This is not a blog
It is a casbah. The word casbah (or qasbah) denotes the walled citadel of many North African cities and towns.
This site hosts some of my personal facts and anything I think it's worth to be published on the web.
At the beginning I simply registered this domain to put my pictures, guitar tabs etc not to interfere with my serious sites.
In those days my ambition was the weblog. After seeing lot of weblogs (for inspiration), I realized weblogs are for the very few who have REALLY something to say to the web people. Not me. I am not a preacher.
So this site will continue to adhere to its original goal.
It has almost no graphics because I'm very much in favor of emphasizing the content (what I am trying to communicate) over the MEDIUM (the web page).
To possibly avoid spambots (automatic programs searching for email addresses), this site does not have email links.
Many parts of the site are hidden. Sooner or later I will be able to create a restricted access area.
My hosting provider is Smarter Linux (a division of HostMySite). I recommend it.
About the language
I live in Italy. Why am I using English? Because this is the language of the Internet and most people I know are able to read my basic writing. Where Italian is required the page is translated. There's a French page, because I haven't yet find enough time to translate it in English and/or Italian.
About me
I have written an English resume concerning my professional activity.
About my name
Sceodno una reecnte rcrecia, non ha ipmotrzana in qalue odrnie le lteetre snoo diopstse in una praola l'ucina csoa ipmotratne è che la pmira e l'utlmia ltereta sanio al psoto gustio.
Non lgegamio ongi sniolga ltertea ma la praloa nlela sua itnezreza.
Acrdncoig to a reecnt reaersch, it's not ipormantt how the sginle leettrs are ordreed in a wrod. The olny imrtapont tihng is the frist and lsat letetr are in the rghit palce.
We dno't raed snilge ltreets but the wolhe wrod.
And so that's why most people call me Rolando or Ronaldo! They are more common names than Roldano.
About being right
"When someone is 55 percent right, that's very good and there's no use wrangling. And if someone in 60 percent right, it's wonderful, it's great luck, and let him thank God. But what's to be said about 75 percent right? Wise people say this is suspicious. Well, and what about 100 percent right? Whoever says he's 100 percent right is a fanatic, a thug, and the worst kind of rascal."
Quoted from The Captive Mind by Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 1980 Czesław Miłosz.
Patriotism
Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.... And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar.
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Public Casbah
De Bastiani
Some facts about my family name.
Guitar tablatures
A small collection of tablatures and chords for guitar players.
Ten Quotes
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars". This is an example; you will find more inside.
Vauban
The letter was written more than three hundred years ago but it could have been written today (French).
Information technology and media
About emoticons
How email is changing the way we communicate.
GM vs Microsoft
The famous querelle. A cult!
An ASCII Art Example
The other side of graphics for the net.
Human Nature
Corruption Perceptions Index
A World ranking.
Notepad
My Moleskine on the web
Success
The very root of success is determination.
Coelho
Nine advices for a traveler by Paulo Coelho.
Links
CICAP Emilia-Romagna
Proudly supporting a local group of skeptics as member and site designer (Italian).
The PowerPoint Manifesto
One the most clever thing I read in years. (the title is linked to the original source).
That's me.
The photo is dated September 2007.
Suntan does not stay forever though.
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