Au Cochonnet Marin

Old Man Winter (Ded Moroz) is coming and to announce his arrival, he sent a few storms our way. The accompanying wind and rain stripped all our trees from all their remaining leaves and left a thick brown blanket on our pétanque field.

You can play pétanque practically on any surface, but dead leaves are not one of them. To indulge their passion, volunteers have to roll up their sleeves, grab a few tools and go to work. And this is what happened last Saturday.

About 8 to 10 people were already at work we arrived. Luckily Saint Nick gave us a break and allowed a few weak rays of the sun to shine on the court. It was still cold, but it encouraged the volunteers to do their job. And they did excellent work. Within an hour or so, the field looked as smooth as a baby’s bottom.

The field was clean but still wet, and when you play on a damp surface, you have to adjust your playing style. You have to throw your boule a little harder and avoid the little craters created by previous shots. The best way to deal with such a surface is to use “plombés” (lobbing shots) but it is not as easy as it looks.

Anticipating the cold weather, Tamara concocted some kind of Glühwein to warm up our valiant workers. After the cleaning job was completed, everybody was invited to make merry and have a little sauce. Nothing like a little mother’s milk to keep your fighting spirit up.

Despite the chilly weather, a surprisingly high number of people showed up to play. I managed to take a few pictures before we started playing and Tamara shot a few more while I was playing.

Old Man Winter is going to stick around for a few months and certainly entertain us with some more spectacular atmospheric conditions, but you will have to pardon him. What else can an old man do to have a little fun?

I still believe that a picture is worth a thousand words, and I will let the accompanying photos tell the story.

Ta ta for now…

Alain

Look in “My Photos“

Ho Ho Ho, tis the season to be jolly… and excuse my cynicism, extremely vigilant. During the holidays, the scammers are working overtime to separate you from your money and your jolliness.

For the rest of the year (and beyond) pay extra attention to your e-mail. This is the scammers’ Trojan Horse and their most common way to penetrate your vault room. Scrutinize all your e-mail and above all, do not respond or click on any unknown link.

In the holidays season, spam reigns supreme. One way or the other the stuff is bad for you. If you ingest it, be aware that it is high in sodium, fat, and calories. Even just looking at it, will perturb you and prompt you to react quickly. Big mistake. No matter what, stay cool and if need be, carefully deal with the fraudulent scheme.

Recently I received the following message:

“Dear user,
You should contact Security support if you haven’t received the update. We are happy to provide you with the best and most secure protection available as a Norton Security customer. A one-year subscription for Norton Security has been purchased for $385.32. You will soon see this charge on your account statement. Thanks for your patience.

Within 24 hours, the charge will appear on your statement. Your bank has already deducted it. Once the subscription’s expiration date approaches, the subscription will automatically renew if automatic renewal is selected.”

Upon reading this, I immediately detected the unmistakable smell of spam. I have not used Norton for years, and I don’t have an account with them. So, I just played dead. I didn’t respond in any way to this message, but I flagged it as spam on my computer. In G-mail, the spam folder is located somewhere under the Inbox. I also checked with my bank to see if any money has been deducted. None had been withdrawn.

When you get a spam message, don’t panic. This is what the scammers want. A panicked reaction to counter a perceived threat. Simply ignore the message and let it know on the Internet that this is spam.

Happy holidays! May you be surrounded by jolly elves, and may your egg nog be potent enough to get you through the Christmas season!

Alain

Last Saturday I woke up to find a white coat of frost blanketing all the roofs of my neighborhood. It was so cold that my cat’s tongue stuck to my nose.

After noticing this, I was tempted to remain cocooned in my warm bed for the rest of the day. I am “frileux” (very sensitive to cold) and if I perceive that there is no need to step outside, I won’t.

But all warm-blooded creatures are social animals who have a visceral need to congregate with their peers. So, despite some misgivings, I shielded myself with 5 layers of clothing and went to the pétanque field.

“We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others’ actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment in our lives when we do not benefit from others’ activities. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.” –The Dalai Lama

 Our pétanque club has done wonders to bring people together, and Christine C. and Ann K. have been the most active (and successful) proponents of this goal. We owe them. Thank you very much, ladies!  Where indeed, can you mingle with people without being burdened by religion, politics, or any other drivel?

On the field, there were between 25 and 30 individuals willing to freeze their “derrière” for the privilege of playing and bouleshooting… a significantly high number of players for a rather nippy day. Obviously, pétanque players are a hardy breed who don’t mind mild sub-zero temperatures, but nevertheless, a sip of Glühwein would have been welcome.

On second thought, we should introduce an amendment to our bylaws stating that on very cold days, our First-Aid Attendant should provide this life-saving potion to anybody who wants it. Tamara also promised to bring some Russian fire water to help revive anybody feeling green around the gills.

According to Greatist, when imbibed in moderation, a shot of vodka can do some amazing things. Notably ” keeps your mouth clean, protects your heart health (maybe), helps you stick to a low-carb diet, tones your skin — for a little while, calms down your hair, neutralizes odors, and cleans, chills you out, reduces inflammation (maybe), kills germs.”

Hoping to see you soon warm and untroubled!

Alain