The shutters (not blinds) are solid pieces of wood that go inside the window frame, essentially turning the window frame into a little hatch. As places like this in Italy have windows that are only made of a single pane of plate glass, the shutters rather should make a good deal of difference in the noise level.

I’m in the market for a monitor because my macbook, while a very nice computer, doesn’t have a screen that is at all useful for long-term viewing, just like most laptops. I have to look down and also the contrast changes significantly with even slight changes in the screen orientation, etc. Seeing as I will be reading a lot of online copies of journal articles and writing papers, my computer interface is of paramount importance.

I want to know a little bit more about the city itself. Do you feel “right back at home?” Or does being in a new residence make the city feel completely new all over again? Have you been to any of your old favorite hangouts (if there were ever any “favorite hangouts” to begin with)? If so, remind me what they are.

I want to know if you’ve already gotten sick of the nearly exclusive porcine selection of Italian markets. At least, that’s what I seem to remember you complaining about last time when you were very close to getting ready to come out (i.e. that you were sick and tired of pepperoni, ham, bologna, etc.). I also would like you to clarify what you were saying about “prefab pasta” since it sort of confused me. Are you saying it’s both cheaper *and* tastier to purchase Prego/Ragu? Or are you saying that Prego/Ragu is one of the qualities (either cheaper or tastier than homemade) while the homemade pasta sauce is the other of the qualities?

I want to know how you get money. Do you go to a bank and cash in checks from home? Is there (amazingly!?) an ATM there that works with your debit card? I would also like to know if Italy is like Japan (where “cash is king”) or if Italy is a more debit-friendly credit-friendly checkbook-friendly nation.

I would like to know what good blinds are going to be doing you regarding noisy drunk guitarists. Blinds do not a “quality” sound reducer make. I guess they might offer *some* relief, but I’m guessing you’re suggesting something more optical. If so, you omitted it! (Since bright lights are not intrinsic to noisy drunk guitarists!) I’m also wondering if your comment about the blinds implies … you have no windows at all? O_o (Because, again with the blinds argument, I’d think that windows would be much better than blinds for blocking out sound.)

Perhaps most important of all … if you are in the market for a monitor, I’d like to know how you’re doing this, i.e. getting online, updating your weblog, etc. Roommate? Computer in a public area somewhere? Net café? Maybe you said it already and I oafishly missed it, but please forgive me then and say it once more.