Living with the Threat of Terrorism in Italy

July 24, 2005 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

I heard about the 7/7 bombs from my dad, who called to let us know that my daughter and her boyfriend, visiting them in England, were safely at home in Milton Keynes, though they had all been touristing in London the day before.

I checked in with various friends; everyone’s okay. Life in London returned to normal the next day, with detours to place flowers at the bombing sites. Londoners have survived worse. Some still remember the Blitz in WWII, and most remember the years of IRA terrorism.

Israelis, of course, were unfazed by the news. It seems that everyone in Israel has lost a friend or loved one to terrorist bombs, or has their own near-miss story. The Israelis learned long ago how to cope with “everyday” terror, including such frighteningly hard-headed strategies as putting one’s children on separate buses to school.

In Italy, there had already been a noticeable police presence in railway stations, and sometimes on the trains, reminding us that we’re under siege. The Italian police forces had not been idle, but they increased their efforts after the London bombings, and arrested or expelled from the country dozens of people considered dangerous. Government officials have publicly stated that Italy is, nonetheless, at considerable risk. One even said specifically that they’re expecting something to happen in February, though he did not elaborate on the reasoning behind this prediction. The timing seems to be related to next spring’s elections, on the assumption that, since the Madrid bombing changed the Spanish government and led directly to the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq, the same logic might be applied to Italy (thanks, Spain).

France and the Netherlands have temporarily suspended the Schengen accords (which allow free movement across borders) and are checking everybody entering and leaving. I’m not sure how useful this is. The London terrorists were home-grown, and France and the Netherlands have their own disaffected Muslims; it would be more useful to look harder at people already in the country. Though it seems that the masterminds and instructors of the London bombings may have been foreigners; I guess we don’t want the same guys personally spreading their cheer in other countries.

What does all this imply for everyday life in Italy? I commute to Milan almost every weekday, by train. I suppose I should be worried… Nah. Life’s too short, and, anyway, what am I going to do? Barricade myself in my house? That would truly be a victory for the terrorists. The best thing I can do is spit in their eye, metaphorically, by continuing to do what I do and be what I be. Most of my lifestyle is an affront to the beliefs of these idiots. That’s my personal freedom, and I am not about to give it up.

living in Italy

Commuting with Nature – Observations Along the Railway

July 24, 2005 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

It’s ironic that, having moved to a beautiful place more or less in the country, I now commute into the city for work. I’m usually out of the house 12 hours a day, and don’t get much time to enjoy the natural beauties that surround me at home.

But there’s still plenty of nature to observe from the train. The spaces alonside and between the tracks run riot with growth. Sometimes there’s enough ground near the tracks to contain tiny vegetable gardens; I’m told the land is leased for the purpose, though I’m not sure by whom, or how the gardeners reach these tiny plots, which are divided and protected by rickety wood and wire fences. One such area near Lecco is entirely fenced with rusting old metal bedframes.

Some of these garden plots are beautified with flowers. Earlier in the year great clumps of vari-colored irises bloomed; then it was roses, and now it’s hydrangeas, bursting with extravagant puffballs of blue, purple, or pink flowers.

The most prolific flowers are, of course, the weeds. A few months ago the tracks were lively with red poppies, now they froth with Queen Anne’s Lace, and something with yellow blooms on a tall spike.

Back at home, our own orto (vegetable garden) is surviving my neglect – I barely have time or energy to water it every evening. I have learned that four zucchini plants are too many, and you have to watch them carefully. The fruits hide under the huge spreading leaves where I don’t notice them until they have become monster-sized (at which point they’re not very tasty to eat). I harvested a zucchinona 60 cm long, weighing four kilos (ten pounds).

We enjoyed good fresh salad for a while, but I planted too much and didn’t harvest it viciously enough, so it all bolted (flowered) and became too tough to eat. I suggested digging it all up and replanting it, which Domenico has duly done, though he dourly predicts that it’s too late in the season – in the present heat, the plants will not root strongly enough to produce much.

The cucumbers have been good, though, again, four plants are too many – next year I will purchase more conservatively. We’ve just begun to enjoy our first tomatoes. The peppers don’t seem to be doing well, I’m not sure why. Domenico has also planted broccoli, which needs to start growing now in order to produce in fall/winter (good thing I asked him about that; I was imagining I could plant it later in the year, since it’s a winter crop).

Sadly, our land doesn’t seem very suited to strawberries – for all the plants I planted and carefully tended, I only ate about six strawberries. Maybe they’ll establish themselves and do better next year. The hazelnut and fig saplings that Domenico planted are also struggling. At least the roses are doing well – 11 plants in 8 different colors, including yellow roses for Texas. They’re still blooming, a few at a time, though they wilt immediately in the crushing heat. Next spring they’ll probably be spectacular.

ps. Revenge of the garden: I went out to water yesterday evening and got stung twice on the right arm by the same wasp. Hurt like hell, and my arm still aches today. But at least now we know I’m not allergic.

Italian food

Ristorante Belvedere: A Gem on Lake Como

July 17, 2005 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

We set out for a lunch somewhere along Lake Como, knowing only that we wanted a view. After pulling into a few parking lots and then changing our minds, we climbed the hill towards the Monastery of Piona, following signs for Ristorante Belvedere – with that name, it had to have a view.

The Belvedere advertised fish as its specialty and, like most Italian restaurants, had a menu posted outside. I was at first confused by the strange prices, not rounded neatly off to the nearest euros.

â‚¬ 4.13 for a first course? Then I realized that the prices were also given in lire, printed alongside their exact conversion into euros. This appears to be the only restaurant in Italy which did not take advantage of the change to the euro to gouge its customers. Before the euro, 8,000 lire for a plate of pasta would have been considered middling-reasonable. When the euro came along, most restaurants simply lopped off the extra zeroes to arrive at 8 euros for the same dish, an extortion to which we consumers have meekly consented. Ristaurateurs claim that their costs have risen, but Ristorante Belvedere has somehow managed to keep prices low, without compromising on quality.

Although the specialty was fish, I had a starter of homemade liver patÃ© – I can never resist patÃ© – which was good, mild-flavored, and creamy in texture. For a first course I had home-made pumpkin gnocchi, whose slight sweetness contrasted nicely with the home-made pesto they were dressed with. I didn’t have a second course, but the rest of the party had fresh-caught lavarello (a white fish native to Lake Como), simply baked in the oven, and freshwater shrimp braised in butter, all good.

My dessert was something special: locally picked wild blueberries with ice cream. They were probably the best blueberries I’ve had in my life.

Between the four of us we had two appetizers, three primi (pasta), three secondi, two desserts, three coffees, water, wine (a good Soave served by the liter), and a Limoncello. The total cost was about â‚¬97 – cheap at the price! We’ll definitely be going back to the Belvedere. (And the view was indeed spectacular.)

portfolio, what I do

Creative Energies: Doing User Interaction Design

July 5, 2005 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

As you will have noticed, my newsletters are getting fewer and further between. Nowadays, most of my creative energies go into my work for TVBLOB. “What work is that?” you may ask. Good question. As in many startups, roles aren’t well-defined, but, basically, everything that touches our future end-user customers will somehow, someday, be my responsibility.

For the moment, my main job is designing software features, behaviors, and interfaces. This would be relatively straightforward if we were making software for the familiar Windows environment – I’ve been closely involved in the development and support of some very popular Windows software packages, and I have very clear ideas on what works and what doesn’t.

But TVBLOB’s software and services will be displayed on a television set, with a far smaller viewing area (in terms of pixels) than any modern computer monitor. Try setting your computer display to its smallest possible resolution and you’ll get the idea – except that, at least on my current computer, the smallest possible setting is 800×600 pixels, while a standard PAL (European) television set can display roughly 700×550.

Limited screen real estate is not the only design problem I’m up against. The hardware I’m designing for is not a computer with a keyboard; we expect that people will mostly use a TV-style remote control to interact with our software. And I don’t mean a huge, clunky remote with 300 buttons that are so tiny you can’t press them, let alone remember what they’re all for. Our remote will have only a few more buttons than you’d find on your average DVD player controller. So I have to use them wisely.

Not that I’m complaining. It’s a fascinating set of design challenges, and I’m having lots of fun. But the work does tend to wring all the creative juices right out of me…

bio

MBA: Collecting My Dues from the Open University

July 5, 2005 Deirdre Straughan 2 Comments

top: The very medieval scholar’s robe. I suppose the bag-like sleeves were originally intended for carrying around one’s scholarly scrolls.

2:57 min – video shot June 10, 2005

I went to London to collect my MBA from the Open University. Attending the ceremony was not obligatory, but I’d missed my BA graduation, and thought it would be fun to do the cap and gown thing.

The ceremony was held at the Royal Festival Hall, where we were supposed to arrive early to collect our (rented) gowns and have official photos taken. The Open University holds around 20 such ceremonies every year, giving graduates a broad choice of places and times to attend. Several hundred people were present that day to collect degrees from BAs to PhDs in every conceivable subject, accompanied by their beaming families.

We were a representative slice of what is probably the world’s most diverse student body. The Open University was founded (in 1967) to open up education to people who otherwise had not had and might never have the opportunity to pursue a university degree. The institution has succeeded wonderfully at this. Few of the graduates were the usual college age; the oldest I saw looked to be well into her 70s, and she wasn’t the only grandma in the group. Many were non-white, with a large contingent from Africa (Somalia and/or Ethiopia, I think), where the OU has been operating for years.

Most of us graduates didn’t know each other, but each had a small cheering section of family, in my case my dad and his wife Ruth, but it was more common for graduates to be attended by their spouses, children, and even grandchildren!

At first we clapped and cheered everybody, but that got tiring. Ruth told me later that she settled on a strategy of applauding the oldest, the least-advantaged, and the handicapped. Judging by the volume, much of the audience made the same choice. An elderly black lady with gray hair got a huge ovation, startling the Dean of Students who was performing handshake-and-congratulations duties. He asked her something, then turned to the audience with a huge grin and shouted: “Five grandchildren!”

About That Gown

Like everyone else, I rented the gown and hood, and was carefully allocated the items pertaining to my newly-attained qualification. The pale blue robes are for Masters (Bachelors wear dark blue, Doctors shiny electric blue).

Note the carefully-arranged hood, proving to anyone who understands the arcane codes of these things (it depends on the colors and even the width of the trim) that I have an MBA from the Open University. I now have the right to wear this get-up at any future academic “congregation” I attend, until and unless I earn a still higher degree. Of course, I would have to actually buy the thing for any such occasion…

If you’d like to learn more about the Open University, there’s a new site (2014) for students outside the UK and Ireland.

My very proud Dad.

Licensed to…

Dec 10, 2004

er, do business? I learned this week that I’ve passed the exam for the last course in my MBA from the UK’s Open University. So I can now put “MBA” after my name on my visiting cards, as is the custom in some parts of Europe. (I’m not sure it will do me much good in Italy, where few people know what an MBA is.)

I started this degree in 1999, when I realized that, if I had had to apply for the job I was actually doing at Adaptec, the description would have said “MBA strongly preferred.” My original intent was to show my bosses that I was serious about my career, in spite of the strangeness of my situation (working long-distance from Italy for an American company).

Countries Beginning with I

Living with the Threat of Terrorism in Italy

Commuting with Nature – Observations Along the Railway

Ristorante Belvedere: A Gem on Lake Como

Creative Energies: Doing User Interaction Design

MBA: Collecting My Dues from the Open University

About That Gown

Licensed to…

Deirdré Straughan on Italy, India, the Internet, the world, and now Australia

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Deirdré Straughan on Italy, India, the Internet, the world, and now Australia