I write this post some days after knowing that Aaron Swartz, the genius behind RSS, Creative Commons and co-founder of Reddit, decided to end his life at 26. I was shocked to read some of his blog posts, in particular the "Sick" one, because almost all of the synthomps are mine too.

I don't know if he was thinking at suicide, at the time he posted that. It's a thing which some of us must live with. So here's the three-quarters of the problems I share.

Cold. I always feel cold; It 'something that annihilates you, makes you feel old and weak. Eventually prevent you from doing even the most ordinary, like exiting from the home. it's almost like the stomach problems in terms of effects (see below). Also in this case, it's a new that came in the last 2 or 3 years. I don't know if it's something related to a metabolism changing, but I think yes.

Stomach. Yes, here I can use almost the same words as Aaron. "Huge pains grind through my stomach". All started in this way for me too, later in 2007, and still I'm struggling with this problem, aparently without a cause (not organic, at least). Food is always followed by pain, and often I can't sleep at night, waiting for stomach to calm down. From that moment, i've never been at the restaurant with the same mood nevermore. I'm afraid to go out for dinner because I already know that it will be a problem, with the friends or colleagues. I've experimented this particular problem in my last job. And this makes me angry and confused. At times the pain is excruciating and even after it goes I spend some time just reeling from it.

Depressed mood: Here I can find adherently words to my mood and to some situations I've felt in some way similar to Aaron. "Surely there have been times when you've been sad. Perhaps a loved one has abandoned you or a plan has gone horribly awry. Your face falls. Perhaps you cry. You feel worthless. You wonder whether it's worth going on. Everything you think about seems bleak -- the things you've done, the things you hope to do, the people around you. You want to lie in bed and keep the lights off. Depressed mood is like that, only it doesn't come for any reason and it doesn't go for any either. Go outside and get some fresh air or cuddle with a loved one and you don't feel any better, only more upset at being unable to feel the joy that everyone else seems to feel. Everything gets colored by the sadness."

Depression is not the main problem in my case, not as the sadness. In some cases I've heard the word "Adaptive depression". But the stomach problems sometimes fall me down to a state of idleness, as I have only to wait, and wait, that all passes away, meanwhile I can't do none of my things..

Read the complete article on FT.com

Parties are shying away from the radicalism Rome needs

Italians go to the polls to choose their next prime minister in a little less than five weeks. The election result will reverberate well beyond Italy. The eurozone's future prosperity will depend on whether its third-largest economy can keep its fiscal house in order and resume growth after a decade of stagnation.

The technocratic government led by Mario Monti as well as decisive action by the European Central Bank have helped restore Rome's fiscal credibility. Foreign investors have resumed buying Italian paper and yields on 10-year bonds are significantly lower than what they were in November 2011. Yet the economy is stuck in the longest recession since the second world war. Italy's external competitiveness has not improved since the start of the crisis. Productivity is stagnant and, unlike Spain, Portugal and Ireland, unit labour costs have barely started to fall.

Solving these deep-rooted problems requires a trustworthy leader with a credible economic programme. Neither applies to Silvio Berlusconi, the plutocrat-cum-politician who is planning a comeback after taking his country to the edge of the fiscal precipice. Some elements of his election manifesto, such as steep cuts to government spending that would finance a reduction in business taxes, are sensible in principle. But we have heard it all before. In his nine years in power, Mr Berlusconi, the laughing cavalier, promised much but delivered nothing. Italians should not be beguiled again.

Pier Luigi Bersani, candidate for the centre-left Democrats, and Mario Monti, who is heading a centrist coalition, both have personal credibility. During his time in government, Mr Bersani passed many reforms, including liberalising the legal professions and pharmacy shops. Mr Monti, meanwhile, is trusted both by investors and Italy's eurozone allies

However, neither leader has yet to set out a convincing economic vision for the country. The Democrat leader has to prove he will not be taken hostage by the left wing of his party, which opposes reforms to an inefficient labour market. Mr Monti is right to argue for tax cuts but must spell out where he will find the savings needed to deliver them.

Read the complete article on FT.com

Copyright © Financial Times. All rights reserved

My Have to's for 2013 (this is a post in continuous update)

1. Reduce the Shift - significantly
2. Launch of the Great Event Ever Seen since TEDx :-)
3. Slightly reduce the sense of guilt (to know how to achieve it..)
4. Restart Beta. (or, at least republish it).
5. Start LG Post. Seriously. Or, start a new magazine! Maybe it's not only curated news, but a stream of my consciousless links, video, and articles I read.
6. Learn, learn, and learn again.
7. Work, work, work.
8. Write, write, write (and code).
9. Change my old Kawa Z.
10. Buy a bike.

Plus:

Work harder on the projects deserving attention (and being able to recognize);
Be kinder (...here we've to work a lot!).; Share carefully...; Transform the Have tos in Want tos...
Improve the Get Things Done and continue applying the Present Principle;
Read at least 10 (fully) of the dozens of waiting books.

And...maybe as Gerry McGovern says, the 2012 was not so bad at all.

P.S. Be patient!

Update: 11. go at least to 3 Museums - and 1 done (Vermeer)!

12. Teach, teach, teach. Write more slides, think to new fields and approaches for the lessons.