I will continue the blog and uploading the pictures in my new space. You can find it here:

http://mtcerio.spaces.live.com

Please update your bookmarks! See you there!

maTTeo

The Main Control Room (MCR) is the room where the Mission Control Team controls satellites in the most crucial moment of the mission: when it is being injected into orbit by the launcher. NASA's one in Houston is very famous, and celebrated in several movies. ESA has one too, and it's here at ESOC, in Darmstadt, Germany. I have been there, together with other students, during a workshop for ESMO. ESMO is a satellite which is being designed completely by students, and shall be launched hopefully in 2012.

We also had the opportunity to follow a real simulation of the launch of GOCE, done by professionals, for training for the actual launch, which will happen in about 2 months. It was quite exciting since the (simulated satellite) suffered of several anomalies, made on purpose to train the control team, but without those people being aware of them.

In addition, they let us try to control a simulated satellite, using the same computers and software and procedures. All this was quite exciting, a unique opportunity!

maTTeo

I like Firefox. I'm using it. But...

On June 18, 2008, the new Firefox 3.0 is out. They claimed:

On July 17, 2008, after less than one month, the new version is out. Firefox 3.0.1 fixed several issues found in Firefox 3, among which:

I will continue to use it, but don't be so sure it's safer than other browsers.

maTT

The posters were already there.

My second day of work is coming to an end, here is a brief summary of the situation so far.

First of all, I managed to find a flat to stay; it was really good luck. I think I sent 50 emails before coming here, answering ads on the internet for people offering a room to let. Many said that 3 months was too little time: they were looking for at least one year. 5 people were ok for a 3 month contract, so I visited their flats on Sunday. One day walking from one part to the other of the city, with no luck: all the rooms were completely unfurnished: no bed, no wardrobe, nothing. Just an empty room. On Monday I was about to sign a contract with the university accommodation for a flat (pretty dirty and ugly, I must say) with other 3 in a big building, when a guy called me back saying he was willing to buy me a bed and give me some furniture, so I accepted the offer. The flat is very very nice, I'm still waiting for my bed (sleeping on a sofa-bed for the time being) and it's only 10 minutes walking from the city centre. The public transport, anyway, is very efficient and easy to use here. The other guy is a German PhD student in mechanical engineering.

The town is nice: the weekend I arrived there was the "schloss graben fest": it happens once per year, and a big part of the city centre was pedestrian and full of tents and stands selling massive wurstels, lots of beer and some brezels, just for the tradition. In addition, on 5 stages many groups (among which Liquido and The Hooters) played during the whole weekend. So many people around!

On Monday morning it was my first day of work. I was very surprised when I took the lift to the forth floor, and as the door opened, the office in front had already my name on the door. I'm sharing it with a Belgian undergrad who started the very same day but he will be here for 5 months.

So I have an office (well, 50% of it), a computer, a telephone, and I will probably have an email too. In addition, wearing the badge all times to open secured doors makes me feel very important!

Here are some pictures of Darmstadt. And this is it for the moment! Three months to go! Bye bye!

Matteo

Darmstadt is the city, half an hour south of Frankfurt. Not yet settled down, but a lot of fun already! There was the town festival this night (once per year… just when I arrive: makes sense) and the whole city centre was packed of people walking (well, it was difficult to walk in fact), and 5 or 6 stages with live music (different genres: the gig for tonight was Liquido) and hundreds (no kidding) of kiosks selling wurstels, beer, brezel and other yummy german food! :-P Nice welcome!

Scotland? No, Sardinia.

A Clockwork Orange in Glasgow is not the famous Kubric's movie, or at least, not only that. It's mainly a classic marathon.

So why Clockwork?

Because you use the Glasgow subway which is circular, to travel around Glasgow, like on a clock.

Then why Orange?

Because this is the colour of the Glasgow subway.

But why Clockwork Orange???

Becasue, as in the movie, it's a massacre.

Also known as a subway pub crawling, you have to drink at each stop. Get off the tube, look for the first pub and drink. Then back to the tube again heading for the next stop and drink. And remember, it's competitive drinking!

1 pint = 1 point
0.5 pints = 0.5 points
1 shot = 0.5 points

So yesterday was the marathon day. Appointment at 12:00 noon in Hillhead, lunch and start. Finished at 12:00 midnight in the same place, for the last drink.

Just to have an idea, I scored 8.5 points (= 8.5 pints = about 4.5 litres). The winner, a Dutch guy called Chris, scored 18.5. Ouch!

Pictures here!

maTTeo

Glasgow this morning, on my way to the University...

maTTeo

It's a 2-day competition involving all the trampoline clubs of the United Kingdom, and this year it was in Edinburgh, and it was great! Tons of people to friendly compete and socialise.

We had a full Saturday of competition for the 4 different categories, ending up with the amazing, unbelievable Elite people.

Then on Saturday night we went to a Chinese buffet, and then to "The Caves" club in Edinburgh, for the social event with all the clubs. On Sunday morning we had the synchro competition and then the "fun synchro". For our club the theme was: the Simpsons, and here we are:

You can see me as Bart, with yellow-painted face, arms, and wearing yellow tights. Hhhhmmmm!

And this is me trampolining*:

Good fun, really good fun!

maTTeo

* This is not actually me. This is Ben. The only reason for which I put a video of Ben is that I could not take a video of my self while trampolining. My routine is not that different, anyway. Or sort of.

Great fun! 3 sessions:

- Qualifying
- Race 1
- Race 2

These where the drivers...	...And this was the podium :-)

maTTeo

According to Wikipedia:

Shinty (Scottish Gaelic camanachd or iomain) is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played almost exclusively in the Highlands of Scotland, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities, but it was formerly more widespread, reaching as far as England. The sport was derived from the same root as the Irish game of hurling, and is similar to bandy. The objective of the game is to play a small ball into a goal, or "hail", erected at the ends of a 120 to 160-yard-long pitch. The ball is played using the caman, a stick of about 3 1/2 ft in length.

And here is David "DC" Moore and his team playing it. Have a look to the photo album!

maTTeo

The Burns supper is a Scottish traditional dinner (25th of January) to celebrate famous Scottish poet Robert Burns. In this dinner, Scots eat Burns' favourite dish, and Scotland's national dish, the haggis with neeps and tatties (which are mashed turnips and potatoes). A ritual to cut the haggis has to be followed, while reading Burns' verses dedicated to the dish itself. In theory, there should be also kilts and bagpipes playing.

Here is the ritual, with me wearing a tartan tie (not a kilt, but still...) and piercing the haggis with a knife, and Janice who kindly read Burns words.

Some hae meat and cannae eat
Some would eat that want it
But we hae meat and we can eat
Sae let the Lord be thankit

Robert Burns

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut ye up wi' ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

[...]

from Address to a haggis, Robert Burns

Brilliant! Every year we are getting better and better in our Scottish traditions! See you next year, hopefully with at least one kilt!

maTTeo

Tonight I was invited for dinner by Tao. She is a chinese girl studying in the department with me. She wanted to let me try some "true" chinese food, as different from that you can get in any chinese restaurant in Europe. She kindly cooked a very nice dinner indeed, together with her 2 flatmates and a friend. When I arrived (late), there where many dishes on the table, from which you have to eat like a buffet. They also wanted me to use fork and spoon, but I insisted to (succesfully) use chopsticks.

I must say that the food was very good: it was far simpler that what you have at restaurants, and almost everything - including the spaghetti cooked in a chinese way - had a fairly sweet and delicate taste.

On the table you can see: Fried eggs with tomatoes, Potatoes, Spaghetti, Chicken wings with peppers, Pork, Broccoli and a portion of rice each.

Thanks Tao and friends!

maTTeo

maTTeo

Dunottar Castle, and a can of Irn Bru,
in a cold, sunny day.

maTTeo