Cup of Coffee

February 15, 2024: Un caffè, per favore

35 Comments

By the time most of you are waking up to read this, we'll be touching down in Rome.

[Ed: They should have touched down yesterday, when this post was originally set up]

35 thoughts on “February 15, 2024: Un caffè, per favore”

  1. Count me among the jealous. I had the good fortune to study abroad and live in Rome for about 2 months in the fall of 2001. It just so happened that the other day I checking out google maps, curious to see how much I remembered of our old neighborhood, and what might still be there. To my surprise I was able to find it all almost immediately, and as near as I can tell, nothing has changed in 20+ years. The hotel we lived in is still there, with the same name. The panini shop across the street is still there. I guess the Irish Pub we would hang out at looks like it got a facelift and is now a cocktail bar. But still! Pretty cool.

    1. Picture I took of our street in 2001:

      Picture I grabbed from Google Street View apparently dated Aug. 2020:

        1. Shush. Everything else I tried kept pulling up google maps with full functionality and I couldn't manage to just grab the image. And taking a screen shot just now occurred to me.

        1. Just NW of Maria Maggoire.

          The Trattoria sign is still there, it just doesn't show up as well in the streetview photo. I was actually positioned really far up the street when I took that top photo, since I was trying to capture the feel I had every day when I walked back from school to the hotel.

  2. Also among the jealous. We want to take an overseas trip next year for our anniversary and Rome is a top candidate.

  3. Trying for my third time to go to the top of Mauna Kea to tour the telescope sites and do some observing -- it's scheduled for a week from Saturday, and the weather says mostly cloudy and 20% chance of rain. Still a ways off, but the last two times were weathered out, so I'm not holding my breath.

    2. Where do they let you set up to observe? If you’re all the way at the top, it is often cloudy/foggy when the sun sets, but clears up as the cloud layer gets lower. That happened a few nights when I was observing at Keck.

      1. They have a setup somewhere up there, but not sure it's a permanent site, so they may be able to adapt.

        Included is the ride up from Kona, meal, parka, tour, and some observing.

        Btw, did a visit of Gemini North's station near Hilo last trip; lazy @ss scientists slumming in comfort while the techs slave at elevation 😛

        1. Keck observers stay down in Waimea at the Keck headquarters, so also not on the top of the mountain. We had to request to be brought up on a day trip to even see the telescope in person at all.

          And while there are certainly staff scientists at Gemini, almost all their observations are done through queue scheduling. Rather than have a specific observing night to use the telescope, programs are prioritized and observations happen whenever they fit well during the given 6-month period. So, most all Gemini observers never even go to Hawaii (or Chile for Gemini South), the images are just out when they have been completed.

          I had some time allocated on Gemini North, and while it was exciting to get that email with the observations, it's not nearly as nice as the trip to Hawaii that Keck time gets you.

              1. Back in the day when working on the B2 radar, the joke was the software engineers wouldn't use a microwave if the glass was missing on the door; the hardware techs wouldn't use it if the metal mesh was missing from the door.

  4. Immaculate Grid of 34 today. I think this might be a new personal best. By far my worst choice was

    Spoiler SelectShow

    My mistake was thinking that the column conditions (e.g., All Star, sub-3.00 ERA) were only for seasons in the Majors, not the Negro Leagues.

    Best picks were 1 percenters

    Spoiler SelectShow

  6. One of the best meals I've ever eaten was at a hole in the wall between the Colosseum and the Termini. The waiter kept trying to talk me out of ordering the octopus pasta because he was convinced I didn't know what I was ordering and apparently many Americans had sent it back. I kept trying to explain that I knew it contained octopus and that was the primary reason I was ordering it.

    I found the place a few years ago in Streetview, but can't seem to find it now.

  8. Add in other pitchers to know like knuckleballer Cory Lewis (No. 14 prospect) and the fast-rising stock of C.J. Culpepper (No. 15), and the game should feature many players for Twins fans to know in the years to come.

    Wait, Twins have a knuckleballer?! Cool

  9. Saw the Colisseum and Forum yesterday, St. Peter's Basilica this morning.

    Headed to the Panethon, Trevi, Spanish Steps this afternoon

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