I am a regular user of AbeBooks. Often, when I’m searching for books, I turn to the second-hand market, and AbeBooks, acting as an aggregator, is just perfect for my needs. Recently, among the recommended books, I came across a work by Richard Dawkins that I hadn’t read yet: The Magic of Reality. It’s a very accessible book that explains how to apply the scientific method to analyze the world around us. Interestingly, in my humble opinion, it pairs well with The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan, a work that significantly propelled the modern skepticism movement.
In one of the final chapters, Dawkins focuses on the concept of evil and how the human mind struggles to understand that there is no “blame” or “natural justice” behind negative events. Rather, everything results from a series of coincidences, only partially controllable by humans. How often do we ask ourselves: “Why did this happen to me? It’s so unfair!”
In recent months, I’ve been making a concerted effort to reconnect with the world of video games—a phrase that might make some smile, but let me explain. Back in 1999, when I made the definitive switch from Windows to Linux, I also bid farewell to gaming. As a devoted Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast, I had fallen in love with Diablo and, later, its much-criticized expansion Hellfire, where I played as the Monk. A few years later, my aunt gifted me a PlayStation 2, and I dabbled in Kingdom Hearts. However, I quickly lost interest. That was a difficult period in my life, marked by my first major bout of depression, and I couldn’t even find solace in gaming. As the saying goes, the first time is never forgotten.
Recently, I rediscovered the joy of gaming, thanks to an Italian creator, Phenrir, whose work I discovered through her review of the TV series The Man in the High Castle. I started with a few indie games—To the Moon, Machinarium, Nocturnal, The Bridge, Swapper, and Sheepy. Then, through recommendations and the ever-reliable Steam (bless it!), I stumbled upon a game that left me utterly breathless: Inside. Released in 2016 and developed by Playdead, this game features a minimalist yet profoundly impactful narrative.
In recent years, my life—particularly when it comes to social media—has become much more restricted. By deleting my accounts from all the so-called “popular” platforms, I found a new “home” in the fediverse: Mastodon, Pixelfed, Pleroma, Lemmy, and Peertube. However, I eventually realized that my overall desire to be social and my willingness to share ideas and thoughts had gradually faded. While my posts on Mastodon were never completely absent—far from it—they became increasingly rare and irregular.
With more free time on my hands, I immersed myself in the world of self-hosting. Equipped with a small Proxmox server, a WireGuard VPN, and a Nginx Proxy Manager, I was ready to dive in. I returned to being a quiet observer, curating a long list of creators to follow, using a robust RSS feed reader (FreshRSS), setting up a YouTube interface (Invidious), and maintaining a collection of podcasts to enjoy at any time of the day (Podgrab). I deployed around thirty LXC and Docker containers as if there were no tomorrow.
New year, new resolutions, and… the return of an old blog. This blog was ready to launch when I decided to pull the plug. But here I am, at 46 years of age, finally admitting that I can’t stay away from writing and sharing my thoughts. After years of journalism and science communication, the itch to express myself is simply too strong to ignore.
I like to believe—perhaps naively—that what I have to share might resonate with others or even prove useful in some small way. So, here I am, back on your screens, or rather, this platform.
What can you expect? A friendly, down-to-earth voice discussing the topics that matter most to me: science, technology, politics, and life itself.
I hope you’ll join me on this journey, and maybe even enjoy the ride.