books on the attic about programming for the 8-bit Apple II clones produced in Bulgaria from Pravetz. It was about BASIC and there were some nice images in of animated clocks and plotted functions and such and I decided I should also be able to do this. And started exercising with the GWBasic for DOS interpreter. This is a very close clone to the old 8bit implementations of the language. Then came Quick Basic where I first wrote a small Tic-Tac-Toe clone with very nice sounds made by randomly choosing and playing notes. Later the music has been edited a bit by Viktor till it got really cool with unbelievable graphics of 640x350 in 16 colours. Later we did with a neighbour of mine (Tzani) a game clone of Galaga with a bit nicer graphics and I should say fast animations for a 4MHz 8086 16bit processor. As you can see most of my first attempts at programming were in the field of computer games. I consider this a very fortunate chance, because for a kid the chance to combine learning and playing is maybe the best way to find the joy in the learning.

Maybe I should interrupt a bit the computer career here to say why I don't mention anything apart from it. Well, it is not that I was some geek staying like 10 hours in front of the computer but I just didn't really do anything special in that time. I was a normal kid and used to study enough to have good grades in school. I was too young to go to bars and discos. Moreover I don't think someone want to really know how I went to some nice trips from the school to Voneshta Voda and had a lot of fun there. The way 12-14 year-old boy can understand that. In the mean time I also participated in Literature Course writing poetry but I felt it is not something for me. Then I did some very cool free-time activity - LEGO playing which has proved very good for my combinational thinking. I also did some drawing course, and I must admit at that time I could draw fairly OK, not a profi but enough to not scare people with my paintings, mainly graphics.

OK now back to the computer career. So I knew it was time to move on and BASIC was unable to provide me the tools needed to leap ahead. Then I started to read a book about Pascal. Actually there was one more reason for that - I wanted to get rid of the BAS files and the interpreter and write real EXEs like the cool games did. Pascal was a bit more difficult then basic as I had to do the transition from a non-procedural to procedural language but still I managed it quite fast. Then I went to a course for Pascal Programming organized by the center for young people's education in Tarnovo. It was held by a teacher whose name was Mr. Vavrek a very nice person, who opened my way to the informatics competitions. It was not that I really had that much to learn there as it was more meant to be a really introductory course in programming as a whole. However it was there, that Mr. Vavrek found my talent and gave it the needed push to develop by supplying me with supplemental exercises and tasks from previous competitions.

Chapter 2 - The beginning of a new era

At this time one other very important point in my life came...the day where I first used to ring on my neighbour's door to seek advice. His name is Marin Velikov and is a programmer and system admin in Tarnovo. That was the day he told to me: "Why are you still messing with Pascal?! That is a dead language. Just learn C". And he gave me Turbo C++ 1.2 for DOS. I started very enthusiastically to type in the code from a book called "Learn C++ in 101 Examples" (A book that my father mysteriously bought like 5 years earlier God knows why. A colleague of him commented about the book: "Oh man forget it! This is beyond your, mine or whoever else I know comprehension! And this was a man who at least was above average user)...and it didn't work. It was days later I called again Marin just to learn the book was for C++ and as I was typing C++ code but compiling it as C code. I had to save the file with a CPP extension not with C as the IDE (the editor) defaulted. OK, then it worked and I started learning. I read some book about the language. One of these I would also recommend "Get to know C" (Въведение в C - I add the Bulgarian name here as I don't know the exact English name and I don't have the book by my side right now).

It was the winter of 1996-1997 when I saw this small notice on the door of my course about a Programming contest. It was all about making a program - a small file manager like PC Tools or Norton Commander. It was the early spring of 1997 when I started programming. The contest was arranged so that two contestants from a city could go to the last national round. And actually there were only two contestants from my city. I and Svetlin Nakov.

Svetlin is something like the Idol of informatics for me. I can even tell another story with him which is very interesting. It was maybe two years earlier when a friend of mine told me, he had seen a program called NakovTools which was clone of PC Tools with even more stuff packed in. It was developed by someone called Svetlin Nakov from Veliko Tarnovo. After I saw the program we commented that this must be some programmer that is really cool and I had in my mind the image of some middle aged man with big glasses. That is why when I saw the hairy guy standing there with its washed-away jeans jacket and I heard something like Nakov I just couldn't believe it. The idol, the old man I had in my mind, was barely older than I was. Then I knew I could do it, it was not too late. I must admit I learned very much from him and I am very grateful to him for everything he has done for me and my city and Bulgaria throughout his wisdom in Informatics.

Now back to the summer of 1997, it was the middle of July and we were already in Stara Zagora where the contest was held. It was the day before the presentation of the projects, when we got the comments of the jury for our programs. Nakov having a review that was a dream and I having merely two lines written: "We couldn't start the program on our test machine and couldn't make any personal experience with it. From the description it comes clear the program at least fulfills the requirements for the contest so it has been admitted for presenting". I really had to do my best to at least present it in a good way if I could make it run. Well it worked and at least I did it well to some extents, but there were so many good programs, I only hoped not to be the last one. Then later when the jury presented the winner - that was me! It was the happiest moment of my life. I have won my first contests I ever participated at! And THIS was the point which made me dedicate all my spare time to computers. This become my hobby and it was just two years later that this become my job too.

Chapter 3 - In the eye of the storm

In the next years I was quite active in mathematics too, participating in some competitions and Olympiads. Not really having quite high achievements on a national level apart from some places in the first five in 1998, 2000 and 2003. It was informatics that I really aimed for and I have made more than 30 competitions in this field. I was always above average and almost always in the first 5, but still the fact that I worked part time job and had to learn for school didn't leave me enough time to perfect myself. It was also my laziness maybe, but still I was a good competitor. It was this lust for competing. The pleasure to look the others in the eyes when you have solved something and demoralize them in that way. It made some sadistic fun for me. I think that this is a very important part of the game - competitions are not only a test for the knowledge, but also for the psychology - you have to be strong and be able to pour all your concentration and brain in a short amount of time.

It was 1999 or 2000 when I first started to work professionally. Marin was again the guy who has offered me the first job. Meanwhile we have built a friendship that brought a lot of knowledge for me and he actually is "The Godfather" of my professional career as a programmer. I still remember clearly the first task I got and then in the next three days as I couldn't do anything and I was on the verge of declining the task, when I finally found the information I needed in Internet. Then I knew - everything you need, you can find in the net and this was more or less the point when I stopped reinventing the wheel each time I needed something common. I can't really say that I haven't done at all any commercial programming before but the tasks I got where rather small and of no particular financial interest but more to develop my own skills. Some of these you can see in the projects section.

The next interesting moment of my life came the last year at school. I really wanted to win a good place at the national Olympiad in informatics in order to be admitted without exam to the Sofia University. There was one more thing that bothered us much - the national graduation exams that were planned for us. It was not the problem that we had to learn more. The problem was that we didn't know what to learn till the very last moment. That is why we (the students from the whole country) organized ourselves and made protests. I was in the committee in my city with a few more students from my class and I headed the protest by reading the protest note aloud in front of more then a hundred people gathered in the centre of the city. It was not a very massive strike in our city which really drove me mad. So much people either too scared from the system or who just didn't cared about their own future. It was scary to know that this is the future of Bulgaria. But then at the end we won and the court suspended the exams for a few more years till everything gets clear (I guess it is about time to start the exams (2005)).

Once this was cleared I did a lot of exercises to get me fit for the Olympiad. Still the job I had ate too much time and on the first day of the contest I did really bad, winning only 80 from the 300 points possible. This although miserable result didn't really knock me off but actually made me ruthless and wild and I was too furious with myself to let me screw the second day too. I fought really hard and even though the problems were harder I got the second best result with 220 from 300 points for the second day. Thus actually jumping incredibly to the top of the list and eventually getting the 12th place from around 200 contestants. It was not the best I could do but still not as miserable as the middle place it seemed I would get after the first day. It was also like 70% of the winners points and according to the old rules I would have won a 5.75(min. 2 max. 6) note for the entrance to the University. But the new rules were different and I was not getting anything. However there was still hope that the rules could be reverted. The problem was that the school year was approaching its end and I had to think about having to go to exams...

At this point the idea to study abroad was already in my mind. Actually I have also sent my documents but still waited for the result. That is why I started studying very hard maths. It was only a month later when my informatics teacher called me to say the rules has been changed and I got the 5.75 note. It was crazy! I was free to live! No more studying for exams - no more shit! I had to celebrate that day hard. Actually a few days later I did an exam in my own city and got the maximal note 6.00 - but I was very calm that I don't have to get any particular note. Meanwhile the information that I was admitted in Germany in Darmstadt came too. So I had to prepare myself for the journey of my life. The idea was not a very comforting one. A man like me that is a traditionalist to the bone - did have some second thoughts about leaving not only his own house or city but the country too. However I had to do it. I had to go ahead - to develop. There was one more stressful situation later when they said that the High schools Diplomas won't be ready quick enough that year and there was a risk that I won't be able to send my papers in time. But they did got ready just a few days before the deadline and I made a small jump and run game to Sofia and back home two or three times in a single week to get everything ready in time. And I sent the documents just three days before the end date with TNT to Germany. And on 28th August 2003 I set off from Burgas Airport to Frankfurt...

Chapter 4 - Nomad

When I first arrived in Germany I was somewhat dizzy and nauseated from the trip. Luckily my father came with me for a few days to smooth a little bit the adaptation. I got welcomed by Klaus Freund my boss from the company I worked in Bulgaria before I left. He actually helped me find a place to live for the first days and drove me there from the airport that first day. I am very very grateful to him for everything he did in order to get me going here in Germany. He and his wife Mila really helped me integrate in Germany the proper way. The place he found for me was the Fraternity KStV Moenania-Starkenburg. I didn't knew what a Fraternity is as we don't have these in Bulgaria so I had no prejudice although I had some worries with the "Catholic" part of their name. The place proved though a very good house with plenty of room for the people, rich event calendar and the perfect environment to learn German and the German culture. I made many friends there some of them really helped develop my life the way it is now. I will note here the three of them that were the closest in the beginning and it more or less is like that until today. These are Frank, Konrad and Thomas - three guys we shared a floor in the house and although we are all different characters we had so much fun together throughout the two and half years we lived together and after even though we moved to different apartments.

At the university I started studying Mathematics with Computer Science first as a bachelor and then continued in Master. There I met a lot of other Bulgarians. As it turned out to be - Darmstadt has one of the biggest number of Bulgarian students in Germany - certainly more than 500 as only in my year we were 80 or so only in MCS. Some of my best friends from that time you can see in the friends section of my site. The 5 years I spent at the university were not marked by any particular event. I still participated twice in the students' competition in Informatics (ACM local round) but with no remarkable success (not that bad either). Maybe an interesting achievement was the Tumbleweed contest in 2005. I was just having that lecture about Machine Learning and Data Mining when I got the news about a contest in Bulgaria organized by the company Tumbleweed. They wanted to have an application that can automatically detected the main topic of a group of texts and group them according to that. So I decided to try get my knowledge into practice and apparently did some nice job as I won the competition and with that an offer to get a job at company and the prize was a PC - Dell OptiPlex 280 if I remember which got to be my first very own server. I took it to Germany and set up a Debian distribution and ran this machine for 4 years as a personal server and a router/firewall for my local network at home. This is approximately the time I switched to Linux as a main operating system. At some point around 2009 I shut it down and brought the machine back to Bulgaria to be used there as the power bills were getting more and more uncomfortable and I had access to enough hosting space to not need running my one any longer. Although having a socks proxy was always a good idea :-). I had my personal blog for a few years too where I wrote daily activities but at some point got bored with it. So now I have some material for a more professional blog without the personal content of the old one. Another achievement of my student's time was the annual scholarship of Siemens that also gave me the chance to make a three months internship at their Munich facilities and write my bachelor thesis there.

In the end of the first semester I was desperately looking for a job to sustain my stay in Germany. I have started with something like 2-3k Euro from home and this was more or less the money I could rely on before I will have to face the choice of either find a job or my way back home. So I was trying different possibilities but as a freshman it is hard to persuade people you do have experience in commercial programming. Then Krasi (one of my Bulgarian friends there) told me that the Fraunhofer Institute was constantly hiring students for research assistant jobs (or HiWis as they call them in Germany). I wrote to more or less every department there and got answers from two of them. The first interview was with Prof.Dr. Didier Stricker and he offered me a position which I immediately accepted. And so I started a 5 years period of my life where I worked at the department for Augmented and Virtual Reality. Which ended with me writing my master thesis in the field too.

While writing my master thesis it become clear that my boss has accepted an offer to start a new department for computer vision and augmented reality at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence DFKI Kaiserslautern. He offered me to start working there after I finish my thesis and after some hesitation whether to move away from Darmstadt I accepted. This is where I am now since October 2008. More or less in pursuit of a PhD, but mainly spending my time hacking on so many interesting projects - ranging from soldering and programming in low level micro controllers to scientific research in multiple view stereo 3D reconstruction.

Meanwhile I had some other interesting projects I picked on the train of life. I had an offer from an Italian company called Crea to help them out with a CAD/CAM application for the Textile industry. I agreed mainly because it was a 360 degrees turn from my everyday activities at Fraunhofer and gave me the chance to get some experience in the area of file format inference (intellectual reverse engineering - without hacking into the program used to create these files). Pretty tough but huge fun. In order to keep in touch with the latest technologies I have been doing some programming and project leading in my spare time for a company I grounded in Bulgaria with a friend of mine Lachezar in the filed of Internet applications development. Mostly writing e-commerce systems for the .NET platform. This helps me stay on the wave of Internet technologies and also gives me the so needed diversity in my work. Our biggest project that we have been working since 2007 is Rezerve.bg but after that we used the knowledge to build a lot more fun stuff the latest if which is the system for schools E-dnevnik.

Epilogue

I would like to mention that my life was full of happy moments thanks too my friends and family and I would like to thank you all for all the support and joy you gave me through the years. That is why I arranged the section "My Friends" of this web site - to have some place to give the needed respect to all of you! A special place in my heart is also reserved to Lina my girlfriend that is so cool, loving and supportive to me, that it is hard for me to find the words to express my gratefulness to her and to destiny to offer me that luck.

P.S.: Maybe you will find interesting to read this text and to compare with my life. Can you find something similar :-P