Remember the infamous incident of the 1986 World Cup quarter final when Diego Maradona deliberately committed a handball which resulted in Argentina eliminating England? The handball from Thierry Henry which led to France going to South Africa next June while Ireland will have to watch the World Cup on TV is probably as embarrassing. A lot has been written and said about the incident and about the man. I understand the frustration from the Irish team and all their supporters. Had things been reversed I would also have been angry at the manner in which France would have been eliminated. That said, looking at the bigger picture, Ireland put themselves in this situation. They haven’t played well enough to be finish first in their group which would have automatically sent them with SA. France, either. The point is you cannot blame the non-qualification of Ireland on Henry’s handball. This is looking at the reality will blinds on.
I, and many French people, are sad about the manner in which France booked their ticket to the World Cup and at the poor quality of the team. I feel sorry for Ireland but what is done is done. It’s time to move on.
I hope France will do better next year but I have my concerns. First and foremost I have concerns about the coach. But I guess we’ll see how it goes.
Following my ad on gumtree to find a flatmate a couple from New Zeland came to visit the flat and liked it. They seemed quite nice and friendly. So that’s it. They are my new flatmates and are moving in on Saturday. That’s London for you. I love that aspect of the city. Things happen very quickly.
Me? Very! It took about 6 weeks for my broadband connection to be set up in my new flat (5 to get a phone line..thank you BT!). Until that I had the Internet through a 3G USB stick. It worked but was pretty flaky. Now, I’m back with a proper connection and it made me realise how dependent I am on the Internet. It’s a bit like you’re unplugged from the world without it. Email has become my primary form of communication. The first thing I do when I get home is switch on the TV and flick my laptop open on my Netvibes homepage. BitTorrent download is gift from the Gods. And I do a lot of shopping online too. So in short I am extremely dependent on the Internet. It’s good to be back online.
It’s been a while since I have had a good night sleep. Combined with a lack of exercise, bad eating hygiene and too many drunken nights my body (and mind) is really starting to feel the strain. It is time I start pulling myself towards myself. So commencing today I’m giving my body a break from alcohol. The first thing I will do tomorrow is go for a run. And I need to eat properly. One has to be sensible from time to time…
Seating at the window of the train, looking at the English country side passing by in front of my eyes I can’t help but ponder on where my life is heading. For right now I am en route to a two-day workshop in Winchester. A welcome change from the office. But back onto the main point. What should a single and slightly confused 30 year old man do with himself?
In this modern world of ours it has become very easy to live and travel abroad. And it is for the better. I consider myself very lucky to be able to experience different cultures. It also allows me to look back at my own culture with a bit of distance. The catch is that I don’t feel like I belong anywhere. In London I am just a foreigner like many others. In France I more and more feel like a stranger too. Very uncanny!
So what should I do? Well, the simple truth is I don’t know. I have very good friends in London so I guess I could stay here longer. But for how long? Or maybe I should go back to France. After a while I suppose I’ll feel less like an outsider. Or why not a new adventure in a different country? I could also renounce all material properties and retire to a Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Okay, maybe not. But the possibilities are almost endless and the question still wide open.
The story of this US balloon boy is quite saddening. There are many more terrible things happening every day in the world but this sort of stories makes you wonder about the society we live in. In order to get some media attention and for the purpose of getting into some reality tv shows, this family pretended one of their sons had been carried away in a helium balloon. Even prompting the autorities to close down an airport for the duration of the “rescue” mission. Which obviously resulted in finding no child in the balloon because he was safely hiding at home.
Besides the obvious what saddens me the most in this are the motivations. Is being in a reality tv show what people want to do in life? I imagine being rich and famous is quite appealing to many people but I think the way you get there is almost as important as getting there. This sort of publicity stunts is certainly not the way to do it and is simply appalling.
I’ve been using part of the Atlassian tool suite (JIRA, Confluence, Clover, Crucible, Bamboo) at work for a while now and I’ve been pretty happy with it. It works well. Atlassian is now offering Atlassian Studio, a hosted combination of all their main products in one with a decent pricing model. I think it provides a perfect solution for startups and small organisations looking for great development tools without the maintenance hassle. The main disadvantage is, as with all hosted solutions, the reliance on the provider. For those happy to make this compromise I would greatly recommend this product.
Today I received an email from Schmap about the inclusion of one of my pictures from New York. It’s actually not an amazing photo by any means but I like that it can of use to others. And this is possible thanks to the Creative Commons license. I suppose if you try to make a living out of it you may see it in a different light but for any recreational photographer this a nice way to share your pictures.
Hi, my name is Ludovic. I'm a Frenchman living in London and this is my blog. I believe my thoughts are so interesting that other may want to read them...but I could be mistaken.
I’ve been using part of the 
