Restos du Coeur

On the initiative of Peter, I, too, will participate in this chain of solidarity.

This is to help the “Restos du Coeur” (“Restaurants of the Heart”) - founded by the comedian Coluche in 1985 - of which the main activity is to distribute food packages and hot meals, a place to sleep... to the needy (some 800.000 people assisted each year). Sponsored by Carrefour and Danone, and by writing a few words like this, 10 meals will be offered. (You must send a link to: hub@lanetscouade.com).

By suggesting other bloggers to do the same thing, 10 multiplied by... additional meals will be offered. I ask all of you who would like to help, to continue the chain. I suggest also that you all visit this page and this page (in French).

À la prochaine, mes amis

RIP Little Mouse

I am sad to report that our little mouse is dead. Apparently, he never got out of the car. We entered the car a few days ago and it smelled really terrible. We immediately assumed it was the poor little mouse, and upon searching between the seats, found his body. I'm not the sentimental type, but I'm really sorry he died.

We were shopping at our local market the other day, when I saw some acorn squash. I've been curious about it for some time, and finally decided to buy one (one could easily feed four). I've never had it before and wasn't sure what to expect, but thought it would be different than the regular yellow squash we usually get. It takes over and hour to bake it and it tastes very similar to the regular squash. I'm not sure it's really worth the effort. It's easy enough to prepare, once you manage to cut it in half, but an hour to bake is a bit much.

Food Stamps Create Jobs… in India!

I've never seen a branch curl up like this one.

Priceless

How long till we wipe out HIV for good?

It’s Official: Google Can Sell Power Like a Utility. Read More.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.

À la prochaine, mes amis

Mouse Emergency

David Hallyday (Johnny's Son) - Tu Ne M'as Pas Laissé Le Temps

The Mouse Saga continues. I walked into the kitchen one day and found him (I hope it's a 'him') on the counter, so I'm now certain it is a mouse and not a rat. We bought a mouse trap; the kind that captures them but doesn't kill them. I followed the instructions and put some peanut butter in it and set it out where I figured he'd be running. After a couple of days, he was still running free, so I assumed he didn't like peanut butter. I cleaned out the trap and put in a small piece of cheese and a piece of a raisin cookie. Still, he would not enter the trap. Robb suggested I put it on the counter since there was all kind of evidence that was where he roamed. I did, and within hours he was trapped. This is where you'll probably roll on the floor laughing. I carried the trap down to the car to take him to his new home near a barbeque place. Well, I though at least he'd have a lot of stuff to eat there. As I was getting into the car, I dropped the trap and he came flying out. I have no idea if he is still in the car, or if he ran out the open door. I came back to the apartment. A few minutes later, one of the other residents knocked and told me that my car alarm was going off. I went down and tried to shut it off. Half an hour or so later, the same guy knocked and told me it was still going off. I went back down and found what I thought was the "off" button. Then I tried to find the manual. It was not in the car, so I had to trudge up to the apartment, where I found it in one of the bookcases. According to the manual, I pushed the correct button to turn off the alarm, and apparently it worked because no one came to complain about it after that. But I noticed in the manual that the alarm can be triggered by movement in the car. You don't think.....

This is so unique, so fantastic, so ingenious, you may not believe it's real!

Emergency: The Emergency Number worldwide for cell phones is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.

Hey, look people, more change we can believe in: FBI wants records kept of Web sites visited.

Isn't it great to live in a country where "doing the right thing" is a valued virtue? Nurse to Stand Trial for Reporting Doctor

**********************

Bill worked in a pickle factory.. He had been employed there for a number of years when he came home one day to confess to his wife that he had a terrible compulsion. He had an urge to stick his penis into the pickle slicer.

His wife suggested that he should see a sex therapist to talk about it, but Bill said he would be too embarrassed. He vowed to overcome the compulsion on his own.

One day a few weeks later, Bill came home and his wife could see at once that something was seriously wrong. 'What's wrong, Bill?' she asked.

'Do you remember that I told you how I had this tremendous urge to put my penis into the pickle slicer?'

'Oh, Bill, you didn't' she exclaimed.

'Yes, I did.' he replied.

'My God, Bill, what happened?'

'I got fired.'

'No, Bill. I mean, what happened with the pickle slicer?'

'Oh...she got fired too.'

The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer. So did the first 'Marlboro Man'.

À la prochaine, mes amis

Feel Good Plan B

Another feel good moment that might not have happened according to Geoff. At the time he owned a club in Antwerp, the city government tried to have the station torn down. Geoff, and several thousand others, signed a petition in opposition to the government. They won, thankfully, and we get to enjoy this.

More than 200 dancers were performing their version of "Do Re Mi", in the Central Station of Antwerp. with just 2 rehearsals they created this amazing stunt! Those 4 fantastic minutes were performed 23 March, 2009, at 08:00 AM. It was a promotional stunt for a Belgian television program, where they were looking for someone to play the leading role in the musical "The Sound of Music".

Our market had a sale so we bought a dozen bottles of Pinot Grigio, our favorite white wine. Well, that and Sancerre.

The other day, while I was preparing dinner, I thought I saw, out of the corner of my eye, something run along the baseboards, but I convinced myself that I was just seeing shadows. It now turns out that we have a mouse or mice. It/they, have left conclusive evidence. We actually saw a mouse running about before we left for our aborted journey last September. but when we returned, there was no sign of it and we thought it had moved on to greener pastures. Evidently not. Now we have to devise a scheme to get rid of it/them. I don't like to kill them, so we'll get one of those traps that captures them alive and then find it a new home somewhere else.

Time for Plan B. I saw it for real this time and it's much too large to be a mouse. Hmmm, maybe it's time for Rent-A-Pussy.

This is rather cool, though I have to admit, I was over it by the 1:30 mark. Science: Auto-tuned.

12 Reasons Why Gay Marriage Should Be Illegal

Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control.

Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people can’t legally get married because the world needs more children.

Obviously, gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

If gay marriage is allowed, straight marriage will be less meaningful (for instance, Britney Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage).

Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are property, blacks can’t marry whites, and divorce is illegal.

Gay marriage should be decided by people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of the minorities.

Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.

Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why single parents are forbidden to raise children.

Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven’t adapted to things like women being allowed to vote or integrated schools.

Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a “separate but equal” institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages for gays and lesbians will.

Video shows fighter jets shooting down US missionaries

One night, as a couple lays down for bed, the husband starts rubbing his wife's arm.

The wife turns over and says 'I'm sorry honey, I've got a gynecologist appointment tomorrow and I want to stay fresh.'

The husband, rejected, turns over.

A few minutes later, he rolls back over and taps his wife again. 'Do you have a dentist appointment tomorrow too?'

À la prochaine, mes amis

Stupid Wish

One of the surprises about the apartment we rented in Paris, was that there was nothing in the kitchen. That was surprising, because in every apartment we've ever rented, there was something in the cabinets; at the very least, salt and pepper. Usually, we would find coffee, tea, sugar and sometimes dry food items that had been left behind by previous renters. But this time...nothing. So, Robb bought some salt and pepper. Why is that even a topic of discussion one might ask? Well, the other night I made what I call Oriental Beef and Noodles (even though I don't use beef) and I used the pepper bought in Paris. I thought it was just regular black pepper and I didn't use very much of it. That's a good thing because this stuff is powerful hot. I had thought I might use diced tomatoes with green chilis, good thing I changed my mind about that. I like spicey food, but I detest foods that are so hot you can't taste anything and your only experience is that of burning your mouth.
I know it's difficult to tell from this picture taken from our balcon, but this is a neon martini glass. The thing is, if you're having a party and you want to invite everyone in the complex, you place this in your window and everyone knows to show up for drink, and fun. Okay, not really. I just made that up, but it's a cool idea don't you think?
The World Health Organisation and the pharmaceutical industry have been criticised for their handling of last year's swine flu pandemic. At a hearing of the Council of Europe - the European Union's human rights body - the WHO faced accusations that it exaggerated the danger of the virus under pressure from drug companies. When a pandemic was declared last June, most European countries changed their health priorities to accommodate thousands of expected patients. A number of European governments had signed contracts with the drug companies to buy back vaccines, believing a flu pandemic long predicted by health experts would be a virus-like bird flu with a very high death rate. But swine flu, it is now clear, is a mild flu with a lower mortality than seasonal influenza. The organisation denies any conflict of interest. - BBC
Obama: Stop Filling Administration with RIAA Insiders. Nearly two dozen public interest groups, trade pacts and library groups urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to quit filling his administration with insiders plucked from the Recording Industry Association of America. Read More.
Why I'd rather be punched in the testicles than call customer service.
On my Wish List:

À la prochaine, mes amis

International Idiots

I LOVE this song (please note that I DID NOT use the word 'heart'!)

I went for my semi-decade eye examination a few days ago, the last time was about ten years ago. They have a new female eye doctor at the place we usually have that done. She is very thorough. She discovered that I have a hole in my eye which could be the beginning of glaucoma, or something I've had forever. She's not sure because no one has ever examined my eyes as closely as she did. I don't know whether to be happy or devastated. As you know, glaucoma can lead to blindness if not treated soon enough. I would not like to be deaf, but I could cope with that a lot more easily than blindness. Oh, and I got new glasses since I somehow managed to lose my others.

A year, or more ago, I signed up for Comcast's paperless statements and billing. Since then, every month like clockwork, I get.....yep, you guessed it, by USPS mail each and every month, a paper bill and a notice that I've signed up for paperless billing. Can we say STUPID?
Hmm, now we understand why the US is interested in Haiti and why there are over 20,000 troops stationed there; they're certainly not there to distribute food. If they are, they're doing a really poor job, because the people that need it aren't getting it.. No, I think this is more likely: Haiti is full of oil say Daniel and Ginette Mathurin
IDIOT SIGHTING - Just in case you think Americans have it locked up - I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbour call the Highways Department to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: 'Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.' Story from Potters Bar, Herts , UK
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said , 'Where am I , Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
Church Bulletins:
Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
À la prochaine, mes amis

Wireless Pickup

We had dinner tonight at Tropics on Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors, Florida. If you like piano bars/restaurants, this is the place for you. Monday night is not karaoke night, but if you want to get up and sing, the pianist and the crowd welcomes and encourages you. Dinner was great; deep fried grouper (a southern fish) with a very good salad.


Waiting patiently for Povarello to pick up our old TV set. I tried to sell it, but I guess no one is interested in anything less than a 42-inch LCD TV. I just want to get it out of my computer room, although if I had the space I would like a TV in there.


I'm once again thinking about going wireless. I bought this Netgear router, but there were two problems. The first was that it's not compatible with a 64-bit system and I'm running the 64-bit Windows 7 OPS. The second problem was that I suddenly realized it was a Wireless G router. I really want a Wireless N router, so I'm considering these two choices. I'm leaning toward the more expensive one simply because I like the look of it better, and it isn't that much more.


The war on terror has been about scaring people, not protecting them. The ease with which the plane bomber could operate exposes the vacuity and recklessness at the heart of the US response to 9/11.


David is right, this guy is just sick.


À la prochaine, mes amis