[Perso] I am a clown.

My new mask. I can juggle with it, and rollerblade and ice-skate (though it limits a bit my vision on the sides). Today was an artistic day. Waking up late because I hanged out late with some friends at a club/restaurant/pool called "The Flying Dog", I started the day etching two glasses. Took a break for breakfast, played some music, worked a bit on a paper I was asked to review, felt sleepy, went back to bed for two hours :) I finally went shopping on roller-blades, just to see if I could, and... Well the backpack was 12 kg when I came back and I was glad I didn't go unicycling :) I bought a Canadian cooking book, a few DVDs (Ghostbusters 1&2, Edward Scissorhands, The Adams Family), which I might use for an Halloween party, and a wonderful mask. I was thinking while rollerblading how I like to do things differently from other people, just for the pleasure of proving that things can be done otherwise. As in "you don't need a car to live here" :). It means also that sometimes I am wrong, or afraid that I might be proven wrong (Do you need to be "serious" to be a prof?), but most of the times it is exhilarating ;) An artistic day indeed!

[Thought] Psychologie de Jeu Video

Je ne joue plus trop aux jeux videos, mais j'ai le souvenir de longs apres-midis passes a jouer devant l'ecran. Je me souviens notemment de jeux ou je pouvais sauver ma partie, prendre un risque insense, en voir le resultat (generalement catastrophique), et voyager dans le temps avant de prendre ce risque en rechargeant ma partie. Pour certains jeux, c'est la principale strategie. Dans tous les jeux, la mort importe peu, on peut toujours recommencer une autre partie, et les parties se suivent comme les vies d'un pratiquant boudhiste, qui permettent de s'ameliorer peu a peu. Je ne joue plus trop au jeux videos, mais j'ai parfois cette envie de pouvoir revenir en arriere, ou a defaut de pouvoir recommencer une partie. Ca n'est pas que je n'aime pas cette vie, mais plutot qu'en bon perfectioniste, je voudrais la refaire du debut parce qu'il y a deux ou trois choses que j'aurais aime mieux faire. Je me demande dans quelle mesure les reflexes et les strategies apprises en jouant aux jeux videos modelent les adultes que l'on devient. En particulier, je me demande si cette strategie de "retour a zero" n'expliquerait pas en partie la hausse du taux de suicide dans les societes et generations qui jouent aux jeux videos.

[Unicycle] Terry Fox Run

Today I participated to the Terry Fox run, an event raising money for cancer research. I heard about it through a colleague (thanks Francis), who was doing it running. There were many people, on bicycles, rollerblading, running, walking... I was the only one doing it on the unicycle :) I did my 10 kms more easily than I thought, although I have rashes on my legs now. Next time I will go 20 kms! This was a nice way to spend the Sunday afternoon, and I had a nice chat with Francis afterward, but it was a bit lonely when I came back to my big empty apartment... So I went to bed and slept! Now I am cooking a bit (skipped lunch, that might also help my mood) and preparing to chat with Mirela. Feeling better already!

[Thought] Why NOT to do a PhD

I am reading more or less regularly (more less than more) the comics on PhD comic. Even after getting my doctor degree I find it refreshing (anyway the author got his PhD degree way before me...). I even thought about doing my own comic, it could get me an article in Nature!!! Anyway, I while browsing (I was working on a Sunday, so it does NOT count as procrastinating) I found a link to an interesting article from CNN news, here is an excerpt: A career with one of the most disproportionate ratios of training to pay is that of academic research scientist. A Ph.D. program and dissertation are requirements for the job, which can take between six and eight years to complete. Add to that several years in the postdoctoral phase of one's career to qualify for much coveted tenure-track positions. During the postdoc phase, you are likely to teach, run a lab with experiments that require you to check in at all hours, publish research and write grants - for a salary that may not exceed $43,000. The length of the postdoc career has doubled in the past 10 years, said Phil Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University. "It's taking longer and longer to get there. You can't start a family. It's really tough." And it's made tougher still by the fact that in many disciplines, there aren't nearly as many tenure-track positions as there are candidates. (whole article) It summarizes quite well what I told to friends who wanted to do a PhD: do it only if you are totally fascinated with your topic, don't do it for a good job and a good way of life. A friend used to dream about the peacefull life of working in public research, free to choose ones topic and to set his own pace: after graduating he got a job in private research (Thales) and has never regretted his choice (he even started to recruit other PhD grads)... As for me, I am glad I did a PhD. A bit disapointed that it doesn't come with a guaranteed job at the end, but that's the way of life. And I learned how to juggle and to blow fire, so I didn't waste my time :)

[Perso] Menage/Cinema/Roller

Aujourd'hui, c'etait menage, cinema et roller. L'appart est propre, le film etait pas terrible (Broken Flowers), le roller m'a fait du bien, meme si c'est un peu triste de rentrer a l'appartement vide. Les deux WEs precedents j'avais reussi a inviter du monde a manger le dimanche, mais pas celui-ci... :( J'ai de nouvelles voisines (la porte juste en face), peut-etre que je trouverais le courage de faire des friands et de leur en offir en guise de bienvenue. J'espere ne pas passer pour un gros dragueur: celle que j'ai vu est plutot mignonne. Il y a ecrit "Jeremy et Mirela" sur ma porte, ca devrait les rassurer sur ce point. De toute facon c'est clair que je passerais pour un farfelu: ces choses la ne se font point chez les canadiens...

[Photo] Department Social Event

I had a lot of fun at the social event of the department. I was feeling sad and blue because I just received the rejection letter for the last version of my last paper (2 years that I didn't get anything accepted, it sums up), but I was forced to come because I promised to bring a pie. Well I brought two pies, played baseball and managed to mark one point (my team lost 4 to 10), juggled with two other professors, and played a lot with the kids. One of the baby had a 4 notes armonica, we played a bit together, which gave me a nice picture, the first of this blog!

[Perso] 80 ans de Mame!

Aujourd'hui, je me suis eveille a 6h du matin, en forme! Il fut un temp ou c'etait habituel, mais ces derniers mois j'avais plutot du mal a me lever. Mais aujourd'hui, ma grand-mere maternelle a 80 ans! (on a fete les 90 ans de ma grand-mere paternelle a mon dernier passage en France, il y a quelques mois) Alors je l'ai appelle (vive skype) et lui ai chante un joyeux anniversaire :) Puis je me suis mis a faire des crepes, en savourant le rayonnant (c'est le moins qu'on puisse dire) lever de soleil et en ecoutant de vieux enregistrements de Toure Kunda (c'est comme le lever de soleil: ca faisait longtemps!). J'ai beaucoup trop de pate, je vais essayer de faire des crepes fourrees a la sauce bechamelle cuite au four: mieux vaut essayer sans invites, la premiere fois! Bon bonne resolution pour les prochains jours: se lever tot et (peut-etre) aller courir. Si seulement j'avais quelqu'un a qui apporter des croissants!

[Thought] pff le Figaro

On trouve de tout sur Google News, et entre autre des articles du Figaro. Et des fois on rigole bien en lisant le Fiagro, par exemple: La disparition de la ménagère de moins de 50 ans et du personnel de maison, phénomènes que l'on peut regretter par ailleurs (http://www.lefigaro.fr/magazine/20050902.MAG0002.html) Dans un article sur le renouveau du gout de cuisiner en France (dont je juge le titre un peu racolleur, vu la minceur du contenu), quelques regrets de l'auteur... S'il sait cuisiner et faire le menage, je veux bien l'engager, s'il regrette tant que ca la disparition du "personnel de maison"!