7 Today Rasky suggested that we could use an RSS feed to notify
8 about new articles in the blog.
10 I wanted to fulfill the same purpose, but with a totally
11 different approach: use git-send-email to notify a mailing-list
12 and tell people: "hey, just subscribe to the list!".
14 My version is surely too complicated because it employs
15 a chain of 4 different programs (pikiwiki -> git -> git-mail -> mailman).
16 But I like that it can be done without even touching the wiki
19 A middle-ground solution could be using gitweb's own
22 http://bender.codewiz.org/wikigit/wiki.git?a=rss
24 But as Rasky notes, this would send notifications
25 also for minor edits: real blog apps would only
26 bother you for new articles.
28 So, maybe we should filter only changesets that
29 contain a new level 3 header... Hmmm... This
30 can't be done with gitweb, I'm afraid.
32 We live in an era where we can make very cool
33 things with very little effort. I could hack
34 this versioned wiki engine in just 2-3 days
35 because I could pick the existing PikiPiki and
36 combine it with the existing Git versioning
39 This brings me to the point: the really hard thing
40 in software design is choosing the right ingredients
41 for your sausage. Because there are many ways to
42 bake a pizza, but only a few of them have the
43 quality of being tasty, healty, dietetic, cheap
44 or whatever. And usually, even a good design...
45 err... receipe requires you to choose a few of
46 these qualities you care more.
48 '''Q''': What do you think is the most elegant way to
49 obtain useful notification from this blog?
51 You can choose whatever technology to deliver some
52 kind of "notification". You can also use any
53 sensible definition of the words "useful" and "elegant".
58 Today I typed {{cvs up -dP}} to update Gnash from CVS.
59 And I got the prompt back in less than 1s.
61 "Something must be broken!", I thought! In fact, it's
62 blazingly fast because we're just 2ms away from Savannah:
65 PING cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69) 56(84) bytes of data.
66 64 bytes from cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69): icmp_seq=1 ttl=58 time=2.31 ms
67 64 bytes from cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69): icmp_seq=2 ttl=58 time=2.21 ms
68 64 bytes from cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69): icmp_seq=3 ttl=58 time=2.00 ms
71 And it's not even in MIT:
74 traceroute to cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69), 30 hops max, 40 byte packets
75 1 passport-9-16.media.mit.edu (18.85.46.1) 1.756 ms 1.695 ms 1.845 ms
76 2 amtgw.media.mit.edu (18.85.0.1) 2.230 ms 1.248 ms 1.150 ms
77 3 EXTERNAL-RTR-1-BACKBONE.MIT.EDU (18.168.0.18) 1.409 ms 1.435 ms 1.374 ms
78 4 EXTERNAL-RTR-2-BACKBONE.MIT.EDU (18.168.0.27) 1.391 ms 1.389 ms 1.426 ms
79 5 207.210.143.109 (207.210.143.109) 1.428 ms 1.505 ms 1.414 ms
80 6 207.210.143.138 (207.210.143.138) 12.756 ms 2.162 ms 1.998 ms
81 7 ge-2-1-0-000.ar1.qcy1.ma.gnaps.NET (199.232.44.142) 4.879 ms 2.592 ms 2.485 ms
82 8 cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69) 2.713 ms 7.476 ms 13.328 ms
85 Boston sure has a very fast WAN backbone!
90 Ciao Berni!!! Te tu sei un grande, qui dalla OTE ti si saluta con affetto!!!
92 Grazie ragazzi! Il sentimento e' reciproco! Uno di questi giorni
93 dovete proprio venire a bere una birra qua a Boston!
95 ==== More Graphics Headaches ====
97 Hehe, more graphics problems keep sprinkling: XorgGraphicsCorruption.
98 CosmicPenguin was kind enough to offload me of the graphics related bugs.
105 And if you really have too much time on your hands, try helping me out on some of
109 * http://dev.laptop.org/query?status=new&status=assigned&status=reopened&status=closed&owner=bernie&order=priority
112 ==== Weekly OLPC Reports ====
114 If you're interested in our progess at the OLPC lab, we
115 publish weekly executive summaries here:
117 http://laptop.media.mit.edu/laptopnews.nsf/latest/news
119 This is the report that mentions me volunteering for
122 http://laptop.media.mit.edu/laptopnews.nsf/2e76a5a80bc36cbf85256cd700545fa5/6709ac0696003ee3852572e00083567f?OpenDocument
129 In this episode of the popular American show SixtyMinutes,
130 our founder NicholasNegroponte reveals a lot of details
131 about the humanitarian role of the OneLaptopPerChild project:
133 http://bender.codewiz.org/wikidata/60_minutes_2007-05-20.avi
135 The part about us starts approximately at 1/3 of the show.
137 You may also find the last part interesting as it specifically
138 addresses the controversial problem of private medical centers
139 trying to save on assistance to homeless people. Marco, you
143 ==== GreenishBitmaps ====
145 '''Warning''': This article is rated PG0xF00F, parents discretion *not* advised.
147 I've been struggling for the last few days on a the damn X server.
149 In the RedHat builds, we're still using a pre-release of 1.2,
150 labelled 1.1.99. Now, we need to leverage some upstream work
151 for input rotation that is landing on the Xorg tree right now.
153 Backporting is not an option, and we want to stay up to date
154 anyway. We'll soon be moving to Fedora 7 anyway. But even
155 the just-released 1.3 that will be in Fedora 7 is not enough,
156 because it has been branched some time ago, we must work
157 from the tip of the git tree, which of course has become
158 very unstable recently.
160 I've been fighting all the week against all sort of bugs
161 and build problems and, believe me, it's a very energy
164 The funniest thing I'm still trying to track are
165 these GreenishBitmaps that nobody else except me
168 It's probably a miscompilation of some kind, but I've
169 long ago ran out of obvious and less obvious ideas to try
170 and I'm now far in the land of impossible things.
172 All this time I've been in contact with a few X
173 hackers on IRC, including the author of the AMD
174 driver, but even them couldn't come up with a
182 '''Bernie''': Hello Easy!!! It's good to be chatting here in the blog!
184 I saw this two photo some row below...
186 But all those OLPC at the roof, what doing?? Only for furnishing or for specific utility?? :)
188 '''Bernie''': Hehe... they're part of the WirelessMesh, for testing
189 purposes. An hispanic guy called Miguel (not the same of De Icaza)
190 sometimes fiddles with them. He's lucky because he's very tall.
191 I'd need a ladder :-)
193 The office is very beautiful and the Apple Cinema Display is really very big...
195 '''Bernie''': Yeah, that's the personal screen of my boss/team-leader ChrisBall.
196 It's 30". One day or another I'll bring here my 24" wide-screen from home.
198 Do you have some new news about your new work??
200 '''Bernie''': Sorry for not updating the blog... I've been *extremely*
201 busy. I will do it shortly... Promised.
205 ==== Trip to work ====
207 I still couldn't solve the problem of getting to work
208 quickly. I can't afford to waste over 2 hours every
211 By now, I've tried any possible solution:
213 * Car: the office doesn't have a parking lot and there's
214 no way to park within one mile from KendalSquare for less
215 than $18/day. Monthly fees start from $250.
217 * Bus: I need to commute in Dudley and take line no. 1 to
218 MassachusettsAvenue, then walk 15 minutes to KendalSquare.
220 * Bus + subway combo: The red line would get me directly
221 to KendalSquare, and there are several routes to get there,
222 but all of them require commuting at least twice. The
223 monthly link pass costs $75.
225 * Car + subway combo: there are some cheap parkings next
226 to the terminal subway stations where you can leave your
227 car for $5/day. Unfortunately, to get there I must
228 travel in the opposite direction. And the whole thing
229 will cost $75 + $5*30, about the same of the monthly
232 * Taxi: Costs $11-$14 * 2 every day, which makes the
233 monthly parking cheap in comparison.
235 And even worse, the red line stops running at midnight
236 and bus no 1 at 1AM. Which forces me to leave from
237 the office very early (for my standards).
239 If you want to play with the possibilities, I just
240 discovered that the transportation company has a very cool
241 web service that would have saved me a lot of time:
244 http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/trip_planner/default.asp
245 From: 66 Maywood st., Roxbury MA
246 To: Kendall/mit Station, Cambridge
249 At the end of the day, the ultimate solution is moving
250 closer to the office or at least close to the red line.
251 Maybe I could afford to spend $600 for a room, but I
252 don't feel like moving right now. I already have enough
255 ''Have you considered to put a bicycle in your combo? You may replace a 10 km walk with it and open up new combinations (and ways to get wet...) -- PiroPiro''
257 ==== Awful Weather ====
259 Today it's raining lightly. Yesterday I took an extra shower
262 The WikiPedia was definitely right: weather in Boston can
263 change very rapidly. Must remember to buy a raincoat like
264 RichardStallman's and keep it in my backpack.
270 1. Get employed at OLPC
275 Just joking, but the truth is that I still need
276 to face a lot of new challenges now.
278 My next problem will be improving my communication skills.
279 After one month of full immersion, I can still barely
280 understand people talking quickly to each and I clearly
281 express myself using an inadequately poor vocabulary and
282 too slowly in some cases.
284 These things will improve over time, while my strong
285 Italian inflection is likely to remain forever. If
286 only I could find one, I'd attend to a course to
287 correct my diction now. Actors do them.
289 Another crucial problem I need to solve quickly is
290 getting a visa that allows me to work here permanently.
291 There are many possibilities, but none guaranteed to
292 succeed. For now, I'm not thinking about it: my
293 employer knows better than me and will help as much
296 Last but not least, my job is not easy and requires a
297 good amount of commitment. All my colleagues are extremely
298 smart and more experienced than I am. So I need to work
299 twice as hard to keep up with them.
301 A very nice workplace and very interesting assignments helps.
302 And, most importantly, I know that what we're doing here is
303 going to have a huge impact on the world.
305 '''Andrea Grandi''': Your words give me no hopes for my future :(
307 '''Bernie''': Are you planning to come here? Cool! :D
309 > All my colleagues are extremely smart and more experienced than I am
311 More than you? It's not a place for me then :D
313 '''Bernie''': It's worth trying even if you currently think you're
314 not up to the job. It's a very valuable experience even if you
315 end up returning to your home country for some reason.
317 '''Rasky''': But can you get a perm visa even without an university
318 degree? I thought that was absolutely out of question... I knew that
319 people without a degree could just get some 1-year temp visa.
326 Here are some more pics of MyOlpcDesk.
330 ==== Office Space =====
332 Here are a few pictures of the OlpcOffice!
334 ==== Hack Hack Hack ====
336 I've been assigned a problem with an invalid serial port baud
337 rate after resume from software suspend.
339 I started investigating the hard way, until ChrisBall pointed
340 me on IRC to talk with the KernelHacker DavidWoodhouse, who
341 obviously had a solution in a few seconds. Unfortunately,
342 it didn't work as we expected and MitchBradley of OpenFirmware
343 joined the conversation to help.
345 Having all the subsystem gurus available to fix your bugs makes
346 things a lot easier... Hehe, I think I like it ;-)
348 And so tomorrow I'll get back to work on a MandelBug with the Xorg's
349 driver for the AMD chipset. When XVIDEO is enabled and you
350 rotate the display with XRANDR, sometimes the X server crashes,
351 sometimes it just hangs and sometimes it survives with a corrupted
352 display. And the bad news is that gdb also hangs.
354 How will I fix this? Easy: I'll go looking for the driver authors
355 first thing tomorrow and beg them to send me a fix :-)
357 By the way, lately I've been hanging regularly in #olpc on FreeNode.
358 My nick is _bernie. Come over to see what's going on!
363 ==== All Night Long ====
365 At 9PM, I'm still here and plan to stay as long as I can :-)
367 <please link to the song "All Night Long" here>
370 ==== Buried In Work Already ====
372 '''WARNING''': Technical AbraCadabra ahead!
374 Today I met most of the team members and bothered a few of them,
375 starting from DanWilliams who helped me debug a problem with a
376 simple mesh networking scenario involving three laptops.
378 Today I've also been assigned some work from ChrisBall, who also
379 helped me out with many small things such as a dead battery,
380 accessing the serial console, etc. I'm currently adding a
381 KernelDebugger command to display the ModelSpecificRegister's
384 But it seems like I will also refer to RedHat's ChrisBlizzard
385 to be assigned more work. We talked about optimizing the
386 video driver for the AmdGeodeCpu, getting the resistive
387 tablet to work and maybe adding "tapping" support to the
390 As you know, I like it even more when I'm allowed to ramble
391 through a zillion different things like this!
394 ==== Sneaky Preview ====
396 I'm writing this from within the OLPC headquarters. I came today for
397 a second interview and to get a few tasks assigned to me :-)
399 I have no time to be more specific. Will tell you the details a little later.
404 '''TODO''': will tell you later
408 '''TODO''': will tell you later
411 >MUM< creepy mummy virus it's taking control here.... :-) WRITE SOON OR IT/SHE WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING!
412 ==== Quite a Trip ====
414 Today I'm leaving the safe and familiar BostonCity to boldly go where I've
417 The current plan is to drive south to ProvidenceCity, BrdigeportCity, NewYorkCity,
418 PhiladelphiaCity, BaltimoreCity and, finally, WashingtonCity. Maybe I'll even
419 push myself down in FloridaState to go see the SpaceShuttle!
421 I could use a GPS. I've seen a few TomTom's, but $299 seems way too
422 much to me for a talking map. Maybe I'll buy a traditional map for
425 Ah, and I will sleep frugally, of course. Hostels and motels when I find
426 them. So, over the next few days I'll be lucky if I have intermittent
427 Internet access and, consequently, I won't probably be able to sync the
433 '''Babbo''': Ma fino ad oggi con quali danari hai vissuto dato che sei partito con 10€ liquidi?
435 '''Bernie''': Ho prelevato i soldi dall'ATM... con il bancomat delle poste! E vedo dai movimenti
436 sul conto che hanno applicato un buon cambio e nessuna penale strana.
440 Today I finally rent a car. It's a SaturnIon, a brand and model I never heard
443 http://www.edmunds.com/media/seo/500/2006.saturn.ion.jpg
445 I felt very comfortable driving all over Europe: Italy, Swiss, Spain, France,
446 Germany, Belgium, and even Greece... But, for some reason, I was quite afraid
447 of driving a car here in the States.
449 Maybe it's because the road signs are somewhat different and there are a few
450 subtly different rules, such as turning right on red, not parking in front
451 of hydrants, etc. Most probably, it's because I've seen way too many movies
452 where people get stopped by police and thrown in jail quite easily!
454 Well, so far everything went very well. I mean, except for parking. Parking
455 in downtown is easy if you're willing to pay $10-12 for a few hours.
456 It's a big pain in the ass otherwise... The best way I've found so far
457 is to park near a minor T station and then get the T to downtown :-(
459 And, of course, the car has AutomaticTransmission, which I managed to learn
460 quickly: the trouble comes when you switch the other way around ;-)
462 Ok, today I've driven all around Boston just to get used to it. Tomorrow
463 I'll probably dare getting on the highway to see around.
466 ==== Business Visa? ====
468 Today I've re-read detailed information on the
469 available US visa options:
471 http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1262.html
473 Looks like a ''B-1'' Business Visa would do. To get one,
474 I should go to a US ambassy, and ambassys are usually
475 located abroad. Instead of returning to Italy, maybe
476 I could get an appointment in MontrealCity, which is
477 near to the border and also an interesting place to see.
484 Yesterday I applied for this great service: http://www.zipcar.com/ .
485 Isn't it a good idea? Costs less than renting a car and is almost
488 <rasky> http://www.carsharingfirenze.it/ :)
490 Today I walked to their offices to give them my documents
491 and get the magnetic card. They said they will enable it
492 first thing tomorrow *if* the "insurance risk declaration"
493 I got from Italy suffices.
496 ==== Simple shopping ====
498 Consumers must be very simple minded here. First, most
499 shop names are simply dumb: '''Pay Less''', '''Save-A-Lot''',
500 '''Big Deal''', and so on.
502 ''Sounds very '''meno tasse per tutti''' to me... -- PiroPiro''
504 Second, they try to subtle deceptions such as: "take 2 for $24.xx",
505 and, next to it: "take 3 for $21.xx", Which of course is
506 impossible. It's a trap! The little figures placed
507 exactly where you would expect to see the cents, are
508 indeed a small notice: ''EACH''.
510 Today I bought a dozen of razor blades ($1.50), a
511 bottle of shampoo ($1.50) and shower gel ($1.50).
512 But I spent $12 for adjusting the two pair of
513 trousers I had bought a few days ago in the mall!
514 $12 ''EACH'', I mean.
517 ==== Bad Neighborhood ====
519 Walking home alone in the night, I may encounter some ''bad'' guys:
521 http://bender.codewiz.org/wikidata/text/FunWithWeapons.jpg
523 Better be careful :-)
528 ==== Veni, Vidi, ???? ====
530 This morning I shown up at OneLaptopPerChild's headquarters. It's again next to KendallSquare,
531 in OneCambridgeCenter.
533 JimGettys was very kind: he took me to LegalSeaFood for lunch, repaired my ExOh's keyboard (two
534 keys were dead) and introduced me to the team members.
536 They left me with the usual Hollywood formula: "don't call us, we'll call you".
537 But in this particular case, I felt they were sincere :-)
539 I hope to be soon a member of the OLPC core team!
544 ==== Alea Iacta Est ====
546 As promised... Yes, indeed. Everybody please cross their fingers.
548 Babbo:Pregherò perchè tu possa ottenere quello che cerchi.
550 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.
551 A dire il vero anch'io sto in ansia per lui :-) speriamo bene...
553 Bernie: Via, non fatemi venire il magone voi due :-)
557 ==== International Dinner ====
559 FedericoLucifredi and his wife Irena were so kind to invite me at their place for a
560 fine dinner with appetizers, SirloinSteak (see pic below), several side
561 dishes and... Even a PinotNoir!
563 http://www.fairburysteaks.com/images/bci-sirloin-round-bone.gif
565 There were also Mauro -- Federico's colleague at Ximian -- and Irena's
566 friend who's a physics professor from Providence and could speak perfect
567 French and, surprisingly, even Italian!
569 What can I say? I think I got a pound or two that night, but it was
577 There's a cinema in building 26 @ EmAiTee, and it's cheap.
582 If you're curious, my room rent is $500 per month. Utilities,
583 forniture and DSL Internet access are included.
585 It's not cheap, but it's also not too expensive for Boston.
586 They told me that only Manhattan is more expensive here on
589 ==== CurriculumVitae ====
591 ...is almost ready. A friend told me that I'd better have
592 also a synthetic resume of 1-2 pages for the impatient.
595 Well, I said I'd be finished by last Monday, but then I
596 managed to slip past my own deadline visiting NewYorkCity,
597 moving in my current room and in other frivolous ways.
599 Now I have no excuses: the time has come. Next Monday I
600 ''will'' write my proposal. Seriously.
604 ==== Exchange Rates ====
606 Looks like I'd better convert all my money to dollars *now*:
608 http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/EUR/graph30.html
610 What do you think about it?
612 Babbo:penso che $ continuerà a svalutare. Perderai soldi.
614 ==== StataCenter ====
616 I forgot to tell you about the kewlest building in EmAiTee:
618 http://www.eecs.mit.edu/images/big-stata12.jpg
620 See also: http://www.eecs.mit.edu/stata-link.html
624 After a long time, I finally get to (ab)use MIT's wi-fi and
625 barf my short-term brain buffer into my BrainDump.
627 Tonight we went to an Irish pub next to Kendall, where I got
628 to know a few more Ximian employees. I got rumors that
629 the famous kernel hacker RobertLove would be there, so after
630 a while I turned to the guy next to me and asked: "Is
631 RobertLove really going to come?". And he replied: "Speaking."
633 Another guy told me: "Hi, I'm BAHB". "Pardon?". "BAHB!".
634 "What???". Federico promptly helped me out: "Ha detto che si
637 The beer was good. I discovered that a BlueMoon is the
638 nearest approximation of a WeisseBeer I can find here,
639 and I'm not at all displeased by its taste.
643 My landlord has recently switched DSL provider and Internet
644 doesn't work any more: the sync light on the modem flashes.
645 It seems that crappy ISPs are a common disease in the States
648 Yesterday, he called for service and, finally, they told him
649 they would send a tech today from 8AM to 18PM. They refused
650 to be more specific. And so I've agreed to wait here to let
651 the guy in... I care about it for myself too!
655 By the way, today I'm exactly 150 pounds (use GoogleCalculator
656 to get it to SI units).
658 150 pounds = 68.0388555 kilograms
664 They told me Roxbury is quite an infamous suburb of Boston.
665 And my first impression confirms that: shops are uglier,
666 parks and streets are somewhat dirtier (but not as much as
667 in NewYorkCity!) and, most importantly, some of the neighbors
668 look creepy. Especially in the night, streets are crowded by
669 people with criminal faces and many homeless.
671 You know I'm not the type who's easily scared off by a bunch
672 of zombies, but I'll feel much better when I'll drive a car.
676 I've finally settled in my room. There's no need to describe the house
677 in detail, as it's the most typical colonial design: two floors plus
678 basement, front and back yards, sliding windows, wooden floors
679 everywhere. You've come to know them very well from the movies.
681 Today I went to the mall to gather the essentials: a blankets,
682 a pillow case and some bath towels. The bed is comfortable and
683 I was quite tired already, therefore I fell asleep early in the
684 evening and kept on until 8 AM.
686 '''WARNING: TIME WARP OCCURRED'''
690 '''WARNING: TIME WARP IMMINENT'''
694 Alberto: Attento a convertire € in $ perchè € si sta apprezzando,e quindi $ svalutando rispetto a €.
696 Belle le foto scovate da Massimo. Have a good stay in Btn.
698 Massimo: Bernie, you taught me: http://www.google.com/search?q=100+USD+in+EUR
701 Massimo: Since Bernie could not give us any picture, I had to use flickr: here they are!
703 http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=bernardo+innocenti
705 Piro: what in the heaven is RMS doing dressed like a camp tent? :D
709 ==== BankOfAmerica ====
711 I went to BankOfAmerica and opened a bank account. I went there wearing a yellow T-shirt
712 and a weary pair of jeans. In the beginning, they referred me to a young guy who quickly
713 tried to offer me a student's saving account. When I queried for interest rates, credit
714 cards, and dollar/euro conversion rates, they finally realized that I was going to move
717 When I've shown them my balance, they immediately switched me to a very polite girl who
718 took all the time to explain me everything in detail until after their closing time and
719 recommended me to open *3* different accounts to get a rate of 4.80% with no fees!
720 I totally hate when people judge you by your wealth, dressing, or other stupid status
721 symbols, but maybe a bank is the only exception where it makes sense to do so.
723 Banking appears to be far, far simpler here. I already feel like I know
724 everything while in Italy I still can't read most of the paperwork I get from
727 Batt: Or maybe american bankers are so skilled that you are happy while, in truth, they have stolen your money forever :-P
729 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.
733 ==== Good News, Everyone! ====
735 '''After a long struggling, I've finally found a room!'''
737 And I'll be moving in *today*! But I'm writing on Thursday the 3rd, actually (aren't you thinking fourth-dimentionally yet?).
739 The room is nice and comes with some forniture, including a desk. It's on the second floor
740 of a house where the landlord lives with her wife and a very friendly puppy.I like it
741 that way: all those houses shared by students I've seen so far tend to become unmaintained
742 and dirty quite quickly, while this one is a real house with a fully operational kitchen,
743 bathroom and even a clean back garden!
745 My landlord is Armenian, but have been living here in Boston for a long time. My first
746 impression is he's a very nice person, honest and easy going. I haven't met his wife yet --
747 she'll be back on Sunday.
749 I'm afraid the house is a bit far away from MIT, in southern Boston. But that won't
750 be a problem as soon as I buy a car. There may even be a chance to rent or buy the
751 car readily from my landlord's son.
753 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 :-)
756 '''Camy''': the landlord lives with '''his''' wife
758 ==== Do You Speak English? ====
760 Some of you will be pissed off by this change, but I'm starting to make
761 some international friends here and none of them could read Italian.
763 Writing in English is also what I need to improve my writing skills.
764 For the few of you who barely know English, some more reading surely won't hurt!
766 [[http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbender.codewiz.org%2Fwiki%2FMayBlog&langpair=en%7Cit=en Google Translator]]
769 As always, I'd very much appreciate being told about any mistake I make.
771 ''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!''