What's Up

I unfortunately haven't been able to blog as regularly as I would like. Ever since the Swedish academic who moved in next door moved in, our Internet connectivity has been spotty. I have no idea whether or not the Swedes are to blame.

Not much new here. The Canicule is over (for now) and the weather is delightfully cool in the evening. I went for a run through Parc Montsouris which was nice. Believe it or not, I actually get to take a vacation soon: next week we are going to Claire's parents' house in LaBaule. Before coming here, I was told that French people have no problem with taking the entire month of August off. And now I realize that it's basically true. The lab crowd is a pretty thin one right now.

French Phrase of the Day: "la bete noire". Literally this means "black beast" but it translates into "pet peeve" or perhaps "nemesis." Par example, "les Mathematiques sont ma bete noire". I guess this word is also officially in the English language as well, though I don't think I've ever used it (perhaps as an SAT word).