This story is first and foremost a good yarn. It’s entertaining and unknown enough to keep you interested, while it teached you some valuable things about the seldom regarded infrastructure that keeps human civilization pushing foreword, and the risks of nuclear terrorism within that system.

(via Hacker News)

This is the most unexpectedly exciting piece I’ve read in a while. Two Italian radio hobbyists managed to get a view of the space race nearly as good as its participants. Yes it’s old, and maybe seems a little dry, but I promise it’s a good read.

(via Justin Blanton, who links to more about this story)

Am I the only one who thinks it’s odd that that no gnomes live in France or Italy?

I’ll let Passport explain:

Harry’s Bar, the famous Venice restaurant where writer Ernest Hemingway used to hang out and sip martinis, is now offering a discount to “poor” American tourists who must contend with a weakened dollar, one that has resulted in horror stories about $40 ice creams and $10 bottles of water. A sign at Harry’s reads:

Harry’s Bar of Venice in an effort to make the American victims of subprime loans happier, has decided to give them a special 20% discount on all the items of the menu during the short term of their recovery.

The detail I found most interesting among Gabriel Kahn’s annoyingly indignant profile of Italy’s broken justice system was this:

The sorry state of Italy’s prison infrastructure plays a role, too. Prosecutors have charged Salvatore Ferranti for being a henchman of one of Sicily’s fiercest crime families. But last month he was released from the slammer and given house arrest. The reason: He was too fat. The prison system didn’t have beds big enough to accommodate his 462-pound frame.

(via brijit)