February 2006

Repair Your Own iPod

February 28, 2006

iPod Replacement Batteries Some of you will recall my problems with the first iPod I bought (originally for Ross, in 2003). I inherited it when she bought herself a fancier one, and resolved its “computers can’t see me” problems by connecting it via Ross’ new USB cable, instead of the FireWire cable it came with. [...]

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Crimes of Opinion

February 23, 2006

Italian law on “crimes of opinion” has recently (Jan 25th) been revised as follows (excerpted and translated from here): “…Safeguarding of [all] faiths, instead of [just] the state religion [i.e., Catholicism] …Article 404 – (Offenses against a religious faith by means of vilipendio [~insult] or damage to property) – Anyone who, in a place designated for worship or [...]

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Crimes of Opinion

February 23, 2006

Italy’s Laws on Opinions You’re Not Free to State Italian law on “crimes of opinion” has recently (Jan 25th) been revised as follows (excerpted and translated from here): “…Safeguarding of [all] faiths, instead of [just] the state religion [i.e., Catholicism] …Article 404 – (Offenses against a religious faith by means of vilipendio [~insult] or damage [...]

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The Crusading Atheist

February 23, 2006

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” Stephen Henry Roberts (1901-71) Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene and many other excellent books, recently did a TV [...]

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Italian Food in Video: RistoExpo, Erba

February 19, 2006

Ristorexpo, Erba: salumi, cheeses, coffee, fast food, slow food, cookies, cakes, chocolate, wine, grappa, liqueur… some of the things that make life worth living in Italy! Salame d’asino is made from donkey. The blue gelato shown at the end is “Smurf” flavor. No, they don’t make it from actual Smurfs.

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Bird Flu Arrives in Italy

February 12, 2006
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The Lake Como Shore in Lecco

February 11, 2006

Boats, birds, blue, blue water, flags in the wind.

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Italian Complaints

February 9, 2006

above: a very small anti-war protest in Milan Feb 9, 2006 Since I began commuting regularly to Milan, it has been brought forcibly to my attention how much of Italian productivity is lost to strikes. I haven’t kept count, but it seems as if there has been something to prevent me from getting to the [...]

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Would You Like an Encyclopedia with That?

February 9, 2006

Surprising Things You Can Buy in Italy’s Newsstands In Italy, for reasons that I will go into some other time, most shops are closed on Sundays. You can go to a restaurant or bar, sometimes you can buy fresh bread in the morning, and there’s always one pharmacy open somewhere (though you may have to [...]

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Bang!

February 5, 2006

I was walking along a street in Milan last Monday, heading to the bar with colleagues for our usual post-lunch coffee. There’s scaffolding on one of the buildings along the way, which was dripping water onto the sidewalk as the weekend’s snow melted. So I stepped under the scaffolding to avoid getting wet. And, exiting [...]

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