Google
 

30 gennaio 2007

New comment policy

Following the never boring suggestions of Guy, I decided to change the comment policy for this blog. No more moderation (yes, that means what you write will be added immediately to the site - althought I retain some deleting permissions). And again, no CAPTCHA, no hassles, nothing.

Seguendo i consigli mai scontati di Guy, ho deciso di cambiare le regole per inserire commenti su questo blog. I commenti non verranno più moderati (sì, vuol dire che quello che scrivete finisce direttamente online - anche se ho ancora la facoltà di cancellare). In più, niente CAPTCHA, niente scocciature, niente di niente.

25 gennaio 2007

Mi secca dovermene andare

Dal blog di Don:



In questi giorni, anche se cerco di rimandare tutte le decisioni all'ultimo, devo ammettere che mi scoccia fare un po' tutto. Per esempio, scrivere mi scoccia, perché devo stare attento ad essere leggibile, anche nei riguardi di me stesso. Sono ormai abbastanza sicuro di avere avuto un ictus (la diagnosi medica finale è ancora in sospeso); uno piccolo, suppongo, dato che guido ancora poche settimane dopo il mio 93esimo compleanno. A quest'età, devo ammettere che ci provo gusto nel vedere lo stupore della gente quando dico quanti anni ho. Ma sotto tutto c'è la consapevolezza che sono il maschio che ha vissuto più a lungo di entrambi i rami della mia famiglia, materno e paterno, e che me ne dovrò andare abbastanza presto. Semplicemente non mi piace l'idea.



Ho galleggiato sul classico "Stato lì, fatto questo" per un po' di tempo, ma la nozione che si avvicina il momento in cui non potrò più dirlo mi secca. La verità è che non me ne voglio andare.



Ci sono molte ragioni. Per un sacco di tempo mi sono comportato come se potessi posporre tutto indefinitamente, e così ho un mucchio di cose che devo fare subito. Non voglio che i miei successori scoprano quante cose avrei potuto fare e non ho fatto, almeno per un bel po'. Ci sono tante note e lettere che devo scrivere. Ci sono posti che avrei voluto visitare, ma non ne ho mai avuto l'occasione. In realtà, ciascuno di voi potrebbe, se pensasse per un attimo di avere la mia età, stilare la lista. Almeno potrebbe provare a capire perché dico che odio andarmene.



Don To Earth: It Bothers Me That I Have To Go



powered by performancing firefox

21 gennaio 2007

Tenebrae factae sunt

One of the composers I admire at most is Tomas Luis de Victoria. His responsoria are masterpieces. I had to do it: I hope your ears will forgive me.



Download Tenebrae Factae Sunt

Tenebrae factae sunt (Tenebrae responsory No. 8) (Tomás Luis de Victoria) - ChoralWiki

20 gennaio 2007

In Italy is not illegal download and store copyrighted material?

The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation stated it's not illegal downloading copyrighted files, if you don't use them for money. Two Turin students won the trial: is not wrong "spare" on the films' tag price, even if police found copy protection removing software on their computers.

Update: this sentence refers to facts happened before the "decreto Urbani", which introduces the concept of profit (better, the loss of) in copyright issues. And in case you're wondering: yes, file sharing and downloading in Italy is still illegal.

Cassazione: lecito scaricare file protetti basta non usarli a scopo di lucro - cronaca - Repubblica.it



powered by performancing firefox

Quotes from Wonderful Graffiti

Quotes from Wonderful Graffiti



If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough. –Mario Andretti

Se tutto sembra sotto controllo, semplicemente non stai andando abbastanza forte.



Take pride in how far you've come. Have faith in how far you can go.

Sii orgoglioso di quanta strada hai fatto. Abbi fede in quanta ne farai.



One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. –Virginia Woolf

Non si può pensare bene, amare bene, dormire bene, se non si mangia bene.



Approach love and cooking with equal abandon. –The Dalai Lama

Ama e cucina col medesimo abbandono.



You're stronger than you seem; Braver than you believe; And smarter than you think you are. (A.A. Milne)

Sei più forte di quanto sembra; più coraggioso di quanto credi; e più furbo di quanto pensi. (E sì, è l'autore di Winnie the Pooh)





powered by performancing firefox

15 gennaio 2007

Surveillance Cams

Italiano: leggete (o guardatevi) V for Vendetta, poi leggete l'articolo di Punto Informatico del link sottostante.



English: read V for Vendetta, then read below:



Someone is opposing to city cams!

Incredible: successful in UK and in Italy, but their diffusion in the States may be more difficult. Because someone do protest and speaks about crushed rights. Exaggeration from the usual four hot heads. (The beginning is cleary ironic: PI is against every form of censorship).



Roma - New Orleans is one of the cities in the States with the higher number of cam installation across the streets, mainly managed by police. And several other cities have some webcam. But the surveillance cam initiative, a long time established fact in UK and in Italy, clashes with a growing opposition.



As such may be incredible - since surveillance cam diffusion usually is very popular - Electronic Frontier Foundation and ACLU decided to battle against the surveillance across some San Francisco blocks.



Both associations, two of the most important civil rights' defense associations in the States, oppose to a project, as stated by San Francisco Chronicle, which is based on installation of 25 new surveillance cams in the residential blocks of the city, during the next 18 months. Every one of those cams will cost something between $ 4000 and 7000, and in the major's opinion, cams will be a deterrent against crime and against drug dealers. Meanwhile, they will provide and important monitoring service to increase people security.



EFF, ACLU, and National Lawyers Guild are trying to build up protests from citizens against the installations. The net grapevine gives some hope: Indymedia San Francisco publish a petition to gather people for the next wednesday meeting with the city authorities, and explains clearly why this kind of surveillance cams are dangerous:



"Video surveillance poses a significant threat to privacy and free speech by allowing the government to track what you are doing and where you are going. Surveillance cameras also impact free speech by chilling protected political and religious expression. The prospect of government surveillance may deter individuals expressing unpopular views from attending demonstrations and speaking out on controversial issues."



Back in 2003, the former italian authority for the privacy, Stefano Rodotà, affirmed with the usual precision: "This unstoppable publication of private spaces, this perennial exposition to unknown and undesidered eyes, actually change individual and social behavior. To be aware of the control causes people to behave less spontaneously and reduces freedom."



"Shrinking control-free spaces one may be forced to remain at home, defending ferociously this last private space, even if more and more unprotected from surveillance techniques more efficient every day. But if liberty and spontaneity will be coherced in our private spaces, we will consider far and hostile everything exists in the outer world. This may be father to new conflicts, and therefore a radically and permanent insecurity, which in facts destroys the stronger argument in favor of surveillance, whose primary end is to produce security".







PI: Qualcuno si oppone alle cam in città!



powered by performancing firefox

13 gennaio 2007

HD DVD vs. Blu Ray

The truceless war between HD DVD and Blu Ray has a new element to think about.



Adult film industry embracing HD DVD



powered by performancing firefox

Very bad song

This evening I was outside for shopping. Radio was broadcasting "Angelica", a song by an italian group, "Le Vibrazioni".

Simply: "Angelica" is awful. It isn't "not very good", is quite horrible. Senseless words, disturbing music: a nightmare.





Questa sera ero fuori per acquisti. La radio trasmetteva "Angelica", una canzone di un gruppo italiano, "Le Vibrazioni".

Semplice: "Angelica" fa schifo. Non è solo "non un gran che", è proprio orribile. Parole senza senso, musica fastidiosa: un incubo.





powered by performancing firefox

Orfeo ed Euridice

"Orfeo ed Euridice" by Gluck (performance 1 of 10 in 5 different cities) was performed this evening in the Ravenna Theatre, "Dante Alighieri".

1% of inspiration and 99% perspiration allowed me to partecipate preparing this event. I will be in Pisa next february for the last two performances.



Going to the opera (and a fortiori performing) is emotionally moving. In this opera I enjoyed expecially the direction by Graham Vick. I am pretty sure that tomorrow the newspaper will praise the modern and stylish direction, the dancing chorus and the very dynamic scenes. People like sweat, and I can assure you this evening their craving was satisfied.



But IMHO, the cream is in the less dynamic scenes; let me tell some examples:



Act 1 (ending): Orpheus lost Eurydice for the first time. A mourning chorus left slowly the scene, when someone tries to take away the tumbled chair near Orpheus (we've seen dead Eurydice before laying in this chair). A distressed Orpheus grabs the chair, and the other left shaking his head in misery (thanks, Sergio: yes, it does works great).



Act 2 (hell): as stated by the director, the tableau brings life from the Sartre idea: "L'enfer est les autres". Hell is others.

a) An actress tries to put three chairs in a row, and another actress ruins the order every time the work of the first one is almost done. You feel the anxiety, and the sense of unfulfillment.

b) An actor reads the newspaper in a very rude manner on a sofa, while an actress pushes him not gently at all to swap tv channels with a remote.

c) An actress pretends to be sick, and another one pretends to take care of her. When the nurse tries to left the bed, the other suddenly catches her ("Misery").



Not enough hell? You deserve demons and forks.



The music is a masterpiece. The libretto is not so good, but in the 18th century was impossible to write a libretto without happy ending. Yes, Orpheus looks at Eurydice and lost her... forever? No, because Love settles everything, and they lived happily ever after.

I do prefer much more the sad version, in which Orpheus losts Eurydice forever.



Teatro di tradizione Dante Alighieri - GLI SPETTACOLI



powered by performancing firefox

03 gennaio 2007

EU video format petition

English: read the post from BoingBoing, then sign the petition.



Italiano: le assemblee del Consiglio dell'Unione Europea sono trasmesse su internet in streaming. Peccato che siano in formato proprietario (= soldi nostri che finiscono in tasca a Microsoft e/o alla Apple, nessuna delle quali è un'azienda europea...). Alternative ce ne sono, ma questi rispondono che non "possono" sostenere legalmente Linux, per cui Linux non è supportato. Le soluzioni open source sono compatibili anche con Windows e Mac. Perché non risparmiare accontentando tutti? C'è qualcuno che si mette in tasca i soldini di zio Bill o di zio Steve? O semplicemente è un modo gratuito e inopportuno di gestire le minoranze trasversali?



Firmate la petizione.



Petition Spot - Platform independent solution to watch "Streaming Service of the Council of the European Union."



powered by performancing firefox

01 gennaio 2007

Years and landings

Years are very similar to landings: every one you survive aren't quite so bad.

But I haven't liked very much the last year, so I am glad it isn't on my guts anymore.



Welcome 2007.



2006 - Wikipedia



powered by performancing firefox

How many batteries does it takes...

Stumbled upon the linked article via digg. You have to see to believe it. 6 x AAAA batteries = 1 x 9V.







Holiday is when you have too much time on your hands. Happy new year.



Triple "A" Battery Hack



powered by performancing firefox