Jacopo's Spot

Canzone per AM

2011-10-24T15:18:00.000+02:00

perchè basta anche un niente per essere felici,
basta vivere come le cose che dici

da "Canzone per Alda Merini" di Roberto Vecchioni

Roast with home made seitan

2010-05-21T17:38:00.006+02:00

My first veggie roast with home made seitan (from wheat flour).

New post about Sales Orders and Ship Groups in OFBiz on HWM Blog

2010-04-17T21:42:00.001+02:00

Another post of the OFBiz tutorial series I wrote for my company's blog:
"OFBiz Tutorial – Order Entry and Ship Groups"

Fiorentina out of CL, but with a victory

2010-03-11T12:01:00.003+01:00

Fiorentina's Mission Impossible

2010-03-09T16:32:00.004+01:00

After the unacceptable decisions of the refree during the first match, Fiorentina tonight is going to try its Mission Impossible versus Bayern Monaco:

New post about PDF exports in OFBiz on HWM Blog

2010-02-26T11:11:00.001+01:00

Another post of the OFBiz tutorial series I wrote for my company's blog:
"OFBiz Tutorial – Implementing a Product PDF export"

New post about CSV exports in OFBiz on HWM Blog

2010-02-11T15:30:00.003+01:00

Another post of the OFBiz tutorial series I wrote for my company's blog:
"OFBiz Tutorial – Implementing a Product CSV export"

Another post in the OFBiz Tutorial series

2010-01-28T07:32:00.002+01:00

Another post of the OFBiz tutorial series I wrote for my company's blog:
"OFBiz Tutorial – Enhancing the Product list screen"

New post about OFBiz Widget Programming on HWM Blog

2009-12-18T18:33:00.002+01:00

Here is the link of a new post about OFBiz widgets I wrote for my company's blog:
"OFBiz Tutorial – Building A Simple Product List Screen"

New post about OFBiz Custom Components on HWM Blog

2009-12-01T23:34:00.000+01:00

Here is the link of a new post about OFBiz Custom Components setup I wrote for my company's blog:
"OFBiz Tutorial - Custom Components in OFBiz"

New post about OFBiz Widget Renderers on HWM Blog

2009-11-13T17:49:00.004+01:00

Here is the link of a new post about OFBiz Widget Renderers I wrote for my company's blog:
"OFBiz Tutorial - Introduction to OFBiz Widgets"

HotWax Media is Gold Sponsor at ApacheCon US 2009

2009-11-04T09:38:00.005+01:00

We did it again!
HotWax Media is again, after last year's Platinum Sponsorship at New Orleans conference, one of the top names at ApacheCon: we are Gold Sponsor at ApacheCon US 2009, Oakland.
Unfortunately this year I am not able to attend and meet the Apache gents, but for sure HotWax Media will be greatly represented by Mike Bates and Tim Ruppert.
Here is the blog post about this event from HotWax Media blog:
HotWax Media, Gold Sponsor, ApacheCon US 2009

Just For Money

2009-10-08T10:52:00.005+02:00

Interesting news about Luca Toni, former great scorer of my beloved Fiorentina, before he left to play for Bayern Munchen, where he is right now, getting paid about 3 times he used to be in Fiorentina.
Now Toni is complaining because, after the last not quite good season, he has been placed at the margins of the team.
Toni was treated like an hero in Florence, now he is one of the many (rich) players in Munchen.
This reminds me of a quote from "Star Wars", when Princess Leila says to Han Solo:

If money is all that you love, then that's what you'll receive.

Three B-movies that I would bring with me in a desert island

2009-08-03T11:39:00.004+02:00

"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" by Tobe Hooper (1974)
"They Live" by John Carpenter (1988)
"Braindead" by Peter Jackson (1992)

Gorgeous dessert in SLC

2009-07-04T03:58:00.005+02:00

Another trip around the World, Toronto and then Salt Lake City, my second home, where I had this low fat and healthy dessert :-)

republicofitaly

2009-06-30T16:59:00.003+02:00

[...] Ho visto bombe di Stato
scoppiare nelle piazze
e anarchici distratti
cadere giu' dalle finestre

from "Quarant'anni" by Modena City Ramblers

Firefox error using OFBiz demo certificate

2009-04-16T16:00:00.002+02:00

I had issues running OFBiz in Firefox 3.0.8 (but the problem may be already there since 3.0.3) on MacOSX; the browser was returning the following error:

Error code: sec_error_expired_issuer_certificate

I managed to fix it following these steps:
1) Firefox-> preferences -> advanced -> encryption -> view certificates -> servers
2) Add exception...
3) Enter https://localhost:8443

The chair of evil

2009-03-30T15:32:00.003+02:00

The company I work for, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, US, shipped me a cool chair for my home office.
I understand this is not going to be the most common package received by Italian Custom Authorities, and I was prepared to do the requested paperwork (and of course pay the custom duties and taxes) to pass thru the borders.
However one of the papers is really amazing in its stupidity; I had to sign a declaration about the intended usage of the chair (?!):

I will not use the chair for torture and repression according to CEE rule # 1236/05

And I am not joking.

Quick Start Guides for OFBiz

2009-02-11T12:28:00.003+01:00

Here are some "experimental" quick start guides for OFBiz that I have written to simplify the very first steps in the OFBiz world: Quick Start Guides.
Right now they are just an experiment and a work in progress, but they may be useful: by following them, in very few steps, you will be able to have an OFBiz instance up and running, create a custom application etc...

Pancakes!

2009-01-04T18:49:00.005+01:00

"the making of" home made pancakes... with original ingredients purchased during my last trip to Salt Lake City.

An amazing veggie burger

2008-12-08T02:43:00.005+01:00

I am in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the second time in a few weeks, and I am going to stay here for two weeks.
Today I went to the Gateway, the big and nice open air mall in Salt Lake City, looking for a place to eat, and I finally went to the "The Counter Burger".
There I filled the form for the order of my custom veggie burger (in their website you can see all the options available, www.thecounterburger.com) and I was served with the beautiful one in the picture below

Not a very healthy lunch... but definitely something you have to do at least once in your life (or week).

Another nice quote by Sclavi

2008-11-12T05:55:00.002+01:00

Ormai sono sicuro che Dio esiste. Ora si tratta solo di trovarlo e riempirlo di botte.

Tiziano Sclavi, "Non e' successo niente"

Abigail

2008-10-15T08:15:00.001+02:00

Another quote from an Italian book that I have loved (during the last nights I couldn't sleep and spent some time re-reading pages of books from my shelves).

This one is from "Tre", Tiziano Sclavi:

Aveva incontrato Abigail in un mare di whisky, quel giorno che avevano distrutto la distilleria clandestina, giu' a Centostelle. Non poteva dirle niente e non poteva lasciarla andare. Abigail aveva reazioni diverse, Abigail rideva e parlava d'altro, Abigail voleva ucciderla e vivere con lei.
"Come diavolo ti sei conciata?"
"Eh?"
"Dico, cos'hai addosso?"
"E' un vestito nuovo".
"E' un costume da pagliaccio".
"Cafone. Tutti gli altri mi hanno trovata elegantissima".
"Si?"
"Proprio".
"Tu conosci troppa gente-con-le-fette-di-salame-sugli-occhi".
"Senti..."
"Hm?"
"Niente".
Facevano i discorsi piu' assurdi della galassia, e la loro strada piu' breve tra due punti era l'arabesco. Avevano passato insieme una fetta di vita parlando d'altro, in un campionario di allusioni e doppi sensi. Lui parlava di un'altra per dire lei, lei parlava di un altro per dire lui.
"Sono innamorato di lei".
"Sono innamorata di lui".
"Vorrei poterle dire..."
"Vorrei potergli dire..."
Si guardarono negli occhi e lei sorrideva con i suoi che erano azzurri.
"Un soldino per i tuoi pensieri".
"Non penso niente. Hai le occhiaie".
Allora pensava che non avrebbe mai capito.
"Sono molto giu', sono stufo..."
"Io ti voglio bene..."
Allora pensava che forse aveva capito.
Quando lui spariva, lei lo andava a cercare, lo riportava su' per la sua scala di frasi a meta', e alla fine di ogni onda chiudeva gli occhi.
"Ma cosa vuoi capire, deficiente!"
"Forse capisco troppo, stupido!".
Era una storia troppo vecchia, aveva cominciato a bere, era scappato e ritornato, e lei gli aveva sparato e aveva fatto andare il film al contrario.
Erano passati anni di quel tiraemolla, e lui stava per morire, ma si sapeva che non sarebbe morto.
"Io ti ho ingannata per tutto questo tempo, perche' io non sono di questo mondo e ti ho fatto credere che si'. Ho l'ombelico tra i capelli e mi manca un dito del piede destro. Io sono venuto da un pianeta di nome Tre. Sono venuto su un razzo d'argento, e questo e' il mio grande segreto".
Lei aveva scosso la testa.
"Non capisco. Io ho sempre amato lui, lo sai".
"Non scherzare adesso. Ricordo i tuoi occhi azzurri, i tuoi discorsi cominciati e non finiti. E il 20 aprile mi hai detto che mi vuoi bene".
Sorrideva imbarazzata.
"Si, ti voglio molto bene, sei un caro amico... Ma i miei occhi sono verdi".
"Io sparivo per il tuo bene e tu mi venivi a cercare..."
"Non ricordo".
"Sei sempre stata tu a condurre il gioco. Io non potevo dirti niente, eri tu che dovevi capire".
Aveva nascosto la faccia tra le mani.
"Oh, scusa, mi viene da ridere... Scusa... Sapessi come sei ridicolo..."
Non aveva creduto ad una parola, naturalmente. Non era Abigail quella. Forse era una mutante di Sirio. Forse era solo la sua immaginazione, perche' il suo pensiero era Abigail, che veniva e andava.
O forse era proprio lei, che si era cambiata la faccia di bioplastica e aveva un'amnesia.
I suoi occhi erano verdazzurri. Abigail, cosi' abile nel costruire labirinti con una sola uscita e una di scorta.
Era impossibile che lui fosse annegato in quel mare di whisky, giu' a Centostelle.

Sunset

2008-10-14T19:39:00.004+02:00

Oggi sono tanto triste, cosi' faro' cadere il sole un'ora prima.

adapted from "La Circolazione Del Sangue", Tiziano Sclavi

ApacheCon - Badge

2008-10-14T01:00:00.004+02:00

Preparing for the ApacheCon US 2008.

Here is my schedule and my profile pages.
For an overview of all the sessions related to OFBiz, visit the OFBiz Symposium page.

Comici Spaventati Guerrieri

2008-10-09T14:29:00.003+02:00

[...] non si puo' sopportare tutto questo capisci Lucia quando sono nella mia stanza e qualcuno urla anche con gli occhi si puo' urlare Lucia, Lucia mi chiedo, che cosa e' successo, perche' fingete di non vedere, vorrei capire qualche volta Lucia, ma sapessi che musica nella testa, negli oggetti consumati, e dopo quanto veleno ti senti addosso Lucia, e allora pensa se non fosse cosi', se non ci credessi piu', se fossi perbene Lucia saremmo una coppia normale, io e te, al ritorno dal cinema andremmo a casa e non saremmo perduti in una citta' di notte, ma quelli perbene forse sono perduti lo stesso Lucia, ma se almeno ascoltassero, se capissero che l'altra' meta' di verita' per quanto si puo' raccontare solo urlando e' l'altra meta' necessaria, non si puo' tagliare via non si puo' dimenticare, alla fine solo il dolore esiste come esisto io, un matto per strada, un matto e' una persona che non sa dove andare, niente di piu' Lucia, tu puoi capire, tu che sei benedetta tra le donne, tu che mi hai visto felice, tu che sei coraggiosa tu che a volte mi hai lasciato solo come un cane tu che adesso per favore scendi non guardarmi ti dico, questo e' un sentiero per comici spaventati guerrieri e io non voglio ne' vincere ne' perdere solo che tu mi ricordi e dopo che mi anneghino nello zero di quelle medicine e mi chiamino come vogliono e tornino a raccontare le loro storie, non sono vere, manca meta', tu lo capisci cara, almeno tu e allora scendi per favore.

from "Comici Spaventati Guerrieri", Stefano Benni

Serie A: Chievo vs Fiorentina 0-2

2008-10-06T04:09:00.010+02:00

Thanks to the goals of Kuzmanovic and Gilardino, Fiorentina won the match today... this is the way to go!

(Copyright by fiorentina.it)

Paranoid

2008-10-05T12:14:00.002+02:00

Finished with my woman 'cause she couldn't help me with my mind
People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time

All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy
Think I'll lose my mind if I don't find something to pacify

Can you help me? occupy my brain?
Oh yeah

I need someone to show me the things in life that I can't find
I can't see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind

Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry
Happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal

And so as you hear these words telling you now of my state
I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but it's too late

By Black Sabbath

The Art Of War

2008-10-01T13:22:00.006+02:00

I have recently read the amazing "The Art Of War", an ancient strategy manual that is attributed to Sun Tzu, but in reality was compiled by various anonymous authors that collected oral precepts, in the ancient China of the 4th century BC.
Even if, as it is common with similar Oriental literature, the concepts in the book are not expressed and developed in a linear and formal way, as we are more used to in western literature, the book is really impressive.
Here are some remarkable excerpts:

And so swift like the wind,
Slow like the forest,
Raiding and plundering like fire,
Not moving like a mountain,
Difficult to know like yin,
Moving like thunder.

and:

There are roads one does not follow.
There are armies one does not strike.
There are cities one does not attack.
There are grounds one does not contest.
There are commands of the sovereign one does not accept.

There are also interesting concepts that are stated and not explained, but that become clear (or reveal additional meanings) as you read other parts of the book. Consider for example this sentence:

Leave a way out for surrounded soldiers.

When I have read it for the first time I must confess that I thought it was a remarkable example of humanity, but not very useful in a manual about war. But later on in the book there are these sentences about the efficacy of danger to motivate the soldiers:

Throw them where they cannot leave.
Facing death they will not be routed.
Officers and men facing death,
How could one not obtain their utmost strength?

and also:

Therefore, in dispersed ground, do not do battle.
In light ground, do not stop.
In contested ground, do not attack.
In connected ground, do not cross.
In junction ground, join with allies.
In heavy ground, plunder.
In spread-out ground, move.
In enclosed ground, strategize.
In death ground, do battle.

Victory is the final goal, not War or annihilation of the enemy.

CL - Second draw for Fiorentina

2008-10-01T08:38:00.004+02:00

After the good draw in the first match of the Champions League 2008/2009, Lione - Fiorentina 2-2:

(Copyright by fiorentina.it)

yesterday night, Fiorentina played the second match, in Florence, with Steaua Bucarest:

(Copyright by fiorentina.it)

unfortunately it was another draw (0-0) as Fiorentina was not able to break the strong defense of the Romanian team.
2 points after the second match is not a good score, but Fiorentina is still there, waiting for the next match, with Bayern Munich of the ex Luca Toni.

Countdown to ApacheConUS 2008 - 1 month

2008-09-30T01:00:00.001+02:00

The ApacheCon US 2008 is getting closer, minus one month to go: November 3-7, New Orleans.
This year, OFBiz will be an important part of the Conference and there will be several training sessions and presentations about this amazing Open Source ERP software.
And the company I work for, HotWax Media, is a Platinum Sponsor of the event, and will play a big role in this.
From this page you will find the links to the sessions I am going to hold.

Fiorentina vs Genoa and first part of the season

2008-09-28T11:08:00.012+02:00

Yesterday night Fiorentina won (1-0) an important match versus Genoa, the 5th match of 2008/2009 Serie A Season.
Again, thanks to a beautiful goal by Gilardino:

(Copyright by fiorentina.it)

This is an important result, after the difficult match won last week with Bologna (in the picture below, Jovetic in action):

(Copyright by fiorentina.it)

and the bad one (Lazio vs Fiorentina: 3-0) of Wednesday:

(Copyright fiorentina.it)

The match with Lazio was the 3rd of the Season, the 2nd one was Napoli vs Fiorentina (2-1):

(Copyright by fiorentina.it)

and the first one was Fiorentina vs Juventus (1-1, in the picture Gilardino after the beautyful goal in the last minute of the match):

(Copyright by fiorentina.it)

Fade to Black

2008-09-25T13:26:00.001+02:00

Life it seems, will fade away
Drifting further every day
Getting lost within myself
Nothing matters no one else
I have lost the will to live
Simply nothing more to give
There is nothing more for me
Need the end to set me free

Things are not what they used to be
Missing one inside of me
Deathly lost, this Can't be real
Cannot stand this hell I feel
Emptiness is filling me
To the point of agony
Growing darkness taking dawn
I was me, but now he 's gone

No one but me can save myself, but it's too late
Now, I can't think, think why I should even try
Yesterday seems as though it never existed
Death Greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye

by Metallica

Summary of Main new features in OFBiz - August

2008-09-24T09:52:00.002+02:00

Here is the summary of the most interesting features developed in August 2008 by the Apache OFBiz open source project's community:

Framework:

Generics markup added to several Java classes.
Refactored FlexibleStringExpander - less memory used.

MyPage, ProjectManager:

It is now possible to create a customer request from an incoming email.
Creation of a project task from a customer request.
Allow the customer to login to the backend system in mypage using OFBiz security system and showing the status of the customer requests
Allow the customer to login to the backend system in mypage using OFBiz security system and showing the status of the customer requests
Customer can now add new requests and update the priority of exiting requests
Customer can also see and download his own invoices in his currency in pdf format
Many enhancements in receiving email into the system
create an invoice from all hours reported per timesheet on not yet invoiced project tasks

Order Component:

Miscellaneous enhancements to the order detail screen, mostly related to the action links for shipment related operations

POS:

New virtual keyboards (alphanum and num) automatically accessed from fields needing them (usefull with touch screens, can be disabled with a property)

Fixed Asset Maintenance:

Meter readings can be entered without creating a maintenance
Automatic maintenance generation. If a product maintenance is based on meter readings, then maintenances will be created automatically when the meter reading crosses a threshold. If a product maintenance is based on time intervals, then maintenances will be created automatically when the time interval is passed
New party roles for maintenance worker, maintenance manager, and maintenance supplier (outside service)
Automatic assignment of parties to maintenance tasks
Additional parties can be assigned to a maintenance task
Improved user interface in the Asset Maintenance component

As usual, you can see the full list of new features here.

Meeting face to face with the OFBiz people - Part 2

2008-09-23T16:56:00.003+02:00

This is a followup after my first post with the list of OFBiz committers that I've met face-to-face.
After my last trip to Indore, here is the updated list:

Olivier Heinz in Padova
Si Chen in New York
Andrew Zeneski in New York
David Welton in Padova
Yoav Shapira in Padova
David Jones in Salt Lake City
Tim Ruppert in Salt Lake City
Christian Geisert in Padova
Anil Patel in Indore
Ashish Vijaywargiya in Indore
Vikas Mayur in Indore

I am also sure that many of the guys I've met there, part the HWM crew, will be sooner or later committers, because they are doing a great job. Additionally I will meet many others at ApacheCon in New Orleans.
The above list will grow soon.

Goodbye, Rick

2008-09-18T21:55:00.003+02:00

As you probably already know, Rick Wright, founder and keyboardist of the Pink Floyd, passed away on 15th September.
I still remember the day in the summer of '89 when I, a young fan of the Pink Floyd, had the unique chance to shake his hand in Venice, when he arrived at the hotel in Lido (Venice) the day before the World famous concert Pink Floyd played in Piazza San Marco.
David Gilmour, in his website www.davidgilmour.com, remembers his friend with the following beautiful words:

Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously.

Back home - Pics of Indore

2008-09-09T11:48:00.000+02:00

I am finally back home after spending my last two weeks in Indore, India, working with my colleagues (and now very good friends too!) of the Indore offices of HotWax Media.
Even if I have to admit that life and customs in Indore are totally different, and somewhat shocking too, from what I am used to in Padova I can really say I had a great time because I have found there a lot of good friends that did all the possible (and more) to make me feel like I was home.
Here are some pictures about this great experience, including pictures of the Sayaji Hotel, the inauguration party for the new HWM offices, a birthday party in the office (Happy Birthday Jyotsna!), me having some pleasant moments (and drinks) in a pub with Ashish, Vikas, Mridul, Ratnesh, Pranay and Rishi, the street food, the chaotic traffic of the city, etc. etc.

HWM presentation at the DAVV University of Indore

2008-08-27T18:26:00.010+02:00

Today has been a great day: we did a presentation of HotWax Media and OFBiz at the Devi Ahilya University, Department of Computer Science & Information Technology of Indore. The students showed interest for the subject and after the presentation we had the pleasure to receive a present from the Head of the University, Dr. A.K. Ramani and we also had a nice conversation with him.
For me, it has been also a great chance to see an Indian University from the inside.

Animals in Indore

2008-08-25T21:20:00.001+02:00

Some more pictures from Indore about some of the many free animals that walk around... this is amazing: you can meet cows, but also pigs and dogs, walking, or having a nap, in the middle of very crowded streets, the cars just move around them.
In the pictures below you can see a curious cow getting too close the building's fence and hitting a parked motorbike... funny.

My first day in Indore

2008-08-24T18:28:00.014+02:00

As expected, the travel has been very long: it started from Venice at 10:30am on Saturday and finished at Indore at 9:30am today, with two connection flight in the middle, Frankfurt and Mumbay.
Now I am too tired to write here but I'd like to say that it has been a great day thanks to Anil, Ashish, Vikas (and their family members) and all the HWM team members (and friends).
Well... there is actually a lot more to say about this day full of events, maybe tomorrow after some rest!
In the meantime here are some pictures I took today (hotel room and city sight from its window, some street view pics with free animals walking around etc...); more to come soon.

Checklist before leaving

2008-08-22T14:01:00.001+02:00

Well, my stuff is all packaged, the flight reservation is confirmed, the business visa is attached to my passport, my Mac is all setup, I have three good books in my bag ("Haunted" and "Stranger than Fiction" by Chuck Palahniuk, and "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu), my iPod is full of good music... I am ready to leave for Indore.
This is my very first trip to India; I am going to stay there for two weeks and even if I will be there for work (visiting the software development offices of the company I work for, HotWax Media) I am sure I will have a great time: I am excited to finally meet face to face with persons with which I have worked a lot in the last few months and to get in touch with the customs of such an amazing country.
I hope I will have a chance to post to this blog some pictures of my trip, while I am there.

Christian and me in Padova

2008-08-11T01:00:00.001+02:00

Here are two pictures of Christian Geisert and me (I am the guy with the blu t-shirt), taken by Christian's wife during the day they spent in Padova a few weeks ago: they were in Italy for a summer holiday and they were so kind to spend a few hours in Padova so that we had a great chance to meet in person, chat about our work, interests, passions, OFBiz... and of course to drink a "spritz", the traditional (lightly) alcoholic drink of Padova.

Summary of Main new features in OFBiz - July

2008-08-07T09:50:00.004+02:00

Here is the summary of the most interesting features developed in July 2008 by the Apache OFBiz open source project's community:

My Page:

New application currently under development and is now fairly complete. This component shows all information for a specific user such as personal email, project tasks assigned, timesheet and company events such as holidays.

Party Component:

Enhanced the communication event screens and created specific forms for emails and internal notes.
created the possibility to create Customer requests from incoming emails which allows the import into the project manager component where request can be converted into project tasks
When emails come into the system and the email is not known, a form is added which allows the quick creation of new parties. Also has a bulk delete button to delete incoming spam.

Order Component:

Enhanced the Customer request screens and changed them according the OFBIz interface standards.
Implemented returns of purchase orders to suppliers

Framework:

Added support for default entity-group for entities: now, if an entity belongs to the org.ofbiz group, there is no need to explicitely specify this

All Components:

a bunch of Beanshell scripts have been converted to Groovy scripts
removed all the, no more needed after recent enhancement, entity-group.xml files

As usual, you can see the full list of new features here.

Cartman sings at the Congress

2008-07-22T14:36:00.003+02:00

I know that South Park cartoons look ugly, are politically incorrect (using an euphemism) and are often offensive and gross but... I still think it is a great series (that stands as high as The Simpson's and Futurama).

In this clip Eric Cartman tries to persuade the government to revoke the ban on stem cell research for an egoistic and stupid reason (that is not what he states, i.e. to save his friend Kenny's life) and so he goes to the Congress and... sings the "Heat of the moment":

How couldn't you love this?

Summary of Main new features in OFBiz - June

2008-07-20T14:32:00.003+02:00

Here is the summary of the most interesting features developed in June 2008 in the OFBiz open source project:

Framework:

New deploy option for JBoss422
Embedded Tomcat has been upgraded to 6.0.16
Embedded Geronimo TX Manager have been upgraded to 2.1.1
Added support for LDAP Authentication

User Interface:

New and faster calendar lookups
New collapsible lookup interface is slowly spreading in OFBiz (Ajax style)

As usual, you can see the full list of new features here.

Emotional Age Test

2008-07-19T21:35:00.003+02:00

Yesterday I did one of the tests that pretend to determine your Emotional Age: Emotional Age Test.
This one is in Italian, but there are many other in the Internet in English.
Well, my emotional age is 27... what about you?

HotWax Media @ ApacheCon US 2008

2008-07-09T16:02:00.006+02:00

Here we are... ApacheCon US 2008 has been officially announced by the Apache Software Foundation:

press release
registration and details

ApacheCon US 2008 will be held 3 November through 7 November in New Orleans, Louisiana.
I am going to participate at the conference, where I will do a presentation and probably also part of the 2 days training at the OFBiz Symposium: I will post more information about this event soon.
Most of all I am proud to work for HotWax Media, one of the main sponsors of the event:

ApacheCon US 2008 Sponsors

"With world leading technology companies such as Google, Hewlett-Packard, Hippo, Hotwax Media, IONA, Linux Magazine, SpringSource, and Yahoo! sponsoring this year's gathering of Open Source users, enthusiasts and vendors, ApacheCon US 2008 has ensured that it continues its mission to encourage the uptake and development of Open Source software through raising awareness and generating public interest."

This is going to be my very first ApacheCon... and I really hope to meet you all in New Orleans.

I don't wanna grow up

2008-07-09T00:46:00.006+02:00

In my humble opinion, "I don't want to grow up" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

When I'm lyin' in my bed at night
I don't wanna grow up
Nothing ever seems to turn out right
I don't wanna grow up
How do you move in a world of fog that's
always changing things
Makes wish that I could be a dog
When I see the price that you pay
I don't wanna grow up
I don't ever want to be that way
I don't wanna grow up
Seems that folks turn into things
that they never want
The only thing to live for is today...
I'm gonna put a hole in my T.V. set
I don't wanna grow up
Open up the medicine chest
I don't wanna grow up
I don't wanna have to shout it out
I don't want my hair to fall out
I don't wanna be filled with doubt
I don't wanna be a good boy scout
I don't wanna have to learn to count
I don't wanna have the biggest amount
I don't wanna grow up
Well when I see my parents fight
I don't wanna grow up
They all go out and drinkin all night
I don't wanna grow up
I'd rather stay here in my room
Nothin' out there but sad and gloom
I don't wanna live in a big old tomb on grand street
When I see the 5 oclock news
I don't wanna grow up
Comb their hair and shine their shoes
I don't wanna grow up
Stay around in my old hometown
I don't wanna put no money down
I don't wanna get a big old loan
Work them fingers to the bone
I don't wanna float on a broom
Fall in love, get married then boom
How the hell did it get here so soon
I don't wanna grow up

by Tom Waits.

However my favourite version is the one played by The Ramones:

Meeting face to face with the OFBiz people

2008-07-05T11:07:00.004+02:00

It is exciting to play a role in the community of an international open source project like Apache OFBiz: you have a chance to interact with smart and brilliant people from all over the World.

Here is a visual representation of the committers and PMC (Project Management Commitee) members of the OFBiz project: ASF World Map.

As you can see, mostly all the continents in the World are represented, and we also have users from South America, Africa and China.

And in the last few years, I had the pleasure to meet face to face several of the OFBiz people; yesterday I was really happy to meet Christian Geisert here in Padova.

Here is the list of the persons that I met so far:

Olivier Heinz in Padova
Si Chen in New York
Andrew Zeneski in New York
David Welton in Padova
Yoav Shapira in Padova
David Jones in Salt Lake City
Tim Ruppert in Salt Lake City
Christian Geisert in Padova

I am sure that I will have a chance to meet many others during the next ApacheCon event that is going to happen in November in New Orleans. I am going to write more about it in future posts.

MBP in Italy

2008-07-03T01:00:00.002+02:00

If you think that MBP stands for Mass Balance Potential aka the melting and recession of glaciers caused by global warming, then you are totally wrong.

The real meaning of MBP is... ManBearPig!

Al Gore, in episode 145 of South Park, provides a rigorous and unexceptionable definition for the threatening ManBearPig: ManBearPig is a creature "half man, half bear, half pig."

Italian newspapers, each and every summer, exaggerate about the weather conditions, and the risks and consequences; for example, according to them the temperature is never normal, because it is always over or below the average temperature of the period... which is normal since an average is the result of upper and lower values.

Any sightings of the ManBearPig?

Why French don't like Italian people: love songs

2008-07-02T00:33:00.003+02:00

Italy and France are very close countries, but between French people and Italian there is not a huge feeling: French are usually very critic with Italians and they are very good in spotting all our defects... however they are not so good in spotting out their own ones; on the other hand Italian people consider French people boring and arrogant.

But all in all, who can really blame the French people for not loving the Italian ones? Just watch at this two videos, two love songs: "Quelqu'un m'a dit" by Carla Bruni for France and "Ricominciamo" by Adriano Pappalardo for Italy... Pappalardo... the name alone would be enough to justify them!
The two songs are about the same subject, the two artists both miss a person that they used to love; but they treat the subject in totally different ways.

Just look at the grace, politeness, the measure and sweetness of the beautiful Carla Bruni:

and the histrionic, ugly and noisy Adriano Pappalardo:

PS: this post is just a joke, I like playing with commonplaces. I have some good friends from France, and I don't think they are boring and arrogant! And Pappalardo is not really loved in Italy too.

The Misfits CD Box Set

2008-06-26T07:00:00.002+02:00

Last night, I've won an eBay bid for "The Misfits CD Box Set", and now I can't wait to get my package from the US.
I used to listen to the Misfits's ironic, weird, funny horror punk songs at the time of the High School: I had a lot of them in a poorly recorded tape and I couldn't even think to purchase such an expensive box set.
Now I have enough money in my pockets to make irrelevant the amount spent, but I have to admit that there were many (most important) things that I could do at that time and I cannot do anymore.
However, I still like most of the things I used to like, and I'm sure that the Misfits' CDs will be in my CD player for a while.

"I'm gonna live my life to destroy your world
Prime directive, exterminate
The whole fuckin' race"

From "Astro Zombies", The Misfits

Homer the Idealist

2008-06-25T17:48:00.007+02:00

“I understand, honey. I used to believe in things when I was a kid.”

This is what Homer Simpson said to his daughter Lisa in response/acceptance to her switch to vegetarianism ("Lisa the Vegetarian" Season 7, Episode 5 of "The Simpsons'").
It is funny and sad in the same time as only real life can be.

Downbound Train

2008-06-24T11:53:00.004+02:00

She just said "Joe I gotta go
We had it once, we ain't got it anymore"
She packed her bags, left me behind
She bought a ticket on the Central Line
Nights as I sleep I hear that whistle whining
I feel her kiss in the misty rain
And I feel like I'm a rider
On a downbound train

From "Downbound Train" by Bruce Springsteen

Quattro Stracci

2008-05-05T15:43:00.005+02:00

After a very long time I add a new post here... it is not mine actually, it is a lyrics by Francesco Guccini, the great Italian songwriter, and, of course, it is in Italian :(

"Quattro Stracci" by Francesco Guccini

E guardo fuori dalla finestra e vedo quel muro solito che tu sai.
Sigaretta o penna nella mia destra, simboli frivoli che non hai amato mai;
quello che ho addosso non ti è mai piaciuto, racconto e dico e ti sembro muto,
fumare e scrivere ti suona strano, meglio le mani di un artigiano
e cancellarmi è tutto quel che fai;
ma io sono fiero del mio sognare, di questo eterno mio incespicare
e rido in faccia a quello che cerchi e che mai avrai!

Non sai che ci vuole scienza, ci vuol costanza, ad invecchiare senza maturità,
ma maturo o meno io ne ho abbastanza della complessa tua semplicità.
Ma poi chi ha detto che tu abbia ragione, coi tuoi "also sprach" di maturazione
o è un' illusione pronta per l'uso da eterna vittima di un sopruso,
abuso d' un mondo chiuso e fatalità;
ognuno vada dove vuole andare, ognuno invecchi come gli pare,
ma non raccontare a me che cos'è la libertà!

La libertà delle tue pozioni, di yoga, di erbe, psiche e di omeopatia,
di manuali contro le frustrazioni, le inibizioni che provavi quì a casa mia,
la noia data da uno non pratico, che non ha il polso di un matematico,
che coi motori non ci sa fare e che non sa neanche guidare,
un tipo perso dietro le nuvole e la poesia,
ma ora scommetto che vorrai provare quel che con me non volevi fare:
fare l' amore, tirare tardi o la fantasia!

La fantasia può portare male se non si conosce bene come domarla,
ma costa poco, val quel che vale, e nessuno ti può più impedire di adoperarla;
io, se Dio vuole, non son tuo padre, non ho nemmeno le palle quadre,
tu hai la fantasia delle idee contorte, vai con la mente e le gambe corte,
poi avrai sempre il momento giusto per sistemarla:
le vie del mondo ti sono aperte, tanto hai le spalle sempre coperte
ed avrai sempre le scuse buone per rifiutarla!

Per rifiutare sei stata un genio, sprecando il tempo a rifiutare me,
ma non c'è un alibi, non c'è un rimedio, se guardo bene no, non c'è un perchè;
nata di marzo, nata balzana, casta che sogna d' esser puttana,
quando sei dentro vuoi esser fuori cercando sempre i passati amori
ed hai annullato tutti fuori che te,
ma io qui ti inchiodo a quei tuoi pensieri, quei quattro stracci in cui hai buttato l'ieri,
persa a cercar per sempre quello che non c'è,
io qui ti inchiodo a quei tuoi pensieri, quei quattro stracci in cui hai buttato l'ieri
persa a cercar per sempre quello che non c'è,
io qui ti inchiodo a quei tuoi pensieri, quei quattro stracci in cui hai buttato l'ieri
persa a cercar per sempre quello che non c'è...

10 things I love about cats

2007-03-25T09:16:00.001+02:00

cats like staying home
cats hate to get their legs wet
cats sleep a lot
the way cats bend their legs under their head when they are having a nap
when cats want to go thru a closed door they look at the door and not at you
cats make you understand very well when they are deliberately ignoring you
cats are shy with people they don't know
cats don't like children
cats don't learn anything from humans (stupid tricks etc...)
cats think humans are stupid (I'm pretty sure about this)

Breakfast in NYC

2007-01-20T08:17:00.001+01:00

Here I am.
My first week of work in Manhattan is gone and I'm having my Saturday morning's breakfast at my apartment: a tall hot black coffee (really good) and a cake from the nearby Starbucks coffee shop.

Unfortunately, during this first busy week here I had no time to visit New York, even if I did some nice walks around this amazing city and I really enjoyed staying here: a great thank to the people of the AI crew (the company for which I'm working for, on an OFBiz based project), that did their best to make me feel like I was home.
I'm going to stay in Manhattan for other two weeks and I'll soon add new posts about NY in the next few days.
Now I go for a walk northward in the 5th Avenue :-)

A Weekend in the Dolomites

2006-10-12T17:16:00.000+02:00

Hmmm... I've been really very busy and had no time to add new posts here (but I'll come back soon!).
However, in September Silvia and I spent a long week-end in the Dolomites, the beutiful mountains in Trentino (Italy).
A few days in the Dolomites are the best way to get some rest and in fact Silvia and I have really enjoied our time off; here are some pictures we have taken.

Shine On, Syd

2006-07-13T07:54:00.001+02:00

Syd Barret has died.
This news hit me yesterday, while I was driving, for work, from Padova to Brescia.
I'd like to remember him, with the lyrics of the last song he wrote before leaving the Pink Floyd. It was published in 1968 and it is a sad farewell piece by Syd Barret who, at that time, was already shrinking into a delirious state of mind.

JUGBAND BLUES
It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here
And I'm most obliged to you for making it clear
That I'm not here.
And I never knew the moon could be so big
And I never knew the moon could be so blue
And I'm grateful that you threw away my old shoes
And brought me here instead dressed in red
And I'm wondering who could be writing this song.
I don't care if the sun don't shine
And I don't care if nothing is mine
And I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my loving in the winter.
And the sea isn't green
And I love the Queen
And what exactly is a dream
And what exactly is a joke.

Meeting around the Olympic Torch

2006-06-12T20:29:00.000+02:00

Recently I had a meeting with a new customer, interested in adopting OFBiz for a subsidiary company abroad.
When I entered in the conference room, I was surpised to see, standing in the center of the table, the Olympic Torch of Turin’s 2006 Olympic Winter games:

It was there to remember that the Company implemented the special technology needed to light the torch with an inexhaustible fire.
However they told me that the technology was not enough when the anarchists, protesting against the Olympics, stole the torch (for a few seconds, and not this item) in Trento.

Implementing ERP systems and end user docs

2006-06-04T10:59:00.000+02:00

As one of the core developers of the Open For Business Project (OFBiz), an open source Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, it often happens to me to read emails from users disappointed by the lack of the 'right' documentation they need in order to easily implement the system in their company.

Even if it's true that OFBiz's documentation can be improved, there is a lot of it already available (for free): quick start guides, reference manuals, videos, wiki based documents, the mailing list archieves etc...

However very often none of the above seems to meet the expectations of these guys, mainly IT managers that are in the process of evaluating the software, because they have problems to map their company's internal processes to what is available in OFBiz.

Nowadays, you can set up a web server even if you are not a system administrator; this is not true for setting up an ERP system for your company because this requires both technical and business level skills.

SAP, Oracle, Intentia and many other big ERP vendors ship their softwares with a lot of end-user documentation (well, some of them, not so much as you could imagine...) but I've never heard of a company that even tried to deploy these systems without the support of a consulting company.

In short, the underlying and real need is for free consulting, not for free documentation.

Deploying an ERP system only reading its documentation is much like translating a book, written in an unknown language, with the only help of a dictionary.

Fiorentina, Paradise or Hell?

2006-05-16T17:26:00.001+02:00

Serie A 2005/2006, the top division of the Italian Football League, ended a few days ago and for the supporters, like me, of Fiorentina football club it has been a wonderful season, culminated, beyond all the most optimistic expectations, with the achievement of the fourth place, that means Fiorentina will play the UEFA Champions League next year.
This is a very remarkable result, especially considering the recent history of the club and the current set up of the Italian Football League, where mostly all the financial resources and the power are in the hands of a few clubs - Juventus, Milan, Inter - and their vassals - Roma, Lazio and other smaller teams. In this layout Fiorentina is struggling to maintain an indipedent but important position, relying on the financial resources of their owners (the Della Valle family), on a close group of motivated and talented players and on the huge push of their supporters (probably the most ardent of Italy).

In fact the "Artemio Franchi" Stadium, during this season, has been a bedlam where mostly all the opposite teams have been defeated; here are the highligths of this season:

Unfortunately we cannot really enjoy this moments, because the most schocking scandal in the history of Italian football is shaking the fundamentals of the Italian Football League:

Scandal Rocks Italian Football

This probably represents the confirmation of the worst suspicions over the last years: there was a plan that consisted of assigning friendly referees for Juventus games, and finding unfriendly ones for their rivals.
But what is really schocking the supporters of Fiorentina is that also Fiorentina is under investigation!
Here is the plot that is emerging in these days:

during the last season the Della Valle family (the owner of Fiorentina) was fighting a battle in the Italian Football League to try to get more equity in the distribution of money from the television between the bigger and smaller Serie A teams.
as a consequence of this, several Fiorentina's games have been conditioned by unfriendly refrees
the club struggled to avoid relegation, securing survival only on the last day of the season, but only after the Della Valle family gave up their battle for the tv money

If it will be proved that Della Valle gave up the battle for the blackmail of their enemies and so they were aware of the existence of this illegal organization, Fiorentina could risk severe penalties... that's incredible.

Now the question is: next year, Fiorentina will be in Paradise or Hell?

Two Days in The Eternal City

2006-04-13T07:14:00.000+02:00

At the beginning of the last week I was contacted by a new customer asking me to provide a two days OFBiz training to its development team. They were in a hurry and so we scheduled the training for the end of the same week.
The nice thing is that the customer's site is in Rome and it was a long time since my last visit to the Eternal City.
Since the offices are located in a central part of the city, near the railway station, I went there by train (a comfortable 4 hours trip from Padova).
Unfortunately, even if I spent there two nights, I had very few time to play the role of the tourist so I don't have good pictures for this post, sorry.

Maybe next time.

A vote for A

2006-04-12T16:34:00.000+02:00

During the last weekend, the Italian parliamentary elections were finally held after a very harsh political campaign.

The center-left coalition led by Romano Prodi won a narrow victory (25,000-vote margin out of 38 million votes cast) against the conservative party led by the billionaire Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Though the Interior Ministry has approved vote totals, Berlusconi refused to concede defeat and has already called for a recount of the Chamber of Deputies votes (43,028 had been disputed).

Let's see what will happen in this struggle for power... as usual, I'm calm because I know that no one will ever rule thanks to my vote:

Tortoises' awakening

2006-04-01T14:31:00.000+02:00

Spring is finally arrived and my three tortoises have woken up from their four months long sleep.
Here is a picture of one of them:

The other side of the desk

2006-03-18T19:10:00.000+01:00

This morning I did a presentation of the Open For Business Project - OFBiz - at the monthly meeting of the Java User Group of Padova - JUG.

I was invited there, due to my role of core committer in the OFBiz project.
I had never participated at the activities of the Group before today, and I was not sure about the subjects to cover: a technical and framework focused presentation or a features oriented one? I ended up with something in the middle (the audience was diverse), I prepared a few slides, a demo and I also showed some code and examples of implementation.
In despite of my doubts, the presentation went well: the partecipants have been very impressed by the OFBiz's features and by the framework and they did a lot of questions (that is usually a good indicator of an audience's interest).

The JUG's meetings are hosted by the Department of Information Engineering - University of Padua - and this is a nice thing for me, since it is where (some years ago) I got my degree in Information Engineering. I did my OFBiz's presentation in the De lecture-hall: if I'm not wrong, in that room I attended the course of Theoretic Computer Science (and probably a few other as well).
It has been really pleasant to go back there... even if this time I was at the other side of the desk.

Greetings from the 'sunny' Italy

2006-03-12T11:23:00.000+01:00

As usual, this morning I woke up rather early (at 6 am) and I was reviewing some Java code at my laptop for two hours when incidentally I had a look outside of my window. Here is what I saw:

I went for a walk and took some pictures:

I really like snow, especially when, like today, I can stay at home - it's sunday - at the warm comfort of my apartment, with a hot cup of tea in my hands.

The Biggest Pizza in Town

2006-03-12T08:42:00.000+01:00

I perfectly understand the great risk of being Italian and declaring that I like pizza: there are so many commonplaces about italian people around, and the one about our love for pizza and pasta is definitely one in the top ten list of them.

By the way, yesterday my girlfriend Silvia and I had dinner in a nice pizzeria in Padova: their pizzas are very good and probably the biggest that you can find in town... have a look at the picture Silvia took: how could we dislike this?

PS:

I'd like to publicly state here that, even if I'm Italian (and I like pizza):

I'm not a latin lover (I'm a rather shy person)
I don't dress with particularly smart clothes
I'm not fat
I don't have many children (I have no children at all)
I'm not religious (nor I think that St. Gennaro could play any special role in my life)
I don't play mandolin
I don't have affiliations with mafia

:-)

About the supposed quality of proprietary software

2006-03-09T12:50:00.000+01:00

Recently a client running a big and expensive ERP system (released by big ERP vendor) asked me some help to fix a buggy procedure. So I had a chance to dig into the source code - a Java class - and see from the inside how things have been implemented.

Here is a significant code snippet, but all the proprietary code in that file - a rather big class containing more than 1000 lines of code - was implemented according to the same style:

// I have changed all the names of the variables and methods
// to avoid copyright issues; however the names of the variables
// and methods reflect the original names i.e. they are totally meaningless.
// VAR45 and VAR62 are two boolean variables
do
{
// the following method returns a boolean value and,
// if an error occurs, it sets the VAR45 to true
VAR62 = !BOGUSMETHOD();
}
while
(!( ! VAR45 ));

if( ! VAR62 ){
// Do something here...
} else {
// Do something here...
}

Just in a few lines the (salaried) developers succeeded in a very difficult task: they have violated mostly all of the Java coding conventions (variable and method names, indentation, the total lack of comments etc...) .
But most of all it's amazing to see how exception handling is managed (maybe try/catch clauses were not good enough for them) and how the (poor) boolean values are treated: my favourite expression is (!( ! VAR45 )).

As a committer of an open source project - OFBiz - I often review patches submitted by other developers: it's true, sometimes the code freely contributed contains some issues... but I've never seen something like this, really.

A Sliver of the WTC in Padua

2006-03-09T12:04:00.000+01:00

The first european memorial for the World Trade Center has been presented in September 11, 2005 in Padua (Italy), the city where I live.

The Monument, located in the central area of the ancient city, near Cappella degli Scrovegni, is called "Memory and Light" and has been designed by the american architect Daniel Libeskind.
This is what Libeskind said to explain his work:

"The light of Liberty shines through the Book of History. This Book is open to the memory of the heroes of September 11, 2001".

In fact, the 'book' is luminous and it includes a section of a World Trade Center beam, salvaged after the 9/11 disaster.

The beam was donated from the United States to the region of Venice, and then to the city of Padua to thank it for the support provided during these days.

I 'm not really competent to say if the monument is really a work of art or not and if it is a good fit for the landscape of Padua.
However I'm getting to like it since I pass near the monument every day (two times a day) when I go to work by bike.

Open Source: a revolution in business, a revolution in life?

2006-03-08T07:11:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Open Source Software, during the last three years the (family) company in which I work, Tau Informatica srl, has gradually changed its business activities: even if the services we provide are almost the same (i.e. ERP business consulting and software development), the way our business is carried on is completely different.

Now we are actively involved in the Open For Business Project, OFBiz, an open source enterprise automation software project: in fact I'm one of the members of OFBiz PMC.
During the last three years we have put a lot of effort to add to OFBiz the features needed by manufacturing firms, that are our main focus, (a lot of work still needs to be done) but now we are very happy of how our business is evolving and growing. We are sure that OFBiz is going to be one of our best bets/investments.

Before the switch to OFBiz, our services were based on DOMUS, our proprietary ERP system (for the iSeries platform). Somehow or other, DOMUS used to condition our decisions and strategies and limit our horizons, for example:

from a technological point of view we were strictly tied to one vendor: our employers were all RPG programmers, the hardware/softwares needed to run it were all delivered by IBM.
from a geographic point of view we were tied to one region, the north-east of Italy: all the clients and contacts were all here (with some remarkable exceptions)

As you can imagine the costs were also very high for a small software company and so I've convinced Mario (my father/boss) to gradually move to the open source software and to OFBiz.

Now the maintenance costs are lower (no more employers, even if sometimes we hire good developers on a per-project basis), we have the chance to play a role in several interesting international projects, we share code, ideas, plans with a big community composed by clever persons from all over the World.

Moreover, as an unexpected side effect we have realized that things are moving in the direction that the physical place in which we are and operate is no more so important: thanks to the way an open source project like OFBiz is managed and thanks to technologies such as SVN, Jira, VoIP, VNC, VPN etc... we are currently doing demos, contacting clients, managing and deploying projects remotely thru the Internet; we have never met face to face with many of our clients or partners.

Things are changing at the point that, during the last months, the dream of spending a part of the year in a beautiful exotic place (while continuing to work on OFBiz based projects) is attracting me a lot and it's becoming much more real as days pass.

At that point, OFBiz will be not only a revolution in business, but a revolution in my life.

Ghibellines in Florence

2006-03-06T09:47:00.000+01:00

I am a supporter of Fiorentina, the football team of Florence, and yesterday, as usual, I went there (a 220 km drive from Padova, the city in which I live) for the football match: Fiorentina vs Siena.

Florence is the main city of Tuscany, while Siena is one of the small medieval cities in the beautiful country of Tuscany.

During the Middle Ages, Florence and Siena were hostile cities: in the conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, Florence was Guelf and Siena was Ghibelline.

Several centuries have passed since then (the Battle of Montaperti, in which the two cities clashed, was fought on September 4, 1260) but the two cities have not forgotten their history.

In fact, the football match was very harsh and Fiorentina's supporters showed the banner in the picture to the visitors from Siena; the banner says:

"Ieri schiavi Ghibellini,
Oggi solo contadini!"

That in English sounds like (but the rhyme is lost):

"Yesterday Ghibellines slaves,
Today just country folks!"

For the ones interested, Fiorentina won the match (2-1) thanks to a goal of Pazzini during the last minute of the match: there was an explosion of joy at the stadium... Ghibellini will be slaves of Florence for another year.

Different languages, same idioms

2006-03-03T21:10:00.000+01:00

It's interesting to discover that many idioms, that I believed to be specific of my language (I'm Italian), are used in other countries/languages as well.
The funny thing is that, even if the meaning is exactly the same, they are often phrased out in a very similar way, but with slight and amusing differences.

For example, a few days ago, in a mail from a guy from the United States, there was a sentence like this:

"to kill two birds with one stone"

Well, here in Italy, we use a very similar idiom to express this concept (i.e. to reach two goals with one effort):

"prendere due piccioni con una fava"

that in English could be translated:

"to catch two pigeons with one bean"

What to say... I must admit that I prefer this idom in the Italian version: I am for animal rights and I think that only a bad guy would kill birds with a stone but... yeah, also the guy that catches them with a bean is probably ill-intentioned.

Events

2006-01-01T08:17:00.000+01:00

Saturday, March 18, 2006

I've presented "The Open For Business Project" (OFBiz) at the monthly meeting of the Java User Group (JUG) of Padua. For details see this page.
Also, have a look at the post about it I did in this blog after the presentation.

Books

2006-01-01T08:16:00.000+01:00

This is the book I'm reading right now:

"Americana" by Don DeLillo.

Started: Sunday 2, July 2006
Finished:
Rate (1-10):
Quote:

These are the last books I've recently read:

"The Collected Stories Of Philip K. Dick - vol. 3" by Philip K. Dick.

Started: Wednesday 21, June 2006
Finished: Sunday 2, July 2006
Rate (1-10): 6.0
Quote:
""It's a machine," Perine said excitedly. "It's dead - blind and deaf."
"But it's in contact with the outside world," O'Neill pointed out. "There has to be some way to get to it. Specific semantic signals are meaningful to it; all we have to do is find the signals. Rediscover, actually. Maybe half a dozen out of a billion possibilities.""

"A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby.

Started: Sunday 11, June 2006
Finished: Wednesday 21, June 2006
Rate (1-10): 6.5
Quote:
""No, I get it," said Jess.
"yeah?"
"Course I do. You're fucked."
She waved an apologetic hand in Maureen's direction, like a tennis player acknowledging a lucky net cord. "You thought you were going to be someone, but now it's obvious you're nobody. You haven't got as much talent as you thought you had, and there was no Plan B, and you got no skills and no education, and now you're looking at forty or fifty years of nothing. Less than nothing, probably. That's pretty heavy. That's worse than having the brain thing, because what you got now will take a lot longer to kill you. You've got the choice of a slow, painful death, or a quick, merciful one."
She shrugged."

"Pattern Recognition " by William Gibson.

Started: Friday 2, June 2006
Finished: Sunday 11, June 2006
Rate (1-10): 7
Quote:
"Always, now, the opening of an attachment containing unseen footage is profoundly liminal. A threshold state.
Parkaboy has labeled his attachment #135. One hundred and thirty four previously known fragments-of what? A work in progress? Something completed years ago, and meted out now, for some reason, in these snippets?
She hasn't gone to the forum. Spoilers. She wants each new fragment to impact as cleanly as possible.
Parkaboy says you should go to new footage as though you've seen no previous footage at all, thereby momentarily escaping the film or films that you've been assembling, consciously or unconsciously, since first exposure.
Homo sapiens is about pattern recognition, he says. Both a gift and a trap."

"Fugitives & Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon" by Chuck Palahniuk.

Started: Saturday 27, May 2006
Finished: Friday 2, June 2006
Rate (1-10): 6
Quote:"This year will take me to England, Scotland, France, Italy, and Spain, plus forty American and Canadian cities, but I always come home to Portland.
If this is love or inertia, I don't know, but my friends are here. All my stuff is here. I moved to Portland in 1980 because it rains a tot. I moved from a desert town called Burbank, Washington, where my grandparents had a small farm. I moved to Portland because it's dark and wet, and all my friends from high school moved to Seattle. Because I wanted to meet new people. To hear new stories. That's my job now, to assemble and reassemble the stories I hear until I can call them mine.
I got my wish. What I traded my tonsils for."

"I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson.

Started: Saturday 20, May 2006
Finished: Saturday 27, May 2006
Rate (1-10): 7.5
Quote:
"And he'd thought the past was dead. How long did it take for a past to die?"

"Omero, Iliade" by Alessandro Baricco.

Started: Saturday 13, May 2006
Finished: Saturday 20, May 2006
Rate (1-10): 6
Quote:
"Piombammo sui Troiani all'improvviso, come uno sciame di vespe inferocito. Intorno a noi gli scafi neri delle navi rimbombavano delle nostre urla."

"Books of Blood VI" by Clive Barker.

Started: Sunday 30, April 2006
Finished: Saturday 13, May 2006
Rate (1-10): 6
Quote:
"We are all books of blood. Whenever we’re opened, we’re red."

"Bàrnabo delle montagne" by Dino Buzzati.

Started: Friday 28, April 2006.
Finished: Sunday 30, April 2006
Rate (1-10): 7.5
Quote:
"Sembra che il tempo ci metta tanto a passare e poi invece fugge come il vento"

"Invisible Monsters" by Chuck Palahniuk.

Started: Friday 7, April 2006.
Finished: Friday 28, April 2006.
Rate (1-10): 7.5
Quote:
"Your birth is a mistake you'll spend your whole life trying to correct"

"The House of Sleep" by Jonathan Coe.

Started: Sunday 19, February 2006.
Finished: Friday 7, April 2006
Rate (1-10): 7
Quote:
"Huge, grey and imposing, Ashdown stood on a headland, some twenty yards from the sheer face of the cliff, where it had stood for more than a hundred years."

"The Incredible Tide" by Alexander Key.

Started: Saturday 14, January 2006.
Finished: Saturday 11, February 2006.
Rate (1-10): 5
Quote:
"This is the model city," she interrupted curtly. "The only one finished before the Change. And don’t call the food synthetic. It is the best food ever made, and the most scientific. You’ve been eating it ever since you were rescued."
"I wasn’t rescued," he retorted. "I was captured. And I’d hate to feed your food to a dog."

"Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby.

Started: Friday 23, December 2005.
Finished: Saturday 14, January 2006.
Rate (1-10): 6
Quote:
"I have learned things from the game. Much of my knowledge of locations in Britain and Europe comes not from school, but from away games or the sports pages, and hooliganism has given me both a taste for sociology and a degree of fieldwork experience. I have learned the value of investing time and emotion in things I cannot control, and of belonging to a community whose aspirations I share completely and uncritically."