Crooked house, Parco dei Mostri [Park of the Monsters], Bomarzo

A little Disneyland from the year 1552. The crooked house floor slants about 20 degrees I think. Although the inside walls are undecorated today, it's easy to imagine a 16th century trickster painting and decorating it to enhance the illusion of being tugged on by unseen forces when you're standing inside it.

Gloria enters it over the bridge that leads into its second floor:

One monstrous sculpture:

parco dei mostri (google search)

Cole and Owen on the Spanish Steps

Etruscan Archaeological Museum, Orvieto

Shockheaded Peter

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pocket universe

From an article ["String theorist explores dark energy and our unique 'pocket' of the universe"] and interview with my neighbor on his new book:

Today, string theory has become a serious controversy even within the physics mainstream. The number of possible energy states-10^500 [ten raised to the power of five hundred]-inherent in string theory is ''totally unexpected,'' Susskind says. ''There was constantly a sense that there would only be one, or some very small number, of legitimate solutions of the theory. Ed Witten [a physicist famed for his mathematical prowess] worked very hard to show that there was only a very small number, and he failed-failed completely.''

The dust isn't likely to settle soon. Says Susskind: ''More and more as time goes on, the opponents of the idea admit that they are simply in a state of depression and desperation. More and more people are starting to think about this possibility. But it's been a major sea change in the attitudes of theoretical physicists. ... It means we have a mathematical framework to think about it. We have a basic set of precise concepts to think about it, and it means that in time we will know the truth.''

Useful term in Umbria in February

catena neve [snow chains]

Cow Magnets (via Roger)

Cow magnets are popular with dairy farmers and veterinarians to help prevent Hardware Disease in their cattle. While grazing, cows eat everything from grass and dirt to nails, staples and bits of bailing wire (referred to as tramp iron). Tramp iron tends to lodge in the honeycombed walls of the recticulum, threatening the surrounding vital organs and causing irritation and inflammation, known as Hardware Disease.

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