7 I still couldn't solve the problem of getting to work
8 quickly. I can't afford to waste over 2 hours every
11 By now, I've tried any possible solution:
13 * Car: the office doesn't have a parking lot and there's
14 no way to park within one mile from KendalSquare for less
15 than $18/day. Monthly fees start from $250.
17 * Bus: I need to commute in Dudley and take line no. 1 to
18 MassachusettsAvenue, then walk 15 minutes to KendalSquare.
20 * Bus + subway combo: The red line would get me directly
21 to KendalSquare, and there are several routes to get there,
22 but all of them require commuting at least twice. The
23 monthly link pass costs $75.
25 * Car + subway combo: there are some cheap parkings next
26 to the terminal subway stations where you can leave your
27 car for $5/day. Unfortunately, to get there I must
28 travel in the opposite direction. And the whole thing
29 will cost $75 + $5*30, about the same of the monthly
32 * Taxi: Costs $11-$14 * 2 every day, which makes the
33 monthly parking cheap in comparison.
35 And even worse, the red line stops running at midnight
36 and bus no 1 at 1AM. Which forces me to leave from
37 the office very early (for my standards).
39 If you want to play with the possibilities, I just
40 discovered that the transportation company has a very cool
41 web service that would have saved me a lot of time:
44 http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/trip_planner/default.asp
45 From: 66 Maywood st., Roxbury MA
46 To: Kendall/mit Station, Cambridge
49 At the end of the day, the ultimate solution is moving
50 closer to the office or at least close to the red line.
51 Maybe I could afford to spend $600 for a room, but I
52 don't feel like moving right now. I already have enough
56 ==== Awful Weather ====
58 Today it's raining lightly. Yesterday I took an extra shower
61 The WikiPedia was definitely right: weather in Boston can
62 change very rapidly. Must remember to buy a raincoat like
63 RichardStallman's and keep it in my backpack.
69 1. Get employed at OLPC
74 Just joking, but the truth is that I still need
75 to face a lot of new challenges now.
77 My next problem will be improving my communication skills.
78 After one month of full immersion, I can still barely
79 understand people talking quickly to each and I clearly
80 express myself using an inadequately poor vocabulary and
81 too slowly in some cases.
83 These things will improve over time, while my strong
84 Italian inflection is likely to remain forever. If
85 only I could find one, I'd attend to a course to
86 correct my diction now. Actors do them.
88 Another crucial problem I need to solve quickly is
89 getting a visa that allows me to work here permanently.
90 There are many possibilities, but none guaranteed to
91 succeed. For now, I'm not thinking about it: my
92 employer knows better than me and will help as much
95 Last but not least, my job is not easy and requires a
96 good amount of commitment. All my colleagues are extremely
97 smart and more experienced than I am. So I need to work
98 twice as hard to keep up with them.
100 A very nice workplace and very interesting assignments helps.
101 And, most importantly, I know that what we're doing here is
102 going to have a huge impact on the world.
104 '''Andrea Grandi''': Your words give me no hopes for my future :(
106 '''Bernie''': Are you planning to come here? Cool! :D
109 > All my colleagues are extremely smart and more experienced than I am
111 More than you? It's not a place for me then :D
113 '''Bernie''': It's worth trying even if you currently think you're
114 not up to the job. It's a very valuable experience even if you
115 end up returning to your home country for some reason.
122 Here are some more pics of MyOlpcDesk.
126 ==== Office Space =====
128 Here are a few pictures of the OlpcOffice!
130 ==== Hack Hack Hack ====
132 I've been assigned a problem with an invalid serial port baud
133 rate after resume from software suspend.
135 I started investigating the hard way, until ChrisBall pointed
136 me on IRC to talk with the KernelHacker DavidWoodhouse, who
137 obviously had a solution in a few seconds. Unfortunately,
138 it didn't work as we expected and MitchBradley of OpenFirmware
139 joined the conversation to help.
141 Having all the subsystem gurus available to fix your bugs makes
142 things a lot easier... Hehe, I think I like it ;-)
144 And so tomorrow I'll get back to work on a MandelBug with the Xorg's
145 driver for the AMD chipset. When XVIDEO is enabled and you
146 rotate the display with XRANDR, sometimes the X server crashes,
147 sometimes it just hangs and sometimes it survives with a corrupted
148 display. And the bad news is that gdb also hangs.
150 How will I fix this? Easy: I'll go looking for the driver authors
151 first thing tomorrow and beg them to send me a fix :-)
153 By the way, lately I've been hanging regularly in #olpc on FreeNode.
154 My nick is _bernie. Come over to see what's going on!
159 ==== All Night Long ====
161 At 9PM, I'm still here and plan to stay as long as I can :-)
163 <please link to the song "All Night Long" here>
166 ==== Buried In Work Already ====
168 '''WARNING''': Technical AbraCadabra ahead!
170 Today I met most of the team members and bothered a few of them,
171 starting from DanWilliams who helped me debug a problem with a
172 simple mesh networking scenario involving three laptops.
174 Today I've also been assigned some work from ChrisBall, who also
175 helped me out with many small things such as a dead battery,
176 accessing the serial console, etc. I'm currently adding a
177 KernelDebugger command to display the ModelSpecificRegister's
180 But it seems like I will also refer to RedHat's ChrisBlizzard
181 to be assigned more work. We talked about optimizing the
182 video driver for the AmdGeodeCpu, getting the resistive
183 tablet to work and maybe adding "tapping" support to the
186 As you know, I like it even more when I'm allowed to ramble
187 through a zillion different things like this!
190 ==== Sneaky Preview ====
192 I'm writing this from within the OLPC headquarters. I came today for
193 a second interview and to get a few tasks assigned to me :-)
195 I have no time to be more specific. Will tell you the details a little later.
200 '''TODO''': will tell you later
204 '''TODO''': will tell you later
207 >MUM< creepy mummy virus it's taking control here.... :-) WRITE SOON OR IT/SHE WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING!
208 ==== Quite a Trip ====
210 Today I'm leaving the safe and familiar BostonCity to boldly go where I've
213 The current plan is to drive south to ProvidenceCity, BrdigeportCity, NewYorkCity,
214 PhiladelphiaCity, BaltimoreCity and, finally, WashingtonCity. Maybe I'll even
215 push myself down in FloridaState to go see the SpaceShuttle!
217 I could use a GPS. I've seen a few TomTom's, but $299 seems way too
218 much to me for a talking map. Maybe I'll buy a traditional map for
221 Ah, and I will sleep frugally, of course. Hostels and motels when I find
222 them. So, over the next few days I'll be lucky if I have intermittent
223 Internet access and, consequently, I won't probably be able to sync the
229 '''Babbo''': Ma fino ad oggi con quali danari hai vissuto dato che sei partito con 10€ liquidi?
231 '''Bernie''': Ho prelevato i soldi dall'ATM... con il bancomat delle poste! E vedo dai movimenti
232 sul conto che hanno applicato un buon cambio e nessuna penale strana.
236 Today I finally rent a car. It's a SaturnIon, a brand and model I never heard
239 http://www.edmunds.com/media/seo/500/2006.saturn.ion.jpg
241 I felt very comfortable driving all over Europe: Italy, Swiss, Spain, France,
242 Germany, Belgium, and even Greece... But, for some reason, I was quite afraid
243 of driving a car here in the States.
245 Maybe it's because the road signs are somewhat different and there are a few
246 subtly different rules, such as turning right on red, not parking in front
247 of hydrants, etc. Most probably, it's because I've seen way too many movies
248 where people get stopped by police and thrown in jail quite easily!
250 Well, so far everything went very well. I mean, except for parking. Parking
251 in downtown is easy if you're willing to pay $10-12 for a few hours.
252 It's a big pain in the ass otherwise... The best way I've found so far
253 is to park near a minor T station and then get the T to downtown :-(
255 And, of course, the car has AutomaticTransmission, which I managed to learn
256 quickly: the trouble comes when you switch the other way around ;-)
258 Ok, today I've driven all around Boston just to get used to it. Tomorrow
259 I'll probably dare getting on the highway to see around.
262 ==== Business Visa? ====
264 Today I've re-read detailed information on the
265 available US visa options:
267 http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1262.html
269 Looks like a ''B-1'' Business Visa would do. To get one,
270 I should go to a US ambassy, and ambassys are usually
271 located abroad. Instead of returning to Italy, maybe
272 I could get an appointment in MontrealCity, which is
273 near to the border and also an interesting place to see.
280 Yesterday I applied for this great service: http://www.zipcar.com/ .
281 Isn't it a good idea? Costs less than renting a car and is almost
284 <rasky> http://www.carsharingfirenze.it/ :)
286 Today I walked to their offices to give them my documents
287 and get the magnetic card. They said they will enable it
288 first thing tomorrow *if* the "insurance risk declaration"
289 I got from Italy suffices.
292 ==== Simple shopping ====
294 Consumers must be very simple minded here. First, most
295 shop names are simply dumb: '''Pay Less''', '''Save-A-Lot''',
296 '''Big Deal''', and so on.
298 ''Sounds very '''meno tasse per tutti''' to me... -- PiroPiro''
300 Second, they try to subtle deceptions such as: "take 2 for $24.xx",
301 and, next to it: "take 3 for $21.xx", Which of course is
302 impossible. It's a trap! The little figures placed
303 exactly where you would expect to see the cents, are
304 indeed a small notice: ''EACH''.
306 Today I bought a dozen of razor blades ($1.50), a
307 bottle of shampoo ($1.50) and shower gel ($1.50).
308 But I spent $12 for adjusting the two pair of
309 trousers I had bought a few days ago in the mall!
310 $12 ''EACH'', I mean.
313 ==== Bad Neighborhood ====
315 Walking home alone in the night, I may encounter some ''bad'' guys:
317 http://bender.codewiz.org/wikidata/text/FunWithWeapons.jpg
319 Better be careful :-)
324 ==== Veni, Vidi, ???? ====
326 This morning I shown up at OneLaptopPerChild's headquarters. It's again next to KendallSquare,
327 in OneCambridgeCenter.
329 JimGettys was very kind: he took me to LegalSeaFood for lunch, repaired my ExOh's keyboard (two
330 keys were dead) and introduced me to the team members.
332 They left me with the usual Hollywood formula: "don't call us, we'll call you".
333 But in this particular case, I felt they were sincere :-)
335 I hope to be soon a member of the OLPC core team!
340 ==== Alea Iacta Est ====
342 As promised... Yes, indeed. Everybody please cross their fingers.
344 Babbo:Pregherò perchè tu possa ottenere quello che cerchi.
346 Camy: Mannaggia a voi due ( Bernie e Alberto ) siete cosi..."teneri". Come ho già detto tante volte a Bernie, è fortunato ad avere un babbo cosi! Lo so, lo so che non c'entra nulla con lo stile di questo blog, ma io sono cosi, impulsiva e Bernie lo sa e mi perdonerà.
347 A dire il vero anch'io sto in ansia per lui :-) speriamo bene...
349 Bernie: Via, non fatemi venire il magone voi due :-)
353 ==== International Dinner ====
355 FedericoLucifredi and his wife Irena were so kind to invite me at their place for a
356 fine dinner with appetizers, SirloinSteak (see pic below), several side
357 dishes and... Even a PinotNoir!
359 http://www.fairburysteaks.com/images/bci-sirloin-round-bone.gif
361 There were also Mauro -- Federico's colleague at Ximian -- and Irena's
362 friend who's a physics professor from Providence and could speak perfect
363 French and, surprisingly, even Italian!
365 What can I say? I think I got a pound or two that night, but it was
373 There's a cinema in building 26 @ EmAiTee, and it's cheap.
378 If you're curious, my room rent is $500 per month. Utilities,
379 forniture and DSL Internet access are included.
381 It's not cheap, but it's also not too expensive for Boston.
382 They told me that only Manhattan is more expensive here on
385 ==== CurriculumVitae ====
387 ...is almost ready. A friend told me that I'd better have
388 also a synthetic resume of 1-2 pages for the impatient.
391 Well, I said I'd be finished by last Monday, but then I
392 managed to slip past my own deadline visiting NewYorkCity,
393 moving in my current room and in other frivolous ways.
395 Now I have no excuses: the time has come. Next Monday I
396 ''will'' write my proposal. Seriously.
400 ==== Exchange Rates ====
402 Looks like I'd better convert all my money to dollars *now*:
404 http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/EUR/graph30.html
406 What do you think about it?
408 Babbo:penso che $ continuerà a svalutare. Perderai soldi.
410 ==== StataCenter ====
412 I forgot to tell you about the kewlest building in EmAiTee:
414 http://www.eecs.mit.edu/images/big-stata12.jpg
416 See also: http://www.eecs.mit.edu/stata-link.html
420 After a long time, I finally get to (ab)use MIT's wi-fi and
421 barf my short-term brain buffer into my BrainDump.
423 Tonight we went to an Irish pub next to Kendall, where I got
424 to know a few more Ximian employees. I got rumors that
425 the famous kernel hacker RobertLove would be there, so after
426 a while I turned to the guy next to me and asked: "Is
427 RobertLove really going to come?". And he replied: "Speaking."
429 Another guy told me: "Hi, I'm BAHB". "Pardon?". "BAHB!".
430 "What???". Federico promptly helped me out: "Ha detto che si
433 The beer was good. I discovered that a BlueMoon is the
434 nearest approximation of a WeisseBeer I can find here,
435 and I'm not at all displeased by its taste.
439 My landlord has recently switched DSL provider and Internet
440 doesn't work any more: the sync light on the modem flashes.
441 It seems that crappy ISPs are a common disease in the States
444 Yesterday, he called for service and, finally, they told him
445 they would send a tech today from 8AM to 18PM. They refused
446 to be more specific. And so I've agreed to wait here to let
447 the guy in... I care about it for myself too!
451 By the way, today I'm exactly 150 pounds (use GoogleCalculator
452 to get it to SI units).
454 150 pounds = 68.0388555 kilograms
460 They told me Roxbury is quite an infamous suburb of Boston.
461 And my first impression confirms that: shops are uglier,
462 parks and streets are somewhat dirtier (but not as much as
463 in NewYorkCity!) and, most importantly, some of the neighbors
464 look creepy. Especially in the night, streets are crowded by
465 people with criminal faces and many homeless.
467 You know I'm not the type who's easily scared off by a bunch
468 of zombies, but I'll feel much better when I'll drive a car.
472 I've finally settled in my room. There's no need to describe the house
473 in detail, as it's the most typical colonial design: two floors plus
474 basement, front and back yards, sliding windows, wooden floors
475 everywhere. You've come to know them very well from the movies.
477 Today I went to the mall to gather the essentials: a blankets,
478 a pillow case and some bath towels. The bed is comfortable and
479 I was quite tired already, therefore I fell asleep early in the
480 evening and kept on until 8 AM.
482 '''WARNING: TIME WARP OCCURRED'''
486 '''WARNING: TIME WARP IMMINENT'''
490 Alberto: Attento a convertire € in $ perchè € si sta apprezzando,e quindi $ svalutando rispetto a €.
492 Belle le foto scovate da Massimo. Have a good stay in Btn.
494 Massimo: Bernie, you taught me: http://www.google.com/search?q=100+USD+in+EUR
497 Massimo: Since Bernie could not give us any picture, I had to use flickr: here they are!
499 http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=bernardo+innocenti
501 Piro: what in the heaven is RMS doing dressed like a camp tent? :D
505 ==== BankOfAmerica ====
507 I went to BankOfAmerica and opened a bank account. I went there wearing a yellow T-shirt
508 and a weary pair of jeans. In the beginning, they referred me to a young guy who quickly
509 tried to offer me a student's saving account. When I queried for interest rates, credit
510 cards, and dollar/euro conversion rates, they finally realized that I was going to move
513 When I've shown them my balance, they immediately switched me to a very polite girl who
514 took all the time to explain me everything in detail until after their closing time and
515 recommended me to open *3* different accounts to get a rate of 4.80% with no fees!
516 I totally hate when people judge you by your wealth, dressing, or other stupid status
517 symbols, but maybe a bank is the only exception where it makes sense to do so.
519 Banking appears to be far, far simpler here. I already feel like I know
520 everything while in Italy I still can't read most of the paperwork I get from
523 Batt: Or maybe american bankers are so skilled that you are happy while, in truth, they have stolen your money forever :-P
525 Massimo: Yahr yahr! He didn't realize they already got 4.80% of his balance from his pocket with a magician move! Yahr yahr! Anyway... 4-5% rate is not absurd in the US. It has always been almost like this as far as I can remember (maybe sometimes it was even 6-7%). It's useful for someone (like bernie), but tragic for someone who does not have any money and to buy a house with those mortgages it's almost impossible. Still, the US has got a very low rate in comparison with other extra-european countries.
529 ==== Good News, Everyone! ====
531 '''After a long struggling, I've finally found a room!'''
533 And I'll be moving in *today*! But I'm writing on Thursday the 3rd, actually (aren't you thinking fourth-dimentionally yet?).
535 The room is nice and comes with some forniture, including a desk. It's on the second floor
536 of a house where the landlord lives with her wife and a very friendly puppy.I like it
537 that way: all those houses shared by students I've seen so far tend to become unmaintained
538 and dirty quite quickly, while this one is a real house with a fully operational kitchen,
539 bathroom and even a clean back garden!
541 My landlord is Armenian, but have been living here in Boston for a long time. My first
542 impression is he's a very nice person, honest and easy going. I haven't met his wife yet --
543 she'll be back on Sunday.
545 I'm afraid the house is a bit far away from MIT, in southern Boston. But that won't
546 be a problem as soon as I buy a car. There may even be a chance to rent or buy the
547 car readily from my landlord's son.
549 I don't know the address yet. I should, but I forgot the sheet on the table when I went there. And I can't call my landlord either because I've stolen his cell phone by mistake also. Yeah, I reckon I mustn't a good impression, actually :-)
552 '''Camy''': the landlord lives with '''his''' wife
554 ==== Do You Speak English? ====
556 Some of you will be pissed off by this change, but I'm starting to make
557 some international friends here and none of them could read Italian.
559 Writing in English is also what I need to improve my writing skills.
560 For the few of you who barely know English, some more reading surely won't hurt!
562 [[http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbender.codewiz.org%2Fwiki%2FMayBlog&langpair=en%7Cit=en Google Translator]]
565 As always, I'd very much appreciate being told about any mistake I make.
567 ''Massimo: ok, let's start with those horrible contractions my poor eyes had to read: '''Won't''' and '''I'd'''. Hey Bernie! You already went back home from NYC. Ain't gonna play with ya 'nymore!''