December 2011
1 post
October 2011
6 posts
“Those of us who were bewitched by his eloquence on the campaign trail chose to...”
– What Happened to Obama’s Passion? - NYTimes.com
“The codex is built for nonlinear reading — not the way a Web surfer does it,...”
– The Mechanic Muse — From Scroll to Screen - NYTimes.com
“I was out running errands today, walking through the city. I remembered, a mile...”
– http://daringfireball.net/2011/10/iphone_4s
“Excuse me, sir, would you mind taking our photo?”
– http://blog.pluckytree.org/2011/10/last-time-i-saw-steve-jobs.html
NPR's top 100 science fiction books →
And if you prefer a flowchart to guide you through this list:
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2011/09/flowchart-for-navigating-nprs-top-100-sff-books/
September 2011
1 post
August 2011
4 posts
Il mio ultimo giro in bici
Nel senso di ultimo nella mia attuale condizione di scapolo ! Di giri in bici conto di farne ancora parecchi.
Sono andato a rifare il giro dei Lagoni nel parco dei Cento Laghi (Appennino Parmense).
Lago Santo e 456
Caldo pazzesco, ottimo allenamento: rampe impedalabili, facili stradoni da ciclocross, un po’ di hike-a-bike, una discesa banale e ultraveloce su sterrata larga, una...
That's not jargon
From a review of a soft-science book appeared recently on the New York Times:
Though the authors occasionally lapse into jargon (their barnacles cling to “substrate” until the animals die and their six-plate shells “become disarticulated”)
Substrate and disarticulated jargon? Maybe I’ve been away too long, but it seems to me that substrate and disarticulated are normal words that even...
July 2011
1 post
June 2011
2 posts
Egypt and the terrorists
Last Thursday I arrived in the States, and I went through the usual US border immigration procedure. The agent, after careful examination of my passport with lots of Egyptian visa stamps, says:
Been to Egypt a lot, ah ?
Yes, a few times but it’s been more than a year since my last time.
So you haven’t been there after the TERRORIST TAKEOVER ?
May 2011
6 posts
Paper to draw comics →
INTERVIEWER
What kind of paper do you use, what kind of pen and ink?
CRUMB
Well, I use the old Strathmore vellum surface paper, which is the best paper you can get in the Western world for ink line drawing. It has a good, hard surface. I have it mailed from the New York Central Art Supply in New York. For a while I was using this old Strathmore paper from fifty years ago that some guy sent...
“I felt a sense of relief at his unshaven face and scruffy clothes. I have rarely...”
– Ed Hillary (the Everest guy) about Eric Shipton (another great mountaineer and explorer), as reported in the fantastic 2-part history of Everest written by Ed Webster (Alpinist issues 26-27).
“Being packed onto a subway or a bus or even stuck in your car in traffic makes...”
– Bike Snob.
“They don’t appear to enjoy what they’re doing.
[…]
One does...”
– Bike Snob, about road cyclists and triathletes.
April 2011
3 posts
“I am known for the legendary length of my blog posts and e-mails. This stems...”
– http://blog.tabini.ca/2011/04/writing-less-to-write-more/
March 2011
8 posts
Sestri Levante Superenduro 2011: preview
Had a great day of riding last Saturday. Woke up at 6:30am, took the 7:39 train to Sestri Levante. Three hours or so, and then here I am in Sestri; cool breeze, warm sunshine, I started following the Superenduro signs. Here’s a few pics that sum up the day.
Where all the special stages begin.
(And PS1, 2 and 3 were gone in a second; too much fun to stop).
Some pics of PS4:...
a couple of links on this nuclear thing
How the story went first of all: the Japan Syndrome, appeared on The Economist on March 15th.
Japan Does Not Face Another Chernobyl by William Tucker.
Radiation dose chart by Randall Munroe, inspired by this page written by his friend Ellen.
About Godzilla then, this is a must read: Japan’s Long Nuclear Disaster Film by Peter W. Kirby.
And if you’re thinking about clean energy, look...
“In his 1869 book “Hereditary Genius,” Sir Francis Galton argued that a person...”
– Secrets of a Mind-Gamer
Fascinating article on a normal guy who becomes memory champion. This quoted passage is particularly interesting to me because it gives me hope about improving my bike skills (I know, I should say “improving my ability to write papers, to understand geology and...
Calgary
I would like to move to some place neat in the future, maybe a place where the outdoors are close and people are friendly and the quality of life is great (maybe everybody dreams about a place like this).
Vancouver seems to be that place, however it would be difficult to find a job there unless I change profession and become something else than a earth scientist.
So a collegue of mine told me...
Making a really good coffee →
Interesting post, however this barista needs a reality check: a refractometer to make coffee ? I’d recommend a couple of place in my hometown (Bari) where baristas have no PhD but make the best coffee ever.
February 2011
7 posts
How he makes his voice heard. →
Taking inspiration from “King’s speech”, a stutterer writes about stuttering. Some great insights, worth reading if you are vaguely interested in the subject (or if you have a friend who stammers and want to know what on earth does he think when he’a stuck on a word).
(via Instapaper)
english writers and the terrible "it's"
I love tech bloggers such as Gruber, Brooks, Arment. Even if there really is nothing in common between me and those guys except for a generic interest in technology and nerdism, I still love their passion, the public interactions on twitter and instagram (true, sometimes their shots are not really worth much praise, but praised they are), and in some cases (e.g., Gruber) their writing craft.
But...
an app to store my passwords
What I was looking for: an app to store my passwords
I stuck with Lockbox Lite for a long time on my iPhone. Then I got fed up about not being able to have the same data available also on my two Macs (not to mention the stupid ads). So I started looking for something that had these features:
quick 4-digits general password to access all the rest
sync between iPhone and mac
About the first...
“In 2007, when he was at the State Department, Jared Cohen wrote with tragic...”
– Book Review - The Net Delusion - By Evgeny Morozov - NYTimes.com (via Instapaper)
January 2011
7 posts
Frozen: the worst movie ever
This is probably one of the worst movie I’ve ever watched. It is so bad that I actually enjoyed it. But the most incredible thing is that the three reviews that I’ve read, well they’re not so harsh on this piece of junk:
Emma Bell, in particular, really sells the terror of their predicament […]
I don’t think I’ve seen a movie this tense since The Descent.
...
The Russians Used a Pencil: Idea to Market in 5... →
I wish I had an iPhone 4 just to have a glif.
russianpencil:
On July 11th, 2010, Tom Gerhardt and I had an idea for an iPhone accessory: a tripod mount that doubled as a stand. Five months later, customers began to receive our product, the Glif, in the mail. This turnaround, from idea to market in five months by two guys with no retail or manufacturing…
Snowboard: the history so far
I began snowboarding on the 13th of March. So far, I’ve spent a total of eight days on the board (spread on 3 weekends). In these eight days I’ve taken 8 hours of private lessons with two very skilled (and patient) instructors of the Val di Fassa Ski and Snowboarding school.
My last weekend, however, was the turning point, as I decided to buy the full kit and discovered how easy...
Tracking body weight
I discovered this Withings wi-fi body scale after reading this tweet by Neven Mrgan:
My weight report for 2010: http://j.mp/eypTcB Executive summary: could be better, could be worse.
It sounds like a great tool to track your body weight: compare it to what I’ve done last year.
However, I doubt I’ll ever buy it. Too much technology around you really damages your health much...
December 2010
3 posts
150 friends (Dunbar's number) →
I have deleted my Facebook account a long time ago and I can confirm that I can live very happily with no Facebook around.
This article by Robin Dunbar (did you know about “Dunbar’s number” ?) is very interesting however. It does say that Facebook can be a positive thing. But it also says:
Yes, you can “friend” 500, 1,000, even 5,000 people with your Facebook page, but...
About "Viral me"
My previous post was a quote from an article that upset me.
It tells a story about these incredibly smart kids that waste their time and energy (and considerable amounts of brain, apparently) to build yet another ‘social’ things; Internet services that basically allow the user to shut their minds, do fuck-all (apart from taking a picture maybe), and in return be “famous”...
“DailyBooth appeals to people who want even less friction than Twitter: Here, you...”
– The Viral Me (via Instapaper)
October 2010
3 posts
bob dylan 1966 →
So, I don’t know if Bob Dylan was totally out of his mind or if he was just playing crazy, but this 1966 interview is brilliant stuff.
I can understand maybe a quarter of it all, or maybe a pint; but see if you don’t smile at this reply (interviewer asks if he’s selling out):
What can I say? I’d like to see one of these so-called fans. I’d like to have him...