Posted: October 1

Surprises are good

(Rome) Yesterday the weather was as nice as gets in Rome, and it was spectacular: full sunshine and a cool morning on the last day of September. Of course I had to roll out the bicycle. Fifty minutes of crazy roman traffic got me clear of the city and then I rolled through countryside. Of course, there was a tail wind on the way out and I kept telling myself not to wait too long to turn around. But with a beautiful day like, who wants to head back inside? Well, by the time I did turn around I was a bit further down the road than I wanted to be. In the afternoon I went out again to paint. I am trying out acrylic paints now because they dry faster which makes it easier to handle them when you travel. But acrylic paint works just the opposite of oil—drying as fast as oil dries slowly—so it takes a significant adjustment. I am trying to develop a loose, sketchy style for going around the town. The best part was being out doors again.

Today was almost as nice, so by five thirty I had to go out again. Leaving my route to happenstance, I ended up wandering through the streets in the centro storico. I discovered a few new stores on the side streets. Incredibly, I found two different new sushi restaurants. Rome is so traditional food-wise that I was amazed to find not one, but two new sushi bars. As much as Rome seems to remain the “eternal city,” it is constantly changing and these surprises keep happening. /p>

Last week I met a man who is the representative for Europe and Africa of Nicholas Negroponte’s new “One Laptop per Child” campaign. It has been known as the Hundred Dollar Laptop in the newspapers, but the actual price is a bit over two hundred. I have read a lot about it, but did not expect to see one for some time. To my surprise a friend helped me connect with the guy who represents the campaign and I had one in my office. Naturally I called my computer support man who came to see it right away. He was even more curious that I was.

It is really cool. Full stop. The screen is small, about 7 by 9 inches, but very high resolution, and it twists and pivots several directions. You can read it in full sunlight. It also has a built-in camera and antennas for wireless connections, and it can be powered by a hand crank or even a bicycle. (I liked that part a lot). The computer is designed to be used in developing countries where there probably will not be a reliable power supply, so it is important that users can renew the battery by their own efforts. Perhaps more impressive than the hardware is the software. The project developed their own operating system and open-source software for all the obvious writing and calculating needs, but also for drawing and sound recording. This is a very powerful little computer and it has very intuitive software. I wish I would have had something like that when I was in grade school. I doodled incessantly (probably a portent of an artist-to-be sometime in the future) and was frequently bored. And I daydreamed a lot. This computer was made for creative learning. As a matter of fact, the project’s website-- http://laptop.org/ --emphasizes that this is primarily an educational campaign, not a technical campaign. The laptop computer is the tool, but participative learning is the ultimate goal. I am very intrigued by this. It is certainly better than sushi.