International icebreaker
I am not even twelve hours into the Italy trip and it is clear that the iPhone may be the surprise social lubricant of the journey. People are unabashed about asking about it, wanting to hold it, play with it. And I am of course obliging.
The great thing is that being wowed by the iPhone has nothing to do with language. It is visual and tactile and immediate. An Italian at O’Hare and an Indian in Milan (where I am now) were flicking through my kids’ photos in no time flat. A great conversation-starter.
For what it’s worth, the phone works great over here and EDGE isn’t too bad either.
Hi, I’m John Tolva!
I'm a co-founder of Cityfi, a strategic urban consultancy.This is all my other stuff.
Here's a little bit about me and how to get in touch.
Views From The Tank
Elegance Coral
Catalaphyllia jardinei
Marginalia
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The warm crackle of DOS.
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I would like to ride this choo-choo.
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"We stay inside and look out." Sinker brings the truth.
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Historically overlooked, high-value urban space.
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"A global pandemic, police protests and privacy pushbacks (not to mention a major recession) are changing the future of smart city tech."
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"The next time you see a starchitect propose something insipid like 'blockchain but for architecture,' send a letter to the editor saying 'stop publishing this bullshit'."
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This was totally delightful.
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Makes me stabby.
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"The Centennial State has 697 sides‚ not four."
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Add Denver and I-70 to the list too.