Au Cochonnet Marin

Some people bring joy wherever they go, while some people bring joy whenever they go. Mark Twain

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Would you share a drink with a prickly individual? I guess not. I for one would not!

Some people seem to forget that pétanque is above of all a “social” game. You come to the field first to meet friends, exchange pleasantries, and ultimately to play pétanque. Not the other way around.

 Some delusional “pisse-froids” (sourpuss) seem to think that winning at all costs is the main object of the game. They could not be more wrong!

Pétanque was created a long time ago, by a bunch of friends who sought some entertainment. The game they invented was just an excuse to meet on the village square and talk about “la pluie et le beau temps” (shoot the breeze). It was above all a social gathering and a game would never end without drinks and plenty of “galéjade”.

This pastime appears to have picked up steam in America, but some people don’t seem to understand the spirit of the game. Winning is not the main object. Letting some steam off is. You don’t come to the field to prove anything. You come to forget life’s pressure and relax among like-minded spirits.

Winning is satisfying but it is just an incidental part of the game. What really matters is having fun and you cannot have fun with touchy, confrontational adversaries

On the field you should be civil, friendly and generous. Nobody is interested at all in playing with crotchety individuals. Don’t forget that pétanque ties often extend beyond the playing field. Close bonds born on the field often lead to durable friendships and invitations to private parties.

Fame and Reputation are two swift birds, but Reputation (bad) flies much farther and lives much longer than Fame.

So keep in mind that if you acquire a ”mauvaise réputation” the playing field could turn into a minefield. If you don’t step gingerly, shrapnel will eventually hit you in the derrière.

Alain

 

Users who want critical bug fixes and new features without actually upgrading their software also want magic flying candy-dropping ponies. Chromatic

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Do you remember the 1967 Mike Nichols movie called the Graduate? In this popular flick a young man who just finished college is wondering what to do next. What path should he follow to become successful?

He goes to a party and is buttonholed by an older gentleman who tells Him:

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

Well, if I had to advise a young person today, I would suggest “coding” instead of plastics.
Coding is a special language instructing a computer to execute specific tasks through a set of symbolic commands. Today, just about any technology requires coding.

Coders are in big demand and young people versed in this discipline won’t have any problem finding a very lucrative job.

And think of all the fun the kids could have. They could hijack your creepy neighbors’ car, they could open all the garage doors in the neighborhood, they could also hack into the Wi-Fi of all your neighbors, and terrorized them as well.

And then there is the exploit cottage industry.

“In computing, an exploit is a piece of software, a chunk of data, or a sequence of commands that takes advantage of a bug or vulnerability in order to cause unintended or unanticipated behavior to occur.”

 Failing to regularly update software programs (among other things) leaves you particularly vulnerable to Ransomware attacks such as WannaCry that affected 250,000 computers in 150 countries in 48 hours.

Large companies (such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook) are willing to pay “bug bounties” (up to $1,000,000 I read) to any coder who can uncover a perilous exploit (a flaw) that makes the program vulnerable to hackers.
Nothing to sneeze at!

So forget plastics and Rock bands, and steer your whippersnappers toward the new Eldorado called coding.

Alain

“A great lathe operator commands several times the wage of an average lathe operator, but a great writer of software code is worth 10,000 times the price of an average software writer.” Bill Gates 

“Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.”  Ann Landers

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Some people seem to be unaware that there is a low-cost commodity widely available, yet too rarely used. This cheap commodity is called “humility”, a thoughtful quality that compels you to always take a modest view of your own importance.

After a few minor accomplishments, some people have a tendency to (as the French so elegantly put it) «péter plus haut que leur cul » (to fart higher than their a**hole.) In other words, some individuals are too easily inclined to believe in their own superiority. It happens to many of us, in (hopefully) brief moments of aberration.

After winning a few games of pétanque, you start feeling like you are hot stuff. You view some opponents with a mixture of mild amusement and superiority.

Almost everyone’s instinct is to be overconfident and read way too much into a hot or cold streak. Nate Silver

And then you unexpectedly lose a game 1/13. Shocking! Then shortly after, you lose your second game 0/13.
Bordel! How could that be? Fanny? ME?

But those defeats are reality-sobering reminders. They are meant to keep you grounded. They remind you that no matter how good you think you are, there is always somebody better (or luckier) than you. And it is a very good thing.

Humility is a quality (not a flaw) that serves its followers well. You prove your worth by deeds, not by words. And keeping your mouth shut is always the best policy.

« Le moi est haïssable » (ego is hateful) said Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) a long time ago. It is still true today.

Never underestimate an adversary. Custer did, to his everlasting sorrow. View each opponent with respect. If fate is kind to you, accept it with humility. If you lose, take it in stride. Win some, lose some.

Try to always sprinkle all your actions with a dash of humility. People will respect you for it.

Alain ?

If you would have people speak well of you, then do not speak well of yourself. Blaise Pascal