:: Life of Dave ::

:: Sunday, November 30 2003 ::

Pubbing - another thing I missed when I was unemployed. That's not entirely true, because Stew took us out to watch the game when he was here, but it was nice just to go out this evening and have a pint, without monetary concerns getting in the way.

We didn't really go anywhere particularly famous today, although we did hit the catacombs with Sarah. After that there was much with the shopping, until rain stopped the game. Sarah made us dinner, and then off to the pub.
:: David (19:02 in Michigan, 01:02 in Paris)
...

:: Thursday, November 27 2003 ::

As a side note, I had a conversation with a couple of people at the OECD today, and it seems I'm starting work on Monday. So either I got the job, or something has seriously gone wrong with the universe. We're working out the visa issues now.
:: David (16:50 in Michigan, 22:50 in Paris)
...

Happy Turkey Day everyone!
Actually, in our case it was fennel and roasted red pepper day, but we still had a side of garlic mashed potatoes and green beans, so it was Thanksgiving-esque.
Sarah Coburn made it to Paris bright and early this morning - a little too early, in fact, as I missed her at the airport but managed in a pure stroke of serendipity to catch her en-route to my house (since noone was at my house, had she beaten me there it could have been a problem). We set her up with a shower and some food, and then headed out for the standard tourist route - down the block to the Pere Lachaise, then down the road to the Bastille (well, where it was, anyway), then over to the Place des Vosges for some coffee, and downtown to peer at the Hotel de Ville and over to Notre Dame. Yes, really, all that. Then we came back and had our Thanksgiving dinner in our apartment. A busy, busy day.
:: David (16:38 in Michigan, 22:38 in Paris)
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:: Wednesday, November 26 2003 ::

So I got a call about a half hour ago from the OECD's Human Resource woman. She informed me she was filling out my contract, and could I start tomorrow? I guess that means I got the job. The only thing is, I haven't heard back from the guys I interviewed with. I presume either (1) she already knows they want me, or (2) she's gonna hire me, and then hand it to them as a fait accompli. I would probably be more excited if I weren't so ill - I came down with a nasty bug yesterday, and although it seems to be going away today, I'm still feeling weak. It was funny - the phone rang and Sasha said 'you should get that' and I told her I didn't want to talk to anyone because I wasn't sure I could be coherent. So she picks up the phone, listens for a moment, says 'yes, he is' and hands me the phone. Grr. But afterward she explained: 'the only people who would call and ask for you in heavily accented English was the OECD'. Makes sense. And if they'd been calling to tell me I didn't get the job I would have wanted to hear it from them firsthand. So now I guess I start a two month contract with them, and at some point I'll have to go to Chicago to get a visa. Cool! And in the meantime, I can pay my bills! Woo hoo!
:: David (04:39 in Michigan, 10:39 in Paris)
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:: Tuesday, November 25 2003 ::

Fans of Star Trek should take a look at Wil Wheaton's blog - he's currently writing a biography of sorts, and putting bits of it on the site. It's interesting to read, for a number of reasons.
:: David (11:39 in Michigan, 17:39 in Paris)
...

There are days the Economist makes me happy. Take, for example, this article concerning recent research on racism. Basically, it seems that if people are racist, and are first put in a situation where they must try not do something racist, and are then asked to do something which requires mental effort, their performance in the second task suffers. Put another way, as the Economist notes, "[c]overing up prejudice is tiring".
:: David (10:17 in Michigan, 16:17 in Paris)
...

Waiting is the worst part, isn't it?
I've been killing time, plotting what I would do if I get the job, reading whatever is handy (which is quite a lot these days, since I learned how to put books on my Palm), and in general hoping and fearing someone would call. But the waiting really is the hardest part.
:: David (09:51 in Michigan, 15:51 in Paris)
...

A tale of file sharing:
I think this is perhaps more indicative of the average file sharer than the record companies would have you believe: about a week ago, I downloaded Sarah McLachlan's new album. I read a review somewhere that said it was good, and I've always mostly enjoyed her stuff. It's still sitting on my hard drive, unopened. I presume someday I'll listen to it. Maybe it will be one of those albums I really enjoy, and listen to often. Maybe. Meantime, I downloaded an album by an Aussie band called the Whitlams. Don't even try to find it in the states. I opened it right up when it finally came in. So here's the interesting thing: if I had been able to download the Sarah McLachlan album and listen to it, once, for some small fee, I might have done that. And the real fun is that, because I would have paid something for it, I would have listened to it - the whole thing, front to back. I don't know where all of this file sharing stuff will take us, but somebody better get on the ball quick with a better way, 'cause people are starting to like all this free access.
:: David (05:27 in Michigan, 11:27 in Paris)
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:: Monday, November 24 2003 ::

Test your condom knowledge with the BBC!
:: David (15:11 in Michigan, 21:11 in Paris)
...

The Boston Globe has an interesting article which reviews a pair of books on the subject of eating.

The deadliest sin:
As Americans prepare to stuff themselves with turkey and pumpkin pie, two new books ask what's so bad about gluttony, anyway?

I have to admit, being away from Turkey day always makes me somewhat happy, because it always ends up that I eat a lot of food and do nothing active, and end up feeling somewhat ill.
:: David (12:19 in Michigan, 18:19 in Paris)
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I wrote this at about noon today, shortly after I finished my test for the OECD: "it isnt fair really that my hopes are so high after the test-there are still hurdles to face, and honestly i dont know how i did on the test. Thc reason for being upbeat is that, on my departure, which was 15 minutes early, i asked how many points were necessary, and she responded 'about half'. I think. Maybe she said 50. 50 is more than i thought. This is how it will go, of course-i will second guess myself right up until I know for sure whether i have passed. Regardless, I now have about an hour before i am due to meet sasha for lunch. I haven't becided yet how im going to kill the time-we'll see what happens. First and foremost is a loo - the test was testing more than just my math skills. What really made me crazy was the woman who had brought a water bottle. Ack!"

Later: "Frustration is defined by when the toilettes are on lunch break." I wrote that in response to the bathroom in the metro being closed between noon and 1pm every day.

I ended up meeting Sasha for lunch (Japanese) and then I came back to the house. Since I got up at six, and I really didn't sleep that well (I was nervous!) I'm pretty beat now. But at least it's done, for better or worse.
:: David (09:48 in Michigan, 15:48 in Paris)
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Today there is an interview with Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at EUpolitix.com. In it, "Sharon throws out the distinction between anti-Semitic beliefs and legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies in the Middle East.

'Today there is no separation. We are talking about collective anti-Semitism. The state of Israel is a Jewish state and the attitude towards Israel runs accordingly.'"

This is a tremendously dangerous attitude for Sharon to take. Many, many people, myself included, believe the Jewish state of Israel, as it is currently run, is an obstacle to peace in the Middle East. This does not mean that we are anti-semitic. To suggest otherwise could easily lead some (those who do not understand the differences clearly) to anti-semitic actions.
:: David (01:13 in Michigan, 07:13 in Paris)
...

Early, early morning. The test is in about two hours, and I'll be leaving the house fairly shortly to beat the morning rush. I've got my proverbial #2 pencil and a pair of dubious calculators (both on Palm devices, one of which causes a system reset if you try to take a square root). I'm not sure I'm equipped for this, but it's happening, one way or the other. After the test I'll meet Sasha for lunch and come home and sleep!
:: David (01:02 in Michigan, 07:02 in Paris)
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:: Sunday, November 23 2003 ::

As I may have noted, Sasha and I have been drinking our share of this season's Beaujolais Nouveau, and I decided I would get on the ball this time and put up my tasting notes for the wines we'd drank thus far. I'm expecting to add a few more as the season goes on. I know you can get at least one of the wines we've had in the states (Jason, I think getting it in Egypt might be difficult), and I highly recommend going out and trying this type of wine before it expires (which can be as soon as six months).
:: David (11:32 in Michigan, 17:32 in Paris)
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:: Saturday, November 22 2003 ::

Of course, if I were paying attention I would notice that I wasn't the only one who thought that was a good idea....
:: David (10:19 in Michigan, 16:19 in Paris)
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Fun stuff - BRAVO has a series of ads asking for people to be on queer eye for the straight guy, and I've pasted the images together.
:: David (10:18 in Michigan, 16:18 in Paris)
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Wacky French moment for the day - we were at the supermarket, preparing for the weekly closure of all shopping venues on Sunday, and we were checking out. The line next to us was very short, and a man went up to check out, but was told the line was closed. First he argued with her, and then he stood there trying I guess to intimidate her into checking him out. He stood there while she cashed out, and then he consulted with the security guard - perhaps calling for the manager or something (possibly asking to jump another queue). It was bizarre, in part because in a place where leisure time versus work time is so completely respected, someone trying to make someone else work longer seems really odd. Another odd thing was that, as near as we could tell, the woman let him buy one thing, but not the rest of the stuff in his basket. It was all weird. Of course, I'm not sure it would have made more sense if we had been able to hear their conversations - there's always this problem of assuming something is weird due to cultural differences, rather than assuming it's just plain weird.
:: David (09:10 in Michigan, 15:10 in Paris)
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Have I mentioned how wacky the Euro coins are? All of the coins, equal in value to about $2, $1, $0.50, $0.20, $0.10, $0.05, $0.02, and $0.01, have the same picture on one side of the coin, but the other side of the coin is unique to each country it is printed in. Now, usually we get the French version of these coins, what with us living in France and all, but every now and again you find some bizarre coin from one of the other Euro states hanging out in your pocket. It's actually kind of fun, since there are 12 different Euro countries and at least three different coins per country. Today we found the Belgian King on our one Euro coin and an image of Dante Alighieri originally painted by Raphaël on our two Euro coin. Fun stuff! And while we're looking at money, you may want to take a look at the Euro notes too!
:: David (06:30 in Michigan, 12:30 in Paris)
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:: Friday, November 21 2003 ::

Yesterday (Thursday) was the first day of Beaujolais Nouveau being sold, and we grabbed ourselves a couple of bottles. Really interesting wines - apparently they're only good for like six months or so. According to our friends at Wine Without Rules the grapes are fermented in such a way that no tannins are allowed in, which is why the wine is so amazingly fruity (and why it doesn't keep - tannins are what allow a wine to age gracefully)
:: David (17:52 in Michigan, 23:52 in Paris)
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The interview went very well. I would say that unless the test on Monday goes badly I have a job. Of course, I'm not holding my breath for the test to go well, so....
:: David (11:08 in Michigan, 17:08 in Paris)
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Well, in about four and a half hours I will have my first European interview, with the OECD's Social Policy division. As with the written test on Monday, I have no idea what form this will take, so I'm going as well prepared as I can be, and will rely on this to happen as they should. Of course, I don't really know what I'll do once the interview and test are over - I suppose i'll return to applying for jobs every day until word comes down. Fortunately, Sarah Coburn will be here next weekend (Thanksgiving Weekend) to keep me out of trouble. In the meantime, I guess I'll just keep moving along.
:: David (03:32 in Michigan, 09:32 in Paris)
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:: Thursday, November 20 2003 ::

The BBC asks the question how far East will the EU go? A valid question, especially given the questions posed on religion and secularism.
:: David (08:17 in Michigan, 14:17 in Paris)
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Some interesting reading/discussion today concerning the European Union. There's a story on the BBC website concerning the values Western Europe is exporting to new EU members. It also highlights differences between current member states. One of the big questions is 'what defines Europe' - a question which has not been answered in over a thousand years, and one which the EU probably will not answer very well either. If religion defines Europe, where do the muslim states set to join fit in. And if Christianity defines Europe, what about secular states? For that matter, what about the millions of non-Christians living in Europe currently?
:: David (07:39 in Michigan, 13:39 in Paris)
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:: Wednesday, November 19 2003 ::

The New Yorker has a review of a book aimed at the over 35 single woman which urges them to attack getting married as they would any other marketing campaign. Entitled Love for Sale, the book urges clever antics to meet a man. An example: "she urges the reader, while at the theatre, to visit the ladies’ room during the performance, so that she might spend the intermission not in line but, rather, loitering brightly in the lobby, in the hope of bumping into Mr. Right." As the reviewer notes: "With luck, he won’t recognize her as the woman who ruined the climax of Act II for the rest of the audience." I find these sort of books fascinating, mostly because I don't understand the reason for their existence. But then, how many times have I been to a singles bar?
:: David (04:32 in Michigan, 10:32 in Paris)
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:: Tuesday, November 18 2003 ::

The Guardian did an absolutely amazing G2 section today, with "While we have your attention, Mr. President...", letters from 60 Americans and Brits to George Bush on the occasion of his visit to Britain. An example of what you will find:

"You can laugh at the old Stalinists who lead the protest march against you and ignore the anti-western ranting of a few journalists here whose pathology is one of guilt and self-hatred. But please do be aware of the distaste felt towards what you have done by reasonable, pro-American Britons. I hate to think what the allied dead of two world wars would have made of it, and of your presidency."
Sebastian Faulks
Novelist"

"Mr President, You are one of those rare politicians who has consistently demonstrated a capacity to surprise and delight conservatives and dismay liberals.
[...]
Our nations are bound together by history, culture, language and genealogy. Let it always remain so."
Eric Forth
Conservative MP

There are also some amazing letters from those directly affected by the war on terror - a sibling of a Guantanamo Bay inmate, the falsely accused trainer of the 9/11 hijackers, and others. Overall it's an amazing piece, or series of pieces. Take a look.
:: David (18:20 in Michigan, 00:20 in Paris)
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Some of you may have wondered how exactly I spend my days. Well, since this week I have been primarily focused on studying statistics and updating my web page (as an avoidance technique so I don't have to study statistics), I've been spending a lot of time at the desk, typing on my computer. So I decided I would take a picture, so you could all see exactly where I am most days. But then the tools got a little bit away from me....

:: David (10:14 in Michigan, 16:14 in Paris)
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Another classic of modern Japan, as reported by the BBC: in "Bullet train driver caught snapping" it is reported that "A Japanese bullet train driver has been questioned for taking photographs with his mobile phone and sending them to his girlfriend while at the train's controls." Even better, apparently it was the woman's husband who reported the whole mess to the Central Japan Railway Comapany.
:: David (07:29 in Michigan, 13:29 in Paris)
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Yet more stories and photos have been put up. I've written a short description of the Paris catacombs and posted some photos, which are not for the faint of heart. I'm trying to study statistics for this test next Monday, but it is not easy to motivate myself - knowing how much I don't know is distressing.
:: David (07:22 in Michigan, 13:22 in Paris)
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:: Monday, November 17 2003 ::

After a rather lengthy process, I have managed to put up my photos of the Pere Lachaise cemetery. Since I've walked through there a number of times they range from sunny to cloudy, but overall the photos from autumn, when all the leaves were changing color, are my personal favorites. I may at some point put up some comments on the pictures, and I will probably add to the collection, but for the moment these will do.
:: David (08:35 in Michigan, 14:35 in Paris)
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So as I was typing my plans concerning the updates I planned on the Pere Lachaise web pages, I was thinking to myself "it could happen, but it probably won't." Then I went and read Jill's blog entry for today, and suddenly my plans for updates didn't seem nearly as ambitious.

What is it they say? "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." Apparently John Lennon said that, at least according to aphorisms galore. I've often thought it was apt, since I always seem to be operating about six months to several years ahead of my life. Except when my life is busy throwing wrenches into my well thought out plans. We'll see what life does with Paris.
:: David (08:34 in Michigan, 14:34 in Paris)
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:: Sunday, November 16 2003 ::

I forgot to mention this earlier, but just before the weekend started, Sasha and I managed to watch the South Park episode where they do a send-up of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy". It was funny, and then it was weird. South Park always pushes that boundary. Perhaps in revenge for the sport we were subjected to this weekend, we introduced Stew to 'Queer Eye' and then showed him the South Park send-up.
:: David (18:01 in Michigan, 00:01 in Paris)
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There's a huge scandal going on in Japan concerning adulterated rice. I originally read about it in the times, but they require subscription, so I found this article on ocnus.net (a website I need to explore more, I think) which discusses the scandal. Basically, rice is tremendously expensive, and most people buy -only- pure Japanese rice. Turns out the producers have been lying about how pure their 'pure Japanese rice' really was.
:: David (16:11 in Michigan, 22:11 in Paris)
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Fun website full of random football (that's soccer to some of you) photos, including this one of one of the the players taking his wrath out on a spectator in most spectacular fashion.
:: David (16:04 in Michigan, 22:04 in Paris)
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There's an article in the Asian Times entitled "Why America is losing the intelligence war", which is not in fact a joke, but rather a reference to our intelligence agencies. It addresses why America as a whole (and hence our intelligence agencies) are unable to operate in other cultures effectively (i.e. speaking the language, knowing the culture, etc.) Note also the articles it links to.
:: David (15:07 in Michigan, 21:07 in Paris)
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Matthew Parris has written a scathing indictment of the Bush presidency as seen from the perspective of a British conservative. The title is "The man who taught us how to despise Americans" and the article definitely pulls no punches. As the blurb states "There is little purpose to George W. Bush's state visit beyond the gathering of a royal-crested backdrop for a future presidential election broadcast." Ouch. I would link so you could read the whole thing, but apparently the Times only believes in free stuff occasionally, and at random.
:: David (14:48 in Michigan, 20:48 in Paris)
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Special thanks to Stew for introducing me to the concept of 'Le Parkour' - running around like a mad fool. See this story for the scoop. I couldn't hook up to the French website, but I may try harder sometime.
:: David (14:35 in Michigan, 20:35 in Paris)
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:: Saturday, November 15 2003 ::

We spent the latter part of the day in first a Scottish and then an English pub, watching Scotland shock the Dutch 1-0. Yes, Stewart is a football fan, and would not let a little thing like a trip to Paris stop his sport viewing (although he has stated that it is now not necessary to watch the England - Scotland France Rugby world cup semi-final, which will take place tomorrow morning). It was great good fun. Before that we headed to the catacombs, and I have some photos I'll be putting up at some point. We also swung by Notre Dame, which was packed. Apparently the tourists don't really slow down for the winter season.
:: David (14:12 in Michigan, 20:12 in Paris)
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:: Friday, November 14 2003 ::

A telephone call this morning changed my plans for the coming weeks. The OECD contacted me regarding a position with their association, working on statistics. Before they even interview me, however, there is the small matter of a test. So for three hours on the morning of Monday, the 24th of November, I will be sitting on the 26th floor of the #2 Europa building, answering questions on statistics and economics. Or trying to. Frankly, I'm concerned this test is going to beat me up and take my lunch money, but if I manage to complete it successfully I will have a very nice job with a very good group doing very interesting things. So we'll see.
:: David (08:56 in Michigan, 14:56 in Paris)
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:: Thursday, November 13 2003 ::

Perhaps Cartography is not Their Forté

Auchon (the massive superstore near our house) sent us yet another flyer today, and I noticed something on it that I felt I should share. As with many store flyers, this one came with a map. Now, looking at the map, I challenge you to figure out how to get from the traffic circle on the left (Bagnolet) to the store. To tell you the truth, I've walked it several times, and I still can't do it.
:: David (10:22 in Michigan, 16:22 in Paris)
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:: Wednesday, November 12 2003 ::

Butterflies and Wheels has an interesting article entitled Are All Religions Identical? - since the website is devoted to "fighting fashionable nonsense" you may have some idea of what the author, Phil Mole, thinks, but to help you along, a quote: "A little knowledge of world religious traditions might convince us that they are identical, but a lot of knowledge tends to convince us that they are very different." It's an interesting deconstruction of that college religion class you might have had.
:: David (09:45 in Michigan, 15:45 in Paris)
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What is the 'Washington Consensus'? Currently, it is shorthand for the misguided economic reforms the (insert bogeyman of choice - US, IMF, World Bank) forced onto developing economies, which led to the economic meltdowns of the last decade, and probably to some degree the recession we are only now starting to escape. But what was it originally intended to be. The person who coined the term, John Williamson, has written a short history of the Washington Consensus in the current issue of Finance and Development. Although he clearly writes defensively, there are still some interesting elements to the article.
:: David (09:15 in Michigan, 15:15 in Paris)
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An amusing piece in the Guardian, which suggests that the Bush visit to Britain is nothing more than an early start to Bush's re-election campaign. I'll quote the first bit:

We all know the feeling. You glance at the diary and realise you have guests coming to stay next week, when nothing could be less convenient. They're coming from abroad, expecting to be entertained for several days and it's far too late to cancel. This is the last thing you need.

So spare a thought for Tony Blair, as he scans the calendar and sighs. There are the dates, circled and unyielding: November 18 to 21 - Bush in Britain. He knows what it will mean. His guest is the most unpopular US president in living memory. The anti-war movement will be back on the march[...]. Blair will have to make yet more speeches like the one at Guildhall on Monday, once again defending the war on Iraq. And for a fortnight, starting now, all eyes will focus not on the domestic agenda [...] but on the matter which has brought him greatest grief since taking office.

The relationship between the White House and Downing Street has always been a little strained, I think, but I will be very curious to see if this visit doesn't do some major damage somewhere. It's even possible, for once, to think the tight security might be necessary....
:: David (07:47 in Michigan, 13:47 in Paris)
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Now that is what I like to see! George Soros, billionaire, financial wizard, and a guy bent on spending his money doing what he sees as right, is reportedly spending millions to ensure George Bush is not re-elected (was he elected the first time?)
:: David (07:33 in Michigan, 13:33 in Paris)
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I set up the printer today (it prints beautifully, as near as I can tell). Once I had installed the software I registered the printer with Epson, who wanted damned near every personal detail about me except my blood type. So, as always with those things, I lied. It's not as if the warranty is worth the paper it's printed on, anyway. As soon as I leave France, all bets are off, and if it breaks, too bad.
:: David (07:13 in Michigan, 13:13 in Paris)
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You know, the more I think about it the more concerned I am that Europe, even more than the US, is going to lead the next crusades. The story which set me off is the report that Germany is planning to ban headscarves. Every day there are articles in French newspapers about the 'problem with muslims' and every day Germany gets a little closer to outlawing it as a religion. I'm sure the Germans would argue with me on this point, but where do you draw the line? Once you tell people they can't wear symbols of their religion, how far is it to telling them they can't practice their religion?
:: David (07:10 in Michigan, 13:10 in Paris)
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I'm so sorry I missed this! Apparently, on Monday night protestors took over the evening news on one of France's national stations. There have been quite a number of protests and commentaries about the reforms in benefits. I haven't worked out enough of the details to decide whose side I'm on. Regardless, try to imagine one of the big three stations' evening news host giving his chair to the protestors and letting them speak their piece. Very fun!
:: David (07:05 in Michigan, 13:05 in Paris)
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Cold and wet. Reportedly the whole rest of the week (and weekend) will be cold and wet. Winter weather. Blah.
:: David (06:48 in Michigan, 12:48 in Paris)
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:: Tuesday, November 11 2003 ::

Invitation to Romanticize

For a while now, we've been buying the Auchon brand tortillas, which sport the 'Invitation to Voyage' (gastronomically, one presumes) logo with temples, cacti, a gaucho and beautiful señorita. And we have been amused. Today, however, we realized Auchon went one better than we expected. We didn't actually notice until we got the maple syrup home that it, too, had an 'Invitation to Voyage' logo, this one for Canada. Now what I'm really dying to know is, if it exists, what does the U.S.A. logo look like....

:: David (11:20 in Michigan, 17:20 in Paris)
...

Well, step one is taken - I have purchased a swanky printer (which, conveniently, will work on both European and American voltage). Next up is to print some signs and post them around. I've seen some other signs offering English courses, and I'll steal some of the French phrases from them (I hope the people who made them know French!). Paste the signs around, and see who drops me an email. That's one of the difficulties - I can't use the telephone very easily, so I'll do it by email. We'll see how that works.
:: David (08:10 in Michigan, 14:10 in Paris)
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:: Monday, November 10 2003 ::

I forgot to mention that yesterday Sasha dropped the trashcan on her foot (well, really, it jumped) and now she is slightly hobble-y. Sad, but fortunately not broken. Just slightly mushed.
:: David (13:34 in Michigan, 19:34 in Paris)
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OK - I'm feeling left out of the loop. It's a sign of how quickly things are moving that I thought the last generation of CPU technology was the 'up-and-coming' technology. Hard to keep track of.

What I am talking about is the stuff used to build the brains of your computer - the CPU. I remember quite clearly when IBM announced they were going to go to 0.13 micron etching (i.e. the wires would be 0.13 microns wide, or 5 millionths of an inch) but today I was reading an article which said the next generation of gaming machines would feature 90 nanometer etching (wires 0.09 microns wide, or about 4 millionths of an inch)(as a side note, this site has a wonderful image of how big one micron is) I went searching, and sure enough, IT World had an article in September, 2003 about the new production methods.

There are several things I find interesting about this. First, how quickly the technology moves, despite the huge costs (building a chip assembly plant is incredibly expensive). Second is the jump in the technology - going from 0.13 to 0.09 is a gain of better than 20% in absolute size terms. According to an article on EarthWeb.com the new chips could go above 5 GHz. My spanky new laptop (well, one year old now) operates at less than 2 GHz. Finally, some of the problems introduced in building things that are so small leave the realm of engineering and enter the theoretical physicist's domain - random electrons jumping around and the like.

While I was wandering around in the realms of crazy thought, I ran across an article which attempted to predict through to 2010. It's actually a year old, but still has some stuff I didn't know.
:: David (10:08 in Michigan, 16:08 in Paris)
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Apparently the new definition of McJob is 'dictionary entry which angers multinational company.'
:: David (09:35 in Michigan, 15:35 in Paris)
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I know you've heard it all before, but there's another book out that says, once again, that even though Americans are (overall) getting richer, they're not getting happier. I'm tremendously glad I don't have to strive for the big house. Now I wish I didn't have to strive to repay the student loan *chuckle*
:: David (07:40 in Michigan, 13:40 in Paris)
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Well, I finally met one of our neighbours. Unfortunately, it was not under the best of circumstances. He came by to ask why we kept him awake every night. I'm halfway convinced it is not us - the hours don't sound like the hours we keep, but I promised him we would keep things down from now on. I must say, once again, that I am always impressed when someone can flip over to English so easily - he started in French and I was completely lost. So he went to English. As one does, when one speaks two languages well.
:: David (07:18 in Michigan, 13:18 in Paris)
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I finally managed to take a photo of the Eiffel Tower at night, with its light show going and its spotlight... ah... spotting. I also decided I would put an index page on my random images directory, so the photos wouldn't be lost when the blog goes to archives. So now, all the images I use in my blog may be found here.
:: David (05:58 in Michigan, 11:58 in Paris)
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:: Sunday, November 9 2003 ::

So, I don't know if you've all heard about this - it's a weird, bizarre non-story that has become a story. Basically, there's a trial going on in the UK, and the person on trial named someone as having done something naughty. However, and here's where things get weird, because the trial is currently going on there is an injuction against printing anything about the allegations in the papers or on TV. But all of the reporters have heard what has been said - they just can't print it. So one of the newspapers (I believe a tabloid) reported that there was a scandal, and that it was big, but that's all they can tell you. And all the other newspapers followed suit: "big story - we know something BIG! And we're not telling!" So Neil Gaiman has made a few comments on the story, filling us in on the details. Read on to find out the nationality of the goat!!!
:: David (09:53 in Michigan, 15:53 in Paris)
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Linus Torvalds, creator of the linux operating system, weighs in in Wired magazine on the SCO lawsuit claiming anyone running linux is violating copyright law: "With the US legal system, it's always hard to tell what the hell is going to happen, so I can't just dismiss the lawsuit as the complete crapola I think it is." Read more in the November article, "Leader of the Free World".
:: David (09:36 in Michigan, 15:36 in Paris)
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Did everyone see Julie's 'pimp for science' costume from halloween? There's a lot of work in a very silly costume!
:: David (06:30 in Michigan, 12:30 in Paris)
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:: Saturday, November 8 2003 ::

Looks like the danger the Economist article mentioned regarding Saudi Arabia has come to pass - if the explosion in Riyadh (currently being reported by the BBC World) is a sign of things to come, the middle east could become that much more crazy.
:: David (18:03 in Michigan, 00:03 in Paris)
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We just caught the tail end of a BBC special called The Cameraman's Story, which was one of those moments in television where you simply can't look away. According to the BBC, the show tells the story of Fred Scott, a BBC cameraman, and his co-workers. The footage we caught was the part where his team was in disarray after "a missile from an American warplane landed on a convoy of US special forces and Kurdish civilians." As the web page notes, "Fred Scott was injured in the blast and his blood dripped on to his camera lens as he continued filming". 17 people died in the 'friendly-fire' incident. It was unpleasant viewing, but amazing and gripping. If you have access to the BBC, try to see it - it's very worthwhile.
:: David (17:59 in Michigan, 23:59 in Paris)
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This evening Sasha and I went wandering in the marais (lit. 'the swamp') which is a neighborhood fairly close to the house. We stopped at a café on the place des vosges, which was originally built in 1612, and has had such famous residents as Victor Hugo (more history). Originally we had planned on coffee, but the waiter brought us menus (a fairly unusual occurance), and in addition to all the usual drinks, there were several chocolate drinks. I decided to have my usual café créme (more or less a cappucino), but Sasha went out on a limb and got the 'petit chocolat à l'ancienne' ('chocolate done the old way'). Apparently gravity was stronger in the old days, because the chocolate was thick. No, thicker than that - think hot chocolate mousse. Sasha added milk (it came with milk) until it was pseudo-runny, and between the two of us we managed to finish it. It wasn't bad, please understand, just very, very rich. Thankfully the waiter screwed up my order and brought me straight espresso, so if you alternated between the chocolate and the coffee your head didn't explode. It was something else....
:: David (17:22 in Michigan, 23:22 in Paris)
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The Economist has an article on Bush's crusade to bring democracy to the Middle East. It raises an interesting point concerning American 'allies' in the region, like Saudi Arabia. If the Bush rhetoric has been thought out (hopefully by wiser heads than his), the implications are that the U.S. would stop standing by totalitarian regimes in the region just because they support the U.S. If done well, it could lead to reforms in countries that really could use some reform. Sadly, the U.S. has not shown any ability whatsoever to do things well on a diplomatic or international politics front....
:: David (05:00 in Michigan, 11:00 in Paris)
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The BBC reports that "A study by scientists in the United States has found that a cup of hot cocoa is rich in powerful antioxidants.

Previous studies have also shown these chemicals, which can protect against a range of diseases and reduce the effects of ageing, are found in cocoa.

However, this latest study suggests cocoa may be richer in antioxidants than better known 'healthy' drinks like tea and red wine."

Suddenly, an excuse for cocoa anytime you like! Excellent!
:: David (04:47 in Michigan, 10:47 in Paris)
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:: Friday, November 7 2003 ::

Jessica Lynch, according to the BBC, "said she was grateful to the American special forces team which rescued her but, asked whether the Pentagon's subsequent portrayal of her rescue bothered her, she said: 'Yes, it does. They used me as a way to symbolise all this stuff. It's wrong.'"

If you make people spokesmen for something, make sure you know what they're going to say....
:: David (18:19 in Michigan, 00:19 in Paris)
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Now see, here is what happens when you let people who don't think about things too deeply loose on the web: Great Achievement #10 - Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. No wonder historians seem so uptight sometimes.
:: David (11:23 in Michigan, 17:23 in Paris)
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Sasha and I had a really interesting discussion yesterday about the way refrigeration had (or had not) changed people's lives dramatically when it was introduced.I hadn't thought about the whole icebox thing - I had always sort of thought things went straight from the root cellar to the refrigerator with no real intermediary period. One day you put the roots under the house and hope for the best, the next day everything is OK because meat can be stored forever. But that really wasn't the case. In places where ice was plentiful refrigeration didn't really do much of anything. In the middle climes, people probably stored ice for some period of time (could they do it for the whole summer? I suppose if the block of ice were big enough). So the only place things really might be different is places where ice never occurred.
The other thing to think about with this is that if you have a mountain nearby you have a source of ice. It just requires infrastructure.
Sasha suggested the only reason people started putting things on ice was because of germ theory. I should be more specific - I believe she suggested keeping things cool was because of germ theory. Regardless, that would imply before we had some reason to refrigerate, we simply didn't.
Obviously something to read up on....
:: David (10:59 in Michigan, 16:59 in Paris)
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Woo Hoo! Another person that likes my birthday. Or rather, likes Talk Like a Pirate day. Jill Lepore asks the question Exactly when did pirates get to be so funny? And she gives an interesting history of the question.
:: David (05:12 in Michigan, 11:12 in Paris)
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Dylan Evans, who has written a book which the Guardian credits as one of the influences on the movie "The Matrix:Revolutions" (which I have not seen, if you were wondering), wrote an opinion piece in yesterday's Guardian which puts forward the idea that everyone needs to learn to program their computer. I am of the opinion he is seriously misguided, but take a read for yourself.

I am not suggesting that people shouldn't learn to program computers, but in my opinion now is not the time. So long as each individual piece is controlled by corporations, as opposed to being free to the public (and I mean the whole public, not just a select group of geeks who change things on a whim), there is no imperative to leave things the same. Every language I have worked with since I got into computers has changed, most of them dramatically. There are six variants of most of the popular languages, none of which will play nice together, and most of the really good languages require you understand the hardware the program is running on - a truly futile effort given that hardware changes almost daily.

For those of you who know what I'm talking about, take assembly - I learned 8 bit code, less than ten years ago. Since then there has been 16bit, 32bit, and the new windows will be 64 bit. And don't forget MMX, AMD's proprietary code, and a couple other advanced sets. And that doesn't include the hyper-advanced video cards.

I do think people should be able to make their computer work for them. But I think that means there needs to be a new 4th generation language which includes the basics, is easy to understand, works across platforms, and doesn't try to be something it's not (Java was supposed to be that language, before Sun decided to try and take over the operating system world with it - another example of the problems of corporate control).

And in the end, honestly, I don't see the need for everyone to make their computer sit up and dance. Simply getting things (real things - work things) done in a more efficient manner should be enough for anyone.
:: David (04:48 in Michigan, 10:48 in Paris)
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:: Thursday, November 6 2003 ::

BBC: "The US president deplores the 'freedom deficit' in the Middle East and says the US must remain focused on the region." A 'freedom deficit'? Who the hell elected this guy?!?
:: David (11:59 in Michigan, 17:59 in Paris)
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:: Wednesday, November 5 2003 ::

Well, the sun has set here in Paris, and what a sunset it was! I love living on the top floor of a (fairly) tall building! The stairs are almost paid for by the view!
:: David (11:21 in Michigan, 17:21 in Paris)
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I am currently doing some work on a magazine called L'Histoire (history) which has a number of articles on Islamic Radicalism. The page is both a chance for me to work on translating French to English, and a chance to fiddle with different HTML layouts and such. If you'd like to take a peek at my progress the page is on the web, and will be updated as I go along.
:: David (10:53 in Michigan, 16:53 in Paris)
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I've been experimenting with cascading style sheets today, in an attempt to make the pictures I put on this page flow a little better. I'll let you know how it works sometime soon.
:: David (09:53 in Michigan, 15:53 in Paris)
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I am sad to report that Vanilla Coke, which I had hoped would taste better in Europe than in the US (because coke in Europe is so much better than coke in the US), does not. It still tastes like licking the bottom of someone's shoe after they walk through a puddle of syrup.
:: David (09:52 in Michigan, 15:52 in Paris)
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Apropo of Tuesday's entry on the Aurora Borealis, the BBC reported today that the sun has just had the largest storm since measurement of the storms started - a storm so large the equipment couldn't measure it. We'll see if any satellites go out. In the meantime, I'm still hoping to see some Northern Lights here in Paris!
:: David (06:51 in Michigan, 12:51 in Paris)
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So I had a passing curiousity this morning, concerning which was healthier - Nutella (hazelnut and chocolate spread) or peanut butter. There is no question which one I would choose, regardless - Nutella just tastes so damned good - but since it is in large part simply ground nuts (hazelnuts instead of peanuts) I wondered if it might be comparable to peanut butter. So I went hunting for nutrition information online. I used dietfacts.com for the nutella - they have scanned a nutrition information label, and I used jif.com for the peanut butter (skippy didn't have their labels online. Bad skippy!) Interestingly, although both of them state their serving size is two tablespoons, one of them uses larger tablespoons. So I converted: 541 calories per 100 grams for nutella, 594 calories per 100 grams for jif. Nutella has a lot more carbohydrates (sugar, actually), but it also has calcium and a whole lot less sodium. So there you go - start your morning right, with yummy chocolate hazelnut spread!
:: David (06:46 in Michigan, 12:46 in Paris)
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:: Tuesday, November 4 2003 ::

With the recent increase in solar activity, it may be possible to see the aurora borealis in some pretty southerly places (like, hopefully, France). If you're wondering if you might see some northern lights where you are, Space.com has a Aurora map which can show you the level of energy in your part of the sky. Of course, if it stays cloudy here today, we're not going to see anything (except the Eiffel Tower, doing its thing)!
:: David (05:31 in Michigan, 11:31 in Paris)
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:: Monday, November 3 2003 ::

Added some photos from the Musée D'Orsay, including a fun photo which I feel highlights some differences in education between the French and their American counterparts.
:: David (06:54 in Michigan, 12:54 in Paris)
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Domestic investors in China will now have the opportunity to buy shares in the Three Gorges Dam. As the BBC notes:

Mention the Three Gorges Dam and most people will think of the relocation of 600,000 people whose homes have been inundated by the rising waters.

The project has also been plagued by fears of an environmental disaster, corruption and concerns about building standards.

When I was there two years ago the water had not risen very much, but marks along the hillsides showed where the water would rise to. Entire cities had been moved up the hill to avoid the predicted water rise. Fears about the dam include the fact that it will overlook a large metropolitan area (I believe three million people) and will block up a major artery of chinese shipping (there are, of course, locks, but the fear is that siltation at the dam will stop the larger boats from going through). As the BBC article notes, "some analysts are warning that [...] it is not necessarily a safe long-term investment." Especially if the dam breaks. Scary!

I have a number of photos from my trip to the three gorges.
:: David (04:48 in Michigan, 10:48 in Paris)
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:: Sunday, November 2 2003 ::

While I was typing, the ceremony completed, and Gene Robinson is now a bishop.
:: David (18:08 in Michigan, 00:08 in Paris)
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Free museum day! Woo hoo! We went to the musée d'orsay and wandered among the art for a while, then slipped over to Sainte Chapelle to take a quick look around. It's an amazing little church - I think originally it was stained glass from floor to ceiling on three sides - now they only go from the top to about six feet above the floor, which is still pretty amazing. The glass tells pretty much every story in the bible. It was a good little wander.
:: David (18:07 in Michigan, 00:07 in Paris)
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MSNBC had the ordination of Gene Robinson on live video, so Sasha and I watched for a bit. It's actually still occurring as I type this, but the important bit, the first question where they ask him if he's been called, has passed, so unless something amazingly unforeseen happens, he'll become the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopalian/Anglican church. Good for him! The speech given by (I believe a fellow bishop or archbishop, someone who knew him well) included a comment about how in the last century a bishop had stated something like "if the bible doesn't support slavery, than reason has slipped its moorings" or something like that. It was well done - he drew excellent parallels.
:: David (18:02 in Michigan, 00:02 in Paris)
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