Day 271 : New Year

Today was the last day of the year.  We had a nice party at Samantha's house with oysters, foie gras, and lots of amazing nibbles prepared by Sami.  And thus we end 2018 and start 2019 which means we have to remember to change the year when we write checks.  It strange that so many expectations and resolutions are carried by this simple change of date.  The 31st doesn't even have any kind of theological, astronomical or climatological significance. Nothing happens on the last calendar day of the year that could warrant all this effort.  Maybe we should rethink this holiday and move it to the summer instead.  We already have xmas in December so we don't need another holiday that month.  I think the 21st of June is a better candidate.  Its the longest day of the year (ideal for partying) its hot (so we can do it outside) and it signals the transition from spring to summer, seems much more appropriate than a cold boring day in winter.

Any way Happy New Year to all my readers.  2019 will surpass your expectations especially if you have none. 

Day 270 : Flows

Dinner Menu:

Really good French restaurant in the middle of nowhere (Thanks to Samantha)

My old friend Gallya who is a Politics professor specialized in immigration is staying with us in the south west of France.  She is in the process of writing a book on migration and security and has mentioned a few times the fact that the number of people residing in a country different to their one of birth is less than 4%.  After some research on the internet it seems that less than 10 million people migrate each year (that's less than 0.1% of the world population.  In view of these numbers it seems strange that immigration has become such an issue in Europe and the United States.  The most  surprising thing is that anti-immigrant feelings are often strongest in areas with the least immigrants.  It's clear that people are not afraid of real immigrants who live next door, go to the same local school and come round to borrow bread.  They are afraid of the virtual ones who exist in their imagination.  Maybe the best way to resolve the "immigration issue" is to let more in rather than less.  Imaginary monsters are much more frightening than real ones. So lets transform our immigrants into neighbors.

Day 269: Books

In my rules post I mentioned that one of my 2 firm rules in life was to only buy books on kindle.  As all rules must have exceptions I recently bought (and just finished) the latest French Prix Goncourt in printed form.  The book is very well written (despite a slightly disappointing ending) but a lot of my pleasure was derived from the medium as well as from the content.  My position for the last 7 years (since the acquisition of my first kindle) was that the important thing in a book is the content not the form, but I now have to admit that I may have been wrong (see Fianna!).  In spite of all my efforts I cannot deny that reading in electronic form is not as satisfying as turning the pages of an actual book.  I think there is still a place for kindles when travelling or for re-reading certain books or authors but form now on I will be finding my primary reading material in bookshops once again.

Day 268: Video

This evening Samantha brought out an old home video that her brother had taken at the Millennium party 18 years ago where a lot of the people who are here this year were present at the time.  This was new to most of us and of course despite the poor quality of the film its quite fun to see people as they were in on 31st of December 1999.  However, I have no regrets that I do not have more movies from my past.  I was against taking a video of my wedding to Fianna and this confirms my decision. No video could come close to recreating the feelings and impressions I had during those two days, so why would I want to replace my memories with someone else's vision.  Memory has a life of its own and chooses to highlight or obscure different things.  Seeing a video of a memorable occasion is like seeing the film of a book you enjoyed.   It doesn't matter how good the movie is, its never going to be as good as the "film" you imagined when you read the book.  

Day 267: Meals

Dinner Menu:

• Soupe de dinde avec avocats, oeufs durs et piments
• Pain à l'ail
• Salade verte
• Fromages

As you may have noticed my meals have quite a prominent place in this blog.  I have been fortunate to have gone to a number of good restaurants in my life and to have cooked quite a few passable meals myself.  And yet when I think back to my most memorable meals, they were usually simple but enhanced by their context.  Here are my top 5:

1. Fresh bread, goat's cheese, olives and fresh tomatoes in the foothills of the Mont Ventoux in the middle of a hike with my friend Gilles
2. Saucisson, avocado and lemon in a shepherd's hut in the Pyrenees with my daughter  
3. Freshly slaughtered roast pig from the next door neighbor in a village outside Moscow with a bunch of friends invited at the last minute.
4. "Daddy's rice dish" at my great aunt's apartment in Paris, where the recipe was given to me by my uncle who had just come back to France after having raised cattle in New Caledonia.
5. Black market Caviar from the Caspian sea smuggled back to Paris and eaten by the spoon with Fianna, Sasha and Louis in our apartment in rue d'Antin.

In each of these occasions the intrinsically good food was magnified and enhanced by the setting, circumstances and people who made up the experience.  A really good sophisticated meal is enjoyed in the present, for it to last in the future there needs to be an additional ingredient which appeals to other senses and emotions.

This is why discovering an amazing meal in a small simple restaurant in the middle of nowhere will always be a more satisfying experience than dinner in a *** Michelin restaurant (however excellent it may be).

Day 266 : Surprise

Dinner Menu:

• Blanquette de veau
• Riz basmatti
• Salade verte
• Fromages

Today Gallya (my girlfriend from a long time ago) arrived with her husband and 2 children.  They will be spending the week with me here in the Gers, in addition to :

• my "current" wife
• my ex-wife
• my mother 
• her current husband
• my father
• his current wife
• my sister
• her current partner
• my half-sister
• and assorted children, nieces and nephews

Often people are surprised that my divorced parents still get on and that I still have friendly relations with my ex-wife.  But to me it is the opposite that is surprising.  I can understand that love does not always last forever but why should it turn to dislike rather than friendship?  Surely if there was love then there must have been attractive qualities on both sides? I've always felt that in some ways it should much easier to like your ex-partners once the complications of love are out of the way.  Love creates a lot of mutual expectations which can create tensions in a relationship, in its absence it  becomes easy to just be friends.

If you dislike (or sometimes even hate) someone you used to love it's as if you were rejecting a part of yourself, refusing to accept your past self as a part of who you are now.  

Day 265 : Christmas

Today was Christmas day.  In keeping with the family traditions we had a quite impressive pile of presents under the tree which were distributed in a relatively orderly fashion by Joachim.  Everybody seemed happy with their share of "treasure" and we were then able to move to brunch, afternoon walks and evening charades.  A pleasant time was had by all thanks to (or despite) nearly everybody being high on "Mexican hot chocolate".   

Day 264: Presents

In many countries there are poor deprived children who are already playing with their Xmas presents tonight.  This is true in Germany and some of the Nordic countries among others.  I would like somebody to explain to me why Father (or Mother) Christmas would deliver all the presents the day before ? In our family we have always opened presents in the morning and usually the presents would not be under the tree until the day itself.  Christmas is many things of course, family time, good meals, good will, conversations, more food, family tensions, walks, even more food and in the end good cheer for all.  But I will always remember coming downstairs in the early morning as a child in my grand-parents' house in Strasbourg and seeing the amazing pile of wrapped presents under the tree and then waiting eagerly for the grown ups to wake up.  I can not be that child again of course but I like to remember it vicariously which is why  I will remain a firm proponent of the morning event.

Merry Christmas Everyone - Mazel Tov!

Day 263: Towns

My Dad and I went to Agen today for some traditional last minute Xmas shopping.  Agen is a small town of 34,000 inhabitants in the south of France between Bordeaux and Toulouse.  This is typical Gilets Jaunes territory and we noticed quite a few cars proudly displaying fluorescent vests on their dashboards.  As we wandered around the relatively empty town centre I wondered if these small towns have a future.  If I was not living in a city Paris, Lyon, Nantes or Strasbourg I would prefer to live in a village of even in the country side rather than a small town.  Considering that you can now live in the middle of nowhere and still have access to anything you need thanks to Amazon why would you choose to live in a small town which has neither the buzz of the big city nor the absolute calm of the countryside.  I can imagine the world in 100 years being composed of concentrated mega-cities and tiny villages spread out across the land everybody connected through lightning fast internet and served by armies of self driving delivery vans.  It would be pretty cool!

Day 262 : Late

Dinner Menu (Thanks Sami)

• Poulet roti
• Pommes de terres roti
• Broccoli al dente
• Salade verte 
• Fromages
• Reste de gateau d'anniversaire de Louis

Contrary to the US Army we left a man behind today. Fianna, Zephira and I were due to meet up with Ruben at the Gare Montparnasse in order to make our way by train to Bordeaux and then on to Samantha's house in Mauroux.  Alas a combination of factors (alarm clocks, metro breakdowns, etc) meant that with only a few minutes to spare before the Train left Ruben was still nowhere in sight!  We had to make one of those snap black or white decisions.  Do we go on without him or do we wait for him? As I am writing these in lines from our comfortable guest house in Mauroux  you can guess what decision was made.  It does pose the interesting question of what is a reasonable amount of time you should give yourself to get to the airport or station when you are travelling.  I have historically erred more on the side of minimizing my waiting time, but that probably doesn't really make sense.  Why not allow an extra 20 or 30 mins as a safety margin?  The time you spend before leaving is usually dead time anyway.  I think there is an app in this.  It would detect where you are and on the basis of your chosen mode of transport would emit a high pitched noise to tell you you needed to go (I guess this is called a calendar).  You could make it more interesting by getting it to ask you some key questions to decide when you need to leave:

• How important is this train or plane?
• What are your alternatives?
• How expensive are the alternatives?
• What do you need to do the same day before leaving?
• Do you stress easily?
• Are you used to travelling?
• Are there connecting flight/trains/cars?
• Do you have spare cash to spend?
• Are you travelling with others?

See you tomorrow Ruben.

Day 261 : Solidarity

Dinner Menu:

• Salade de betterave et feta
• Gratins de ravioles aux champignons et lardons
• Yaourt de brebis et 1/2 pomme

In solidarity with Theo I unsubscribed and deleted all my media apps (Netflix, OCS, Prime Video. Hulu).  Well actually, it's more because I felt I was getting sucked into a never ending vortex of series which was not adding anything to my life (I mainly blame Louis who told me about Brooklyn 99 which has around 125 episodes and I'm already on 107 after 10 days ).   Since the arrival of Netflix I have occasionally (too often) binged on series : Friends,  The Fall, Jessica Jones, Stranger things, The Good Place, The Good Wife, The West Wing, Breaking Bad, Le Bureau des Légendes, Peep Show, Casual, The Handmaid's Tale, Homeland, Fargo, Seinfeld, The Amazing Mrs Maizel, The Crown, Black Mirror, House of cards, Game of Thrones, True Detective, Mariella, Ozark, ... etc...(and that is a real etc).  It is very similar to being on drugs (except cheaper and easier).  You always want to go to the next episode which allows you to pass (or waste) your time pleasurably but with no added value. This is worse than TV was in the 70ies when I was growing up.  At least you had to wait between episodes of Dr Who back then. Now it's just an uninterrupted stream.  I know you can't stop progress but sometimes progress is regress!

Day 260: App

Today was a 500 Kcal day:

• 1 apple (36 Cal)
• 1 bowl of cottage cheese (120 Cal)
• 1/2 a tomato (6 Cal)
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil (27 Cal)
• 1 1/2 krisprolls (78 Cal)
• 1 egg white mushroom and shallot omelet (109 Cal)
• 1 spring onion (7 Cal)
• 2 pickles (8 Cal)
• 15 radishes (9 Cal)
• 1/2 square of 90% dark chocolate (30 Cal)

As you can see after some intensive research I have identified the ideal food tracking app to help me in my new diet.  When  you look for an app on a smartphone you are usually confronted with dozens of different options.  I don't really understand how any of these app developers make any money, most of the apps are free and dependent on advertising. Anyway I knew that I needed the following features:

1. Extensive of ingredients with their calorie content
2. Easy interface
3. Capacity to easily my total calories for the day
4. Preferably free with no advertising
5. Integrated with my exercise and weight apps (yes I have those as well)

My final choice is MyNetDiary (just in case any of you were wondering) now I need to use it systematically.

Day 259 : Diet

Dinner Menu:

• Egg white omelette with tomatoes and mushrooms
• 1 square dark chocolate
• Total calories: 93

As I have said many times all diets work its just a question of finding the one that works for you.  My 2 day fasting has not been as successful as I hoped so I am moving to a different approach.  From now on I will limit my calorie intake to a maximum of 500 kcal three times a week. (overall that is actually less than fasting 2 days a week).  After some intensive research I have determined that on my diet days I will limit myself to combinations of the following foods:

• 1-2 Apples
• 1-2 Tomatoes
• 2 Cucumbers
• 1 Spring onion
• 100g of mushrooms
• 10-15 Radishes
• 2-3 Dill pickles
• 1-2 Bowls of Cottage cheese
• Egg white omelette
• 1-2 glasses of Tomato juice
• 1-2 krisprolls
• 1 square of 90% chocolate

If I stick to the plan I will lose 1kg per week which means that I should hit my target weight by the summer.  

Day 258: Opium

Dinner Menu:

• Rôti de Chapon à la romertopf
• Pommes de terres et carottes au four
• Salade verte

Yesterday Theo came home from school and asked me if he could swap his smartphone for one of the old Samsung "dumb" flip phones that I have in my old electronics drawer.  He wanted to remove the temptation of constant calls for attention from youtube, whatsapp, internet, etc which he felt was a too easy distraction from concentrating on school work.   Even though it seems very radical, I completely understand his approach.  Its similar to my approach to eating I find it difficult to limit myself, it's easier for me to fast completely than to just reduce.   I would be tempted to do the same thing except that I do find my smartphone useful for non-social media apps (Scooters, Maps, E-mail, Newspapers, travel & Banking).    I would definitely buy a smartphone which did not allow me to have any social media or entertainment apps.

It seems that the opium of the proletariat has gone from religion to television and is now social media. 

Day 257: 17th of December

25 years ago my son Louis was born.  He was born in Strasbourg like me, because at the time Samantha and I had moved to Russia and we were back in Alsace for the Xmas holidays (and because we weren't sure about experiencing the newly private soviet hospital system).  By the time Louis was 2 weeks old he had travelled 3,500KM through France, Germany, the Baltic Sea, Finland and Russia in the dead of winter in a Ford SUV (Maybe that's why he later went on to study in Canada).   The first great lesson that Louis taught me is that children are different.  For example I quickly understood that, contrary to Sasha, spanking Louis had no impact whatsoever on his behaviour and therefore was pointless.  Sending Louis to the corner on the other hand was much more effective. Thankfully we moved on from this confrontational situation to a more normal competitive approach:

• Who could bounce the most tennis balls against the wall of our terrace in Belgium
• Who could swim fastest
• Who discovered which BD
• Who could swim the furthest at sea (see Gataca)
• Who was the best at foosball
• Who could climb the highest tree
• And who could take the longest cold shower (actually Louis hasn't taken up that challenge ...yet?)

It's been a pleasure and an education to watch my children grow up to be quite different (with some similarities) despite the fact that I believe I was pretty consistent in my approach and in my mistakes.

So thank you Louis for having taught me how to be more philosophical about outcomes and consequences.  I'm sure I was a better father to both you and Sasha thanks to the different perspective that you brought to our family.

Happy Birthday

  

Day 256: Dating

Dinner Menu:

• Dos de colin avec carottes et courgettes au four
• Pommes de terre en robe des champs
• Haricots verts

Today's subject is not one that is relevant to me any more, but as it happens a few of my friends and colleagues have mentioned their experiences on dating apps recently.  I remember that dark time before I found true love (my wife reads this blog), where I tried internet dating and in the end decided it was not right for me.  Originally I thought what does it matter how you meet? Is a smartphone app that different from a party, a bar, a sports club, an office or a university? Isn't it just another way to meet potential partners?   But actually I think it is different.  If two people meet after an internet exchange their first physical meeting is reduced to yes or no will I sleep with this girl/guy. Meetings in all other contexts are completely different. The relationship develops over time you don't always know that a romance (or sex for my more literal readers)  might be a possibility.  You could argue that smartphone dating is more efficient (especially if you happen to be a consultant) but I'm not sure efficiency is always the right answer.  

Day 255: Cleaning

Dinner Menu:

• Blanquette de veau
• Riz basmati
• Yaourt de brebis et banane

The rule in our house is if you do the cooking you are not involved in the cleaning up and as I usually do the cooking (unless I'm not eating)  I rarely get the pleasure of exercising my hygiene talents, however as Theo made dinner tonight I cleaned up with some help from Fianna.  I did a thorough job and had the satisfaction of a job well done which made me think that in life there are two kinds of people : Cleaners and Cooks.  So what are the positives and negatives?

Cleaning

+ It takes less time
+ Its relatively simple to do it right
+ You can see the difference which makes you feel good

- Other people don't appreciate it
- Its after the meal when you want to go to bed
- Its boring (no creativity involved)

Cooking

+ It allows you to use your creativity
+ You get to decide the meal
+ Feels good to feed your family

- It takes longer
- You can get it wrong
- Success is dependent on others appreciation

In conclusion I would say that either of those activities can be rewarding if you approach them with the right attitude (If only I knew how to spread the message to the younger generations!)

Day 254: Lock Down

It seems Paris will again be in lock down tomorrow just in case the Gilets Jaunes haven't quite stopped their protest yet.  I know up to now I haven't really minded all the agitation, but now it's starting to interfere with my Xmas shopping.  I don't mind having to go everywhere on foot but I'd like to have access to the shops. Going down the Champs Elysée this afternoon I noticed most shops getting ready to protect their windows from potential wreckage on Saturday.  I think the Gilets Jaunes should call a Xmas truce.  If they are still unhappy in 2019 they can start again in January.  Then again maybe I'm not understanding that the breaking and looting is actually a new form of Xmas shopping I should go out with a sledge hammer rather than a credit card tomorrow.

Day 253: Routine

Today was a fasting day.

In everyday life its easy to get into routines:  Cycling every morning, getting up at 6 AM, watching a series before going to bed, sitting at the same spot for dinner, having a whisky in the evening, having a coffee first thing, standing at my desk, listening to the radio in the cold shower, reading the Guardian, etc...

And yet I don't seem to be able to make fasting a "routine".  Every time I fast its still an effort, it doesn't get easier (or harder to be fair).  You would think that after a while it would become automatic but no I still miss food especially in the evening.  It's not a question of pleasure because standing at my desk, taking cold showers or sitting in the same place at dinner are not particularly pleasurable, and yet they are easy to keep up.  Smoking became a habit quite quickly as did giving up. 

Maybe I should start smoking again to replace the eating, or I could do chewing tobacco (better for my lungs)!

Day 252: Gifts

This year we are doing Secret Santa for Xmas.  My mum organised it all through an internet site.  Children and young adults are excluded its just the adults. I understand that there is a facility on the app to tell your secret santa what you might want, but I have forgotten how to access the site.  So in the hope that my santa reads my blog here are some possible Xmas gifts for me:

• Intégral Jérémiah N° 3 or 4
• Intégral Blueberry N° 3 ou 4
• Interesting socks (size 44-45)
• Cycling shorts (XL)
• A 60 minute playlist of the best songs to listen to while cycling
• A cool sports head band
• A surprise

Now if the person who I'm getting a gift for could send me a similar list that would be perfect!  Also if all my children, nephews, nieces and sisters (under 20) could send me their lists that would be great.

Day 251: Ethics

Dinner Menu:

• Risotto aux fruits de mer
• Fromages

As part of a class project Theo developed a (short) questionnaire on the ethics of genetic manipulation (Français  American).  The last question is about how much genetic modification of your child you would be prepared to do on the assumption that it is scientifically possible.  You would expect most people's natural reaction to be to agree to eliminating  major diseases or mental deficiencies but then you get into more difficult issues (Physical characteristics, Sex, Height, Colouring, Obesity, Intelligence, Creativity, Speed, Breast size, etc).  My first inclination would be to say no we shouldn't mess with these characteristics but then again why not?  Where do you draw the line?  If you can eliminate asthma or myopia why wouldn't you? And if you agree to those why not make sure your son is at least 1M80 or your daughter is under 70Kg?  And why not choose an IQ of 110 rather than 90 (if you can) ? It seems to me that human nature is to modify and adapt our environment and to use all the tools at our disposal. I find it very difficult to define lines that should not be crossed.

Day 250: Rights

My Dad pointed out in his blog (Universel) that today is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  His blog was about the concept of universality (which I'll be happy to come back to).  For my part I had a look at the content of the document.  There are 30 articles which would seem reasonable (although that is three times as much as God's rules). But when you look at them more closely you find a mixture of quite fundamental rights mixed in with what I would call aspirations rather than rights.  Of the 30 articles a good third are not fundamental rights as they are very much open to differing interpretations.  Of the remaining 20 at least 10 are repetitions of other ones. Which brings us back to the original 10.  If I was asked to vote for a Universal Declaration of Human Rights I would vote against the present version.  A truly Universal declaration would need to strip out all these specific cultural aspirations (Right to work, Right to Education, Right to Marriage, etc) and stick to simple undeniable human rights (life, movement, opinion). 

Day 249: Socks

Dinner menu:

• Gigot d'agneau aux carottes
• Latkes
• Flageolets
• Yaourt de brebis, banane et myrtilles

Louis has an interview tomorrow so we were checking that he has all the required clothing.  

• Dress trousers 🗹
• Shirt 🗹
• Jacket🗹
• Formal shoes 🗹
• Funky socks ⌧

That's right since the demise of the tie (see my previous blog) the only way to express some creativity and originality is through funky socks.  Since being introduced to this concept by my friend Shane I have eliminated all my blue, grey and black socks.  Now I only have multi-coloured  socks with stripes, dots or other motifs.  The next step (which I'm not sure I ready for yet) would be mismatched socks.

Day 248: Empty

Dinner menu:

• Raviolis aux truffes
• Fromages
• Yaourt avec banane plantain

In view of last Saturday's excitement the media and the government colluded (unwittingly I assume) in dramatizing what could happen today.  Instead of violence and insurrection we had a lot of riot police in the streets a few gilets jaunes walking around the center of Paris and a limited amount of tension, nothing like what was announced.  In the morning Theo mentioned how nice it was to be in a quiet city and later in the day I went to pick up Louis who flew in to Paris today and I was delighted by the lack of traffic in the streets.  Having experienced a day of Paris with practically no traffic I can't wait for the ban on motor vehicles to come in to force in Paris.

Day 247: Transfer

Yesterday I read an article in the Canard Enchainé the French satirical newspaper concerning the money transfers of immigrants back to their home countries.  Worldwide immigrants in rich countries transfert more than $450 billion  back to their country of origin which is a great help. The scandal (there is always a scandal!) is that the cost of the transfers is on average 7% of the funds.  That means that immigrants which are usually not the richest people in our societies get "taxed" 32 billion $ just to be able to send some of their hard earned income home.  That's equivalent to the total amount of Development Aid distributed by the United States.   I'm surprised that nobody has developed an app  yet which would allow the transfer of money from a phone to another for a nominal fee.  I think I will add this to the list of projects I should develop as soon as I am made redundant from my present firm.

Day 246: Desert

Sasha is off to the Wirikuta Desert which reminded how much I love deserts.  The first time I realised my attraction to deserts was when I was in Egypt shortly after Sasha was born.  At the time I was there for only 3 days and mainly spent time visiting Cairo and the Pyramids but I remember looking out to the desert beyond and feeling a pull a bit like when you are on the edge of a cliff (but less dangerous!).  Since then I have visited Namibia which has the Namib and the Kalahari desert both of which would have been on  my list if I hadn't seen them already. I think it's the ruggedness and emptiness that pulls me.  And, of course, that deserts cannot be tamed.

Anyway here is my priority list of deserts to visit:

1. Heart of the Sahara (Mali/Algeria/Chad)
2. Gobi (Mongolia)
3. Gibson desert (Australia)
4. Atacama desert (Chile)
5. Chihuahua Desert (Mexico. For Blueberry)

Bonus:  Wirikuta (depending on Sasha's experience), Arabian (depending on Politics) and Dasht-e Kavir in Iran (to annoy Trump).

Day 245 : Top 5 Places

Inspired by my Dad's blog today (Voyages) I thought I would do a series on "Top 5s" starting with:

Top 5 places I would like to go to the restaurant in :

1. Buenos Aires, Argentina
2. Kyoto, Japan
3. Ho Chi Mihn city, Vietnam
4. Guadalajara, Mexico
5. Addis Abeba, Ethipia

Top 5 places I would go hiking in:

1. Costa Rica
2. South Africa
3. Alaska
4. Bhutan
5. Madagascar
6. Bonus: Afghanistan (when things get safer)

In future blogs I will also provide Top 5s places for other activities such as: Skiing, Seeing the New Year, Swimming, Reading a book in a café, Seeing the sun rise, Spending a night with my wife.   I'll consider requests for other activities on a case by case basis.

Day 244: Office Party

The reason I'm in London is to participate in the end of year wrap-up management meeting and then to attend the management Xmas dinner.   You know there is something fundamentally wrong with an organisation when people are dragging their feet to free a free meal with liberal amounts of wine.  In most of my previous companies I looked forward to the Xmas dinner (which was not limited to management) and which was usually a fun event.  I'm pretty sure that most of the dozen or so people who are attending would rather be somewhere else.  If we wanted end of year parties to be truly useful we should tell people they can either attend or their share will be given to their favourite charity.  At least dysfunctional organisations would then serve a purpose.

Day 243: Storage

I'm in London for two nights.  I don't come very often so I'm hoping to take care of some unfinished business.  When I left London I brought most of my stuff back to Paris bit by bit over a few months.  However, by the time I had to vacate my flat I still had too much stuff to bring back in one go.  I decided to rent a locker in a storage warehouse to leave my stuff.  As I was still having to come regularly to the UK at the time I chose somewhere cheap but quite a way from the centre.   More than a year later I have probably paid over £400 for a bunch of stuff that I have certainly not been missing (I don't even know what's in there).  Hopefully tomorrow I can get my stuff, throw away what I can't carry and close down my useless box.  Conclusion: you can never get rid of enough stuff when moving!

Day 242: Resignation

Dinner Menu:

• Osso Bucco et sauce tomate aux champignons
• Spaghetti
• Fromage
• Carré de chocolat noir

In France the Gilets Jaunes are asking for Macron to resign in the UK most MPs and Journalists feel that Theresa May will lose her vote in Parliament which mean she would be under pressure to resign.  In both cases this is missing the point neither Macron nor May's resignation would change anything.  The alternatives in the UK or in France are either as unappealing or worse.  A change of leader or of political party would not make any meaningful difference in either country as far as I can tell.   Both countries are facing their own version of a crisis in representative democracy and a solution needs to include a transformation of the system.  Considering the failure of our professional politicians lets start by moving to part time volunteers, I don't see any down sides. 

Day 241: Response

Dinner Menu:

• Coquelets au four
• Pommes de terre sautées
• Carotte à la crème
• Salade verte
• Fromages
• Glaces Ben & Jerry's

Another day of confrontation between the Gilets Jaunes and the Police.  Another day of being inside the "secure enclave" that is put into place around the Elysée Palace.  Although I have expressed my limited sympathy for the movement I understand why the complete lack of an appropriate response from the government is stoking up frustration.  I don't think the state should necessarily give in to the disparate and uncoordinated demand of the movement but they should be at least recognising the need for more radical change.  We don't need another country to fall to populism.  If Macron doesn't want to finish his mandate as a lame duck President like his predecessor he needs to address the desperation that is being expressed.  Most of these issues only have long term solutions but you don't get an opportunity to implement the longer term solutions if you don't do visible short term measures that give people hope.  

Day 240: Housing

I was reading an article today about the number of empty homes in Japan.  It seems that due to the decrease in population there are 8 million empty homes and the expectation is that within 15 years up to 20% of homes will be empty.  I actually find that encouraging.  Maybe it is possible to contract the human footprint on the planet. According to projections the Japanese population could go down by 40 Million before the end of the century.  If that trend expands to other countries there is hope that humans could peak and then start to decrease.  Maybe we need to change our view of family and stop encouraging people to have children.  In view of the havoc humans are wreaking on the world maybe we should penalise rather than support large families.

Day 239: 13KM

I measured my cycle route today and the result is that I do 13 km a day that comes to 65 KM a week or 2,860 KM a year which is close to what they do in the Tour de France (admittedly in 3 weeks rather than a year).  At the moment I cross no other cyclists and a limited number of joggers during my ride but I expect that when the weather starts to improve and the sun rises earlier it may get a bit crowded at certain points.  The only regular I have identified so far is a homeless man who always seems to be taking a walk with all his stuff around 6:20am under the Pont de l'Alma. Every time I pass him I feel  I should acknowledge him with a high five.  

Day 238: U.N.

Team Dinner:

• Jambon de parme et mozzarella di bufala
• Lasagne verde
• Tiramisu

A German minister has suggested that France should give its permanent seat on the security council to the EU an idea which was immediately shot down by the French Ambassador to the US.  I think that is a big mistake.  France could have responded by accepting the idea in principle while knowing full well that the practicalities of doing it were complicated and unlikely to happen in the short term.  France could then have gained a lot of kudos from seeming generous while not having to actually do much.  This is beside the fact that the whole concept of permanent members of the security council is ridiculously outdated and will either have to change or be discarded in the near future.  I cannot imagine that India or Brazil will (or should) settle for secondary status at the UN forever.

Day 237: Expert

Why is it that people are prepared to deny the findings of certain scientists while at the same blindly accepting others.  This weekend the American government released an alarming report on climate change, the report is a scientific report based on widely accepted scientific research and studies and yet when President Trump was asked about it his response was I don't believe it.  There is no basis for this disbelief other than he doesn't like it.  I wonder if he has the same approach to medical science?  If his doctor told him he had cancer would he just say I don't believe it?  Why is it that people feel they can question climate science but not medical or physical science?  I'm not saying we should blindly accept all "scientific" findings but I feel that it shouldn't just be a matter of opinion.  If you are going to question scientific findings then you should at least expose counter arguments rather than your opinion based on your mood of the moment.  Our prosperity is partly based on the fact that we trust each other as humans to specialise in certain things.  I don't need to know everything because I can use a specialist when I need one. Doctor, Architect, Web Designer, Electrician, Lawyer I don't accept blindly what they tell me but I do recognise and use the fact that they know more about their subject than I do.  

Day 236: Deal

So the UK and the EU signed a deal to cover the transition over the next few years as they then try to negotiate a permanent deal.  However all the commentators and most British politicians are predicting this deal will not be approved by the British parliament. I understand that it was always going to be difficult to sell a comprise which by definition pleases neither side, but I feel Mrs May's negotiation tactics have not helped.  In particular, her insistence that "no deal is better than a bad deal" shows a complete misunderstanding of  politics, negotiation and the EU.  She hoped that by "threatening" a no deal she would put pressure on the EU but that was never going to work.  The EU knows exactly how bad a no deal Brexit would be for Britain and therefore recognised Mrs May's position as pure posturing.  Actually any deal with the EU, however minimal, would be better than a no deal.  What the PM should have been doing is educating the British people to the fact that any deal would be better than crashing out of the EU.  She would now be able to say that she got the best possible deal. I wonder what's the point of having professional politicians if they have no clue about the basics of their job?

Day 235: Tax

The gilets jaunes who are protesting in France are uncoordinated and do not have any specific demands.  However their concerns are around the cost of living, stagnant salaries and seemingly constant tax increases.  I don't have any miracle solutions but I think transparency and simplification would help a lot.  At present we have overs 200 different taxes and contributions in France  (Income tax, Corporation, Social security, Fuel tax, VAT, Local, Housing taxes etc ).  But ultimately all taxes are paid one way or another by citizens.  For people to make informed decisions on policies and society they need to have the required information.   I would suggest that all taxes and contributions in France be replaced by a maximum of 5 different taxes which could be:

• Income tax
• Inheritance tax
• Consumption tax (or VAT)
• Health tax
• Environmental tax

We could raise the same amount of revenue as before but each year the government would have to publish the amount raised under each category.  I'm pretty sure it would allow a much healthier debate about what is possible and what is fair.

Day 234: Fortress

Thanksgiving Menu:

• Dinde gigogne (Dinde farcie d'un canard farcie d'un faisan)
• Patate douces aux piments
• Purée
• Mais
• Haricots verts
• Pumpkin pie
• Pecan and chocolate pie

Tonight we had our slightly delayed Thanksgiving party.  I made a stuffed turduckant (a pheasant stuffed in a duck stuffed in a turkey) which was a success.  The event was very enjoyable even though we were closed off from the rest of Paris.  As our house is quite close to the Elysée our street was blocked off by riot polices using vehicles and reinforced barriers.  I had to go and collect our guests with my ID and a proof of address to allow them to get through the barriers.   I feel thee is something wrong with our democracy if our political leaders need to "protect" themselves from the people behind armored walls.  When the level of discontent and violence reaches these proportions doesn't it mean that we need to change the system significantly ?  If you are wondering how ... just read some of my old blogs.

Day 233: Punctuality

Dinner Menu:

• St Pierre aux courgettes et shi-take
• Purée  de  panais
• Salade verte
• Yaourt de brebis et kiwi

One of Fianna's friends is in a new relationship and although it is mostly good one issue is that he is often quite late to their dates (to use an American concept).  I have a lot of sympathy for her.  I find it very disrespectful to the other person to be late.  In addition I haven't noticed that people who are often late are more accepting when others are occasionally delayed.  I don't really understand what the thinking is ?  That the other person's time is not important ?  That they won't notice ?  That they have a smartphone so can keep themselves busy while waiting?  A few weeks ago I wrote about respect and I feel that punctuality is an important part of that.  Accidents and delays happen but systematic lateness shows a complete lack of thought for others and their time.  I'm very happy that my wife is rarely  (if occasionally) late.

Day 232: Thanksgiving

Today is the Thanksgiving  holiday in the US.  In general I'm not in favour of importing (or exporting) holidays from one culture to another. Halloween for example is a bit like the American grey squirrel.  Since being introduced to the UK the grey squirrel which is bigger and more aggressive has been displacing (nice way of saying eliminating) the native English Red squirrel.  In the same way I feel Halloween is supplanting Guy Fawkes night in the UK because they happen around the same time (And yet the 5th of November Holiday is much more interesting than Halloween).  But I think I would make an exception for Thanksgiving:  its a family holiday where everybody gets together for a good home cooked meal, it falls on a Thursday so you get 2 days off, its not religious and there are no specific rules or activities (other than eating and cooking).  I'm happy to start a petition suggesting the replacement of the 8th of May holiday in France with Thanksgiving.

Day 231: Fear

I usually listen to the BBC in the morning while doing my exercises and taking my cold shower (thank you waterproof earphones).  Today Frank Furedi was talking about his latest book How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the Twenty-First Century.  We probably live in the safest and most comfortable era the world has ever seen (apart from the environmental destruction aspect) and yet  anxiety and fear are still drivers of the public mood and often of our political system.  The more our world becomes exempt of real danger the more we seem to need to fill it with manufactured threats.  The worst thing is that this is then passed on to children.  I remember going to school on my bicycle when I was 7 or 8 in York now it seems that many parents can't imagine letting their children go out alone before the age of 11 or 12. I'm not sure that over protecting our children from non existent danger is the best way to build up their resilience.  

Day 230: Upwork

Dinner Menu:

• Risotto aux fruits de mer
• Plateau de fromages
• Carré de chocolat 88%

Today at work I needed to find some people who could help me make some telephone research and some data mining on the internet.  I used a website called Upwork and within a few hours I had found all the help I needed for a reasonable cost. 1 in Ukraine, 1 in Tunisia and 1 in Toulouse.  I find it great that I can access talent from the whole world, I had offers from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK, Indonesia, Haiti, Serbia, Morocco, Slovenia and France.  This is when the internet comes into its own.  Whatever the downsides of the internet especially in respect to social interactions, news and  democracy, I think it's great from a professional point of view.  I have given jobs and taken jobs from all over the world through Upwork and I haven't yet found a negative side.

Day 229: Greed

Carlos Ghosn the chairman of Nissan has been arrested in Japan for Financial misconduct.  Here is a man whas has been paid over €10 Million per year over 5 to 10 years and yet he is being accused of using company assets for private purposes and under reporting his compensation to his shareholders.  I cannot understand why someone would who has already made a fortune would bother to cut a some corners to add a few million to an already massive amount.  Is it really that important to have 100 Million rather than 50 Million?  Although I have never been in favour of punitive taxation on the wealthy, when I see such greed I cannot help but feel that our present system needs to be completely rethought..  A good start would be for all countries to adopt the Finish system where everybody's tax and income information is published every year.  

Day 228: Mushrooms

Dinner Menu:

• Salade de Betterave
• Boeuf bourguignon
• Yaourt de brebis et banane

My Dad recently mentioned on his blog that he had downloaded a mushroom app on his phone.  You take a photo of the mushroom you find in the woods and the app tells you what it is and if it is edible.  I remember going mushroom hunting with my parents as a teenager with varying degrees of enthusiasm depending on the weather and the quality of the book I was reading.  I'm pretty sure my level of interest would have been enhanced if smartphones and mushroom apps had been available 40 years ago.  I wonder what it is about screen based information that makes people want to interact with them.  I'm pretty sure that you could teach children most of the knowledge they acquire in their present school environment in half the time and half the effort if it was done through appropriate apps.  That would free up the rest of the time for social interaction, physical activity and creativity.  (also if smartphones were a compulsory school subject maybe children would reject them on principle!)

Day 227: Protests

Dinner Menu:

• Wok de joues de raies et nouilles de riz aux curry vert
• Carré de chocolat noir 88%

Today I went to have a drink with my friend Guy around 4 o'clock.  The Place de la Concorde was blocked by demonstrators as part of the Gilets Jaunes mouvement in France. They are protesting against the cost of Diesel and Petrol because they have often chosen to live in remote areas and are therefore dependent on their car.  I don't have much sympathy for the movement but I don't have a problem with the fact they are demonstrating.  Actually I wish the government would just let them demonstrate without involving the police.  The whole thing would be much less dramatic if we just ignored it. It should be possible to adapt our activities for a day or two to slightly more challenging driving conditions (or even better not drive at all).   

Day 226: Funeral

Dinner Menu:

• Risotto aux chanterelles
• Salade de betterave et concombre
• Yaourt de brebis et banane plantain

I saw a scene in a series recently where one of the characters dies and leaves detailed instructions on how she wants her funeral to be conducted.  I'm ambivalent about this.  On the one hand I guess its nice for the mourners not to have to think about things but on the other hand it feels like the person is trying to control things even after their death.  Here is an example of what my funeral requests might look like.

1. I would like to be disposed of in the most ecologically neutral way possible (greenburialcouncil.org)
2. No headstone. If you need a place to remember me... go to my blog
3. If you have a ceremony please avoid any mention of god
4. If you choose to play music here are some candidates (5 extra points for telling me the artist/movie of each) : 
• Nights in White Satin
• I Am a Rock
• Hasta Siempre
• Farewell Cheyenne
• Frédéric
5. Speeches: avoid pathos at all cost, use humour
6. Food & drink : plenty
7. Dress code: Informal, no ties, avoid black!
8. Feel free to ignore and overturn all my requests

Day 225 : Massage

Occasionally Fianna likes to have a professional massage at home in the evening.  She has a masseuse who lives in the South of France but occasionally comes up to Paris.  In general I don't mind as it doesn't really affect me , but occasionally I am confronted with the opposite to the one I have in the morning (Sleep).  Today I had a long day full of meetings and I was looking forward to having an early night, but as it is a massage day, which takes place in our bedroom, it seems that I'll have to wait till 10PM to be able to get to bed. What we need is a shared massage room in our building a bit like they have shared laundry rooms in the US.   Actually the ideal would a shared massage/laundry room for all buildings in cities.  It would save space and improve marital bliss.

Day 224: Language

My Dad left for Luxembourg today after spending a few days with us.  He mentioned that his friend and colleague from the Ecole Ermesinde is now considering starting a new school which would have as a distinctive feature the early teaching of languages.  It sounds like a great idea.  I don't know the details but I feel learning multiple languages through immersion at the earliest age is immensely helpful to developing children's capacities and understanding.  If you learn a language through immersion and at a young enough age you don't just learn a communication tool you acquire a slightly different way of thinking.  Just imagine if all French school children had to learn arabic (for example) from the age of  5 to 9.  I can't think of a better way to integrate people than to recognize who they are through their language.   

Day 223: Remembrance

Dinner Menu:

• Coucou de Rennes à la crème et aux girolles au romertopf 
• Gnocchi
• Salade verte

We had few days of remembrance this weekend.  Over 15 millions people died in WW1 for no discernible reason or gain to anyone.  Our President tried to draw a distinction between patriotism (good thing) and nationalism (bad thing) but I cannot say that I am convinced.  As far as I am concerned they are two sides of the same coin neither of which are helpful. I do find it quite hypocritical for these 70 leaders to get together in memory of the end of the war when a lot of them stand for exactly the things that caused the war in the first place.  The world spends 2 Trillion $ a year on "defense"  which is 10 times more than is spent on development throughout the world.  An interesting objective for the UN Sustainable goals would be to reverse that proportion.

Day 222: Umbrellas

Today was a fasting day ... But as you may have seen in my Dad's blog (Dedalus) I am suffering from a tooth infection which requires antibiotics.  As you have to eat when you take antibiotics my fasting day was incomplete.

Semi-fasting day:

• Petit déjeuner: Oeuf poché et toast
• Déjeuner: Pas de d'antibiotiques à prendre
• Diner: Tomate et cottage cheese

Winter is finally upon us. The days are shorter, the temperature has dropped and the rain has arrived which allows me to talk about a little know urban health hazard: Umbrellas!  I cannot understand why umbrellas are still legal when they both impractical and dangerous.  As soon as it starts to rain pedestrians open their umbrellas thus producing a forest of hazardous ribs situated exactly at eye level for someone who happens to be 6'2".  It's a miracle that I still have the full use of both my eyes.  In addition to the public safety aspect, why would you want to lug around a cumbersome piece of equipment, on the off chance that it might rain, when you could much more easily carry a foldable rain hat that would fit in a bag or coat pocket.   In view of the upcoming Brexit and considering the umbrella is a quintessential British product I think we should ban all sale of umbrellas in Europe on national security grounds.  

Day 221: Respect

Dinner Menu:

• Fillets de bar aux courgettes et fenouil
• Pommes de terre en robes des champs
• Tarte à la rhubarbe

Today my Dad arrived for a 4 day visit.  He will be sleeping in the flat we have next door which we often rent on AirBnB.  As it happens we had some guests who left that day after a 4 day stay.  When I went into the flat to prepare it for my Dad I was shocked at the state it was in.  The people had left their trash everywhere and smoked heavily (even though it is clearly indicated the flat is no-smoking).  I don't understand what goes through these people's mind?  I cannot imagine that they treat their own houses like that so what is it about travelling that encourages people to be slobs.  If there is one over riding principle which we should all live by and that we should teach our children from the youngest age it is :

Do onto others as you would have them do onto you

This is attributed to Jesus Christ and as far as I'm concerned it is probably the best rule ever to have come out of a religion.  It's a simple rule that anyone can understand and it covers everything.  Once you have agreed to that principle all other rules become unnecessary.  Murder, Theft, Rape, Lies, Insults, Cheating are all covered by that one principle.  If you put that as sentence as article 1 of the Civil Code you could probably get rid of most of the rest of the articles.

Day 220: Trip

Dinner Menu:

• Agneau au curry rouge
• Riz basmati
• Yaourt de brebis

Fianna has been away for 6 days in Malaysia for work, but she's back tomorrow.  Despite being quite busy and having had Theo and Eliot for company for the week I'm very much looking forward to having my wife back.   Although I have the capacity to be keep myself busy when I'm alone I think that fundamentally I'm made to be married.  I enjoy sharing the dinner I've made, listening to Fianna's day in the evening, going shopping with her and being pulled out of my rut from time to time.  Marriage for me has only upsides I cannot think of any aspect of being single which I miss.  In everyday life (and considering our vows)  I take it for granted that Fianna will always be there with me so it's nice that her occasional Asia trip gently reminds me that I have found someone who suits me perfectly for which I am extremely thankful.

Day 219: Early

In a short period of time I seem to have trained myself to wake up when I need to but without meaning to.  As I mentioned a few days ago I am now waking up a few minutes before my alarm goes at 6AM to go for my bike ride.  I think its a combination of the physical activity and the regularity of my wake up time.  But this morning I had to go to London which meant that if I was to do my morning ride I would have to get up at 5 rather than 6.  I put my alarm for 5 AM and this morning I woke up at 4:55. So now I have trained myself to wake up before my alarm even early in the morning.  I regret that its taken me 56 years to discover this capacity.  Not only does it feel good to get up early in the morning and have a full day, it feels even better to be independent of technology.  I'm going to test my wake up capacity on weekends to see if I can move the time and still reliably wake up.  

Day 218:Electorate

So 2 years after electing Trump to the white house the electorate has returned a democratic chamber and through local referendums has reestablished the right to vote for ex-felons and legalized marijuana for recreational or medicinal use in a further 3 states bringing the total to 33 (out of 50).  I'm not sure how that makes sense.  On the one hand the world population seems to be increasingly socially liberal (admittedly to varying degrees) and yet at the same time we have an expanding number of unpleasant, illiberal, nationalist (if not down right racist) governments.  The US, Brazil, Russia, China, Italy, the Philippines. Hungary, Israel, Poland, Turkey even India to a certain extent have different varieties of regimes with authoritarian or nationalistic tendencies. The problem is that in elections a big part of the electorate votes for a person or a party without having a clear idea of the actual policies that will be implemented.  At least in ballot initiatives people are actually voting on the issue rather than a person.  Maybe technology will allow us to go back to an updated version of the original direct democracy of Athens.   If secure internet voting can be developed then why not just let all laws be decided directly by the people?  

Day 217: Croissants

Today was a fasting day

As I now get home from my morning ride at around 7AM, I occasionally buy croissants and petits pains au chocolat for breakfast for the family.  I say occasionally because  a) I don't usually do it on a fasting day and b) my local boulangerie opens around 7 which means they are not always ready when I get back from my ride.  I wonder if there is an opportunity here to revolutionise the French bread market.  If there was an App which allowed me to have freshly delivered baguette and viennoiseries every morning I think I would sign up. In England when I was a boy they use to deliver fresh milk every morning, maybe the new internet delivery economy can bring that concept back ?  

Day 216: Manichaean

Dinner Menu:

• Gnocchi à la crème et aux chanterelles à pieds jaunes
• Salade verte
• Carré de chocolat noir

I have been following the US midterm elections in the hope that the American electorate will come to its senses and put a firm brake on the nationalism and populism incarnated by their current President.  One of the things that I find interesting is that the election is not so much about actual policies or proposals but about people's world view.  This election is a fight between Love and Hate.   On the right we have a constant flow of insults and hate for all sorts of targets (Immigrants, Jews, Blacks, Women, Muslims, Elites, Media) and on the left its all about acceptance of these same categories and more broadly caring about others and the environment. If politics becomes a fight between Good and Evil it makes it exciting and important. The worrying thing is that the fight seems so evenly balanced.  I wonder when the good guys will win?

Day 215: Bike

Today was a fasting day.

So 2 weeks ago I started my early morning cycling routine.  through no fault of my own I have missed a few mornings.  First I had a flat tire.  Then someone stole a part of my saddle which meant I couldn't use it.  And on Friday my rear tire was flat again.  Aside from the cost (not huge but a bit too regular) the main difficulty I had was finding the time to get the bike repaired and taking it to the workshop without being able to ride it.  But it seems the internet has an answer to everything these days. There are 3 companies in Paris which operate mobile bicycle workshops, you reserve your time slot on an App and somebody turns up with a mini workshop on a tricycle to fix you bike.   I think its a great concept.  This is an example of what I mean by smart-growth rather than de-growth.  Here is a new service which adds to the growth of the economy (people are being paid for the service) while having a minimal impact on the environment and encouraging others to do the same by using their bikes. Its an ideal outcome.  And you socialise with the mechanic rather than just dropping off your bike at a shop.

Day 214: Technology

Dinner Menu:

• Boudin noir aux pommes et porto
• Purée de pommes de terres
• Salade verte
• Carré de chocolat noir 82%

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Fianna and I's different sleep patterns might be putting undue stress on our marriage.  Thankfully I have found a technological solution to bring back matrimonial bliss.  It seems that among my stock of discarded electronic items I had a pair of wireless earphones which are waterproof (this was not why I originally bought them).   So I can now listen to the radio in the shower at 7 AM while my wife sleeps on undisturbed.   If we extrapolate this simple example to the wider world we can assume that technology (or human ingenuity) could probably solve most of our environmental problems... As long as we have the (political) will!  

Day 213: Difference

Dinner Menu:

• Filets de colin aux courgettes et poivrons
• Carottes à la crème
• Yaourt de brebis et banane naine

My Dad wrote an interesting blog today about Difference. It made me wonder why humans are often so set on imposing rules and norms on others.  I can understand why we need some basic rules in society to regulate our interactions (no violence, no theft, stop at red lights, etc)  But so many demands seem to be about uniformity, about imposing a certain way of doing things, or of being, on others.  So often success in education and society is based on conformity. Maybe we should be teaching and celebrating difference from the start.  To start with we should get rid of all rote learning (nothing to do with the fact that I was really bad at it at school 😉 ).  

Day 212: Doctor

Today was a fasting day.

I went to the doctor this week.  Fianna organise a preventive visit for me in order that I could get a prescription for a colonoscopy (considering my age and parental antecedent).  The doctor was quite thorough and was happy to prescribe the procedure (which costs around €2,000).  I know that this is a cost to social security and to insurance rather than to me but still I felt I should explore options.  I explained that last year I had quite a few cameras and X-rays examining my insides and I would have thought they would have noticed if I had anything in my colon to worry about.  After some debate we decided that I would do the less precise but much cheaper diagnostic test of my stool.  Since I was there the doctor also suggested I do a series of blood analyses and she took my blood pressure.  I don't have the results of my blood samples yet but it seems my blood pressure is slightly too high (although I have since bought my own blood pressure machine which indicates I'm fine).  Clearly our medical system in Western Europe is amazing in its quality and universality, but this does come at a cost.  In France we spend over €200 billion on our health system.   That's  more than the total amount we raise in income tax.   Maybe we should at least make it visible.  Every year Social Security could send you an health report which would detail how much "medical services" you consumed in the year and a ranking of which decile you are in compared to the rest of the population. Then we could start having a reward system.  If you are in the bottom 10% 3 years in a row you get a pension bonus or a free holiday.  The first step to responsibility is visibility.

Day 211: 6 AM

6 AM. that's the time I get up since I decided to cycle for 50 mins every morning.  Although I use an alarm (Suzanne by Leonard Cohen) I can feel that it will soon become normal to wake up early.  I can imagine my parents thinking its a miracle considering I found it quite difficult to wake up during most of my teenage years (I remember asking my mother, much to her distress, to throw a glass of cold water on my face in the morning to get me up).  But at this stage of my life I find that my new routine is automatically making me tired in the evening.  So I now easily go to sleep between 10 and 11 PM instead of close to midnight.  I'm assuming that this is good for my health, despite having been to the doctor a few days ago and finding out that my blood pressure is slightly higher than it should be.  I believe getting up early is one of the simple pleasures in life. Today was a bank holiday (so no alarm) and yet I woke up naturally at 6 AM, as it was a bit too early for the rest of the family I went back to sleep until 7:30 when I got up and went for a bike ride.  I am now a convert to the early morning ... my next challenge is converting my wife! Oy vey!

Day 210:Newspaper

I bought the Canard Enchainé today. It's a weekly satirical French paper  which sheds light on some of the things governments and businesses try to hide.  It also has 2 aspects which are increasingly unique.  It does not accept any form of advertising and it's website (which is relatively new) just allows you to subscribe to the paper version.  The rustle of the paper does bring me back to a nostalgic better time. The level of debate and discourse was of a much higher quality when they were filtered through written article.  Now thanks to social media, twitter and instagram debate seems to be reduced to hashtags and insults.  The lack of filter and the anonymity available on the internet means that people (and politicians) use provocative  and violent language in an effort to stand out.  In view of the torrent of digital content (99.9% of which is rubbish) available for consumption it becomes impossible for thoughtful argument to break through.  I'm not sure what the solution is, we can only hope that the generations that have grown up with digital tools will be better equipped to use them intelligently. 

Day 209: Crazy

Dinner Menu:

• Gnocchi à la crème et aux chanterelles à pieds jaunes
• Salade verte
• Yaourt de brebis et banane
• Carré de chocolat noir 92%

I was listening to BBC4 (the news radio channel) this morning while carrying out my morning routine and there was a Brazilian businessman talking about Bolsonaro's election.  The man actually sounded quite reasonable he was explaining that he felt Brazil needed a new economic policy (more liberal of course) and that the PT was discredited because of its corruption.  Although I was not entirely in agreement with his positions, I could understand his point and was articulate.  But then the journalist asked him about Bolsonaro's anti-democratic and socially regressive positions and his answer was that "he didn't believe Bolsonaro would go through with those policies".  This reminds me of what happened with Trump, many Republicans voted for him saying they thought he would be good for business and wouldn't do any of the crazy stuff.  How is that a healthy democracy?  Voting for a politician thinking that he will not carry out what he said he would do is nuts.  I think politicians should be expected to spell out the top 10 priorities of their programme in simple words and then a requirement before voting would be that you explicitly agree to the priorities of the candidate you are voting for.  No more "I didn't realise that's what he/she was going to do"!   

Day 208: Restaurant

Today was a fasting day.

Fianna and I were just the two of us most of this week as the boys were are their Dad's house.  As we were sitting down to our home cooked meal Fianna pointed out that we rarely go to restaurants since I have come back from London.  It's true that I find restaurants often disappointing especially as far as value for me is concerned.  I feel that a restaurant has to be exceptional to be worth the effort.  It is never as comfortable as eating at home, usually lengthy and often not as healthy. I think the restaurant business has not yet taken on board the sharing economy.  I'm thinking we could develop the AirCafé concept.  People would make a certain number of places available to "guests" at their dinner table on a certain date for a fee.  The cost of the meal would be low compared to a restaurant (mainly covering the ingredients of the meal) but enough to make it interesting for the host.  In addition to having a good meal the host and guests would have a lively discussion.  With the usual internet peer to peer feedback system you could rate hosts and guests. I don't think I would do this regularly but I would definitely be interested in testing it out occasionally as a guest or as a host.

Day 207: Winning

Dinner Menu:

• Spaghetti Bolognese
• Salade verte
• Yaourt de brebis avec banane et myrtilles

Yesterday Fianna and I went to the cinema on the Champs Elysée where we saw a nice French film Le Grand Bain.  The story is about a team of depressed unsuccessful middle aged men who find redemption through an unlikely team sport.  The film is interesting in its depiction of the different the men deal with their issues, but as it is based on a competition it made me think about winning.  The problem with winning is that it is always at someone else's expense.  One of the most important things I used to teach in my negotiating training course is that negotiation is not about winning it is about creating value. If we want to change the values of our society from adversarial to collaborative we need to rethink our approach to education.   I remember playing Monopoly as a child and feeling ambivalent about winning because I would feel bad for the ones who were losing (After a while I did work out that feeling sorry for the losers to the point of helping them out was actually not a good strategy).  Maybe we should change the rules so that winning at monopoly is when all the players have the property and house they want. 

Day 206: Free

Dinner Menu:

• Joues de lottes au curry et lait de coco
• Riz basmati
• Yaourt de brebis et banane

Today I read that Dunkirk which is a relatively large French city has implemented free public transport.   Its something I have always been in favour of despite the line of thought which says that giving things for free means they are abused.  Actually nothing is really free its just a choice of whether its paid for by individuals who are consuming or by society through taxation.  Public transport is a definite boon to society it favours economic activity while reducing pollution, so I believe that all public transport should be free in cities and between them.  That would mean the french railway could be free.  I'm sure that would massively reduce the number of cars on the road.  We could save a lot of money on the ticket selling and checking systems.  Taxes might increase but our transport budget would come down so it would come out to the same in the end.  Hospitals, the BBC and Water Companies are financed through tax and yet they manage to perform efficiently and effectively.

Day 205: Genes

Fasting day today.

In the nurture vs nature debate I have always been more on the nurture side, although recognising that nature has some part to play too in determining our personalities.   Today I read a book review (Blueprint by Robert Plomin)  in the Guardian which seems to indicate that personalities are to a large extent genetic.  What's interesting is that the book is based on a combination of advances in science and availability of data.  The complete human genome was mapped in 2004 since then DNA testing has become widely used both for medical and for social reasons.  This means that there is en increasing amount of data which can be analysed to identify correlations.  The main conclusion is that there are no intelligence or kindness genes but that there are polygenic personality traits which are explained by thousands of small differences in our DNA.  It is therefore possible to identify that certain combinations can account for a propensity to obesity, depression, intelligence or anxiety.  The reassuring aspect is that the identified combinations are so complex that it is not possible (at this time) to artificially create those combinations, so not creation of "perfect"babies.  However it is possible to imagine that as we collect ever more DNA samples and apply ever more data processing power we will be in a position to predict what are a person's genetic personality propensities. thankfully a propensity is not set in stone and nurture can possible enhance or dampen a natural disposition.  On a more personal note I wonder if was genetically programmed to fall in love with an American-Jew who emigrated from Moldova and then spent 20 years in France ?

Day 204: Past

Dinner Menu:

• Salade de tomate et mozzarella buffala

This evening Fianna took me to the bar of the Lutetia as a surprise. This old parisian hotel has recently been completely renovated, but more importantly it's the place where Fianna and I had our "first date" to use American terminology.  The new bar is spacious and has a modern trendy feel to it.  The service is impeccable and we had a pleasant experience.  However, you can't compete with a memory.  Aside from the fact that we were in the process of falling in love which is a special time, I remember the old bar as being small, warm and cozy, feutré as we say in French.  The learning point from this experience is that we should never try to re-create the past.  Our memories should stay firmly in our minds to either fade or embellish over time.  Our time is so short we should create new memories rather than relive old ones.

Day 203: Ethics

I read an article today about the future ethics of self-driving cars.  MIT has been running a survey to try to find out what people think a machine should do when it is confronted with 2 impossible choices.  The Moral Machine survey gives you  a number of choices where a car has to decide between killing passengers or pedestrians for example.  Over 2,5 Million people from 130 countries have taken the test. Aside from some classic findings (crash into old people rather than children, chose the group with the least number of people, save women over men) its interesting that people will favour certain social categories over others or law abiding people over rebels.  Although the test (and findings) is interesting I don't think this is the right way to solve the problem of self-driving cars.  If the car has to make a choice between 2 bad outcomes rather than trying to find a "right" decision let fate decide: the car will randomly choose a course of action.  Sometimes even our machines need to accept their limits.

Day 202: Divorce

Dinner Menu:

• Risotto aux légumes
• Salade verte
• Yaourt de brebis et banane

Samantha (my ex-wife) is staying with us for a couple of nights, as she is visiting Paris.  People are often surprised that I have a perfectly friendly relationship with my ex.  I find that strange as my parents, one my uncles, my sister and some of my cousins are divorced and still manage to have perfectly good relationships with their previous partners. It seems to me that relationships can only improve after a divorce.  What is hard is living with someone! Living apart should be quite easy for two people who are no longer in love.  Aha, I hear the objection, what if one of the two remains "in love" or (more likely) is still infatuated ? The result should be the same if you love someone and they don't love you back you should still have overall good feelings towards them (since you love them?).  And if you don't love each other there is no tension and therefore things should be easy.  And yet so often love seems to turn to hate or intense dislike rather than friendliness.  It's as if you were a communist one day and then became a fascist ?  Shouldn't that evolution be more gradual?

Day 201: Youth

Today was a fasting day.

As the American mid-term elections get increasingly closer I have been reading about the chances of a democratic win which would be a blow to the forces of evil currently residing in the white house.  In parallel there was a massive demonstration against Brexit in London this weekend.  The interesting thing is that the reversal of Brexit and or Trump both rely on the same thing: mobilisation of the youth vote!  In the US and in the UK turnout among the over 50 is 10 to 20 points higher than that of the under 30s.  If young people voted in the same proportion as older ones neither Brexit nor Trump would have happened.  Why is there such a disparity in political engagement between the old and the young.  If anything you would expect the opposite.  The old should be blasé and disillusioned  while the young have a lot more at stake as they live with the consequences for longer.  We need to find a way to get young people to participate in the future of our societies.  As Xmas is coming up I will do a survey of the younger generation in the family to get some answers.

Day 200: "Concours"

Dinner Menu:

• Carré de porc aux prunes au Romertopf
• Salade verte

I went to the cinema tonight to see Première Année.  It's French film about the 1st year of medical school.  A lot of the French higher education system is based on Concours which are competitive exams.  These exams produce rankings of the students and you need to achieve a certain rank to pass, irrespective of your actual grades.  This is supposed to result in a meritocratic system where everyone is equal and getting into a specific elite school or profession is based solely on ability. I'm not sure that transforming education into a competition is a productive outcome.  Recently Singapore (which was always ranked close to the top of PISA) has decided to cut down on the exams and tests that children have to take in schools.  They want children to learn for themselves and for life rather then for exams.  Seems pretty sensible to me!

Day 199: Pride

Dinner Menu:

• Fish pie
• Tarte aux pommes
• Tarte aux prunes
• Chablis

Since I talked about sloth yesterday I thought I could add another mortal sin to my daily blog.  The seven sins are: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride.  Of these I believe pride is both the most difficult to avoid and the most damaging. I feel that social media  has unleashed a deluge of "sinful" pride on the world.  People are "proud" to exhibit themselves to the world.  It seems that everything we (or our children, husbands, wives, friends, pets, etc) do needs to be shared with the wider world in order to validate our existence.  I wonder why so many of us humans are obsessed with fame.  In today's world nothing is as valued as being recognised.  Whether its the number of friends you have on facebook, contacts on linked in, readers of your blog or minutes on tv success is defined in terms of number of people who know you.   I find it strange that any one would actually want to be famous.  Isn't it obvious that only insecure people need external validation?  Why would you want to be known for being insecure?   

Day 198: Lazy

This may (or not) come as a surprise but I've always considered myself lazy... or at least not as hard working as I should be.   In my defense I think laziness can be the source of innovation and efficiency.  So my laziness has always spurred me on to finding shortcuts and simpler ways of doing things.   Its because I'm lazy that I spend a lot of time finding shortcuts and new ways of doings things for my work on my computer.  Although I admire hard work and I realise it is both necessary and rewarding I think we should also celebrate laziness.  If we had laziness classes in school it would allow those who are not suited to hard work to excel somewhere else.  I think it would be great if certain kids could come home and proudly announce they got a 20/20 in being lazy! 

Day 197: Grudge

Today was a fasting day.

My life at work  has improved since : 1) I sold a big project 2) an extra layer (person) was introduced between my and the CEO. Although I am still confronted with many frustrations at least I have much less contact with my toxic CEO.  In spite of her many failings I don't bear her any ill will.  As long as I don't have anything to do with her and ideally if she could be CEO of a different company then I would be fine.  In life there few more pointless and counterproductive feelings than resentment.  It comes back to the great definition of stupidity by Carlo Cipolla in his book The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity.  According to Cipolla the definition of stupidity is a person who produces losses  to others while gaining nothing or even losing him or herself. That's exactly what bearing a grudge entails.  Revenge does not create any value.  Someone else's misfortune does not bring you benefits.  If you feel slighted or annoyed by someone move on (unless its your wife in which case you have to sort it out before going to bed).  Life is too short to hold on to negative emotions. 

Day 196: Pollution

My (new) morning bike ride makes me realise how bad the pollution is Paris.  Even though I ride along the Seine on a dedicated bike path, at a time where you would expect little traffic I can still breathe and smell the fumes coming from the cars in the adjoining lanes.   There are so many alternative to petrol powered cars nowadays that it should be possible to start the banning process sooner than 2025.  Maybe we could start by banning all diesel and petrol engines from the first 8 arrondissement and then expand outwards ?  62% of households in Paris do not have a car.  Why does our quality of life come second to that of the 38% who are stuck in the previous century. 

Day 195: 2017

Dinner Menu:

• Gratin de ravioles aux courgettes
• Salade verte
• Fromages
• Carré de chocolat noir 92%

In 2017 I didn't:

• Take a five minute cold shower every morning
• Fast 2 days a week
• Write a blog every night
• Do 2x2 mins of plank every morning
• Wake up at 6 am every weekday
• Do 50 mins of cycling before breakfast on weekdays

Now I understand why people always think of the past with nostalgia.  I wonder if when I stop all these constraints I will look back to 2018 and marvel at how I was so motivated back then?

Day 194 : Sleep

Today was a fasting day.

As I mentioned yesterday I have decided to get up at 6AM during the week in order to have time to do a bike ride before starting my day.  I usually got to sleep around 11PM so I felt 7 hours was a good amount of sleep to aim for (half as long as a Lion but twice as long as an Elephant).  However, I did not take into account the sleeping patterns of my "co-sleeper".  Fianna's approach to sleep is "never enough", which means, my options are to have a grumpy wife or to give up my morning routine.  Another option would be to sleep in my office during the week, but I don't think this would improve her mood.   I wonder if sleeping in the same bed is the best solution for healthy marriages.  After all so many things can be different :

• Snoring
• Moving around
• Talking
• Hogging the duvet
• Going to sleep at different times
• Waking up at different times
• Wanting the window open or closed
• Different body temperatures
• Wanting the blinds open or close

Why do we expect our life partners to have exactly the same sleeping requirements as we do?  

I think it's time technology arrived in our bedrooms.  Once the couple is asleep the two halves of the bed could automatically separate and a sliding wall would split the room in two.  Then in the morning the wall would slide away again once both sleepers are awake. After all the best part of being in bed together is surely the part where we are both awake ?!

Day 193: Cycling

Dinner Menu:

• Canards sauvages fourrés au Kiwi cuit au Romertopf avec riz et carottes 
• Haricots verts à l'ail
• Yaourt de brebis avec framboises et myrtilles
• Carré de chocolat 92%

As you may be able to tell form the occasional menus I publish on my blog we like good food in the house.  The down side is that I'm not making as much progress as I would like on the weight loss side despite my 2 days of fasting every week.  I have decided to bow to external pressure and do some regular cardio exercise (I don't think my 4 mins of plank everyday was making a difference).   I really don't like running and despite global warming the sea has not yet reached Paris which rules out swimming so I am going to try cycling.  Today I brought up my old bicycle from the cellar, tightened it up and blew up the tires.  My objective is to get  up every (week) day at 6 AM to do 50 mins of cycling along the Seine.  I'm hoping that at that time there will be few cars in the streets and according to the City of Paris website most of my journey will be on dedicated bicycle paths.  I'll be ready when cars are finally banned from Paris!

Day 192: Sex

Don't get excited this is not about my sex life, I know for a fact that impressionable minds read my blog !  I was reading an article in the Guardian  today about Isabella Rossellini.  She has undertaken a project on the courting and mating habits of all sorts of animals (from snails, through hamsters to elephant seals) these are short films (3-5 mins) where she dresses up as these animals and "shows" how they mate.  It's called Green Porno and its extremely well done.  I highly recommend it.  One fascinating aspect is the extreme variety of reproductive systems that exist in nature. Heterosexual, female reproduction, parthenogenesis, hermaphrodite, sex change, cloning, 69 etc...When you see nature you realise that our sexual "transgressions" (LGBTQZ...) are quite tame in comparison.  So what's the fuss?

Day 191: Passport

My Dad was in Paris this week, he told me he was thinking of re-applying for his Belgian passport.  It seems I also have the right to a Belgian passport although last time I tried to get one I ran into a typical Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare.  Still I should look into it again.  First of all I don't believe in Passports (I've mentioned before that I don't see why I would need a piece of paper to exercise my natural freedom to move). Secondly I realise that in this world not having a passport would severely hamper my ability to function, so the next best thing would be to have multiple ones.  Finally I am losing out in the passport competition, my wife, my children, my step children, (even my ex-wife) all have at least 2 passports this is not acceptable.  I need to get a Belgian Passport, an American Passport and maybe look into a Macedonian passport (seems you can get one in 1 year).