Formula 1 in INSA

I took this picture on the 6th of April, when the F1 news was all abuzz. These two machines were going around in a "circuit" to cut the grass...and somehow I thought that it was rather like they were racing. Which was why I took a photo... :P


This was taken from my research lab...and the building opposite is GE.

Cloning is so easy with technology

As is common, once I posted up a riddle I found something else to post.

Have you heard of Sam Tsui? I discovered a video of him singing Glee Journey's Don't Stop Believing (a song I knew though I never knew who sang it) -



- and which led me to discover a superbly done video of a Michael Jackson medley.



Kurt Schneider should be credited as well, for the music and videos!

They also did a College Musical (I haven't finished watching it yet) and loads of other covers of popular songs.

Edit: Oops, just discovered that Glee is a TV show (don't quite know the details) and not a singer :P

Most people love me...

I’m a girl's name
sometimes you break me
sometimes you chew
I’m sour
I’m salty
yet also bad for you
but most people love me
they truly do

What am I?

Answer below.
















ANSWER: Candy

A random message to someone out there

When I said "don't leave without saying a word", you said "of course not! What's more, there's still plenty of time". But in the end, you still did.

Maybe I am the one who feels that it is pointless to speak empty words. Or did you mean them when you said them, and then forget them later?

We might not meet again, but you were always friendly, for which I thank you. Somehow I had always known that you were fickle, but I guess that is just the way it is.

Of growing up without realising it

I underestimate myself sometimes. I have had several occasions to notice this.

For example, I underestimate my strength. Several times already, I have hit or moved something too hard, harder than was necessary.

Now I wonder whether I underestimate my pain tolerance as well. And that could be dangerous. Because, as Doraemon says, pain is good. Without pain, you could die without knowing it.

Like when my whole arm was anaesthesized, I wouldn't even have known if someone chopped it off. Scary.

I think this underestimating comes partly from my complete lack of strength and total intolerance for pain when I was small. Knowing that you were somewhat inferior while growing up, somehow you just never expect it to change. For how do you quantify this kind of thing? How do you know whether you have improved? There are no results to show.

An accidental experiment

I read somewhere before that fingernails grow more quickly on the hand you use. (like if you're right-handed, those on your right hand grow more quickly) And that the one on the ring finger grows faster than the others, something that has always struck me, even when I was small. (I can't remember whether they gave a reason for this, though)

Now I have an "experiment" that proves this.

Exactly one week ago, I underwent an operation that rendered my left middle finger completely useless. (don't ask here, I will most probably post the whole story when the whole thing is over and done with, but as of now, if you want to know it will have to be through a personal chat) Not only useless, but needing constant vigilance (Mad-Eye Moody? :P ) to keep it away from any harm (brutal or not-so-brutal impacts (chocs is the word my French-tuned brain supplied me))

As a result, I spent the whole week doing most things with my right hand, and when I had to use my left hand it was only the thumb and the index finger (and rarely, but very very rarely, the other two fingers)

I had cut my fingernails one or two days before the operation, and now the ones on my right hand are definitely longer than a "normal" week's worth (unsurprisingly, since they have kind of taken over the left hand's workload...let's say they're working like 150% now?)

And my left thumb and index finger have rather "normal-length" fingernails, while the last two fingernails look like I just trimmed them one or two days ago. (don't ask about the middle finger, I don't care to look)

(I tried taking photos of my fingernails, but they came out really bad, so I guess I won't post them after all...)

Have a chicken panini

There are goodness knows how many pizza delivery shops in Lyon. Every once in a while, I will receive a publicity flyer in my mailbox. These flyers are all the same, essentially: there will be a list of the pizzas' names with the ingredients for their topping listed. And then there will be a section called Tex-Mex, which is all the fried/breaded stuff: chicken wings (okay, these are roasted :P ), nuggets, potato wedges... Then there are burgers, kebabs, or paninis, or some of the three. There will also be salads, and a list of desserts that will always contain brownies and ice-cream, with the ice-cream always being the Haagen-Dazs kind (or Ben and Jerry's, that I have never tried before, but that everyone says is good) And oh yeah, the photo of the brownie ALWAYS looks the same. I haven't seen the real thing before, so I wouldn't know whether it really is the same type of brownie for each shop. But I wouldn't be surprised if all the brownies came from the same supplier...

A lot of these pizza places are halal, which usually means that they're set up by foreigners. That might be why we often see mistakes on the flyers...though I wouldn't put it past the French to make some of the same mistakes...

And why am I writing about this now? It is because one of the items on the flyer I just received is a chicken panini. And the ingredients include smoked turkey, but no chicken.

See the menu for yourself:

Sorry, the pizza names are all cut off, but that isn't the most important thing, so I didn't scan it again.

and the famous chicken-free chicken panini :P
(click on the pictures to enlarge)

-Hey, get something for me, anything but chicken.
-Here, have a chicken panini.
-But I said I didn't want chicken!
-I know, I didn't get you chicken.
-But you got me a chicken panini.
-But there's no chicken inside!
-Oh.....really?

Oh well. I was going to stop at the first two lines of conversation...then somehow I continued it. Maybe I shouldn't have...this kind of joke has sure been done before.

(This post was written several months ago...it has been waiting to be typed out, something which became a victim of the procrastination devil)

The ancient imperial language of China

Daphne shared an e-mail she got about bananas.

Ancient Imperial Language of China - 2,000 Years Ago.


If you're a HOKKIEN Take Note !!

Ancient Imperial Language of China – 2,000 Years Ago

How Did it Sound Like? (Mind you, it's no way similar to Mandarin)
Has this Ancient Language Survived?
Who Speaks it Today?

You'll be Surprised. You have heard it. You, your parents, or grandparents may still be speaking this ancient, archaic language!

Yes, it's HOKKIEN (Fujian/Minnan Hua)



Hokkien is:

1. The surviving language of the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD), China 's Golden Age of Culture.

Note: The Hokkien we hear today may have "evolved" from its original form 2,000 years ago, but it still retains the main elements of the Tang Dynasty Language.

2. Hokkiens are the surviving descendants of the Tang Dynasty -- When the Tang Dynasty collapsed, the people of the Tang Dynasty fled South and sought refuge in the Hokkien ( Fujian ) province. Hence, Hokkien called themselves Tng-lang (Tang Ren or People of the Tang Dynasty) instead of Hua Lang (Hua Ren).

3. Hokkien has 8 tones instead of Mandarin's 4. Linguists claim that ancient languages tend to have more complex tones.

4. Hokkien retains the ancient Chinese pronunciation of "K-sounding" endings (for in stance, Hak Seng (student), Tua Ok (university), Thak Chek (read a book/study) -- the "k" sounding ending is not found in Mandarin.

5. The collection of the famous "Three Hundred Tang Dynasty Poems" sound better when recited in Hokkien/Teochew if compared to Mandarin.

6. Consider this for a moment: Today, the Hokkien Nam Yim Ochestral performance still has its roots in ancient Tang dynasty music. Here's the proof: The formation of today Nam Yim ensemble is typically seen in ancient Tang dynasty paintings of musicians.


More Astonishingly:

Although not genetically-related, Hokkiens, Koreans and Japanese share many similar words (which are different from Mandarin).

That's because Hokkien was the official language of the powerful Tang Dynasty whose influence and language spread to Japan and Korea (just like Latin – where many words were borrowed by the English, French, Italian, etc). Here are just a few words in Hokkien, Korean and Japanese for your comparison (Daphne's Note: If something is missing, it's the Japanese word):


*Daphne's Note: Words are presented in this order of :-

Hokkien
Korean
Japanese


H: Sin Boon (news)
K: Sin Mun
J: Shinbun - newspaper

H: Cheng Hu (government)
K: Chong Bu
J:

Pang (room)
Pang


Chhia (car/vehicle)
Ch'a


Mui/M'ng (door)
Mun


P'hio (ticket)
P'yo


Eng Wan (eternal)
Yong Won


Chaek (book)
Ch'ae


Ki (flag)
Ki
Ki

Kang river)
Gang/kang


Poh Hiam (insurance)
Poh Ham


Sio Sim (caution)
Cho sim


Mo Kui (demon)
Ma gui


Cham (attend/join/mix)
Ch'am sok


Kantan (simple)
Gan Dan


Sin Sei Kai (new world)
Shin Sae Gae


Kok Ka (nation)
Kuk Kka


Hya (elder brother)
Hyaeng


Choon Pi (prepare)
Jun Bi


Si Kan (time)
Si Kan


Kam tong (emotion, feeling)
Kam Jong
Kanjoo

Kamsia (gratitude, thanks)
Kam Sa
Kansha

Keat Hoon (marriage)
Kyol Hon
Kekkon

Oon Tong (exercise)
Un Dong
Undoo

Tua Ok (university)
Tae Hak
Daigaku

Aun Chuan (safety)
An Jon
An Zen

Mua Chiok(satisfaction)
Man Jok
Manzoku

Ai Lang (lover)
Ae In
Aijin

Seng Kong (success)
Song Kong
Seikoo

Chhiu Sat (suicide)
Cha sal
Jisatsu

Pu Do (grapes)
P'o d'o
Budoo

Chin Por (progress)
Chin bo
Shinpo



To all 49 Million Hokkien Speakers:

Be Proud of Your Ancient Hokkien Heritage & Language! Speak it Loud and Clear. Teach Your Future Generation this Imperial Language, Less it Fades Away. Be Proud Children of the Tang Emperors.

To all Mandarin-speaking friends out there -- do not look down on your other Chinese friends who do not speak Mandarin – whom you guys fondly refer to as "Bananas". In fact, they are speaking a language which is much more ancient & linguistically complicated than Mandarin.

Keep in mind that Mandarin is just:

1. A Northern Chinese dialect (heavily influenced by non Han Chinese) that was elevated to the status of National Language by Sun Yat Sen for the sake of China’s national unity.

2. Mandarin was never spoken by your proud, imperial Tang Dynasty ancestors. It was probably spoken by the Northern (Non-Han) Jurchen, Mongols and Manchu minority. Start speaking the language of your ancestors today.

I think that the person who wrote this was one sore Hokkien who got called "banana" a bit too often. But I feel that he was too eager to elevate Hokkien and put Mandarin down... Calling someone "banana" has no raison d'être (reason to exist, literally), it is as simple as that. Whatever language they might or might not speak.

Anyway, that was interesting to know. (hopefully there's no fake info in there...)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, and while I'm sharing something...here's a little grammar tip from NCIS' Ducky:

Always use whom after a preposition.

It's for you, WW ;)

From here.

A pirate's music

I already shared some of Renan Luce's songs.

Now here are a few other nice French songs I often hear on the radio.

Here's Ensemble (Together) by Coeur de Pirate (the literal translation being "pirate's heart")



That wasn't the first song of hers that caught my attention...the first one was Pour un infidèle (for an unfaithful), a duet with Julien Doré.

Then there is Comme des enfants (like children) which is nice as well.

Her songs are rather short...but pretty sweet ^_^

And I can't believe I'm saying this...but I rather like her voice! (I seldom notice voices more than the music itself...so that it saying something! lol)

And here's C'est la vie (It's life) by Fabrice Mauss. This is the only song of his that I've noticed...I kinda like the "peaceful" music...

Party in the park

Last Sunday we went for a picnic at the parc de la Tête d'Or.

I brought my camera with me...and finally got some lovely photos of the lake in the park. (each time before this, I either didn't have my camera with me or the lake wasn't looking that pretty...or else I didn't go near the lake :P)

the island in the middle of the lake

Is that Cité Internationale?

Then we sat down, ate a bit, and played cards.


We played a game called Captain Ball that Yik Wen taught us...I guess it can be described as handball, with the "goal" being a person standing at a fixed spot. If that person catches the ball, the team scores. I didn't think I knew the game at first...but in the end they mentioned that the game was usually played with the "goal" person standing on a chair...and suddenly I seem to have a slight recollection of having played it before. But it's all very fuzzy...I can't be sure.

Anyway, I don't have photos of the game...'cos we were all running around a lot (except those who played "goal", and that definitely wasn't me 'cos I'm too short) and getting really tired. Then as we were resting, I shepherded them together for a group photo :P

left to right: Fadhil, Yik Wen, Denis, David, Dinie (wow, 3 D's in a row! lol), Wenshao and Thaïs
sitting: Mah

See the red ball at David's foot? Yik Wen threw the ball just as I was taking the photo. So it was actually still in the air in the pic...falling down.

changing photographers

playing monkey, since we had run out of games to play

I was actually a "monkey" at that time...though I couldn't be bothered trying to get the ball :P A few of us were just throwing the ball around (since we were too tired to continue playing Captain Ball), then Denis and another guy (I can't remember who) came to try and take the ball. So those two became the monkeys...until I missed the ball and the other guy took my place. But I was too lazy to run around chasing the ball...so Denis was left as the only monkey :P

As I told them, I'm a passive monkey...or a contented one, depending on how you look at it. (contented as in wanting to stay a monkey :P )

Job vacancy

If I want to keep my middle finger straight, I cannot wash my clothes by hand.

I cannot even wash rice.

I cannot wash my hair properly.

I cannot mop the floor because I can't wring the mop.

...



I need a maid.

Rrrrrrrrr...

For some reason I found myself thinking of the R sound. The French R sound that I never manage to make.

Anyway, it has been some time since I have come to the conclusion that the English R (the same one the Malaysians use) is too light for the French to perceive. That is why sometimes they hear it as an L instead. There was even one of my teachers in Angoulême who rolled his R's so much, his L sounded like our R. (he was a Romanian, by the way)

But the Spanish have both R's, ours and the French one. So when there is a single R in a word, I'm fine...but when there's a double R...oops, I'm not gonna get it right. :/

Then there is also the N at the end of my name that they don't seem to hear when I pronounce it normally. When I give my name, nine times out of ten they will repeat it without the N at the end. And it sounds so awful I don't even want to write it here. Fortunately they usually come around and pronounce it correctly after they see it written down (or after I stress it several times...though sometimes my "stress" on the N doesn't seem to be enough and I give up after repeating my names a few times -_- )

But it isn't just the French...when I was doing my summer class during my first year in INSA, I was in a class with a lot of foreigners...and once an Estonian was telling a Spanish guy that he wasn't pronouncing my name correctly. At first I didn't know they were talking about that...I remember we were walking somewhere and those two were in front of me...then suddenly the Spanish guy turned around and said my name. So I responded "yes?" ("oui", actually), and then those two started arguing, with the Estonian girl telling him that it was "Wee Pin" (stressing the N), and him saying "She replied 'yes'!" It was then that I realised what those two were talking about. lol (oh, by the way, I assure you that the Spanish guy said my name correctly)

I guess that's why Geneviève in Angoulême used to say my name with the N sticking in the air for a good second... :P

So, in conclusion: you French have awful ears!! The Spanish are better. lol
(just kidding...generalisations are always a joke anyway. And as I've said in this post, there are several nationalities involved ;) )

Sweater search

Last night while going for badminton, I saw a guy walking towards me (going in the opposite direction, I mean, not towards me) wearing a black sweater with a sort of diamond-checkered pattern going down one side of it (one side as in one side of the front, and not the side of the sweater, get it? (okay, I know, I'm so bad at descriptions))

Anyway, that sweater was awfully familiar...I knew that someone I knew had the exact same sweater. I knew that I had seen it rather often...I had the feeling that it was someone in GE, but I couldn't think of who!

I was racking my brains over it for a while...then forgot about it while playing. Then this morning I thought about it again...and I came to a decision: I would check out the photos on Facebook for the person wearing the sweater. I had an idea of who it could be...but it turned out that I was wrong...though my guess was pretty close 'cos it turned out to be his roommate. lol (sorry Julien, I think I was convinced it wasn't you 'cos I thought I'd have remembered :P )

Anyway, here's the "proof" I found:

See the guy at the back doing the V sign? That's the sweater...

It's unfortunate that the photo is in black-and-white...but hey, there's nothing I can do about it if the person who posted it didn't want it in colour...

Who says Facebook isn't useful? lol

Edit (more than a month later) :
I just saw another photo, with his roommate wearing that sweater instead. What...do you guys share sweaters or something? lol

Don't tell me

I don't want to know. I want to stay in this blissful ignorance. I want to keep this shred of optimism. I want to believe that "Everything will be fine".


Too late now.

Awwww.....

This is just so cute!!! Stealthy cat dresses like a pig.


So fluffy white...someone get me that pig costume and stuff it with cotton so that it becomes a pig plush toy!

Got one curly tail some more... ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

And the cat is cute too!

Fire! Fire!

My two previous posts were written from work, hence the lousy formatting. And I'm too lazy to correct them...it's just text anyway.

To continue from the previous one, the fire alarm really went off today. I think there was a false alarm (haha, pun) earlier (I mean a short one like I said in the previous post), and a bit before 5pm, the "long" alarm went off. A girl in my office/lab was just about to leave, so she just left with her bag...while the others left to go downstairs (out of the building, as we're supposed to when we hear the fire alarm) I was going to follow them...then I decided to put off what I was doing till the next day and leave instead. So I started closing down everything to switch off the computer...and then the guys came back; they didn't evacuate the building after all. And a little later, the fire alarm stopped. But I decided to leave anyway...at least I won't regret staying if the alarm goes off again!

I thought I was done with fake fire alarms the moment I moved out of Résidence A at the end of my first year. -_-

Alarme d'incendie HS

Bonjour a tous,
Le systeme d'alarme incendie du batiment 502 est HS.
Les portes coupe feu ne serons donc pas en etat de rester ouvertes tant
que l'alarme n'a pas ete reparee.
Rappel : il est interdit de bloquer les portes en position ouvertes meme
dans ce cas.
En cas de départ de feu actionner le coup de poing d'arrêt
d'urgence qui se trouve
au niveau de la centrale incendie dans les hall du rez de
chaussée du bât. 501/502.
Cote nord a droite de la sortie donnant sur le parking de GE.
Je vous tiendrais au courant de l'evolution des travaux de depannage.
Merci de votre attention

----------------------------------

So goes the e-mail I just received.

Yesterday the fire alarm went off no less than 3 times, thankfully only
for a few seconds before it cut off each time. So that's what they mean by
it being HS?

And so that's why all the swinging doors are closed...

(HS = hors service = out of order)

The truth about segmentation

There is this ITK "getting started" presentation with some interesting
chapters.

One is called "Mummifying the buffer (preserving the data buffer for the
afterlife)", right after "providing the buffer (impersonating the data
buffer)".

Then they give you the ultimate truth: Segmentations are like pancakes.

And how do you apply this ultimate truth?

1. Take any statement about segmentation
2. Replace the word "segmentation"with "pancake"
3. If the resulting statement doesn't make sense
for pancakes it probably doesn't make sense
for segmentations either.

Hmm...how profound. I will try that next time. :P

(ITK is a segmentation and registration toolkit for image processing...that
I am supposed to be using during my internship. But...I guess that'll have
to wait till I get the hang of it...)

This gift

There are people who have this gift, of managing to fit into a group of people they previously did not know, but who already knew each other before they arrived.

I do not have this gift.

Which is why it sometimes dictates my actions. So the next time you wonder, maybe you will think of this.

Of misfortunes raining down

And leading to injured hands.

Two weeks ago I hurt my left middle finger by crushing it in my cupboard door (you can only understand how if you know how my cupboard door is, and how I usually close it :P ) It was oh so super-duper painful that for a while I was convinced that I had broken or dislocated my finger joint. Then I "tested" it and I could move it pretty much okay...except that it was swollen, like a usual bump...just worse 'cos it was on the finger and the blood couldn't exactly spread out, I guess. I iced it (first time I used ice on an injury, by the way), and then waited to see how it would turn out...

I hurt it during the weekend, so on Monday I went to the INSA nurse to ask whether it was serious enough to warrant a visit to the doctor. Much to my relief, she told me that I just had to wait it out. She even asked me whether I had iced it, to which I was glad I was able to give a positive reply :P She even offered to exempt me from sport if I was doing volleyball or something like that.

Anyway...it has been more than two weeks now, and the swelling has gone down, the bruise has disappeared as well. But...I cannot straighten my finger normally :s It remains in a slightly crooked position and it only straightens completely if I do it (that joint, I mean) with my other hand. And it's like a spring that bounces back -_- Also, the joint is a lot less flexible... (there is a big difference if I compare it with my other hand)

And...that not having healed yet (not completely, but at least it functions normally now), yesterday I went to play squash and I managed to scrape my hand on something. And draw blood. It must have happened while I was playing, but I didn't notice it until I was standing outside the court watching Dinie and Fadhil play. I was just suddenly aware of a stinging sensation on the back of my hand, and when I looked, there was blood. Already clotted. (at least I heal quickly :P )

Since it's the right hand this time, it means both my hands are "injured". How wonderful. (nothing serious, it was just two tiny scrapes ;) )

Oh yeah, and while playing badminton on Friday I managed to whack myself on that same injured left middle finger. But on the uninjured joint. How ironical. Not content with having a stiff joint, I attempt to put the other joint out of order. Actually I should have whacked the injured one...might have loosened it a bit -_-

In short, I hate how this joint isn't working properly. It even interferes with my typing because I don't dare to use that finger too much (it still hurts when I apply pressure on it, though less than initially)

But hey, I'm tough. I shall get through this with nary a scratch. (um...NOT literally. lol)

No adaptations

For once, I followed a recipe entirely, without omitting a single ingredient. (okay, maybe not "for once", but it certainly is rare :P )

I wanted to finish my pesto sauce, and an internet search gave me this recipe.

pesto pork chop with pasta

I never know what different parts of animals are (besides the really simple ones, like pork ribs...haha) I don't even know whether "chop" refers to a part of the animal in particular, or just any part that has been "chopped up". :P But this part that I bought was good ^_^

Since I don't like complicated instructions (that are hard to remember), and links don't always keep working (like I mentioned once before, I've forgotten when), here's a summary of the recipe: Coat the pork chop lightly (really lightly, they say "shake off the excess") in flour (mixed with salt and pepper), then brown both sides in the pan (sprayed with olive oil). Then spread the pesto sauce on the chop and cover the pan. Leave till cooked. (the sauce supposedly keeps the meat from drying up)

Some comments on that recipe suggested stuffing thicker chops with the pesto sauce. Well, why not? ^_^

Edit: Alvin L said that the sauce looks like some greenish slime :P I guess it's true in a way...lol

One of marriage's unwritten rules

Just read The School for Husbands by Wendy Holden. It was rather enjoyable, even though I didn't expect the storyline to turn out that way.

The book is about a husband who works late and doesn't help his wife out with housework or their child. So when the wife thinks that he's having an affair, she leaves for her parents' home. And the husband enrols in a "school for husbands"...

I was kinda disappointed that the actual "school" didn't start until halfway through the book...there was too much stuff about how the marriage went through problems. But maybe it's because I was pretty eager to find out how the school was :P

And that part was the most enjoyable. Amongst others, one of the "practical training" sessions was to go out and say "I love you" to everyone they meet, to get them in a "verbal emotional release situation". And we also learn about the Dental Preparation Packaging Disorder and the Retail Environment Temporary Personnel Loss (otherwise known as "Husbands Buggering Off In Tesco").

Also disappointing was that the school didn't really help much. I was expecting the husband to come back and charm his wife, but he didn't really need to...well, I'll stop there so as not to give out too much information.

About the title. This is the rule: Many women do not routinely order fries, but they routinely expect to be able to help themselves to their husbands'. That is so true for me. lol (or should I say "will be"? :P )

A lesson on value

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special - Don't ever forget it!

From here, like those a few posts back.

April Fool!

For the past two years already (or three, but I think it was two), someone has been playing the same April Fool joke in my residence. That person would stick a piece of paper on the lift doors saying "en panne" (out of order). And those trusting people would take the stairs instead...like I did the first time that happened.

That first time, I realised it was a joke when I came home and noticed that there was no sign downstairs (which points to the perpetrator residing on my floor), and that the lift worked fine. This year there was a sign downstairs as well (I can't remember about last year), I guess that fellow has refined his joke :P

Another thing that shows that he/she has been refining the joke is that inside the lift this year, there were no less than FOUR pieces of paper with a fish drawn on it and "poisson d'avril" written on it (April Fool in France is called poisson d'avril which literally means April fish; I'm not interested in explaining now) Last year there were definitely not that many "fish"...and that first year I don't remember seeing any...though maybe it was because I had been fooled in the morning (in my defense, I was leaving for class early in the morning, so whaddaya expect? You think I remember the date upon waking up every day? lol) And when I came back at lunchtime the papers might have been cleared away...

Then at work I came across another April Fool joke. In the lab, we receive a lot of e-mails (some that concern us, plenty that don't :P ) We received this one this morning:

Bonjour,
Suite à la propagation d'un logiciel* sans certificat, vous êtes priés de rapporter à Pierre X, pour contrôle, tous vos disques amovibles et autres clés USB. Les disques durs des machines connectées au réseau pourront être contrôlées à distance.
Bonne journée**

And lower down, at the end of the e-mail:

* ce logiciel s'appelle CreaTools et gare à vous si vous ne l'utilisez pas !
** regardez la date :)

In short, the e-mail was telling us that we had to take our external hard disks or thumb drives to Pierre, the computer guy (I don't know what his job title is, but he's the one who set up my computer when I arrived :P ) in the lab for an inspection, because of an uncertified program circulating in the lab. And the "two-star" note says simply "look at the date". Haha...

Now I know how to deal with these pests...

Another story from the same site, though not the same page.

If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten or twelve feet. Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A Bumblebee if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat and the bee. They are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations, not realizing that the answer is right there above them.

Don't we all?

I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come
from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work.
Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would
consider a bum.
From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no
money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times
that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "don't
want to be bothered times."
"I hope he doesn't ask me for any money," I thought.
He didn't.
He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn't look
like he could have enough money to even ride the bus.
After a few minutes he spoke.
"That's a very pretty car," he said.
He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly
blond beard keep more than his face warm.
I said, "thanks," and continued wiping off my car.


He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never
came.
As the silence between us widened something inside said, "ask him if
he needs any help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true
to the inner voice.
"Do you need any help?" I asked.
He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget.
We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from
those of higher learning and accomplishments.

I expected nothing but an
outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me.
"Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum
in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge
shotgun.
Don't we all?
I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I
needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus
fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those
three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter
how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you
have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or
a place to sleep, you can give help.

Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that.
You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all.
They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different
perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from
daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see.
Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe
he was more than that.

Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and
wise, to minister to a soul too comfortable in themselves.

Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum, then said, "go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help."
Don't we all?

From here. Thanks to Lai Shin for introducing me to this website!