I like French, comics, books, podcasts, (board and roleplaying) games, biking, and trains. I try to stay organized and in good (physical and mental) shape.

Moi, j'aime le français, les BD, les livres, les podcasts, les jeux (de plateau et de rôle), le cyclisme, et les trains. Je fais de mon mieux de rester organisé et en forme (physiquement et mentalement).

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Today is “change my files and folders scheme and see what software breaks” day. Grateful for here::here() so that I’m not terrified of implications for #rstats.




One of my pettiest of peeves is the conflation of the term “UFO” with “aliens” even though the entire value of the term is in acknowledging the unidentifiable without reading any more into it.




Got stitches in a pinky finger last night, and adjusting my touch typing, while annoying, has gone surprisingly smoothly. May help that I had a thumb in bandages for most of my first semester of college.




If dozens of CAPTCHAs are any indication, Google’s working hard on traffic lights, crosswalks, and fire hydrants today. So proud of all I’m contributing to AI without compensation because it’s the only way to access this site.




Was not expecting the S2 “For All Mankind” finale to influence my feelings on nuclear disarmament that much, but here we are.




I learned today that “The Handmaid’s Tale” is « La servante écarlate » in French, which provokes a lot of thoughts about translation.




Spending four figures on bike stuff and trying to remember it’s still cheaper than a second car.




I have discovered r/trains, and it is bringing joy into the chaos that is the last few weeks of the semester.




Just reread “Superman Smashes the Klan” after a day that involved checking up on Gab for research purposes, and I believe more than ever that this is one of the best and most important comics of our time. 📚




Working some this week on doubling down on RSS. Switching apps, trimming feeds, continuing to use it as my Twitter and newsletter interface, and trying to get more into Micro.blog and reddit by integrating them into my RSS “readflow”.




Five flats between two bikes in six weeks (four in the last two) can’t be a world record, but it’s a personal best that I’m not interested in beating anytime soon. Wishing the bus came closer to my house, even though that commute is even longer.




I get that people associate being tall with perks, but I’m more likely to remember things like how this “which standing desk converter is right for you?” quiz has only two options for someone over 6’1”, one of which may still be too short for me.




I never mind paying fines at a library, and I never grumble about a bill at a bike shop. Both institutions deserve all the money they can charge me.




I know that Stromae has had good reasons to be taking a break these past few years, but I can’t think of anyone better qualified to put the feel of 2020 to music, so I’m still hoping for an eventual return.




Spent a good chunk of today getting a battery replaced and some stitches removed, so if my laptop and body would agree to stay in good shape for the next while, I’d really appreciate it.




Spring and fall have the best weather in all respects except for figuring out what to wear for one’s bike commute.




A word of advice: If you’re going to fall and split your chin on a Friday morning, don’t do it by passing out first. Hard to answer doctor’s questions when you can’t remember much of what happened. 😂




Whenever I step on a scale, a voice in my head sings the numbers as though I am a radio station being advertised between songs, and my weight is the frequency. Don’t know how this started or how to make it stop.




It is only just now occurring to me to check for an emoji of the flag of La Francophonie, so I am not surprised (if still disappointed) that it does not exist.




Got on a bike today for the first time in months. COVID has shown the flipside of tying my exercise so closely to my commute.




My calendar account has started doung this neat thing where it doesn’t show all of my events on all my devices, so now whether I miss a meeting or not depends on what screen I check that morning.




There is a 1976 song by a French artist, the lyrics of which are sung from the perspective of a dolphin that is upset because children are afraid to go swimming because of the recent success of the movie Jaws. It is so weird, but I love it.




Sometimes I don’t realize how ridiculous a phrase in English is until I’ve heard its literal translation into French. The first time I heard Bugs Bunny’s catchphrase as « quoi de neuf, docteur ? », it felt like my world was being turned upside down.




Thinking about how D&D has druids, bards, and magic potions and wondering if anyone has ever done an Astérix-themed campaign (or, preferably, actual play podcast).




I hear Italian PM Giuseppe Conte’s name fairly often on Francophone radio, but I nearly always hear it first as José Piquanté and then fix it in post.


thoughts on teaching French



Missing teaching French today for a few reasons. First, my first time teaching FREN 102 began ten years ago this month 😱. Second, my kid insisted this morning on pronouncing “sept, huit” as “sept, tweet,” and even though that’s not really liaison, it’s close enough that I could have used it in a lesson. Third, this is the time of year where I could have shown Gad Elmaleh’s great “Happy new year!




TIL that Star Trek’s “warp speed” is translated as the vastly inferior “distortion” in French and that at least one French news outlet has therefore adopted the translation “Operation Lightning Speed” for the U.S. vaccine effort.




Just minutes after complaining that Harry Turtledove works so many recaps into each book of the series I’m reading, I discovered that I’d actually skipped a much earlier book. I hadn’t noticed because the recaps were so helpful in catching me up.




I recently ordered a book directly from a French publisher, and thanks to COVID, watching the FedEx tracking updates is the closest thing I’ve had (or will have) to vacation travel for a long time.




Reading about the Dreyfus Affair is spookier in December 2020 than it was back as an undergrad in French Civ II.


some COVID Thanksgiving thoughts



Weird Thanksgiving. 1st since 2008 w/o family (b/c COVID) and 1st since 2013 w/o a morning run (b/c return of chronic back issues). Still so much to be grateful for—but also conscious this year how much “being thankful” isn’t quite enough. It helps me better appreciate what I have but doesn’t change what others lack. I could stand to do better with the former, but I have much more work to do for the latter.




A year ago today, I visited a mental health therapist for the first time and immediately wished I’d done it a decade earlier. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself, and I can’t recommend the experience enough.




The artwork on the “cover” of a Kindle book has been updated since the last time I read it. It’s a relatively minor change but reminds me that you never truly own an e-book you buy from Amazon (and why I now try to buy hardcopy).




Marvel, I get that WandaVision is intended to be trippy and demonstrate Wanda’s reality warping powers, but unraveling my world by using a song that I’m only just now learning is the basis for the Skyline Chili jingle was a step too far.




This morning, I learned that my kid believes that Batman is Batgirl’s sidekick, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s now canon.




A local library offers access to a fourth-tier music streaming service with a limited collection. Don’t know why most people would bother, but me and my ultra-niche music tastes are doing great.