Svastica? - Swastika?

"A foolish man...built his house on the sand." - Matthew 7:26


Gli edifici nella finestra in alto sono dormitori di una base navale a San Diego. Non credo che siano parte di una cospirazione segreta. Sembra invece che l'architetto John Mock ha un senso d'umore: piu' in basso potete vedere due edifici (dieci anni piu' vecchi) che assomigliano ad aerei, e sembrerebbe che stiano attaccando la svastica. Ovviamente, l'architetto nega l'intento del disegno, per cui ha anche vinto un premio per uso ottimale dello spazio provvisto. Pero', grazie all'avvenuta di Google Earth milioni di persone adesso sanno dell'esistenza di questo "errore," quindi l'esericito Navale sta investendo $600.000 per mimetizzare il simbolo odiernamente maligno. Certo che noi americani sappiamo usufruire bene dei soldi!

The buildings in the window above are dorms at a Navy base in San Diego. I don't think they're part of some secret conspiracy. It appears instead, that the architect John Mock had a bit of a sense of humor: in the window below you can clearly see two buildings (ten years older) that appear to be shaped like planes attacking the swastika. Obviously, the architect denies an intentional design, for which he even won a prize for optimal use of space. In recent years, the increase in popularity of Google Earth has allowed millions of people to see the "mistake." Now the Navy is investing $600,000 to camouflage the presently evil symbol. We Americans sure do know how to spend money wisely!



View in Google Maps

San Valentino - Valentine's

"These boots are made for walkin." - Nancy Sinatra

Questa e' una storia di due Bassett che accidentalmente hanno visto Roma di notte. Ed e' una storia che voglio dedicare a mia moglie, perche' lei ha fatto tutto questo tragitto indossando stivali con tacchetti. Potete seguire il tragitto con foto nella finestra in basso, oppure seguire il link per piu' dettaglio.

This is a tale of two Bassetts that accidentally saw Rome by night. It's a story I want to dedicate to my wife, because she did all the wandering in high-heeled boots. You can follow our journey with pictures in the window below, or follow the link for more detail.




Go to Google Maps for more detail on our Journey.

Calcio Balilla - Fussball

"Pass it to the Italians!" - Will Ferrel in 'Kicking and Screaming'



In Italia ci si da' del tutto al calcio...anche se e' su una tavola. Il talento nazionale ad ogni livello e' spettacolare. Dai bambini che appena camminano in su, gli Italiani sono veramente appassionati per il calcio di ogni tipo =D

Italians devote themselves completely to soccer...even if it's on a table. The national level of talent is truly spectacular. From little kids that barely walk on up, Italians are really obsessed with all forms of soccer =D

La moglie si sente in colpa - The wife feels guilty

"Baby you hardly even notice." - Jack Johnson

Stammattina a colazione mia moglie si sentiva in colpa per non aver letto la mia tesi. Per mostrare che sapeva di cosa si trattava, ha cominciato a indovinare il titolo della tesi, e Natalie l'ha aiutata:

B: Biomeccanico?
N: Caramelle?
B: Concentrazione?
N: Colazione?
B: Metodo?
N: Cioccolata?
B: Computer?
N: Rosa?
B: Ipotesi?
N: Polipo?

Titolo Vero: Hybrid EMG-Driven Approaches in Single-Joint and Multi-Joint Models

Le amo tutt'e due tantissimo!


This morning at breakfast my wife felt guilty for not having read my thesis. To show me that she knew what it was about, she started guessing what the title was, and Natalie tried to help:

B: Biomechanical?
N: Candycorn?
B: Focus?
N: Breakfast?
B: Method?
N: Chocolate?
B: Computer?
N: Pink?
B: Hypothesis?
N: Octopus?

Actual Title: Hybrid EMG-Driven Approaches in Single-Joint and Multi-Joint Models

I Love'em both a ton!

La Moglie - The Wife

"The wisdom I lack!" - Five Iron Frenzy



La realta'! Due anni e mezzo di lavoro, e nemmeno mia moglie (che possiede una laurea in Inglese) ne riesce a leggere o capire una parola. La triste vita dello scienziato: al resto del mondo non gliene frega niente! Beh...onestamente, a mia moglie gl'importa che ho finito, e che mi piace il mio lavoro, pero' in realta' non le fa' differenza se il gastocnemio mediale esercita una forza piu' fisiologica se il momento di forza del ginocchio e' incluso nel modello biomeccanico della caviglia. La verita' e' che ci sono poche persone in tutto il mondo che leggeranno la mia ricerca. A me piace credere che un giorno i miei studi faranno una differenza per il bene del mondo!

Reality! Two and a half years of work, and my wife (who has an English degree) can't even read or understand any of it. The sad life of the scientist: the rest of the world doesn't care! Well, ok...honestly, my wife does care that I finished, and that I like my work, but in reality it makes no difference to her that the medial gastrocnemius exerts a more physiologic force if the knee moment is included in the biomechanical model of the ankle. Trust is that there are few people in the world that will read my research. I like to believe that one day my work will make a difference for the good of the world!

Apple

"[Apple] is a 'cool' brand in the consumer space..." - Michael Gartenberg

The following is an excerpt from this article on ZDnet UK:

Apple's ambitions here are scarcely unique, with vendors such as Sony and Microsoft putting forward similar visions of the future. "It's a battleground to win share in the home-entertainment market. We're already reaching the point where you can dock an iPod and be connected to a wider sound system and play video elsewhere in the house, so what it's really about is gaining dominance in the connected household," says Kwiatkowski. But he [Gartenberg] believes that Apple has a number of things going for it. Firstly, it has a "cool" brand in the consumer space.


I have been saying this for about 6 months now, it's good to see that I'm not the only one. Ah consumerism, lets mindlessly buy what's cool!

My lovely lady lumps

"Nobody knows what it means!" - Will Ferrel in Blades of Glory



Alanis Morissette = un genio di satira.

Alanis Morissette = genius of satire.

Razzismo - Racism

"As you can see, I have a white son and a black son, but I don't see color, so I can't tell which is which!" - Joy on My name is Earl

I think the world has gone racist this week. The following are actual quotes from my friend Ron who is black and my friend Qi who is Chinese:

"I only watch [American Idol] when brown faces are singing." - Ron
"I think you're racists!" - Me
"Yeah...if that's what you wanna call it!" - Ron insinuating white people can't sing

"We are going out to play basketball!" - Qi
"Oh yeah? Who are you playing with?" - Me
"Chinese people...not people as big as you...as tall as you!" - Qi
"You won't play with white guys? I think you're racists!" - Me
"We'll play with short white guys!" - Qi

Cosa farai col tuo Computer? - What will you do with your Computer?

"They say I should act my age." - Blink 182



Il 24 Marzo e' il giorno per divertirsi piuttosto che sedersi davanti al Computer. Tu cosa farai? Puoi spegnere il tuo Computer? Per un giorno intero?

Wahoo! March 24th is the day to have fun instead of sitting in from of your Computer. What will you do? Will you be able to turn off your Computer? For a whole day?

Cervo contro ghiacco - Deer vs ice

"He's canadian, but not the French kind, so we're ok with that!" - My Name is Earl



Non so cosa mi fa ridere di piu'...il cervo o il giornalista.

I don't know what's funnier...the deer or the reporter. Let hear it for white trash America!!

Sapere - Knowledge

"Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is." - Barbara Bush

Dicono che ogni giorno s'impara qualcosa di nuovo. Oggi e' uno di quei giorni.

The say you learn new things every day. Today is one of those days.

White Trash Chistmas

"Our parents are cousins!" - My cousins roommates



Yes, a better update is coming, but for now this is it.

Happy Thanksgiving

"I'd like to see you live without it!" - Silverchair





This year I am quite thankful for Miracle II! It is a truly fantastic product filled with prayer, electrically engineered water, and ash! This great lotion holds spiritual and eloptic energy beyond measure! Yes, I am truly thankful for Miracle II the Neautralizer Gel =P

*I must give credit to my wife for this find!

Vita Normale? - Normal Life?

"Billy (the Kid), you are dealing with the oddity of time travel with the greatest of ease!" - Bill S. Preston Esquire

Purtroppo, oggigiorno, questa e' la mia vita.

Unfortunately, these days, this is my life.

Che differenza fa'? - What difference does it make?

"I wanted larger biceps before I was comfortable with my mental acuity." - Zach Addy (nerd in Bones)

Venerdi' mattina
9:05 Mi manca la spinta per lavorare sulla mia ricerca...accendo Rage.
9:06 Mi chiedo cosa sta facendo Zack de la Rocha...leggo su Wikipedia.
9:07 Mi ricordo di quanta cattivita' e sofferenza c'e' nel mondo. Forse non sono d'accordo con tutto quello che dice de la Rocha...pero' lui aveva spinta...aveva motivazione...e io rispetto queste cose.
9:08 Mi trovo pieno di spinta per cambiare il mondo. Ci sono persone in dolore...io posso fare una differenza...e questo comincia con la mia tesi.

Friday morning
9:05 AM ...lacking the drive to work on my research...cranck up the Rage.
9:06 AM Wonder what Zack de la Rocha has been up to...read up on Wikipedia.
9:07 AM Reminded of how much wrong and suffering occurs in the world. I may not agree with de la Rocha on everything...but he was driven...he had motivation...and I respect that.
9:08 AM Find myself full of motivation and drive to change the world. There are people wallowing in pain...I can make a difference...and that starts with my thesis.

"The only thing we were out there to do is express how much we hate both the Democrats and Republicans..." - Zack de la Rocha

Madri e Mr.T - Mothers and Mr.T

"My buddies always get mad at me cuz I root for both teams...but at the end of a game I am never disappointed!" - Clinton Jackson



Il rispetto dev'esserci...ce l'ha detto Mr.T!!

You gotta respect...Mr.T told us to!

Arte Innovativa - Innovative Art

"How the hell'd we end up like this?" - Nickelback



Migliaia d'anni c'hanno dato moltissima arte e ci forzano a cercare nuovi modi d'esprimere la nostra creativita'. Il video di Daisuke Yamamoto e' un esempio perfetto dell'uso di tecnologia in un modo creativo. Dobbiamo cominciare a festeggiare di piu' l'arte reale, e dare meno attenzione a tentativi d'essere originali che chiamiamo arte. Il gruppo Nickelback e' un perfetto esempio di un gruppo creativo!....si, seguete il link e ascoltate finche non ce la fate piu'...sarete impressionati...e se non avete mai sentito le canzoni, sono due canzoni diverse su CD che sono usciti con due anni di differenza.

Thousands of years of art force us to continually search newer and more creative outlets that have not been over done. Daisuke Yamamoto's video is a great example of creativity, and use of technology. As a society we need to start celebrating true art more, and give less attention to mediocre attempts at being original that we call art. Nickelback is a fantastic example of an imaginative band!....yes, click on the link and listen as long as you can...you will be amazed...they are two different songs that came out on albums two years apart =P

Senso d'Umore - Sense of Humor

"Laughter is the language of the sould." - Pablo Neruda



Mi piace stare in compagnia di anziani a cui la vita piace ancora. Gente che, nonostante gli anni, vuole ancora divertirsi. Gli piace ridere. A me piace ridere adesso...e spero che tra ciquant'anni ridero' ancora di piu'.

I like chillin with old people that still like life. People that, in spite of their age, still want to have fun. They like to laugh. I like laughing now...I hope that in fifty years I'll laugh even more.

Borat

"I was saving candy for my wedding night." - Rod Flanders



Ricetta per un film eccellente: un pazzo da un paese sconosciuto, un paese che non capisce altre culture. Ah si...sara' da morire dalle risate!

Recipe for a most excellent movie-film: a nut from an unknown country, a country that doesn't understand other cultures. Ah yes...we will laugh...and laugh more!

Direzione Sbagliata - Wrong Direction

"Never thought I'd see the day when kids could go to the store, be denied spinach, and buy all the cocaine they want." - Jay Leno

Negli Stati Uniti oggi gli spinaci ti danno la colera, e c'e' una nuova bibita: cocaina. Abbiamo forse sbagliato qualcosa.

Today we get e coli from spinach, and drink cocaine. Where did we go wrong?