Pursuing Equilibrium

Equilibrium: a state or feeling of mental balance; composure When I first thought about this post, I wanted to entitle it "Pursuing the truth." However, I then realized that this would have represented an improper use of the word "truth." The truth and all the issues related to it are probably one of the most … Continue reading Pursuing Equilibrium

Italian Creativity

The readers of this blog know well that I am not afraid to criticize my country. When I do this, it's because I really wish we could sort out its dysfunctionalities. The first step to take is, therefore, to recognize these difficulties. Nevertheless, I'm also aware of the positive peculiarities that still make Italy unique. … Continue reading Italian Creativity

Immortality for the Masses

In this previous post, I talked about a literary festival that I attend every year called pordenonelegge.it. As stated there, this event provides regularly much material for this blog. This post is an example of a topic—immortality—which I have been thinking about for a while and which was discussed by one of the writers who … Continue reading Immortality for the Masses

Roots — Part I

Several years ago, a friend of mine lent me a book on the history of my paternal grandfather's and my father's hometown. This small village, where I lived for most of my life,  was founded in the Middle Ages and has witnessed many historical events, such as the war European principalities and city-states fought against … Continue reading Roots — Part I

Ideas for a DIY Smart Home: IP-based Video Surveillance System

Introduction This is the first of a series of posts describing some (hopefully) compelling ideas for DIY projects that you can carry out to make your home a little bit smarter. I have tested these solutions myself throughout the years. Indeed, from time to time, I like to "hack" my house in order to add … Continue reading Ideas for a DIY Smart Home: IP-based Video Surveillance System

Northeast Italy Looking for a New Societal Balance

Northeast Italy is where I live. It is famous for the successful economic model that it implemented during the last decades of the 20th century. This model was characterized by a myriad of small, very flexible companies that adapted quickly to the market. In combination with the competitive devaluation policy carried out by Italy before … Continue reading Northeast Italy Looking for a New Societal Balance

Pristine basketball

Thanks to some days off work, last November I had the chance to read the book "Coach Wooden and me", written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. As stated in the title, the book primarily talks about how the friendship between coach John Wooden and the author developed throughout the decades, despite the fact that he played for … Continue reading Pristine basketball

The communication as a form of power

Being an engineer, I have several friends who fill similar technical positions in the companies they work for. Quite often, we have the opportunity to talk about our jobs. One of the questions that rises more frequently is: in general, why do the sales guys earn more money than the technical people? Obviously, the thought … Continue reading The communication as a form of power

The aspiring Industrial Data Scientist and the Italian bureaucracy

Several months ago, I decided it was time to increase my expertise to cope with the challenges posed by the Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) and the Industry 4.0. These new fields of the Information Technology represent a sort of natural evolution of my current profession, as the Internet is playing a more and more important role … Continue reading The aspiring Industrial Data Scientist and the Italian bureaucracy

Italienischer Militärinternierter (Italian Military Internee)

In the spring of 2015, my cousin's wife accidentally found in an old chest of drawers some things which belonged to my maternal grandfather. These items refer to the period of time in which he fought in the World War II. The following image, for example, shows the document with which the Italian government gave … Continue reading Italienischer Militärinternierter (Italian Military Internee)

Euro, or not Euro: that is the question

In June, I attended a public talk about the Euro currency. Two speakers were invited representing two opposing opinions with regard to the Eurozone: the senator Paolo Guerrieri and the professor Alberto Bagnai. Even though senator Guerrieri thinks that adopting the Euro was an error, he claims that Italy should not leave the Eurozone now. … Continue reading Euro, or not Euro: that is the question

The heritage of the Republic of Venice (Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta)

There is no doubt about the fact that Venice is one of the most famous cities in the world. It is known for its peculiar structure, the absence of regular streets replaced by water canals, the magnificence of its historical buildings, etc. However, it should be known for its outstanding republican history as well. The … Continue reading The heritage of the Republic of Venice (Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta)

Teamwork and communication

In 2016 I attended a course about the communication strategies in politics. Although it dealt with some specific techniques used in this context, the basic mechanisms it illustrated are valid for the communication in general. The course was held by a mental coach who has specialized to work with politicians and work/sports teams. Therefore, I took … Continue reading Teamwork and communication

True basketball

L'anno scorso ho scritto un post su come sia cambiata la pallacanestro negli utlmi anni. Recentemente, la FIBA ha ufficializzato una serie di modifiche regolamentari che rafforzeranno ulteriormente questo trend, snaturando ancora di più lo sport che tanto amo. Per questo motivo, io e l'amico Davide stiamo cercando di organizzare un torneo (denominato True Basketball … Continue reading True basketball

The typical day of the embedded systems engineer

To relax, I occasionally read a web site which talks ironically about basketball. It is called "La giornata tipo", "the typical day" in English. Many of the articles you can find there describe hypothetical average days of basketball teams and players. These hypothetical days are littered with invented facts that exacerbate the flaws of the … Continue reading The typical day of the embedded systems engineer

The backbone of the Italian economy

When it comes to explaining to a foreign friend why it is so difficult to run a business in Italy, I struggle to find the words to describe this matter properly. There are some irrational situations that are incomprehensible to the people who have never lived here, especially if they come from a country with … Continue reading The backbone of the Italian economy

Sharing meetings

Managing a team to work effectively and efficiently is one of the most common problems that managers have to face and I am no exception, as I currently work as R&D Director. Effectiveness and efficiency of working teams are probably some of the most studied and debated issues in the field of management theory. [1] … Continue reading Sharing meetings

The art of troubleshooting

Even though engineering is commonly associated with cold scientific laws and rigid technical rules, often it has to do with creativity and fantasy as well. This is very true in the embedded systems engineering, in particular, the field in which I currently work. All Electronics and Software Engineers know that most of the time our … Continue reading The art of troubleshooting

How to measure the greatness?

Occasionally, I write comments on a blog that talks mainly about basketball and sports in general. With some of the frequent readers the same old debate arises again and again: who are the greatest basketball players of all time? Of course, every time this question is raised, it is followed by endless discussions. In general, … Continue reading How to measure the greatness?

Playing with cryptocurrencies and blockchains (previously: Playing with Bitcoins) – Part II

Introduction Last January, I posted an article about Bitcoins. This post is a sort of part II of the linked article. Due to the fact that the new post will talk about Bitcoins as well as other cryptocurrencies, I decided to change the title. I realized, in fact, that the world of cryptocurrencies goes well … Continue reading Playing with cryptocurrencies and blockchains (previously: Playing with Bitcoins) – Part II