venerdì 15 giugno 2007

Graduation speech: Manfredi

Its already graduation time? Wow, that was quick, I still remember myself in kindergarten. I want to thank my teachers and classmates for stuffing something in my head. I also want to thank my parents and friends for their support (in numerous forms) and as Virgil said “Tempus fugit” (time flees) and this goes for IST.

E già il giorno della graduation? Accidenti, che velocità, mi ricordo ancora della scuola materna. Vorrei ringraziare i miei insegnanti e compagni per aver infilato qualcosa nella mia testa. Vorrei anche ringraziare I miei genitori e amici per il loro supporto (avvenuto in molte forme) e come disse Virgilo “Tempus fugit” (il tempo fugge) e questo è decisamente valso per l'IST.

giovedì 10 maggio 2007

Gun Control

America is one of the most civilized and modern countries in the world. Yet America is full of violence in multiple forms. Not violence on TV or in films but real physical violence. America is one of the countries that lacks mostly in “gun control”. The second article of the American constitution explicitly states that a citizen under attack may react with the use of weapons. Thanks to this law it is very easy, even for a little kid to get control of a weapon, and we are not talking about a knife or an aluminum tube, we are talking about a fire weapon. It takes only one second far a boy to get mad and lose control and to kill a classmate or enemy, as has happened often. Also if a housekeeper has a gun and a burglar wants to rob his house, he will surely enter the house armed with another gun to defend himself so instead of a very simple robbery you might have a death (of either the housekeeper or the burglar). In the world 1 person per minute gets assassinated because of guns. It is true that you can possess a gun only if you present a drivers license and background evidence to gun-shop and that you can only carry around a gun if you have a “conceals weapon permit”, but these restrictions are very easy to break, they aren't severe enough. Instead in Italy it is very difficult to posses a gun and it is almost impossible to carry around a gun, except for the police, body guards, etc. Also the penalties for illegal gun carrying are huge. This surely increases the amount of successful robberies, but it decreases the amount of deaths during robberies. A few years ago I remember there was an event that brought the attention of many Italian TVs. A young burglar was shot by an house owner while trying to enter a house. The burglar was unarmed (except for a pocket knife) and the house owner got in trouble for this (obviously not too much trouble). Now this is normal in America but it shocked the Italian population. Also a few weeks ago in the Virginia tech Campus one man, who had a gun and lost his head managed to kill 32 people!!! This is sad and strange but what is even more shocking is knowing how much gun control has slipped of America. An article was published that showed cho's life before the event. He was a student who came from south Korea and he was very solitary, no friends , no girlfriend, little family but lately he seemed very dangerous. His worked in class and his essays shocked the professors and some students missed classes because they where afraid of him, Cho had been interrogated 2 times by the police and the police also offered Cho’s roommate protection (which he refused). The police had understood all of this facts before the tragedy but still didn’t confiscate Cho’s gun. This is a typical example of how weak gun control is in America and it would be time for politicians to come in action and change the security laws.

domenica 15 aprile 2007

The eagle of the ninth

The eagle of the ninth is a piece of historical fiction written by Rosemary Sutcliff. The story narrates of a certain Marcus, a roman officer, a freshman. He wants to have a glorious carrier in the army and he is one of the commanders in charge of a fort in northern Great Britain. His mother has died when he was a little boy and he has always been living with an uncle and aunt he always hated. Nobody really knows what happened to his father. His father and the entire ninth legion disappearcombat and he is sent away for a long healing period. He goes to live with uncle Aquila, another ed some odd 10 years ago (this really happened! The entire legion just vanished). The first days of Marcus' command are not really relaxing. Marcus wins a bet by driving a chariot and their fort gets attacked by some rebellious British of the north. They resist the attacks but Marcus gets wounded in uncle he has who lives in Britain. In this period he enjoys the simple life with the friuts of theland. He goes to see the Saturnalia Games where gladiators fight and he ends up buying a fallen gladiator named Esca who had been spared by the crowd (thumbs up or down). Years pass and thanks to a special doctor his wound heals (even if he will never be able to return in the army) but he manages to recieve an assignment from the army. He must investigate on the lost legion...

mercoledì 28 marzo 2007

Trieste and the Slovenian Border

Trieste is one of Italy's border cities with Slovenia. Trieste has been part of Italy and the venician empire in the middle ages. After it was conquered by the Austrian government who helped it to expand from a village of 1,000 people to a huge port of a quarter of million people. When Italy won the Italo-Austrian war (with the help of Bismark), Trieste and a chunk of what is now Slovenia were returned to Italy. After world war 2 the zone of Friuli (province of which Trieste is the capital) became a free territory that was governed by the allied military forces until in 1954 it was split between democratic Italy and communist Yugoslavia. Nowadays Trieste is about 10 miles from the Slovenian border both in the north and in the east. . Being a border city there is a huge mix between the Italian and Slovenian community (that diminuished in 1989). Some street signals near our school are both written in Italian and Slovenian. Obiously there were some cases of people who walk in the mountains, get lost, and by accident enter the Slovenian territory and because of this some italians where actually arrested by Slovenian policemen and where trialed (this thing could only happened before 1989). Ctually it is not that rare that with your cellular phone you accidentaly recieve a Slovenian broadcast and you might recieve an SMS that says “Welcome to Slovenia”.

mercoledì 28 febbraio 2007

Geographical entry on Trieste, The Bora

From centuries Trieste suffers from a strange geographical condition called the Bora. The Bora isa high speed wind that hits Trieste frequently. The bora occurs because of different pressure areas on the adriatic coast, the julian alps behind Trieste have a high pressure whgile the southern adriatic has a low pressure. The city of Trieste has never experienced a tornado or hurracane but it is normally hit in the winter with winds that sometimes reach 130 km per hour. The city of Trieste and many towns in Slovenia have adapted to the bora. Roofs are specially made to prevent the tiles from being blown down and houses are built near each other to block the wind in the streets. Also on many street sides of Trieste (in which the bora is particularly fierce) ropes and chains are fixed on walls to helps people walk.The bora is not really dangerous if not mixed with other natural situations. Dozens of old ladies each year get injured by falling because of the combination of bora and ice. Also on a rainy day with bora you can`t open your ombrella if you don`t want to wreck it.

lunedì 26 febbraio 2007

Historical entry on Trieste, The Miramare castle

The castle of Miramare was built by the architect Carl Junke for the archiduke of Austria Maximilian. The constuction took place between 1856 and 1860, when the region of Friuli was still under Austrian control (the city of Trieste grew only because of the Austrians who expanded Trieste into a huge industial port). Its amazing gardens are 22 hectares wide and they are full of rare tropical plants. The castle is built on a cliff, from where you can see a part of the city and the gulf of grignano. The archiduke Maximilian and his family lived there until Maximilian was forced to leave to become the emperor of Messico. Unfortunatly it was a bad time to be emperor because after a few years there was a freedom revolt in Messico, in which Maximilian was executed. Later in 1966 Trieste and Istrian pennunsula became part of italy and the next person to live there was the duke Amadeo of Savoy (PS: the Savoy where the italian royal family). Nowadays the miramare castle is run by the Cultural Heritage Office and it has become a museum that shows the ancient lifestyle of the archiduke Maximilian and his family. The furniture is original and extremely beautiful, especially the one of the throne room. Near the gardens are esthablished the international center for theoretical physics (ICTP), the international school for advanced studies (SISSA), and various marine reserves of the WWF.

venerdì 23 febbraio 2007

Novel 9 Synopsis The Bellmaker
by Brian Jacques

Mariel and Dandin have left redwall abbey and are now on a journey southsward. The two worriors are having a jolly time until they learn that foxwolf has taken over the kingdom of geal -------- and they are keeping him and his family prisoners (who then manage to escape with the help of a an otter Rab Steambattle and his crew). Mariel and Dandin ally with the hare meldrum the magnificent (a funny field marchal who leads a troop of his nephews), but they pet cought in a trap of foxwolf. Meanwhile the spirit of Martin the worrior deliveres a message in the dreams of Joseph the Bellmaker (mariel's fother). The message says that Durry Quill, Foremole, Hon Rosie Rufe Brush and Joshph must go southsword to rescue mariel and Dandin. They will have the help of logalog and the G.U.O.S.I.M. shrews and of the seacaptian Finnbarr Galedeep. Toghether the will steal a searat and adventure in the open sea. The adventure will be very dangerous because the will challange toads, cannibal, sharks (note: the adventurers are the wsize of mouses) and they will meet a band of shipwrekers on a deserted island to finally reach southsward. Meanwhile Mariel and Dandin have escaped from Foxwolf's prisones but they get trapped by his rats on the top tower of his castle. When they finally manage to escape the from the tower with some ropes Dandin is saved by Ebert the Scholar (an old wise mouse who all of the castle's secret passages), while Meldrum and Mariel manage to get control of the castle's gatehouse, but they must holt it for some time because their friends and everybody in southsword is coming to help them to finally liberate southsword from foxwolf and his gang.

venerdì 9 febbraio 2007

Commentary on life in Trieste/Italy

Trieste was once a little fisherman's village that reached its maximum growing point with the Austrian domination. The Austrian were giving benefits (low-takes, good homes, etc.) to anyone that immigrated into Trieste. It was the only Austrian port, so it quickly became industrialized. During the years Trieste became a border city and it has been part of many countries. After a revolt for being part for being part of the Italian government (in which some people were killed), Trieste finally became part of Italy in 1954, even if the Friuli is an autonomous region. In the last years people were emigrating from Trieste at the rate of 2,000 per year. This is because the carso limits its expansion and a great chunk of the population is over 50. The bora is a Russian wind that usually hits Trieste even at a rate of 100km per hour. The bad side of the bora is that it can create accidents (a tree falls, etc.) but it also liberates Trieste from smog and its pollution, which is constantly growing. Nowadays Trieste is a commercial city that is based on its port. Its expansion is blocked because the Austrian queen Sissi once donated her huge forest property in the carso to the government of Trieste, on condition that nothing would be built on them so soon another city in the Friuli, Udine, might become the the capital of the province.

mercoledì 7 febbraio 2007

Dear mister Parstore

I did all 6 entries
I wrote all 6 drafts on paper
This quater I believe I deserve an A- because I...
a) did all my work on time.
b) did my work completely
c) prooferead all of my entries
d) did my best to have the 24 comments done and I almost completed them
e) used my time wisely enough in the last month
f) faollowed all of the rules on blog title and format but I may have some mistakes in spelling and blog lenth.
Ultimetly I had a problem with my blog regarding the security of the e-mail adress of Matteo's fother. So I had to copy everything on a word file (including comments) and I had to create a new blog. So unfortunatly my blog adress is not http://istgr8manfredid.blogspot.com/ anymore but it is http://istgr8manfredid2.blogspot.com/ now.
I ask if you could please change the link on your blog that leads to my blog.

Best Regards

Manfredi

lunedì 5 febbraio 2007

Science Synopsis Electric Circuits

An electric Circuit is a complete path tht carries electric current from one place to another basic circuit needs:1) A source: battery, plug, lemon, et.2) A resistor: light bulb, motor, fan, etc.3) Connecting wires, switches, etcA circuit connects in a path these things. The positive and negative energy in a batery never needed to connect (until they reach the resistor) or else they connect a short circuit. The flow of charge in a circuit is measured in volts (a battery has 15 volts, a plug has 220 volts) and the amount of current is measured in amps (more then 0.2 amps are deadly). Ohm's law states the resistance of a circuit is equals to the voltage (volts) divided by the charge (amps). Eletricity is connected to magnetism if you connect a wire with loops (called a solenoid) to a functioning circuit you will produce a magnetic field. This magnetic field needs eletricity to function, but it has the advantage that it is controlled by your own circuit, so you can decide the power on the magnetic field (that depends on the voltage/materials/resistance of the your circuit) and you can turn it on and on
Italian Synopsis The Odyssey
by Omero

Odysseus is a mythical hero wise intelligent strong and king of the little island of itaca. When his son is born Odysseus is requested to the kind Agamemnon to fight the war of Troy. After ten bloody years Odysseus develops a way to conquer the city of Troy (that was still resisting). He develops the idea of the Trojan horse the Greeks impersonated a retreat and the offering of a huge wooden horse as a tribute to the Trojans. Personally the horse was full of Greek soldiers who later tore apart the city of Troy and killed everything. Once victory is got Odysseus makes the mistake of insulting the sea god poseidon and for that he will pay. Odysseus wants to go home but poseidon controls the rute of the seas. In his voyage he will meet the cyclope polyfemous, the magician Circe, the nymph Calypso, the two beasts Scylla and Cariddi and the prince nausica. With the appeasement of Poseidon, Odysseus will reach his home (when his son is 20), but the is another problem, a group of princes is trying to steal his throne.
Italian synopsis I Promessi Sposi
di Alessandro Manzoni

Renzo and Lucia are in love and ready to merry. Everything is going well except for one thing their priest Don Abbondio on the day before their scheduled marriage meets two soldiers. named bravi, sent by their evil Don Rodrigo. Their message is very claer, if Don Abbondio will merry the two soldiers (or tells anything about their meeting) he will be killed. Unfortunately Don Abbondio's lips aren't very tight his secret lips to his aid who eventually tells Renzo. The marriage is cancelled and the two soldiers must escape because Don Rodrigo is planning to kidnap Lucia. Renzo escapes to Milan (where he gets involved in many historical events) while Lucia is sent to a convent in Monza. Instead the furious Don Rodrigo who absolutely wants Lucia calls for a special mercenary, the Innominato. Lucia is kidnapped and locked in the Innominato's' castle, so the only thing she has left is his faith in god. Actually god succeeds and the Innominato gets soft and frees Lucia. Lucia will meet Renzo in Milan but they still have some enemies to deal with, Don Rodrigo and the Black Plague…
Social Studies Synopsis The Enigma Machine

While World War two was going on the Allies who had america ship them resources of supply their troops. The Huge american merchant flets had to cross the atlantic ocean (that was packed of german U-boths) to get to great britain. The germans used the (electronic) enigma Machine (invented by the german company Simson in 1935) to encrypt and decrypt messages. A message that had to go from germany to a U-both had to go though certain steps:
1) The real message had to be changed to a code using a secret code book (which had to be renewed every 6 months).
2) The code had to be changed through the enigma machine
3) The new message had to be changed to Morse and then it could be transmitted.
When the U-both received the message it had to go through each of these steps backwards.The enigma Machine was and electronic device that had 40 rotors on its outside. The key to solve a message depended on:
1) Which 3 of the 40 rotors was set into the machine
2) The order of the rotors in the machine and their initial position.
3) The setting of some plugs behind the machine
Practically one message had more the 300,000,000 keys and only one was correct. To decipher these codes the British had stolen an enigma machine and code book, established many radio centers and invented the first computers that could reduce the number of possible combinations
Book 8 Mariel of Redwall
by Brian Jacques

It is a jolly time at the Redwall abby. The birds are singing, the food is wonderfull and everybody is happy. A lost mouse mad appears, all dirty and with wild banners. Her real name is not even certain to herself but one thing she knows her father is a prisoner of the evil and crazy sea rat Gabool the Wild. The young mouse maid now named Mariel of Redwall will go in a quest to liberate her father. With her will come the young mouse warrior Dandin armed with the legendary sword of Martin the warrior the hare Tarquin always singing to he beloved Hon Rosie and the young celar hog Durry Quill. Their quest is long and risky but also the other Redwallers must be careful. A little sea rat crew who has run away from Gabool army is trying to conquer Mariel of Redwall
Book 7 The Enemies of Jupiter
by Caroline Lawrence

These are dark times in the roman kingdom. The mysterious plague is striking all over Rome. The emperor is desperete and decides to call a doctor from all over the empire. Doctor Mordecai (Jonathan’s fother) is called to help the sick by and strangely emperor Titus also calls Flavia Gemina and her friend. Titus think that they could find a way to stop this devastating plague. This mission will lead Flavia and her friends to the myth of Prometeus and Pandora's box: " When Pandora box will be opened Rome will be devastated". Fortunately Jonathan has another objective. His mother and father are now in the same city and maybe they could meat and marry again. This thought will really make him and it will end in a disaster, the fire in Rome of the Temple of Jupiter
Book 6 The Dolphins of Laurentum
by Caroline Lawrence

The Dolphins of Laurentum is the 5th story of the Roman Mysteries saga. This novel narrates the adventures of Flavia Gemina and her friends on the coast of Laurentum. The story starts when Flavia's father comes home exhausted because of a big shipwreck. Flavia's father almost risks amputation because of the cuts on his leg, but there is another fact, he is broke. He invested a fortune on the cargo that sunk and he'll have to sell his house to pay some debts. Fortunatly the nephew of admiral Pliny comes along and offers Flavia and her friends a month of vacation on his villa in Laurentum. In Laurentum Flavia and her friends will search for the treasure of an ancient shipwreck. They will go on an exiting adventure that will tell them about the origins of the slave trader Venalicius and why has Lupus lost his tongue.
Literature synopsis Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare

Romeo is the son of a very rich Montague. Friar Lawrence instead is a priest. Friar Lawrence is a lot older then Romeo and probably he knows Romeo from when he was a child. He helps Romeo a lot and guides him (almost like a father). When Romeo wants to marry Juliet (in secret), he immediately wants to get Friar Lawrence's advice. The quote " I'll tell tee as we pass; but this I pray, that thou consent to marry us today" shows that Romeo is very confident with Friar Lawrence. Strange is the fact that Friar Lawrence calls Romeo "hence" but probably it was a typical expression in those days. After the murder of Tybalt Romeo finds hospitality at Friar Lawrence's cell and Friar Lawrence cheers him up. He also gives him hope with the quote "here from Verona art you banished: Be patient, for the world is broad and wide." and he tells Romeo that he will do his best to make his punishment temporary. Their relationship can be considered completely friendly because Friar Lawrence risks his life for Romeo.
Book 5 The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina
by Caroline Lawrence

The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina is the sixth book of the series written by Caroline Lawrence. The plot starts when Jonathan tells his friends that a few wild animals just escaped from a zoo and now they are running in the woods near Ostia. These animals will take Flavia on another journey in which Flavia must face a problem that many kids still have today, a new mother. This new fiancée of his father appears nice but Flavia thinks she only wants to marry her father for money to then kill him. In a dream Flavia is told by Hercules that she must solve 12 tasks (which are partially connected to Hercules' 12 tasks) to know the truth about his father's fiance. Is this fiance really be nice and truthful or does she have bad intentions? To know the answer you must read the book.
Book 4 The French Confection
by Anthony Horowitz

The French Confection is a funny book by Anthony Horowitz. This book is full of what you call black humor. The protagonist is named Nick Dymond and he appears in a chain of books. Nick is 14 but he is very smart unlike his brother Tim Dymond, who is a private detective but to isn't absolutely smart. The story starts when Tim wins a voyage for two in Paris. On the way going they encounter a man, who is very scared and gives them a packet of sugar (like the ones you get in the cafés) before being murdered a few minutes later. This little packet of sugar will transform their lovely trip into a total nightmare. After escaping death 2 times in a couple of hours they will be drugged, tied, transported in a van, blackmailed, etc. Nick will have to fight hard to save his brother and himself from death.
Book 3 The Best of Sherlock Holmes
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Best of Sherlock Holmes is a book written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It contains six cases of this famous detective . This book is written with Watson's point of view (Watson is Holmes' best friend). Sherlock Holmes lives on Baker Street with Watson (who is a Doctor). Holmes is a typical Englishman in the late 1880s. He always carries a walking stick (even if he absolutely doesn't need it) and he smokes the pipe. He completes his cases with the famous deductive reasoning. Usually if a person comes into his office he can determine the origin, language, job and even habits of that person. Like every hero Sherlock Holmes also has an enemy. This is professor Moriarty, boss of all the mafia in London and Holmes usually refers to has the Napoleon of crime. In the story Holmes dies in a great fall of 200 meters with Moriarty beside him. The funny think is that Arthur Conan Doyle had to make him resuscitate in another book soon after because of public protests by the readers.
Book 2 The Assasins of Rome
by Caroline Lawrence

The Assassins of Rome is the fourth book of the series by Caroline Lawrence. The story starts when two guards go to Jonathan's house saying that a deadly assassin is searching for Jonathan's father, the next day the assassin presents himself at Jonathan's house and we discover that he is Jonathan's uncle on a special mission. This will take our heroes in a difficult mystery in Ancient Rome were Jonathan thinks his mother is still alive. Jonathan is an Hebrew and he tries to find out why in the Jerusalem attack by emperor Titus (90 A.D.) his mother didn't run away with his father. Flavia and her friends go after Jonathan using Flavia's brain and detective instinct. In this adventure they will see the Arena, the chariot races, the Palatine hill and the golden house and thanks to Flavia's uncle Syspius and Rizpah, a girl in the golden house, they will end up stopping a huge plot against the legendary emperor Titus.
book 1 The Secrets of Vesuvius
by Caroline Lawrence

The Secrets of Vesuvius is the second book of the series by Caroline Lawrence. The story takes place in ancient Rome and it talks about a little girl called Flavia Gemina and her friends.The story starts in Ostia were Flavia is bathing with her friends. Flavia sees a person lieing in the water and her bodyguard retrives him. This person is admiral Pliny. They rescue him and they help him. Pliny gives Flavia a riddle to solve and a person to find in Pompei since Flavia and her friends have to go to Pompei for the summer. Flavia will face a new adventure in Pompei with her friends. She will find the person she was searching for (Vulcan, a blacksmith) and help him find his parents. At the end Mount Vesuvius erupts and Flavia and her friends have to run away. Many of them will die heroically and the rest ends up in a rescue camp where Flavia and her friends must face a new adventure.