The trouble with PDF

November 19th, 2009

I hate it when the following sequence of events happens:

1. I open a PDF document;
2. search for a certain chapter (say, Teoria delle perturbazioni nel caso stazionario) in the table of contents;
3. there is no link so I have to tell my PDF reader to go to a certain page;
4. and I land on a page that is at least 10 pages away from the page I was looking for, because the document and the reader do not agree on the correspondence between numbers and pages.

Then I have to read the first paragraph at least ten times because I keep wondering whether the developers of the PDF software have actually ever opened a document themselves. While reading the first paragraph for the eleventh time I give up, go to bed and, before drifting to sleep, read the exact same thing in another language in this marvelous book I bought.
I do not kiss the book, however. Just in case you worried about my mental health.

Regarding mental health: I do dream about physics sometimes, but for some reasons that happens less often in Italy than in Switzerland.

Kategorien: Physics

Il pipistrello

November 19th, 2009

Yesterday my flatmate found a bat in his room. It was clearly alive but probably sick or in a state of shock. Since it didn’t move he took a camera and made some pictures. Then he put it in a box and kept the poor thing for a couple of hours in order to allow me to admire it upon my return from university.

Being a medical student, he did however advise me not to get too close to it because of Rabies (a fatal disease with the initially flu-like symptoms followed by slight or partial paralysis, cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, insomnia, confusion, agitation, abnormal behavior, paranoia, terror, hallucinations, progressing to delirium).

Then (that is, after my admiration, not after delirium) we released it on the balcony and since it didn’t leave immediately, we wrote a note to the other flatmate (who was still at work) in order to prevent her from stepping on it. True gentlemen, I say.

When I checked a little while later, it was gone.
Here’s what it looked like:

Poor bat

Kategorien: Uncategorized

The Idan Raichel Project – Mima’amakim

November 16th, 2009

I have gotten a bit tired of listening to the same music again and again, so I’m lucky that my flatmate drew my attention to a new source of good vibrations.
Idan Raichel is an Israeli singer-songwriter with a wide range of influences, yet a compelling harmony in his songs. They are suited for background listening but interesting and complex enough to merit attention. Idan Raichel will certainly be near the top of my playlist for a couple of weeks or months. Expect to see one or two more videos posted here.

To all the people back home: Have a good week and see you around Christmas.

Kategorien: Music

And that’s how Jazz was born

November 11th, 2009

They took a reek jungle beat

And brought it to Basin Street

And that’s how Jazz was born

And then someone played a wail

All up and down the scale

And that’s how Jazz was born

They simply played what they liked

As long as it would fit

If it just had a beat

That was it

Kategorien: Music