Jason DeBlog

NEW BLOG LOCATION !

2008-08-21T13:22:00.004+02:00

http://blog.jasondebord.net/

I am going to start using WordPress for my blog. I have found a lot of job offers in France that would like the applicant to have knowledge of Wordpress, so I think it would be a good idea to start using it.

I am not going to use Wordpress for my blog (at least not yet).

Job Hunting

2008-08-20T16:00:00.002+02:00

I have an interview Monday at 14:00. Wish me luck.

It is with a small company who is developing an internet application that has something to do with online magazines.

The position is entry level and requires basic knowledge of some things I know pretty well.

They know I don't speak French very well, but still want to meet with me.

I'll report back.

Believable

2008-08-14T09:42:00.003+02:00

A year ago I might have said this was unbelievable.

Man dies in US DHS detention after being denied treatment for spinal cancer. Read the NY TIMES article below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/nyregion/13detain.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Abraham Lincoln

2008-08-13T23:35:00.001+02:00

I found this quote online. It is attributed to Lincoln:

"Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure."

Redesign of the Bellac Football Site

2008-08-13T11:31:00.002+02:00

I am a big soccer (football) fan. So I wanted to know if the local football team had a website, and if they didn't I would put one together for them. Well, they do have one, so I decided to try and update it a little.

Current Site:

http://www.bellac-foot.com/

My Redesign:

http://test3.jasondebord.net/

They don't know I did this. I sent an email to them asking if they are interested in finishing it up together. I'm waiting to see their response. I'll do it for free with hope of getting a bit of advertising out of it.

Favorite Song

2008-08-11T21:34:00.000+02:00

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/raphael/video/x646yr_raphael-feat-toots-adieu-haiti_music

Bonnes Vacances

2008-08-07T08:08:00.003+02:00

August is the month for vacations in France. Whole companies shut down and people have the month off work.

Mrs. DeBlog has three weeks off. A friend here has four weeks off. Mrs. DeBlog's step-brother has 4 and a half weeks off.

This is on top of vaction around Christmas and New Year's day. And whatever vacation benefits you have during the year.

Public services still function. And most stores / restaurants don't close down.

MMB

2008-08-05T20:16:00.001+02:00

One of my favorite bands of all time. They're back together and touring now.

Search YouTube for "Mighty Might Bosstones" and check out their website:

http://www.bosstonesmusic.com

We Need Your Feedback

2008-08-02T08:49:00.003+02:00

http://test1.jasondebord.net/

Please take a look at this site and let me know what you think.

New Search Engine

2008-07-29T19:02:00.002+02:00

http://www.cuil.com/

First impression: whoa, black?

Hate it already.

But I don't really care what it looks like if it works.....better than Google, that is.

Search results weren't any more relevant than Google's. My website and www.cafepontdelapierre don't show up. A search for "cafe pont de la pierre" didn't even return results related to cafes, let alone the cafe's site. It says it found 2,077,213,406 results for "cafe pont de la pierre," however it only returned 3 pages totaling about 25 sites.

No news, no mail, no maps. I go to Google to search, but also for the news. And the only email I use is GMail.

They have pictures with the search results. I would prefer just the results in an easy to read format.

Final Verdict: Google is better.

Crazy Flying Machines in Blond, France

2008-07-28T07:16:00.003+02:00

Yesterday we went to the Estivol in Blond. These contraptions are called gyroplanes and are like ultralights with a helicopter rotor.

http://www.estivol.com/

Map it!

A Couple of Pictures

2008-07-25T19:28:00.004+02:00

La Gare Des Bénédictins in Limoges:

An old town gate in Le Dorat:

http://jasondebord.net/

2008-07-18T19:42:00.002+02:00

New design at http://jasondebord.net/ .

I would love to get some feedback. Critical feedback is greatly appreciated. I'm fairly happy with it, but think that some things could be better.

If you really, really, like it, send some work my way.

Thanks,

J

Feu Artifice Bellac

2008-07-14T12:24:00.003+02:00

The whole town showed up to watch the fireworks in Bellac. There wasn't an empty spot near the river last night 13/07/2008. The fireworks were really really good. We didn't stay out too late, but I heard that people were still dancing at 3 AM.

Rounders

2008-07-13T09:56:00.003+02:00

This past Friday evening, I played Rounders with a group of British people (and some French).

Rounders is a game similar to baseball, but much simpler. I was told it is a typical British schoolyard game.

There are two teams, one bats and the other fields. There is a bowler (pitcher), catcher, and the rest of the team play the field. The field has no boundaries. There are four posts (bases) in the field.

The ball is smaller than a baseball and fairly soft. You can catch it with bare hands without any problem. The bats are about 2 feet long, made of wood, and are very lightweight. This makes it difficult to really smash the ball, although it is possible to hit it fairly far if struck just right.

The object is for the batting team to score as many "rounders" as possible before all of the batting team's players get "out." You score a "rounder" when you are able to run around all 4 posts without the fielding team stopping you by getting you out or getting the ball to a post in front of you (like baseball). You get out by having a ball you hit caught (like baseball), or when one of the fielders tags a post with the ball before you reach it. Once a player is out, they are done batting. When all the batters on a team are out, the teams switch (fielders go to bat, batters go to field).

Unlike baseball, you don't have to hit the ball before running. Once the bowler (pitcher) throws the ball, play starts. If the batter swings and misses, they still must attempt to run around the posts. If you are stopped at a post (on base), you can start running as soon as the ball leaves the pitcher's hands.

Also unlike baseball, there are no foul balls, home runs, ground rule doubles, strikes, etc. Since there are no foul balls you can attempt to hit the ball anywhere, though it is pretty difficult to hit it directly left, right, or behind you. Once the ball is hit, its up to the fielders to get to it and stop the batter from scoring. Since there are no ground rule doubles or home runs, if the batter can hit the ball over the barb wire fence and electric fence that is next to the field we played on, they are pretty much guaranteed to score a rounder.

I mention this because while I was playing in the field, a guy crushed the ball to far left field, it hit the ground and bounced over the fence. As I ran towards the ball, for a split second I thought about hurdling the fence, and grabbing the ball, but I stopped because I probably would have hurt myself. The barb wire didn't bother me as much as the electric fencing. So as I tried to decide how to best get over the fence, a very, very enthusiastic team mate came running towards me, hopped over the fence, grabbed the ball, and threw it back into play, shocking himself in the process.

The toughest part of the game for me to understand prior to playing was how the scoring works. You can only score by running around all the posts in one shot. However, you can stop at a post, wait until the next pitch is made, and run around the remaining posts eventually reaching the fourth one (home). This DOES NOT score a "rounder," but instead allows you to bat again because you were never got out.

It was a lot of fun and I plan on playing next week.

Anyone can show up and play. Everyone there was very nice. There were about 14 adults and 10 kids playing.

There is a National Rounders Association http://www.nra-rounders.co.uk/ . The website doesn't work very well and surprisingly I couldn't find a link to a list of rules.

Another site with information:

http://www.letsplayrounders.com/

And another:

http://www.roundersonline.net/

So, if you are reading this, and can make it to Asnieres sur Blour on a Friday Night at 19:00 (7PM), you are welcome to come play. It's a very small town. Look for the large open field with a parking lot close to the town center.

http://maps.google.fr/maps?f=q&hl=fr&geocode=&q=Asnieres+sur+Blour

Send me an email for more information.

FW(S)OTD

2008-07-08T18:23:00.002+02:00

Je m'appelle /juh muh pell/ : My name is ...

Walk

2008-07-07T18:13:00.002+02:00

DeBlog Jr. officially walks (like a penguin, but he walks). I think my life just got a little bit harder.

The Flag

2008-07-06T08:16:00.003+02:00

My buddy in the US took this picture.

Outdoor Seating at Café le Pont de la Pierre

2008-07-04T06:13:00.003+02:00

The weather in Bellac has been beautiful. When it is nice we like going to Cafe le Pont de la Pierre and sitting on the terrace. The view of the river, bridge, park, and old Bellac is great.

One Good Thing About French Drivers

2008-06-16T10:44:00.003+02:00

When the Gendarmerie (Police) are up the road, you can be sure that 90% of the oncoming traffic will warn you by flashing their headlights.

This is something that will happen in The US, but usually doesn't. In France, it almost seems obligatory to warn your fellow motorists of the pending danger the Gendarmerie pose.

French Class

2008-06-06T07:33:00.005+02:00

I really enjoy talking to the other students in my French class. Surprisingly, it is fairly easy to communicate, as long as the subject of our conversation is kept simple and common words are used. Where are you from? How long have you been in France? Where do you live? How are you doing? What language do you speak? Etc.

Yesterday the weather here was beautiful, so when the class took a break, I went outside. A young guy from the class came up to me and said in French, "You from America?" I said yes. He then began naming American Countries: Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Canada. He considered North, South, and Central America to be America, and of course he is absolutely right. I always have thought it weird that people from the United States are called American, even though The US is only one of many countries in The Americas. People from the US are of the nationality "American." I don't know why.

I knew that this guy was from Sudan, but I tried to ask him to be more specific about where he was from. He understood my question and told me that he was from Darfour. He said, "You know Darfour?" I told him yes, that I had seen a lot of news about Darfour on the television in The US. He went on to tell me that he is a refugee from Darfour. He said that his family had been murdered. His mother, father, sister, brother, and uncle were all killed in the Genocide that the Sudanese government is committing in Darfour. He then said something about the Sudanese government being very bad. I wish I had words to tell him how sorry I am to learn this and that I too think what is happening there is terrible, but I just can't speak French well enough to do so. Maybe by the end of the class I will know enough French to tell him.

French Class at Culture Alpha Limoges

2008-06-02T21:06:00.005+02:00

I had my first French Class today at Culture Alpha in Limoges. I am going to enjoy these classes.

There were 6 men and 10 women in the class. There is a Chinese woman, two guys from Chechnya, one guy from Eritrea, two Turkish women, an Indian man, a Vietnamese woman, a Woman from St. Petersburg, Russia, a woman from Madagascar, and a couple other countries are represented as well. I feel really lucky to get to meet so many people from so many different places.

The teacher is really nice. I felt welcomed right away. He is pretty funny too. I think he must have a lot of experience because he kept my attention for the whole three hours and I actually learned a couple of things. Three hours went by really fast.

The other students in the class were all really nice. A couple of them approached me and started a conversation during the 15 minute break we had. The woman from Madagascar made me a cup of instant coffee. I don't know if any of the other students had met an American before. I have a really good friend from India and I think I have met someone from Vietnam, but I know I had never met anyone from the other countries. I am really glad to spend time with such a diverse group.

So I'm even more excited than I was. This is going to be a pretty fun 6 months.

Carte de Séjour and ANAEM FRANCE

2008-05-30T07:45:00.005+02:00

Wednesday morning I went into Limoges to meet with the ANAEM - Agence Nationale d'Accueil des Etrangers et des Migrations.

It is a requirement for all persons (from outside the EU) wishing to reside in France and is a step in the process of obtaining a Carte de Séjour (Green Card for Americans).

It was great! It went really, really well.

Myself and about 8 other people arrived to an office in a building in Downtown Limoges at 8:30 AM. 4 women employed by ANEAM were there.

First everyone sat around a large conference table while one of the women provided information about the residency process and what to expect during this meeting.

I was the only person there that didn't speak French. Mrs. DeBlog's Father came with me to help out and make sure he understood how the process worked in case I didn't understand something. You aren't supposed to bring anyone with you, but they didn't seem to mind.

Next I spoke with a women who evaluated my language skills. It was decided that it is very difficult for me to communicate in French. This is great because she then got me registered to attend 250 hours of French classes for FREE. I'll go 4 days a week for 3 hours per day until 250 hours are completed.

Next I spoke with a social worker who asked some questions about my life in the US. During our conversation we talked about the Carte De Séjour and I told her that a woman at the prefecture said I would only qualify for a one-year carte and would have to renew the carte each year. She said this is incorrect. I will receive a 10-year carte. She made a telephone call to confirm that she was correct. She then gave me the information in writing in case there were any problems. And since I have been married to a French citizen for more than 4 years, after 18 months of having a Carte De Séjour, I'll be granted French Citizenship if I want.

Talking with the social worker wasn't required, but I thought it was best to talk to as many people as possible in hopes of getting as much good information as possible. You never know what someone might make you aware of if you don't talk with them.

Next, I spoke with the woman who was in charge of approving everything that happened with my case thus far, confirming my attendance at this meeting, giving me papers with instructions on what to do next, etc. She gave me a paper to take to the language classes and a paper to take to a meeting about civil life in France (required).

Then it was off to get a chest x-ray. Another woman, myself, and two other immigrants left the building we were in and walked about three blocks through Limoges to a doctor's office where the chest x-ray was completed.

Once the x-ray was done we returned to the original building and I met with a doctor who asked some questions about my health. She was interested to know if I had diabetes or if there is a history of diabetes in my family. She wanted to know if I had ever had any surgeries or been admitted to a hospital. She looked over my vaccination records (I only had records for the first four years of my life. This seemed to be ok). She then looked at the x-rays, weighed me, took my blood pressure, listened to my heart, etc. She filled out a paper, signed it, and gave it to me. This paper is very,very important as it will be asked for by about 4 other agencies I might have to deal with. It is recommended to make at least 4 photocopies of it right away so you'll have it when necessary. The doctor didn't speak English, but we managed.

And that was it. Everyone was very, very nice and very, very helpful. I am very excited about the language classes. Up until I was told about being able to attend these classes for free, I had planned on enrolling in a year long course at the University of Limoges. The cost of the University course would have been about 700 Euro (~ $1050).

If anyone reads this and has any questions about the process, please send me an email. jasondeblog (at) gmail dot com .

Yes, I want one...

2008-05-22T14:18:00.002+02:00

Sold mine before we moved. Now this is making me want another one.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/21/wii-fit-feelin-the-burn-part-1/

Construction Continues

2008-05-18T17:36:00.002+02:00

Did some more work with Mrs. DeBlog's Father. He should be done with the garage within 3 weeks.

Other than this, not too much is new. Weather is getting better. We made a trip down to the cafe again today. We're expecting our first visitor in July and are planning on having a great time with him. If anyone else want to visit, send me an email.

Cafe le Pont de la Pierre

2008-05-11T18:19:00.003+02:00

http://www.cafepontdelapierre.com

The website is finished. I think the owners are happy with the work I did. They are very nice and I really enjoyed talking with them as we built the site.

I am really pleased with how http://www.cafepontdelapierre.com turned out. I paid close attention to as many small details as I could and they all came together nicely. Hopefully this site will lead to more work for me.

The cafe is at an amazing location. Mrs. DeBlog and I sat on the terrace with a couple of friends this afternoon. It was so peaceful.

Please check out the site and let me know what you think.

If you are ever in Limousin, France, you should stop at Cafe le Pont de la Pierre to have a drink and a bite to eat. You won't regret it. And if you do, be sure to let me know ahead of time... jasondeblog (at) gmail (dot) com ...and I'll join you.

Holiday

2008-05-08T08:28:00.004+02:00

Another holiday in France today. I'll give a gold star to the first person who is not French, not living in France, does not use Wikipedia or the library to find the answer, and is an American that posts what holiday it is in the comment section.

Have a good holiday.

(we bought toilet paper and dog food yesterday, so we're good)

J

Dolmen

2008-05-05T13:01:00.003+02:00

There are signs all over the place marked "Dolmen." When I see these signs, I like to go find the dolmen. Mrs. DeBlog doesn't really care for dolmens, but I make her help me find them anyway. Here is one we found yesterday. There wasn't any where convenient to park or I would have went and climbed on it or something.

Happy May 1st

2008-05-01T08:13:00.001+02:00

It's a holiday here in France. No one is at work. The dog is out of food and the grocery store is closed.

Have a good day.

Parle Francais

2008-04-28T19:00:00.003+02:00

I went to the grocery store (Champion) around 6 PM tonight. As I was walking up to the entrance, I saw a couple rough looking guys standing outside. I walked by them and one said something to me in French, to which I replied, "Je ne parle pas Francais." Without hesitation, the guy said, "Can I have some money please?" I told him "Non!"

I probably should have told him to use his English skills to get a job.

Construction

2008-04-28T10:20:00.003+02:00

I've spent the past couple days working on this:

It's the garage for Mrs. DeBlog's father's new home. Maybe after he is done, we'll build one for us.

Daycare

2008-04-17T13:00:00.003+02:00

Most cities of any size in France have a subsidized daycare center that the town's residents can use. They are called Halte Garderies. DeBlog Jr. needs to be get used to being around other children and DeBlog Sr. could use a break every once in a while. So...

Mrs. DeBlog visited the Halte Garderie in Bellac to see what it was like and get signed up. From what she said it is nice. The little one will start attending soon. Only 30 minutes a time at first while he gets used to it and then maybe a whole afternoon a couple times a week.

The price? 0.81 euro per hour.

WWW

2008-04-11T18:40:00.002+02:00

So I am trying my hand at web design. I have always been a bit of a computer nerd. Some of you may remember hearing me talk about World of Warcraft a couple of years ago.

Taking care of DeBlog Jr. is a lot of work, but I have found some time to get back into putting web pages together. When it comes to computers I can learn pretty quick. I'm doing well with all the basic stuff, and now starting to learn about the programming side of web design (specifically PHP if you know what that means).

So with the help of our new British friends, I landed a job building a website for an English owned cafe here in Bellac. Check out the rough design / test site here.

Please test all the links, etc. and let me know what you think. Criticism now will help me make this site great, impress the client, and begin building a sweet portfolio of sites that will hopefully get me some more business.

And if you know anyone who wants a simple site put together for next to nothing, send them my way.

Saturday In Mortemart

2008-04-09T20:45:00.004+02:00

We drove to Mortemart last Saturday. It is about 15 minutes from Bellac. Like Bellac it is a very old town. It has a fortified church dating from the 13th century. There is a large pond that had 3 Swans in it! I don't know if I had ever seen a swan in real life before. I couldn't believe when I saw them floating around. One of them came swimming right up to me.

The inside of the church:

Been Busy

2008-04-07T22:07:00.001+02:00

I know I am letting hundreds of loyal readers down, but I have been busy. I'll fill you in soon.

Hope you are all doing well.

Jason

2008-04-05T09:40:00.003+02:00

Brillant

2008-04-05T09:03:00.005+02:00

I think this is awesome.

Heat from data center used to warm Swiss swimming pool.

Spam

2008-04-02T09:55:00.002+02:00

I was just cleaning out my Gmail SPAM when I saw this ad at the top of the folder:

Spicy Spam Kabobs - Serve with hot cooked rice.

Someone make up a batch and tell me how they taste.

Couldn't Resist (for some reason)

2008-04-01T10:42:00.003+02:00

So I saw this coffee at the grocery the other day and had to buy it.

I don't know what the French translation for "Gringo" is, but it definitely isn't "Tastes Awesome."

Still, its a pretty cool name for coffee.

Send Caribou Coffee.......

This One is Better

2008-03-26T09:34:00.002+01:00

I changed the gloss slightly and changed color.

Another Butt on

2008-03-26T09:27:00.002+01:00

Did I mention how awesome GIMP is?

Hello World!

2008-03-24T22:31:00.003+01:00

So I have been working on jasondebord.net quite a bit. Check it out if you want. It may not look like much, but I have learned a lot by just getting it to this point.

I have also been using GIMP http://www.gimp.org/, a FREE graphics program very similar to Photo Shop. It is awesome. I made the graphics for my website with it.

There are a ton of GIMP tutorials on the interweb, so go download it and start playing around. I went through the tutorials I found, and then applied what I learned to my own stuff.

Today I have been playing around with some button graphics. Check this out:

A Job Well Done

2008-03-19T22:11:00.005+01:00

Jason DeBlog, construction worker extrodinare.

THIS is what I spent last Saturday, Sunday, and Monday doing. The British couple that we met a few weeks back had a problem with their septic tank drainage and had to put in a new drainage field. Jason DeBlog was there to help make it happen. I'm the one in the OSU hat. The other guy is another friend who knows how to drive the yellow machine.

Here is another shot of what we were doing. Each of those trenches are about 2 feet deep, filled with sand, a thin layer of stone, then the pipework. The black pipes have slots cut in the bottoms to allow the water from the septic tank to drain away.

It was actually a pretty enjoyable time.

If you ever need one of these put in, I'm the guy to call.

Since Everybody's Doing It....

2008-03-19T09:07:00.002+01:00

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-nygov19mar19,1,1515724.story

New York's new Governor announced that he cheated on his wife numerous times. Spitzer just resigned the position after admitting to cheating on his wife. Now this guy admits to doing the same, albeit not with prostitutes.

If these guys can be cheating pricks and becoming Governor.........wait a minute, that is what I am doing wrong. If I want to be successful, I need to cheat on Mrs. DeBlog. I wish I would have thought of that a long time ago.

Yo

2008-03-16T09:12:00.002+01:00

I have been putting a lot of work into learning about web design and working on jasondebord.net . I'll try to add a post here at least every few days.

And as soon as I get pictures from what I did yesterday, I'll post a few here. Suspense.

Can't Anyone Be A Good Person Anymore

2008-03-12T22:40:00.003+01:00

I just heard about Elliot Spitzer's resignation. Geezus. For some reason I really feel let down. I sincerely thought he was a good guy and above scandal. Let alone smart enough to steer clear of trouble like this.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SPITZER_PROSTITUTION?SITE=OHCOL

www.jasondebord.net

2008-03-12T14:10:00.001+01:00

Totally awesome website. Interweb's are cool.

www.jasondebord.net

Need Comments, Criticism, etc

2008-03-11T19:02:00.004+01:00

One of our new friends have some friends who are preparing to open a Bed and Breakfast. They know that I like computers and the Internet, etc. so they asked if I knew how to build a website. I know the basics and am a fast learner, so I told them i would give it a shot, or at least help out the best I could.

Google.com has something new called GooglePages. Basically it is a tool that allows you to build a website. The bad thing about it is that it is hosted at googlepages.com. Maybe you can use your own domain if you have one, I don't know.

Anyway I put together this for them as an example. Check it out and tell me what you think. My philosophy is keep it clean and simple and make sure the important information is easy to access.

And if any of you have advice about domain name registrars and good web authoring software (especially if you give me a copy), let me know.

Doors

2008-03-10T17:16:00.001+01:00

For some reason I like taking pictures of doors. Here is a pretty cool one.

Huh?

2008-03-10T17:04:00.005+01:00

I listen to French radio a lot, specifically Radio France Internationale (click here to listen), in hopes of absorbing some of the language. Today I heard "Genesis," "Pink Floyd," and "The Beatles" mentioned in the same sentence. About 15 seconds later, I heard "Sex Pistols." So they were talking about music, but beyond that, I have no idea.

Gare de Limoges-Bénédictins

2008-03-08T09:33:00.005+01:00

We went into Limoges yesterday. Skies are still gray, but the temperature wasn't too bad. We checked out the train station and took some pictures.

Opened in 1929. Named Bénédictins because it was built on an ancient site of a Bénédictin monastery. Occupied by German Troops from 1942-1945. 3 million travelers per year pass through.

Oh yeah, "gare" means train station.

The Difference A Day Makes

2008-03-05T11:35:00.005+01:00

Our Backyard:

Yesterday

Today

Someone else noticed too.

http://islandgirl4ever2.blogspot.com/2008/03/all-kinds-of-weather-welcome-to-march.html

Who's Winning Ohio?

2008-03-04T18:49:00.003+01:00

Well? Who is winning? I can't find any good news on the interweb.

I didn't get my paperwork sent in early enough to vote today, but I will be voting in November.

Since my home state is going to the polls today to pick a candidate for president, this is a great time for Jason DeBlog to officially endorse a candidate.

DeBlog officially endorses Barack Obama for President. Mrs. DeBlog does too, but I don't know if it is official or not. I'll ask her later and update this post.

http://www.barackobama.com/

Awesome Football Game Tonight

2008-03-04T15:36:00.002+01:00

Champions League

Lyon vs. Manchester United

20:35 TF1

May be on ESPN in the states. Too bad you'll all be at work and don't really care anyways.

I'll be watching of course. I have acquired some provisions to use while sitting in front of the television. Too bad my new Brit friends aren't in town. The Brit cafe at the bottom of the hill doesn't have a TV. Once they get one installed, I'll ask if they'll change the name of the cafe to Mac's Pub. Then I'll see if Steve the bartender will let me call him Beth.

Send me email.

Confolens, France

2008-03-02T08:22:00.006+01:00

We visited Confolens yesterday. We took a two hour walk and bought coffee. The town dates from the 12th century. Cloudy day, again...

No More Sun

2008-02-29T11:26:00.003+01:00

Haven't seen the sun for a few days.

My French is Getting Better. Kinda.

2008-02-28T12:18:00.002+01:00

I am trying hard to speak to all the French people I can. Today I saw the neighbor and said Bonjour. She said Bonjour, ca va? I understood her and replied, then asked her how she was. I was wondering if the factrice (mail woman) had come by yet, so I said, "La poste aujourd'hui? (the mail today?)" She understood and said, "pas passe encore," which means "hasn't come yet."

I should have asked this way: "Est ce que la factrice est passée."

British Guy Next Door

2008-02-27T08:46:00.002+01:00

The British guy next door invited me over for a beer last night. A buddy of his is down here staying with him while their wives are in The UK. Another friend of theirs was over there too. They're all retired and are enjoying themselves by fixing up these old houses in the neighborhood here.

After they work all day they enjoy having a few drinks.

They taught me about a few drinks I had never heard of. A "Shandy" is beer with lemonade and a "Black Velvet" is Guinness with champagne. We weren't drinking these, but they came up in conversation and I asked what they were.

I also found out they are from the area around Newcastle. I told them I like Newcastle beer and they said they only drink it when there is nothing else to drink. Said they spend the next day on the toilet if they have too many. They were surprised that it is a popular beer in the US.

Both agreed that Boddingtons Ale is a good British beer.

Cheese Of The Week

2008-02-26T08:36:00.004+01:00

La Brique. Seems to be a mix between Camembert and Brie. Doesn't make the fridge smell too bad.

Good Weather Fin

2008-02-25T09:43:00.000+01:00

Today: Mostly cloudy skies. High 59F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Tomorrow: Rain. High 54F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Tomorrow night: Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 47F.
Wednesday: Cloudy with rain. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the mid 40s.
Thursday: Areas of fog early, then cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the mid 40s.
Friday: Periods of light rain. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the mid 40s.

Federal Voting Assistance Program

2008-02-24T10:55:00.003+01:00

All the information US citizens living overseas need to get an absentee ballot.

http://www.fvap.gov/index.html

British Searching for Bellac , France

2008-02-24T10:40:00.003+01:00

I just started using sitemeter to track the visitors to my blog. Out of the last 20 visitors, 5 have been UK based. They've got here after using Google to search for "Bellac."

I was told there are hundreds of British in the area surrounding Bellac. In the last census there were 67 British families living in Bellac.

If you are interested in information about Bellac, send me an email at jasondeblog(at)gmail.com .

I've recently met a bunch of British people. We had dinner with about 30 of them last night. I also think I have found a place to watch the European Championships. There is an English owned cafe in Bellac that is about a 4 minute walk from my house.

And the British couple that lives next door to us just arrived after spending most of the winter in The UK.

Bellac Park 02/21

2008-02-22T09:07:00.002+01:00

More Mont Ambazac

2008-02-21T10:12:00.002+01:00

Click on the photo to enlarge.

I Guess I Miss Columbus

2008-02-19T13:25:00.002+01:00

I was just reading about the icy roads in Columbus and found myself even missing them a little. Weird huh? Maybe I'll visit next winter so I can slide around on them a bit.

High Above Ambazac

2008-02-19T12:27:00.002+01:00

Sunday we hiked about 2 KM up a hill. Elevation 700 meters.

They Didn't Kill Us

2008-02-17T19:42:00.004+01:00

The people we met were really nice. British man, Portuguese/Brazilian woman. The guy worked for the US Foreign Service and was stationed all over the world, but kept his primary home in the US.

They seem to be the social committee for all English speakers around here. As luck would have it there is a big "get together" next Saturday night at a cafe that is about a 4 minute walk from our house. So on Saturday we'll be meeting about 10 more couples! I hope they are all heavy drinkers and college football fans. That would be sweet. Then I could ask if they would mind me calling them Jeff, Mike B , Mike S, Matt K, and Philip S. I already call the bartender there "Bones."

Cheese of the Week

2008-02-16T12:34:00.006+01:00

As if the DeBlog wasn't cheesy enough, I present THE CHEESE OF THE WEEK (or of every two, three or four weeks)

Mmmm Camembert...

I'll try to get more adventurous each time I buy a new cheese. I'll also try to get a pic of the cheese section in one of the super marche here. They are huge.

More Friends

2008-02-15T18:39:00.003+01:00

I inadvertently signed up for Orkut, Google's social networking site. A few weeks ago I just wanted to see what it was all about, but since I was looking at the French version, I signed myself up without meaning to. So a few weeks go by and I get an email saying that someone left me a "scrap." I went to my Orkut page to check it out. It ended up being from someone called "aradhana negi" and she left a message that says " hiiiiiiiiiiii do u wanna b ma frnd????????" I didn't reply, but I might. She sounds really cool. I did start searching for some English speaking people living nearby. I searched for "English Bellac" and one result came up. I left a scrap for the person the search found just telling her how I found her and that I speak English, live in Bellac, and wanted to say hello. The next day she had replied and left her phone number and told me to give her and her husband a call. At first I was thinking that it is really weird for someone that knows nothing about me to give out their phone number on the Internet and ask that I call them up. And I still think it is, but I called anyway and got the husband on the phone. His wife had told him about exchanging messages with me. Turns out he is from England, moved to California in 1967, then moved to DC where he worked for The US Federal Government until 2 years ago when he and his wifed moved here. We're going to their house tomorrow at 2:30 for coffee. I'll report back afterwards. If you don't see anymore posts, they probably killed us.

Friends

2008-02-15T18:18:00.003+01:00

I've been trying to make some friends here in Bellac, so I say bonjour to everyone I see and do my best to be friendly. The other night I was dropping off our recyclables at the bins near the river across from the park. An older man, walking slowly with a cane, came down the street and I said "bonsoir." (it was after 5PM so bonsoir is substituted for bonjour) Most people I say hello to just smile and say bonjour, and keep on going. This man smiled, said bonsoir, and then kept talking for about 15 minutes. He was really enjoying talking to me, so I didn't bother telling him that I speak English and really couldn't understand what he was saying. I just smiled, nodded my head, and said "Qui" here and there. I don't really know what he was talking about other than he started off saying something about recycling and how glass is just made of sand, then went on and on about oak, pine trees, and a warm liquid of some sort. Eventually he said bonsoir and walked away.

Bellac

2008-02-14T17:27:00.003+01:00

DeBlog Jr. and I went for a walk today and took this picture.

Lunch

2008-02-14T11:40:00.004+01:00

DeBlog's Lunch:

DeBlog Jr's Lunch:

Google Chuck Norris

2008-02-11T08:58:00.000+01:00

Go to Google.com

Type "Find Chuck Norris"

Press "I'm Feeling Lucky"

Oradour-Sur-Glane

2008-02-10T18:19:00.000+01:00

On June 10th, 1944, 200 Nazi troops were moving through France near where we live. They went into the town called Oradour-Sur-Glane and unleashed terror onto it. They tortured, burned, and killed 642 men, women, and children. 193 were kids. The women and children were put into the Church and it was set on fire. The men were split up, taken into different buildings, tortured, then burned alive. Then they burned the town.

The town is left in ruins as a memorial to those that died and a reminder of the atrocity that the Nazis committed.

Here's the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oradour-sur-Glane

We toured the town today. Here are some photos I took.

Here's the Castle I Promised

2008-02-10T18:04:00.001+01:00

Perfect timing for MB's comment on my last post. We saw this CASTLE from the road about a month ago. Today we went to check it out. It is awesome, but not for sale as far as we know. There aren't many like it left. Unfortunately we couldn't get any closer as there is a fence around it and we had already ignored the no trespassing signs. Mrs. DeBlog heard from someone at her work that a woman used to own the castle. She died and didn't have any family for it to pass to. She didn't will it to anyone. Prior to her death a historical society had asked her to donate it so they could maintain it. She refused to donate and now it is ruined. Rumor is that a few houses in Bellac have fireplaces and staircases just like the ones that used to be inside the castle...

Still Looking at Houses

2008-02-10T09:30:00.001+01:00

This is in need of a complete renovation. It doesn't even have a toilet. It belonged to the owner's father and really was never taken care of. 20 hectares of land comes with it. Mrs. DeBlog's father seems to think renovating an old stone house that has a lot of land would be a good investment as long as it isn't more than 40 minutes from Limoges. I think we are going to pass on this one.

The owner wasn't with us, but we talked with some neighbors. The guy on the tractor is storing it here until the house sells. He says the dog won't come with him unless it's allowed to ride on the tractor.

Supermarket Music

2008-02-09T18:47:00.000+01:00

Debbie Gibson was playing at the Champion Super Marche today. Yes, I am embarrassed I recognized the song.

Fishing

2008-02-09T11:41:00.000+01:00

Mrs. DeBlog's father's lake is full of water. He had drained it a few months back in order to clean it up and make some repairs to the drainage system. So, yesterday I threw a line in and didn't catch anything, but it was fun. He had replaced the fish and stocked it with some new ones. It was a beautiful day, but probably not quite warm enough for the fish to be biting. Will try again soon.

France Telecom

2008-02-06T09:41:00.000+01:00

Mrs. DeBlog has called France Telecom around 20 times since we arrived in October. Why? Because they can't seem to get a phone line and internet connection straight. And unfortunately, after setting them up, we moved and had to deal with transferring the account.

Since moving into the new place a month ago, we haven't been able to receive phone calls. First we were told that it would take a few days, then 10 days, and yesterday we were told that the people who predicted how long it would take up to that point were all wrong and that it actually takes 3 weeks. 3 effing weeks to hook up a phone line? I haven't seen any one on the pole outside our house. And the internet works and we can make calls so I am assuming they don't have to manufacture and install a new phone line. What else can take 3 weeks?

We've also received a 100 Euro credit from them because of an earlier screwup they made. In order to get that Mrs. DeBlog had to call, open a formal complaint, wait for it to be reviewed (3 months), then we finally received the credit.

Customer service in France is poor. This is not a sterotype. It is absolutely the truth.

I try hard not to compare life here to life in The USA, but doesn't it take about 20 minutes to set up a phone line in the US? And after making that first call to the phone company, I don't think I ever had to call them again except to close the account.

And don't even get me started on AZERTY keyboards. hehe...

AZERTY

2008-02-05T19:15:00.000+01:00

I have to use an AZERTY keyboard now. It sucks. But I figure I better just get used to it.

You have to press shift when typing a period. All of the numbers qt the top of the keyboard also require you to press shift to type them. The apostrophe is on the 4 key and does not require shift. And the worst one of all is the @. You have to press CTRL ALT qnd the à key which is also the 0 key when you press shift.

On the plus side, I can make some pretty cool symbols, even though I don't know what they are used for. See: ù§àçèé£¤µhjlkmj².

PC Build

2008-02-05T09:44:00.000+01:00

I finally got someone to sell me all the parts for my computer. I got it put together and it worked the first time.

Now I can play Team Fortress 2.

Email to JB RE: My PC Build

2008-02-03T10:32:00.000+01:00

Got my rig together. Only a couple very very minor problems putting it together. I kept waiting for something to not work but everything worked fine. We got to get online together to chew gum and kick ass AZERTY keyboard is effing my typing up. You have to press SHIFT to make a period. What kind of BS is that?

FWOTD

2008-01-31T18:27:00.000+01:00

Demande / demad / : Request

European Geography Game

2008-01-29T14:45:00.000+01:00

Lufthansa's website has a geography game. Play it then post your score in a comment.

http://www.lufthansa-usa.com/useugame2007/html/play.html

I got 19608 my first try and 21344 my second.

Bellac, France

2008-01-28T18:35:00.000+01:00

We went for a long walk around Bellac yesterday. The sun was out. It was slightly chilly when we started, but after walking and climbing for an hour, I was sweating. This picture was taken from the North side of the Riviere Vincou looking South East. We were standing above the river valley. We live in the group of houses on the right side of the picture just below the horizon. Click on the picture to make it big.

University Of Limoges

2008-01-27T12:27:00.000+01:00

I am starting to gather some information about The University of Limoges. I want to enroll in their French as a foreign language program, then begin taking some other classes. This post will hopefully attract people searching for:

University Limoges French English Anglais www.unilim.fr INSTITUT DU FRANÇAIS LANGUE ÉTRANGERE DE L'UNIVERSITÉ DE LIMOGES University of Limoges Institute of French as a Foreign Language IFLE

So, if you have found this post because you have a connection with Limoges, the University, or are trying to get information about it, send me an email.

jasondeblog@gmail.com

Typing

2008-01-27T10:16:00.000+01:00

I found this on Sam De Bretagne's blog.

59 words

Touch Typing online

PC Build

2008-01-27T09:55:00.001+01:00

I think Pixmania.com is going to send the computer parts I ordered. After four days spent convincing PayPal that I am indeed Jason DeBlog, they have released my payment to Pixmania.com.

The revamped configuration:

Intel Core 2 Duo 6550
Gigabyte P35-DS3R Motherboard
Gigabyte Nvidia 8600 GT Video Card
OCZ Platinum Revision RAM 2 Go DDR2 PC2-6400 800 MHz
WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar SE16 - 320 Go - 7200RPM - 16 Mo SATA 2 Hard Drive
Antec Sonata 550 Plus Case and Neo HE Power Supply
Samsung DVD Writer
Windows XP
MICROSOFT Reclusa Keyboard
Samsung TFT 20" Widescreen Monitor 206BW (2 ms)
The Orange Box

Like my knowledge of the French language, I know just enough about computers to be dangerous.

FWOTD

2008-01-27T09:52:00.000+01:00

Avant / ava / : Before

Kucinich

2008-01-27T09:50:00.000+01:00

Dennis out? Awwww...........

FWOTD

2008-01-25T10:02:00.000+01:00

Gare / gar / : Railway Station

Gare des Bénédictins, Limoges

2008-01-25T09:56:00.000+01:00

Train Station in Limoges

I found this photo on Wikipedia. We have been to Limoges a few times, but have only seen the Gare des Bénédictins from a distance. One of these days I'm going to take the train from Bellac to Limoges and get to see it up close. It's a 40 minute ride.

FWOTD

2008-01-25T07:20:00.000+01:00

Après /ah pray / : after

Storefront Windows in Deauville

2008-01-23T17:56:00.000+01:00

We took these a couple days before Christmas. We were outside on the sidewalk in Deauville looking through shop windows. The food on display caught my attention. Have you ever seen food like this on display in a store's window?

Building A PC

2008-01-22T14:08:00.000+01:00

I haven't had my own computer for awhile (been using Mrs. DeBlog's laptop). I looked at computers at retail stores, HP and Packard Bell are popular brands, but none of them have the POWER I want. Dell is expensive here and I haven't been able to come up with a configuration on their French site that I liked.

So I ordered all the parts for a computer from Grosbill.com . Hopefully they will arrive in a few days.

I have been reading a lot about putting a computer together and probably know just enough to really screw it up. I feel confident for some reason though.

I ordered the following stuff:

Intel Core 2 Duo 6320
Gigabyte P35-DS3R Motherboard
XFX 8600 GT XXX Video Card
4 GB of Corsair 800mhz Ram
Seagate 250 GB Hard Drive
Antec Sonata 550 Plus Case and Power Supply
Samsung DVD Reader
Samsung DVD Writer
Windows XP Pro
Keyboard, Monitor, etc.
The Orange Box

FWOTD

2008-01-20T08:44:00.000+01:00

Immobilier /emmo bilje / : Real Estate

Our Current Place

2008-01-20T08:37:00.001+01:00

These pictures were taken shortly after we moved in.

House Hunting

2008-01-20T08:29:00.000+01:00

We looked at the house I mentioned below. It is really old, really cool, and really small. The rear wall of the first floor was solid rock as the house had been built right into the earth. There were four floors in total, each the size of a standard bedroom. A tight winding staircase connected all of them. I have no idea how they moved furniture into the place. There was no spot for a normal size refrigerator, stove, washer, dryer, etc. They were using a wood burning stove to heat the home. That is not something I want to return to doing. It's too bad because the terrace was awesome.

There are a handful of other houses in the same area for sale, so we'll keep looking.

House Shopping

2008-01-17T17:30:00.000+01:00

We're currently renting a house. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a small backyard for the dog. We aren't in any hurry to buy, but house prices here aren't too bad and the interest rate on a mortgage is 4.5%. So we are going to look at this house on Saturday afternoon. It is in the old section of Bellac near the church.

It has a terrace that overlooks the river. The only problem is that you have to go out the front door and across the street to access it. The street is typical, barely big enough for one car to go down and not very busy, so it might not be a big deal.

Terrace:

There is a gate. Probably a good thing, because over that rock wall is about a 30 foot drop.

I think the owners were home while we were taking pictures of the house. They are selling it themselves, so that will help us save a little bit of money. During Mrs. DeBlog's phone conversation, the owner, without being asked, told her that the price is negotiable.

I Just Read About The BCS Game

2008-01-17T17:27:00.000+01:00

That sucks.